NINE
Cole moved through the swirling mists that were the home to the Avatars. Lucan and Mellock were all ready waiting for him. Mellock was holding a potion vial as Cole approached.
"You sent for me?" questioned Cole.
"Yes," said Lucan. "We've decided that the Slayer cannot wait any longer to achieve her new destiny. This turn of events with The First Evil and Wyatt Halliwell has shown us that they are not strong enough to defeat both. If that should happen, the balance between good and evil will be irreparably altered. That cannot be allowed."
"We want you to give the Slayer this," said Mellock, handing the potion vial to Cole.
"What is it?" Cole asked.
"It won't harm the Slayer," said Lucan. "It is simply a rare potion that will cause her to sleep for a time. When she awakes, she'll have the power they need to defeat The First and Wyatt Halliwell. Once that happens, the balance will be maintained. And the Slayer can then move on to her new destiny."
"Just what is this new destiny?" asked Cole. "I doubt she'll drink this without at least a few answer. Answers I don't have to give her."
"As we said," said Mellock, "that has not been made clear to us yet. But she cannot achieve it if she dies. So these current evils must be defeated. She will need her new power to do that. It might be best if she did not know she was taking it. That would make matters ultimately easier."
"It's going to be tricky," said Cole. "She's usually with someone. I'll have to wait until she's alone before I can give her this. It might be a while."
"At the first opportunity," said Lucan. "Then, this entire matter will be behind us. And we can move on to other matters. You've performed your duties well. I can see we made a wise choice in asking you to join us."
"Why not just make the amulet available to them again?" questioned Cole. "It would certainly make it possible for them to defeat The First."
"That's problematical," said Lucan. "The First would be expecting that. It will be guarding against that very closely."
"But more importantly," said Mellock, "it's simply too dangerous. You saw what happened when you used the amulet at Sunnydale. If effectively defeated The First but the cost was enormous. The entire town was completely destroyed. Luckily there were few innocents in the town at the time.
"That is not the case here. There would be no logical reason we could use to try to evacuate San Francisco. When the power of the amulet was unleashed, can you imagine the hundreds of thousands who would die? Not to mention the destruction of virtually the entire city."
"I thought that was because of the Hellmouth collapsing?" questioned Cole.
"Partially," said Lucan. "It certainly accounted for a larger area of destruction than normal. But the power of the amulet is incredible. And there are certainly more magical beings in San Francisco than there were in Sunnydale. That magic would certainly account for a larger destruction area in San Francisco than simply the amulet alone."
"I see," said Cole. "I guess it is too dangerous. So this seems to be the best course of action."
"Exactly," said Lucan. "But you can rest assured that only those involved in this are at risk this time. And with your help, we can keep that risk to a minimum."
"I guess so," said Cole. "I'd better get going. I'll need to watch her closely if I'm going to take advantage of the first opportunity to give her this."
"Very well," said Lucan. "Simply keep us apprised of any developments."
"Of that you can be sure," said Cole.
Cole took the potion and walked away into the swirling mists. Lucan and Mellock watched as he disappeared into the mists beyond.
"It's nearly finished," said Mellock. "I must admit I'm a bit surprised he agreed so readily. He's been one of the tougher recruits to make let go of his past. But as you said, he's performed admirably."
"I knew he was a wise choice," said Lucan. "For nearly six years we've wondered how we would deal with this latest threat. Your solution has proven to be exactly what we needed."
"Yes," said Mellock. "I'm glad it will be over soon. Maintaining the balance becomes more difficult each year."
"I know," said Lucan. "But it will soon be over. And things can return to what they should be. It will be nice to have the old days back."
"So true, my old friend," said Mellock. "So true."
* * *
Cole sat looking at the vial Mellock had given him. It would only make her sleep, they had told him. Well, he knew it would do much more than that. If it made her sleep, it would probably induce a coma. Which meant any of her defenses would be down while she slept.
There was only one reason Cole could think of that they would want Buffy's' defenses down. They had obviously planned carefully for this event. He wasn't quite sure why they wanted to accomplish this particular goal but he was sure what that goal was. Which also didn't make any sense.
Unless it was only the first step in the end of the plan. And it wasn't hard to figure out what the next step would be. With their powers, it would be easy for them. Especially if Lucan, Mellock, and Trembor joined forces. They were the original Avatars. They would be the most powerful.
Except for him, of course. In their entire history they had never had a half demon as an Avatar. They believed his powers as Belthazor had been destroyed. But he was still half demon. Nothing could change that.
Buffy had been through a great deal in her life. He could empathize with that. His own history mirrored hers to some extent. They had both died twice. They had both been betrayed by those closest to them. They had both fallen in love with their enemy. And they had both turned against their superiors. Buffy hadn't vanquished hers but she had abandoned them all the same.
Cole was pretty sure what the Avatars were planning. Their self-proclaimed goal was to maintain a balance between good and evil. In a way, Cole could understand the need for this balance. He had been on both sides of the fight.
But if there was going to be a balance, it should be a natural balance. The Avatars sought to impose an artificial balance. That was as bad, if not worse, than forcing one side or the other to be superior.
Cole knew what he had to do. It was not going to be easy, he knew that. But then, as someone had once said, anything worth having didn't come easy. Resolute in his determination, Cole vanished from the realm of the Avatars.
Cole moved through the swirling mists that were the home to the Avatars. Lucan and Mellock were all ready waiting for him. Mellock was holding a potion vial as Cole approached.
"You sent for me?" questioned Cole.
"Yes," said Lucan. "We've decided that the Slayer cannot wait any longer to achieve her new destiny. This turn of events with The First Evil and Wyatt Halliwell has shown us that they are not strong enough to defeat both. If that should happen, the balance between good and evil will be irreparably altered. That cannot be allowed."
"We want you to give the Slayer this," said Mellock, handing the potion vial to Cole.
"What is it?" Cole asked.
"It won't harm the Slayer," said Lucan. "It is simply a rare potion that will cause her to sleep for a time. When she awakes, she'll have the power they need to defeat The First and Wyatt Halliwell. Once that happens, the balance will be maintained. And the Slayer can then move on to her new destiny."
"Just what is this new destiny?" asked Cole. "I doubt she'll drink this without at least a few answer. Answers I don't have to give her."
"As we said," said Mellock, "that has not been made clear to us yet. But she cannot achieve it if she dies. So these current evils must be defeated. She will need her new power to do that. It might be best if she did not know she was taking it. That would make matters ultimately easier."
"It's going to be tricky," said Cole. "She's usually with someone. I'll have to wait until she's alone before I can give her this. It might be a while."
"At the first opportunity," said Lucan. "Then, this entire matter will be behind us. And we can move on to other matters. You've performed your duties well. I can see we made a wise choice in asking you to join us."
"Why not just make the amulet available to them again?" questioned Cole. "It would certainly make it possible for them to defeat The First."
"That's problematical," said Lucan. "The First would be expecting that. It will be guarding against that very closely."
"But more importantly," said Mellock, "it's simply too dangerous. You saw what happened when you used the amulet at Sunnydale. If effectively defeated The First but the cost was enormous. The entire town was completely destroyed. Luckily there were few innocents in the town at the time.
"That is not the case here. There would be no logical reason we could use to try to evacuate San Francisco. When the power of the amulet was unleashed, can you imagine the hundreds of thousands who would die? Not to mention the destruction of virtually the entire city."
"I thought that was because of the Hellmouth collapsing?" questioned Cole.
"Partially," said Lucan. "It certainly accounted for a larger area of destruction than normal. But the power of the amulet is incredible. And there are certainly more magical beings in San Francisco than there were in Sunnydale. That magic would certainly account for a larger destruction area in San Francisco than simply the amulet alone."
"I see," said Cole. "I guess it is too dangerous. So this seems to be the best course of action."
"Exactly," said Lucan. "But you can rest assured that only those involved in this are at risk this time. And with your help, we can keep that risk to a minimum."
"I guess so," said Cole. "I'd better get going. I'll need to watch her closely if I'm going to take advantage of the first opportunity to give her this."
"Very well," said Lucan. "Simply keep us apprised of any developments."
"Of that you can be sure," said Cole.
Cole took the potion and walked away into the swirling mists. Lucan and Mellock watched as he disappeared into the mists beyond.
"It's nearly finished," said Mellock. "I must admit I'm a bit surprised he agreed so readily. He's been one of the tougher recruits to make let go of his past. But as you said, he's performed admirably."
"I knew he was a wise choice," said Lucan. "For nearly six years we've wondered how we would deal with this latest threat. Your solution has proven to be exactly what we needed."
"Yes," said Mellock. "I'm glad it will be over soon. Maintaining the balance becomes more difficult each year."
"I know," said Lucan. "But it will soon be over. And things can return to what they should be. It will be nice to have the old days back."
"So true, my old friend," said Mellock. "So true."
* * *
Cole sat looking at the vial Mellock had given him. It would only make her sleep, they had told him. Well, he knew it would do much more than that. If it made her sleep, it would probably induce a coma. Which meant any of her defenses would be down while she slept.
There was only one reason Cole could think of that they would want Buffy's' defenses down. They had obviously planned carefully for this event. He wasn't quite sure why they wanted to accomplish this particular goal but he was sure what that goal was. Which also didn't make any sense.
Unless it was only the first step in the end of the plan. And it wasn't hard to figure out what the next step would be. With their powers, it would be easy for them. Especially if Lucan, Mellock, and Trembor joined forces. They were the original Avatars. They would be the most powerful.
Except for him, of course. In their entire history they had never had a half demon as an Avatar. They believed his powers as Belthazor had been destroyed. But he was still half demon. Nothing could change that.
Buffy had been through a great deal in her life. He could empathize with that. His own history mirrored hers to some extent. They had both died twice. They had both been betrayed by those closest to them. They had both fallen in love with their enemy. And they had both turned against their superiors. Buffy hadn't vanquished hers but she had abandoned them all the same.
Cole was pretty sure what the Avatars were planning. Their self-proclaimed goal was to maintain a balance between good and evil. In a way, Cole could understand the need for this balance. He had been on both sides of the fight.
But if there was going to be a balance, it should be a natural balance. The Avatars sought to impose an artificial balance. That was as bad, if not worse, than forcing one side or the other to be superior.
Cole knew what he had to do. It was not going to be easy, he knew that. But then, as someone had once said, anything worth having didn't come easy. Resolute in his determination, Cole vanished from the realm of the Avatars.