Buffy only just managed to get through the day at school. She was eager to
help Angel and she was nervous about meeting the guy Willie said would be
able to help her. She figured she'd go straight after school to get it over
and done with. So, after school she dumped her books and her bag and in her
locker, left school and got on a bus to the railway station. She walked
past the station and up a small hill and sure enough, like Willie had said-
there was a large house. The grounds weren't to well kept-over grown
shrubs, trees blocking most of the light out from the front of the house
and the ivy in the hanging baskets next to the main entrance to the house
almost touched the floor. Buffy didn't get the bad guy vibe when she walked
up the gravel driveway and banged the oversized doorknocker on the sturdy,
aged oak door.
Buffy waited for a second and then the door opened and a man appeared from behind it. He was of medium height and build. Not overly muscled but not scrawny. He had a pleasant face, gleaming white teeth and a short, light brown hair. He was simply dressed in a grey shirt, black trousers and Buffy really liked his shoes. They were those posh black ones that always made man a look smart.
Buffy actually thought he was quite cute apart from the scar across the right side of his face, which came over his nose and half way down his cheek.
He invited Buffy in and said, "I've been expecting you."
"Expecting me?" She questioned.
He didn't answer. He led her through the main entrance of his house, which had two extravagant stairways leading upstairs-one at each side of the room. He took Buffy into a small room on the east wing of his house. It had all sorts of weird and wonderful objects in it. Lots of statues-Buffy assumed-of Gods and Goddesses. He also had a bookshelf that looked a lot like Giles's. Shelf after shelf of musty old books!
"Please sit." He told her.
"She sat in an armchair. The cushion seat made of red velvet and the frame of varnished oak. He sat opposite her in a chair much the same. Between them was a small round table with a blue cloth draped over it and a map of the solar system on the top. He leaned on it and looked up at Buffy expecting her to talk.
"Oh. Yeah. Um... I need your help. My friend. He's... " She trailed off.
"Dying." The man finished for her in a Russian type accent.
"Yeah. There's a cure I need. From a... a poison. I was told you'd give it to me. Well... help me with it." Buffy said.
"Why should I help you? Are you sure the person you're trying to save is worthy of my help? But then, he's not really a person is he?" He said.
"Worthy? He never said anything about having to be worthy." Buffy said.
"He?" The man asked her.
"The guy who sent me to you. I was told you're good with poisons. If you won't help me then I'll find someone who will." Buffy said.
"I never said I wouldn't help you. I just can't be sure if he's worthy of my help." The man said.
"He is. He helps people. He helps them just like I do." Buffy said defending Angel.
"He's a vampire-you're a slayer. You wish to save your enemy?" The man asked.
"He is not my enemy-he's good now. He has a soul. He cares about people. He's a soldier to the Powers That Be just like I am. Are gonna let this demon take Angel away from the world he's sworn to protect?" Buffy asked with tears in her eyes.
"I've heard a many a story about Angelus miss, and from what I hear, he's not always been the 'Angel' you describe." The man said.
"No he hasn't. But he hasn't drunk human blood for a hundred years. Yeah he was a monster I admit that." Buffy said.
"Did he not revert back to Angelus just last year miss?" The man asked referring to the unfortunate incident of Buffy's seventeenth birthday.
"How did you know about that? That's in the past. Just like every other horrible thing he's ever done. It's over. Done with. He's good now and the present and the future are all that matter." Buffy pleaded with him.
"Only he who is worthy shall be restored. The righteous shall reign and all others are doomed to perish. That's that way it was, is and ever shall be. Don't you see?" He asked her.
Buffy stood up now in floods of tears because she doesn't think she's getting any closer to helping Angel.
"Angel is a righteous man. I love him." Buffy said.
"Love is blinding you. Clouding your judgement." The man said to her.
"No! It's showing me! Showing me how someone can be redeemed. How you can find a balance between good and evil. Angel has evil in him-he always will but right now he has the power to do real good. He's willing to put his life on the line everyday and night to save innocent people. People others leave for dead. He's sacrificed so much. If you can't see that, if you can just leave him to die after all the good and honourable things he's done. Then I guess you're just going to have to live with yourself knowing that you've taken a righteous man on the path to redemption away from a world that needs him." Buffy's tears streaming down her face, as she thinks how she might never see Angel again.
"You know how to save him Buffy. You've been shown the way. All I can do is tell you this. Prophecies are tricky things-they don't tell you everything. You already know that. You know the answers Buffy. You've seen and felt them." He said.
"You put me through all that and this is what you tell me?" Buffy said confused and crying.
"I had to be sure you were as honourable as you said you were. It was a test-you passed. You truly are worthy of my help." He replied and smiled. He then got up and stood in the centre of the room. On the floor there was a sacred circle that he stood in the centre of. It was surrounded by three red candles and three white candles all lit and Buffy thought she could smell sandalwood incense. He opened his arms up to the sky and said, "Release. Release the righteous. They know the way. The light is theirs. Release."
Buffy looked at him unsure of what he was doing. He shouted, "RELEASE!" and a swirling mass of white and blue formed between his arms. Buffy could hear whispers, some faint and some louder but she couldn't make out what they were saying. A young girls head and half her body formed inside the great mass of energy. Buffy thought she was quite pretty. She spoke softly to Buffy, "We've given you dreams and we've shown you the way. Listen and trust in yourself and salvation is yours. Trust yourself and we and the righteous are free. You are the key slayer." Buffy listened intently to what she had to say and then in the blink of an eye she disappeared, as did the swirling energy. The man dropped to the floor. Obviously drained of energy. She rushed over to him and he started to get up but holding his head. "What was that?" She asked.
"What you came looking for." He said. "You save he that is worthy and free others that were not so fortunate." He paused. Holding his head in pain. "That's going to give me one hell of a headache. I hope it was worth it. Take what is on the table and do not come to me again." He said.
"Thank you I won't." Buffy said.
She looked up at the table where a piece of parchment lay. She took it, quickly looked at it to see that it was the incantation to Angel's cure-The Valiturus Subrutum, a drawing of the ritual and she promptly rolled it back up and headed out of the house. She turned around to take one last look at the house and to quietly thank the man that helped her but all she saw was a beautiful green meadow with tall grass and laced with lavender. He had gone.
Buffy waited for a second and then the door opened and a man appeared from behind it. He was of medium height and build. Not overly muscled but not scrawny. He had a pleasant face, gleaming white teeth and a short, light brown hair. He was simply dressed in a grey shirt, black trousers and Buffy really liked his shoes. They were those posh black ones that always made man a look smart.
Buffy actually thought he was quite cute apart from the scar across the right side of his face, which came over his nose and half way down his cheek.
He invited Buffy in and said, "I've been expecting you."
"Expecting me?" She questioned.
He didn't answer. He led her through the main entrance of his house, which had two extravagant stairways leading upstairs-one at each side of the room. He took Buffy into a small room on the east wing of his house. It had all sorts of weird and wonderful objects in it. Lots of statues-Buffy assumed-of Gods and Goddesses. He also had a bookshelf that looked a lot like Giles's. Shelf after shelf of musty old books!
"Please sit." He told her.
"She sat in an armchair. The cushion seat made of red velvet and the frame of varnished oak. He sat opposite her in a chair much the same. Between them was a small round table with a blue cloth draped over it and a map of the solar system on the top. He leaned on it and looked up at Buffy expecting her to talk.
"Oh. Yeah. Um... I need your help. My friend. He's... " She trailed off.
"Dying." The man finished for her in a Russian type accent.
"Yeah. There's a cure I need. From a... a poison. I was told you'd give it to me. Well... help me with it." Buffy said.
"Why should I help you? Are you sure the person you're trying to save is worthy of my help? But then, he's not really a person is he?" He said.
"Worthy? He never said anything about having to be worthy." Buffy said.
"He?" The man asked her.
"The guy who sent me to you. I was told you're good with poisons. If you won't help me then I'll find someone who will." Buffy said.
"I never said I wouldn't help you. I just can't be sure if he's worthy of my help." The man said.
"He is. He helps people. He helps them just like I do." Buffy said defending Angel.
"He's a vampire-you're a slayer. You wish to save your enemy?" The man asked.
"He is not my enemy-he's good now. He has a soul. He cares about people. He's a soldier to the Powers That Be just like I am. Are gonna let this demon take Angel away from the world he's sworn to protect?" Buffy asked with tears in her eyes.
"I've heard a many a story about Angelus miss, and from what I hear, he's not always been the 'Angel' you describe." The man said.
"No he hasn't. But he hasn't drunk human blood for a hundred years. Yeah he was a monster I admit that." Buffy said.
"Did he not revert back to Angelus just last year miss?" The man asked referring to the unfortunate incident of Buffy's seventeenth birthday.
"How did you know about that? That's in the past. Just like every other horrible thing he's ever done. It's over. Done with. He's good now and the present and the future are all that matter." Buffy pleaded with him.
"Only he who is worthy shall be restored. The righteous shall reign and all others are doomed to perish. That's that way it was, is and ever shall be. Don't you see?" He asked her.
Buffy stood up now in floods of tears because she doesn't think she's getting any closer to helping Angel.
"Angel is a righteous man. I love him." Buffy said.
"Love is blinding you. Clouding your judgement." The man said to her.
"No! It's showing me! Showing me how someone can be redeemed. How you can find a balance between good and evil. Angel has evil in him-he always will but right now he has the power to do real good. He's willing to put his life on the line everyday and night to save innocent people. People others leave for dead. He's sacrificed so much. If you can't see that, if you can just leave him to die after all the good and honourable things he's done. Then I guess you're just going to have to live with yourself knowing that you've taken a righteous man on the path to redemption away from a world that needs him." Buffy's tears streaming down her face, as she thinks how she might never see Angel again.
"You know how to save him Buffy. You've been shown the way. All I can do is tell you this. Prophecies are tricky things-they don't tell you everything. You already know that. You know the answers Buffy. You've seen and felt them." He said.
"You put me through all that and this is what you tell me?" Buffy said confused and crying.
"I had to be sure you were as honourable as you said you were. It was a test-you passed. You truly are worthy of my help." He replied and smiled. He then got up and stood in the centre of the room. On the floor there was a sacred circle that he stood in the centre of. It was surrounded by three red candles and three white candles all lit and Buffy thought she could smell sandalwood incense. He opened his arms up to the sky and said, "Release. Release the righteous. They know the way. The light is theirs. Release."
Buffy looked at him unsure of what he was doing. He shouted, "RELEASE!" and a swirling mass of white and blue formed between his arms. Buffy could hear whispers, some faint and some louder but she couldn't make out what they were saying. A young girls head and half her body formed inside the great mass of energy. Buffy thought she was quite pretty. She spoke softly to Buffy, "We've given you dreams and we've shown you the way. Listen and trust in yourself and salvation is yours. Trust yourself and we and the righteous are free. You are the key slayer." Buffy listened intently to what she had to say and then in the blink of an eye she disappeared, as did the swirling energy. The man dropped to the floor. Obviously drained of energy. She rushed over to him and he started to get up but holding his head. "What was that?" She asked.
"What you came looking for." He said. "You save he that is worthy and free others that were not so fortunate." He paused. Holding his head in pain. "That's going to give me one hell of a headache. I hope it was worth it. Take what is on the table and do not come to me again." He said.
"Thank you I won't." Buffy said.
She looked up at the table where a piece of parchment lay. She took it, quickly looked at it to see that it was the incantation to Angel's cure-The Valiturus Subrutum, a drawing of the ritual and she promptly rolled it back up and headed out of the house. She turned around to take one last look at the house and to quietly thank the man that helped her but all she saw was a beautiful green meadow with tall grass and laced with lavender. He had gone.