Edward:
I'm exhausted. Since the fall of BC&N, there has been no respite. Buffy was hurt, and has required looking after, and then there's Jericho. Jericho doesn't have a soul. It shouldn't surprise me, but it does. So he's locked up downstairs. Angel mentioned a couple of spells to me that could restore a soul to a vampire, but as yet I'm having trouble finding them. One of them is a curse – a gypsy curse, which just screams cliché. Apparently it was used on Angel a couple of times, but not on any other vampires. That doesn't sound too promising to me. And Spike got himself a soul, though nobody's really sure how. Spike himself can't tell us, but apparently it involved a quest and a trial and there was a demon. That description doesn't particularly fill me with confidence either.
"Edward…"
"Yes?" I turn to see who spoke, but there's no one there. Odd… Perhaps I imagined it. I have been under a lot of pressure lately.
Someone walks in the front door and it takes me a while to recognise them.
"Ah, Mr Finn, how nice to see you."
"Hey, Ed, how's things?"
"Not going well, I'm afraid. I'm looking for a spell for Jericho, but our records are nowhere near complete enough to find what I need. When Rick gets back, I should be able to have more luck."
"I see… Jericho's the creepy guy with blond hair?"
"Would you call that blond? It's kinda dark…"
"Well, whatever. Umm… is Buffy okay?" I nod, and shrug.
"She's stable. I don't think she's awake yet."
"Could I see her?" he asks, motioning to the flowers in his hand. He must have gone to quite a lot of trouble to get hold of that many – they're quite expensive.
"Look, Miles, I know that you want to know if she's okay, and I swear that I'll tell you as soon as she wakes up."
"Bu…"
"And I also understand that you were the one that found her and you feel responsible. I get that. But right now all you can do is let her rest." He nods and turns away. "Do you want me to give her the flowers?"
"No, I'll give them to her myself." And with that, he walks out of the shop, head hanging slightly lower than when he walked in, and I get back to my books.
There's a muted cry from outside. He must be really taking this bad. Then I hear footsteps again, and once again a shadow falls over my work.
"Mr Finn, if you've…" But then I stop, because I've looked at the person standing before me. In a second I take in the tall body, the long jet black hair, the blue eyes and the dazzling smile. Well, this is a surprise.
"Hello Edward."
"Hello Kass."
------------------------------
Angel:
"Oh my god… Willow…"
"Well, at least someone recognises me. I've changed so much I was starting to wonder if anyone ever would again. That's the good thing about being resurrected; you didn't have to cope with living these past centuries."
"But… how?"
"Oh, it took me a while… Most people wouldn't have been able to, but I was naturally gifted, and I was determined to not let the world fall into the abyss I foresaw. Some good I did on that score," she said ruefully.
"What do you mean?"
"Angel, you've got a photographic memory. Don't tell me you haven't noticed the destruction all over the place. Buildings fall down and the rubble isn't cleared up for decades. The buildings are built so tall, but people never notice when they just disappear. Not one person has commented that the office of Barnett, Clarke and Nicholls no longer exists."
"So what happened?" She sighs.
"For a hundred years I checked portents, consulted oracles. All the while I was looking for the wrong thing. Then the war rolled on, and I couldn't stop what happened."
"The war? You mean the End of Days?"
"I mean nuclear. Technology had moved on quite a bit since your passing, and most of the big cities were protected. Unfortunately, the rest of the land was destroyed. Mountains were levelled, forests destroyed. Nobody dares go outside the Wall anymore for fear of the demons that made it their home. Of course, most people claim not to know anything about the demons. They don't go out because of mutants or fallout."
"So there's no wild country left in the world?"
"The poles were pretty much untouched. They're smaller now, though. And the equatorial regions of Africa, some of them are okay. Some people spend all they have just to get to the wild land that's still alive. Most of Asia and some of Eastern Europe was maintained as well, though corporations saw the remaining 'uncorrupted' land as a resource and built more cities."
"But we just collected an army from across the globe. If it's impossible to travel between the cities, how did we get so many?"
"I never said it was impossible. I just said it was difficult. And expensive. It makes me sick."
"What does?"
"The Earth is dying, Angel. And it wasn't demons or fiends or even the First. It was Man. Man killed the Earth, and with it they killed themselves. Anyway, that threw the forces of darkness into panic and the End of Days came around. The demons picked off the remnants of humanity until the good guys fought back."
"We won?"
"I thought you were smarter than that, Angel. A lot of demons were killed – ancient demons. A lot of vampires drank their last. Did you know that after the End of Days Spike became one of the oldest vampires? And since then even more have been killed. Most are lucky to live more than three hundred years. More people than ever know about demons now and it still isn't public knowledge. But that doesn't mean we won. The First is still out there, just waiting for a chance to strike. Ever since then, people have been a lot less curious about everything. And that's why we need Champions now more than ever."
"Is that why Buffy's here now? Did you bring her here?"
"No, it wasn't me. But the Powers That Be knew what I know. The Earth is dying, and a lot of the old ways are going with it. You know, when I first learned how to rejuvenate myself, I could do it all the way. I could make myself a teenager at will. Now though, the magic is fading, and I have to conserve my strength. In a matter of days, maybe hours, I'll be old and wrinkly again. It's the same with the Slayer. After so many generations, the Slayer spirit is not as strong as it once was. The Powers decided to bring back the greatest Slayer they'd ever had. I don't see why they bothered. If they'd just take care of the problem themselves they wouldn't have to go to the trouble." I nod. That's a sentiment that I'm only too familiar with. "Still, I don't think the Powers anticipated her complete withdrawal from life though, and so I had to give her something to draw her out."
"Me?"
"Mr Barnett and his companions decided you were worth a gamble. Spike helped things along, and I must admit that I did too. Hadn't you wondered why you're stronger than other humans - even stronger than most vampires?"
"I take it you had something to do with that as well?" She smiles slyly.
"I knew you, Angel. I decided to do what I could to make you fight for good, so I gave you the advantages you'd need. I could have allowed you to be turned into a vampire, then cursed you, but I assumed you'd just have left like last time. I didn't think it was worth the hassle."
"Why didn't you reveal yourself to Buffy earlier?"
"What would have been the point? I was helping you as much as I could under the circumstances. Look, Angel, this may be hard for you to accept, but I'm a very old woman, and I don't have much power any more. All I can do now is guide things from afar. Unfortunately, things are slightly more complicated now."
"You mean Jackie…"
"Hmm."
"That's something else I don't understand. How was Jackie turned? Spike said the Slayer instinct prevented them from drinking."
"I told you already. Why won't you listen to what I say? The Slayer instinct is getting weak. Jackie had much less power than Buffy did in her day. That's why the Powers brought her back. Unfortunately, now that Jackie has been turned, the Slayer spirit and the vampiric demon are going to struggle for power, and she's going to get stronger at an incredible rate. You have to kill her before she gets too powerful. There's no telling what she might do."
"Can't you help at all?"
"What do you think I am, Angel? I'm not some indifferent entity like the Powers - you wouldn't even be standing here if not for me." She pointed to a scrap of paper on the table. "That's the gypsy curse that gave you a soul, rewritten slightly so that it'll affect Spike's friend Jason. Maybe then you'll be able to convince the others to let him out of that cage you've locked him in."
"Can't you just curse Jackie?"
"No. It's… it's all about souls, Angel. Your soul defines who you are. Every human has one. Every vampire has a soul too, although it's demonic and lacking any human conscience. It is possible to have two souls in one body. This occasionally manifests as various forms of insanity, but in some cases…"
"Like mine."
"Precisely. A vampire with a human soul, a werewolf… or a Slayer. Slayers usually have a Slayer spirit perfectly coupled with a human soul, but now that Jackie has been turned…"
"She's got a Slayer spirit in conflict with a vampire soul."
"Adding a third soul could be extremely dangerous, for everyone involved. She has to die, Angel." Something strikes me.
"I only have one soul now, right? Being human, I mean." She hesitates.
"I'm afraid not. In order to allow you to keep your vampiric strength, I was forced to bond your demonic half to your human soul. They're fused permanently now, so you needn't fear losing either your powers or your conscience. It does mean that you'll have to continue to battle all those urges you've had to fight." I don't sigh. It would be too dramatic. I've been so used to having that demonic side of me in the background that I don't even notice it now.
"What about Buffy? I can't do this without her." She thinks for awhile.
"Very well. Bring her here, and I'll heal her. But only the two of you - I don't want the entire army turning up at my door. Go now. Whistler's waiting for you outside."