Okay, I hope you like this chapter. It's kind of what I wrote the whole story around, so let me know what you think.
btw, I know that I had Xander spill the beans a little too quickly, but I needed Angel to find out for this next chapter. Besides, even though slapping him was cathartic, he still kind of makes me angry! lol!
Willow sat back, her eyes flying open. Buffy was no longer sitting across from her. "It worked!" She only hoped that Buffy would be okay. While it was true that the Powers That Be were on the side of good, they could be unpredictable.
She blew out the candles, but before she could stand up, the door burst open, and Angel rushed in, looking around. "Where is she?!"
Willow sighed and shook her head as she saw Xander, slinking in behind Angel. Buffy was right, as usual. She held out her hand, and Angel, ever the gentleman, reached out and helped her up, before questioning her again.
"Willow?" He raked his fingers through his hair. "Please tell me she didn't..."
"Of course she did, Angel! It's Buffy..."
He shook his head. "I knew I never should have told her about the prophecy." His eyes met Willow's, and she shivered at the intensity she saw in his gaze. "Damn Spike" he muttered. He took a deep but uneeded breath. "Send me to her, Willow."
"Angel..." She stopped. Who was she kidding? She couldn't refuse Angel. It wasn't that she was afraid of him, she knew he would never hurt her, but she could never say no to him when he looked at her like that. Throwing a glance at Xander, who was just standing by the door, not saying a word, she gestured to the floor. "Sit down."
BBBBBB
Buffy opened her eyes and looked around. She was no longer sitting on the floor in Willow's room. She was standing in what seemed to be a dark cave, totally empty.
"Hello?" Her voice echoed off the cold stone walls. What had Willow done? Where was she? She looked around, and walked slowly to the center of the room, her sneakers crunching on the dirt and pebbles that made up the floor. She wanted to call out again, but the sound of her voice in this empty place kind of freaked her out. Which, since she was the slayer, and considering all that she had been through, that was really strange.
She took a deep breath. "Is anyone here?" Her voice was little more than a whisper this time, yet now, finally, she got an answer, of sorts. 3 distinct voices were whispering in the darkness, and she backed up until her back met the cold wall.
'Who dares to seek us out?' // 'It is the slayer. // 'Why do you come to us?'
"I..." She closed her eyes briefly. 'Come on, Buffy! You've faced demons, the master, the first evil! You can talk to a bunch of disembodied voices!'
"I've come for answers."
The response was immediate. 'Who sent you here?' // 'Leave while you still can.' // 'We do not answer to mortals.'
"Well, that's just too bad." Buffy was starting to get angry. "You've been running my life from day one, and if you want me to keep doing your will, you're gonna damn well answer some questions for me!"
The voices were silent, which pissed her off even more. After all she'd done, they better talk to her, or somebody was gonna pay. Just as she was about to speak again, one voice answered her.
'What answers do you seek, slayer?'
Finally. "I want to know about the Shanshu prophecy."
'The vampire with a soul' // 'She speaks of love.' // 'We do not concern ourselves with matters of the heart.'
"Okay, look! I don't wanna play your little games! I know what the prophecy says, and I also know that, no matter what the Circle of the Black Thorn said, they couldn't take away Angel's reward!" She held her breath at that, because she didn't know, not for sure, but she needed to believe it.
'Evil cannot erase what is written' // That the souled vampire will live is prophesied' // 'What is written cannot be undone'
Buffy felt her heart sing for joy at the words. She had known it! But then, why..? "If that's true, then why hasn't it happened?! Why...?"
Before she could finish, the air became thick with electricity. It seemed to fill the cavern, then, as quickly as it had come, it was gone. Buffy felt the familiar tingle, and turned to see Angel standing there, beside her. 'Damn Xander! I knew it!' "Angel."
Angel looked at her. "Buffy, don't..."
She shook her head angrily, then turned her back on him, again addressing the Powers. "Why? Why do you continue to make him suffer?!" She felt his touch on her arm, but she shook him off. "He's done everything you've ever asked of him!" Buffy absently brushed away the tears that suddenly blurred her vision. "Please" she whispered.
'It is not for us to fulfill this prophecy'
She glanced at Angel. "I don't understand! You brought him back, to make amends, and he's done it!"
"Buffy." Angel took her hand and pulled her towards him. It broke his heart to see her like this, pleading for his life, as if nothing else mattered to her.
Buffy turned to Angel, but before she could speak, the next words from the Powers stopped her.
'We did not bring the vampire back from hell'
Buffy met Angel's eyes, and the fear she saw in them she knew was reflected in her own. "Then is was the first?" Her voice was no more than a whisper. No! She wouldn't believe it! Angel was good, he fought against all the evil in this world. She shook her head. "It can't be!"
'We did not resurrect him from the depths of hell, neither did evil restore him'
Buffy turned. "Then how...?"
'You did. The slayer.' // Pulled from the fires of hell, to the exact place you returned your ring, the ring that binds your souls together' // 'Only love could bring him back, and only love can release him from his debt'
I know, I know! It's really mean of me to leave it like that! Let me know what you think, and I'll promise I'll have the next chapter up tomorrow!