Chapter Eleven – Thus End the Curse
- Two minutes earlier -
"So do you think they'll find him?" Lorne asked.
"I have faith in Buffy, like I have faith in that I'll always be here to make sure the world stays out of evil" Angel replied as he leaned back in his chair.
"The future is a tricky thing Angelcakes – it's always changing"
"But you can read people and see the future..."
"Not so much anymore" when the vampire gave Lorne a confused glance, thePylian sighed and started to describe everything that he had seen in the last while.
"Well the course of past and future is about to drastically change. It is a path that is not set in stone and your grandchilde Spike is the key to all of it. Champions rise and fall, saviors live and die and then live again, it is a cycle that will always be apart of life. The balance of good and evil wedge war amongst us and we are their pawns in one very large chess match. The balance of evil has held the upper hand so long that it's only a matter of time before it wins... or loses"
"But what does Spike really have to do with this?" Angel grossed and turned his face so that his friend would not see its expression.
"I do believe that Spike is the one that will tip the balance – which it is his destiny to either tip it in the hand of good or in the hand of evil. The Fates have always made it that everyone might be wrong at some point. We are always meant to wonder about the future – if we knew everything, where would we be then?"
"I don't know... maybe a better place?"
Lorne went on discussing the value of the future itself, while Angel just continued to grumble. He was about to get up when a piercing wave of pain shot through him like he had just been stacked through the heart. He let out a cry of agony that caught Lorne's attention immediately.
"What's wrong? Angel please tell me what's wrong!" Lorne shouted as the vampire went to his knees on the jet floor.
"I...don't...know... so much pain" Angel hissed.
Lorne watched in shocked amazed after that whoever because a glowing light was being drawn out of him. It flickered and then took the form of a humanoid creature. I let out a sorrowful cry before it suddenly vanished, leaving Angel gasping for breath on his knees.
"What... what was that?"
"I have no idea" Lorne replied and then gasped in recognition as he saw Angel doing something new. "Angel... you're breathing!"
"What?" Angel coughed and then his hand flew up to his neck so that he could prove to himself that Lorne was joking.
But he wasn't. Under his flesh he could feel the steady beating of heart and in his ears he could hear the sound of his own breath being drawn in and out. It was in that moment that Angel knew that Angelus was gone for good. He was free and he was human again.
All over the world the same thing was taking place. A vampire gang in Moscow, Russia, fell to their knees in pain as the vapiris were freed from the curse that had plagued them all. They all looked at one another, full noting the remnants of the unlife they had lived and the horrors they had done.
In London, England, Drusilla sobbed as her vapiris left her as nothing more then a crazy human girl that could no longer take care of herself. It was in the end that the British authorities had to drag her away crying and screaming about there being now more vampires left to feed upon the humans.
In Los Angeles, California of the Untied States, Harmony Kendall once again was just that ditzy high school girl. She went home to her parents who were shocked to see that their daughter hadn't aged at all in almost four years. So simply to avoid the truth, she told them that she had been in a coma since graduation – it would be the smartest thing she ever said.
It happened to all vampires all over the world. There were no exceptions made and all vampires returned back to their humanness – some even went crazy from the horrors they remembered.
As Faith the Vampire Slayer left her life in prison, she felt her chosen powers fade. She had no idea why they had deserted her and also now that there were no more vampires left to fight. She was once again just a nearly normal young woman that had no calling telling her what to do. She was free.
The curse had been ended finally. The vapiris took the skies as they were neither dead nor alive. The Watcher's Counsel fell into ruin as they also found that vampire has gone 'extinct' and that all the girls they had been training no longer had Potential. And the world could be just a bit more saver in the years to come.
Buffy still continued to sob horribly and all Dawn could do was hide her eyes. It was a shock for all of them – Spike was dead. It all meant something different to each person.
For Connor; he had lost the only link to his long lost family. For Roho; he had lost his only real friend. For Dawn; she had lost a friend that was more like a brother. And for Buffy; she had lost her lover, her friend, her confidant and the father of her unborn child. The world had fallen apart bit by bit and now it just didn't matter.
It was in their mourning that they did not notice the miracle that was taking place. Spike's pale form had begun to glow and shimmer, taking on an almost translucent appearance. He twitched briefly as ever wound on his body healed and his features began to shift. His eyed slanted ever so slightly and his unblinking eyes looked as though they were fresh ice. His messy brown and bleached hair seemed to shine and his figure to grow more slender and more deadly. But in the end it was his ears pointing out elfin like that said that he was something more then human. It was then that he cried out and took in a lungful of air.
Has he bolted upright where he lay, Spike turned to stare at Buffy whom he had thrown off in his awakening. The slayer sat awkward on her behind staring back at him with just as much shock, as did the three teens that were with her.
"Spike!" Buffy cried launching herself at him and tighten her grip upon him.
"Must...breathe..." he gasped out as she strangled him with all her might.
"Oh! Sorry" she sat back from him as he ran a hand through his hair. "But you died! I saw it, I felt it. Who did you come back?"
"I don't know"
"Maybe I could explain that for you"
They all turned to the sound of an English accented voice that drifted over to them from the cave entrance. It was one of the vapiris. It was a young man that looked like an elf from mythical stories and when he smiled at them, the world seemed to come alive.
"Who are you?" Spike asked the man with a feeling of awe entering his being.
"I am Dymas and the name means father of Hecate for that is who I am. I was the one that brought pure magic into the world during the dark times when the Old Ones ruled this world. It was my race that wielded it and there were few humans adapt to it. I believe that was my first mistake"
"So you're the father of good magic?" Dawn asked uncertainly.
"Yes you could say that. I am also the elder of the Vapiris" Dymas turned his gaze to Spike and Buffy. "To answer your question child, all truths must be told. Your lover here was the first of my race to be born outside the curse. His father was a vampire and his mother was a slayer"
Buffy gaped at Spike and his eyes told her he hadn't known very long himself.
"So he was half of both, a free spirit that was brought into the world by two cursed beings. But it was that which drew the Drusilla to him. Her vapiris felt his presence pure and untainted and wished for him to join the rest of his race. Though with his wish to give you what you deserved, the curse was lifted from him and we all knew he was the one to set us free. So William had both as a part of him because he was both. When you saw him die... he did die – his human half perished, but the vapiris half lives on. It was that which allowed him to be reborn again"
He paused to let everything sink in before continuing.
"Due to all vampires returning to human form when their vapiris left them, none have powers any longer, even the slayer. But William retains his powers from his vapiris half and Buffy keeps her slayer power because the magnitude of power that her child possesses would surly kill her if she did not. They are the only ones to remain in tacked with the ending of the curse...if you know what I mean"
"But what does that make me then?" Connor asked when Dymas finished.
The elder looked on the boy with unwavering eyes, but he smiled none the less.
"You are just like any other normal human young man. It was by the higher powers that you were sent down to be conceived by two of the cursed and two of the greatest warriors at that. They gave to you powers that would help you survive in the years to come. I know that you were born from two races, but you were always human"
"Thanks... I think"
"What now?" Spike asked suddenly. "What will the vapiris do now?"
"We'll move on and we'll be one with nature once again" Dymas sighed dreamily. "Our time is over and this world is meant for you, but we'll be there... if you ever need us"
The vapiris elder turned his back to them and prepared to leave, glowing as his body became dimmer. But Spike staggered to his feet and caught up with the man before he could vanish.
"Wait! Can I ask you something important?"
"Whatever you wish"
"Do you know who my father was? In these caves I met again with the mother who raised me and she told me her story. Neither of us knew the identity of my father and I wish to know who he was"
There was a twinkle in Dymas's eyes as he grinned at Spike and laid a hand on his shoulder.
"Look within your heart and know the truth. Farwell"
That was all he said before he vanished, leaving everyone alone once again. But for Spike it was all he needed. In his heart the truth was right there all along. Dymas had been his father.
"What should we do now?" Buffy asked him as she came to his side, snapping him out of his momentary paralysis.
"Well I know where to start" he smiled and then turned to face Roho. "So kid, you want to come back to Sunnydale with use?"
"Surely he has family!" Buffy protested.
"Not those that care lady" Roho sighed. "Though Spike and your watcher are the closest thing in the world I have to family now. I would gladly come"
"You know Giles?" Dawn giggle.
"Yes I know Rupert. He was my teacher"
"You're teacher?" Buffy asked dumbly.
Roho groaned as he realized this was going to be a long day, but Spike relived him of that burden.
"He was taken by the Council at a young age because he's a descendant of the First Slayer's clan. It was old codger that taught him everything outside his family. All he was ever needed for was to guide me to my destiny and now he's free. He's like a brother now"
Spike smirked and threw an arm over Roho's shoulder and they both presided in making Bambi at the slayer. She laughed and caved in instantly.
"You have him trained well Spike. Sure he can come"
"But what if I don't want a brother?" Dawn whined.
"Live with it" Roho smirked and she shuddered at the boy's perfect Spike impression that caused the boy to laugh.
"Well Dawn" Buffy grinned evilly. "You getting a brother is just the punishment for you getting a boyfriend without talking with me first. And he's Angel's son at that"
Dawn blushed and tore her hand out of Connor's as if she had been burned, only to receive a scowl from the boy.
"Oh so you're the Poof's whelp" Spike smiled. "The brood, the glower and the aerodynamic hair, couldn't be anyone else's"
When they all returned to Angel and Lorne, more room had to be made. Spike had the best time mocking Angle about the fact that it was he all along that had made the broody brunette human gain. It was like a National Lampoon's Family Vacation on that jet as they returned to Los Angeles and none of them could have wanted different.
But it was a shock for everyone when they did return however. Cordelia went on the rampage at Angel and Connor, while all of Scoobies, even Willow, were back to cause a ruckus for the returned Spike and Buffy. Giles was ever so shocked to see Roho again, all grown up and everyone was even more shocked to find out that Wesley had once helped him find his way back to Giles when he had gotten lost after just arriving in England.
They were all one big family now. It would have its dysfunctional moments as they all tried to adjust to the pressures without braking and only the future knew what was in store for all of them in the days to come.
Don't worry; this isn't the end just yet. I think that the next chapter might be the epilogue, so it'll be my turn to hang this story up as finished soon. I'm glad that so many people love this story and I just wanted to say thank you. So please stay tuned for the last chapter in the days to come! Later!