Chapitre23 : Epilogue

°Disclaimer still in the prologue.

° Just to avoid confusion:

"speech"

'Mind speech'

Cedric will be referred as Adam from now on.

It was two weeks after what happened with the master, the school year was finally finished and it was time for the Bloodpack to leave. They had already packed and send their baggage to the airport as their plane was taking off in the afternoon; Angel had taken care of it all while Xander and Ripper were still in school.

It was still morning, Xander and Kyle had decided to go visit Jess tombstone before they had to drive to the airport. It was really difficult for them to gather their courage, but they knew they had to go tell him their goodbyes. They would never forgive themselves if they were to leave without talking to him one last time and they needed the closure. They thought that they would go alone and then joined the others back at the manor, but the entire pack had wanted to go with them. They wanted to support their Alpha and Beta in their sorrow and pain; to show them that the pack would always be there for them. So that was why, when Xander took Kyle's hand and led him towards Jesse's headstone, the rest of the pack followed in a revered and respectful silence. They didn't want to intrude on their goodbyes but wanted to be close enough to offer them comfort if needed.

Once Xander and Kyle were finally standing before Jesse's grave, Angel and Ripper signed the others to stand protectively around the two boys and hide them from view, offering them all the privacy they could. Angel kept Spike or William as he now preferred to be called and Adam at his side, not willing to let them out of his sight; while Ripper and Cordelia did the same with Oz and Drusilla. William, Adam and Drusilla had entered their life and joined the pack with a facility and a rapidity that were disconcerting, it was as if they had always been there. They had accepted them completely and without a doubt those three were going to make life in the pack very interesting.

The night before Angel and Xander had decided to mark everyone, now that there weren't any curse to stop them and that they finally were going to leave; they agreed that it was time. Xander had marked Adam, Drusilla, Cordelia and William while Angel had marked them all, even his children. Xander had had great fun marking Cordelia, they had been mock flirting during the bite but had ended laughing their head off because of a tickling war. With Drusilla he had made sure to never scare her, explaining everything before marking her, seeing her as a child and princess. Though in the end she had surprised him by kissing him on the cheek while telling him she knew that he would take good care of her little brother. He had been blushing bright red after that and had watch as she left the room with a mischievous gleam in her eyes; she had had him completely around her little finger and she knew it. Then he had marked William and had had to refrain himself to not bite him above his heart and mark him as his mate, all the while thinking of what Dru had told him. When he had had to let William go, feeling the longing of having his future mate back in his arms; he noticed Penn looking hardly at him.

Nervousness enveloped him as Penn walked to him glaring and said: "If you even thought of hurting my little brother, you will regret it and that's a promise not a threat!"

Xander at this became completely serious and said; "I would never hurt him, he is my mate. All I want is to take care of him and make him happy."

Penn looked him in the eyes for a moment and seeing the seriousness and truth in Xander, smiled showing his respect and the beginning of trust. He then bare his throat to Xander showing that he accepted him as his Alpha, and just like that they began to talk and learn about each others. After a while Penn left and sent Adam to Xander; Adam had been completely at ease with him, trusting in him to not hurt him and trusting in Angel to not let him be harmed.

Contrary to Xander, Angel had had to mark them all; his mark was situated on the opposite side of Xander's bite, showing himself as the other Alpha of the pack. Once they had been bitten; a necklace had appeared tied to their neck, with Angel Griffin's tattoo as pendant. A gem of Angel's crystallised blood standing in the place of the griffin's eye and symbolising them as member of the Aurelius clan and giving them its protection. The colour of the gem was of a dark crimson except for Adam, William, Penn and Drusilla whose were black, showing them as being his children and of his blood.

So now standing proudly as the first Bloodpack that had been formed since the creation of the 'Weres' and vampires, they watched as two of them where finally saying their final goodbyes to someone they had loved more than they could say. Their hearts were crying for a boy who had died too soon, and who had been too gentle to have to suffer a death so violent.

Feeling eyes on him Ripper turned to see Angel watching him as he was stroking Oz's back in comfort; he had become exceedingly protective of the young werewolf during those two weeks. He had helped Kyle a lot in making Oz feel safe within the pack; he had come to see the boy as a son and always had an eye on him. Though to be fair he was extremely protective of all their young, Drusilla and William included; he couldn't see those two as older than he was. Drusilla was really childlike in her craziness, sweet and gentle; though you didn't want to make her angry. She could have a mean streak if she or her loved ones were threatened, she was a vampire and you shouldn't forget about it.

William contrary to their princess was shy and silent; he had a hard time showing his true feelings. A result caused by the bad treatment he had received by his family before Angel sired him. Those two weeks had allowed their sire/childer bond to gain a newfound closeness that they didn't have before. When William was feeling safe and it was mostly the case while in the presence of Angel, Penn or Xander; he could show a playful and curious side that was in complete opposition with the brash and arrogant front he had showed when first meeting him. They had all had the image of a kitten popping in their head at least once while watching him. Well a kitten with big claws and fangs when nervous or angry, but a kitten all the same.

Returning to the present Ripper smiled back at Angel and watched out once more for the two grieving boys.

Xander was finally talking beginning the hard and long process of healing, by expressing everything he felt out loud in the hope of reaching Jesse's spirit. "I'm sorry that we didn't come sooner, we… I…"; Xander began, but he couldn't continue, he couldn't find the words he needed to express his feelings.

Just as he was opening his mouth to make another tentative, a voice said; "Finally!" He jumped in shock and surprise as he recognised it to be Jesse's voice and looked at Kyle. He thought that he had gone crazy till he saw the same look on the other boy's face and those surrounding them.

"What…" said Kyle this time not believing his ears, but as he was going to say more the voice sounded again.

"I thought you would never come!" it said impatiently and then playfully; "Didn't you want to see me?"

As everybody looked at the tombstone unbelievingly, a boy of nearly sixteen appeared seating crossed legs on top of the headstone looking like the cat that got the cream and the canary. He looked exactly the same as he was just before his death except for his eyes; they were a glowing and luminous green without any pupil. And those eyes were looking at them as if they were the strangest and funnier beings he had seen in a long time. Then laughing happily he got up and went to Xander and Kyle, embracing them with all his strength before telling them how he had missed them. The two 'Weres' couldn't believe it but all their senses were telling them the same thing; it was really Jesse standing before them.

Xander was the first to relieve the embrace and asked tears flowing along his jaws; "How?"

Jesse looked at them and his bright green eyes darkened with sadness and said, "Well the day before we were attacked by the vampires I felt my death coming and though I couldn't do a thing against it, my regret to leave you two alone and my want to protect you, touched Mother. As I was dying she appeared before me and asked me a question; she asked me what I really wanted to do. I told her that all I knew was that I needed to help you two and she accepted it without a doubt. She offered me a choice, to become a being who wasn't human anymore, who didn't belong to this world or to go along with my death and rejoined her. I never hesitated and became what she called a guardian."

"Like a guardian angel? It would be perfect for you; we have always compared you to an angel." Xander said laughing, happy to have his little brother in his arms once more. Kyle was on his other side and couldn't let go of Jesse's hand either, he didn't want to see him disappear and realize that it had all been a dream.

"You would…"; Jesse said blushing sheepishly, making everyone laugh. "But no I am not an angel, just a guardian. I am linked to the pack and bound to protect it; without the pack I don't exist anymore. In a way I'm protecting you while you are giving me life." He said smiling shyly.

Jesse then explained that he had trained since his death to ensure his ability to protect them and the pack. That there were two sorts of guardians, those that chose to defend like himself did and those that chose to use their strength to fight and attack. Though, in both cases their existences were meant to protect those that they loved.

Everyone looked in awe at this boy who had preferred to continue to fight through a new life to assure the safety and protection of those he loved, instead of the peace he would have finally found and deserved if he had gone along with his death. This boy, they hadn't really known till this day even though they had began to like him through Xander and Kyle, had gained their respect by being so loving, loyal and unselfish. They all finally moved to the boy while Xander made the presentation.

Jesse was happily smiling at the warm welcome he was receiving from everyone and the loving reconnection he felt with his big brothers; when all of a sudden he was tumbled to the ground by a really eager three headed puppy. He was playfully fighting and trying to restrain it from licking his face when a surprised "Hell" was shouted by everyone. That did it for Jesse and he said, before bursting out laughing; "You named it Hell?!!" After a moment he succeeded in calming himself for a few minutes and explained; "I think it will be the first word on the minds of anyone who dared to threaten Adam in its presence." They all were shocked at that; they had never thought of it before but what made them really laugh was the look of pride exulting from Adam. It confirmed to them that the boy had never thought to call the puppy "Hell" for the Hellgate it was guarding.

After a moment of joyful talking and laughing, Ripper looked at his watch and saw that it would soon be time to go to the airport; so he began to lead everyone back to the cemetery's entrance.

Suddenly Cordelia ran to the gate shouting "Larry", while tackling said boy in an embrace. They all gathered around them and just as Angel was going to say something, Magic and some of Xander's demon friends appeared smiling. "Well I see that Jesse has finally met back with you", Magic said. "I know that we don't have long before you all had to go to the airport, but I need to tell you what will be going on while you are away. Larry here has decided to stay in Sunnydale to keep watch on the Hellmouth and the girls. Since we have stabilised the gate enough for it to stop emitting its wrongness, Larry has revealed himself to be an especially strong magic user and will be taught here."

She then explained that Xander's old friends and mentors of the Orchyari, Malyageohl and Linderwrk clans would protect and teach the boy while chaining the girls to the Hellmouth, with her help to boost their powers. Sadly she wouldn't be able to help them that much as she wasn't aligned to their magic like she was with Xander and the others. She told them that once they had left the town they would create a magical bubble that would surround it and protect everyone leaving there; while the girls would have the illusion of living the life they would have if Xander hadn't been a Luenor. It should be powerful enough to trap them there for a few years, and they would be alerted by Larry when the sortilege would begin to break. That way everyone living in Sunnydale would be shielded, though blocked there and the girls wouldn't be able to hurt anyone for the time being as they would evolve in their own dimension made of illusions. No one would even remember the girls while the sortilege was on.

Relieved that nothing bad would happened while they were away and that the town would be in good hands, the Bloodpack said their goodbyes and followed a happy even if tearful Cordelia to the cars. She was sad to have to leave one of her brothers behind, but was happy that he would finally receive the care and teaching he deserved. She knew that Oz was feeling the same, but she was sure that Kyle would help comfort him.

Once they passed the 'Welcome to Sunnydale' sign, they all looked back to the town to see it being enveloped by a magical amethyst bubble. With a last goodbye to their friend they sped away in the direction of the airport and England, where who knew what would happen or was happening there.

A.N:

°We have finally reached the end of the first Arc. That Epilogue was way longer than I thought it would be, so enjoy!

°The next Arc will be longer to come because I want to write most of it before uploading the chapters, sorry.

°Finally thanks to Carlough, Veronica, Emeralden Rapley, LostGryffindorFoundSlytherin, Sacred histories and foxykitsuneyouko for reviewing^^ Thank you all!!!