Chapter 5
"I think I'm going to be sick," Tala moaned, as she staggered out of a shadow. Jerit followed, looking pale, and a little bit wild-eyed. Angel looked behind him, a look of understanding on his face.
"It's a little hard the first time you Shadow Walk," Angel said quietly.
"I think I understand what you mean when you say it's dangerous," Tala grumbled, then gasped, doubling over.
Angel looked around their surroundings, as Tala threw up behind him.
"A modern-day ghost town," murmured Angel.
Under the light of the full moon, buildings sagged in various states of decay, as well as many that were just piles of wood and metal. Old abandoned cars and fallen telephone poles were the only sign that they were standing on a road.
As they moved down the jagged asphalt, creatures of unknown origin moved deeper into the shadows. Angel, with his enhanced night vision and smell, knew that many of the shapes were human. His lips thinned with anger.
"I feel it," Tala said, shivering.
"Feel what," Angel asked.
"The Hellmouth."
Angel nodded. Sunnydale practically reeks of evil. That which holds the Hellmouth closed is weakening.
A scream that was Angel's name ripped through the air. He stopped. Angel knew who screamed for a certainty to the very essence of his being. "Buffy," he whispered, then ran towards the source of the scream, the others following.
"Now, now, Slayer. Is that any way to treat your host?"
Buffy struggled against the chains that held her, gazing murderously at the repulsively deformed face of the creature below her.
"You will not get away with this, Talon," Buffy hissed in rage.
"Oh, but I think I will, Slayer. Nothing can spoil my plan…this time."
"And how will you do that," asked Buffy, seething. "You have attempted two other times to open the Hellmouth, and failed. One: when you killed me, and two: when Angel caused the Soul Restoration. Mind telling me how you plan to keep us from interfering this time?"
With a sneer, Talon answered, "By destroying your soulmate: the Souled One, Slayer.
"You know how sickening it is to realize that a Slayer and a vampire are soulmates? It's disgusting!
"Oh, I will also have one or two other witnesses to his destruction: the Elven Princess, and her eldest brother, if my information is correct. It will be fun watching the prophecy of the Eternal Soulmates be destroyed. Ah! It seems they are here."
Sounds of fighting announced the sudden appearance of Angel from the shadows, as Tala and Jerit fought their way inside. Angel quickly glanced around. He noticed Buffy chained to a platform above the opening to the Hellmouth.
"Buffy," he whispered, then ran and leaped onto the platform.
For a moment, Angel crouched where he had landed, gazing at Buffy, then reached out and touched Buffy's cheek. Tears of blood fell down his face, as he at last truly comprehended that she was alive.
"I love you," Angel whispered, before breaking the chains that bound Buffy.
The chains broken, Buffy threw her arms around Angel, and held him as she cried. She whispered his name repeatedly, proclaiming her love.
"A touching scene…but very foolish," Talon said matter-of-factly below them.
Chains suddenly surrounded them, pulling them apart, as Tala cried out, "No!"
Tala and Jerit tried to go to Buffy and Angel, but found themselves unable to move, bound by Talon's minions. They watched in horror as the platform disappeared, leaving Angel and Buffy floating above the Hellmouth.
Talon laughed cruelly, then said, voice booming, "Watch the fall of the great Eternal Soulmates, Elven Prince and Princess, and know that the vampires have won at last!"
Light surrounded Buffy and Angel. Angel screamed, straining against the chains, as he began to smoke.
"No, I will not lose you again! ANGEL," Buffy cried out as she fought to break the chains that bound her.
Angel's scream rose, as he burst into flame, then stopped suddenly, as he exploded into dust. Buffy's head fell forward. She stopped struggling, her body limp, as though she had fainted.
"IT IS DONE!" Talon shouted in triumph, in the sudden silence.
"No," Buffy whispered quietly, calmly. She raised her head, her face shone with triumph, "It has barely begun, demon."
The light surrounding Buffy grew brighter, centering on her, as Jerit and Tala found themselves at last able to move, as those holding them let go and fled, in fear of what was happening. The light was blinding, when it suddenly disappeared, showing something that none had ever even thought to see.
Buffy floated, wings of pure light keeping her in the air. Angel lay cradled, unconscious, in her arms. Slowly, Buffy descended to the ground, her wings folding behind her, and looked at Tala. Her eyes were like the night sky: stars shinning within the void of space. She held out her arms, and said, "Protect my soulmate, while I deal with the one called Talon . . . and with the Hellmouth."
Tala fearfully took Angel into her arms, and nodded. Buffy turned from Tala, and gazed at Talon. Talon looked into Buffy's eyes. He screamed in agonizing fear, clawing at his chest.
"Feel the rage of the ones you have slain, Talon," Buffy whispered with death in her voice, "and feel their revenge!"
Light burst forth from Talon's chest, and surrounded him. In a moment of infinite stillness, the ancient vampire was destroyed. Not even a speck of dust was left.
"Justice has been served," Buffy said quietly, the power of the universe within her voice. If filled the night sky, and caused chills down Tala and Jerit's backs. "He who caused the imbalance among the forces of good and evil is destroyed. The Slayers and the elven peoples are avenged!"
Buffy walked over to the opening of the Hellmouth, and gazed down into it. Calmly, she stepped over the opening, her wings unfurled, and slowly fell.
A moment later, the ground shook, as light poured forth from the opening. The roar of a creature enraged suddenly filled the air, then was silent. The ground became still, as the light disappeared.
Buffy rose from the opening of the Hellmouth, as she hovered above it, she pointed at the opening. Light surrounded it, then was gone, and the ground was whole.
"It is done," Buffy said tiredly, as she settled to the ground, and as her wings disappeared. "The Hellmouth is no more."
She fainted.
Jerit walked over to Buffy, and picked her up. He turned, looked at Tala, and asked, "What now?"
Tala sighed, then said, "First thing we do: get out of here. After that: we wait for the Eternal Soulmates to wake up."
Angel lay in the void between waking and sleeping, feeling a hand gently stroking his hair. A voice softly called his name, shocking him awake, as he recognized it.
"Buffy," he whispered, as he saw her face above him.
She smiled, her green eyes shining with joy and laughter, and said, "About time you woke up, sleepyhead."
Angel slowly sat up, and gazed around him. He sat on a blood-red canopy bed, with matching satin sheets. The bed was the only furnishing in the black-painted room.
"Where are we," he asked.
"At Blood-Hunter Enterprises, in my guest bedroom below ground," said Tala, as she came into the room, Jerit right behind her. "This isn't just my company, it's my home. That's why I have runes protecting this building. Good to see that you're no longer in a coma, Angel."
"How long was I out?"
"About a month," said Tala, "and the last three days you've been moaning on about blood and Slayers."
Angel winced, and leaned forward, sighing, then asked, "You remember when I said that the Soul Restoration lessened the hunger of the demon?" Tala and Jerit nodded. "Well, once every year I have to drink blood, and every hundred years I have to drink Slayer's blood."
"Is there anything that I can do to help with this," Tala asked.
"I need to get in contact with the Watchers, and tell them that it's time."
"You know," Buffy said quietly, "you don't have to go to them now. You have me. I am a Slayer."
"No," Angel corrected, "you are the Slayer." He sighed. "But I can't drink from you. Your blood's too powerful. Even that one time I drank from you I could tell that your blood is far too rich for me…or any vampire. I dare not drink your blood, except like when I was poisoned."
Buffy frowned, then murmured, "I wonder why."
"Don't know, nor do I want to find out," Angel said. He then added, "At least not right now."
Angel sat in thought for a moment, then was struck with a realization. "I died," he gasped.
"Yes, you did," Buffy said quietly, "and I brought you back."
"How," Angel asked.
"I would like to know that myself," Tala murmured, as Jerit nodded in agreement.
Buffy looked between Tala, Jerit, and Angel, then said, "It was kind of like how I was brought back, except more complicated.
"When I was brought back, there was just my soul. With Angel, I had to bring back his soul…and the demon which inhabits his body."
"Why," Angel asked, confused. "Why did you bring back the demon?"
"I couldn't bring back your soul without repercussions," Buffy explained, looking directly at Angel. "If I had not brought the demon back, you wouldn't have remembered your life as a vampire. Also, I know about the day you were human, Angel."
Angel stared, and opened his mouth to speak, when Buffy placed her fingers gently over his lips. She shook her head.
"There is nothing to say. I understand why you did what you did, and I accept it. Also, unconsciously, you might have known that that was not your time to become human…or whatever.
"Now, the reason I brought that up is because as a human you remembered what happened as a vampire. The reason you remembered is because the curse was still in affect. But as a human, your soul couldn't be taken from you. So in a way the curse couldn't be lifted.
"Angel, about the demon residing within you? I took some liberties. You don't have to worry about getting burned anymore. You also have a pulse. Faint, but it's there. You're somewhere between alive and undead. The demon is under very tight control. All you have to worry about is the bloodlust. I couldn't stop that without destroying the demon, since it needs blood to survive. Oh! You're also not a vampire anymore."
"Then, what am I," Angel asked.
"You're like me: a Guardian Angel."
Angel snorted, smiling faintly in amusement.
"I know it's funny, but it's the bargain I had to strike with the Powers That Be to get you back. Also," Buffy paused, then said, "they called you Prince and Guardian of the Night, and said that you are supposed to have the Bloodstone, which the vampiric Elven Princess possesses, as a mark of your rank."
"What," Tala exclaimed, as Jerit started.
"It can't be," Jerit whispered to himself, unheard by the others. "Are they the ones we have kept the Bloodstone for, all these millennia? The Prince and Princess of the Night? They must be."
Tala walked over to Buffy, her eyes blazing silver. "Why must he have the Bloodstone!"
"Because it is his birthright," Buffy whispered. She looked at Tala, then asked, "Do you know what the image carved onto the Bloodstone is?"
"Yes," Tala said wearily, then asked, "why?"
"Angel," Buffy said, "take off your shirt, and show Tala your back, with the tattooed birthmark you have."
"Buffy, that's not a 'tattooed' birthmark," Angel said as he took off his shirt. "That's just a tattoo I got when I turned eighteen."
"Why has it never faded, Angel? Why is it as distinct and clear to see as the day you got it? Also, why did you get it," Buffy asked, gazing into Angel's eyes with hidden knowledge.
Angel stared at Buffy, as his eyes went wide with understanding. He said, "Because I saw it in a dream, and I knew that I had to put that image on my back. It was also the crest of my family, but was changed after I became a vampire."
"There was a reason for the crest, Angel," Buffy murmured, as Angel turned his back to Tala.
Tala gasped faintly, when she saw the tattoos. "Great stars!" She reached out a hand, and touched the winged-lion. "It is the same," she whispered. Then said, already leaving the room, "I will get the Bloodstone. Jerit, come with me."
When Tala and Jerit were gone, Angel sighed, and pulled Buffy into his embrace. "It's hard to believe that you are here," he murmured into Buffy's hair.
"You think it's hard! I'm touching you, and you feel it! You have no idea how many times I wanted you to feel me holding you while I was your Guardian Angel. The only time I could was when I needed to 'nudge' you out of the way of some danger." Buffy paused thoughtfully, then said, "Actually, I still am your Guardian Angel, but you're mine, as well. The Powers That Be want it that way, and I think I know why too," Buffy concluded in a giggle.
"Make us Guardian Angels to each other," Angel said thoughtfully. "Why would they…oh!" Buffy's giggles turned to laughter, which she muffled into Angel's chest; her shoulder's shaking. "We would be watching over each other anyway. So why make someone do what we're already doing for ourselves?"
"Exactly," Buffy said grinning into his chest, her laughter lessening.
Angel chuckled, and smiled faintly, the said, "You know, I think I did feel you a couple of times, when I wasn't battling some evil. Usually when I thought about wishing you were holding me, right before I fell asleep.
"Really," Buffy whispered, wide-eyed, her laughter gone.
"Really," Angel whispered firmly. He turned his face towards Buffy, as she turned hers towards him.
Jerit and Tala walked into the room, to see Buffy and Angel locked in a passionate kiss filled with all the emotions that they had always had to hold at bay…until now. Tala sighed, then asked, "You guys want me to give this to you later, or are you even aware I'm here?"
Buffy and Angel pulled away guiltily, brows touching, and looked at Tala who scowled, then at Jerit who chuckled. Buffy was grinning, while Angel smiled softly in that heart-melting way of his. They pulled further apart, and Buffy held out her hand, saying, "I'll take it."
Tala handed over the Bloodstone. It glowed blood-red in the light of the room as Buffy took the gem into her hand. Tala and Jerit watched as Buffy reached out and took Angel's and her hands, and covered the Bloodstone. A faint red glow surrounded Angel and Buffy, then was gone. Buffy and Angel removed their hands, each holding a silver chain, and a blood-red gem.
Tala gasped and Jerit murmured quietly, "They are the ones then," as they saw that the Bloodstone was now in two pieces. Both pieces had an image carved into it. One a winged-lion, the other a wooden stake. Angel placed the winged-lion Bloodstone over his head, and let the gem settle over his heart. Buffy did likewise with her own.
Buffy and Angel gazed at one another, oblivious to all else.
"Never will we be parted," Buffy whispered.
"Misfortune to any who dare try," Angel whispered in reply.
"For we are Eternal Soulmates," Buffy and Angel said together.
Tala felt chilled to the very center of her being. She wondered who these creatures were, and found herself asking, "Who are you?"
Buffy and Angel gazed at Tala. Angel said, "We are the protectors of humanity, the keepers of the peace between humans, demons, and whatever else there may be. We are the Guardians of the Night. We are Prince and Princess of the Night, by right of who and what we are."
"Well said, Prince of the Night," said Jerit behind Tala.
Tala felt another chill go down her spine. Never had she felt such power given to a title of rank before.
The Eternal Soulmates are now joined forever, but what are they? For they are more than what they say. What lies in wait for these two beings? Tala thought with a shudder of premonition.
THE END