( Splitting headaches)

(How do you break someone out of Hell?)

Drusilla dragged herself up the stairs to her apartment. It was three in the night, and she was absolutely trashed. Tonight she had killed twenty vampires, and one chaos demon. And as if that wasn't enough, a sword-wielding idiot that took her for an Immortal attacked her.

Man!! Is every Immortal going to be just as stubborn? Eventually she had been forced to knock him flat out on the ground and take away his sword. A little devil had risen in her, and she had chanted the sword down into the asphalt besides his head. Hell would freeze over before he managed to get it out of the asphalt and back.

But now she was absolutely exhausted. She opened the door and staggered into the bedroom. There she fell asleep almost before she could place her head on the pillow. But the sleep didn't last long before the old and familiar pain in her head told of an oncoming vision.

And what she saw was one of the worst visions she had ever had. She saw Angel in Hell. And she knew instantly that it was Angel, not Angelus. Somehow his soul was back, and in great torment.

The vision changed and she saw the last fight between Buffy and Angelus. And suddenly she saw a snapshot of Willow. Sitting in a hospital bed. Chanting in ancient Romanic. The picture changed back to Buffy and Angelus. And just as she saw the mouth of Achatla open, Angelus's eyes flashed golden for a second, and he staggered towards Buffy. Utterly confused.

The curse had been replaced, and Angel was back. But now there was no way back, in order to save the world Buffy had to kill Angel and shove him through the vortex. So that's the reason she ran away for months, Drusilla thought. It was a miracle she ever came back. She had to be even stronger than the ex-vampire had thought.

This was so wrong. She didn't deserve to go through such a terrible thing. And Angel. He didn't deserve to be in hell. Angelus yes, but not Angel! And she felt a destiny broken, as she realised he was meant to be one of the greatest warriors of the light, fighting besides his beloved Buffy.

This was all wrong! Something had to be done. But what could she do? She pondered that for a long time, until a plan formed. A plan so outrageously insane that she first pushed it aside. It was impossible. But then she started thinking. What if it worked? And the more she thought of it, the more it appealed to her. And as she drifted of to sleep, the decision was made. She would do it!

***************************************************************************

Next morning she packed, and started her journey towards Bucharest, Capitol of Romania. It was time for a visit to the Highest Council of Elders.

She nearly missed her flight, when she got lost at the airport. Never had she thought that it would be so big. But thanks to a nice man in his fifties, she reached the plain at the last minute.

It was with quite an effort she forced herself onboard. To fly fifteen thousand feet above ground scared the living shit out of her. Man! People nowadays are crazy, she thought as she settled down in a seat by the window.

In spite of her fear, she was curious too. But right now, fear was the one that ruled. She could feel the plain move slowly, for so to pick up speed, until the landscape around became blurry. And she could feel the whole aeroplane shiver underneath her.

"Jeeeesus Chriiist!!" She yelped as the plane took of. Receiving odd looks from the other passengers. "Oh holly mackerel!" she nearly shouted as she looked out, and saw the landscape far underneath them. And then with a voice filled with awe: "God bless the Wright brothers."

"Yes, I'm with you on that one." The passenger besides her said.

She turned towards him. It was the nice man from the Airport.

"Sorry about my outbursts," she said with a sheepish grin. "Its my first time on a plane."  

"I sort of figured that," he said. "Nothing is like the first time. Sadly the experience starts to get uninteresting after that. Until it just is another means of transportation."

"Somehow I doubt that," she said and peered out the window again. Astonished she saw the plain pass through a thin layer of clouds. Then even higher, until they looked like small fluffy balls of cotton, and unbelievable far beneath that again, she could see the ocean. Or she figured it had to be the ocean, because of the bright blue colour. It looked just like a never-ending blue flat surface.

She shook her head and sat back, and half wondered if she still were on the same planet she was born on. And totally overwhelmed by everything, she fell asleep.

After a long travel, and after changing plane in London, she finally reached Bucharest. Now she had to find the Council, witch wasn't easy. She hadn't a clue to where they were, and she was only almost certain that they still existed.

But finally she found a lead. After visiting God knew how many churches, and looking through endless protocols she found proof that the Council still existed. And she found references to a catholic priest, Father Benedict, who knew of their whereabouts.

It was just one thing. The church where he was a priest was the one that held some of her most painful memories. The Saint Marcus Church, the same church in which Angelus had chosen to change her. As she walked up the church floor the memories made her want to run screaming away. Everything flashed before her eyes. Every single detail, Angelus chasing her through most of Europe, for then to end up in Saint Marcus church, Angelus dragging her as close to the Altar as he could bear, before sinking his teeth into her neck.

And on the exact same spot, she now saw an elder man kneeling before the Altar. For a moment her fear made her turn and begin to walk back out. But then she saw for her inner sight what torments Angel was going through. And she knew that she had to follow through with her plan.

She took a deep breath before she walked up to the priest. "Father Benedict?"

The elder man looked up from his prayer, and looked at her with stunningly green eyes. "Yes my child. What can I do for you?" Drusilla helped him as he rose to his feet with difficulty, and they walked out of the church.

"I understood it so that you may would be able to help me," she said as they sat down on a bench on the sunny side of the church. "I need to contact the Highest Council of the Gypsy Elders."

As she spoke the words, she saw his back stiffen. And he suddenly became cautious. "It has been many years since last I lead an outsider to the Council. Why do you wish to speak to the council, and with what right do you seek to contact them."

"I wish to speak to them about a great wrong they have been doing for a hundred years. And it is my birthright as a seer of the gypsy clan Calderash."

He looked at her with sharp eyes. "You say you are a seer of the gypsy clan Calderash? But their last seer died a hundred years ago."

"Yes I know, Father."

"But then, how could you be a seer," the old priest asked.

She sighed. "Because I am that seer. I am Drusilla of the gypsy clan Calderash, The twice gifted, seer and slayer. Turned Vampire, and gone insane. I am back, back amongst the living. As it stand written in the prophecy codex."

'From the blood of the strongest,

The twice gifted will resurface.

And she will once again take up her destiny.'

"So Father Benedict. Please take me to the Council, so that I can fulfil my destiny."

The old priest didn't say anything. He just raised, and started to walk back into the church. He walked up to a sculpture of the Madonna with the child Jesus. He pressed a hidden button in her hand, and the whole sculpture swung aside. Revealing a hole in the floor.

"Walk down the stairs, and you will find the Council. God have mercy on your soul," he said and walked away.

For a few moments she stood there, grief-stricken by his animosity. Then she got a hold of her self and walked down hearing the sculpture slide back in place behind her. She walked down the steps in total blackness. The only thing preventing her from falling was her vampiric night vision.

At the bottom of the stairs she stopped before a massive oak door feeling a tremendous power of magic behind it. Then she drew her breath, and stepped inside. With that she suddenly found herself standing inside a half circle of wooden pillars. On each pillar an Orb of Thesula laid on a black velvet pillow glowing brightly.

The floor was covered with beautiful Persian carpets, with strange magic symbols woven into them. The same type of carpets covered the walls too. Five old people sat behind a table in front of the half circle, and Drusilla was awed by the sheer power they radiated.

"Most honourable Masters of Wisdom. I have come to seek your help to stop She knelt before them, and greeted them in the traditional way of her clan. She touched her forehead with two fingers, lowered them towards the ground and then to her heart.

a wrong that has been going on for a hundred years."

"What is it that you need our help with, child of Calderash," an old woman with long silver shining hair said.

Drusilla rose to her feet, and stated with strong voice. "I have come to beg you to stop my clan's act of vengeance towards the souled Angelus. And I also ask for access to the ancient Gypsy magic. I ask this not for myself but for the good of mankind."

Drusilla bowed her head and waited for the Council's reply. And felt a surge of fury as all five of them erupted into a violent mock laughter.

"Who do you think you are to ask us of anything, least of anything this, to stop the Calderash clan's rightful act of vengeance towards the vampire formerly known as the Scourge of Europe? The most vicious vampire known to mankind, counting the Master."

"Who are you to dare question their holly right and duty of vengeance?"

Drusilla felt rage bubbling up within her, and for a second her face contorted into her vampire visage.

"I am Drusilla the seer of the Calderash clan. The Woman Angelus tortured, raped, killed and turned! And I demand that you stop my clan's vendetta towards the souled Angelus. It is about time they understood that they are letting the soul suffer for something the demon is guilty of. The demon Angelus and the souled Angelus that calls himself Angel, are two different entities. You should stop punishing the soul and start punishing the demon.

I demand that you give me access to the ancient scriptures because I have seen the true destiny of the souled Angelus. He is to be one of the two great ones. He is meant to fight for the good of mankind besides his beloved slayer. And it's far past time that we eliminated all the loopholes in the curse, and give him as much peace of mind as he can take."

The room became silent as the grave. And she could almost hear their minds working at top speed. And she sensed them communicating with each other telepathically. Then the woman with silver hair(obviously their leader) rose.

"We understand what you are saying, and agree that a great wrong has been done. And we would have stopped the vendetta towards Angelus, the souled one, and secured his soul, but as you know, that would all be in vain, because of the fact that he is in hell. Furthermore, the fact is, no Gypsy today has neither the power nor the knowledge to retrieve a person from hell."

"Let me worry about that," Drusilla said, and let witch fire sparkle over her fingertips. "I posses the power, so let's make a deal. You give me access to the ancient Gypsy magic, and you make Angels soul permanent, if I get him out of Hell."

The Council communicated telepathically amongst each other for a while, and she sensed the discussion was heated. Then the leader of the Council raised her voice.

"Not since the days of the legendary seer Cassandra has anyone tried to retrieve a soul, much less a person from hell. If you can pass the wards set out by Cassandra, three millennia ago, then we will give you access to the magic library. As a show of our regret of the way we have dealt with Angelus, we will immediately start the process of securing his soul." The silver haired woman lifted a hand and the two pillars in front sank into the floor.

"Follow me and I'll lead you on your way."

Drusilla was lead into another room, in which she saw a silver door. "Here I will leave you. You are to go through that door," the Council-leader said. "Good luck to you. And I can see now why our chronicles speak of you as the most promising one since Cassandra.

I can feel your power. It would have been quite frightening, if it weren't for your strong connection to the Powers That Be. Welcome back Sister." With that she walked back to the main room, where Drusilla already could hear chanting. Slowly Drusilla walked up to the silver door, and hesitated. She could see an almost erased writing on the door. In Ancient Romanic, it said:

Walk past this door with profit in mind,

 

And be forever cursed with poverty.

Then she opened the door and revealed a staircase, which went even further down than she already were. She drew her breath and walked down into the darkness. Darkness? Not quite. A weak phosphorescent light seemed to come from the cold stonewalls and become stronger as she walked down. Then she again stood before a door in massive silver. And again it had an inscription.

Walk past this door with demon blood

And perish in flames from the pits of hell

Drusilla felt her heart race, and her mind threatened to panic. How could she ever pass this ward? It was impossible. But then she again got a vision of the torments both Angel and Buffy were going through. And besides, she owed Buffy far more than her own life. Determent again, she grabbed the door handle and stepped inside. And she was immediately engulfed in flames. But oddly enough she could feel no pain. And the flames seemed to not reach her. She started to run down the stairs as fast as she could, and as she could se the next door, the flames suddenly disappeared. Somewhat short of breath, she stopped before the third door. This one made of clear crystal. The phosphorescent light were now so strong, that she had no difficulty reading what was written on it:

Pass this door with evil in mind

And suffer eternal pain in the demon dimension

She opened the door and let out a whistle. Before her was a huge room. Filled with shelves about to burst from the burden of books. And several doors led into similar rooms. In an open place in the middle of the room, stood a table and a chair. And to her utter surprise, a computer. Even here, Drusilla thought. Even here, at the core of the Gypsy magic, has the computer age done its approach.

Somewhat hesitantly she sat down by it. On the screen she was told to press enter. She did, and suddenly the room were filled with the sound of a voice.

"Welcome, seeker of knowledge. Enter your quest, and if what you seek still exists, you will have it."

Feeling a bit scared over this modern monstrosity called a computer, she for a moment thought about searching manually through the stacks. But gave it up as impossible. She would die from old age before she was half finished. So she gathered her courage, and wrote down her quest.

RETRIEVAL FROM HELL.

A few seconds later, the machine told her where to look for material on the matter. The list of books on the matter and matters related to it was surprisingly large. And with a sigh of frustration she got to work.

End of chapter five