He awoke to silence. After the noise and fury of the fight and the sizzling sound of the fire, the silence was unwelcome, eerie. He opened his eyes slowly, afraid of what he'd see. The place that met his searching gaze was cool, empty. An arched doorway with white pillars stood directly in front of him, a bubbling fountain at his back. A haze of cool pleasant mist surrounded the room, which defied description. It was both indoors and out, large and small. He pushed himself to his feet, a strange familiarity tickling his mind. He'd been here before.
"Yes. You have." He blinked and looked up. Two figures stood in the arched doorway. Familiar figures with blue-tinted skin and white robes. Male and female, they stood side by side, similar enough to be twins, yet the difference in their natures was apparent. He recognized them. The oracles. The DEAD oracles.
"But you're dead."
The female smiled. "Yes."
He digested that a moment. "Am I dead?"
The male laughed. "You've been dead for two hundred years or so, haven't you?"
"You know what I mean."
The female shook her head. "No Angelus. You are as alive as you ever were. As are they." She gestured widely. He spun to see the unconscious bodies of his friends laying around the room. His eyes lingered on Buffy. Her charred skin was healed, her torn clothes restored. She looked like she was simply asleep.
Angel turned back to the Oracles. "Will they wake up?"
The female smiled. "Yes" She turned to her brother and spoke softly. He walked forward, bending to touch each of the sleeping people on their foreheads. One by one they opened their eyes and sat up, except Buffy, who still lay in a state of senseless sleep. Giles was the first to stand, Xander a moment behind him. Only Spike remained sitting, his dark eyes glancing searchingly around. Angel looked away. He knew what Spike was searching for, and already knew she wasn't here.
"Who-who are you?" Giles spoke, absently cleaning his glasses on his collar, realizing after a moment that they were no longer broken. He placed them back on his face, his expression surprised and wary.
"We are the Oracles."
Giles studied them carefully. "The figures from Buffy's vision?" The female nodded. "Where are we? What has happened?"
The female spoke, her brother standing beside her, his face distracted and ambivalent. "The Slayers managed to restore the Balance. We are impressed. We had thought it was lost there at the last. We did not anticipate the sacrifice of Twilight."
"What happened exactly? We saw that Spike was forced to eh-dispose of Katerina, but we know so little of what really went on." Wesley tried to avoid looking at Spike, whose face had darkened at the mention of Katerina's end.
"When the scales began to shift, the natures of the Slayers began to change. Because they were also vampires, the vampire nature began to take over. They fought against the shift, but it was a losing battle, and they both knew it. Katerina knew of a spell of possession and made use of it."
Willow glared at the Oracle, tired of her cryptic half answers. "What spell, and HOW did she use it?"
The female stared into the redheaded witch's eyes. After a moment Willow looked away, her cheeks faintly pink. The Oracle smiled. "Demons use spells of possession to inhabit a human host, take over their body. Katerina had learned the spell by accident centuries ago, when such spells were in more common use. She used that spell to preserve her own soul and inhabit Buffy's body. Their combined strength was strong enough to hold back the shift for long enough for Buffy to counter the ritual. It was not the way things had been anticipated. But it was effective. The Balance is preserved for another thousand years. This time's Reader and Seer have survived. The Slayers accomplished their task. As did our other Warriors." She nodded toward Angel and then smiled at Spike. The blonde vampire blinked in surprise and his sullen expression gave way to one of sheer horror.
Xander stared at Buffy's still form. "So Buffy is possessed by Kat now?"
The Oracle shook her head. "Yes and no. It is . . . . an interesting effect. And a long story."
Xander turned to the Oracle, resolve in every line of his face. "We love long stories. Can't get enough of them."
The female smiled but the male's apathy shifted to annoyance. "It is not for mortals and lesser forms to know the workings of The Powers, or the truths that lie behind this."
Xander opened his mouth to protest when the female laid a calming hand on her brother's shoulder. "Peace brother. These have fought and suffered and served. It is their right to know."
He glared at her. "Be it on your head then. Those above us will not be pleased."
She laughed, the sound bearing an alien, hair-raising element. "Let them fume. We have righted their mistakes. They know that well." The male nodded curtly and stepped through the doorway, disappearing from their view. The female watched him go, a wry smile twisting her lips. She settled herself onto the step at the doorway's base, surprising them all by sitting. She gave them a more genuine, if inhuman smile. "Even within these halls and in our blood, power is contested. My brother is younger and weaker than I, and fears the displeasure of those who rule us. He will learn in time."
Tara looked surprised. "Your kind ages?"
The Oracles smiled. "Not to your eyes. But nothing is immortal, and nothing remains always the same."
Spike finally stood, his stance aggressive. "This is all well and good, but you haven't told us a single bloody thing. What's going to happen when Buffy wakes up and has Kat pinging around in her brain? And where are we? And finally, who in the bloody hell are you?"
Angel spoke, his annoyance with the vampire apparent. "They're the Oracles. They were kill-"
"Sorry mate, but I don't remember asking you a thing. So sod off and let the lady speak her mind." Spike was digging through his pockets for a cigarette. His face turned mournful when he failed to find one. Angel's expression darkened and he looked on the verge of retorting when the Oracle spoke.
"We are called the Oracles. We are the physical presence of a higher power on this world. Your kind and others' connection to the higher powers. We guide them and help them, if we so choose. Because we must exist in physical form on this world, we are subject to injury and death, like all other creatures. An enemy of Angel's killed our physical bodies, robbing this world of its link to the higher Powers." She smiled at Angel. "Our favored warrior managed to avenge us, but it was too late to save us. We lost our place here, and the Balance became precarious, as the other side still retained their link to their Powers. When the Balance was restored, our side was allowed a concession, and we regained our physical forms and our entryway. This place is our gateway to your world."
"So there are other Oracles? For the bad guys?" Cordelia seemed worried by that concept.
The Oracle nodded at the seer. "Yes. And no. Good and evil, bad and rightous; these do not exist in our plane. Here, the forces have taken on sides and personas, and those we stand with have come to represent the forces of 'good' as you view them, while our opposites stand with those you call 'evil.' In truth we are neither. Those we oppose have their own links to their superiors who serve the same function for them as we do here."
"What exactly are you and those who are with you then? What do you stand for?" Wesley asked the question, his expression fascinated. Spike looked bored and kept sighing heavily as he waited for the answers to questions he cared about.
"At their heart, the forces have no alignment. They are, in their simplest forms Order and Chaos. Those you call evil aid the cause of Chaos. We stand for Order." The Oracle's expression turned thoughtful. "In truth both sides have committed acts that can be considered good and ones that are evil." She smiled. "This world has corrupted us. We find we are fond of doing good and helping those in need now. We are no longer impartial to anything but the Order."
Spike opened his mouth again but Giles beat him to it. The vampire glared at him, knowing the older man was dying for some way to write all this information down. "And the Scale? It is impartial?"
"The scale has no physical form, save when it is summoned. It exists between the planes, measuring the forces and keeping all in Balance. When it summons it appears as The Blind. It has gone by many names over the millennia, often called the Blind God of Justice. Nothing can sway it save Truth, offered as evidence."
Spike managed to interrupt before either of the information-hungry Watchers could ask more questions. "And what about Buffy? What's going to happen? What did Kat do?"
The Oracle sighed. "A Slayer is both a natural being and a creation of the Powers. They're ordained warriors. In the beginning there was only one. In time, more became necessary for various reasons. The souls of a Slayer were different than those of normal man. Stronger, more primal. They are . . . difficult to craft. Once one is created it lives again and again. It is mixed with various personalities and bits of things that create a different person each time, but at its essence, each Slayer lives hundreds of lifetimes as a Warrior." She gestured toward Buffy. "You're Slayer may have lived a thousand times before. She and Katerina were among the strongest of their kind, experience made them stronger. When Katerina chose to become a vampire, she became stronger still. The vampire mixed with the Slayer and created a being never before seen with any success." She looked toward the prone slayer. "But she lost as well. With the mix of vampire and slayer, a bit of her was lost. That part, call it a part of her spirit perhaps, left her. But this separate floating piece was still, at its heart, a slayer. Though it was weak now. Over time this part was retooled, re-mixed, and recreated. It became a Slayer again, gaining in strength until it was as strong as the Slayer it had come from, and finally it was stronger." The Oracle's alien gaze flicked across Angel and Spike. "That spirit was reborn- as Buffy."
Mouths fell open. "What? How is that possible? How can a soul be reborn when its original is still alive?" Wesley was flustered.
"They're alike in ways yes, but they are not the same person in anyway. It simply doesn't add up." Giles was more angry than flustered.
The Oracle held up her hand. "No. They are not the same person. Buffy is far different. But at heart, they are made from the same essence. When Katerina performed the possession spell, her soul entered Buffy's body. When Buffy became a vampire, the same thing happened. Part of her spirit or soul, whatever you wish to call it, left. Had things continued as they were, you would have noticed great changes in her. She would still be the woman you knew, but there would be greater changes in her than just silver eyes. When Katerina joined with her, the two souls merged, knowing they belonged together. Separate they were strong." She regarded them solemnly. "Together, they are equal to more than their parts."
Angel shook his head slowly. "So . . . both of them are in there?"
The Oracle looked saddened. "Katerina's spirit was already weakening when she performed the spell. She was tired and had lived a long life with very little hope to sustain her. She knew Buffy was stronger than she, and so gave up her physical form and entered Buffy. She did not know what would happen, that they would merge. Buffy was much stronger, and she . . . took in Katerina. In time, Buffy may gain Katerina's memories, her training. But Katerina as an individual entity no longer exists."
Willow blinked tears from her eyes. "Will-does . . .does Buffy know? Will she remember?"
The Oracle raised her hands helplessly. "That is up to you."
Spike looked up, his face a study in misery. "What do you mean?"
"Buffy sleeps still because I keep her that way. She can hear us, but sleeps still. I can awaken her with the memory or without. It is your decision. She will know that Katerina is gone, and she will remember that Katerina's spirit aided her in the battle. But she can be ignorant of the rest, if you feel it will be easier for her."
Eight heads instantly shook. Giles spoke for them all. "She would want to know." They nodded in agreement.
The Oracle nodded in assent. "She will awaken when she returns to your world then." She rose, her white robes flowing about her as she moved. "My brother is not here to frown and demand, so I will offer you something I am not usually capable of. You have served us well and your time is not nearly over. You are necessary for the future, but in thanks for this, I can grant you reward. What is it you desire?"
Angel looked over, his face startled, almost frightened. The Oracle smiled. "No dark one, you've not yet earned your humanity. But if there is a lesser thing I can grant, than ask."
Spike spoke up. "Bring her back."
The Oracle looked startled. "It cannot be done."
"Bollocks. You can bring her back if you want to, you just won't."
The Oracle studied him. "Yes. I could. If I chose. Tell me, do you want me to? You're Buffy is stronger now than before. She will survive where no others would have. The parts of her that were lost in the Change have been replaced, and she will no longer change much from the woman you know. She may even become a bit more like your Katerina. If I brought Katerina back, both would be weaker."
"I don't care if she's crawling around on her knees like a bloody infant. Bring her back. We can MAKE her strong again."
The Oracle stepped toward him, her inhuman gaze staring through his. "Would she have wanted that?" He winced and looked away. "Your Kat was weary. She had fought for too long. She longed for rest. You know that."
Spike sighed. "Yeah, I know."
"I can give you something else."
He stared at her, then stepped forward to whisper in her ear. She looked startled, then laughed. "I cannot grant what you've already earned. Have faith in yourself. Our warriors are not randomly chosen."
His face fell as she again called him a warrior. "Bloody hell."
The Oracle turned, still smiling. "You're time is running out. There are others who need speak with me. What will the rest of you ask?"
Cordelia cleared her throat nervously. "Lindsey Macdonald you ah-know him right?" The Oracle nodded. "He saved my life. I know you can't bring Kat back or anything, but maybe . . . Lindsey's not a slayer. Maybe you could give him another chance."
The Oracle shook her head. "And have his act of redemption be meaningless? No. Lindsey has already moved on. He will be given another chance at life. He earned a fresh start with that final act."
Spike glared at the Oracle's back. "These rewards bloody well suck so far."
Xander glared at him and stepped forward, bringing her eyes to him. "What about Buffy? What if she asks for her humanity back. Will you grant that?"
She frowned. "She is stronger now as a vampire. And she has more strength now to master the darker side of herself." She hesitated. "But she and Katerina have given much of themselves. Yes. If she truly desires that, I will grant it."
"So wake her up and ask."
The Oracle laughed again. "I will ask her at alone later, when she has had more time to realize all that has happened. When Xander frowned she gave him a surprisingly tender smile. "Be still little Reader. You have much to learn in a short time, you're powers will soon amaze even you." She glanced around at the rest of them. "Perhaps I will simply give what I feel has been earned, as time is running short and none of you seem to know what you desire." She glanced backwards at the door. Farewell my warriors. I suspect we will meet again."
"Wait!" Angel stepped forward. "I know what I want."
The Oracle faded back toward the door. "Your reward has already been chosen."
"No! I want this. I want to say goodbye."
She looked back at his stricken expression and smiled once more. "It is already done, another
reward given, as you will soon discover. But do not lose hope." She vanished through the
doorway. They turned to face one another as the mist grew deeper they strained to see one
another before giving up as a strange lethargy overtook them. As one, they lay down on the cool
ground and slept.
******************************************************************************
Rough hands shook him awake. "What's the matter with you people? Can't you read the no trespassing signs? Get outta here before I decide to haul all of you in." Angel blinked and sat up, looking around him in puzzlement. He jumped to his feet as the policeman in front of him glared at him. Suddenly the man looked at him, than around the room, where the rest of them were sitting up, groaning. He took in the tattered clothes and wounded bodies. There was no sign of the renegade Watcher's body. It must have been incinerated when the fire burned. Nothing else seemed to have burned though. It must have been meant to burn only flesh. The cop looked astounded and faintly fearful. "Jesus, what the hell happened here?"
Angel smiled at the man. "Nothing officer. Just a slumber party." He reached into his pocket and pulled out his wallet, he slid the man a fifty dollar bill, knowing the Sunnydale's crack police squad from memory.
The cop smiled at him. "Anything you say, man. Just make sure you're all cleared out of here by morning. Construction crews coming by to start cleaning work. Turning this place into some kind of museum or something." The cop turned and left.
Angel looked around carefully, seeing everyone else pulling themselves carefully to their feet. They were scattered haphazardly around the room, blown there by the final blast. He moved carefully toward Buffy, who was only just beginning to stir. He reached down and carefully pulled her to her feet. She groaned and gripped her sides, her closed eyes squinted with pain. "Are you alright? Buffy?" Her eyes opened and she smiled up at him.
A gasp of surprise escaped his lips as he looked into her eyes. They were blue. Clear sky blue. And through them looked Katerina, her lips twisted in a smile that was wholly her own, even though it was on Buffy's lips. "Goodbye Angel." The Oracle had granted his request anyway.
He pulled her close in a fierce, tight hug. "Oh God Kat. I'm so sorry. Please forgive me. I was wrong to blame you. I know it now, I knew it then. I was just afraid-"
"Shhhh." Her voice was muffled against his collar. "It's alright. I forgive you and I understand. You were always my friend Angelus, even when you were being a stubborn ass." He felt her grin, though he couldn't see it. "And I will always love you for that. I'm sorry I took Buffy from you."
"You didn't. I know that now. And I forgive you for anything."
Her arms tightened around him for a moment, nearly cracking his ribs. "Tell Spike thank you. And tell them all goodbye." She pushed herself away from him and he met her blue eyes again, her lips still smiling. "The history books already forgotten Angel. I'd like to think someone remembered The Eternal Twilight." Her smile turned wry as she used the title she'd grown to loathe centuries ago.
He smiled back, tears finally falling from his eyes. "I never knew her. But as long as I'm alive, someone always will remember Katerina."
A single tear rolled down her face, and for that moment he didn't see Buffy. He only saw her. "Goodbye Angel."
His voice was a whisper. "Goodbye Kat."
The blue eyes closed and her body went slack for a moment. Then the eyes opened again and he stared into the familiar green of Buffy's gaze. "A-Angel?"
He caught her as her knees went weak, sobs rising up from her throat and tears wetting his jacket. He cried too, and sent a silent thanks to the Oracle, who'd granted him his goodbye, and to Kat, who'd given him back his green eyed Slayer. He looked up to see Spike watching them, pain, frustration, worry, and sorrow mixing in his face. He met Angel's eyes and Angel spoke. "She said thank you. And goodbye."
Spike nodded and walked away. Angel looked back down. Buffy's voice came to him, muffled and hiccuping. "She's gone Angel. I could feel her there while I- and now she's gone. There's just me."
He held her. "You remember what the Oracles said to all of us?"
She nodded. "Ye-yes."
They didn't say anything else. The other's gathered around them, and nothing more needed to be said. Together, they began making their way out of the destroyed building.
Suddenly Buffy looked up, her gaze searching. "Where's Spike?" They looked, but no one saw him. Angel's eyes darkened and Xander paled. They shared a glance, each realizing that the other knew the truth.
Spike was gone. And so was his chip.
******************************************************************************
The two men shifted nervously in front of the altar. Two figures stood in robes atop the altar, one male one female, their blue-skinned arms at their sides. The female spoke. "We are, of course, disappointed. We had high hopes for this project. Mr. Macdonald proved a gross disappointment to us."
The male spoke. "You should have informed us of his treachery immediately. It was suspected, but not guaranteed. Instead you chose to send a vampire and a squad of humans to the home of a Watcher where two slayers were. A grave error in judgement."
One of the humans spoke. "They did manage to eliminate Lindsey."
The male sneered. "Yes Mr. Stanchon, after he'd managed to tell them enough to ruin our plans entirely." The male turned to his sister as the lawyers fiddled nervously in front of them.
The female spoke again. "This . . . error in your judgement will be overlooked. I trust you will see to Holland Manners? The man is a valuable asset, and we do not want to lose him. But his error in bringing young Mr. Macdonald into our circle caused the downfall of this affair. Some form of punishment is in order."
Lee Stanton nodded hastily. "Of course . . . I'll see to it personally."
"Excellent." The male consulted his sister again. "And the Initiative files Agent Graham brought you. You used them to deactivate the chip of the vampire who follows the Slayer?"
Lee turned his eyes to Matt Cronberg, who nodded. Lee looked back to the robed figures. "Yes. It's already been done."
"This is good." The female silenced her brother with one hand when he started to speak. "There is another Slayer. We've used her in the past. We wish her released from prison. Use all the favors owed this law firm to see it done."
Matt cleared his throat nervously. "Forgive me, but that may not be the best choice. This Slayer has already turned against us once. She is seeking redemption and is no longer working on our side of the divide."
The female smiled. "Do as you're told Mr. Cronberg, and spare us all the odious results of your 'thinking'. Another Slayer loose is simply another factor in the great game. It adds Chaos to the situation." Her smile widened. "And Chaos, little human, is always our greatest goal."
Matt bowed his head. "It will be seen to."
The blue arms waved them away and the two men left. The figures waited for them to leave and then retreated through a doorway into a different realm. The male turned his eyes toward his sister. "The Slayer is now stronger. And immortal. She will pose a problem."
The female smiled. "There are ways and ways of dealing with her brother. We will see what happens and play the game given us."
He scowled. "I like it not. The future is too obscure, too many possibilities."
She laughed. "In such a myriad of possibilities lies the heart of what we seek. Chaos is never knowing the future, brother. So embrace it, and we will do what we must."
He nodded and together they traveled on through the arching doorway with its black marble
pillars.
Credits
First I'd like to do a quick credit for a few of the references and quotes in this story. This page is
highly boring, feel free to skip past this section if you'd like to see my list of thank yous and/or the
blatant teasers for the (possible) sequel to this story!
1. "Time cools; time clarifies; no mood can be maintained quite unaltered through the
course of hours." --Thomas Mann. I've seen this quote attributed to several different people and
am unsure of its actual source. So if you feel it has been wrongly attributed, sorry!
2. In several parts of In Twilight's Wake, I use other languages to identify spells and such. I am
not bilingual in any shape, and may have horribly mangled the translation, as my only guides were
a few dictionaries and online translators. My apologies to you if your native language took a
beating somewhere in this text.
3. Referenced several times throughout this story are the Star Wars trilogy of movies and various
comic books. I don't own those. Someone else does. If I owned them I would be typing this
story from a vibrating leather chair , chatting on the phone with Steven Spielberg while my
personal chef whipped me up a Caesar salad. But alas, my chair is old and has teeth marks from
my dogs, Spielberg doesn't have my number on speed-dial, and I have to go to the kitchen and
make my own damn salad.
4 No. I don't hate Riley or Anya. I just needed to do what I did for the sake of the story. Riley had to go for plot continuity. Anya went because the scenes were just so damn crowded with characters from both shows. I considered getting rid of a few more for simplicity's sake, but restrained myself.
5. In part Sixteen, quotes are swiped from Shakespeare's play Henry V and from Lord Byron.
6. I tried without success to find out the last names of Holland (from Wolfram & Hart) and
Graham (from the initiative.) So I took a guess at Holland and didn't use Graham's. If the name
is incorrect, I apologize and feel free to contact me with the correct name.
Acknowledgments
Finally, I'd like to put out huge thank you to all my readers and reviewers. They are:
Heidi Doeing (who was kind enough to read and review every single chapter.), Danste, Cari,
Aisling, Kaiya, Angela, C-Man, Stayce, Anna, Starla, Isis, Amelia, Sakana Kaioh, Harry Lime,
Yvette Wolf, Cold_Water, Chicka, Jessica Skydiva, Ithica, Renebre, Sanguinary, Sloane, Kate,
Annika Simpson, Jupiter, Sanguine, Angel, Pinky, Wendy, Sybelle, Kakia and all those who
e-mailed me. I tried to keep all the e-mails in a folder so I could reference their senders in this
thank you section, but I managed to accidentally delete them! So my apologies to all of you and
my most sincere thanks! Thanks also to those who read and didn't review, even the reading is
nice. Big thanks also to my Mom, who's as big a Buffy fanatic as me and let me use her as a
human racquetball court to bounce ideas off of. And to Crystal, who took my constant nagging
to "hurry up and read" in stride and never once decked me for being annoying, which I deserved.
And last but not least to my long suffering Beta reader Laura, who helped make the final sections
of this text readable.
The Big Tease
Finally here it is. The big tease. Consider this a teaser trailer for the sequel I'm considering. If
you feel this shouldn't have a sequel, than let me know! If you feel it should, let me know that
too! I'll probably write it no matter what, as it'll drive me crazy to have it buzzing around my
brain without being put down on paper, but it's nice to hear from the people who read it anyways.
:)
In the aftermath of the struggle for Balance, the two teams part company again, Angel, Cordelia, and Wesley returning to the big bad city while Buffy stays behind with her friends to guard the Hellmouth. As memories of a life she never lived began to sift into her dreams, Buffy has to choose between the strength of a vampire, or the life of a human. Xander must learn how to deal with his newfound powers and is overwhelmed when his ex-girlfriend comes around to make up. When he refuses to take back Anya, the ex-demon has some dire choices to make when she is suddenly offered another chance as a vengeance demon.
In LA, Angel must discover what it is the Oracles gifted him with and is determined to find the whereabouts of a newly de-chipped Spike, whose intentions are unknown. And Wolfram & Hart continue to cause trouble when they set Faith loose on the streets of LA long before the reforming Slayer is ready for life outside.
What is Angel's reward? Will Buffy stay human? Is Spike playing for the good guys, or
will he revert to his Big Bad ways? And, of course, what is to come when Faith is given a
get-out-of-jail-free card? This and more will be revealed (maybe) in . . . . the sequel to this
which I haven't thought of a title for yet. Damn. That would have sounded much more
impressive if I'd had a title to finish it with.
Thanks again to all! Writing this has been a true joy.
To return click here.