"Immortal Beloved..." CXL...
PG-13
Disclaimer: If ya are fan-fic writers, where's your disclaimers? Disclaimers? We ain't got no disclaimers...I don' need to show you no stinkin'...No, Joss, no...I make no claims, put that thing down!
It's all yours and ME's...
Spoilers for Angel to the bitter end...Flee at once!...
Summary: Though the standard IB format, one of (140) versions of events following the end of Angel S5 episodes from "Girl in Question" through to "Not Fade Away" and beyond... (Not a continuous story,
though some are multipart...)
The EuroStar express to Geneva… Evening…
"So…Buffy really is…"
"We think so, Dawn…" Giles nodded…
"She seemed ok after the fight in England…I mean exceptin'…" Dawn shrugged… "Maybe it was a side effect…?"
Willow, beside Giles, sighed…
"I mean I remember one of Buffy's science teachers said she had potential…Before he got killed by that giant praying mantis…"
Ah, Miss French…God, those carefree days of high school…Xander thought…
"Not this much potential, Dawn…" Willow eyed her…
Hey…Dawn glared…
"Dawn, the Immortal had a definite plan…He made sure she found the Crown…"
"But she killed him…He's history…Thanks to her and poor Sarah in Rome…"
Ooops…she looked over to the sound of weeping…Oh…
"Here, Andy…" Willow handed several tissues…
"Sorry, Andy…" Dawn called…
"Yes…" Giles frowned a moment over at his junior Watcher… "But despite his defeat, she was in contact with the Crown of Hypatia…"
"But Hypatia was a good person, right?..." Dawn looked at him… "She wouldn't help the Immortal do harm?..."
"Debatable…" Giles shrugged… "One man's great philosopher and savior of classical antiquity's stored knowledge is another's fiendish sorceress…"
One woman's he means…Willow thought, annoyed…
"The fact remains the Immortal chose Buffy to receive Hypatia's essence…The perfect body for what he considered the perfect mind…" Giles continued… "Only the fact that our double in Rome threw him off
his track for a bit prevented him from taking her before we were ready…"
"And if His Jerk-offness had the hots for Roman lady, doesn't bode well for her character…"
Xander noted… The one good eye closing decisively to settle the matter…
"He could have just admired her…" Willow frowned… "Like Spike fell for Buffy…"
"Andy, will you stop?..." she called… "I'm outta tissues…We all feel bad for William too…"
"But come on…" Dawn shook her head… "She only had the Crown on her head for a minute…"
Nervous, guilty hand move…
God, me and my bright ideas…Hey, sis…Let me get a pic of you in this thing I found rolling on the floor… His Bullshitness was hangin' on to it for dear Unlife at the end…
"It couldn't have done anything to her…"
"And suddenly…" Willow shook her head, rolling eyes… "Suddenly she's writing a thesis that blows the folks at CERN away so much they wanted to hire her?..."
"So Buffy has a secret talent for high energy particle physics…" Dawn shrugged… "This Hypatia lived around 400, what would she know about it?..."
"Hypatia's mind was the jewel in the crown, Dawn…" Giles noted… "But the Immortal has added knowledge from other great women over the centuries, always just before their deaths, usually by violence…Though her mind is the core and dominates the Crown…I'm sure we'd find a few
recent additions if we could still probe it…"
"And all that's in Buffy's brain now…?" Dawn frowned…
Geesh…Willow sighed…Doesn't a science geek goddess rate at all…Even if I did lose a lot charging the Slayers…
"It appears likely…And we have no way of knowing what else was transferred there…" Giles concluded…
"But Giles…Guys…We've all been with her since the fight…She was Buffy, right?...She didn't start speakin' in Greek or Latin?..."
I mean besides that time on the phone to her advisor at CERN…
"And she coulda killed us all if she was some ole lover of the Immortal Asshole…" Dawn noted…
"Dawn…The fact is…" Willow began… "We have doubts about what happened in London…"
"Someone's shacking up with her at CERN…" Xander cut to the chase… "And my money's on His Bellicoseness…"
"But we saw him destroyed…" Dawn protested…
"And Dracula…And several others…Including Angel from Hell…Came back…Dawn, we coulda been fooled…" Willow, carefully…
"And CERN is far too dangerous a place for a possessed Slayer and her fiendish mate to roam free…" Giles insisted… "So we must deal with this…Or rather, the Slayer Corps must…"
"You're gonna sick the Slayer Corps on Buffy?..."
"Only if she refuses to let us test her…And to explain her behavior…" Giles noted…
"You mean like scoring twice your IQ level?..." Dawn glared… "Maybe my sis has just finally decided to blossom…Come outta your shadow…You know she's been furious with you ever since the truth came out about William…And Cicely…"
"That was a regrettable situation I could do nothing about…" Giles began… "But now…"
"You lied to her…William was her husband, my father, and you knew…" Dawn, furious now… "She left because you betrayed her…She only stayed in England to be sure her motions about the Slayers' training and future were carried by the Council…And if it had been me…"
"Dawn, I am sorry, as I have continually told you and Buffy…But Spike was too dangerous…"
"The truth was too dangerous…Your guys murdered my father…My mother…Me…And then did everything you could to prevent us from getting' together…Don't give me it again, Giles…" Dawn put up a hand… "I don't buy it anymore than she did…You were ready to have her kill me and it wasn't just to stop Glory…"
"Dawn…" Willow tried…
"The only reason…The only reason I came this time…Was because I wanted to be sure about her…But all you're giving me is new proof not to trust you…What, now you want to see that a smart Roman lady gets permanently axed as well as Cicely?...Was she Buffy too, back then?..."
Hmmn…Willow pondered…Eyeing Giles' noncommittal look…
"Now I'm going to Geneva…And I'll ask Buffy what's what, just in case…But…" Dawn, coldly fixing eyes on Giles, then Willow, then Xander… "If I find out any of you are planning to pull…Anything…I will tell her
whatever I have to…That my dad's ghost cries to me for vengeance, anything…So, you better be honest with me…All of you…" she sat with folded arms, glaring out the window…
Enroute to CERN by two cars…Dawn with Xander and four Slayers in front car, Willow, Giles, and five Slayers in rear car…
"Willow?..." Giles looked at her…
"Yeah?..."
"I do have your support in this…?"
She eyed him…
"Have you been completely honest with us, Giles?...At least on this one?..."
"I haven't lied about anything…"
"You didn't lie about Spike…" she frowned… "You just didn't tell us anything you knew…What is this, Giles?...Is there a backstory?..."
He sighed…
Great…Willow sighed…
"She's Hypatia?...And Cicely?...And Buffy…"
"It's…Not impossible…"
"Jesus, Giles…? I oughta kill you guys…What did you do to her, suck her brains dry?...Ummn…"
No offense, Buf…I love you just as you are…
"Certainly not…Buffy was a unique personality…"
Hmmn…Striking proof of nurture vs nature, eh?...I oughta write this up…
"Who was once several other people?...Wait…Was Hypatia a Slayer too?..."
"No…Which might explain the difference in focus…"
Hmmn…I suppose not having to save the world every other week might allow for more library time…
"And the Immortal…Loved Buffy?..."
"Considering what he did to poor Sarah when he unmasked her…And tried to do to Buffy, I would say not…But he may well have loved Hypatia…And saved her brilliant mind from the mob that destroyed her…"
"'Saint' Cyril's boys?...Was he by any chance another Watcher who disliked uppity charges?..."
"Willow…"
"Right, you said she wasn't a Slayer…Though maybe he got her because she wouldn't be Slayer…"
"He was not a Watcher, Willow…Orestes, the prefect of Egypt at the time was the local Watcher…She was a potential Slayer, never activated…"
"Buffy'll love hearing that… 'Buf, if you hadn't been the chosen one you woulda been a great scientist'."
"And I would be a great sorcerer with harem…Life doesn't always give us what we'd like, Willow…" Giles smiled…
Willow frowning…Well…
"All right, I'm sorry…But if the Immortal loved Hypatia and saved her mind…Does that mean Buffy killed another true love?..."
"Not necessarily…Love, especially that of a demon-possessed beast like the Immortal or Spike…"
"Buffy'll kill you if you say that in front of her…"
"Yes…Anyway, sometimes such love is unrequited…"
"Really?..."
"So far as we know…From Orestes' records, the Immortal studied with Hypatia for several years but she never responded to his advances…However, when her fate was sealed past all hope…"
"Decent of him…" Willow sighed… "I guess I have to plant flowers…"
"He hoped to keep her mind as his prized possession until a suitable body could be found…"
"Right, the perfect one…But why not another Slayer…"
"Perhaps he tried and Hypatia's mind wouldn't accept any but her own descendant/reincarnation…"
"But Dawn is right…She hasn't acted like some Eastern Roman philosopher…In fact…" Willow paused…
Giles eyed her narrowly…
"In fact?..."
"Giles, she swore me to secrecy…I only came on this trip at first because I wanted to keep you from interfering…Until I found out more about the Crown…Then I figured…There might be something wrong…"
"Well?..."
"She told me she took the job at CERN because it might help her find William…" Willow sighed… "Something to do with a new spell using antimatter to probe the dimensions…"
"Buffy said that?..." Giles stared…
Ummn…Yeah…
"And after all these years of being her friend, you accepted this sudden acquisition of occult knowledge on top of her sudden ability in Physics..Advanced Particles Physics…Without a question?..."
"She seemed to know what she was doing…Giles, she's the Slayer…I was a little startled but I just kinda went along…I did have some questions...But the way she laid it out, it seemed good at the time…"
"She's using CERN to reach William?..."
"Just to do some probing…She needs a little antimatter…"
"Willow?..."
"It was right after that I called you to ask if you thought anything might be wrong with her…" Willow, plaintatively…
"So…Welcome to CERN…" Buffy in lab coat, embraced Dawn then Willow, then Xander…
Andrew…Hesitating on Giles but finally…
"Mom…" Dawn nodded…
Buffy grimaced…
"Dawn, we agreed…Only at home…Between us…"
"Right…Cicely…" she nodded…
Better…Buffy shrugged…
"So…" Xander looked round the gleaming lobby, staff moving about… "You invent warp drive yet…?"
"Next week…" Buffy grinned…
"Buffy…" Giles paused… "I think you know we came out here not just to see you…"
"I know…" she nodded…Tapping skull… "Grew three sizes after I tried the Crown and you're thinkin' the Immortal or a friend of his took up residence…"
"I think you were always smart, Cicely…" Dawn, supportively… "You just kept it hidden…"
"Well hidden…" Buffy grinned…
"Ok…" she put up a hand… "First, yes…I did get a jolt from the Crown…Second…Yes, I was Hypatia of Alexandria about 16 centuries ago… Just as I was Cicely Walthrop in 1880…But no, the Immortal was not my boyfriend in 415ad…In fact, he was quite a pest…Not to mention he cheated on tests…"
So…One of ours?…Willow, hopefully…
"He did save my memories and something of my thought processes, for which, unfortunately I owe him…But I was definitely not interested…He was much too weird…I was much too busy…And I had a boyfriend…Who in that particular existence died of plague before he reached ten…Just my
luck…"
"I knew it…" Dawn nodded, proudly…
"No evil plots to rule the world, Giles…" Buffy eyed him… "I'm pretty much the same girl you knew, just a wee bit better at physics and Victorian literature…And of course I'm married…"
Oh…
"Andy?..." A suddenly red-eyed Dawn turned for support… He passed a tissue…
Daddy…sigh…
"Any luck there?..." Willow asked…"The probing and all…?"
"Nope…" Buffy shook head…Then grinned… But…
"Fortunately…Angel just was worried after the big one in LA that the Watchers couldn't be trusted…"
Arch look at Giles who frowned…
"So he was down the street from my Geneva apartment at Wolfram-Hart, Europe…Senior VP…I bumped into him while I was trying to get a copy of what remains of my commentaries on Euclid in the library…And…"
Will!...she called…Waving…
"He doesn't really have all that much to do as Senior VP here so he volunteers with me two days a week…Dawn, don't look at me like that…We were gonna tell you as soon as we found a house and worked out a good renewal of vows/wedding date…Oh, hang on…" she ran off to him…The
group staring…
"Honey, you can't bring that out of the lab…" she took a canister from him… "Look who's here!..." she pointed…
Daddy…Dawn gasped…
"I gotta be careful with him…" Buffy explained to Willow after setting the canister back in the lab… "He doesn't really have a clue about the science though he's great about handling things that would kill a
normal guy…But hey, he's a Champion world saver and writes the most beautiful poetry…"
She effortlessly quoted a line in Greek…From his earlier days…
"Nice…Greek to me…But nice…" Willow noted…
"Immortal Beloved..." CXLI...
PG-13
Disclaimer: If ya are fan-fic writers, where's your disclaimers? Disclaimers? We ain't got no disclaimers...I don' need to show you no stinkin'...No, Joss, no...I make no claims, put that thing down!
It's all yours and ME's...
Spoilers for Angel to the bitter end...Flee at once!...
Summary: Though the standard IB format, one of (141) versions of events following the end of Angel S5 episodes from "Girl in Question" through to "Not Fade Away" and beyond... (Not a continuous story,
though some are multipart...)
***
I891…Alternate London…
"I'm the Master of de Sea, Rula of the Queen's Navy…
Whose praise Great 'Itain really smart…"
"NO! You're gettin' wrong, Cicely… Listen here…'hose praise Great Britain proudly 'aunts…'"
"No, Joe!...Tha's not da way…Dad!..."
"Here, Dad!"
"Joseph…Cicely…I'm trying to work here…"
Waaah!...
"Will, be quiet…Dad's tryin' to woke here!..." young Master Joseph Walthrop, blond-haired, enterprising man of full ten years addresses his younger brother, William, Jr…
Right…William sighs, rising…Feeling pull at waistcoat…
"Dad…Tell Joe how to sing the song…"
"Dad…Tell Cics she's got worms in her ears…Take 'em out, why don't she?..."
"Dad!..."
"Dad!..."
"DADDDD!"
"Stop!...Enough…Joe, go back to your lesson…Cicely, go read your book…Let me see to Will…"
He headed into the small nursery room off the parlor, moving to a small crib-bed where a toddler was sobbing at a bit lower intensity than a moment ago….
Bang of door closing…Sound of running feet…
"Mum!...Mum's home…!"
"Mum!...Tell Cics…" voices fade, woman's voice, that of the missus of the house, Cicely Walthrop, heard lightly, wearily…
"Will?..." call…
"With William…" he returned call…Now lifting the toddler to shoulder…Patting a bit…
"Here now namesake…What's with you, eh?..." he whispered… "Ah…" he felt the wet bottom…
"The usual, Prescott…" he affected a toney accent… "Bath and powder, easy on the powder this time…"
"What's wrong?...Did you hear me?..." Cicely entered, looking instinctively round…
One never knows…
"I called…Will's wet…"
"Oh…Shall I?..."
"No, I've got him…You look exhausted…Sit down…"
"I can take him…" she insisted…
"Sit…Joseph!..."
"Dad?..."
Cicely wearily taking seat in living room/parlor…
"Mum's slippers and tell Cicely to fetch Mum a good strong tea…"
"I've got it!...You don't half to tell may…" call…
"Girl spends too much time outside…" Cicely shook her head as Will and his namesake came over…Removing large if slightly worn hat…
"Tired…?" he gave her a kiss on top of her head…
"Dead…But not as much as some…" she grinned at his look…
"The whole kibosh?..."
"99.9%, I'd say…"
"Lies, damned lies, and statistics…" he replied, grinning…
"Watch it…Little pitchers…" she hissed…Frowning…As Joe returned, bearing carpet slippers…
"Mum?..."
"Angel, sent from heaven…" she beamed…Lifting feet…
"Let me tend to Willie here and I'll right back…" Will patted her shoulder…
"All right, Mummie?..." Joe unable to resist a slight reversion to childhood's endearments…Mum lookin' so peaked…
"Wonderful…" Cicely beamed at him… "Help Cics with the tea, please Joe…And thanks, lovey…"
"Right…" firm attempt to imitate the pater…
"Will…" she called from her seat…Twisting aching feet in slippers…Ah…
"Yeah…?"
"I spoke to the bankers today…After finishing…Things…"
"Yes?..."
"My trust's taken a wee nose dive, Will…"
He emerged from the nursery, young Will in arms, newly clothed in fresh regalia…
"How 'wee'?..."
"They weren't quite sure…Probably a third…"
"Ouch… Well, we can tap mine a bit more if we need to…"
"What about Phil and Amelia….?"
"We'll work it out…"
She sighed…
Lord…
Life was so much less complicated when I just sat and looked pretty…And killed things by night while Father signed the papers Mr. Levinson brought over…
"Better than my childhood…" Will smiled at her…
"Then we be doin' fine…" she nodded…"How's the work going…?"
"Eh…Not…But I did the copy…Lets hope Gilbert's purse is full tomorrow…"
She frowned… "You ought to be focusing on your work, not some piecework…'
"Piecework fills the gaps and pays the gas…" he noted… "And you ought to be in class…"
"Time enough…" she shrugged…Reaching for little Will who was passed over…
"Cicely…I'm…"
"Time…Enough…" she replied… Smiling at him… "If things get worse, I'll just blackmail the Council for a fortune…Eh, little man?..." she teased Will, Jr…
"They sure as hell owe you one…" Will began…She het-humming as Joseph entered, tea cup in one hand, pot in the other…Little Cicely following with cups…The paterfamilias took his preferred seat…
"Ah, a first-rate hotel…Sir, you shall have my recommendation…" Will nodded to Joseph who gravely nodded back… Sir...Attempt at bow…
"Madame…" Joe handed cup of tea to Cicely…Who took it with thanks…
Little Cicely placed the cups on a small table and left the room, seeking cream and lemon…
"Me next…" young Cicely insisted…
"After Dad…"
"Ladies first, Joe…But thanks…" Will nodded to him, indicating young Cicely demurely awaiting service on her favorite chair…
"Mademoiselle…" Joe addressed his sister who gravely accepted a cup…
"Joseph…" polite nod…
"One lump or two?…"
"Six on the noggin…" Cicely giggled… "Two, Joseph…" she corrected at Mum's stare…
"Dr. Farris is stopping by…" Cicely noted, eyeing Will…
Hmmn…General frown…
"What?..."
"I don't like him…" young Cicely wrinkled her nose…Accepting Joseph's offer of cream with exquisite politeness… "He looks like an old rotter…"
"Cicely!..." Cicely frowned at her namesake… "Dr. Farris is my friend…I expect you to be polite…"
"Yeah, mum…" the girl nodded, downcast…
Stern eye by Cicely to William in his chair…Don't…
Do not…
He giving mischievous smile back…Clearly…Is an old rotter…On his tongue…
"Mind your mum, Cics…Manners for the company…"
"Yeah, dad…"
"Ah, many thanks, Prescott…" Will took the proffered cup of tea with a smile…
"Do we have any of those cookies left?..." Cicely sat up a bit…
"Cake…The vanilla cookies…" Joseph noted… "Get em?..." he asked…
"Save the cake…Bring the cookies and some bread and jam…"
Young Cicely pouting…Wanted the cake…And that old rotter always eats half the things set…
"Cics help Joe…." Will told her…The girl scurrying off…
"A visit from on high?..." he looked at Cicely…Who sighed…
"He has some information for me…Will, you will be nice to him?..." leaning over…
"I'm always…"
"Will…" reprovingly… "His research does help me, you know…Sometimes could make the difference…"
"A few of those Watchers getting off their backsides and into the fight would help a bit more, I think…"
"That's not his fault…"
"No…" frown…
"What?..."
"I don't trust him, Cics…"
"Will…Simon Farris has saved my life a dozen times over…"
"Generally while you were saving his…And his passel of antiquarians…"
"Will…"
"Why haven't you received more help from the Council?...He keeps promising but something always appears to prevent it…"
"They have other concerns…And they're only human, Will…"
"They seemed to have plenty of help with that fellow who wanted to take out the Queen last year…"
"Royal assassins merit a big effort…"
"Your life merits a big effort…" he replied…But went silent on Joe and Little Cicely's return, bearing cookies, bread, and jam with knives and plates…
"Eat, Mum…" Joseph commanded…Handing plate of cookies…
"You heard the man…" William smiled… "Cicely, careful with that cup…"
"Ay, Dad…"
Cicely adjusted her grip on Will Jr. to accommodate holding tea cup with one hand, cookie in other, arm about the toddler as he squirmed slightly…
"Whacha been doin' Mum?..." Joseph placed her plate of bread…
My bread…Young Cicely noted…She helped Mary this morning before school, Will agreed…
"That's my girl…" Cicely beamed wearily… "Oh, I had some business to do, Joe…Had to go by train North and then to London…"
"Social work?...Like Dad says…" Joseph asked, curious…
"Of a kind…" Cicely nodded…
"Your mum helped a lot of folks out of trouble these last two…As she always does…" Will noted…
"Don't like Mum traveling alone…Can't I go with her next time?..." Joe, a bit urgently…
"Yes, lets…" little Cicely chimed in…
"It's not work for the likes of you…" Will frowned… "If you want to help Mum, you'll be good, do your work, and help out ole Dad here…That's your jobs, eh love…?"
"Indeed…" Cicely nodded… "And Mums is grateful you all do it so well…"
"But…If you get hurt?..." Joe pressed…A worrisome look exchanged by the two parents…Joe having seen Cicely returning wounded two years ago…It having been too late to bother ole Henry in London or try a hospital…
"Then she'll call or go to a doctor…Then call…" Will took the practical route… "And if it's ever a need, we'll have Mary watch you or cousin Henry'll go with her…So she'll be fine…"
"Will you , Mum?..." Joe asked…
"I'll do that Joe…" she nodded…He looking a bit perturbed still, but finally accepting…
"Cicely, eat your bread and jam…Or put it away…" Will called…
"I'm eatin', Dad…" the girl put a large piece between jaws, chewing…Giggling…
"Cicely…" Cicely frowned… "Mouth closed…"
"You should get to bed…" Will told her… "Joe, would you take the cups and plates in ?...Cics, finish your tea and help Joe…"
"Only if you come…" Cicely, slyly…Whisper…
"You need to sleep…Especially if milord is to give audience…I'll help you to bed, Prince Will…" he took little Will from her reluctant arms…"Then you, milady…"
She put up a hand… "I'll keep till later…I'm fine…"
He eyed her with frown but took young Will back to the nursery…
Cicely leaned back…
Lord…What a couple of days…But still in one piece, praise God and good reflexes…
Crash from kitchen…
"What's that!..." Will called, hurrying to the door…
"Plate…Not broke, sorry Dad!..." Joe called…
"Duty calls…" Cicely noted, starting to rise…
"Your duty is to go to bed…" Will frowned at her… "We'll be fine…"
"I should get to the clothes…There's the carpet…And dinner…"
"I will get to the carpet…Mary will do the clothes when she comes…As for dinner, Joe will fetch it from the bakeshop…"
"Too expensive…" Cicely frowned…
"We can afford one meal from the cookshop, girl…Now…" he lifted her off the chair in one motion…
"Sir…Unhand me…" Cicely, grinning…
Lord, I forget how strong my little joy is sometimes…She relaxed, relishing…
"Off we go…"
" Aye…Mum…" Joseph, followed by Cicely coming from the kitchen…
"Prescott, the door to milady's suite…" Will addressed him…
Joseph strode to bedroom door, opening with solemn gravity…
"Good man, Prescott…" Will nodded…Carrying Cicely inside…
"Be good…" she called to the two watching children…Joseph, still grave…Young Cicely beaming…
"I wonder if it'll turn gray soon…Father said Mother's hair went gray early…" Cicely noted, turning her head at Will's touch as he brushed her long hair…She now undressed and in light shift…Jacket, skirt, and
blouse draped on chair…Corset on bureau…
"Living with your father, why am I not surprised?..." Will replied…
"Will…" reprovingly…
"Only the truth, girl…And you know it…"
"He's lonely, Henry says…" she turned forcing him to stop…
"He's always welcome, if he ever chooses to bless us with his presence…He ought to know that…"
"I appreciate that…" she smiled at him…He turned her head again…Resuming…
"I'd best be off to see what havoc reigns…" he noted…
"Give us a kiss…" she breathed…Coming to him…Pulling him to her…
"Was it bad?..." he asked, from her embrace… "Truly?..."
"I'm here…" she whispered… "And no visible scars…"
"Right then…" he replied… "Then God gets another day's pardon…"
"Will…"
"When He sends you help, I'll start singing His praises…Till then, if He wants to play these games, He'll have no thanks from me…Only no curses…So long as you…" he paused…
"Ah, Will…Don't be angry…I'm not…"
"Just don't get hurt, love…And come back to me…"
"Always do, always will…Somehow…" she kissed him… "Better be off, I hear ominous silence…"
"Call you?..."
"In an hour or so…Dr. F is due at six-thirty…"
"Then two hours…You can be presentable enough for him in fifteen minutes…"
She frowned but shrugged…Fine…
"Don't forget to feed Will…"
"On my way…"
A distinguished looking, silver-haired man in suit, striding purposefully through the streets…Frowning a bit at the respectable but unfashionable houses…
Still, he'd preferred the walk, having himself dropped several blocks from the home…Although it was also mandatory…His hostess having long ago insisted that of his Council and staff only he…Alone and on foot
at least the last part of the way, within 4-5 blocks…Should be allowed to approach her or have any contact…
The early evening air was pleasant but it was more the chance for solitude…A solitude which he, as Chairman of the Royal Council of Librarians and Antiquarians could confidently expect would not be
violated by any human knowledgeable enough to pose a threat…Nor as a powerful sorcerer, with suitable powerful protections and occult allies, by most nonhumans…
Except the one whom he sought solitude in order to safely contact…Or rather, accept her efforts at contact…
Her increasingly persistent efforts…
D'Hoffryn apparently anxious to see his alliance bear fruit after all these years of enforced patience…
So one track a mind for such a powerful beast lord…He sneered to himself…
But the increasing waste of power and time in protection made it a matter of simple economy to reopen channels of communication…It was perhaps time to bring things to their long-deferred conclusion…
He found a suitable area for communication, an alley beside a small, closed shop in a quiet side street and pulled out a small charm from his pocket…Waving it slightly…
Eyeing the figure before him…Cicely Walthrop in cream-colored, rather elegant dress…Quite a bit more of her old style than the dress she had been wearing at her home…
Close, yes…But a bit…Not exactly younger, but smoothed, one might said… No wrinkles, no slight sag from the four pregnancies…
None of the care and wear she'd borne in her face, even back before these 'Dark Times'…
Vanity of vanities, all is vanity…Even a vengeance demon couldn't bear not appearing her best, even if it gives her away should she ever need to impersonate the girl…
Cicely was more beautiful at 34 with all the marks and ravages of time…
"Dr. Farris?...A long time, sir…"
"Miss Halfreck…" Farris nodded…
"I'm so glad we could finally meet once more…I've tried to reach you many times over the past ten years…"
"My apologies…My duties as Chairman made it too difficult in general to risk contact…"
"I must regret to say that was unwise…To be frank, Lord D'Hoffryn dislikes rejection from those who once called on his assistance…"
"I believe your demon lord has learnt I can't be threatened that way…"
"For the moment…" Haly, warm smile…
"And I've noted before to you and your master …"
Frown…
"…Pardon, your lord…That he will still have a chance at her death to approach her…"
"A chance with no hope of success…"
"There was always little hope, my dear…Your lord was aware of that from start…Cicely, even in despair over William would not have agreed…"
She might've if I'd told her who murdered her family and herself…Haly thought…
Still…DH wants negotiations to proceed…And seemed even a little, just a little, under the surface…Worried about the good doctor…
He's well-protected, and Anyanka hinted DH'd made his best shot…Literally…When we last had coffee…She was rather impressed with my client, at last…
And no one is quite sure what the Council may have, held in reserve, magicswise…
"So…" Haly returned to the business at hand… "Where does that leave us, doctor?...Do I try William now…Let him catch me in the arms of another?…"
"Please…" Farris smiled thinly…
"Or is this a good-bye…?"
"In a manner of speaking…." Farris nodded… "Though I do wish you luck with your efforts should you be able to continue them…"
"What?..." Haly stared…
"Poor choice of words…Yes, tell Lord D'Hoffryn I have decided not to pursue the matter at this time…And he would be wise to accept that our failure was a mutual one…I may still have use for him as an ally…"
Use?...Haly blinked…All right, the little human is either bluffing to see if we have another option or he's insane…
"Dr. Farris…As a friend, I must urge you to choose your words carefully…Blocking a few probes by Lord D'Hoffryn with a few protective spells is not the equivalent of defeating him…Don't mistake his kind forbearance for weakness or excessive benevolence…You risk a great deal by offending him..."
"Merely a clarification of our respective positions, Miss…I hope to retain his friendship in spite of the outcome here…Indeed, you may tell him, that I speak for the Council in this…"
"Put that way…Minus the implied threat…" she eyed him…
"As you wish…But the main point is that our effort here is ended…At least my part in it…"
"Just like that?..."
"Miss Halfreck…I realize the passage of time means little to you…But it has been eleven years since we tried to destroy them…"
I guess...And an alliance with the Council's Chairman is something DH values…She thought…Still, Farris never seemed the type to just…
A little disappointing…I'd thought he was determined to have me...Her…
Wait…She gave him a sidelong glance…Gentle smile, carefully matched to Cicely's warmest for him on past occasions…
"Have you worked something out, on your own?…With her…?"
He ignored the question and her rather insistent tone under the winsome Cicely smile...
"Any one of a number of events could still give her cause to turn to you..." he noted suavely...
"Fine...Officially the job is still on..." Halfreck sighed... "But you and I know she'll never accept my help...Our one chance was that night...You never have answered my question..." Haly eyed Farris with
frown... "Why did you give it up?..."
"I?..." Farris, thin smile...
"You...You let her go...Let her chase Drusilla off, when you were supposed to keep her distracted and on edge...Why did you do it, between us, doctor...?"
"I did not, Halfreck...My story to you that evening was quite true...I stumbled and she was off before I could prevent her...A random event, nothing more...But frankly...If I had to do it again, knowing what I
know now..."
"Now?...What do you know now?..." Haly, more intently than she'd meant...
"It wasn't until the boy, Joseph was born...Cicely named him after William's mother's father... "At his request..."
"So?..." Odd...First time he's ever called Walthrop by name...
"So...Then it dawned on me why I was sure I'd seen that boy's face...Walthrop's, his father...Before...In my dreams, hounding me..."
"Premonition...?"
"Hardly...Though part of my hatred for him had been my thought that it was that...But when I saw the little fellow's face, image of his grandmother...And saw his father with him...I realized where I'd seen that face before..."
Haly, puzzled...
"One should always be on guard with servant girls..." he smiled coldly... "When one is young, one's ambitions are still vague and unformed...And one is foolish..."
She blinked... You mean...?
"Of course I'd no idea she'd changed her name to Walthrop after I'd sent her a small legacy I'd cquired..." he shrugged...
"Now...You will forgive me, dear girl..." he smiled...
"My children await..."
"Immortal Beloved..." CXLII...
PG 13
Disclaimer: If ya are fan fic writers, where's your disclaimers? Disclaimers? We ain't got no disclaimers...I don' need to show you no stinkin'...No, Joss, no...I make no claims, put that thing down!
It's all yours and ME's...
Spoilers for Angel to the bitter end...Flee at once!...
Summary: Though the standard IB format, one of (142) versions of events following the end of Angel S5 episodes from "Girl in Question" through to "Not Fade Away" and beyond... (Not a continuous story,
though some are multipart...)
Archived (soon) at the 'Normal' Buffyverse page of the Buffy Rebecca verse at . ,
scroll down to "Immortal Beloved" series ...
"Shakespeare's Sonnet #71 LXXI.
No longer mourn for me when I am dead
Then you shall hear the surly sullen bell
Give warning to the world that I am fled
From this vile world, with vilest worms to dwell:
Nay, if you read this line, remember not
The hand that writ it; for I love you so
That I in your sweet thoughts would be forgot
If thinking on me then should make you woe.
O, if, I say, you look upon this verse
When I perhaps compounded am with clay,
Do not so much as my poor name rehearse.
But let your love even with my life decay,
Lest the wise world should look into your moan
And mock you with me after I am gone."
"Yesterday, you say…?" choked voice…Folding the note in his trembling hands…
"Yeah…Will, I'm sorry…" Angel said, simply…
"Immortal Beloved..." CXLIII...
PG 13
Disclaimer: If ya are fan fic writers, where's your disclaimers?
Disclaimers? We ain't got no disclaimers...I don' need to show you
no stinkin'...No, Joss, no...I make no claims, put that thing down!
It's all yours and ME's...
Spoilers for Angel to the bitter end...Flee at once!...
Summary: Though the standard IB format, one of (143) versions of
events following the end of Angel S5 episodes from "Girl in Question"
through to "Not Fade Away" and beyond... (Not a continuous story, though some
are multipart...)
Archived (soon) at the 'Normal' Buffyverse page of the Buffy Rebecca
verse at . ,
scroll down to "Immortal Beloved" series ...
Two figures on a suburban street corner…One overdoing all in poseur casual black…Jacket, shirt, trousers, shoes…Socks…Screaming… "Brooding schmuck"…The other in a tasteful mix of black leather jacket, red shirt, brown trousers…Urbane, yet just a touch of bad boy…
"Angel…" nod…
"Yeah…Say…Are you writing again, Spike?..." curious peek over shoulder…"
"Giving my old craft a whirl…Privilege of the human souled and heroic, you know…"
Hand put up… "I'm just glad to see it…And Nina and Lyri will be pleased…So, another poem?...What's it about?..."
"The empty hell of American suburbia…Speakin' of which…" he glanced round…
"Seems like a nice little town to me…And it's nice to be near the Atlantic again…" Angel noted…
"If you're going to take that tone, shouldn't you be in ice cream vanilla?..."
"Jesus…Give it a rest, will ya…Besides, you know I just don't want to stand out…"
"Right…And in that outfit who would suspect a brooding prince of dorkiness was lurking in their streets…"
"Spike!..."
"Look, I wasn't the one who dragged us here, across the country…"
"You sound like you don't even care…"
"Is that why we're here?...You're playing matchmaker?..."
"I'm concerned about her…And about you…"
"So there is no great threat to her Blondness and I've once again been put on a wild goose chase?..."
"No, certainly not…Well, not exactly…Will, do you think I'd leave my Nina and head here unless I thought there was something to beware…?"
"Really…" dryly… "God…She didn't ask you to bring me?...She's not round here, somewhere, waiting to tell me about the place I have in her heart…"
"She doesn't know we're here…Or about you, least from me anyway...Can't say as to what Andy Wells told her …"
"And we are here…Because?..."
Spike, it's a matter of life and death, I can tell you that much…"
""What…Bad dating choice again?...I thought she was still with the Immortal, she manage to drop the I for him and moved on to someone or –thing else?..."
"She's still with the Immortal…At least most of the time…" Angel noted…Slightly hesitant look…A former boyfriend not quite comfortable with revealing an ex-'s troubling secrets…
"Oh, like when she was screwing me like mad and still telling you you'd be together someday when the time was…Right?..."
"Spike…You didn't have the chip when Buffy and I were together…If you were screwing Buffy then, she'd be sipping warm blood with you at the Partners' Welcome Hell on Earth ball right now and I'd be ashes…"
"Damned straight…" sigh…
God, it sucks to have a soul sometimes…He eyed Angel…
"Look…Liam…I'm touched to the heart by this…You've more than earned 'Christ Jr. of 2010', lad…But you're beating an undead horse, poor thing…"
Hmmn…Angel eyed the attacking demon he'd been slamming to the ground as they walked and talked…
"Mercy, I'm just transport, sir…" the horse demon whimpered…
"Fine…" he released the creature who galloped… "Sucker!..." yell back…Arggh…Groan and crash of large bulk to ground as William tossed a nearby fence pole like a javelin…
"Thanks…" Angel nodded…
"Anyway, as I say…" Spike resumed as both resumed walking… "It's water under the bridge, Liam…I appreciate the kind thought…But…"
"You've moved on…"
"Shut up…That's crap fit for the same bin as 'tough love' for resouled psychotic vampires…But there's no point to this…You said she doesn't even know…"Lets just head home and leave Blondie, female, be…"
"For ole times sakes, Will…Can"t we just check this out?..."
"She can handle the Immortal, I'm sure…"
"I didn't say it was the Immortal who was the problem this time…"
'Oh?...Well, I guess that leaves God Almighty himself…A tall order but I am her Champion…"
"Spike…"
"Sorry, don't mean to get you in Dutch with the new boss…"
"Spike, if you knew what I've learned…And if it were definitely true…"
"If she's gone for Willow's ex-, the Wolfboy, I'm all for it…He's a fine lad and will make her very happy…And warm…All that fur…And nice for you and Nina…Social acquaintances who won't require that elaborate sneeking about and fumbles for the door to the locked room…"
"It's not Willow's ex-…Spike…"
Oh…I get it…William shook his head…
That eighteenth century mentality rears at last…
"Angel, I know about that…Her little lescapade was all over the Net…Liam, twenty-first century, not the twelfth…I know it's the greatest possible horror to you, exceeding her eternal possession by the First… But, I'm fine with…"
"It's not that…Though…" Angel grimaced a second…
Lord, I'm sure glad I didn't transform Mum…If she'd survived and I'd got her a soul…Then introduced Buffy to her and then she'd seen that video…
Apocalypse…You don't know the word until an outraged Irish mum is involved…
"…Not that?..." Will stared, a bit curious now…
"Is it possession then?...She's had her soul sucked and turned Evil?..."
"Worse…I think I sense her…And…"
"It…" he grimaced again… "We'd better pull back a little…"
"Fine…" but a clear note of piqued interest…
Buffy appeared…Halting at a corner…No doubt about it, Will realized… Buffy in the living flesh…
And still human from the scent..With her Slayer aura intact…And her fashion sense considerably improved by her time in Europe…
Bet those boots cost the Council a pretty penny…
Waiting for some…Thing?...He noted, whispering the same to Angel…
"Yeah, now shhh…" Angel replied…
A car pulled up, door on passenger's side opening…Music blaring from within…
Hmmn…Not exactly the vehicle of some world-conquering fiend…Looks a bit battered…
She got in…Pulling door shut…The car remaining where it had parked…
Time passed…
Lord…They're not doing it right now?...Will sighed…
Jesus or whoever…At least have the class to take her somewhere nice…Even if you plan to drain her essence and turn her into a mad killing machine or whatever…
"It's this way every night since my guy followed her here…"
"Every night?..."
"Every night…Same time, same place…For two weeks…"
'And they're…Negotiating?...Fighting?..." Hopeful try…He eyed the now-shaking car…
No…I don't think so…
"Here…"Angel handed over a set of headphones…Displaying in his now-slightly open coat a hand holding what looked like a mini-bullhorn… "My Eavesdropper 10000…Don't turn…"
Loud groans and moans bellowing from the headphones…
Passionate, even rather obscene, groans and moans…
"…it up too high…Will?"
William dropped the headphones…
The car stopped its gyrations…The passenger door and driver side door each opened…
"Dear God…" Will backed away…
"I tole you…' Angel sighed…Staring at the two emerged figures…Buffy on the sidewalk, scanning for anything or –one…In the vicinity…
"Who's there?..." she called… "Hey!..."
While the fat, hideous blob on the driver's side walked…Or rather, oozed, Will thought…Over to where Buffy stood…Its hugely blubbery face looking round as well…
"Lois?..." its voice nervously called…
"I can go now, I've seen everything…" Will hissed…
"Will, we should…" Angel whispered…
"Talking to God, you idiot…Lord, take me now, for pity's sake…"
"I don't see or hear anyone…" Buffy told her companion who now stood by her…
Angel listening carefully now with his Eavesdropper 10000, motioning for Will to come in and listen with him…
Will shaking head…But finally, a strange, horrified curiosity getting the better of him…
"Oh, Peter…" Buffy told the Blob… "We've got to stop this…"
Lord, yes…For love of all that's holy…Will thought…
She embraced him and Angel grabbed at Will as he began heaving on the ground…
Bwwwfffggh…
"Hey!..." Buffy released her indecent obsession… "Who's there?..."
Sounds of barfing from the bushes down the street…
"Eh…Probably the old drunk from down the street, Buffy…Unless Lois has been hitting the ole bottle…Hey, Lois?..." It called…
"Wait…?" Will looked up, somewhat relieved now…
"It's not…"
"Married…With three kids…" Angel nodded… "And as unbelievable as it seems, a human being…"
"Holy Jesus…Ok…Okay…Then it's like the nerd Trio, right?...Magics, mind control…A clear license for us to kill…"
"That would be great…" Angel said brightly…As Buffy began carefully moving their way…
"But, no…" Downcast look… "No magics or mind control that my people could detect…"
We'd best move, Will…He noted, glancing Buffyward…They carefully began a retreat through the bushes…
"Psychotic break?...Guilt from letting her poor souled vamp lover burn?..."
"My psych team says there's no evidence from her behavior…But hey, what do they know?..." Angel shrugged…
"Right, Psychiatry's a crock…Probably organic brain disease…Maybe that fighter's trauma…Too many blows to the head?..."
"My neuro team looked over the observational data along with what my boys could copy from her doctors' offices when they broke in…Nothing…Unless she's been seeing some Council guys in secret…"
"Exactly…Yeah, Council…Lets call Giles and get the goods, then grab her and take her in for immediate care…"
"Giles doesn't take my calls…But Willow told me she hadn't heard Buffy was ill or in trouble…"
"Rupert plays these things close to the vest…And Buffy hates to bother people with her problems…"
Uh…Angel cleared his throat… "She did say…Well, she only told me that she'd heard from Dawn that Buffy met that…Thing…When It was supposedly buying toy designs in London for Its company…Dawn hadn't met It herself but…"
"…She said Dawn said…Buffy seemed very…"
"Delusional…Right…Come on, lets go save our girl, you idiot...Cause you know there's no way…"
He stared at Buffy's staring face, now a foot away from him…
"He makes me laugh…" she said, simply…