Buffy was silent for a long moment as she tried to think of a snippy comeback, pleased as inspiration struck. "Well, first of all, let me just say it's always refreshing to see a group of people come up with a creative name for themselves. 'Powers That Be'… yep, I can tell you slaved for hours over that one-"
"Silence," one said softly, holding up a hand, and to Buffy's amazement, though she continued to speak, no sound came out of her mouth. "Strange," the same one mused, circling her slowly, "That you should prove to be a survivor for so long and still not realize that there is a time to talk and a time to listen."
"Listening," Buffy bit out shortly, stunned when the word was articulated aloud and snapping her mouth shut in surprise before adding, "Talk fast. I have a very important-"
"What?" one demanded cuttingly. "Shopping spree? This is not what you are. You must never forget what you are-"
"Newsflash!" Buffy snapped angrily, holding up a hand. "Slaying? Forgotten! I'm just a normal-" she paused, biting her lip, then shrugged. "Well, okay, unnaturally strong girl who's taking a much deserved-"
"And is Angel… forgotten?" demanded the soft-spoken one gently, and as Buffy paled, inhaling sharply, she realized, acutely, that for all his lack of pretense compared to the others, he was the one to watch out for.
"Working on that," she declared with flippancy she wasn't sure she would EVER actually feel where Angel was concerned, frowning as the Powers had the nerve to exchange knowing glances.
"And making no progress whatsoever," one supplied cattily and Buffy's eyes flashed as she began,
"Oh, I wouldn't go that far-" before she once more heard the word,
"SILENCE!" She snapped her mouth shut, feeling her patience grow thinner by the second before the tallest one elaborated, "He is in need of you."
Buffy's head snapped back as though she had been slapped before she snorted, letting out a short, bitter laugh. "Okay, clearly we are not talking about the same Angel here, because mine? Not in need of anyone, much less poor, pathetic little Buffy who loved him back when-"
"Loved," the quiet one echoed, cutting her off gently. "What an intriguing choice of words."
Buffy felt off balance yeah, he is definitely the one to watch out for for a moment before she forced herself to shrug casually.
"Yeah, well, to hear lit professors talk, diction is crucial, but you know what? To me it just is." She sighed, shaking her head before bending down to pick up her cell phone from where it had fallen, trying to collect her thoughts as she did so. "If you have something to say, then say it. Otherwise I was having a really nice talk with-"
The short one smirked. "Foolish girl. You think we come without a purpose?"
"Then WHAT," she began, beginning to grow angry before the quiet one tilted his head to the side, extending his hand. "Do not listen. See."
Buffy's brow furrowed in genuine confusion. "See what?"
"Take my hand and see where he is now."
--
Buffy let out a sharp cry as she fell painfully to the floor in a dimly lit room filled with a group of people who positively reeked of evil sitting around a table with…
"Angel?" she questioned aloud before snapping her mouth shut, relieved and unsurprised to see that everyone in the room seemed thoroughly oblivious to her presence.
"If the next words out of your mouth are 'kill Spike', we just might have to kiss," she heard her ex-lover say and her brow furrowed in confusion. This can't be right; he would never work with-
"Spike is not the threat. You are," Buffy heard one of the men say and she tried to make some sense of what was going on as he continued; "You have proven your loyalty to the circle. Regrettably, there is something stronger than loyalty- hope."
"Okay, creepy much?" Buffy muttered under her breath as her mind continued to whirl. So… if Angel would never work with these people-is this Angelus? Is that what the powers are trying to show me? That I need to go to LA and kill-
But then she abandoned all thought as a document was unrolled in front of Angel and she crept forward to get a better look, wrinkling her nose when she realized it was written in some indecipherable language yeah, definitely should have taken Giles's advice and-
But apparently Angel was not having a similar problem in determining what was in front of him as he said "This is the Shanshu Prophesy," and Buffy's brow furrowed at the sudden tension in his voice, disguised so well that even she almost missed it.
"Shan WHAT?" she blurted, then snapped her mouth shut as another man supplied as though he had heard her,
"The vampire with a soul will play a pivotal role in the apocalypse."
"And as a reward will be come human," a third finished.
"Human?" Buffy whispered in disbelief, feeling her knees buckle and missing something else that was being said, hoping it wasn't important, dragged out of her stupor by Angel's seemingly flippant words.
"I have no desire to become human," and in that moment she knew beyond any shadow of a doubt that he wasn't Angelus as she saw conflict, pain, disbelief flash in his eyes for a fraction of a second, so well disguised that no one but her ever would have noticed them, ever would have heard the agony in his voice.
Why the agony? It's not like the prophesy can go away- and speaking of that, why the HELL have I not been told about this-
"Oh, good. Then you won't mind signing that pesky future away," the original speaker's voice sliced through her thoughts, and Buffy's mouth dropped open in shock as he continued, "Through that document, the prophecy can be undone. Your signature there will remove any opportunity that you will ever earn your once-precious humanity. Will you sign it?"
"Of course," she heard Angel reply as though from very far away and she dived toward him, not even conscious of what she was doing as she gasped,
"God don't do it!"
To her chagrin she flew right through him as though she were a ghost, and she let out a cry of pain as she slammed down hard into the floor at the same moment that she saw the quill slammed directly through Angel's hand as one of the men yeah, right, men snarled,
"It must be signed in blood."
And as Angel did sign it, hand shaking enough that Buffy feared she wasn't the only one who would see it, she questioned aloud, agony in her own voice, "What is HAPPENING here?" hating how out of touch they had been, realizing suddenly and sharply that, much as that had become something that it was easier to just blame Angel for it was at least equally her fault-
And then suddenly she was back on her tiny Italian balcony, breathing heavily as the power released her hand, and she looked at him earnestly as he said, "That is what we mean to explain to you if you think you have the time."
She wavered for only a second before saying softly, "Based on that lovely snippet, I'd say I probably don't have the time for explanations, no. Why don't we skip straight to the 'how can Buffy help' portion and I'll figure the rest out later."
The powers graced her with small smiles. "Now YOU are the girl we came to see."
--
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