A/N: Hello, beautiful people! Thank you so much for all of your reviews! They are all wonderful and I love each and every one! This chapter is shorter than the others, but I hope the content makes up for it! :D

I have a feeling this will make lots of people happy...

Random Disclaimer: (I don't own Buffy).

Me: Angel? Angel?

Angel: (broods) I'm not talking to you.

Me: (pouts) But why?

Angel: You tried to kill me! (pauses) Wait, it was all fake right?

Me:...

Angel: Right?

Eye of the Beholder Chapter 16

Buffy's heart had stopped. All she could do was stare at the circle of Watchers that had surrounded Angel. She couldn't see him. She couldn't see if he was dust…if he was dead. She vaguely felt the tears that were running down her cheeks. She thought she was saying words, but she had no idea what they were, though Buffy imagined that they were probably incoherent whispers of denial.

Anger boiled in her veins as she realized that Angel might be gone, that they might have killed him. Buffy struggled against her restrainers anew. One arm broke free and she immediately punched one of the Watchers holding in her the face, feeling his nose crunch under her fist. Buffy spun and delivered a roundhouse kick to another Watcher's temple, sending him sprawling into another Watcher. Both of them fell to the ground. The last Watcher tried to grab her shoulder, but Buffy simply flipped him over onto his back.

Not hesitating a moment, she ran over to where the Watchers had surrounded Angel and noticed that some of them were on the ground…

Angel had broken his chains just in time to catch the arrow between his palms. What didn't help was that seven other Watchers also had loaded crossbows.

He could hear Buffy screaming, but he couldn't focus too much on the distressed sound as he dodged another arrow. Angel attacked the closest Watcher to him, kicking the crossbow out of his hands as a bolt from another crossbow hit his shoulder.

Growling, Angel grabbed a Watcher by the shoulder and shoved him towards the Watcher, obscuring their line of fire for a moment. He used the borrowed seconds to punch a Watcher in the face, knocking him out cold.

Angel could hear another bolt whistling through the air, and ducked just in time as it whizzed over his head. Of course, he wasn't quick enough to dodge the other bolt that embedded itself into his bicep. Ignoring the pain, Angel reached out and tore a crossbow from a Watcher's hands and fired it one-handed, hitting a Watcher in the shoulder.

Buffy joined him then, and they fought side-by-side. Buffy disarmed a Watcher, kicking the crossbow from his hands. She pushed him into another Watcher, and when another grabbed her shoulder, she responded with a fist to the man's face.

Buffy eventually fought her way so that she was back to back with Angel. She did a quick scan and found that there were still four Watchers with loaded crossbows, trying to get a shot. Realizing this, Buffy stopped fighting, spun Angel around and then stepped in front of him, slowly backing them up so that Angel was against the wall, and she was in front of them—four crossbows trained on her heart.

"Miss Summers, are you quite finished?" Travers asked calmly from his seat, not having moved throughout the entire ordeal.

"Buffy," Angel whispered pleadingly, not liking the fact that Buffy was putting herself in harm's way. "Buffy, move."

"No," she shook her head. She knew she was caught. She knew what this meant.

"Why, Miss Summers, why did you let Angelus live? Why couldn't you kill him? It wasn't for lack of skill, you've proven that. What was it then? What prevented you from killing him? Why were you willing to sacrifice so many lives?"

Despite herself, hearing Travers spell it out so bluntly, so coldly what she'd done, Buffy couldn't help the guilty tears that appeared in her eyes. It didn't help knowing that if somehow, it were to all happen again—she wouldn't do a thing differently.

Buffy looked up at Travers as a single tear slid down her cheek. "Because I love him."

Travers almost allowed himself a small smile in triumph. At best, he gave away a slight quirk of his lips. "You're in love with a vampire, and Angelus at that."

"Angel," Buffy corrected coldly. "Yes, I'm in love with him. Is that what you want to hear? That I proved you right?"

"Miss Summers, it is not a question of if I'm right, it is the fact that you are wrong," Travers replied, glancing at Angel. "You're willing to die for him?"

"In a heartbeat," Buffy retorted quickly, but seriously.

"You'd kill for him?"

Buffy hesitated, slightly shocked and scared at her answer. "Yes."

She felt Angel stiffen behind her, but she ignored him. Buffy knew he'd bring it up, if they made it out of here, but she'd confront that later.

"And, just out of curiosity," Travers seemed to be trying to hide his curiosity. "Does Angel return your feelings?"

"Yes," Angel answered quietly, but firmly. "And can you not point those at her?" he asked, looking pointedly at the crossbows that were still directed at Buffy's heart.

Travers waved his hand in a lazy motion and the Watchers lowered the crossbows, backing away slowly, one of the Watchers stooping down to drag his unconscious comrade with them.

"Better?" Travers asked.

"Mildly," Angel replied, his eyes following the retreating Watchers.

Once he was sure they weren't going to try anything he reached up and pulled the arrow out of his bicep, hissing as it tore at his flesh. He tossed it to the ground, before grabbing hold of the shaft of the bolt that was embedded in his shoulder. Angel couldn't help the low growl that escaped him as he yanked it free, and threw it to the ground. That one really hurt.

Travers debated where to go from here. Honestly, he'd thought Angelus would die in the dungeons. He'd beaten eight starving vampires, and though he hadn't escaped unscathed, he'd still made it out alive.

Of course, Travers had thought of a contingency plan...which had been the eight Watchers with crossbows...which had just been thwarted. Travers didn't quite know what to do now. Did he allow them to tell their story? Morally, he should give them a chance, he supposed.

He glanced around at his fellow Watchers, all of whom were looking to him for guidance. It was obvious by some of their expressions that they wanted to know more. Also obvious was the mild disgust of the mere idea of love between a vampire and Slayer.

Travers suddenly had a very pertinent question that he believed might have just been answered. "So, how did Angel lose his soul? A moment of perfect happiness?"

The faint blush in Buffy's cheeks gave it away.

"Ah," Travers said, slightly shocked at the fact that his hunch had been correct. "Well, that's…interesting."

"What's to say that it won't happen again?" one Watcher, a woman, spoke up knowingly, glancing from Buffy to Angel.

"Angel's soul is anchored," Buffy spoke up quickly. "Permanently."

"How can you be sure?" another Watcher asked.

"Because Willow is sure it worked, and because he obviously has a soul," Buffy replied, figuring it best not to tell them that she and Angel knew for a fact that the spell had worked fully—in all its facets.

"It's not like we plan to test it," Angel lied smoothly. After all, he was the world's best actor.

Travers gave them a look that clearly said that he didn't believe them, but he moved on. "How long have you been…involved?"

"I met Angel when I first came to Sunnydale," Buffy replied. "But we, uh, didn't start dating, officially at least, until later."

"There's no record of you for eighty years," one Watcher spoke up, directing his question at Angel.

"It's not that hard to drop off radar if you don't do much," Angel replied with a shrug.

"What could possibly motivate you to help the Slayer in the first place?" another Watcher asked, more openly curious than his fellows. "Aside from the fact that you…love her."

"I'm supposed to protect her," Angel answered, before deciding 'to-hell-with-it' and giving them a little bit more information to chew on. "Whistler, a demon messenger for the Powers That Be, showed her to me. I was there when Buffy was Called—I've been with her ever since," he explained, glancing down at Buffy who was surprised at the information. "Whether she knew it or not," he added with a small smirk despite himself.

"The Powers That Be?" Travers questioned, hardly containing his shock. "Impossible."

Angel glared. "It's the truth."

"Ridiculous," Travers shook his head. He refused to believe it. The Powers could not have chosen a vampire to do their bidding. Impossible.

"Wait!"

Wesley and Giles came running through the doors, Wesley waving a scroll in his hand. "Wait! Don't kill him!"

Buffy looked at Wesley curiously, "Little late with the dramatic entrance, Wes."

Wesley's eyes widened in disbelief for a moment before he saw Angel standing beside her, then he looked confused. "I don't understand. Angel's alive."

"Yeah, you missed the big fight about five minutes ago," Buffy enlightened.

"Oh," Wesley replied lamely.

"Mr. Wyndam-Pryce," Travers said scoldingly. "This is a closed Review."

"I know sir, but this couldn't wait and is pertinent to the proceedings," Wesley replied courteously. "As you know, I've been translating the Scrolls of Aberjian, and I've discovered something…quite spectacular really, shocking, but spectacular," Wesley glanced at Giles.

"And what, Mr. Wyndam-Pryce, could be so important?" Travers asked annoyed, yet slightly curious.

"We believe that the Scrolls contain a prophecy—"

"Of course they contain a prophecy," Travers began, his annoyance reaching a new level.

"Yes," Wesley agreed. "But this prophecy speaks of a vampire."

"Not unheard of," Travers answered blithely. "Mr. Wyndam-Price, you are wasting mine and the Council's time..."

"I believe the prophecy is about Angel," Wesley answered confidently. "It speaks of the vampire with a soul."

Everyone was shocked into silence.

Well...did I make people happy?

Buffy and Angel kicked some Watcher butt...always a plus in my mind...

Wesley translated the Scrolls...

All in all, I'd say we got a lot accomplished! :D

Reviews punch Travers in the face,

ArthursCamelot