Chapter 47-The Powers

-Angel-

I'm sitting down in the training room in my brooding chair. Wes has quit trying to make me sit out in the sun. I'm reading the book of poems Buffy left her letter in. Fred walks down the stairs. She's got papers in her hand.

"Angel, I think I might have come up with something." She sounds distracted.

"Huh?" I glance up from my book.

"The portals you wanted me to check into a couple of days ago. I think I might have found something. I've been running the numbers and facts in my computer trying to make it make sense and it does now, sort of. I think maybe I can figure out where and how to open it exactly. I'm going to have to have some help from Lorne. It sort of requires a direct connection to the Powers that Be. What do you wanna talk to the Powers for anyway?" She says.

I close my book and sit it on the table to my right. "I want to see if they'll turn me back."

"Back? You mean to a vampire?" Fred looks at me incredulously.

I nod. I don't expect anyone to understand.

"But, the sun and food, you can eat tacos now and really taste them. What about the Shanshu prophecy, I mean you can't just take back a prophecy can you?" Fred says, her voice pitching at the end.

I shrug. "It's not taking it back. Shanshu happened and if I become a vampire again, I will die."

"Angel, the only person who knew how to do the soul spell is dead." Fred says.

"It's a spell. The same person who opens the portal for me can do the spell. Besides I'm going to ask the Powers to keep the soul when they turn me." I say.

"This is for her, isn't it?" Fred's voice is quiet and awe struck. She doesn't have to specify which her, there's only one her it could ever be for.

I nod. "I don't want to live without her, Fred. I can't." My voice sounds broken and it's appropriate because I'm broken.

*

I'm sitting in Caritas sipping at an Irish whiskey. I should be more careful. I'm not sure going to see the Powers drunk is a good idea. Fred sits beside me leafing through her books. Her glasses are perched on the end of her nose.

"I don't know, Angel. I mean what if I mess up and this portal doesn't send you to the Powers. What if you end up somewhere like Hell?" Fred asks pushing her glasses up on her nose.

I shrug. "I forgave Buffy for sending me to Hell. I'd forgive you."

"What? Buffy sent you to Hell hell, not like Pylea Hell but the real thing?" Fred looks at me completely befuddled.

"It was the real Hell with the torture, the fire, the brimstone, the demons, the eternal agony." I say nonplussed.

"Why? How'd you get back?" Fred squeaks.

"I was trying to suck the entire world into Hell. I was evil. Then Willow did the curse and I wasn't evil but the world was still being sucked into Hell, so Buffy had to send me instead. And as far as coming back, I'm sort of unclear on that. Maybe the Powers needed another lapdog or maybe Buffy's love brought me back."

"And I thought I had past relationship problems." Fred says.

I drain my whiskey and motion to the bartender for another. It takes Lorne an inordinate amount of time to shuffle everyone out of the club, or at least it seems that way to me. When everyone is finally gone, Lorne sits down at the table with us.

"Are you still hell bent on doing this, Angelcakes?" he asks.

"Yes." I answer simply.

"You know they might just kill you for having the gall to do such a thing." He warns.

"I don't care. I'm going to find a way to do this. You can help me or not." I level a steady gaze at Lorne and Fred.

"We're helping, we're helping, and we'd just like to see you live through this Sugarplum." Lorne says.

"That's not even the point, Lorne."

*

-Buffy-

I drift in and out. I see people that aren't here anymore like Willow, Mom, my cousin, Celia and for some reason, Spike. They never say anything just come sit on the bed or pace the floor. I don't know what it means, maybe that I'm dying. Giles can't figure out why the poison hasn't run its course. It's been three days now. The gash on my chest is still angry red and pus-y..

Giles comes in to check on me. We both know it's only a matter time. He sits down on the edge of the bed with me and smiles but it never reaches his eyes.

"Hey," I say. My voice sounds hollow and echo-y.

"We're still looking into things, Buffy. I haven't heard from the watchers council yet, but I have hope." He says trying to appear cheerful.

I chuckle. It turns into a cough. "Giles, we both know their stance on vampires. This is a re-run and this time, no mystical blood or potion to save me."

"Buffy, we'll find something."

I shake my head. "Its okay, Giles, I'm ready. Slayers aren't supposed to live very long and I should have died last year when I jumped into that portal."

"Buffy, I'm going to call Angel. I know you left him but I also know what you both mean to each other, if this is-he would want to be here." Giles says.

My eyes tear up, not at the thought of dying. I really am okay with that. I know Angel won't be and I hate it when he hurts. I nod at Giles. I listen as he walks in the other room and places the call.

"Yes, this is Giles, in Sunnydale. Yes, well there's a problem of sorts here. Yes, Buffy is rather ill; I think it would be wise of him to get here as soon as possible. Yes, please do. Thank you."

He pokes his head back into the room. "He's out of the office but I gave Wes the message. He'll let him know as soon as possible."

"Thank you, Giles." I say.

Giles nods and slips into the other room, closing the door behind him.

*

-Angel-

I land hard on the stone floor. Lorne's portal had to open in the ceiling of where ever I am. I roll to my feet with a groan. Human constitution just isn't what vampire constitution is. Everything hurts more. I look around the empty cavern. Maybe Lorne sent me to the wrong place.

"Hello?" I shout to the emptiness. The sound echoes back at me.

"Mortal." The room reverberates with the sound.

I glance around but can see nothing. "So you noticed."

"How dare you disturb us."

"I did dare. I've got something to take up with you." I shout at the ceiling. I don't know why but that seems the most reasonable point of the room to shout to.

"Something to take up with us?" the voice asks.

"I want you to turn me back to what I was. I don't want shanshu." I say.

"This is because of the Slayer."

"It doesn't matter why. I don't want my shanshu. Take it back." I shout.

"She's dying." The voice says.

I recoil, my knees buckle and I fall to the stone floor. "No, she can't die. She's immortal. I made her immortal."

"She's been poisoned. There's no known cure for her. Eventually her body will waste away, the demon will give up and she will turn to dust."

"Save her. I know it's within your power to do so." I scream.

"Foolish mortal, you do not even know what you wish. First you demand to be returned to what you were, and then you demand that we save this girl that has already long ago served our purposes. Perhaps next you will ask that we put the sun out so that you can be with her without the guilt."

"You owe us this. Between the two of us we have saved your world more times then I can count. She's died twice for you and she's still standing. Why did you even bring us together? Was it fun to see how many ways we could hurt each other? How many ways our hearts could break? I'm tired of being your fucking puppet!" I scream.

I'm rewarded for my insolence. An invisible hand tosses me against the sharp stone wall. I feel the edges of rock cutting into my back as I slide to the floor.

"How dare you speak to us in such ways." The voice reverberates through the cavern.

"We've already gone over the I dare thing. I want you to make this right. I know you can. Take back time, fold it, swallow it I don't care how you do it. Make it right. She and I should be together." I crawl slowly to my feet.

"We gave you your chance to make things right. We allowed you to become human. You gave up that humanity. It is not our fault you are a foolish mortal."

"She was going to die!" I scream to the emptiness.

"She is the Slayer that is her destiny."

"She's a person, a person who likes crunchy peanut butter and chocolate, who likes shopping and these ridiculous shoes, a person who likes ice cream, she hates to wake up in the morning, she has this stuffed pig she sleeps with named Mr. Gordo, she can't stand math or history. She wears the oddest pajamas and smells like vanilla. She's a person, not a weapon in a never ending battle. Yes she's a slayer; she's so much more then that though." Tears spill down my cheeks. I don't know why I thought they'd listen.

There is silence. I guess they got tired of my tirade. There are no walls or doors in this room. I'm not sure how I'm going to get out.

"We underestimated her heart." A voice booms out. This one is deeper, bigger somehow then the other one was. "We knew you would fall in love with her. You could not help yourself. We did not realize she would fall in love with you."

"We're one soul. How could we stay away from each other?" I ask quietly.

"That was a mistake. We needed a strong soul to make hers. She was to be the greatest Slayer in history. An ordinary soul would not have been enough. It would have broken and shattered." The voice says.

"So make your mistake right. She can still be the greatest Slayer in history. I can help her. Together we're strong, apart we're dead." I echo the Mohra demons words back to the cavern.

"Take this to her." A blue glass bottle with a silver stopper appears from no where and hovers in the center of the room. I reach out to take the bottle and a flash of white light knocks me on my back.

I blink. Lorne and Fred are standing over me. I turn my head to the right and gripped tightly in my hand is a blue glass bottle.