The Dream

by spikeNdru

Chapter 4

Note: Although still rated PG-13, this chapter contains character death.

Wesley hung up the phone and turned to his guests.

"That was Angel. He's on his way over."

Wes wondered if he looked as disconcerted as everyone else. The level of nervous tension in the room increased by several degrees. Dawn was the first to break the silence.

"Wes? You know that place about a block away called Finnegan's? That's a bar, isn't it? With pool tables and stuff?"

Wesley looked confused, but nodded. "I believe they have a pool table. They do have a dart board."

"Good," Dawn said. "You and Spike should go there sometime. To play pool. Or play darts. Have some fun. How about now? Now would be a good time to go to Finnegan's for an hour or two. At least an hour. You've been working really hard and you deserve some fun. At least an hour's worth of fun. Maybe two. I'll be fine here with Giles and Connor. And Angel. You and Spike go and have some fun."

"You tryin' to get rid of us, Bit?"

"Well, DUH!"

Giles looked at her admiringly. "Actually that's a very good idea. We all want the initial meeting between Connor and Angel to go as smoothly as possible. If there are fewer people here, it might make things more comfortable for them both."

"And Wes an' I just happen to be the select few?"

"The few. The proud. The brave," Dawn intoned.

The three Brits looked puzzled.

"U.S. Marine recruitment slogan," Connor offered, helpfully.

In any event, I think Dawn is right," Wesley said. "Come, Spike. I believe we are being banished to Finnegan's."

xxxxxxxxxx

Dawn's timing was impeccable. Only minutes after she shooed Spike and Wes out for a fun night of beer, darts and snooker, there was a hesitant knock at the door.

Giles opened the door to see Angel, frozen in place. He had never seen a look of such fear, hope, vulnerability and naked longing on anyone's face. Especially on Angel's usually impassive countenance.

"Come in, Angel," he spoke gently, stepping back to allow Angel entrance.

Angel seemed to be mentally willing his feet to move. His usual assurance completely gone, Angel currently looked every one of his 250-plus years.

Angel entered the sitting room and saw Dawn and Connor sitting close together on the couch, Dawn gripping his right hand tightly in both of hers.

Angel looked at Connor, drinking in the sight of him as a man lost and wandering in the desert might view a cool, green oasis. His mouth opened and closed, but he couldn't seem to make any words.

Connor smiled nervously. "Hi, Dad. Come on in."

With the stumbling gait of a sleepwalker, Angel approached an armchair facing the couch. He lowered himself into it and again tried to speak, but forgetting to breathe. Giles slipped into the kitchen to make a pot of tea.

Taking a deep breath, Angel finally spoke. "Connor. I don't know what to say to you."

Dawn helpfully prompted, "How about 'Connor, I'm really sorry I messed with your memory and I'll never do it again. I did it because I love you and thought I was doing the right thing.'?"

Angel nodded. "What she said." He added, "I am very sorry if you've suffered because of a decision I made. I do love you, son, and I couldn't see any other options. You were in such pain, I just wanted to take the pain away. I don't have a lot of experience in healing pain; I've spent most of my life causing it. So, I did what I could, which may have been the wrong thing to do, but I just. . . I don't know anymore. I don't know if what I did was right or wrong, and if it was wrong, I don't know how to fix it. But I'd like to try, if you'll let me."

Connor looked searchingly into Angel's eyes. "I don't know either if you did the right thing. I do know that the life I now remember was pretty bad. But it doesn't feel as if I actually lived it. The life that feels like mine is the one with the happy family, the normal home and school. Camping trips with my father. Fighting with my sister. Meeting Dawn. The other lifeQuor'toth, the Hyperion, HoltzI have these memories now, but they're like the memories of a horror movie seen in a theater. I can remember them, but they're not real to me. Not like my real life. If I had to actually live in those memories, if they were real and I didn't have anything to fall back on, I don't know if I could stand it. So . . . I guess you did make the right decision, after all."

In the blink of an eye, Angel was on his feet, pulling Connor into his arms and holding him as if he'd never let go. Angel breathed in the scent of him and felt like his heart would burst. "Thank you, son," he whispered into Connor's hair. "You've given me. . . absolution."

xxxxxxxxxx

Harmony had finally finished the last of the typing in her In-basket, and was dusting her unicorn collection before preparing to go home. Sensing a presence, she looked up.

"Ms. Morgan," she said in surprise, "Can I help you?"

Finally registering that Lilah wasn't supposed to be here, she put both hands on her hips and looked at Lilah accusingly. "Wait a minute. You're dead!"

"So are you. Let's not get personal about it."

"Yeah, but I'm un-dead. Are you another ghost like Spike? 'Cause that would just be, like, too weird."

"Harmony, I need to see Angel."

Crossing her arms, Harmony prepared to defend her boss from unwanted intrusions, from either the quick or the dead. "And what is the nature of your business with Angel?"

"It's private. It concerns Connor."

"Who's Connor?"

"Harmony, just tell him I have very important information for him regarding Connor and Sahjhan. It's imperative that I speak with him immediately. Now. Just do it!"

Harmony felt a strange "whoosh" of something that seemed to enter her body. Her hand, of its own volition, picked up her purse and took out her car keys. "Lilah, come with me," she said in a voice not her own, and grabbed Lilah's non-solid arm, hurrying her down to the employee parking lot where Harmony had left her car.

This was really weird, Harmony thought, it felt like there was another person inside her. But she knew that person didn't mean her any harm and was actually trying to help Angel, so she shrugged and decided to go with the flow. They were apparently on their way to Wesley's apartment, so she'd let him figure it out.

xxxxxxxxxx

Spike and Wesley returned to find Angel, Giles, Connor and Dawn relaxed and laughing as Connor related a humorous incident from school. Wes heaved a sigh of relief at the evident lack of metaphorical bloodshed. Spike gloatingly slipped Dawn a 20 and whispered, "Your share of the spoils, Bit. Took it off Wes playin' 8-Ball."

Wes went to the kitchen to prepare yet another of the ubiquitous pots of tea and Dawn followed him to get cokes for her and Connor. She touched his arm with concern. "Are you okay, Wes? I mean with Angel being here and everything? 'Cause it must be hard for you."

Wes smiled and responded, "I expect I'll manage. But thank you for your concern. Things went well with Angel and Connor?"

She nodded. "They're cool. I just hope everything works out for you and Angel, too."

"Thank you," Wes said again as Dawn returned to the living room with the cokes and he continued his tea preparations.

There was a knock on the door, which Dawn offered to answer, as she was already standing.

"Oh, hey Dawn, how've'ya been?"

"Harmony?"

Running up against the invisible barrier refusing her entrance, Harmony looked at Dawn expectantly.

"Uh, Dawn? You have to invite me in."

"I don't think so!"

"What? Why not?"

"Cause the last time I invited you in somewhere you tried to kill Xander and Anya got hurt and you kidnapped me!"

"Yeah, well, I did. Sorry. But I'm not evil anymore."

"Uh-huh. That's what everybody who's evil always says, 'I'm not evil.' Like anyone would fall for that lame cliché."

"I work for Angel! I've been off human blood for months!" Harmony got an inspiration. "I wear pink! Evil guys always wear black!"

"Spike wears black and he's not evil. Maybe pink is like the 'new black' for evildoers."

Wesley appeared in the hall behind Dawn, asking "Is there someone at the door?"

Dawn giggled. "Yep."

Harmony addressed Wesley, ignoring Dawn. "Will you please tell her that pink isn't evil?"

Wes looked thoroughly confused.

"Or, wait," Harmony continued, "It's your apartment, you can invite me in. Never mind about the pink. Lilah has important information for Angel."

"Lilah?" Wes questioned, becoming even more confused.

"I'll explain it allI'll tell you everything if someone will just Invite. Me. In!"

xxxxxxxxxx

Wesley's apartment currently held more guests than the sum total of all visitors since he had let the place. And a motley crew they were, too! Two former Watchers trained in ancient mysticism, three vampirestwo of which were souled, two teenagersone that was the prophetic child of two vampires, and the other a mystical key older than the written word. And let's not forget two etheric presences, one souled with a link to the Powers That Be, the other under perpetual contract to the Senior Partners.

Darla had apologized to Harmony for hijacking her body and Angel promised a bonus in her next paycheck.

Everyone's attention was now focused on Lilah as she revealed the pertinent details of the Senior Partner's apocalypse. When she had given them all the information she had, Lilah looked regretfully at Wes and stated that it was time for her to return.

"Thank you, Lilah. I won't forget this. And if I'm ever in a position to do you a service, be assured that I will try to repay you."

"Don't worry about it Wes, you already tried. Remember? That meant a lot to methat you tried." Lilah sketched a salute to the others. "See ya around." And she disappeared.

Angel was skeptical. "This could be a trap. We'll have to operate on the assumption that she's setting us up."

"She's not," Darla demurred. "There was no duplicity involved. She had a final choice to make and she made it."

Wes looked at Darla thoughtfully. "When this is over, if we win, do you think . . ."

"I'll make the suggestion that Lilah be released from her contract. But that's all I can do Wesley. I don't have that kind of power. I'm really only here because of Connor. They chose me to carry him, so they allowed me to see it through to the finish. When this is over, he'll have fulfilled his destiny or he'll be dead. Either way, you won't see me again. But I'll do what I can for Lilah."

Angel led the tactical planning. "We have to find Sahjhan before they do. Wes, Giles, is there any kind of binding spell you can use to keep Sahjhan trapped until we're ready to deal with him?"

Giles answered regretfully, "There's a possible spell, but I can't perform it on my own. The last time I used it, I was imbued with the combined power of a coven in Devon, and even then, the spell was broken in a matter of minutes by the power of the witch I trapped."

Angel continued, "Okay. If we find the urn first, we can release and deal with Sahjhan on our own terms. If they get there first, we lose that advantage and are mostly reactive. Giles, Wes, hit the books for anything remotely useful. I want us armed with as much firepower as possible. Spike, your main job is to protect Dawn."

Spike nodded, satisfied with that assignment.

"Help out where you can but keep the bad guys away from her. Giles, see if you can come up with any protection spells specifically aimed at Dawn."

Connor spoke up. "Wouldn't it be better for her to stay out of the line of fire?"

Dawn began an indignant protest, but Angel cut her off.

"We don't know what mystical tricks they have up their sleeves. It's a safe assumption that they'd find her wherever she was. In this case, it's better to stay together where we can keep an eye on each other." Angel turned to his Assistant. "Harm, you in?"

"Sure. What do you want me to do?"

"First off, change your shoes."

Harmony admired the high heeled sandals she was wearing, then sighed. "They aren't real fighty, are they? Do you want me to go home and look for something else? Although my whole shoe wardrobe pretty much looks like this. In different colors and styles, of course."

Wesley went to the hall closet and after a moment of searching, returned with a worn pair of Doc Martens. "These should be about your size."

Harmony accepted them gingerly, holding them away from her with the tops of the boots pinched between her thumb and forefinger. "Ewww. They look like combat boots. Who would wear big, clunky boots like this?"

Spike raised his eyebrow and glanced at his own similarly clad feet.

"Well, yeah, and we all know what cutting-edge fashion sense you have, Spike. Besides, I'm a girl!"

Wesley explained. "They should fit you, Harmony, they belonged to Faith."

"And I say again. . ."

"Besides," Dawn interrupted, "You're going into combat, Harmony, combat boots are fashionably appropriate."

"Oh yeah, that's right. Okay, I'll wear 'em. Do I get one of those cute green and brown and tan abstract print jumpsuits, too?"

"We're goin' to Wolfram and Hart, you nit, not bloody Viet Nam!"

Dawn offered a pair of pants and sweater. Since Harmony's wardrobe was now complete, Angel got back to business.

"Harmony, your job is to protect Wes and Giles when they're engaged in spell-work and need to concentrate. Plus, back them up in a fight."

Harmony wanted to make sure she was absolutely clear on the rules.

"So it's okay if I hurt people? You won't fire me or like fire me?"

"Kill anyone who isn't us," Angel responded.

Harmony smiled happily. "You got it, Boss!"

Angel looked regretfully at his sonthe son he might finally have had a chance to get to know and like. But there wasn't time. That seemed to be the story of his life. Always A day late and a dollar short.

"Connor, you and I will take on Sahjhan, himself. He's corporeal now, so he should be killable, but he's strong and he's fast and we don't know enough about him to anticipate what other skills or powers he might have. He knows about the prophecy, so his main goal will be to take you out before you get to him. I'll be right there with you. Darla, if you can come up with any mojo from the Powers, feel free to jump in at any time. Okay, people, we all know our jobs. We only get one shot at this. If we fail, it's the end of the world as we know it."

"And I feel fine," Spike sang.

The adults stared. Dawn, Connor and Harmony burst into laughter.

"REM," explained Connor.

Which, from the looks on the others' faces, made everything as clear as mud.

xxxxxxxxxx

The Scrappy Gang prepared for battle. Angel, Connor, Dawn and Giles carried swords. Giles added a crossbow strapped to his back. Spike and Wesley each selected a battle axe and Wes was additionally armed with his semi-automatic and plenty of ammo. For good measure, he strapped on his custom made collapsible blade in its forearm sheath. Harmony, imagining herself in her combat boots stealthily prowling the jungles and rice paddies of Viet Nam, decided a machete would be her most fashionable choice. Both Giles and Wes filed their pockets with talismans and other enchanted articles necessary for various spells they had memorized. Spike had unearthed a fire-retardant Nomex suit from somewhere that he insisted Dawn wear. It went under her clothes like long-johns and didn't restrict her movements, so she decided to humor him.

They were ready.

As they left the apartment, Spike leaned over and whispered to Dawn, "I dunno, Bit, feels sort of anti-climatic without the stirring motivational speeches, eh?"

Dawn rolled her eyes and they both heard what sounded suspiciously like a hastily muffled snort of laughter from Giles behind them. Spike and Dawn shared a knowing grin.

xxxxxxxxxx

Entering the elevator from the subterranean garage housing Angel's fleet of cars, Angel took out a slip of paper with the codes Lilah had given him. After keying in a series of numbers, a button appeared out of nowhere beneath the control panel. This was the same procedure that was used to access the White Room, only this time the elevator descended.

The doors opened on a warren of ancient caves. Some were painted with runes and appeared to be spell warded. Some were lined with steel and turned into vaults. Some were beautifully enhanced with limestone formations where water seepage through tiny cracks and fissures had created stalactites, stalagmites and other breathtakingly beautiful cave formations.

Connor closed his eyes and sniffed the air, turning slowly. He suddenly stopped and indicated the direction they should take. Angel nodded and the group seamlessly flowed into battle formation.

They formed a phalanx, with Angel taking point. One step behind him the next line formed. Spike on his left, Connor on his right, flanking Dawn, whose position was directly behind Angel. The rear guard formed the third line. Giles on the left, Wesley on the right, with Harmony in the center. Spike produced a feral grin. They couldn't do any better than thisthe left-handed warriors on the left, right-handed on the right. Dawn totally surrounded by the three vampires and her supernatural boyfriend. They were ready to go kick some demon ass.

As soundlessly as possible, they stalked through the labyrinthine structure, Connor's mystical connection with Sahjhan guiding them. As they passed through a largish cavern, the air was rent by the sounds of terrible screams and flapping wings. Creatures flew at them from all sides.

"What the hell. . ." Spike was engaged in battle before he could finish his sentence.

"Vampire bats?" asked Angel slashing at the biting, screaming creatures.

"Flying monkeys?" Harmony contributed.

Giles and Wesley simultaneously came up with the correct answer. "Harpies."

They fought their way through the cavern. One grabbed a handful of Harmony's hair and nearly ripped it out by the roots. "Not. The. Hair. ," she growled, shifting into game face and bit off its arm. She frantically patted her head, making sure her hair was intact, before slashing at another with her machete.

The only exit to the cavern was a low tunnel. Angel crouched and entered it, followed closely by Connor. Spike shoved Dawn in next, then entered himself. Wesley and Giles followed, with Harmony bringing up the rear in case any of the Harpies tried to follow on foot. They would be unable to fly in the tunnel.

Emerging in the other side, they checked for damage. Connor had a cut on his bicep, Giles received a shallow slash on his forehead and a section of Harmony's hair was ¼ inch longer than the rest. Giles re-filled his quiver with crossbow bolts as Wes jotted down the details he could remember in his pocket notebook.

"Amazing," Wes muttered. "I had thought they were myths."

"Everybody all right?" Angel asked. "Let's go."

They hurried past an opening on the right which spewed out noxious clouds of green gas, and from which low growls could be heard. The humans held their breath until they were safely past.

"Wow. Glad we didn't have to go in there!" Dawn commented. "That was toxic."

"Most assuredly, yes," Wes concurred.

They had been walking for 15 minutes without encountering any other obstacles, but the route Connor indicated continued to twist and turn until everyone was feeling slightly disoriented.

"How big is this bloody place anyway?" Spike wondered.

"We may have been crossing into and out of pockets of other dimensions," Giles commented. "Which could expand our dimensional physical space almost indefinitely."

"Oh, joy!" Dawn responded. "We shoulda left a trail of breadcrumbs."

"Has anyone noticed that it seems to be getting brighter in here?" Connor asked. "Or is it just me?"

The amount of ambient light did seem to be increasing with each step they took. There was an actual golden glow coming from around a bend on the left. Making the turn, the Scrappy Gang stopped dead. In front of them was a deep gorge; slightly to their left, a waterfall flowed down the near side of the gorge. The water sparkled in the sunlight, refracting a rainbow of colors.

"How come we're not on fire?" Harmony wondered.

Wes answered, "I believe Giles was correct when he postulated that these caves contain dimensional pockets. We may be in one now. The Pylean sun did not affect Angel and that appears to be the case with this sun also."

"There doesn't seem to be any way across the gorge," Giles commented.

"There's a trail down this side," Angel pointed out. "It looks difficult, but not impassable."

They gingerly picked their way down the trail, finally coming to rest on a ledge with no apparent way to descend further.

"Where do we go from here?" Dawn asked.

Spike had been surveying their position and he thought he had the answer. "Behind the waterfall, of course. The secret passage is always behind the bloody waterfall, innit?"

Picking their way carefully across the wet rocks, they crossed behind the thundering spray to discover an arch leading into a green meadow, studded with wildflowers. The rock wall at the opposite end of the meadow appeared to be their goal. Everyone felt vaguely uneasy as they regarded the perfect, pastoral scene before them.

"You just know anything this pretty and Disneyesque has gotta be covering up a world of bad," Dawn commented.

"Well, yeah," Spike replied. "That's pretty much a given."

Sticking closely together, they started out across the meadow. Suddenly, a lovely yellow flower grabbed Giles' leg and pulled him down. Spike whirled and slashed at the stem with his axe. The flower screamed. Dozens of tiny, beautiful fairies with razor sharp teeth surrounded them, biting at all exposed skin. Their weapons were ineffective against such tiny adversaries.

Wes searched his pockets for a spell to vanquish them, while the others swatted wildly at the horde. "Nasty pests," Giles gritted out.

The fairies seemed to freeze in mid-air, dropping like stones. Wes turned to see Harmony effectively neutralizing them with the contents of a slender silver can. "Mega-hold hairspray," she announced with satisfaction.

Carefully avoiding the grabby flowers, they made their way as rapidly as possible across the meadow. As they approached the wall of rock, Angel noticed an opening shaded by a large boulder. He glanced at Connor, who nodded. Angel slipped behind the boulder.

The passage appeared to return them to the caves, but he scouted ahead to check. The passage opened out on the opposite side of the gorge, so Angel returned to get the others.

Stopping to rest briefly beside the gorge, Giles began applying antiseptic to everyone's fairy bites. Wesley was the first to notice their missing comrade. "Where's Harmony?"

"Bloody hell!" Spike grabbed his axe and ducked back into the passageway.

Slipping around the boulder into the meadow, he stood stock still and burst into laughter at the sight of Harmony acting as matador with an enraged unicorn.

Harmony waved a pink paisley silk scarf. The unicorn lowered its head, pawed the ground and charged. Whipping out of the way, Harmony waved the pink scarf again. The unicorn dug in its hooves, spun and charged again. Harmony whirled and with a flash of her machete, cut off its horn. The unicorn continued on for several yards before dropping. Spike applauded.

Stooping to pick up the horn, Harmony joined him at the entrance to the passage. "This world is just wrong, Spike!" she said sadly. "A world where the unicorns are evil just shouldn't exist." Spike put his arm around her shoulders in a comforting gesture and led her forward to join the others.

As they approached the entrance to a large cavern, Angel put up his hand in the universal gesture for STOP. Hearing noises from the cavern, they approached slowly and as soundlessly as possible.

Entering the cavern, they fanned out but remained in battle formation. They all heard the sounds nowa combination of breaking pottery, human cursing and the growling of a jungle cat. The sounds abruptly cut off as the vampires heard what sounded like a large cat sniffing the air. The phalanx continued to edge forward. A figure stepped out from behind some stacked boxes.

"Gunn?" Angel asked incredulously.

Slitted yellow eyes looked back at him and Gunn grinned, exposing the fangs of a predator. "Gunn and more. Much more," the being hissed. "You're too late, Angel."

Teotixouxin/Gunn threw back his head and roared. In response to his summons, a variety of catlike creatures attacked. Some seemed to be normal panthers and jaguars, while others had the bodies of men with the heads of cats. The Scrappies spun into action. As the battle raged, Angel attempted to clear a path to Gunn.

His golden eyes glittered. "You're too late," he roared again, removing the stopper from the large urn he held. With a whoosh of white vapor, Sahjhan materialized and grinned, enjoying the chaos of the battle going on around him.

His eyes lit on Angel and his grin broadened. "Angelus. Finally," he said as Angel leapt for him. He batted Angel away like a fly, but Angel tucked and rolled and was on his feet in an instant, sword flashing as he fought his way back to Sahjhan.

Giles was firing crossbow bolts bringing down the leaping cats. Wes was hacking with his battle axe in his right hand and firing shots with his gun in his left. Connor and Dawn were fighting back to back, blades whirling.

Angel attacked Sahjhan again, stabbing him through the upper right chest muscle, just below the collar bone. Sahjhan grasped the crosspiece, wrenching the hilt out of Angel's hand. Angel shifted into game face and flew at Sahjhan.

Gunn withdrew an ornately carved ritual knife from inside his suit jacket and started for Dawn. He raised the knife, grabbing her by the hair. Darla sparkled into existence, blinding him for the split second it took for Spike to leap between them. Gunn plunged the knife into Spike's chest and opened his mouth wide, feline fangs flashing. With snakelike speed he struck at Spike. Calling on every bit of vampiric speed he possessed, Spike turned enough that the catlike fangs buried themselves in his shoulder. In the instant that Teotixouxin was thus immobilized, Spike tilted his head and ripped Gunn/Teotixouxin's throat out. Spike grabbed the head and twisted. Hearing the neck snap, he dropped the body.

"Not this time!" he snarled.

Pulling the sword from his chest, Sahjhan disappeared and reappeared before Connor. The clash of metal rang out as Connor parried Sahjhan's thrust. The blows came faster as they engaged. Connor was a blur of motion, never allowing Sahjhan to get the upper hand; but unable to press his own advantage, he was forced to fight defensively.

The general battle continued around them as Connor searched for an opening in Sahjhan's defense. Time seemed to slow for him and the unrelenting clash of steel blades became his world. Taking a step backward, his foot struck an uneven patch on the cavern floor and he faltered slightly.

Angel saw Sahjhan's sword begin its downward arc toward Connor. He leapt between them in a burst of vampiric speed and felt the sword bite into his own neck. Angel's action gave Connor the precious seconds needed to recover, and the last thing Angel saw as he turned to dust was Connor neatly decapitating Sahjhan through his own ashes.

xxxxxxxxxx

A piece of the cavern wall slid back to reveal the elevator and the battered and bloody survivors staggered toward it. No one spoke on the way back to Wesley's apartment. Giles drove as a sobbing Harmony clung to Wes. In the back seat of the SUV, Dawn sat between Spike and Connor, tightly griping each of their hands.

Once again gathered in Wesley's apartment, they sat in silence.

Giles finally spoke. "Has anyone considered what we are to do now?"

"I want Buffy," Dawn spoke in a small voice.

"I believe I have her itinerary with me," Giles responded. "I'll contact her and I'm sure she'll come as soon as possible."

"No, not here," Dawn said. "Can't we go to wherever she is? I want to see her and I want her to meet Connor. And Spike, I think you should come, too. She needs to know that you're alive and that you kept your promise to her. This time, you saved me."

xxxxxxxxxx

Angel woke, lying on a hero's bier draped with purple cloth, a sword lying on his chest under his right hand, both covered by a massive shield. He opened his eyes to see three warrior angels touching down on the ground next to him.

Each had a wingspan of about twelve feet, it appeared to Angel, but upon landing, their wings neatly folded on their backs, so he couldn't be sure. One pair was bright gold and glinted when the angel moved. A second pair was of shining silver and the third was a glowing black, so shiny they appeared etched in neon blue.

"Welcome, Champion," the silver winged angel spoke. "You have done well. I am Michael. These are my comrades." He indicated the being with the golden wings. "Gabriel. And Azrael," he added, gesturing to the warrior with the glowing black wing feathers.

Azrael spoke. "You have done well, Champion of the Powers. It is now time for you to make a choice. You may remain here, working for the greater good from this level, joined with the warriors you knew as Alan Francis Doyle and Cordelia Chase or you may accept your reward and become human, to live until you die in your own allotted time. We give you this choice freely. Do with it what you will."

Angel felt dazed. He was no longer a vampire and no longer under a curse. He had earned the right to be happy. Happiness, or the potential for it, was such a foreign concept to him, he wasn't sure he could grasp even the idea. His mind was in a whirl.

An eternity spent with Cordelia, whom he had grown to deeply love and who knew him better than anyone ever had and loved him in spite of it all. And with Doyle, the closest thing to a true friend he had ever had. Continuing with the mission, giving him a sense of purpose, a reason for his continued existence.

His other choice was to become human again. To feel the sun on his face and to feel his heart pumping. To search out his first love and see how they felt about each other now that he could take her out of the shadows into the sun. To grow old and dieto live rather than simply exist. To give Buffy the final choice between a living, breathing human and an ensouled vampirebetween him and Spike.

Angel smiled. It seemed like all the choices he had ever made up to this point were between the lesser of two evils. This was the very first time he would get to choose the greater of two goods. This choice held the potential for happiness. After all the years of brooding and restraint, he wondered how happiness would feel.

He couldn't wait to find out.

THE END

Author's Note: I had given my warrior angels different names, but my beta, Lena, found these descriptions at "sanctuary-of-enlightenment" and the descriptions matched my angels so well, I renamed them.

The Archangel Michael: Governs the spark and surge of life force energy. . . is often with Azrael at life's end to assist in your transition. . . He is the Great Protector, the Warrior slicing away all that impedes your natural progress through life, and that that holds you back. . .

The Archangel Azrael: He is the only Angel with black wings and has no halo for his light is within him. . .As the Archangel of Spirit, he is the one to take you Home at your transition, cutting with his silver scythe, the silver cord that binds your spirit to physical form and guides you towards the Light. He is therefore known as the Angel of Death. He is also at the transition into physical life, at your birth. Also Master of the Akasic Records

The Archangel Gabriel: He is connected with our emotions, cleansing, loving and intuitive self. He can aid you with your spiritual insight, growth and travels on the astral planes. . .Present at our births, he occasionally turns up at our final transition to ease us through.