The Broken Road (CC, Angel, XO, Mature) Complete 9/20

[candygurl1718]

Title: The Broken Road

Author: Melissa

Category: M/M, CC, crossover with Angel

Disclaimer: I don’t own Roswell or Angel. The plot is all mine. The italics in the first part are from Graduation courtesy of Crashdown.com

Summary: Set after Graduation and the series finale of Angel.

A/N: Hi everyone! I'm new over here, well new to posting anyways. I've been lurking for quite some time. Please read and review. Thanks!

The Broken Road

Part One: The End

Liz: They probably don't know anything about you, Kyle. You could still go back.

Kyle: Even if by some miracle they haven't put me together with the rest of you guys, there's still the little matter of my latent alien powers. Some day I'll be buzzing and crackling like tin foil in a microwave, and I'd just as soon be with my own kind when it happens.

Michael: Does he really get to start referring to us as his 'own kind'?

Max tries to respond, but doesn’t know what to say.

Maria: I'm not going back, either.

Liz: No..?

Maria: No... my future's here.

Michael: Maria... think about what you're saying...

Maria: ...I have, and... this is my choice. This is what I want. And... whatever that is in the end, that's what it'll be... but... we're doing it together.

“No,” Michael stated as though it was the most obvious thing in the world.

“What?” Maria asked incredulously.

“It’s not safe…” Michael tried to explain.

“Not safe? Michael I’m not a child! I can take care of myself,” Maria fought back, obviously not willing to back down.

“He’s right,” Max answered, trying to rush the painful goodbye along. “I’m sorry Maria, but you don’t have powers to protect yourself. We can’t be distracted by trying to protect you. This isn’t a summer road trip; we’re running for our lives.” He hated to see her stay behind, but he didn’t want to see her hurt. Even more he didn’t want to see her end up like Alex.

“I know…” she began to argue again, but Michael cut her off.

“You deserve a normal life. If you come with us now you’ll never have that chance,” Michael stated, while trying to keep the sadness out of his voice. “You can’t come with us. I’m sorry.” With that said he turned away from the group and the sad face staring at him pleading him to take what he was saying back.

Not knowing what else to say Maria looked around the group. No one asked her to come or told Max and Michael she could make her own decision. Everyone looked away or refused to meet her eyes. Seeing that there was no hope she silently turned around and walked back to her car. She hoped he would call out, beg her to come with them. He didn’t. She opened the door of the little red Jetta and slowly climbed in. As she shut the door and pulled away she realized that a huge part of her life was over. She had freedom, a normal life, a safe future, but she didn’t have her friends, her family.

On her way down the deserted highway she passed an old beat up van heading in the direction she had just came from.

The gang sees the van approaching. They lower their guard as Jesse steps out of the ancient contraption.

Jesse: Look, just wait -wait!! Don't - don't shoot, or, or blast, or whatever it is you do, o-okay?

Isabel runs to her husband and embraces him tightly. Their meeting is bittersweet. She knows she has to say goodbye.

Isabel: Jesse...

Jesse: I'm goin' with you.

Isabel: No... Jesse, you can't.

Jesse: To hell with Boston, an' - an' to hell with... a career and a normal life! ...whatever that is. ...I love you. That's all that matters to me...

Isabel: The fact that you would... come here... and you're willing to do this... it means more to me than you will ever know... but I can't let you do it.

Jesse: Isabel...

Isabel: No..! I dragged you into this whole thing without ever telling you the truth, and it was wrong... And the only way to make it right is to let you go... So, go. Go to Boston. Start over. Just... have the life that you were supposed to have before you met me...

Jesse: I'm not going without you.

Isabel: You have to.

Jesse: ...Will you come back to me?

Isabel: I will keep praying... that someday it will be safe enough...

Jesse: Well... I'm going to count on that.

Jesse carefully slides her wedding rings back on her finger as a promise of their future together. They share one final kiss.

Isabel: I love you...

The group piles into the van and leaves a heartbroken Jesse staring after them. As they travel down the road they see headlights coming their way. The headlights stop in their path, so they are forced to stop. When Kyle realizes it’s his father he gets out to say goodbye.

Jim: I hear I missed quite a ceremony.

Kyle: I don't...think they're gonna... forget... the class of 2002. ...That's a nice outfit. ...Deputy.

Jim: Yeah... Yeah, well, when you're startin' over, you've gotta start somewhere, right?

Kyle: Right.

Jim: I, ah...I won't ask you where you're goin', so I can honestly say I don't know... but I can tell you there are a lot of people looking for you... An' right now they think you're headed south to Mexico.

Kyle: Why do they think that?

Jim: I guess they got an anonymous tip. I can get you to Arizona, then you're on your own... I mean, you're really on your own.

Kyle: ...Thanks, Dad.

Jim: It's the least I could do.

Kyle: I mean... thanks for... Just... thanks.

Jim embraces his son in a tight embrace.

Kyle: I love you, Dad.

Jim: I love you, too.

Kyle: ...gh... all right....

Jim watches as his only son drives away from him, maybe forever. Watching the van get smaller in the distance he thinks about the last three years. So this is how it ends…

Part Two: A Normal Life…

August 23, 2003

Dear Michael,

I never really thought of myself as somebody who would write in a diary like Isabel or in a journal like Liz. Although I guess writing you a letter is really the just same thing because you’ll never read it.

It’s been over a year since you left. I was so angry with you and the others at first, but I’ve learned to accept your decision. I know what happened wasn’t your fault. You assumed that by going back to Roswell I would be safe.

That night after I left the desert I drove straight home. All I wanted was to crawl into bed and pretend that my world hadn’t just shattered or more appropriately left me running for its life. As I drove up to my house I noticed a black car with tinted windows out front. Then I saw the military style jeep in my drive way. I tried to keep driving, but they had already spotted me. Two more cars surrounded me from behind and another Jeep blocked my escape.

I stopped the car and two soldiers got out of the jeep. They asked me to get out of the car. That’s when I heard my mom screaming. She was begging them to leave me alone. She was outraged, but she didn’t realize how bad the situation was until the one of the soldiers grabbed me and the other stuck a needle in my arm. Everything went black after that.

I woke up in the white room. It seemed like I had been sleeping forever, but the voice told me it had only been a few hours. I begged them to let me go. I tried to explain to the disembodied voice that I didn’t know anything and that I was a good girl who wouldn’t be in trouble with the law. He tried to calm me at first and then he just ignored me until I calmed my self down. I know I must have been hysterical for three hours at least, well you know me so…

When I did finally calm down a man entered the room. I crawled into the corner in an attempt to protect myself. He looked just like any other FBI agent, black suit and tie, and slicked back hair. He told me he wouldn’t hurt me. All he wanted was the truth. I laughed at him and told him if he wanted the truth he could have the truth. I said the truth is these idiots in black suits were keeping an eighteen year old girl against her will and when her mother got her out they would be sorry. He told me my mother didn’t know where I was and that she wouldn’t be able to help me. That’s when I got hysterical again. If they had hurt my mother so help me God that man would not have left the red… I mean white room. Lucky for him he explained that she had been drugged and put to sleep in her own bed, but she wouldn’t remember that I had been taking. She would naturally assume that I had gone with the rest of you.

He started asking me questions again. About who you all were and where you might go. I told him to go to hell. He told me that we were already there or at least that I was. That’s when the guys in lab coats came in.

We never really asked Max what happened in the white room because he didn’t like to talk about it. He was only there for thirty-six hours. It was fall by the time they let me out.

One morning I woke up in my own bed. I didn’t believe I was really home. I wondered if I was just dreaming or maybe I was just dead. The latter would have been easier to except at that point.

When I walked out of my bedroom I could smell bacon being cooked in the kitchen. It is the best thing I’ve ever smelled to this day. When I walked into the kitchen I was expecting to see my mom, but instead it was Valenti. He dropped the plate he had in his hand. I saw the hope flash across his face. I had forgotten that he probably thought I had gone with the rest of the gang.

He tried to ask me why I was there and where the rest of you were. Instead he gave me a hug and called my mother. I still hadn’t said anything. I’m not sure if I believed I was alive yet. My mom came out of her room. When she saw me she screamed and lunged at me. She kept telling me how glad she was that I was home. I honestly expected her to be mad, but apparently Valenti had told her everything after you all left. He needed some one to talk to and so did my mother. I’ll always be thankful to him for taking care of her during those months. After convincing my mom that I was fine and eating more bacon, eggs and pancakes then anyone person should I decided to let them think that I left with you guys, but that I went my own after we got out of New Mexico. They seemed to buy the story that I just needed time alone to deal with losing you, but of course my mom was angry now that I hadn’t called her to let her know I was safe.

By that time Liz had already sent her journal to Mr. and Mrs. Parker. They asked me a few questions, but didn’t push too much. I started working at the Crashdown soon only a few days after getting back. I would do anything to keep my mind off of the previous months. It wasn’t the same Crashdown without you and Liz, or even the rest of the gang coming into eat and hang out. I’ve been working six days a week, fifteen hours a day for nearly the last year.

I’ve saved up a decent amount of money. I’ve also decided to move to Los Angeles and give singing another chance. I needed to do something. I have a second chance to live I’m not going to spend it wasting away in this tourist trap anymore. Before every thing happened last year I had almost forgotten how boring life in Roswell was before I met you. I wanted a normal life, one where we weren’t being attacked or chased. Now I realize that none of that mattered as long as I had you. I miss you more everyday.

Love always,
Maria

Part Three: Life on the Open Road

“For the last damn time Kyle we are not listening to country!” Isabel screeched.

“I listen to your girly pop crap day and night, but I can’t listen to the music I like every once and a while?” Kyle questioned getting annoyed with the princess.

“Nobody likes it but you, so no,” Isabel answered firmly.

“Guys we’re going to be in Seattle soon, could you please just stop?” Liz pleaded with the two from the back seat. She was sick of playing the mediator of their spats.

It had been one long year for all of them. They had spent about six months driving around the country before finally settling down in Denver. They had agreed to settle there for five months and then to move on to a different city.

They didn’t plan on staying in any one place for any longer than five months. The first few months they were particularly paranoid, but now they were feeling a bit more confident that the FBI wouldn’t be likely to find them. They had ditched the dilapidated van soon after leaving New Mexico. After traveling on busses for a week they liberated a SUV from an impound lot. They made sure to change the color and detailing every time they moved, but it was really just a precaution. They hadn’t been bothered by the law since they had left Roswell, which was of course a blessing, but they hadn’t forgotten there fear of being caught.

After leaving Roswell Liz’s visions had seemingly gone away. Kyle’s powers were beginning to develop, but slowly and they tended to come and go. There hadn’t been any attacks by the skins or visits from Kivar either.

None of this meant that the group was happy though. One would think that with everything going fairly well for them they would be relieved and grateful. They were of course both those things, but other feelings overrode the good ones.

Michael was constantly moody. There were times where he would brood for days and not talk to anyone. Then there were the days where all he did was make sarcastic comments and snap at everyone. Overall, he didn’t really talk to anyone, except Kyle sometimes.

Kyle was as light hearted and good natured as always, but the last year had been difficult for him too. He missed his dad. For so long it had been just him and his dad, so he had gotten used to the closeness. This wasn’t like summer football camp. He couldn’t even call home to check in. Kyle was also getting sick and tired of trying to help Isabel deal with losing Jesse. He loved Isabel and she was definitely one of his best friends, but a guy can only take so much. As for Liz and Max, well there newlywed attitude was enough to make even the most diehard romantic sick never mind a Buddhist jock.

Michael for the most part just stayed in his own little world. However, Kyle was grateful though for the times when they would talk, usually during overnight drives while everyone else was asleep. They always talked about the same thing. Maria. Soon after leaving Roswell Kyle admitted that he missed Maria and wished that she had come with them. He missed her wackiness and babbling almost as much as a certain Spaceboy and Michael could appreciate that. Michael also enjoyed Kyle’s stories of hurricane Deluca and he seemed to have a never ending store of them. He even told stories that had happened after they had started dating, which sometimes made him a little jealous that he hadn’t heard about them before.

Isabel was often crabby and made sure to keep her ice princess act up at all times. Losing Jesse was hard for her, especially when she had to watch her brother and Liz carry on with out any regard to her, or even Michael for that matter. In the end, she only really talked to Kyle and even he got on her nerves sometimes.

Liz and Max were doing fairly well although the last year hadn’t exactly been a honeymoon for the two. Dealing with everyone else’s negative attitudes was beginning to wear on the couple. They did deserve more credit than the others gave them though. Liz had tried to talk to both Isabel and Kyle about leaving Roswell, but neither of them was willing to open up. Max also made an attempt to talk to Isabel, but she wouldn’t hear it. Michael wasn’t willing to talk either and Max knew better than to push it, so he gave up more easily.

As they drove past the Welcome to Seattle sign they all felt a feeling of despair. It was just another city in America. Seattle wasn’t home and nobody was happy about pretending to be one big happy family once again.

Kyle could see it now. They would find a small apartment, two bedrooms at the most, that they would all cram into. Then the guys would find physical jobs like construction or automotive work. The girls usually looked for jobs waiting tables or cashiering. They were all stuck in monotonous minimum wage jobs, which was just one more frustration to add to the long list.

“Welcome to Seattle,” Kyle read out loud with fake enthusiasm.

Part Four: A New Beginning

“Maria are you sure you want to do this?” Amy asked. She was still unconvinced that Maria’s plan to move to Los Angeles was a good idea. She may be nineteen and incredibly mature for her age, but in the end she was still Amy’s little girl. She was same little girl that needed her mama to stroke her hair and sing to her in order to get to sleep when she was seven. The idea of her only daughter leaving again was upsetting for the single mother.

“Mom, for the last time, yes!” Maria answered getting a little annoyed with her mother, but secretly enjoying the love radiating off the older women.

“Okay,” Amy answered with obvious disappointment in her voice.

“Well, I guess this is it. I’ll call you when I get to Aunt Susie’s in San Francisco,” Maria said trying to reassure her mother.

“Maybe you could stay with her for a while. I mean they have a lot of night clubs there you could sing in,” Amy suggested hopefully.

“We’ll see,” Maria answered with a fake smile. She enclosed Amy in a tight hug. She pulled away and looked at Jim. “Take care of her?”

“Of course,” Jim answered with a warm smile.

Maria felt excited for the first time in ages as she stepped onto the bus heading towards her new life. Maybe by starting over in California she could really have a chance at a new life, a happy carefree one.

~*~*~*~*~

It was nearly eight o’clock when Maria finally reached the San Francisco bus station. As she stepped off the bus she searched her purse for her cell phone, while trying to balance her oversized duffle bags on her shoulder. After finding her cell phone she took a seat on an open bench. Although it wasn’t too late the area was still pretty much empty. All the other passengers had already gone inside or left.

Maria began dialing her mother’s number when she heard a sound behind her. She paused, then shook off the paranoia and continued to dial. Before she was able to press send a hand closed around her neck and pulled her from her seat. She tried to scream, but another hand found its way over her mouth. She struggled to get away, but the more she struggle the tighter the grip of her attacker became. Suddenly she felt teeth on her bare neck and then the stabbing pain of her skin breaking. She felt the warn trickle of blood meandering down her neck and she stopped struggling. Why? After everything that has happened, why was this happening to me? All she wanted was to restart her life, but instead it was ending.

As the world started to blacken she felt her attacker being ripped away from her. She fell to the ground and allowed herself to continue falling into the black void.

~*~*~*~*~

“It doesn’t look like she lost much blood,” Spike stated after inspecting the neck wound.

“She’s out cold,” Angel answered, not convinced that the petite blond was alright.

“Maybe she was just scared,” Spike replied.

“You think? Moron. We need to get her to a hospital,” Angel retorted as he scooped her up into his arms.

“Why do you always have to put me down?” Spike asked.

“Because I don’t like you,” Angel answered simply.

“Oh, right, forgot ‘bout that,” Spike mumbled remembering their long standing dislike for one another.

“Her eyes are moving. I think she’s waking up.”

“Told you so.”

“Shut up.”

Maria began to come back to consciousness in Angel’s arms. She opened her eyes and began screaming.

“It’s okay, it’s okay. We’re not going to hurt you,” Angel tried to explain as he gently put her down on the bench.

She quickly scrambled away from the mysterious stranger.

“What the hell are you?” Maria demanded.

Angel was surprised by her question at first then he realized he had forgotten to change his face back to its human, more innocent, form.

“And I’m the moron, huh?” Spike mocked.

~*~*~*~*~

After convincing Maria to go with them into the well lit safe diner next to the bus station Angel tried to decide if he should tell her the truth or to make something up.

“You should eat something with iron in it. You didn’t lose too much blood, but you may feel a little weak for a day or too. It’s almost like mild anemia,” Angel explained trying to make Maria feel safe.

“That’s nice. Now, answer my question,” Maria demand sternly.

“I like her,” Spike replied with a chuckle. “We’re vampires,” he stated simply.

“Spike!”

“What? She wanted to know!”

“Vampires?” Maria asked incredulously. “Like blood sucking creatures of the night?”

“Pretty much.” Spike answered honestly.

“No, not exactly,” Angel responded with a glare at Spike. “I’m a good guy. I have a soul…”

Spike cut him off annoyed, “We are good guys and we have souls, but I’m the better half of the deranged twosome.”

“We are not a twosome,” Angel spit out.

“Listen guys can you deal with your marital problems later I’m trying to comprehend. ‘kay?” Maria asked losing patience with the bickering vampires.

“Sorry,” they both mumbled.

“So the guy who attacked me…”

“Yeah, he was a vampire, but he was evil,” Angel answered, concerned that she would still be afraid of them.

“You’re taking this rather well love,” Spike stated giving Maria a curious stare. By the way she had screamed when she saw Angel’s face he could tell she was a little high-strung.

“I’ve never met a vampire before, but let’s just say my life hasn’t been completely normal for the last few years,” Maria answered without giving much of herself away. “If this had happened a few years ago I would be running out of this diner screaming.”

Angel and Spike were both intrigued by her comments, but neither pushed because their main goal was to make sure she was alright.

“You need to be careful at night around here,” Angel stated.

“Yeah mate I think she figured that one out on her own,” Spike mocked sarcastically.

Angel chose to ignore him this time and kept his attention focused on the girl across from him. “So what were you doing at the bus station?”

“I had just gotten off the bus. I’m stopping here for a few days to visit my aunt before heading to Los Angeles,” Maria explained. She caught a flash of sadness go through Angel’s eyes when she mentioned LA, but it was gone so quickly she wasn’t sure if it was really ever there. She continued, “I was calling my mom when…Oh man I have to call her. She’ll be worried. Excuse me.”

“Just don’t go outside,” Angel cautioned her.

She nodded her head and went to a quiet corner of the diner’s front counter.

“We should make sure she gets to her aunt’s house safely.”

“Yeah. Then what the hell are we going to do?” Spike asked, readjusting a hidden bandage under his shirt.

“Do whatever the hell you want. I’m not your daddy,” Angel answered harshly.

“Fine we drop her off and then go our separate ways. We’re not in LA anymore and it looks like we’re relatively safe, so hopefully we’ll never have to see each other again,” Spike stated.

“God I hope not,” Angel replied quietly.

“So the whole no reflection thing is true too, huh?” Maria questioned, while pointing to the mirror on the back wall of the diner.

Angel followed her thumb and chuckled a little, “You’re very perceptive.”

“Uh yea,” She answered, while chewing on her spinach calzone. “So what other myths are true?” Maria asked the guys curiously.

Part Five: It’s Not Over

“Thanks for walking me to my Aunt’s house,” Maria said.

“It’s really no big deal. We couldn’t just let you walk alone,” Angel replied.

“Oh my god!” Maria suddenly exclaimed as she stopped short in the middle of the sidewalk.

“What?” Angel asked anxiously.

“Well I was bitten by a vampire, right?”

Angel nodded his head slowly unsure of where this was going. Spike had a feeling she might be having a delayed hysterical reaction and he was pretty sure that it wouldn’t be pretty.

“Does that mean that I’m going to become one now?!” Maria asked wide eyed.

“No, no,” Angel said comfortingly. She was beginning to hyperventilate a little and a porch light had just gone on at the house they had stopped in front of. “Come on let’s keep walking,” he said softly trying to keep the scared girl as calm as possible.

She had calmed down a little, but was still focusing her eyes on the ground and obviously mulling a few thoughts over.

“In order to become a vampire you have to first be bit and then you have to suck the blood of the vampire that bit you,” Angel explained in simple terms.

“Plus there wasn’t enough blood drained from you to kill you, never mind make you a vampire,” Spike added.

“Right, okay,” Maria said, while trying to process all the information she had learned during the night. Man if Michael could be here now. A normal life my ass.

“Well this is it,” Maria stated when they reached her Aunt Susie’s home. “Thank you for getting me here.”

“No problem love,” Spike answered with a slight smirk.

“Well, good luck and be careful, especially in LA,” Angel added.

“Especially in LA?” Maria questioned. She was a little worried about the implication. Did she really want to start a new life in a place full of vampires?

“There’s a lot of bad stuff there. Just be careful.”

“Okay. Thanks again,” Maria replied graciously. She walked towards her Aunt’s house and turned around to for one last glance at the men who saved her life, but they were gone. “Huh. Stealthy,” she mumbled under her breath.

Maria jumped at the sound of the large oak door opening suddenly.

“Maria!! Oh, look at you!”

“Hi Aunt Susie,” Maria answered, but it was mumbled by the crushing hug. She was just happy that she happened to have a scarf in one of her bags to hide the bite marks on her neck. The last thing she needed was for her aunt to get worried and to tell her mother. Amy would freak if she found out that she had already ran into trouble and she had only just gotten to California.

~*~*~*~*~

After he unsettling run in with the two soulful vampires and her near death experience Maria decided to stay in San Francisco a couple days longer than she had previously intended to. Her mom was still not so subtly hinting that she should just stay in San Francisco where she at least had family.

“Okay Auntie I’m going to head up to bed,” Maria told the slightly older women.

“Alright sweetie, sweet dreams,” Susie replied with a smile.

Maria walked up the stairs in deep thought about her future. She was looking forward to starting over, but now she wasn’t so sure if LA was the right place. Crawling into bed she began thinking past, which is something she often tried not to do because of the pain that came attached. Although she was beginning to realize that although her memories were bitter sweet she wouldn’t give them up for the world. Finally she was starting to let go of the pain of losing her friends and instead enjoying the happy memories. She fell into sleep thinking about the last three years of high school and most importantly Michael.

~*~*~*~*~

Maria’s Dream

There were colors swirling everywhere and the smell of cypress oil filled the air. As the picture came into focus Maria saw her happiest Thanksgiving Day unfolding before her eyes.

It was only a couple of weeks before Michael and her had fallen apart in their senior year. The table was full of food and Michael had even contributed chive mashed potatoes to the mix.

Maria, Michael, Sean and Amy sat around the table eating the plentiful dinner. They spent the afternoon and night talking laughing and of course telling embarrassing stories about Maria for Michael’s enjoyment and to Maria’s horror. Her mother even dared to take out the family photos.

Maria was ecstatic that Michael was becoming part of their little family and he seemed to be enjoying spending time with them. At that moment her dream self snuggled deeper into Michael’s embrace and he gave her a private smile.

While Amy was showing Michael an embarrassing picture of Maria falling in the toilet when she was seven years old suddenly she looked up and began to speak to Maria.

“It’s not over,” dream Amy stated in an eerie voice.

“What?” Maria asked confused.

Even as she asked the question the room darkened and suddenly she was surrounded by men in cloaks. Her family had disappeared and with a second look at the cloaked men she realized the men surrounding her were not men at all, but vampires. They had a symbol painted on their foreheads and were chanting the same phrase repeatedly. Maria attempted to scream, but it was muffled by the gag in her mouth and she also discovered that her hands and legs were bound to the table she was now lying on.

She looked around to try and figure out where she was. She could tell she was outside in what looked like maybe a park or just a clearing in the woods. The full moon was the only source of natural light in the deep black night. There also were torches surrounding the area, but nothing else made the location stand out.

“Owi hae gah, owi hae gah, owi hae gah,” was being chanted in monotone voices over and over again.

~*~*~*~*~

Maria continued to fight and scream when the room suddenly went dark. She woke up flailing her arms as she cried and screamed for help. Looking around the room she realized she was still in her Aunt’s guest bedroom and relief started to wash over her.

She climbed out of the bed and slowly walked to the window. The window was open and even though Angel had explained that the myth that a vampire couldn’t come in unless it was invited was true it didn’t matter at the moment. As she reached out towards the window to pull it closed her eyes became transfixed on the full moon. Looking at the moon gave her an unsettling sense of déjà vu.

Suddenly Maria felt a hand enclose around her wrist, which had been reaching out to pull the window closed. She tried to scream, but it was quickly muffled by another hand closing over her mouth.

TBC...

[candygurl1718]

Part Six: Pretty Maiden in Distress

“Shhh, shh. Love it’s just us. It’s okay,” Spike said soothingly before he took his hand away from her mouth.

“What the hell are you two trying to do, give me a heart attack?” Maria demanded.

“We’re sorry. We didn’t mean to scare you,” Angel apologized in hushed whisper.

“Well, if you weren’t trying to scare me then what are you two doing here?” Maria asked curiously.

She was actually happy to see them. After the dream she had just had she could use some company. Two strong men looking out for her would be much appreciated at the moment. Okay so it’s more like two strong extremely attractive men looking out for her, but she wasn’t going there. She wasn’t looking for any man, no matter how attractive. Not to mention if she was going to start dating again it would have to be with a human. She wasn’t going to get in over her head again. She wanted a partner, an equal. Not someone who thought they knew what was best for her because he was a superior life form.

“Maybe we should talk about this somewhere else,” Angel suggested and Spike nodded in agreement.

“Okay,” Maria answered. She looked down what she was wearing, an old Metallica shirt of Michael’s. “Um, just let me change,” she said quietly and turned to find clothes. Then she disappeared into the bathroom to change.

“Do you think she knows?” Spike asked.

“I don’t know,” Angel answered, “but she didn’t know about vampires, so I’d say she has no clue.”

“How do you think she’ll handle it?” Spike wondered out loud.

“How the hell should I know? I’ll check my crystal ball and get back to you,” Angel answered sarcastically.

“You know you’ve been bitchier than usual lately and it’s starting to get on my nerves,” Spike spat back.

“Oh I’m sorry all of my closest friends just died and I’m stuck with you, but I’ll try and be a bit more cheery for your sake,” Angel countered angrily. The final battle with Wolfram and Hart was still weighing heavily on his conscience.

“Um guys, I really don’t want my aunt to hear me sneaking out of the house,” Maria said trying to mediate the men. She was curious about their conversation. Obviously something horrible had just happened to them recently, but they needed to get out of here before someone heard them talking. She didn’t want to risk her aunt hearing them leave and then telling her mom. It’s one thing to talk to your mom about aliens, but telling her that she was sneaking out with a couple of vampires wouldn’t go over to well.

“She’s right. Let’s just get out of here,” Spike stated. He held his hand out to Maria and helped her climb out the window. “We have to climb down the trellis. You’re not afraid of heights or anything right love?”

“No, I’ll be fine. An old friend of mine had a ladder that went up to her balcony, so I’m sort of used to the climbing,” Maria answered as she turned around and followed Angel down the white ivy covered trellis.

~*~*~*~*~

“So, what’s up?” Maria asked as they strolled through the city streets.

“Have you ever heard of the Order of the Eternal?” Angel asked bluntly.

“Sounds familiar,” Maria answered thoughtfully. “Is it like a band or something?”

“No, I’m afraid not,” Spike answered. He honestly felt bad for Maria. She was such an innocent looking girl, but at the same time she seemed incredibly tough, emotionally at least. The truth was she looked breakable, like a small kitten or a butterfly. No not a butterfly, more like a sprite or a fairy. No, a pixie. Yeah she was definitely a beautiful blond pixie and he wasn’t going to let anything happen to her. He would stop the Order because he didn’t want to see anything happen to this little pixie. The world could end, but he got the feeling that if she survived it would be enough for him.

“Well what are they?” Maria asked curiously. She was wondering what this Order thing had to do with her.

“They’re an ancient cult of vampires,” Angel began.

“Most of them are really ancient. Much older than either of us,” Spike added.

“They worship Etevivo. He’s the god of eternal life,” Angel continued while watching Maria’s responses carefully. He still wasn’t sure if she knew anything about any of this.

“Eternal life?” Maria asked. “I thought vampires already had eternal life, right? So why worship this god guy?”

“Well we do have eternal life, but we’re not invincible. The Order of the Eternal believes that a chosen one will come and she will grant them the invincibility that they seek. There have been several prophecies written about this girl. They all say the same thing. The girl will be sacrificed and they will truly live forever. Nothing will be able to stop them. Not stakes, fire, holy water, or even the sun. They will be able to hunt around the clock and will become the dominate race on the planet. Every person they change into a vampire will also be granted invincibility. They will multiply and they will end the world as we know it,” Angel finished quietly.

They had walked to a park and Maria was sitting on a bench staring at the ground, while he explained. She hadn’t made any response in a while. They were trying to gauge her reaction, but she didn’t seem to be having one.

“Love, are you okay?” Spike asked gently.

“This girl she will be sacrificed. You mean killed right?” Maria asked quietly. She was still avoiding their eyes and talking to the ground.

“Yes,” Angel answered honestly. There was no point in lying to her, she needed to know.

“The vampire who attacked me at the bus station, he wasn’t trying to kill me was he? He just wanted to disable me. I’m the chosen one aren’t I?” Maria asked with tears forming in her eyes.

“Yes,” Angel admitted. He couldn’t look into her eyes though. He couldn’t let himself care. He would help her and then move on.

“They’re not going to hurt you. I promise, we promise,” Spike said comfortingly. He reached out to touch her shoulder as a gesture of support, but she flinched out of his reach.

“I always thought it was a horrible fairytale,” She said quietly. She was talking to the ground again and Spike wasn’t sure if she was even talking to them.

“What do you mean?” Angel asked.

“My father use to tell me the story of the invincible princess. She was doomed to be sacrificed for the greater good. It was her destiny. He told me it was written in the stars and the stars could not be rewritten,” She paused thoughtfully.

“I asked him once if God could rewrite her destiny. He told me there was no God. That there was no hope for her,” She added sadly.

“I don’t think my mom knew anything about the story until I asked her to tell it to me one night. My dad left when I was seven. Soon afterwards I asked her to tell me the story of the invincible princess, but she didn’t know it. She made up her own version and I just let her tell it because I didn’t want to upset her. She cried so much back then,” Maria explained.

“Who was he? Who was my father? I mean he wasn’t a vampire, so what was he?” Maria asked desperately. Her whole life was being turned upside down, again.

“He was probably human,” Angel answered. “Sometimes humans ally themselves with demons for their own personal gain. He was probably told early in his life that he would give birth to the chosen one and the Order of the Eternal probably promised him wealth and power for his first born.”

Spike saw the hurt and pain flashing through the little pixie’s eyes and it made him clench his jaw in anger. No one will ever hurt her again. As he made this silent promise he tried to comfort her again, “You’re father was a coward. He doesn’t deserve a daughter like you. Hell he doesn’t deserve to live and when this is all over I’ll kill him for you, ‘kay?”

“Thanks,” Maria answered gratefully. She knew she was lucky to have them watching out for her.

“Do you think he has another family?” Maria asked sadly. She had always imagined her father would come back to Roswell and take her and her mom away to live in some exotic place. They would live like royalty and of course live happily ever after. Now that she knew he probably did have the power and money she wondered why he didn’t take care of them. Even if he didn’t want to get attached to Maria because she would ultimately be sacrificed he should have still provided for her and her mother. Her mother didn’t deserve the stress and pain she had to deal with in the last twelve years.

“I doubt anyone that selfish would want a family,” Spike answered seriously.

She nodded her head in understanding. It’s not like it matters now. She’s an adult. She doesn’t need her daddy anymore. Yeah, that’s right she doesn’t need him. She repeated this over and over to herself, while Angel and Spike allowed her to digest this information.

“Do I have any special powers or anything?” Maria asked curiously. If she had powers then she would be just as good as Michael and the others.

“I don’t’ think so love, sorry,” Spike replied. He saw the disappointment in her eyes, but she quickly willed it away. Yeah she was definitely stronger than she looked.

“I had a dream,” Maria stated suddenly. She had almost forgotten all about it.

“A dream, about what?” Angel asked curiously.

“I was bound to a table or something and there were vampires surrounding me. They were dressed in long brown cloaks with hoods. They almost looked like they were wearing a monk’s hassock…” Maria began.

“You mean cassock?” Spike interrupted.

“Yeah that,” She answered blushing a little at the mix up. “They had these symbols painted on their foreheads too. It was almost like an infinity sign with these dots in the middle of each circle.”

“Do you know where you were?” Angel asked curiously.

“I’m not sure. I know it was outside. Maybe it was a park or a clearing in the woods. The moon was full…,” she trailed off.

“Just like tonight,” Spike said quietly finishing her thought.

“Well tonight is actually the night before the full moon and the sacrifice is suppose to happen on the full moon, so tonight you’re probably relatively safe,” Angel stated matter-of-factly.

“That’s comforting and mildly convincing,” Maria snapped sarcastically.

“I’m sorry. I know this is hard,” Angel apologized. He didn’t like being so cold and harsh.

“No, I’m sorry. You’re just trying to help me. I didn’t mean to snap at you,” Maria replied. “So, what do we do now?”

“I know a wizard in the area I’m going to go talk to him about the Order of the Eternal. Maybe he’ll have some information on where they are staying,” Angel stated. “Spike you stay with Maria at her Aunt’s house and I’ll be by tomorrow before sunrise to fill you in on what I find out.”

“Aye, aye captain,” Spike answered sardonically.

Angel nodded his head and walked away towards the city.

“Don’t mind him love he’s always an ass,” Spike explained with a smirk. “Come on let’s get you home.”

“Okay,” Maria replied. She seemed distant and upset, but she managed to give him a small smile.

~*~*~*~*~

“Careful,” Spike whispered as Maria climbed back up the trellis to her room. Maria climbed quietly through the window, but Spike paused at the ledge. “Love, you need to invite me in.”

“Oh right, sorry. Come in,” Maria apologized.

“No problem,” Spike answered as he entered the room.

“So…” Maria trailed off. She wasn’t sure what to do now. Were they supposed to sleep? Well he sleeps during the day so was she supposed to sleep? That would be kind of creepy knowing that he was watching her sleep. She sat on the edge of the bed and fiddled with an imaginary ball of fuzz on the comforter. It had been such an unsettling night she didn’t think she could sleep anyways.

“Are you tired?” Spike asked after closing and locking the window. He wasn’t taking any chances.

“Not really. I’m a little juiced from all the information, you know,” Maria replied.

“Yeah. So, where are you from?” Spike asked curiously.

“Roswell,” Maria answered.

“The alien capital of the world?” Spike questioned with a smirk. “That must have been fun.”

“A blast. One of the most boring tourist traps in America,” Maria replied with a snort. Besides her experience with actual aliens she had to admit Roswell was pretty yawn worthy. “It’s a stop for every obsessed creep with no life.”

“Where are you from?” Maria asked curiously.

“Originally London, but I’ve been in California for the last few years. I’ve traveled around the world and have pretty much lived everywhere,” Spike answered.

“How old are you?” Maria asked with intrigue.

“Let’s just say I’ve seen the turn of the century twice and it doesn’t get more interesting the second time around,” Spike responded.

“Wow,” Maria replied surprised. “How old is Angel?”

“He’s about two hundred and fifty. He was born in Ireland,” Spike answered. “So why are you going to LA?”

“I want to become famous. Why else would I go to LA, right?” Maria answered. Although she had to admit she was becoming more and more convinced that LA may not be the best place for her. “I had an offer about a year ago for a music contract up in New York, but it didn’t work out, so I thought I’d give it another try.”

“I’m sure you’ll get a gig in no time,” Spike replied supportively. Who wouldn’t want to hire her? She was beautiful and even though he hadn’t heard her sing he already loved the sound of her voice. He could tell she would make a great mother. Her voice was soothing and comforting, very melodic, except when she was hysterical, but even that was kind of cute.

“I’m starting to think LA might not be the best idea,” Maria revealed honestly. “So, what happened back there?”

Spike paused before answering. Angel was having a hard time dealing with it, but it wasn’t like it had been a breeze for him either. “Well,” he began with a sigh, “I’m not sure where to start.”

“The beginning is a good place don’t ya think?” Maria replied teasingly.

“Well Angel went to LA first. It was about five years ago. He opened a private investigation business called Angel Investigations. He was sort of doing the whole help the helpless thing and looking for redemption. Then about a year ago he inherited, more or less, Wolfram and Hart. It was an evil law firm that he had been fighting since he had gotten to LA. Anyways he became CEO and tried to change things from the inside. That’s around the time I got to LA. In the end we lost everything. There was one last battle about a week ago. Everyone died,” he trailed off thoughtfully.

“Except the two of you,” Maria finished.

“Yeah, well we’re already dead so...” Spike replied.

“Is that why you’re limping a little?” Maria questioned.

“Noticed that, huh? Yeah I’m not exactly up to full strength yet, but I heal fast so…” Spike responded.

“So it must have been one hell of a battle if you’re not completely healed,” Maria added.

“Yeah, but it won’t stop us from protecting you. I promise,” Spike replied. He didn’t want her to be afraid. She responded with a silent nod. She trusted him, that was good.

Maria was thinking about the story he had just told her. She knew there had to be more to it, but it was none of her business. If he wanted to talk he would.

“So what’s you’re story?” Spike asked curiously.

“What do you mean?” Maria asked avoiding the question and his eyes.

“The first night we met you said something about your life not really being normal. Now I know you didn’t know about vampires and that you didn’t really believe the Princess Eternal story, so?” Spike responded. He wasn’t letting her get off the hook. He had just told his story she had to share too.

“Some of my best friends were aliens,” Maria answered bluntly. Why hide the truth from a vampire?

“So you’ve been locked up in a padded room then recently, is that right love?” Spike answered with a smirk. Aliens, right.

“Actually more like a white room,” Maria answered quietly. It sounded weird talking about it with someone. Even if he didn’t believe her she still needed to get this out. “The government took me after my friends ran away from Roswell. I was kept for a few months before they let me go.”

Spike stared at her incredulously. She wasn’t lying or joking. Maybe she really believed in her delusion? Could aliens really be among us? Maybe.

“The scar on you left thigh that was from them, huh? They hurt you for information,” Spike felt another surge of protection run through his blood as he said this.

“Yeah,” She answered simply. “I fought back at first. They didn’t mean to cut me, that time anyways. It’s the only scar I have from them. Guess it’s a little memento, a reminder to never to trust the government.”

He was right; she was tougher than she looked. He had to respect that.

“The government captured me once too,” Spike revealed. “They kept me locked up and put a chip in my head. It was meant to keep me from killing people, I was still evil at the time, but it ended up almost killing me. Bastards.”

Someone actually knew how she felt. Suddenly she felt like a thousand pounds had been lifted from her shoulders.

“Wait, how did you know about my scar?” Maria asked suddenly. When could he have possibly seen that? Did he have x-ray vision or something?

“Earlier before you changed I noticed it,” Spike answered honestly. He saw the look she was giving him and responded “What? You have nice legs. I may be a vampire, but I’m still a man.”

“Oh,” Maria replied shyly. She could feel a blush creeping up her throat and raising to her cheeks. It had been a long time since she had enjoyed a little innocent flirting and it felt great.

“So tell me more about your life. How did you get you soul?” Maria asked changing the subject. A little innocent flirting was one thing, but that was all she was looking for. This couldn’t and wouldn’t be anything more.

Part Seven: Killing the Enemy

“I miss you,” Maria admitted softly.

“I miss you too,” Michael replied.

“Is this real? Are we really together?” Maria asked hopefully. She wanted nothing more than to believe that the last year hadn’t happened. She needed to believe that her and her friends were safe, and together.

“I don’t think so,” Michael answered sadly. “I think this is a dream,” he added as he looked around at the scenery surrounding them. It was a beautiful sunny day and the sky was clear. The waves were rolling in and out silently. The wind was light and quiet. It was daytime, but the five stars that made up his home constellation in the heavens were lit up brightly in the sky.

“I wish we could stay here forever,” Maria admitted as Michael wrapped his arms around her waist.

“Let’s just enjoy the time we have together,” Michael answered not wanting to waste a second of his time with Maria thinking about losing her when he woke up.

She looked up at him with her bright green eyes and he felt his heart swell. She always had the most profound effect on him. Nobody else could ever give him the same feeling. Not like his little pixie.

He bent down and merged their lips together. He deepened the kiss and she didn’t try to pull away. As they became lost in each other the tide began to rise. The waves flirted with their feet, but the lovers didn’t notice.

~*~*~*~*~

Maria began to wake as she felt herself being raised out of bed. “Spike?” she asked sleepily. “What’s going on?”

When she opened her eyes she was shocked to see the face of her father. He was older compared to the young man who had left her and her mother all those years ago. His hair was starting to gray around his temples and small crows feet were beginning to form around his eyes, but he was definitely her father.

“Daddy?” Maria asked confused. Was she dreaming? She tried to pull away but she could hardly move. Her father handed her to another man waiting outside her window. Before she was pulled out completely she caught a glimpse of something on the floor underneath her. Spike, he wasn’t moving. She wanted to scream, but she couldn’t conjure the energy. Her last thought as she slipped into a silent unconsciousness was, I’m going to die and he’ll never know.
~*~*~*~*~

“Spike! Spike, wake up!” Angel demanded as he tried to shake Spike back into the world of consciousness.

“I’m up, I’m up, what happened?” Spike asked groggily.

“That’s what I would like to know. Maria’s gone. You were supposed to be watching her,” Angel answered angrily.

As Spike’s mind began to clear he began to piece together the foggy memories of what had happened.

“We talked for a while, but she finally fell asleep. I just sat there watching her, but I thought I heard something outside the window. So I went to the window to check it out and that’s when something hit me. It must have been a spell. I don’t remember anything after that. Damn it,” he cried in frustration. He promised he’d keep her safe.

“We need to get out of here. It’s almost sunrise and we can’t stay here,” Angel said while picking up a notepad on the antique desk in the far corner of the room. He quickly scribbled a note on the paper and left it on the bed. The last thing Maria needed was for her aunt to call the cops because she was worried about her. They were going to get Maria back safely and no one would need to know what happened. She could go back to her normal life. So as far as Aunt Susie knew Maria left early to explore the city a bit on her own.

~*~*~*~*~

Angel and Spike checked into one of the many motels in San Francisco. Spike was now fully alert and his anger was growing by the second.

“What are we going to do?” Spike asked as he paced nervously. This wasn’t his style, but the sun was up now and he felt like a caged animal. He was trapped here and Maria was somewhere out there with the enemy, afraid.

“Sit down. You’re driving me crazy,” Angel snapped.

Spike glared at him, but sat down anyways. Pacing wasn’t helping, maybe eating something would. As he took a gulp of the warm pig’s blood he felt his nerves relax a bit, the true comfort food.

“I went to see that wizard I told you about,” Angel began calmly. “He wasn’t being very cooperative at first, but I persuaded him. Anyway he believes the Order is shacking up in an abandoned warehouse off the highway. There is a dense forest behind the warehouse and it’s off the beaten path. They don’t have to worry about anyone questioning what’s going on there because no one’s ever around.”

“The perfect place for a human sacrifice,” Spike answered. “What I don’t understand is if the Order was the one who took Maria, how did they get her out of the house? They weren’t invited, so how did they get in?”

Angel’s eyes darkened slightly. This was the kicker and he wasn’t sure if he wanted to tell Spike. He could tell Spike cared for the girl already. “They have a human working for them,” he admitted slowly.

“Who?” Spike growled, he knew Angel well enough to know when he was holding something back.

“Her father,” Angel answered tightly. “They promised him eternal life.”

“Son of a bitch,” Spike exclaimed as he got up and threw his glass at the wall. The blood splattered onto the white wall. Spike thought back to the conversation they had the night before. “He doesn’t deserve a daughter like you. Hell he doesn’t deserve to live and when this is all over I’ll kill him for you, ‘kay?”

“We’ll get her back,” Angel promised. “We know where she is and as soon as the sun sets we’ll be on our way. Until then we should rest,” Angel said. He wasn’t use to this, comforting Spike that is. There was something about this girl and he’d be lying if he said he didn’t feel it either. After everything that has happened he just wanted to build up a protective wall and brood for a decade or two, but when she was around he could feel his walls begin to breakdown.

“Right,” Spike answered as he lay back onto the bed. “Rest”.

~*~*~*~*~

Moments after sunset Maria felt her body being moved again. She began regaining consciousness, but she couldn’t control her body. She felt paralyzed. She recognized the men moving her as the Order of the Eternal. They were even more frightening than in her dream.

They quietly strapped her to the table that she had dreamt about. It was all coming true. They were going to sacrifice her and end the world. Her hand twitched. She was regaining control over her body, not that it made much of a difference with her arms and legs strapped down, but it kept her from feeling like a ghost trapped within herself. The gag in her moth prevented her from screaming, but she had a feeling no one would hear her anyways.
So she did the only thing she could. She prayed.

~*~*~*~*~

“She’s close,” Angel whispered as they continued their path through the woods.

“Do you hear that?” Spike asked quietly.

“Chanting,” Angel responded, while they both quickened their pace.

When they finally reached the clearing they saw the scene Maria had describe to them while telling them about her dream.

“There’s about fifteen of them, plus her father,” Angel said in a low voice.

“Not great odds, but I’ll take them,” Spike answered, knowing that they had no other choice. They either saved Maria now or they wouldn’t get another chance.

He was about to launch forward, but Angel held him back. “Wait,” Angel whispered. Before Spike could protest he continued, “They’re untying her hands. She’ll have a better chance of escaping if she’s untied, even if we don’t.”

They waited until her hands were untied and the vampire moved onto her legs to launch their attack. They went straight for the kill. There was no time to mess around. One, two, three, four, five all dust. Spike watched the vamp untying Maria turn and join in the fight. Six. She was quickly untying her feet. Seven. The gagged was being ripped off. Run, Spike thought. Eight.

She was free, but even as she had the thought she felt two strong arms wrap around her from behind. She screamed, “Let me go!” She fell off the table and to the ground. She continued to struggle, but froze when she felt a knife slide into her abdomen. The pain screamed through her.

As the knife was pulled back out she heard a familiar voice reply, “I’m sorry princess, but it’s your destiny.”

The arm holding her still loosened and the hand that stabbed her dropped the sacrificial knife to the ground. Her father began to stand up and he pulled her to her feet as well. He turned her around to face him. She looked into his cold eyes and didn’t see a father. No she saw a selfish murderer. She saw the man that had put her and her mother through hell. As he backed her up to the table she pulled back and jammed the knife into his stomach. She turned it, pulled it out and jammed it in again. He fell backwards to the ground lifelessly.

She looked around at the fight going on around her. Four to go. They were going to kill them all. The ritual wasn’t completed, so her death wouldn’t be the end of the world. She slumped back against the table and slipped into darkness.

~*~*~*~*~

“Maria,” Angel called out as he ran to her side.

“No,” Spike exclaimed. They saved her, she can’t die.

“She’s losing blood fast. We need to get her to the hospital,” Angel said while picking her up carefully.

Spike drove to the hospital in record time, while Angel held pressure on the stab wound.

~*~*~*~*~

Two weeks later

“This is so awesome,” Maria exclaimed. “I feel so important.”

Spike smiled at her enthusiasm. It was just a desk, but you’d swear she just won a Grammy Award.

“I know I have thanked you both a million times in the last couple of weeks, but I haven’t thanked you for this yet,” Maria began. “For the first time in a long time I feel like I have a purpose. I know I’m just helping with paperwork and research, but I still feel really good about this. The three of us could do some really good work here. So thank for agreeing to reopen Angel Investigations here in San Francisco,” She finished and gave them both a big hug.

So this was her new life. Working for a private investigation firm who specializes in demons, living with her sometimes crazy, but always loving aunt, and of course still working on her music in her free time. What’s so great about living a normal life anyways?

Part Eight: Life or Death

“Be careful,” Maria called after the two determined men. It was just another night at Angel Investigations. Angel and Spike were off to stop a heart eating demon or something or other. Just another night.

Maria turned the radio on low and sang along softly. She was really starting to feel the Christmas spirit. She even missed the Christmas Nazi. As she organized client files and cleaned up some of the day’s research she began to feel uneasy. The hairs on the back of her neck began to rise and a chill ran down her spine.

She went to the office door and looked around the foyer, but no one was there. Of course no one is there you would have heard them come in through the front door, she chastised herself mentally. She turned around with a stack of files in hand and screamed. Behind her desk there was a little girl standing with her hands interlaced in front of her. She looked no older than eight. Maria stared at the girl wondering how she had gotten past her. Maybe she was a ghost. That was something Maria knew she could handle, mostly anyways.

“How did you…” Maria trailed off still uneasy by the presence of the little girl.

“It doesn’t matter,” the little girl replied.

Maria studied her a little more closely. She looked confident and not the least bit afraid of Maria, but Maria could detect a distinct trace of fear lingering in her sky blue eyes.

“Okay,” Maria answered slowly. “Is there something I can do to help you?” she asked uneasily.

“I need a champion and I heard you were one,” the little girl answered.

Maria had often heard Angel and Spike referred to as champions, but she had never been considered one herself and she would never expect to be one.

“Well, I’m not who you’re looking for, but Angel and Spike will be back by morning at the latest,” Maria answered. “Hopefully,” she added. She wished they were here right now. This girl was creepy. For a little girl she was definitely missing the look of innocence that most little girls possessed.

“I don’t need them. I need you,” the child answered with certainty.

“Um okay, what do you need me to do?” Maria asked anxiously. This is going to be bad, very bad, her mind screamed.

“I need you to slay the Turkay,” the little girl answered.

“A turkey?,” Maria asked with a giggle. “Is this a Christmas themed practical joke?” she asked between giggles. She knew it wasn’t that funny, but she was extremely nervous and the giggling wouldn’t stop.

The little girl looked at her curiously then tried to explain the circumstances to the hysterical girl. “Not a turkey. The Turkay,” she repeated slowly. Then she turned her head to the right and after spotting the book she needed she quickly floated it to the desktop. She scanned the pages with her mind until she found what she was searching for. Then she turned it toward a now completely silent Maria.

Maria stared at the book and felt her stomach clench. There was no way she could fight that thing.

“No. I’m sorry, but seriously I’m not a champion. When Spike and Angel get back…” Maria began.

“They can’t help me,” the little girl interrupted. “I need you. If you don’t kill the Turkay he’ll destroy me. If he destroys me the scale tips and Evil will be the dominate player. This is crucial to the balance. The entire fabric of existence relies on you defeating the Turkay,” she explained matter-of-factly.

“So, no pressure then?” Maria asked with another nervous giggle. She glanced at the book again. “Why me?”

“Destiny,” the little girl replied.

“I hate that word,” Maria answered quietly. She had a sinking feeling that she didn’t have a choice in the situation. She knew better than to turn her back on prophesies, fate was fate. She felt like she had to do this and she couldn’t turn her back on it. “What exactly can I do to stop this thing? There is no way I can fight it.”

“All you need to do is to make and bless the potion in the book. Then find it and read the curse as you throw the potion at it,” the little girl answered like it was the simplest task in the world.

“How do I find it?” Maria asked feeling even more queasy with every word.

The little girl reached into her pocket and pulled out a charm. She placed it on the desk and explained, “When you’re ready take the charm and picture the Turkay. It will bring you to him.”

“Easy as pie, too bad I can’t bake,” Maria mumbled. She turned around to open the cabinet where Angel kept some magic supplies. When she turned back around the little girl was gone. “Great.”

She began the potion slowly. She made sure to measure everything very precisely. She didn’t use magic often, but she had seen what could happen if it wasn’t done right. She almost lost her eyebrows in one of her early experiments.

When the potion was finally done she repeated the curse until she was sure she had memorized it word for word. Before using the charm she took a crossbow and knife out of the weapons cabinet. Her hand shook as she picked up the charm. She closed her eyes and pictured the creature.

Did it work? Maria wondered. She opened her eyes slowly only to want to shut them again at the scene in front of her. She found the Turkay alright and it was feeding time. She wasn’t sure what it was eating, but there was blood, well what she assumed was blood, everywhere. Maybe it won’t even notice me, she thought hopefully. Just as she had the thought the creature looked up.

The Turkay lunged in Maria’s direction. She shot an arrow from the crossbow and hit it in its left shoulder, but it barely flinched. She quickly dodged to the right and out of its grasp. She threw the potion and began the incantation. Before she could get the entire spell out the Turkay grabbed her around the throat and held tight, choking the life out of her. She gasped for air and tried to finish the spell, but it was useless.

She remembered the knife she had sheathed in the inside of her jacket. She pulled it out and jabbed it into its neck. The creature dropped Maria to the ground and she quickly backed herself towards the wall.

“I banish you with all my will, with all my might. Blood of the night, death of the lamb. I banish you to hell,” Maria shouted. The Turkay began to convulse and then it swelled to more than twice its size. Finally it popped like a water balloon.

Maria wiped the disgusting goo from her face and sighed, “Perfect.”

Suddenly the little girl appeared in a halo of white light. “Thank you,” she stated simply. “You have truly proven that you are a hero. I am a blessed one, pure and holy. For saving me and preventing the scales from tipping I will grant you one wish, consequence free. Think it over and choose wisely.”

Suddenly Maria found herself back in the office of Angel investigations. Her clothes were clean and her throat no longer ached. She sat down in the desk chair and thought about what had happened. She really defeated the creature on her own. One wish, ran through her mind over and over again.

The sound of the door opening woke her from her thoughts. Angel and Spike came tumbling in. Both looked disheveled, but alert and obviously still on an adrenaline high from the fight.

“How did it go?” Maria asked curiously.

“Job’s done,” Spike answered as he grabbed a pint of blood from the refrigerator.

“Good,” Maria said quietly. Her mind drifted back to the wish.

Angel finished cleaning and putting the weapons away in the cabinet. As he turned around he looked closer at Maria and asked, “Are you alright?”

“Hmm? Oh yeah, I’m fine,” Maria replied.

“Why is my 16th century sacrificial dagger on the desk?” Angel questioned her curiously. “And were you doing a spell?”

“Do you know where I can find an entrance to the ghost roads?” Maria asked. She didn’t even hear the questions he had asked her.

“Why would you want to go there, love?” Spike asked concerned.

“I need to see someone,” Maria answered softly. Her eyes refused to meet either of their gazes. She continued staring into space, deep in thought.

“There’s an entrance downtown. In an old mansion on Westfield Street,” Angel told her.

“Thanks,” Maria mumbled. She stood up and went to the door without another word.

Spike reached the door in two strides and prevented her from opening it. She turned to look him in the eyes. He stared at her intently. He recognized the look. Nothing would stop her from going. “Be careful.”

She nodded silently and turned to leave. “If I can’t find the person I’m looking for it means they have crossed over, right?” she asked no one in particular.

“Yes,” Angel replied.

With out another word she opened the door and took off toward the bus stop.

~*~*~*~*~

Maria walked slowly down Westfield Street. The street had several old large homes. She spotted a turn of the century mansion across the street. She felt an energy pulling her towards it. It didn’t look like anyone lived there so she walked up the walkway and tried the door knob. It opened and she quietly slipped inside. There were three large staircases. She could go up the stairs to the left or right. Or she could down the stairs to two large double doors at the landing. She chose the latter.

Slowly she made her way down the stairs. When she reached the door she wondered if maybe she should just leave. No, I have to do this, she told herself. Her whole body shook as she reached for the door handle.

She stepped through the door and into the mist of the ghost roads. She felt a chill run through her body. Maria began her journey down the road with one person on her mind, Alex.

She saw several strangers and she was becoming discouraged after walking for about an hour. Maybe he crossed over, she thought to herself.

“Looking for me?” a voice suddenly asked.

“Alex,” Maria squealed as she turned towards the direction of the voice. She saw him standing there with a goofy smile on his face and she leapt at him. They hugged for what seemed like an eternity. “Oh my god Alex, it’s really you.”

“Yup, you know it’s a good thing I don’t have to breathe anymore,” Alex joked. Maria giggled and reluctantly let him go.

“Hi,” she said sheepishly. She really didn’t know what to say.

“You came all the way to limbo to say hi?” Alex asked skeptically. “What’s going on Ria?” he asked in a concerned voice.

“Okay I’m not really sure how to ask you this so I’m just going to ask it. Please just answer me I can explain everything after you answer, but I’m not sure how long I have to give her an answer so I kind of need one from you…” Maria babbled uncontrollably.

“Maria! Focus,” Alex said as he shook her shoulders slightly. Boy did he miss this.

“How would you like to come back with me? I’d understand if you’re happy, but since you haven’t crossed over I’m assuming your not, so come back with me. You can have a second chance at life. I mean I can’t believe that you were meant to die and now I have the chance to fix it. What do you say?” Maria explained in one long breath.

“What?” Alex asked. He was looking at Maria like she had officially lost it.

“Do. You. Want. To. Live.? Yes or no,” Maria asked the confused Alex slowly.

“Yes,” Alex answered honestly.

“Okay good,” Maria replied happily. Now she just had to figure out how to make her wish.

“Maria how are you going to… What the hell?” Alex asked as the ghost world dissipated and Angel Investigations materialized.

“Your wish is granted, however because of the nature of your wish the only people from Alex’s past that will know he is alive are you and his parents. Unfortunately, his death created too much of a ripple effect for me to erase it. Your path is a long one full of pain, but you will find happiness. I wish you luck and again, I thank you,” the little girl finished and disappeared.

Spike and Angel looked at Maria and Alex and then at each other. This was just the reason why they didn’t like to leave her alone too long. She was a trouble magnet.

“Who’s your friend?” Spike asked referring to the creepy little girl.

“A blessed one I kind of saved while you and Angel were out,” Maria explained in a rush. She knew they were going to be angry.

“Saved how?” Angel demanded.

“Well, there was this demon called a Turkay and I kind of sort of fought it,” Maria answered softly avoiding any contact with the two angry men.

“You what?” Spike shouted. “You went after the Turkay? Have you lost all your marbles love?”

“You don’t just go on demon hunts with out us! Hell you don’t go on demon hunts period!” Angel yelled in unison with Spike’s rant.

“Hey!” Alex shouted. “I’ve been dead for a few years so do you think you could save the lecture for another time. Maria and I are going out for pizza and Chinese…and ice cream.”

Maria smiled and followed Alex out the door. “You know this is the best Christmas present I could ever ask for.”

Alex smiled warmly and wrapped Maria in another tight hug. “I love you Maria and I’ll never be able to thank you enough.”

“Are you kidding this was completely selfish of me,” Maria said with a giggle. “You never have to thank me. I couldn’t have made any other wish.”

~*~*~*~*~

“So how are your parents?” Maria asked Alex curiously.

“Freaked, but happy,” Alex answered. “I’m not going to be able to move back to Roswell. What do you think of me moving here?”

“You’re joking right? I think it’s the best idea I have ever heard,” Maria squealed.

~*~*~*~*~

“Do you think it’s true?” Maria asked quietly.

“What?” Angel responded. She always did this to him. He had many skills, but mind reading wasn’t one of them.

“That my path is going to be long and painful,” Maria answered as she picked at an imaginary piece of lint on the sofa.

Angel thought about her question for a minute before wrapping an arm around her shoulders and pulling her close. “If life wasn’t hard it wouldn’t be worth living. If it is true it doesn’t matter because we’ll get through it. I promise.”

“She called me a champion. I just don’t understand why she would need my help,” Maria admitted. She always tried to help, but she knew that when it came down to it she was expendable.

“You are a champion,” Angel answered honestly. “Maria, if it weren’t for you Angel Investigations wouldn’t even exist. Spike and I would have gone our separate ways and I’m not even sure where I have would ended up. I doubt I would still be fighting. After L.A. I wanted to give up, but you gave me a reason to keep going. You’re the peanut butter.”

“What?” Maria asked totally confused.

“Spike and I are bread and you’re the peanut butter. It sounded smarter in my head. The point is you hold this team together and we need you,” Angel concluded.

“I need you guys more than you’ll ever need me,” Maria replied.

“Don’t be so sure of that,” Angel admitted. “And do me a favor; don’t mention the sandwich thing to Spike. I’ll hear about it for a century.”

Maria looked up and smiled sweetly at him before leaping from the couch to find Spike. “Maria,” Angel called as he ran after her. He caught her before she could reach the stairs and tickled her until she promised never to tell.

[candygurl1718]

Part Nine: Moving On

She walked down the quiet street with thoughts clouding her mind. She realized that her entire body was shaking in anticipation. She missed him so much. It had been five years, five incredibly long years. It didn’t matter though, he loved her. This could be a new beginning for them, a clean slate.

Isabel stopped in front of a large two story home. It was light brown with white trim. Not what she would pick out, but the color could always be changed. The house itself was beautiful and old. It wasn’t old in a rundown way, but it looked classic and historic. They could raise a family here. A family…the thought light up like a Christmas tree in her mind.

She drew in a deep breath and slowly walked up the cobble stone walk way towards the large double doors. She noticed a light on in the front window, so she detoured towards the bushes. She pushed herself up on her tiptoes and peered into the window.

She caught a glimpse of Jesse and she felt a smile gracing her lips. It quickly fell when she realized that there were other people in the room. There was a little girl bouncing around the room with an apron on. She would go to her little toy kitchen, make some type of concoction and then alternate delivering to Jesse and another woman.

They were a family. The thought hit Isabel so hard she swore she stopped breathing, just ceased to live.

The ice princess pulled up her protective shell. She turned around and walked away with out letting Jesse know she had ever been there. The long walk back to the hotel where the others were staying was painful. She didn’t want to be alone. Tears began to fall from her eyes long before she realized they were there. It wasn’t until her stomach and throat began to ache that she had to stop and catch her breath. She sat down on the nearest curb and sobbed.

~*~*~*~*~

“Isabel?” Max asked the bathroom door. She had come home after going to see Jesse and locked herself inside with out a word to any one. Isabel wasn’t the type to get depressed. He hadn’t seen her like this since Alex died. She didn’t even react this way when they had left Roswell and Jesse behind. “Isabel please,” Max begged.

“Leave me alone,” Isabel answered. She was clearly upset. Her voice was thick and strained. Max felt a sudden surge of big brother protectiveness flow through his veins, but he knew Isabel. If she really wanted to be alone she’d get what she wanted, she always did.

“Okay, but if you need me I’ll be right outside,” Max consented.

Max pulled away from the door and walked to the bed. He sat down next to his wife and wrapped an arm around her. “I’m worried about her,” Max admitted.

“She’ll be okay. Whatever happened she’s been through worse,” Liz answered. She tried to comfort him the best she could, but she knew it wouldn’t calm Max down. Isabel was the second most important person in his life. He was incredibly protective of his sister. He may have stepped down from being the leader, but he was still very protective of them all. He still felt responsible.

Suddenly the bathroom door opened and a perfectly composed Isabel came walking out. “There’s nothing here for me in Boston. I think we should go back west, maybe to San Francisco,” she made her announcement and immediately began packing her sparse belongings.

Max looked at Liz and she nodded her head in agreement. Isabel hadn’t really cared where they ended up all of these years until they decided to find Jesse. So if she wanted to go to San Francisco now, then they would go to San Francisco.
~*~*~*~*~
The empty highway stretched for miles ahead. They decided to travel through Wyoming and then down the coast. They didn’t want to get too close to New Mexico. They doubted anyone was still looking for them there, but it was a silent rule that they weren’t to step into the state. There were too many painful memories.

“Maria’s aunt lives in San Francisco,” Michael stated.

“I didn’t know that,” Kyle answered. “Did you ever meet her?”

“No,” Michael answered. He paused before adding, “I feel like I have though. Maria gave me flashes of her once. She visited her one summer when she was a kid. It was one of the best summers of her life.”

Michael didn’t talk about Maria very often. In fact Kyle knew if the others weren’t asleep he wouldn’t have even mentioned her. He felt privileged that Michael was able to talk to him about Maria.

Kyle often wondered what life would have been like the past five years if she had come with them. He also wondered if he would have been happier staying in Roswell with her and his father.

“What do you think she’s been doing these last few years?” Kyle asked. He didn’t realize he was saying it aloud until the question was already out there floating between him and the self-proclaimed stonewall.

Michael didn’t answer for a long time so Kyle assumed that he wouldn’t. He went back to staring out at the desolate highway.

“I hope she followed her dreams,” Michael answered suddenly several minutes later. “She deserves to be happy.”

“Do you think we’ll ever get to see her again?” Kyle wondered out loud. He really had to start thinking before talking.

“I don’t know,” Michael answered. Kyle noticed that his knuckles turned slightly whiter as he tightened his grip on the steering wheel. This was obviously something that Michael had thought about. Kyle could see why he would be conflicted by seeing Maria again.

There were too many unhappy possibilities. She could be miserable. She could be happy, with somebody else. He wasn’t sure which was worse. She could even be dead for all they knew. The thought gave Kyle a chill.

“Maybe you could look her aunt up when we get to San Francisco,” Kyle mumbled. Learn when to shut up Kyle, he berated himself. He knew this conversation was Michael uncomfortable, but he needed to talk about it.

“I don’t think so,” Michael answered. The rest of the night was passed in silence.

~*~*~*~*~

“We’ll park in that parking garage and walk to the hotel,” Max announced to the group from the driver’s seat of the beat up old van.

“But Max it’s all the way down the block,” Isabel complained.

“There’s no room to park on the street Iz. You’ll live,” Max answered.

Max pulled into the garage and parked the van in the first open space. It had been a long couple of weeks driving cross country in the tiny, overcrowded and increasingly ripe smelling van. He would never get used to traveling on the road like this. He hoped that they could settle in San Francisco for a while. It would be nice to put down some roots.

The group began their journey down the dark city block. They were all exhausted. No one anticipated an attack.

Suddenly the group was surrounded on all sides. There were at least fifteen, well they weren’t sure what they were, but they definitely weren’t human.

“We don’t want any trouble,” Max tried to explain. “We’re just looking for a…”

Before he could answer the creatures attacked. Max ducked a punch and threw two of them backwards. Liz avoided one coming straight at her only to walk into the punch of another. Michael was fending off three of them while trying to protect Isabel. Kyle felt a hand wrap around his neck from behind, but it suddenly fell limp. He turned to see the creatures dead body sprawled on the sidewalk. He looked up to see who had saved him, but before he could react he was fighting off two more creatures.

The fight continued for several minutes before the surviving creatures retreated into the darkness. The five traveling friends looked around to see who had saved them from the attack.

“Alex!” Isabel squealed. “Oh my God is it really you?”

“In the flesh,” Alex answered with a goofy grin. Liz and Isabel both threw themselves at him. “I’ve never felt like such a chick magnet before,” Alex quipped.

“Don’t get used to it Nancy,” Spike remarked sarcastically as he lit up an after fight cigarette.

“So you’re Alex’s friends from Roswell?” Angel guessed.

“Yeah,” Max answered. “Alex how is this possible?”

“And what the hell were those things?” Michael added.

“Well, um, it’s a long story that should probably be told somewhere a little safer,” Alex commented looking around at the now empty street. “We could go back to our place,” Alex suggested.

“That sounds great,” Isabel squealed. She was still holding onto him for dear life, but Alex wasn’t going to complain.

“Oh kitten is going to love this,” Spike chuckled. She didn’t like to talk about the past, but he knew enough that this wasn’t going to be an entirely happy reunion. Especially because they would probably force her to talk about how she ended up here. Nosey wankers. As far as he was concerned, they didn’t deserve any explanations.

“Kitten?” Kyle asked curiously.

Spike looked hard at the boy who asked the question and then at whom he was assuming must be Michael, but he didn’t answer. He kept his eyes on Michael. I can take him, he thought, powers or not.

“Maria,” Alex filled in.

“Maria’s here?” Michael asked in shock.

“Right then, are we going?” Spike stated more than asked as he started walking in the direction of the car.

“I’ll drive with them,” Alex called out.

“We’ll see you back there then.” Angel answered. He gave the group one more look before taking off towards the car. “Get out of my seat,” he said through gritted teeth.

“What are you going to do about it old man?” Spike asked cockily.

“Spike…” Angel began shouting.

“You know you could beat me up, but then kitten would just get mad at you,” Spike answered tauntingly.

Angel didn’t reply, instead he got into the passenger seat with one final growl.

“So, what do you think about the boy?” Spike asked curiously as he stepped hard onto the accelerator.

Angel knew exactly which boy Spike was referring to and answered, “I could take him, powers or not.”

Part Ten: Stolen

The car ride back to Angel investigations was as suspected quite awkward. It had been over six years since the group had seen Alex, plus he was supposed to be dead. Instead he was navigating them toward a large three story building, and Maria. Seeing Alex was enough of a surprise, but Maria being here too was just confounding.

“Alex,” Isabel said liking being able to say his name again. It felt familiar and warm as it flowed from her mouth. “Do you know what those things were?” she couldn’t hide the tinge of fright in her voice.

“Demons,” he answered honestly. “I’m not sure what type though. I’ve never come across them before.”

“Demons?” Liz asked incredulously. Her scientific and logical mind found it impossible to wrap itself around such an impossible and irrational answer. “Alex, demons don’t exist,” she replied confidently.

“Yeah, and I should rationally be worm food. Trust me, they exist,” Alex answered.

Everyone in the van was still processing the new world they were stepping into as they parked the van. Michael didn’t particularly care about demons. Maria was here. She was right inside. His mind drifted back to a recent conversation he had with Kyle on the way to San Francisco. After five years, would Maria still be the same girl he was still in love with? Did she move on? Why the hell did that bleach blond ugly British guy call her kitten?

The group piled out of the van and followed closely behind Angel and Spike who had arrived only seconds before.

“Spike,” Angel stated as they neared the door.

“Maybe she went to O’Mal’s,” Spike answered hopefully. Neither vampire could sense Maria’s strong presence and were sure that she wasn’t inside. They both also knew she had intended to stay in for the duration of the night.

“She isn’t here?” Alex asked as they all made their way into the foyer.

“How do you know she isn’t here?” Michael asked curiously. The lights were on and the doors weren’t locked. They hadn’t mentioned anyone else being here, so why wouldn’t she be her?

The two vampires growled as they caught the strong scent of blood, Maria’s blood. Isabel jumped back a little as their human faces changed into their demonic forms.

Both men wasted no time explaining. Instead they simultaneously tightened their grip on their weapons and turned to leave out the door they had come in.

Alex walked towards the office and caught a glimpse of the blood. He felt his stomach clench. There was so much. Two bloody handprints decorated the door and just inside the small room was a pool of the red liquid. He quickly turned and ran out the door to catch up with them. The group followed suit and did their best to follow the black convertible down the narrow city streets.

“I don’t understand. What’s happening? Where’s Maria?” Liz asked in a hysterical voice. She was finally going to get the chance to see her best friend and now she was what, missing?

Nobody in the van knew the answers to Liz’s questions or tried to come up with any. There was obviously too much they didn’t know. This was a whole new world to them.

~*~*~*~*~

Maria felt like the little drummer boy was doing one hell of a solo inside of her head. She slowly slipped back into consciousness. Before she could open her eyes she heard several voices. She couldn’t comprehend what they were saying, but it sounded almost like a chant. She opened her eyes slowly and silently watched what was going on around her.

It was safe to say she wasn’t safe. She thought back, trying to pick out her last memory, a phone call. The phone rang and she answered it, but she had to put them on hold because she heard something outside of the door. The guys had been due back from the nightly patrol and more than once she had to drag their battered bodies into the office. Sometimes she was even given directions to another member of the group that couldn’t crawl their way back home and she’d have to go search for them.

She went to the door and as she opened it she felt it lurch towards her. Her nose was gushing blood as three cloaked creatures came barreling through the door way. She tried to prevent them from coming in, but in the end they overpowered her. She turned around quickly in an attempt to barricade herself in the office when something hit her hard on the back of the head. She reached out for the door to steady herself but she went down hard. Then the blackness swallowed her and now she was here.

But where was here? It looked like an abandoned warehouse. How original, she scoffed internally. There were torches positioned around the outer walls to light the place. A real fire hazard, she thought already working on a possible plan. Although she was already pretty sure she knew how she would get out of here and there may not be enough time for a little arson. No matter how much the idea was appealing to her.

“Well, look who’s awake,” a robbed creature bellowed. The rest of the demons immediately turned their attention in her direction. She felt her stomach tighten. The one who made the announcement removed his hood. What he revealed was repulsive, even for Maria who had seen a lot through out the years.

His face was covered in red puss filled sores and rows of sharp teeth filled his mouth. She fought back a quiver as his deep, empty eyes bore holes into hers and his tongue darted out like a snake’s.

“I was afraid you would bleed out before we were through prepping for the big event,” he revealed causally. He acted almost as if they were having a perfectly normal conversation. He squatted down in front of her and waited for her reply.

“Big event?” she asked curiously. She had learned that knowledge really is power.

“Well, unfortunately sweetheart we plan of sacrificing you, but don’t worry it’s for the greater, well evil,” he answered in a sickly sweet voice.

“I don’t understand. What does sacrificing me accomplish?” Maria asked curiously. She knew this couldn’t have anything to do with the previous prophecy because that night had passed and these most definitely were not the order of vampires that worshipped Etevivo.

“You see sweetheart everyone, human, demon, animal, they all have power. Some have greater power than others, that’s why you are here. We plan on exploiting the power of certain individuals and once we get enough sources, well let’s just say it’s going to be one hell of an ending,” the demon replied with a gleeful chuckle.

“You’re going to end the world,” Maria whispered. It wasn’t the first time a big bad had tried, but this particular one was making here skin crawl in way she didn’t think was possible. Something told her he wouldn’t be easily defeated.

“As you know it, anyways, but don’t worry you’ll be dead long before that happens. I know that has to be some comfort for you. Heroes never like to see everything they have worked for fall to pieces. Selfish lot you are,” he concluded as he rose and walked back to the rest of the group.

~*~*~*~*~

The car came to a screeching halt and three determined men jumped out. They quickly surveyed the building.

“Alex go with Spike around back. I’ll take the front,” he ordered.

“Where do you want us?” Michael asked impatiently. He still wasn’t sure what was going on, but he wanted to help. He needed to help.

“Wait in the car,” Spike answered as he took off for the back of the building.

“I’m not…” Michael started.

“You go in and you could get yourself killed or more importantly get her killed. Wait in the car and stay out of the way,” Angel growled.

The sound of glass breaking caught everyone’s attention. Spike quickly changed his route and together he and Angel caught the plummeting blonde just in the nick of time.

“Perfect timing,” Maria commented in shaky voice. “We need to get the hell out of here, now.”

Spike carried her to the car and got into the back seat with her. Angel quickly took his seat behind the wheel and Alex jumped into the passenger seat. They took off and the van full of very confused old friends followed them for the third time that night.

“Where are they going?” Isabel asked confused. She was fairly certain this wasn’t the way to the office. She didn’t get the chance to ask Alex if they lived there because of all the commotion, but she was pretty sure they did. The building itself was three stories and it looked like the top two stories were apartments.

“I don’t know,” Max answered as he swerved slightly and accelerated to keep up with them. “Maybe the hospital,” he added in a low voice.

“She jumped out of a window four stories off the ground,” Michael mumbled mostly to himself. She could have died. She could be hurt now. She could be dying. Why the hell isn’t Alex telling them to stop? Max could save her life. His anger and fear continued to grow until all of the windows in the car shattered. Everyone in the car looked at him, but they didn’t say a word and he didn’t apologize.

The car stopped in front of a large house. It was a mansion really. The large white pillars reminded them of Greek monuments. The large iron gate suddenly sprang open and they drove up the long drive way.

Alex and Angel stepped out of the car and led the way to the front doors. Spike was close behind them carrying Maria tightly against his chest.

The others quickly scrambled towards the doorway and Kyle closed the door behind them. They took in the inside of the gorgeous house. It was even more amazing than the outside. Everything looked old, antique and very expensive.

“Wow,” Isabel commented as she looked around the foyer.

Spike brought Maria up the large staircase that led to the second floor and disappeared somewhere to the left out of Michael’s field of vision. Angel followed behind them, but Alex stayed down stairs with the rest of the group.

“Okay, so we need to talk,” Alex started.

“Max should heal her. She looked bad,” Michael insisted.

“She’ll be fine,” Alex answered with out explaining.

“Listen I don’t know what’s going on, but…” Michael began to protest.

“You’re right you don’t know what’s going on man,” Alex interrupted. “I respect the fact that you obviously still care about Maria, but she taken care of. It’s been five years man and she’s survived just fine with out you.”

Michael didn’t answer. Instead he just clenched his jaw and looked away. A part of him knew Alex was right. Maria was obviously being taken care of and protected, but it felt wrong that he wasn’t the one doing it.

“This place is a safe house,” Alex explained as he led the way into the living room. “It’s protected by magic. Even if something was able to get inside we would still be cloaked and they wouldn’t be able to harm us.”

“That’s amazing,” Isabel replied as she took a seat next to him on the plush couch. “Do you guys live here?”

“No, we use it for emergencies only,” Alex answered. “This place is too far outside the city. It’s just easier living above the office.”

Alex spent about an hour explaining as much about the previous five years as possible. Liz asked several questions, wanting to know everything about this fascinating new world.

“So, how did you guys afford this house? I mean it doesn’t seem like Angel Investigations is really a cash cow,” Isabel questioned curiously as she gently placed her hand Alex’s thigh.

Alex didn’t let on, but he was completely aware of her not so subtle touch. “Well, that’s kind of a funny story,” Alex replied. “Maria defeated a bad ass warlock in a battle of wills.” Everyone stared at him blankly before he let out a chuckle and finished, “It was a poker game. She really only played to free a bunch of kittens.” He paused and thought about the stories he had been telling them, “We lead very interesting lives.”

~*~*~*~*~

“He wanted your power source?” Angel asked slightly confused. He had her of soul suckers before, but this didn’t seem quite the same.

“He implied they were collecting power for something. Something big,” Maria tried to explain.

“That must be why he attacked your mates,” Spike stated.

“What mates?” Maria asked confused as she finished dressing. They had helped her take a shower to clean the dried blood from her body. She felt like a Mack truck had run over her, twice, maybe even three times.

Spike and Angel shared a look, but neither answered. Instead Angel busied himself collecting the proper ingredients for the healing paste she would need, while Spike avoiding looking Maria in the eyes. Finally Spike announced, “I’m going to go out and get you some tacos from Spicy Joe’s. I know how much you love them kitten.”

“Spike,” Maria said obviously demanding an answer.

“Don’t worry love I’ll be back in a flash,” he answered ignoring her tone as he rushed out the door.

“Wuss,” Angel called after him. He understood why he left though. Telling Maria that her former best friends were right downstairs wouldn’t be easy. There was a lot of pain attached to them. She still had nightmares about her time with the FBI after all these years, but they were few and far between. Now with them here he was sure the bad memories would surface and he hated the thought of seeing her hurting like that.

“Well?” she asked impatiently.

~*~*~*~*~

“How is she?” Alex asked as Spike came bounding down the stairs in a rush.

“She’ll live. I’m gonna go get her something to eat,” Spike replied.

“There is no food in the house,” Alex stated. He knew Spike wouldn’t think to get anything for anyone else, especially not when he was concerned about Maria.

“Fine,” Spike growled before heading out into the night. He paused on the door step and lit a cigarette. He took a long drag and tried to get his emotions in check. She could have died.

~*~*~*~*~

Nearly an hour after Spike had left everyone was feeling the previous rush of adrenaline wearing off. Alex was about to show them to the spare bedrooms when he heard the slight creaking of the carpeted stairs.

Maria appeared in the doorway with Angel close behind. She paused and looked around the room. Everyone rose from their seats. Maria didn’t say anything; instead she went to the empty chair near the fireplace and took a seat. With a flick of her wrist the fireplace roared to life.

“How…” Liz started surprised.

“Magic,” Maria answered casually. Although she wasn’t really a full blown witch she did know a trick or two. She refused to use her powers for her own whims though. She still preferred things being done the normal way, but she was still sore from the night’s fight.

Before any more questions could be asked the front door opened and Spike came through the door way carrying three large bags of take out in one hand and a pizza in the other. He dumped the food in the middle of the coffee table and sorted through it. First he picked out Maria’s tacos and gave them to her. Then he threw Alex a container of Chinese food along with a pair of chop sticks. Last, he threw a container of pig’s blood in Angel’s general direction. It was aimed at his head, but he made no comment.

Spike grabbed a pint of blood for himself and moved across the room to take a seat on the floor in front of Maria’s chair. Maria smiled internally. They were both so protective and for the most part it was adorable. Of course there were moments where it could be a bit annoying.

Michael finally broke the silence, “You could have died.” Maria gave him a puzzled look. Obviously she was unsure of what he was talking about. “Jumping four stories,” he added in a tight voice.

“She could have died five years ago when the FBI grabbed her too,” Spike retorted sarcastically. He immediately regretted it though because he felt Maria tense behind him.

Michael couldn’t say anything. Maria was taken by the FBI. Why?

It was Max who finally got the courage to ask the question. “The FBI took you?”

“Yes,” Maria answered quietly. “The past is in the past. We have more important matters to deal with,” she said trying to change the subject.

“We believe the attack on you five tonight wasn’t random,” Angel revealed to the group. “One of the creatures told Maria that they were harvesting power from certain individuals.”

“They wanted to steal our powers? How did they even know who we were?” Isabel asked.

“They probably didn’t. They must have sensed your powers as you came into the city. Anybody who knows anything about dark magic can track essences,” Maria explained. “We don’t know how they plan to use the power they collect, but we’re pretty sure we know what they want. They want to end the world, or at least the one we have created.”

Maria looked around at the confused faces. It was time for a little history lesson. She took a deep breath and began, “Demons used to rule this dimension. Eons ago they were all successfully banished. The ones you see today are tainted. They aren’t pure demons. Some, like vampires, are half-breeds: part human, part demon. The demons that still walk in this world have been waiting ages to reclaim their power. So, by destroying the human race they could do just that. The world itself wouldn’t cease to exist, but rather we would.”

“So we need to figure out how they plan to end the world,” Alex stated.

“First we need to identify the type of demon we are up against,” Maria replied.

“No,” Angel responded, “First we all need to get some rest. This has been one hell of a night. We’ll start researching in the library at 3:00 this afternoon.”

“Now that sounds like a plan,” Spike agreed. He hated agreeing with Angel, but they weren’t going to get any work done while half asleep.

The sun was just rising as Maria was preparing to fall into bed. She wondered how many sunrises she would see in her life time. More importantly, how many more did she have left?

Part Eleven: Apologies

At around one Maria couldn’t try to sleep any longer. The sun was too bright, even though she closed the thick curtains covering her windows. She slowly pushed herself out of the warm bed and stretched. All soreness from the night before had faded and she felt surprisingly good.

She went to her private bathroom and took a long hot shower. They were here in her town. She still wasn’t sure how to feel about that. Honestly she wished they hadn’t come. She hated the thought of them being in danger. Hell she didn’t even like the fact that Alex had gotten involved in all of this. She really had hoped that he would keep his distance from her new life, but after six months of trying to fit into the local college he gave up. Fighting for the greater good became as important to him as it was to her. Selfishly she loved him even more for being there. It was comforting to have a piece of Roswell with her.

Maria dried off and tied her wet hair in a bun. She dressed in casual sweats and quietly slipped out of her room. After making a pot of fresh coffee and two plates of eggs and toast she made her way back up the stairs towards his room. She knew they would have to talk and she’d rather do it in private.

She opened the door while balancing the tray of food in one hand. She still had the skill of an experienced waitress. Her mind flashed back to the first time she and Michael had worked together at the Crashdown. It seemed like a life time ago and yet she remembered it so vividly. They spent the entire night fighting. He called her a control freak. She told him she the manager and that he would just have to deal. After six hours of bantering they finally closed the diner up and fell onto the couch in the backroom for a long, necessary make out session.

She placed the tray on top of the empty dresser and stared at the man lying in the bed. He looked older. He had filled out and his muscles had become more defined. It always amazed her how peaceful he looked when he was sleeping. His chest rose and fell with every breath. She found herself walking towards him. She tried to stop herself, but she felt possessed. Her hand gently touched the spot above his heart. She could feel it beating. He was really here.

Michael’s eyes flew open when he felt another presence in the bedroom. He looked over to the window and saw Maria sitting there staring out the window, sipping on a cup of coffee.

“Hey,” he murmured softly. He didn’t want to startle her.

“Hey,” Maria answered, but she didn’t look at him. “There’s breakfast and coffee on the bureau.”

He sat up and reached for his jeans. “Thanks,” he replied as he got up to get the food. He noticed the bottle of Tabasco sauce on the tray and smiled internally. She remembered. More importantly she cared.

“I figured you might want to talk,” Maria explained. She turned to face him, but remained seated across the room. It was better to keep some distance right now. Michael nodded and took a seat at the edge of the bed facing Maria.

Maria took the lead and began, “I didn’t plan on jumping out the window.” She knew he was concerned about her last night and it was important for him to know that she was neither suicidal nor helpless.

“What?” Michael asked slightly confused. His mind was still a little hazy. Honestly part of him wished that the last five years were a horrible nightmare. He let himself believe for a split second that he and Maria were still together, that he had awoken in their bedroom, that they were married, that they were a family.

“Last night I didn’t plan on jumping. I always wear this pendant,” Maria explained as she pulled a beautiful gold necklace with a ruby stone out from beneath her shirt. “The pendant is very powerful. When I invoke its power it makes everyone in the immediate vicinity fall asleep. Usually it lasts long enough for me to escape, but it didn’t work this time. I was able to get my restraints off, but by the time I was finished doing that they were already awakening. They were too strong. The window was the only way out. I was hoping it wouldn’t be more than a couple of stories.”

“Oh,” Michael responded. “Where did you get it?” Michael asked, referring to the ruby pendant.

“Spike,” Maria answered. “I have an annoying habit of getting captured,” she admitted with a slight blush. Angel always called her his little trouble magnet.

Michael felt his jaw clench at the mention of Spike’s name, but he comment on it. “I’m sorry,” he whispered. He had been waiting five years to tell her that, but after finding out about her time with the FBI last night he knew he needed to say it now.

“Sorry, for what?” Maria questioned.

“I’m sorry for leaving you behind in Roswell. I should have known better. I shouldn’t have left you,” Michael admitted. “If I hadn’t…” he trailed off unable to say the words.

“I was angry at first with you and the others, but Michael it wasn’t your fault. The only ones to blame are the men who took me,” Maria explained. She knew being angry at Michael wouldn’t change anything. She was still tortured for months and left heartbroken and lonely for five years, nothing would change that.

Michael nodded, but he wasn’t completely convinced. “How did you get out?”

“It’s not all that fabulous of a story,” Maria admitted. “After they realized I wasn’t going to tell them anything they considered killing me, but after what Tess did to the military base they figured if you guys eventually did find out I was dead that they may suffer from retaliation. So they let me go and told me to never tell anyone. They said that if I did tell anyone they would kill my mother. So, when I got back to Roswell I told Valenti and my mom that I had took off after you guys left to grieve. They bought it. Since leaving Roswell I’ve pretty much lived under the radar.”

“Under the radar?” Michael questioned.

“I have an alias, not that I even use that very often. I pretty much avoid “big brother”,” she explained. “For the most part anyways,” she added remembering her brief trip to the jungle with the one and only Riley Finn.

Michael rubbed his eyes and sighed, “I can’t believe this is all really happening.” Maria didn’t respond. Suddenly she seemed like she was a million miles away. “Maria?”

“I’m sorry, but we should get down stairs. The others are waiting,” she replied with out explaining her sudden distraction from the conversation.

“Right. Um I’m just going to take a quick shower,” Michael stated as he rose from his seat on the edge of the bed.

“Okay. I’ll see you down there,” Maria responded. She got up and quickly moved passed him. She piled the dishes onto the tray and left the room.

She was really here with him after all of these years, but it still felt like there were thousands of miles between them. Seeing her, but not being close to her was nearly as bad as not seeing her at all. Nearly.

~*~*~*~*~

Maria opened the door and wasn’t surprised to see both Angel and Spike waiting for her. She refused to give either of them an explanation and walked past them towards the stairs.

“What was that about kitten?” Spike asked.

“Nothing,” she answered. She could just tell them they were just talking and catching up, but she was enjoying torturing them.

“Maria…” Angel began.

“You give me the sex talk again and I’ll stake you,” she warned.

“You gave her the sex talk?” Spike asked surprised. “And you didn’t think to include me?”

“You guys are such freaks,” Maria exclaimed as she placed the dirty dishes into the dishwasher.

“We just want you to be careful,” Angel explained.

“Guys, I’m 23. That makes me a big girl,” she retorted sarcastically. In reality she loved how protective they were and she knew that it was only out of love, but she would never tell him that.

“I don’t trust them,” Spike stated. He steered away from Michael and focused his statement on the group as a whole.

“You don’t need to,” Maria replied. “You just need to trust me. Oh, and stop talking to me when you know I’m with someone. Michael must think I’m a total space shot.”

“Why in bloody hell do you care what he thinks?” Spike asked.
~*~*~*~*~

Liz was amazed by the library tucked away in the basement of the mansion. She had never seen a private library quite as comprehensive. All four walls were covered from top to bottom with shelves of books and ancient manuscripts. Liz was positive you wouldn’t find any classic novels on these walls however. She was sure every volume was dedicated to describing demons, folklore, mythology, magic and all of the other old things that the world had chose to forget centuries ago.

She took a seat at one of four of the large oak tables situated in the room and continued surveying the large room. The library was just as beautiful as the rest of the house and she found it comfortable, even homey. The smell of the old books was some how comforting. The stacks of books left on the tables from previous research sessions made her feel safe. While the piles of books on the floor that didn’t have their own place on the shelf made her feel warm inside. She knew this was odd, but it had been so long since she had been in a home. Even though they may not live here all the time this was still their home. They had dressers with stuff in the drawers, kitchen cabinets with real plates and glasses, and they had knick knacks decorating end tables and mantles. She was jealous, envious and sad. She didn’t want to live out of a duffle bag anymore.

Liz was also scared, she honestly was, but at the same time she was thrilled. She finally felt like she had a purpose again. These last five years working dead end jobs and having no direction in life except to avoid getting caught by their enemies had been hard on her. So, she really was thrilled to feel useful again.

The group spent hours researching in the library. They had sifted through dozens of manuscripts and had yet to find a thing. Everyone was beginning to become discouraged when suddenly Alex shrieked.

“Hot dog!” Alex cried.

“Yeah I’m getting hungry too, but I was thinking pizza,” Kyle responded.

“I found the demon,” Alex explained as everyone else began gathering around him. Kyle quickly got up and tried to get a view of the book as well.

“That’s it,” Angel agreed.

“That’s impossible,” Maria announced.

“Why?” Alex asked a little offended.

“That’s a lycengog demon,” Maria explained.

“They’ve been extinct for thousands of years,” Angel added.

“I thought they were a myth,” Spike remarked.

“But that’s definitely what attacked us last night,” Isabel insisted. She would never forget their faces. The memory gave her a sudden chill.

Maria looked at Angel and sighed. “I don’t want to.”

“It’s the only way,” Angel replied.

“That’s easy for you to say,” Maria mumbled.

“Are we missing something?” Max asked confused.

“Always,” Spike answered sarcastically.

“Do you have a problem with us?” Michael asked angrily. He wasn’t sure how much more of this he could take.

“Yes, I thought I had made that perfectly clear,” Spike shot back.

“Spike,” Maria warned. Fighting isn’t going to help, she added telepathically.

Fine, he replied silently.

I’ll need supplies.

“I’m on it,” Spike answered aloud. He turned and left the room glad to get away from him.

“What is he on?” Liz asked confused.

“He’s going to go get some supplies we are going to need,” Maria explained.

“How do you know that?” Michael asked curiously.

“Telepathy,” she answered curtly. “If I do this you owe me two, count them, two nights.”

“Two? How is that fair?” Angel asked. “We’re in the middle of an apocalypse you shouldn’t be striking deals,” he commented trying to force her to feel guilty. Maria crossed her arms over her chest and glared at him until he consented with a nod of his head.

“Two nights of what?” Kyle asked. “We need a freaking translator to know what’s going on here,” he added.

“It’s not important,” Angel answered flatly.

“Okay, well what exactly is the plan?” Liz inquired.

~*~*~*~*~

Spike kicked a stone as he walked down the road away from the magic supply store. He could have taken the car, but he needed the time to think and cool off. He was worried. When all this was through what would happen? Would they leave? Would they stay? Would she leave with him?

“Why don’t you come out and play, instead of hiding in the shadows?” he asked the night sensing something behind him. He turned around and quickly tossed the bag of supplies to the side. Three of the lycengog demons were standing in front of him ready to pounce.

~*~*~*~*~

“I’m going to get some information from a source,” Maria answered cryptically.

“What exactly does that mean?” Max asked curiously.

“It’s not important,” Maria replied. She trusted them, she honestly did, but they were on a need to know basis. After this disaster is averted they can get on with their lives, so the less they know the better.

“Okay, so we should focus our research on the lycengog demon. What type of texts should we use?” Liz asked switching topics. She pulled out a note pad and was prepared to begin methodically taking down information.

“I don’t know,” Maria admitted honestly.

“Like Spike mentioned most people believed they were actually a myth. So, anything that is written about them may just be folklore and very unreliable,” Angel added.

“So, dinner then?” Alex more announced than asked. He pulled out his cell phone and placed an order for pizza.

“Now that’s a plan I can respect,” Kyle replied.

After finishing off four pizzas and a couple of pints of blood the gang was mentally preparing themselves to go back to work.

“Something’s wrong,” Maria announced.

“He’s fine,” Angel answered. “You know him he probably just got distracted.”

“No,” Maria insisted. “I can’t feel him,” she added softly.

Angel looked up from the text he had been translating and caught the fear in her eyes. “I’ll go. Try a locator spell,” he ordered. Before he left he dropped a kiss on the top of Maria’s head and sent her a mental promise, I’ll find him.

Michael wanted to scream. She could feel him? What the hell is that suppose to mean? He managed to keep his mouth shut though. Maria looked scared and worried, and it pulled at his gut the same way it always had. He leaned over and put a comforting hand on her shoulder. “He’ll find him,” he offered.

She nodded slightly and then rose to start the locating spell.

~*~*~*~*~

Angel traveled the route Spike most likely took to the magic supply store. He kept his senses on full alert and as he neared the corner of 55th and Margo he felt Spike’s weak presence. He stopped, got out of the car and rushed into the alley.

“Spike,” he called out. He got a groan in response and quickly moved towards it. He found Spike lying next to a dumpster fading in and out of consciousness. “Shit,” he mumbled as he took one of his arms and put it around his neck and lifted the man to his feet. He spotted the tossed aside bag of ingredients and snatched them up with his free hand. He half carried, half dragged Spike to the car and sped away from the alley back towards the house.

You found him, Maria stated more than asked.

Yes, we’ll be home soon, Angel responded.

Quickly, there are more close behind you, Maria added with urgency.

Angel growled in frustration. These guys were really getting on his nerves.

~*~*~*~*~

Maria exterminated the spell as the car pulled onto their street. “They’re back,” she announced, as she hurried from the room towards the front door. Alex followed closely behind Maria and helped Angel carry Spike inside and up the stairs to his bedroom. Maria followed them upstairs carrying a fresh batch of healing paste.

Alex came down a few minutes later and continued to research with the gang. After about an hour and a half Maria and Angel finally rejoined the group.

“How is he?” Alex asked.

“He’ll live,” Angel answered, “in a manner of speaking anyways.”

“What happened to him?” Isabel asked.

“He was attacked by three of the lycengog demons,” Angel answered.

“He won,” Maria added. He won, but they gave him one hell of a fight. It had been a long time since she had seen him hurt that bad.

“How do you heal?” Max asked curiously. “Is it magic?”

“Sort of,” Maria replied. “It’s an ancient Chinese healing paste created from powerful herbs. You apply it to a cloth and then on the wounded area. It works fairly quickly and pretty well.”

“Could you show me sometime?” Liz asked hopefully. This was all so interesting to her.

“We’ll see,” Maria answered. Liz looked away a little sad, but she didn’t say anything.

“We have the ingredients,” Angel commented pointedly.

“Yeah, yeah,” Maria replied. “Check in on him.” Angel gave her a look and Maria added, “I won’t do it if you don’t promise.”

“Okay, okay,” Angel finally relented.

“This will probably take a several hours, so don’t wait up,” Maria announced as she pushed herself from her straight back chair.

“Be careful,” Angel called after her.

“You know me,” she called back as she left the room and headed for the seclusion of her bedroom.

“Yeah that’s why I’m worried,” Angel mumbled under his breath.

~*~*~*~*~

Hours later the gang decided to call it a night, well more like a morning. Isabel would certainly never get used to staying up all night and sleeping all day. Before Alex could close his door she called out to him, “Alex.”

“Yeah?” he answered turning around, but still prepared to shut the door to his bedroom.

“Do you think we could maybe talk?” Isabel asked casually as she leaned against the doorframe.

“Sure,” Alex consented and he moved out of the way to let her into the room.

“I just wanted to apologize,” Isabel began nervously.

“Apologize for what?” Alex asked confused. He had never seen Isabel nervous around him before and it was interesting. He had of course seen her nervous, but it was usually the ‘oh my God’ the skins are among us, the world is ending, I have to listen to your crappy band again type of nervous.

“When you died,” Isabel started, but she had to pause and recollect her thoughts. She hadn’t talked to anyone about his death in years and now to be having this conversation with him it was hard to say the least. “When you died I was so upset. I wanted to get as far away from Roswell as possible. I wanted nothing more than to move on and get over you because it hurt so damn bad. Then I met Jesse and I rushed into this stupid relationship. I married him only months after you died! I’m so sorry,” she ended in a strangled sob.

“Iz,” Alex said soothingly as he reached out for her. He pulled her into a tight hug and whispered into her hair, “You don’t have to apologize, especially for something I told you I was okay with. I wanted you to move on and be happy. I’m just sorry it didn’t work out and that you got hurt in the end.”

Isabel stopped crying and looked up at him. “You…you were really there?” she asked amazed. He answered her with a small smile. “Oh, Alex. I have missed you so much.”

“I’ve missed you too,” Alex replied. “But you’re not getting of calling your son Alex,” he added with a grin.

Isabel just smiled and wrapped her arms tighter around his neck. Secretly she wished she would name her son Alex Jr. someday.

TBC...

[candygurl1718]

Thanks glennfan33!

Part Twelve: Pain is Love

Michael was on his way to his bedroom, but he couldn’t resist the urge to check on Maria. Whatever she was doing in there he was positive it wasn’t safe and he needed to make sure she was alright. He reached up to knock when a hand wrapped around his wrist and dragged him away from the door roughly.

“What the hell is your problem?” he asked Spike. Who did this guy think he was?

“Are you trying to kill her?” Spike snarled.

“Of course not, I just wanted…” Michael began to reply, but Spike cut him off.

“I don’t care what you wanted. She’s into some very powerful magic in there and even the slightest disturbance could send her catapulting off the edge. Stay away from her,” Spike warned.

Michael was about to respond when Maria’s door suddenly flew open. Liz appeared in the doorway with a scared frantic look on her face.

Spike didn’t bother to ask. He quickly pushed her out of the way and ran into the room. Michael followed and Liz stood shaking in the doorway.

Maria was lying in the center of the floor naked and convulsing. She was bleeding every where. Michael wasn’t sure exactly where it was coming from at first, but when he looked closer it seemed as though her entire body was covered in scrapes, scratches and cuts.

Spike grabbed the ceremonial bowl set up on an altar near where she was lying and threw it against the wall. A bright red light pulsed through out the room and the spell was broken.

Maria stopped convulsing immediately, but she began coughing hysterically. Michael noticed the blood coming from her mouth and he ran to her, but Spike was already at her side. He ripped the blanket off the bed and covered her with it as he cradled her in his lap.

“What the hell happened?” Angel asked as he came through the door and shut it quietly as he pushed Liz out. He immediately jerked Michael up and away from Maria and took his spot besides her.

“I’m okay,” Maria choked out, as she wiped blood from her mouth and tried to hold back the quivers running through her tiny frame.

“You almost died,” Spike said stoically. He grimaced and picked her up from the floor. Then he laid her in her bed gently and pulled additional blankets over her chilled body.

“What’s new?” Maria asked jokingly. She tried to put on a brave face and chuckle a little, but instead she broke out into a strangled cough.

“Get out,” Angel ordered. He never took his eyes off of Maria, but Michael knew he was talking to him.

“No,” Michael answered defiantly. He had enough of them shutting him out. If Maria wanted him to go then, and only then, would he leave.

“Listen mate…” Spike started angrily.

“Get out,” Maria stated blankly. “They’ll take care of me.”

Michael looked her in the eyes and nodded. He felt the stabbing pain throughout his entire body, but he turned and left quietly. Maria really didn’t need him and the realization was crushing.

“Michael?” Liz asked guiltily. “Is she okay?”

Michael leaned back against the door and screwed his eyes shut. He took a deep breath, pushed away from the door and walked out of the house with out answering.

~*~*~*~*~

Angel gently helped Maria take a sip of cool water. Most of it leaked out of her mouth, but Spike was ready with a clean towel to wipe it away.

“I made the connection,” Maria began hoarsely.

“Don’t worry about that now,” Angel replied. He could care less about the world ending at this point in time. Maria’s pain was the only thing he cared about.

“I need Judasica,” Maria stated flatly.

“I’ll go get him,” Spike answered even as he was pushing himself from his spot on the bed.

“Be careful,” Maria warned. Spike nodded and left quietly. “You owe me two nights buster,” Maria said with an evil smile.

Angel smiled slightly. Even when she was in pain she was more worried about cheering him up.

“You were pretty cold to him,” Angel commented.

“You told him to leave first,” Maria answered defensively.

“Big difference and you know it,” Angel remarked.

“I know,” Maria replied. “I just… I can’t do this now. It’s so frustrating because part of me selfishly wants him here and the other part knows he should just run. Run as far away from me as he can possibly get,” she tired to explain. After a brief pause to cough Maria continued, “I don’t think I could stand to let him back in again and then lose him all over. I never got over it the first time. How do I get over it the second time?” she asked sadly.
Angel didn’t answer right away instead he gently stroked her face and gave her a light kiss on the forehead. “I’m a little over protective of you sometimes.”

“A little? Sometimes?” Maria snorted loudly.

“The point is,” Angel continued, “I do want you to find someone. I want you to be happy. You don’t trust very easily and I don’t blame you. There have been so many people in your life who have let you down, but if you don’t let people in you’ll never be happy.”

“I let people in,” Maria replied defensively.

“You’ve been on a lot of first dates, but never a second one. And I know that Spike and I have scared away our share of losers, but there have been a few good ones who have tried. You just always blow them off. Hell you have even been blowing of your friends since they got here,” Angel responded.

Maria sighed. She knew he was right. When Michael left she had built up her own stonewall, but with him and the others being back she feel it starting to crumble. That thought scared the hell out of her, mostly because she didn’t want it to fall on her head like the last time.

“Maybe you’re right,” Maria relented. “And maybe you should take your own advice.”

“I’m not looking for…” Angel started.

“I’m not talking about you finding a girlfriend, but maybe you could make a new friend. It’s been five years Angel. I know losing the gang in LA was hard, but you can’t keep pushing humans away. What happens when I’m gone?”

“Where the hell are you going?” he asked worried.

“I don’t know if you noticed, but I’m not immortal,” Maria answered with a sad chuckle.

~*~*~*~*~

“Are you trying to get yourself killed?” Spike asked as he walked by Michael who was sitting on the front steps.

“Why do you care?” Michael asked.

“I don’t, but she does,” Spike answered. He lit a cigarette and walked towards the car.

“Where are you going?” Michael asked curiously.

“To get help for her,” Spike answered honestly. Spike opened the car door and got in when he realized that Michael was doing the same. “What the hell are you doing?”

“Maria needs help right?” Michael asked. He continued with out letting Spike answer the obvious, “Well last time you went out by yourself you were lucky to make it home. You need someone watching your back.”

“Fine, but you keep your mouth shut and play invisible,” Spike growled. “And don’t get yourself killed or I’ll never hear the end of it,” he warned. He didn’t need him to watch his back, but he didn’t need him doing something stupid either. If anything happened to him he knew Maria would hold him responsible. He couldn’t live with that.

“I doubt she’ll even notice,” Michael replied dejectedly.

“And don’t subject me to your little pity party either because I have absolutely no sympathy for you,” Spike groaned.

“Whatever,” Michael answered. The rest of the car ride into the city was silent and tense.

~*~*~*~*~

“How is she?” Liz asked Angel as he opened the bedroom door.

“Bad,” he answered coldly.

“I don’t understand. What happened?” Max questioned curiously.

“What happened?” Angel scoffed. “What happened is that Maria specifically told you not to wait up for her, which meant stay the hell away from her for the rest of the night. She wasn’t in their peacefully meditating. She was ascending to a level that you could never imagine and that takes an enormous amount of concentration. You could have killed her and if Spike wasn’t right outside you would have.”

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean…” Liz tried to explain through sobs.

“You’re sorry? Oh, well that makes everything all better,” Angel mocked angrily.

“It was an accident and you don’t have the right to talk to her like that,” Max said in Liz’s defense.

“No, that’s where you are wrong. You’re here because you need our protection. You’re not safe in this city, but I’m beginning think that maybe it would just be better if you left the city all together. You’ll be safe and we won’t have to baby sit you. Sounds like a win, win to me,” Angel responded coldly. “You don’t know her anymore and you don’t know Alex. You can’t expect to come in here and be best buds,” Angel explained. He was getting frustrated. He hated outsiders. They’re only good at getting themselves killed. Maria was wrong. Pushing humans away was the only way to keep them safe.

“We’re not leaving,” Liz answered boldly. “You’re right we can’t just expect everything to be like it was, but I’ll do anything to get Maria and Alex back. I need them and I’m not leaving.”

Angel nodded his head in understanding, but warned her, “I’m going to be very clear about this so listen closely. I’ll do my best to protect you and your friends, but Maria comes first. She always will. I won’t lose her.” With that said he turned and went quietly back into Maria’s room.

“Come on, he’ll take care of her. We should try to get some sleep,” Max said coaxingly. He hated seeing his wife cry. It always made him feel like a failure. He understood why Angel and Spike were so protective of Maria. If anything ever happened to her they would blame themselves and if anything happened to Liz he would react the same way.

~*~*~*~*~

“So, how exactly are we helping Maria?” Michael asked as they pulled to a stop in front of a tall building on the outskirts of the city.

“We aren’t. I am,” Spike clarified. He felt the frustration and anger roll off of Michael in waves. Feeling slightly satisfied by his reaction Spike chose to answer him. “There’s a guy up there. He can help her,” Spike explained cryptically.

“Great, another guy, that’s just what she needs,” Michael answered under his breath.

Spike rolled his eyes and answered, “I told you to save yourself self pity for someone else. I’m not interested.”

Michael just grunted and followed the bleach blonde vampire inside the building, and up several flights of stairs. “It’s the twenty first century, you would think they would invest in a bloody elevator,” Spike complained after the eighth flight.

“Wuss,” Michael mumbled under his breath.

“You have something to say, you should just say it because no matter how low you say it I’ll hear it,” Spike commented. Before he could ask how Spike answered, “Vampire.”

Michael understood. If he could smell Maria then it certainly made sense that the rest of his senses were also heightened.

“Well this ain’t good,” Spike commented. The door to Judasica’s place was ajar and Spike could hear what sounded like a struggle. “Stay out here,” Spike ordered as he withdrew a knife from the pocket of his leather duster.

Spike cautiously pushed open the door and assessed the situation. There were two lycengog demons and they were attempting to disarm the sorcerer. Although he was incredibly powerful he had significant weaknesses: he was small, old and weak. He was no match for these demons and it seemed as though the more he used his powers against them the more their tolerance to them grew.

Spike lunged forward and grabbed the demon on the left away from the old man. He threw him into the wall and repeated the action with the other demon before it had time to react to Spike’s sudden attack. Quickly though the demons both reacted and counterattacked. Spike was laid out on the ground in a matter of minutes.

Michael knew he had to do something, so before the demons spotted him he raised his hand and blasted them through the eighth floor window. Spike pushed himself into a sitting position and gave Michael a surprised look, but it quickly faded.

“Judasica? Mate, are you alright?” Spike asked turning his attention to the ancient sorcerer.

“I’m not your mate,” Judasica grunted. He attempted to get up, but moving was too difficult.

“Yeah, well you’re lucky I was here,” Spike grunted as he pushed himself to his feet.

“Yeah, you did a great job at getting your ass kicked,” Michael commented sarcastically as he help Spike lift Judasica to his feet.

“Why don’t you sod off? It’s not like…” Spike began angrily. He was a little embarrassed that Michael had to sav…er…help him, but Maria was making it quite clear that she wanted him to come home right away. “Forget it. We need to get home. Maria is worried,” he stated.

Michael held back a growl. He hated that she talked to Spike. Why didn’t she talk to him?

“Is he really going to be able to help her in this condition?” Michael asked curiously.

“No, I can’t,” Judasica admitted. “I’m sorry. I like Maria. I really do, but I’m getting the hell out of here,” the old man explained as he quickly pulled a few key ingredients from his shelves. “It’s no longer safe. I’ve lived a long life, but not long enough. Tell her I’m sorry,” even as he said the last words his body began to fade away.

“Balls,” Spike growled. “That little ungrateful troll.”

“What are we going to do now?” Michael asked worried. “Maybe we should just take her to the hospital. Or Max should just heal her,” he suggested.

“No,” Spike answered. He began looking over the contents on the long oak shelves and quickly grabbed a few items. “She’s bad, so we’ll just have to make the healing potion a little stronger than usual.”

“But wasn’t he supposed…” Michael began.

“Yeah, well, he ain’t here, now is he?” Spike asked sarcastically. He groaned as he reached to the top shelf for a satchel of hazel root. “Grab those crystals over there.”

“These?” Michael asked as he held up to pink crystals.

“Yeah.”

“What are they for?” Michael asked curiously. Obviously they weren’t going into the healing potion.

“They have a strong essence. Maria might be able to use them for something,” Spike answered stoically. “Here,” Spike said handing him a bag with the other items he had pilfered.

“What else do we need?” Michael asked. He wanted more than anything to be helpful.

“Nothing,” Spike answered as he rifled through the sorcerer’s desk drawers.

“So, what are you looking for?” Michael asked confused.

“Ha! Found it,” Spike exclaimed as he pulled a small velvet bag from the bottom drawer.

“What is it?” Michael asked.

“Let’s go,” Spike answered, obviously ignoring Michael. Michael gritted his teeth and followed Spike out the door.

The ride back was as silent and tense as the ride there, until Spike suddenly spoke.

“Are you still in love with her?” he asked curiously. He knew the answer, but he wanted to hear it.

“Yes,” Michael answered with out flinching.

“She’s not the same girl anymore,” Spike replied.

“She’s just grown up,” Michael responded. He kept his eyes trained on the scenery whizzing by his window. She was different, but he could still see his same old Maria. “Are you?” Michael asked.

“What?”

“In love with her?” Michael asked boldly.

“Yes,” Spike answered with out hesitation. “Angel is too. Hell I think even Alex is a little in love with her. She’s one hell of a woman,” Spike reminisced. “I would never do that to her though. She doesn’t deserve someone like me or Angel. She deserves to go to the beach during the day, get married, have children and a million other things that I could never give her,” Spike explained. “Yeah, I love her, more than anything. So, listen closely mate if you ever do anything to hurt her I’ll snap your neck,” Spike finished coldly.

Michael nodded slightly to acknowledge that he understood. Then he asked, “But neither of you have actually dated her or anything?”

“Nope,” Spike answered. “Well unless you count the time where she and Angel were trapped in a horrible, vile love spell. That was one hell of a week.”

“Love spell?” Michael asked curiously.

“Maria was still pretty new to witchcraft and she decided to do a spell to find her true love, but it backfired. Instead of finding her true love it latched onto the first person to walk into the room and suddenly she and Angel were madly ‘in love’. It was pretty powerful too. Like I said it took us a week to break it,” Spike explained. Suddenly Spike realized that he was actually having a conversation with the enemy. What the hell was he thinking?

“Did they…,” Michael paused. He wasn’t really sure if he wanted to ask this question, but he had to. “Did they…”

“Have S – E – X?” Spike spelled out mockingly at Michael’s inability to ask the question. “No. We had to baby sit them though. If they had Angel might have lost his soul.”

“Oh,” Michael answered a bit relieved. It didn’t mean that she hadn’t been with anyone else, but he was still glad he hadn’t been with either of the vampires that she was living with.

Michael’s missing, Maria screamed telepathically.

Don’t worry kitten. He came to Judasica’s with me, Spike answered soothingly.

Oh, Maria sighed. Why did you take him with you? And what are you two talking about? Maria asked curiously. She knew better than to trust Spike. He had once told her date that she used to be a guy. Needless to say she rarely had second dates. Sometimes he even scared them away before the first one.

Nothing.

Oh God! You’re lying! What are you telling him? Maria demanded.

Kitten you should really be resting right now, Spike answered in an attempt to change the subject. Judasica’s a poofter and he’s not coming back with us, Spike explained.

Why not?

When we got to his place there were two lycengog demons attacking… Spike flinched as she reacted.

What? Maria screeched. Are you alright? Is Michael alright? If you got him killed…, she began to warn.

He’s fine. He hid out in the hallway the entire time, Spike answered.

Are you alright?

Yeah, I’ll be fine. Listen I got some supplies, so we should have enough to patch you up love.

Alright. Just get home. I don’t like you being out right now.

Straight home, I promise.

Even as he made his promise he turned into Big Al’s Taco barn and ordered three soft tacos and a bean burrito.

“Do you really think we have time to stop for a snack?” Michael asked sarcastically.

“I don’t eat this shit,” Spike answered. “And I could care if you starve, but kitten is going to need her energy.”

“There is no way Maria can eat all of that herself,” Michael replied.

“Wanna bet your life on it, mate?” Spike asked with an arched brow.

Michael stared at him, then gritted his teeth and looked away. He couldn’t be sure. He couldn’t be sure of anything anymore. Spike smiled cockily and pulled out into traffic.

~*~*~*~*~

“How is she?” Spike asked.

Alex shrugged his shoulders. “She’s doesn’t look good, but she’s alert.”

Spike took the steps two at a time and quietly opened the bedroom door. He fought the urge to stop Michael from following. He wasn’t quite sure why.

“Are you guys alright?” Maria asked worriedly.

“I told you we were fine pet,” Spike answered comfortingly. “I brought you a few presents,” Spike announced. “First Big Al’s,” he said holding up the bag.

“Help me up,” she ordered Angel. Tacos always made her feel better. They always reminded her of home. She immediately opened the bag and began munching on the bean burrito.

“I got everything we needed for the healing spell, plus a few extra doodads you might find a use for,” Spike added. Then he pulled out the tiny velvet bag and handed it to her as he took a seat on the bed next to her.

“Is this…oh my…Thank you,” Maria sighed happily. She pulled him closer to her and gave him a grateful kiss on the cheek.

“What is it?” Michael asked his curiosity and jealousy getting the better of him.

“Fairy dust,” Maria answered with a big smile.

“Seriously?” Michael asked incredulously.


“Yup, it’s very rare and hard to get. I can’t wait to use it,” Maria stated excitedly.


“What does it do?” Michael asked as he took a tentative seat on the chair next to her bed.

Maria’s smile widened as she answered dreamily, “It makes you fly.”

Michael smiled. He could picture it: his little pixie flying over the Golden Gate Bridge, hair whipping in the wind and her giggles being heard through out the entire city below.

“We should get started on getting you better first princess,” Angel interrupted.

“Hmm…I was thinking,” she answered between bites. “Instead of making the regular paste, maybe we should just put it in the tub. The damage is all over so a bath in the stuff would work better,” Maria suggested.

“That’s a good idea,” Angel replied. “Okay Spike and I will get it started.”

Maria watched as they disappeared into the bathroom. She waited a few seconds before talking. “I’m sorry.”

“For what?” Michael asked confused.

“For kicking you out earlier. It’s been a while since I’ve had anyone around besides Angel, Spike and Alex. I’ve just gotten used to it being the four of us,” Maria tried to explain.

“Don’t worry about it,” Michael answered trying to play it off as no big deal. He was just glad she didn’t kick him out when they got back.

Maria smiled slightly. “You shouldn’t have gone with Spike. It’s too dangerous.”

“He’s lucky I went with him,” Michael answered defensively.

“What do you mean?” Maria asked curiously.

“The lycengogs kicked his ass. I used my powers to throw them out the window,” Michael explained proudly.

“Really?” Maria asked surprised. She wasn’t surprised that Spike didn’t tell her that Michael had saved him. “Did your powers work as good as usual?”

“Yeah,” Michael answered. Understanding where she was going he added, “It must be because they aren’t based on magic.”

“Yeah,” Maria answered thoughtfully.

~*~*~*~*~

Alex knocked lightly on Isabel’s door. He didn’t want to wake her if she had decided to turn in. The door opened immediately. Isabel looked exhausted and worried.

“Is she alright?” she asked.

“Yeah,” Alex answered. “Spike and Michael are back. The guys will take care of her. You should get some sleep. It’s been a long couple of days.”

“I wish I could,” Isabel responded sadly. “Every time I close my eyes I see those horrible creatures,” she explained.

Alex reached out and put a comforting hand on her shoulder. “I could stay with you until you fall asleep if you want,” Alex offered.

Isabel smiled and stepped out of the doorway to let him in. Isabel insisted that he get under the covers with her and once they were comfortable in bed the big bed Isabel tried to fall asleep.

“Do you like working with them?” she asked curiously after a few minutes of unsuccessfully relaxing.

“Yeah, I really do,” Alex answered. “It’s dangerous, but rewarding. It’s like I know I could die, but it would be alright because I know I’ve accomplished something with my life. The way I figure it every thing now is just gravy anyways. I think that when I do die, you know again, I’ll be able to move on finally.”

“Move on?” Isabel asked curiously. She was kind of surprised that Alex was talking so easily about his death, but after everything he had done and seen in the last few years it probably wasn’t ever completely off his mind. Death was always present in his life. Even Isabel could see that after only being here a couple of days.

“When Maria brought me back she had to pull me out of purgatory. I wasn’t able to move on to heaven or hell because I died so young and abruptly. My life was over before I ever really did anything worthwhile. Now I’ve had the chance to do things I always wanted to do,” Alex explained.

“Like what?”

“I backpacked through Europe for three weeks. I didn’t get very far, but it was amazing. I tried out college for a little while. I even cut an album that did pretty well locally,” Alex answered. “When I first got back I was very live for the moment. I started getting a little out of control, but reality grounded me when I started working with the gang. The more involved I got the more… I don’t know…the more I grew up I guess.”

“Do you have a girlfriend?” Isabel asked curiously. She doubted it because if she was his girlfriend she would be pissed that he was lying in bed with his arms wrapped around another girl.

“No,” Alex answered with a slight twinge of sadness. “I did. She was a slayer. She died about a year ago,” he explained.

“Oh, Alex I’m so sorry,” Isabel cried. She felt horrible for asking and bringing up such a horrible memory.

“It’s okay Iz,” Alex replied. “It was hard at first, but I’m okay. You know I think you would have liked her. Actually you probably would have hated her,” he said with a chuckle. “She reminded me of you. Sometimes she would say something and I would swear I was talking to you. I had to catch myself more than a few times before I called her by your name. The one time I did, well let’s just say it wasn’t pretty,” he reminisced fondly.

Isabel smiled slightly. Alex was right she probably wouldn’t have liked her. She couldn’t like anyone he was with and if the girl really was like her it would make it a million times worse. There is only one Isabel Amanda Evans.

“I never dated anyone after I left Jesse,” Isabel remarked softly. “I don’t even know if I remember how,” she added sadly.

“Huh,” Alex snorted a little. “I’m sure you won’t have any problem. One date and you’ll be back on the horse.” Isabel yawned and Alex whispered, “Close your eyes.”

“Will you stay with me?” she asked in a small voice. She didn’t particularly like admitting her fears or asking for help, but she felt so safe in his arms that she could handle swallowing her pride in this instance.

Alex smiled and tightened his arms around her. “I’m not going anywhere.”

~*~*~*~*~

Everyone gathered in the library to hear Maria’s announcement the next afternoon. Liz nervously bit on her nail. Max sat beside her gently rubbing circles on her back. Isabel sat next to Alex and discreetly held his hand tightly under the table. Kyle rocked back and forth in his chair nervously. Spike stood against one of the bookshelves. Maria stood in front of the group, completely healed, but exhausted. Angel sat on a table on her close right. Maria looked at everyone’s anxious faces before hesitantly beginning.

“Last night I made a connection with a higher power,” Maria announced. “It was able to explain, sort of, what the demons are planning. We already knew they planned on bringing Armageddon and we also knew that they planned on bringing it about by harvesting power from certain individuals. According to the deity, they plan on opening a rift in both space and time, effectively ripping apart dimensions. Every dimension will bleed into all the others. It’ll be mass chaos. Our world will no longer exist as is. Demons from every hellish dimension possible will roam and rape freely throughout all worlds. There will be no safe haven. Earth will become one big hell.”

Everyone stared opened mouthed. The room remained silent as everyone mulled over the concept. It wasn’t an easy one to wrap your mind around.

Kyle raised his hand timidly and asked, “So, how do we stop it?”

TBC..

[candygurl1718]

Thanks sdcheesehead! I'm glad you're enjoying it and I agree I like independent Maria.

Part Thirteen: I’ll Always Be Here

“Hey.”

“Hey.”

“So, the end of the world,” Michael stated dumbly. He felt like an idiot, but he didn’t know what else to say.

“As we know it,” Maria answered.

“I wish we had a plan to stop it,” Michael stated. Now he was convinced he had caught foot in mouth disease.

“We’ll figure something out,” Maria assured him, but she kept her eyes locked on the text she was balancing on her knees.

“Right,” Michael responded. “I feel kind of useless here. I don’t read any dead languages, so I’m pretty much worthless.”

Maria looked up when she heard the last phrase and replied, “Michael, you are not useless. There is always something to do.”

“Okay, well what do you want me to do?” Michael asked.

Maria wrinkled her nose up and thought about it for a moment. “Weapons.”

“Weapons?” Michael repeated confused.

“We are going to need weapons,” Maria answered while jotting down notes from an important passage.

“Okay,” Michael answered slowly, “You want me to get weapons.”

“What? Oh no. We have weapons. They’re down in the basement. What we need is for them to be organized. You and Max could go down and work on it. Just group them together: Axes, swords, stakes, etc. Then take an inventory count,” Maria explained.

“Okay,” Michael answered. He nodded to Max and he followed him out of the library.

“Liz, Isabel could you guys do the same with my magic supplies?” Maria asked.

“Sure,” Isabel answered with a little more of a smile than necessary. All she wanted was for something to do with her hands.

“What can I do?” Kyle asked.

“Go with Alex to the supermarket,” Maria answered.

“But…” Alex protested in vain.

“Alex, we need to minimize our trips outside right now, which means we are going to need fresh groceries. Also, stop by the magic shop. Here’s my list. Oh, and there is a few books at Yoniana’s on hold for me. Please go pick them up too,” Maria replied.

“Fine,” Alex answered. He hated being errand boy, but at least it was something to occupy him.

“Be careful,” Maria ordered.

Alex nodded and Kyle quickly followed him out the door.

“I don’t like them playing with our weapons,” Angel announced grimly.

“I don’t like them,” Spike responded and Angel grunted in concurrence.

“Guys, please,” Maria begged. “Michael’s powers work on these things, which means that so will Isabel’s, Max’s, Liz’s and Kyle’s. It could be critical if we are actually going to win this.”

“I don’t understand why Liz and Kyle have powers. They aren’t like the rest,” Angel contemplated.

“They smell weird,” Spike added.

“They were human, regular, but after they were brought back to life they changed,” Maria explained.

Angel nodded his head to show that he understood.

Spike grimaced unhappily and commented under his breath, “Half breeds.”

“You’re a half breed,” Maria reminded him.

“Not the same,” Spike answered slightly offended. “I was human once. Those three didn’t start out as human. They started out as something else,” he added with a twinge of disgust.

“Bigot,” Maria replied sarcastically. She knew this wasn’t about their race. It was personal, but she wasn’t going to push it. “You know they had human donors, so it could be argued that they started out both ways, or neither way, or…”

“Don’t get philosophical kitten, please,” Spike begged with a groan.

Maria smiled brightly at the words of defeat. Triumph over your opponent is better than any drug.

“You don’t think we can beat this?” Angel asked. His eyes remained glued to the book in front of him, but Maria knew she had his full attention.

“I don’t know,” she answered honestly. “This…this feels different. It feels like an ending,” she added sullenly.

“Men and women, empires and cities, thrones, principalities, and powers, mountains, rivers, and unfathomed seas, worlds, spaces, and universes, all have their day, and all must go,” Angel quoted morbidly.

“Cheery,” Spike commented sarcastically.

~*~*~*~*~

“Did you ever think we would be seriously organizing maces and crossbows?” Max asked jokingly.

“No,” Michael answered with a laugh. It felt good to laugh again. It felt good to feel again, simply being around Maria made him happy.

“So…” Max hesitated nervously. Michael seemed to be in better spirits, but he wasn’t sure if he was ready to talk about Maria yet. “Have you gotten the chance to talk to Maria?”

“Yeah.”

“And?”

“And what?” Michael asked avoiding the topic.

“Come on Michael, you’re still in love with her. Impending apocalypse aside, this could be your chance for a new beginning,” Max answered.

“I guess.”

“Michael…”

“Max, if you haven’t noticed, we aren’t girls. We don’t talk about girly things like love and new beginnings. We talk about three things Maxwell: sex, sports, and sex,” Michael replied.

“I’m just saying,” Max continued. “You haven’t been happy since we left Roswell, since you left Maria.”

~*~*~*~*~

Maria stretched her sore muscles and let out a yawn. All of the reading had given her a major headache. After spending all day in the library Maria was relieved to be alone in her room. A knock at her door interrupted her plans for relaxing.

“Hi,” Michael said as she opened the door. He leaned casually against the doorframe. Maria looked a little closer and could see that he wasn’t being casual at all. His muscles were tight and rigid. He was nervous. How adorable.

“Hi,” Maria replied softly. Before he could ask to come in she stepped aside and motioned him inside.

“Um…” Michael started. He didn’t really know what to say, but he wanted more than anything to spend some time alone with her.

“You didn’t have any small talk planned, huh?” Maria asked amused.

“Not so much,” Michael answered embarrassed. He scratched his eyebrow nervously and Maria felt her heart melt. Memories were flooding her system and for the first time in years they weren’t full of bittersweet sadness and unadulterated pain.

“It’s late. I was just getting ready for bed,” Maria admitted.

“Oh, okay I’ll see you in the morning,” Michael replied as he rushed towards the door. He felt like an idiot. Maria never made him this nervous before.

“You could stay,” Maria suggested before he could scurry out the door.

“Stay?” Michael asked surprised. His voice cracked a little and he suddenly felt like he was in seventh grade again.

Maria looked at him carefully and answered, “Just to sleep. I miss having somebody to sleep with.”

“Me too,” Michael replied as he watched Maria kick off her slippers.

“You’ve been sleeping alone?” Maria asked curiously. She fiddled nervously with the buttons of her blouse before deciding that it wasn’t anything Michael hadn’t seen before. She stripped out of her clothes and pulled on an oversized black T-shirt.

“Pretty much,” Michael answered. “Except of course the disturbing nights I have had to bunk with Kyle,” Michael added quickly. He was surprised he still knew how to form words. Maria looked…he forced himself to not think about it. Just to sleep, he told himself repeatedly.

When Maria turned around she was still feeling relieved and thankful that Michael hadn’t been sharing his bed with anyone, but she had to stifle a groan when she saw him.

He had stripped off his shirt and he was in the process on pushing off his jeans. Maria started having second thought about asking him to sleep with her. What the hell was she thinking? Being in a bed all alone with a half naked Michael, just the thought forced her to smother another groan.

Slowly Maria made her way to the bed and slipped under the covers. Michael did the same, but he chose to be cautious and avoided any contact.

“Michael?” Maria asked softly.

“Yeah?”

“I’m glad you’re here,” Maria admitted. She felt selfish for saying it. She shouldn’t be glad that Michael is in the middle of the apocalypse, but she did want him with her. She had learned not to need him, but she knew she could never learn how not to want him.

Michael rolled on his side to face her, even though he could only make out her frame in the dark. “So am I,” he replied. Slowly, tentatively he reached out he stroked the side of her face.

Maria sighed contently and then shuffled closer to him. Pressing herself against him and burying her face in his chest was the safest feeling in the world. Safe, it wasn’t a word she would use to describe her life these days, even with two strong, brooding vampires protecting her. However, being alone with Michael the world and all of its dangerous seemed to fall away. She breathed in his unique scent and suddenly she felt herself floating away.

The air in the room became thick and unbearable. Maria couldn’t breathe in. Her lungs burned and bile rose like acid in her esophagus. Her chest constricted violently and she could feel the tissue of her muscles being ripped apart roughly, brutally.

She tried to scream, to call out for help, but her throat was dry and her voice mute. She could no longer feel Michael. Her body spiraled through the ether and into the blackness. She was going to break, shatter into billions of little pieces. Nothing would be left, but flecks of bone and flesh.

Suddenly she felt her self coming back together. Her throat began working and she let out a shriek for help, but it didn’t penetrate the outside world. As her vision cleared she took in her surroundings.

It wasn’t a room, there were no walls. Maria felt small and lost in the expansive vacuum. She knew she could walk in any direction for an eternity and never get anywhere. Her mind began to process coherent thoughts and she realized that she had been here before. She had been sucked into the ghost roads.

Immediately her hand flew to her heart. She let out a sigh of relief, it was still beating. She hadn’t died, so why was she here?

“Short, petite, blonde, with green eyes and beautiful,” a women’s voice announced. “Well, you are certainly his type.”

Maria turned towards the voice and stared closely at the women matching the same description she had just given of Maria.

“Darla,” Maria whispered.

“Yes,” she answered.

“How…why…” Maria stammered confused.

“I brought you here because I needed to send Angel a warning. Bringing him here wasn’t an option because he’s already dead. He could have been trapped, like me,” Darla explained.

“Why are you trapped? I thought vampires automatically went to hell,” Maria wondered out loud.

“Well, my death wasn’t exactly normal and as long as my son is alive I will be here, watching over him,” Darla answered. “Conner is in trouble. The lycengogs are going after him. Please get the message to Angelus,” Darla begged.

“He’s been in trouble before. What makes this any different?” Maria asked. She had fought with Conner before and his mother never made an appearance, so why now?

“This is different. I know you feel it too. Something is ending and who knows what will be left. I want Conner with his father,” Darla answered truthfully.

Maria nodded her head. This was different. “Do you know anything else? Anything that could be helpful?” Maria asked hopefully.

“Strength,” Darla answered slowly. “Strength and power is the only way to defeat the new darkness. This isn’t a job for one and don’t be fooled by old acquaintances. Not all are who they appear to be and the true enemy may not be who you suspect,” Darla added as she began to fade away.

Maria felt her lungs begin to expand and tear apart again. She let out a piercing scream as she resurfaced back in her bed.

“Maria, are you okay?” Michael cried hysterically.

“Kitten, are you back with us?” Spike asked simultaneously.

Maria gasped for air and locked eyes with Angel. His concern and fear was written all over his face. She hated that look, but she hated the one she was about to cause even more.

“Conner,” she choked out.

Angel didn’t ask for anything more. He knew by the look in her eyes that it was dire and he wasted no time asking questions.

Michael watched him go curiously. “Maria,” he whispered, calmer this time.

“I’m okay,” Maria answered softly as she reached up and cupped his face comfortingly. Spike suppressed a growl at the innocent touch.

“You…” Michael began, “What happened?”

Maria turned to look at Spike before answering. She could see the fear, the concern and the twinge of pain in his countenance. Pushing herself up, she leaned forward and wrapped her arms tightly around his neck. She held him for a long moment and then gave him a peck on the cheek before pulling away. She pushed herself back on the bed and leaned back onto the headboard.

“I got sucked into the ghost roads,” Maria finally replied. “Purgatory,” she added for Michael.

“How? Why?” Michael asked still concerned. He had been holding her hand for dear life since she went catatonic and still hadn’t let go, not even while she hugged Spike. At first he thought she had fallen asleep, but she started seizing slightly and then her entire body went rigid.

“Darla, Angel’s ex and the mother of his son, she beckoned me so she could send a warning to Angel,” Maria explained.

Spike finally let out his long suppressed growl. “Why didn’t she just call out to him them?” he asked angrily, but he already knew the answer. Still, he didn’t care. Maria ignored his question, knowing that he knew the answer. “And why the hell were you in here in the first place?” Spike asked Michael who was still only wearing his boxers.

“That’s really none of your business,” Michael answered evenly.

“The hell it isn’t,” Spike began as he pushed himself up from the bed. He was ready to pounce and Maria knew it.

Immediately she jumped up to run interference. “Spike, not now,” she warned. She stood in front of him and pleaded to him with her eyes. Even though he was staring menacingly at Michael she knew he was also watching her out of the corner of his eye. He could never resist the Deluca pout. “Michael, I need you to leave us alone for a few minutes,” Maria stated with out turning to look at him.

“I’m not leaving just because he…” Michael started to protest.

“Please, I need a glass of water,” Maria begged her eyes still locked on Spike’s.

Michael sighed obviously frustrated, but he relented, “Alright. I’ll be right back.”

As soon as the door closed behind him Spike turned away and punched the giant stuffed bear Angel had won for Maria at the state fair a couple of year’s ago.

“Hey, don’t hit Mr. Pudgy Pants. You’re only allowed to do that when you’re angry at Angel,” Maria cried in defense of the innocent bear.

“What was he doing in here?” Spike asked furiously.

“Satisfying my insatiable sexual needs,” Maria answered sarcastically. The words flew out of her moth before she could think about what she was saying. She knew that he knew nothing had happened, but she also knew that if she hadn’t been sucked into purgatory something would have probably happed. Either way she immediately regretted her comment because Mr. Pudgy Pants was suddenly faceless and stuck on Spike’s forearm.

“Spike,” Maria stated calmly as she removed the poor bear from his arm. “Listen Darla told me something else and I’m not sure exactly what it means, but we need to be on the defense. She was cryptic, but she implied that the demons aren’t our real enemy, that there is someone or something else behind this. I need you to focus. You can’t let jealousy cloud you vision Spike, please,” Maria begged. “I need you and Angel. You are the only ones I know that can protect me and the world. I trust you and I need you, so please don’t let my relationship with Michael get to you. Just remember that he could never be you. You have this huge piece of my heart and always will. I love you and if anyone should be jealous it should be him,” Maria finished in a whisper. She knew what he needed to hear and it was all true. She loved Michael, she was in love with Michael and she knew she always would be, but Spike and Angel had become so important to her. If it came down to a choice there was no way she would leave them for Michael. She just couldn’t do it. This was her life and although it was often times hell, she loved it.

Spike nodded his head and pulled her in for another hug. He knew this day would come sometime. That she would find someone, but he didn’t expect to still be in her heart. His greatest fear wasn’t that she would fall in love with someone; it was that he would lose her. That she would find someone new and he would never see her again. The thought of not seeing her angelic face every day and not hearing the sound of her infectious giggling tore him apart inside.

“You won’t leave me?” Spike mumbled into her shoulder.

“No,” Maria answered. “I know where I belong and this is where I want to be, but if Michael chooses to make this his life too, I need to know that you can handle that.”

Spike let out a sigh of relief into her hair and replied, “I can handle that.”

TBC...

[candygurl1718]

glennfan33: I know right? They are very close, a little too close for michael

Part Fourteen: Hello My Lover

Something was off. The air in the tiny dorm room became slightly more stifling. Connor peeled himself from his damp sheets and walked towards the window. A shadow whizzed by before the glass cracked violently and a large creature came flying in with the little bits of glass.

Connor shielded his eyes from the tiny shards, but he quickly reacted to the demon’s attack. He blocked a few punches before two more demons came crashing through the front door. The lycengogs grabbed each arm and held him firmly in place as the other one continued its assault on the young man.

As much as he struggled he couldn’t fight their hold. Suddenly he felt the demon on his left being ripped away and the one on his right following suit only seconds after.

“Dad,” Connor exclaimed appreciatively.

“Son,” Angel replied with a brief smile as he lunged at the demon who had been punching his son.

Connor quickly scrambled to his feet and attacked one of the other demons. Before long he felt himself losing the battle. His breath was ragged and his lungs were burning even before the lycengog wrapped his claws around his neck. He squeezed until Connor was sure his head would pop off like a bottle rocket.

Angel tried to help, but he was fighting his own battle against the other two creatures and he wasn’t fairing much better. A punch, a kick and the sounds of two necks snapping freed him of his attackers and he rushed to help his son. Quickly, he ripped the demon away from Connor and with one quick move he snapped its neck so hard that the entire thing pulled off and dropped to the floor a few feet away from its former body.

“Are you okay?” Angel asked, as he pulled Connor to his feet.

“I’ll live,” he answered, as he massaged his sore neck.

“Illyria,” Angel stated.

“Angel,” the fallen king answered.

“What are you doing here?”

“Heard the rumbles underground. Thought you might need some help fragile creature,” Illyria answered. She eyed Angel’s wounds curiously. Mortality always intrigued her.

“We need to get back to San Francisco.”

“My parents are going to freak when they get the bill from the school for all of this damage,” Connor mumbled, as he looked around the trashed room.

~*~*~*~*~

“Here.”

“Thanks,” Maria replied, as she accepted the glass of water.

“Where’s Spike?” Michael asked curiously.

“He headed to his room,” Maria answered. Maria set the glass of water down on the nightstand and watched Michael sit down in the chair next to her bed cautiously. He looked nervous. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing,” Michael answered, while avoiding her eyes.

“Michael,” Maria whispered. She reached out and cupped the side of his face softly.

“I just…You and Spike…” Michael stared down at his hands. The nightstand began to shake and the glass of water fell to the ground and shattered.

“Michael,” Maria replied soothingly. She reached out with her other hand so she was cupping both sides of his face. Gently she forced him to look at her. “I love Spike. He’s part of my family and always will be. But it’s not him that I want to be with.”

Not knowing how to verbally answer Maria’s admission Michael wrapped a hand around the back of her neck and pulled her in for a kiss. It started out slow and gentle, but it quickly gained passion. Michael’s tongue requested entrance and Maria happily obliged.

It had been so long, too long. Their movements were fast, but fluid. Clothes disappeared faster than the speed of light. When Maria’s head gently hit the pillow she was finally able to form a coherent thought. Home, it was brief and fleeting, but it was all that mattered.

Flashes began flowing between them. All of the heartache, sorrow and sacrifice of the last five years dissipated. All that was left was love and fulfillment.

Maria had been living a very full life, but there was always a piece missing. She usually tried not to think about it, but ever since Michael showed up San Francisco and back into her life, she thought about it every second of every day. She finally felt complete.

~*~*~*~*~

Hours later Maria silently slipped out of bed. Michael had fallen asleep. He looked so peaceful, like an innocent child.

Maria padded over to the window and gazed out into the darkness.

Your path is a long one full of pain, but you will find happiness.

Happiness. She had spent many nights mulling over the complex concept. She wasn’t miserable these last few years, but she wasn’t truly happy either. Things were looking up for her, but would it last? She had dealt with too much disappointment, too much heartache. How could she know that this time was any different?

Two strong arms wrapped around her waist and she leaned back into his chest. He dropped a gentle kiss on her shoulder, eliciting a soft moan from Maria.

“I love you,” he murmured into her collar bone.

“I love you too,” Maria admitted. “Michael…” she started doubtfully.

“Don’t…Maria please don’t,” Michael pleaded in a voice she didn’t even know he possessed.

“What if everything falls apart again?” she whispered.

“It won’t,” Michael replied confidently. “I promise things will be different this time. I can’t live without you. The last five years were absolute torture.”

Maria slowly turned around to face him and she wrapped her arms around his neck. “If we do this…If we start over, I need you to understand that this is my life now. I’m not walking away, they’re my family.”

“I’m starting to understand that,” Michael admitted. “We can make it work.”

Maria nodded her head slowly and then buried her face in the crook of his neck.

~*~*~*~*~

“Who the hell would be ringing the doorbell?” Spike wonder out loud as he pushed himself out of bed.

He felt a familiar presence as he made his way down the stairs to the door, but he refused to believe his senses. Alex, Maria and Michael were all waiting at the door when he got their. None of them wanted to be the one to open it. Anyone who belonged at the house wouldn’t have to ring the bell. Spike frowned and pulled open the heavy door slowly.

“Damn it” Spike swore under his breath. “What in bleeding hell are you doing here?”

Maria peered around Spike and caught a glimpse of long silky brown hair and ivory white skin. Drusilla.

“I’m scared Spike,” she replied in the frightened voice of a child who had just awoken from a nightmare.

Spike stared at her and pondered the possibility of truth in her statement. “Why?”

Maria held back a comment, but thought it nonetheless. Who cares?

“Men, men with sores and dark eyes are coming for me. Please Spike I have no where else to go,” Drusilla begged.

“Why would they want you?” Maria asked curiously, but she kept a cold hard glare on the psychotic women.

“Her sight,” Spike answered. “She sees things, which makes her more valuable to them.”

Maria nodded her head slowly in understanding, but added coldly, “We don’t protect vampires.”

Drusilla let out a low angry growl at the small girl and Maria immediately pulled out a stake.

“If the lycengogs get her it would just make them more powerful,” Spike answered rationally.

“Then we kill her,” Maria stated simply. “Keeps her from giving them more power and prevents her from killing any more innocents.”

“Is that really why you want me dead?” Drusilla asked curiously. She eyed Maria carefully. The boy next to her had a hand on her shoulder, but she could feel the connection between her and Spike. It was strong, stronger than it ever had been between them.

“What the hell…” Maria started, but Spike interrupted her mid sentence.

“We’re not killing her,” Spike interjected firmly.

“We’re not protecting her,” Maria challenged.

“We can’t let…”

“I know that, but she’s not coming in here either. She’s a vampire Spike.”

“So am I.”

“Spike…”

“Come on in Dru.”

“I can’t believe you just did that,” Maria cried angrily.

“I’m not killing her,” Spike replied. He couldn’t kill her, not Drusilla.

“Fine, then I will,” Maria responded as she raised her stake. Spike quickly took it from her and grabbed her shoulders roughly.

“I’ll look out for her. Make sure she doesn’t kill anyone here, but we are not killing her,” Spike growled forcefully.

Maria pushed him away, glared at him coldly and answered, “If she hurts anyone here I’ll kill her.” And I will blame you, she added to herself silently.

“We should keep her chained up,” Alex suggested. He wasn’t really comfortable with letting a blood thirsty vampire run around the mansion.

Spike nodded his head in agreement, “Let’s go pet.” He led her out of the room with one final glare at Maria. After five years they finally had their first fight.

“Where is he going to chain her up?” Michael asked.

“In the dungeon.”

“You have a dungeon?” he asked surprised.

Maria shrugged her shoulders causally and answered, “It came with the house. We don’t use it often.”

“But you’ve had occasion to use it before?”

“A few times,” Maria replied.

~*~*~*~*~

Kyle woke up in a cold sweat. He was shaking uncontrollably. With everything that was going on it was no wonder he was having nightmares. He hadn’t had nightmares like this since he found out that Tess had killed Alex. Alex is alive, his mind whispered. He still found that hard to believe, but it was true.

Unable to go back to sleep Kyle climbed out of bed and pulled on his jeans and T-shirt. He padded down the stairs quietly and silently opened the front door. He needed air this place was stifling.

The night air was cool and peaceful. He took a deep breath in and exhaled slowly. The shaking was beginning to subside and he was about ready to turn around and go back inside when suddenly the world went black.

TBC...

[candygurl1718]

Part Fifteen: Dangerous Minds

“Nice house,” Connor commented, as they made their way through the entry way.

“Thanks, but its Maria’s, not mine,” Angel answered. Angel shrugged off his duster and hung it in the nearby closet. “Are you hungry?”

“Not really. Is Maria around?” Connor asked, as her watched Illyria sizing up the exotic plant on an end table. Suddenly, her tongue jutted out and licked a leaf swiftly. Connor cringed slightly. He grew up in a hell dimension, but he couldn’t even stomach the idea of eating the bitter leaves of house plants, not anymore anyways. There was a time when he would eat anything. It was all about survival back then.

“She’s probably upstairs,” Angel answered. Maria and Connor had developed an interesting friendship. He almost looked to her as a mother, as a confidant and sometimes even a counselor. Angel was thankful to Maria for being so kind to his son.

“Okay,” Connor replied, as he bounded up the stairs.

“Uh, why don’t we get you something to eat,” Angel suggested, as he led Illyria away from the plant.

~*~*~*~*~

Michael and Maria heard a knock at the door. “It’s late, doesn’t anybody sleep around here?” Michael asked. He was overtired and cranky. All he wanted was so alone time with Maria.

“Not well,” Maria answered honestly, as she pulled Michael’s T-shirt on.

She wasn’t surprised to see Connor on the other side of the door and she instantaneously motioned him inside. Then she immediately pulled him into a hug. Connor looked at the bed questioningly, but Maria commented, “Its okay. We can talk on the veranda.”

Michael propped up slightly, but Maria planted a quick kiss on his forehead and told him, “Try to sleep. This won’t take long.” He immediately fell back into the pillows, exhausted.

“How did you know to send my father?” Connor asked.

“Darla sent me a warning,” Maria answered.

“You really saw my mother?” Connor asked quietly.

“Yes,” Maria answered.

Connor let out a long sigh and ran his hands through his hair. “Is it wrong to miss her? To want her here with me?”

“No.”

“She was a murderer, a vampire, hell even before that she was a whore…”

“Connor, she’s still your mother and she loves you,” Maria answered soothingly.

Connor nodded slowly before answering, “I have parents, I have a sister and I have a life, but then I have this whole other life. It’s just so confusing sometimes.”

“I know,” Maria sympathized. She pulled Connor into another tight hug.

“Thank you.”

“Anytime.”

“So, are dad and Spike having meltdowns?” Connor asked, as he pulled away.

“Oh yeah,” Maria replied, with a giggle.

“Good luck with that,” Connor answered, knowing full well that Angel and Spike would make a big fuss for many eons to come.

“Gee thanks,” Maria answered sarcastically.

“Anytime,” Connor mimicked. “I guess I leave so you two can…Yeah I don’t want to even think about it.”

Maria giggle and followed him back inside. “Hey, everything will be okay,” Maria sad before closing the door.

“Thanks, but you know you don’t have to lie to me,” Connor replied. He really was grateful, but he didn’t need to be protected.

“Yes, I do,” Maria answered.

~*~*~*~*~

“Nooooooooooooooo,” Liz screamed, as she sprung up from the bed gasping.

“Liz, Liz what is it?” Max asked worriedly, immediately awaking at the piercing sound of his wife’s scream.

“No, no,” Liz continued to cry hysterically.

Max held her close and stroked her hair until her sobs subsided enough for her to talk. “Liz, it was just a dream,” he said soothingly.

“It was so real. They killed you. Max they killed you! What if it wasn’t just a dream?” Liz wailed.

Max continued stroking her hair comfortingly. “It’s okay. It’s all going to be okay. I’m right here and I’m fine. It was just a dream.”

~*~*~*~*~

Pain settled into his body. It wasn’t shooting. It wasn’t localized. It was just there, a constant throbbing.

Kyle forced his eyes open, but quickly closed them. The dull light was too bright. He suppressed the sudden urge to gag.

Stay awake, he ordered himself. Slowly he tried to move. First, his hands, but they were bound tightly behind his back. Then his feet, but they were also bound tightly to the chair he was apparently tied to.

Slowly, he tried opening his eyes again. This time the harsh, dull light wasn’t as blinding and he was able to adjust his eyes to get a look around the room. The room itself was small. It looked like a closet, maybe a storage closet, but it was barren. The only things in the room were him, the chair, a flickering light bulb and a short wooden stool in the corner adjacent to the door.

The door opened suddenly and Kyle braced himself.

“Yo, look who’s awake.”

“Finally,” Lonnie commented obviously annoyed.

Kyle immediately recognized them, the dupes, Rath and Lonnie.

“Let me go,” he tried lamely.

“Huh and why would we do that precious?” Lonnie asked as she pulled the stool out of the corner. She placed it in front of him and sat down causally.

Kyle stared at her for a long moment. How could someone who looked like Isabel, someone who had the same genes as Isabel even, be so cold? So evil?

“What do you want from me?” Kyle asked steadily.

“Aight I’m gonna be straight wit ya,” Lonnie replied. “We need to know exactly how much you know about the plan.”

“The plan?” Kyle questioned.

“Ya know, the lycengog’s plan,” Rath answered, he purposefully wasn’t giving anything away.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Kyle lied.

“Ya shouldn’t lie,” Lonnie warned. When Kyle stayed silent she smirked at him slightly before flicking her wrist.

“AHHHHHHH!”

~*~*~*~*~

Maria woke up early the next morning to the feeling of feather light kisses traveling down her stomach. She moaned happily and ran her hand through Michael’s shaggy hair urging him down gently.

Unfortunately, before he could get any further a loud knock ruined the moment. “I hate this house,” Michael stated in frustration.

Maria giggled lightly before getting up reluctantly and opening the door.

“Kyle is missing,” Alex stated flatly.

“Missing?” Maria asked. Michael quickly got out of bed and joined her at the door.

“Isabel went to wake him up and he was gone,” Alex explained.

“Okay, we’ll be down in a minute,” Maria replied.

“We’ll be in the library.”

~*~*~*~*~

“What’s going on?” Michael asked, as he and Maria walked into the room. He held onto her hand tightly and somehow managed to suppress a smirk when he looked at Spike and Angel.

“Isabel just got a flash from Kyle,” Liz answered.

“He’s been taken by Rath and Lonnie, but we’re not sure where,” Max added.

“Why the hell would Rath and Lonnie want to kidnap him?” Michael asked.

“We don’t know. Isabel is trying to dream walk him now,” Alex answered.

~*~*~*~*~

“Kyle?” Isabel called out. She was in a small dark room. She felt claustrophobic, but the light suddenly flickered on.

“Kyle!” she cried. “Oh my god what did they do to you?”

Kyle tried to lift his head to look at her, but it felt like dead weight and lolled to the side inside.

“Kyle! Kyle!”

“Iz…” he replied in a rough, strangled voice. “They…they want…” he was forced to stop by a harsh cough.

“Kyle where are you?” Isabel begged.

“They…they want to go home,” he forced out.

“What? What do you mean?”

“The portal…they want to use it…” Kyle tried to explain, but he wasn’t able to finish.

“What the hell are you doing?!” Lonnie asked, as she came through the door, although she already knew exactly what he was doing.

Kyle looked up and smiled. “I’m not doing anything beautiful,” he answered sarcastically.

“Tough guy,” Rath replied. “Too bad you don’t have any information worth keeping you alive for.”

~*~*~*~*~

“Noooooooooooooooo!!!!” Isabel cried.

“Isabel? Isabel, what happened?” Alex asked. He knelt down in front of her chair and held her shaking shoulders. “What is it?”

“Oh god, no! No! They killed him! They killed him!” she cried hysterically. Alex wrapped his arms around her and held her tightly as she sobbed.

Liz gasped and buried her face in Max’s chest. Maria flinched at the announcement and squeezed Michael’s hand a little tighter. Angel stood up and pulled Maria into a comforting hug, but she didn’t pull her away from Michael’s. Angel sat back down and Michael finally pulled his hand away so he could wrap an arm around her shoulders. Spike stayed seated across the room, not bothering to lend Maria any support. It was obvious that he was still angry.

“Isabel, did he tell you why they took him?” Maria asked.

“He said…He said that they wanted to go home. That they were going to use the portal to go home,” Isabel answered between sobs.

“So, they are working with the demons,” Liz concluded.

“Why would they think the portal could get them home?” Max asked confused.

“There is a theory that although Antar is physically a different planet, we could still get there through a rip in time and space through magic. They probably believe that when the portal first opens it will be powerful enough to transport them back to Antar,” Angel explained.

“That’s it,” Maria stated angrily. “I’m done. It’s time to stop this,” Maria announced.

“I agree,” Angel replied.

“Are we really ready?” Alex asked concerned.

“Would you rather our enemies pick us off, one by one?” Spike questioned grumpily.

“Tonight, we’ll go back to the warehouse and take as many out as possible,” Maria stated.

“Stop them before they get too far in their plan,” Angel added.

“We need to talk,” Maria stated. “Just the three of us,” she said, while glancing between Spike and Angel.

TBC...

[candygurl1718]

Part Fifteen: Dangerous Minds

“Nice house,” Connor commented, as they made their way through the entry way.

“Thanks, but its Maria’s, not mine,” Angel answered. Angel shrugged off his duster and hung it in the nearby closet. “Are you hungry?”

“Not really. Is Maria around?” Connor asked, as her watched Illyria sizing up the exotic plant on an end table. Suddenly, her tongue jutted out and licked a leaf swiftly. Connor cringed slightly. He grew up in a hell dimension, but he couldn’t even stomach the idea of eating the bitter leaves of house plants, not anymore anyways. There was a time when he would eat anything. It was all about survival back then.

“She’s probably upstairs,” Angel answered. Maria and Connor had developed an interesting friendship. He almost looked to her as a mother, as a confidant and sometimes even a counselor. Angel was thankful to Maria for being so kind to his son.

“Okay,” Connor replied, as he bounded up the stairs.

“Uh, why don’t we get you something to eat,” Angel suggested, as he led Illyria away from the plant.

~*~*~*~*~

Michael and Maria heard a knock at the door. “It’s late, doesn’t anybody sleep around here?” Michael asked. He was overtired and cranky. All he wanted was so alone time with Maria.

“Not well,” Maria answered honestly, as she pulled Michael’s T-shirt on.

She wasn’t surprised to see Connor on the other side of the door and she instantaneously motioned him inside. Then she immediately pulled him into a hug. Connor looked at the bed questioningly, but Maria commented, “Its okay. We can talk on the veranda.”

Michael propped up slightly, but Maria planted a quick kiss on his forehead and told him, “Try to sleep. This won’t take long.” He immediately fell back into the pillows, exhausted.

“How did you know to send my father?” Connor asked.

“Darla sent me a warning,” Maria answered.

“You really saw my mother?” Connor asked quietly.

“Yes,” Maria answered.

Connor let out a long sigh and ran his hands through his hair. “Is it wrong to miss her? To want her here with me?”

“No.”

“She was a murderer, a vampire, hell even before that she was a whore…”

“Connor, she’s still your mother and she loves you,” Maria answered soothingly.

Connor nodded slowly before answering, “I have parents, I have a sister and I have a life, but then I have this whole other life. It’s just so confusing sometimes.”

“I know,” Maria sympathized. She pulled Connor into another tight hug.

“Thank you.”

“Anytime.”

“So, are dad and Spike having meltdowns?” Connor asked, as he pulled away.

“Oh yeah,” Maria replied, with a giggle.

“Good luck with that,” Connor answered, knowing full well that Angel and Spike would make a big fuss for many eons to come.

“Gee thanks,” Maria answered sarcastically.

“Anytime,” Connor mimicked. “I guess I leave so you two can…Yeah I don’t want to even think about it.”

Maria giggle and followed him back inside. “Hey, everything will be okay,” Maria sad before closing the door.

“Thanks, but you know you don’t have to lie to me,” Connor replied. He really was grateful, but he didn’t need to be protected.

“Yes, I do,” Maria answered.

~*~*~*~*~

“Nooooooooooooooo,” Liz screamed, as she sprung up from the bed gasping.

“Liz, Liz what is it?” Max asked worriedly, immediately awaking at the piercing sound of his wife’s scream.

“No, no,” Liz continued to cry hysterically.

Max held her close and stroked her hair until her sobs subsided enough for her to talk. “Liz, it was just a dream,” he said soothingly.

“It was so real. They killed you. Max they killed you! What if it wasn’t just a dream?” Liz wailed.

Max continued stroking her hair comfortingly. “It’s okay. It’s all going to be okay. I’m right here and I’m fine. It was just a dream.”

~*~*~*~*~

Pain settled into his body. It wasn’t shooting. It wasn’t localized. It was just there, a constant throbbing.

Kyle forced his eyes open, but quickly closed them. The dull light was too bright. He suppressed the sudden urge to gag.

Stay awake, he ordered himself. Slowly he tried to move. First, his hands, but they were bound tightly behind his back. Then his feet, but they were also bound tightly to the chair he was apparently tied to.

Slowly, he tried opening his eyes again. This time the harsh, dull light wasn’t as blinding and he was able to adjust his eyes to get a look around the room. The room itself was small. It looked like a closet, maybe a storage closet, but it was barren. The only things in the room were him, the chair, a flickering light bulb and a short wooden stool in the corner adjacent to the door.

The door opened suddenly and Kyle braced himself.

“Yo, look who’s awake.”

“Finally,” Lonnie commented obviously annoyed.

Kyle immediately recognized them, the dupes, Rath and Lonnie.

“Let me go,” he tried lamely.

“Huh and why would we do that precious?” Lonnie asked as she pulled the stool out of the corner. She placed it in front of him and sat down causally.

Kyle stared at her for a long moment. How could someone who looked like Isabel, someone who had the same genes as Isabel even, be so cold? So evil?

“What do you want from me?” Kyle asked steadily.

“Aight I’m gonna be straight wit ya,” Lonnie replied. “We need to know exactly how much you know about the plan.”

“The plan?” Kyle questioned.

“Ya know, the lycengog’s plan,” Rath answered, he purposefully wasn’t giving anything away.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Kyle lied.

“Ya shouldn’t lie,” Lonnie warned. When Kyle stayed silent she smirked at him slightly before flicking her wrist.

“AHHHHHHH!”

~*~*~*~*~

Maria woke up early the next morning to the feeling of feather light kisses traveling down her stomach. She moaned happily and ran her hand through Michael’s shaggy hair urging him down gently.

Unfortunately, before he could get any further a loud knock ruined the moment. “I hate this house,” Michael stated in frustration.

Maria giggled lightly before getting up reluctantly and opening the door.

“Kyle is missing,” Alex stated flatly.

“Missing?” Maria asked. Michael quickly got out of bed and joined her at the door.

“Isabel went to wake him up and he was gone,” Alex explained.

“Okay, we’ll be down in a minute,” Maria replied.

“We’ll be in the library.”

~*~*~*~*~

“What’s going on?” Michael asked, as he and Maria walked into the room. He held onto her hand tightly and somehow managed to suppress a smirk when he looked at Spike and Angel.

“Isabel just got a flash from Kyle,” Liz answered.

“He’s been taken by Rath and Lonnie, but we’re not sure where,” Max added.

“Why the hell would Rath and Lonnie want to kidnap him?” Michael asked.

“We don’t know. Isabel is trying to dream walk him now,” Alex answered.

~*~*~*~*~

“Kyle?” Isabel called out. She was in a small dark room. She felt claustrophobic, but the light suddenly flickered on.

“Kyle!” she cried. “Oh my god what did they do to you?”

Kyle tried to lift his head to look at her, but it felt like dead weight and lolled to the side inside.

“Kyle! Kyle!”

“Iz…” he replied in a rough, strangled voice. “They…they want…” he was forced to stop by a harsh cough.

“Kyle where are you?” Isabel begged.

“They…they want to go home,” he forced out.

“What? What do you mean?”

“The portal…they want to use it…” Kyle tried to explain, but he wasn’t able to finish.

“What the hell are you doing?!” Lonnie asked, as she came through the door, although she already knew exactly what he was doing.

Kyle looked up and smiled. “I’m not doing anything beautiful,” he answered sarcastically.

“Tough guy,” Rath replied. “Too bad you don’t have any information worth keeping you alive for.”

~*~*~*~*~

“Noooooooooooooooo!!!!” Isabel cried.

“Isabel? Isabel, what happened?” Alex asked. He knelt down in front of her chair and held her shaking shoulders. “What is it?”

“Oh god, no! No! They killed him! They killed him!” she cried hysterically. Alex wrapped his arms around her and held her tightly as she sobbed.

Liz gasped and buried her face in Max’s chest. Maria flinched at the announcement and squeezed Michael’s hand a little tighter. Angel stood up and pulled Maria into a comforting hug, but she didn’t pull her away from Michael’s. Angel sat back down and Michael finally pulled his hand away so he could wrap an arm around her shoulders. Spike stayed seated across the room, not bothering to lend Maria any support. It was obvious that he was still angry.

“Isabel, did he tell you why they took him?” Maria asked.

“He said…He said that they wanted to go home. That they were going to use the portal to go home,” Isabel answered between sobs.

“So, they are working with the demons,” Liz concluded.

“Why would they think the portal could get them home?” Max asked confused.

“There is a theory that although Antar is physically a different planet, we could still get there through a rip in time and space through magic. They probably believe that when the portal first opens it will be powerful enough to transport them back to Antar,” Angel explained.

“That’s it,” Maria stated angrily. “I’m done. It’s time to stop this,” Maria announced.

“I agree,” Angel replied.

“Are we really ready?” Alex asked concerned.

“Would you rather our enemies pick us off, one by one?” Spike questioned grumpily.

“Tonight, we’ll go back to the warehouse and take as many out as possible,” Maria stated.

“Stop them before they get too far in their plan,” Angel added.

“We need to talk,” Maria stated. “Just the three of us,” she said, while glancing between Spike and Angel.

TBC...

[candygurl1718]

Thank you sdcheesehead!

Part Sixteen: Saepe creat molles aspera spina rosas


“I told you what she said.”

“I don’t care,” Angel replied stubbornly.

“The answer was clear. In order to stop the portal from being opened and save the world, the three must be sacrificed,” Maria explained again.

“Not if we get there before the portal has been opened,” Angel answered. He couldn’t…wouldn’t settle for some higher beings prophecy of doom and gloom.

“But if it has…”

“Forget it kitten,” Spike answered harshly. “You’re not going out in a blaze of glory.”

“If it comes down to it…”

“No and that is final,” Spike growled.

“Then who do we sacrifice, huh?” Maria cried. Neither man answered. “That’s what I thought. It’s the three of us,” she stated coolly, daring either of them to protest again.

“We won’t let it come to that.”

~*~*~*~*~

---And come he slow, or come he fast,
It is but Death who comes at last.
-- Sir Walter Scott
“Spike, Max, Alex, Dru and I will go in from the front,” Angel announced. “Maria, Illyria, Michael, Liz, Isabel and Connor attack from the back.”

“Watch your back,” Maria stated coldly to Spike, as she glared suspiciously at Drusilla. Without answering Spike turned and walked towards the front of the building.

“Be careful,” Isabel whispered into Alex’s ear.

“Don’t worry about me. I don’t take to death well,” Alex answered with a smirk and wink. Isabel smiled back at the goofball and secretly hoped he was right.

“This is it. Are you scared?” Maria asked curiously.

“You’re asking me if I’m scared?” Michael chuckled. A few years earlier and he would be prying her claws out of his arm.

“Hey, I’m the one with all the demon experience,” Maria answered with mock superiority.

“Whatever you say princess,” Michael shot back, knowing it would ruffle her feathers.

“Call me princess again Guerin and I swear…” Maria started.

“What is it?” Liz asked worriedly when Maria stopped short in her rant.

“I just remembered something…” Maria trailed off.

“What do you remember?” Illyria asked with a cocked head.

“’ Not all are who they appear to be and the true enemy may not be who you suspect…’” Maria quoted.

“Rath and Lonnie,” Isabel spat out bitterly.

“Maybe not,” Maria replied softly, feeling overbearing urgency to get to the others. “We need to get inside,” she stated forcefully, feeling dread welling in her gut.

Michael blasted the back door, blowing it right off its hinges. Maria, Connor, Illyria and Michael headed in, while Liz and Isabel stood guard at the door. Their hands raised, ready to kill anything that tried to escape. Maria stopped at the stairs and looked around curiously.

“No guards,” she whispered.

“They must have heard the others,” Illyria suggested logically.

Quickly they bounded up the stairs. The silence was eerie and deafening. After an eternity spent on the stairs Maria burst through the double doors, no longer worried about having the advantage of surprise. The dread in her gut solidified as she took in the scene before her.

They were losing, horribly. Two demons flanked Maria throwing her across the room. Michael blasted one, but the other was too quick. It grabbed his neck and began to squeeze. Connor jumped in freeing Michael, but only temporarily. They were out numbered and it appeared as they were laying in wait for them, ready to maul and destroy.

Maria pushed herself to her feet, shaking her head slightly. She felt confused, disoriented, but it didn’t take her long to realize where they were. They were fighting for their lives, and losing.

“Where is Illyria?” she asked the ether, as she fought off one of the demons. She should be helping…Or maybe she is, Maria thought as she watched Angel fly backwards into a wall across the room.

~*~*~*~*~

Running from the building, or limping in some cases, everyone was obviously disappointed. They didn’t do much damage themselves, but plenty of damage was done to them.

Looking around Maria took an inventory. Connor was unconscious and bleeding badly in Angel’s arms. Max was supporting Liz and Isabel, while barely supporting himself. Spike was half carrying Alex, who had been stab in the left side of his abdomen. Spike himself looked pissed, but not seriously wounded. Drusilla, well Drusilla was dust in the wind. Michael, Michael was okay, Maria made sure of that.

He watched her taking everything in and then said, “Maria we need to get out of here.” He motioned her to the cars, but she wasn’t ready to leave just yet.

Sure they failed. In fact, they got there asses kicked, badly, but tonight didn’t have to be a total loss. Summering up the last ounce of energy she had in her Maria focused it all on the base of the building. A small fire broke out, but it was laughable. Pathetic just like her, she thought dejectedly.

Suddenly it roared to life, flickering and licking its way up the side of the building. With in seconds the first two floors were engulfed in flames. Looking over at Michael somewhat shocked he just shrugged his shoulders and replied.

“You know how strong my powers get when I’m pissed. I’ve just learned how to control and focus them a little better,” he explained. “Come on before we’re crispy critters,” he said, leading her away from the building and towards the cars, successfully this time.
~*~*~*~*~

“We weren’t ready,” Maria mumbled, while cleaning the deep gash across Michael’s forehead. Michael stayed silent watching the creases in her forehead as she focused all of her attention to caring for his wound. “I should have known Illyria was the enemy. Damn it there were so many warnings, but no I didn’t see them because I was too focused on the obvious enemy. This is all…” Maria was interrupted by Michael’s lips crashing into hers.

Maria dropped the face cloth she was using to wipe his forehead listlessly, surrendering to him. Michael placed his hands on her hips and pulled her down onto his lap, her legs spreading to straddle him. She moaned into his mouth and deepened the kiss, sliding her tongue inside of his mouth. His spicy taste erupted on her taste buds and she let out another lustful moan.

Needing to touch her, to know that she was really there, Michael slid his rough calloused hands up inside of her tight, black tank top. He pushed the fabric up and reluctantly broke the kiss to pull it over her head. He threw it on the floor anxiously and quickly moved to unsnap the clip of her black lace bra. She groaned appreciatively as he palmed her left breast, and he quickly lifted her up onto his hips and walked them to the bed. Laying her down gently, he began kneading her breast harder, her hisses and moans urging him on. He wanted more than anything to make her forget everything that was going on. Quickly, he removed his own shirt and lowered back down to capture her mouth for another searing kiss.

In an effort to achieve his goal of making her forget all her worries, he broke the kiss again and began traveling down her body, laying feather light kisses as he went. He stopped to dip his tongue into her navel, swirling it around teasingly. As he continued, he unbuttoned her jeans quickly and pushed them down roughly, panties included. Smiling he moved closer to the intoxicating smell coming from between her legs. Knowing her urgency he dove straight in, running his tongue over her lips, before harshly entering her tight slit.

“Oh god yes…” she squealed when his tongue began moving in and out of her wet heat. Her vision was becoming fuzzy and all conscious thoughts floated from her mind. Her hips rocked up against his mouth, flexing to find her release. She whispered his name pleadingly in time with the rhythm of his tongue. “Michael, yes…fucking…yes,” she begged.

Feeling her need for completion, Michael slid his hand between her legs, searching for her sensitive clit. He sped up his ministrations with his tongue and began rubbing her clit in a rough circular motion.

“Michael…I...I…Ohhhhhhh,” she screamed as she came violently. For as long as her pussy continued to spasm, Michael greedily continued to suck and lick up all of her juices.

Slowly, he kissed his way back up her body and latched onto her neck, determined to mark her as his, a reminder to everyone around them. Suddenly, he felt Maria cup his erection through his jeans and his hips lurched forward in response.

“Too many clothes,” she mumbled as she unzipped his pants and worked them off of him with her feet. Immediately, her hand dipped into his pants and encircled his erection. As she began to pump him she could feel her own body going back into hyper drive. Her desire to feel him inside of her swirled in the pit of her stomach until she was sure she would explode at the very thought alone.

Satisfied with his work on her neck he searched out her lips. He knew he was close, more than close; he really wasn’t sure how he had lasted this long.

“I need you inside,” Maria begged.

His dick twitched at the invitation and he tried to control himself as Maria pushed down his boxers and led him to her entrance. He groaned loudly as he sunk into her tight body. She wrapped her legs around his waist, drawing him in as deep as she could, making them one unbreakable unit.

“Oh god Michael…fuck me…please…fuck…uhhhh…”

Unable to control himself he began moving in and out of her quickly, needing desperately to find his own release. Still conscious enough to remember to bring her over the edge with him, Michael placed his hand back between their intertwined bodies, tweaking and pinching her clit mercilessly until she was begging him to come with her. Two more swift movements and he felt his balls tighten and his seed spill out into her.

“Fuck…” he cried out as he rode out his orgasm. Exhausted, he rolled off of her stared up at the ceiling. “I love you.”

“I love you too,” Maria replied naturally. “Marry me,” she stated, rather than questioned.

Michael paused and turned his head to look at her. Her eyes were glued to the ceiling, but he could tell by the tension and fear on her face that she was deadly serious. “Okay.”

“Okay?” she asked nervously.

“Yeah.”

“Okay.”

“Do I have to wear a tux?”

Maria just rolled her eyes and laughed lightly.

TBC...

[candygurl1718]

Thank you Dusk!

This story is complete and there is a sequel in the works entitled: Six Hundred Years of Sunsets.

Part Seventeen: Fallen Dreams

"Love has no age, no limit; and no death." – John Galsworthy

Embers floated to the ground helplessly, the nearly spent cigarette lying dead in a cold, hard hand. Memories were playing like a video reel in his mind, some bad, some good and some down right dirty, but all of them holding meaning. The thought that there would be no more memories ate away at his soul like a cancer.

A hand reached out and cupped his shoulder, perhaps only for a brief second, but it brought strange wave of solace regardless. There was an abundance of animosity within this long and strange relationship, but there was also the slightest hint of brotherly love, or at least a sliver of respect and a hint of something that wasn’t total distain. Silently the elder took a seat and there they sat, brooding and sullen.

~*~*~*~*~

Maria watched as Michael’s chest rose and fell with every breath. He had fallen asleep hours before, but she found it hard to sleep lately. Watching him sleep was better than sleeping herself anyways. She smiled slightly. They were going to get married. Then her smile turned to a deep frown. They were going to get married if she survived.

A knife jammed into her heart as she thought about this. She knew it was selfish asking Michael to marry her when she may soon be dead, but she needed to know he felt the same way. Unable to lie in the bed anymore she grabbed his t-shirt and a pair of boxers, slipping them on silently she quietly exited the room.

Opening Spike’s door she wasn’t surprised to see Angel and Spike sitting on the balcony in a comfortable, morose silence. Her heart went out to Spike, it truly did. She may not have liked Drusilla, but she understood her importance to Spike. Joining the men on the balcony, she bent down and planted a kiss atop Spike’s forehead, making up with him silently. Not wanting to leave Angel out she planted a kiss atop his forehead as well.

Looking at them for a long moment she stated calmly, but with a deep melancholy, “You know.” Both nodded their heads slightly. “I asked Michael to marry me,” she stated, giving them something else to think about, if only for a moment.

“Wanker,” Spike spat half heartedly.

“What a pansy,” Angel commented. “Who let’s the girl do the asking?”

“Kids these days,” Spike added.

“Are we going to talk about it?” Maria asked curiously.

“Nothing to talk about.”

“It’s over.”

Maria nodded her head, trying to will away the tears, but unable to. Maria had finally remembered the phone call from days earlier. Buffy was dead. Everyone, but Andrew was dead. Well, that is if he was still alive, most likely he was gone too. The end was most certainly near.

~*~*~*~*~

“How are you feeling?” Alex asked.

“Like I got my ass kicked,” Isabel admitted. She had always thought of herself as a powerful, strong woman, but tonight she was reminded of how mortal she really was. However, she did fare better than others, so that filled her with a slight sense of pride. “I kind of liked it,” she admitted.

“Saving the world? Being a cool, kick ass demon fighter? Who doesn’t?” Alex answered with a dopey grin.

Isabel smiled at him, but it quickly dropped. “We’re not all going to make it are we?” she asked.

“You never know,” Alex answered trying to stay optimistic, but if his years in the battle against evil had taught him anything it was that she was definitely right. They weren’t all going to make it. Hell they already loss Kyle. Now it was just a waiting game to see who would be next. His gut tightened at that thought.

~*~*~*~*~

“Where were you?” Michael asked as Maria slipped inside of the room careful not to wake him, but obviously that was pointless.

“I had to check on Spike and Angel,” she answered honestly.

Michael nodded his head. The more flashes he got from her the more he understood her love and admiration for the men. Happily he enveloped her in his arms once again and was content to go back to sleep, knowing she was lying safely in his embrace.

“What did you want to be when you were a kid?” Maria asked curiously.

“Firefighter,” Michael answered without thinking. “Instead I became a sort of pyro, how ironic,” he added.

“Why a firefighter?”

Michael let out a sigh and thought about it. Thinking back onto his childhood was never an easy feat, but for Maria he would do anything. “I wanted to be a hero. I wanted to help people and have them praise me for it. Then maybe I would fit in,” he admitted aloud for the first time.

“You are a hero,” she stated, more than a hint of pride laced in her voice. “I want three children,” she stated thoughtfully.

“Okay,” Michael answered.

“Is that gonna be your answer to everything?” Maria asked curiously, not that she would mind one bit.

“Stop,” he answered quietly as he nuzzled her neck gently.

“Stop what?” she asked innocently.

“I’m new to this, but I’m not stupid,” Michael answered calmly. “So stop acting like you’re going to die and if you think you’re getting out of marrying me, you’re not that lucky,” he added.

“You’re right I’m not that lucky,” she answered softly. If she was lucky they would already be married, living in a four bedroom raised ranch, with two kids, one on the way and a Dalmatian named Lady.

~*~*~*~*~

“Buffy is dead.”

“That’s bad?” Liz asked dreading the answer she knew was coming. All they needed was more bad news.

“Yes, with Buffy and the others gone it means no cavalry, no second wave. We are in this alone,” Maria explained. Her face stayed calm and unwavering, but inside she could feel bile and tears churning together in a sickly chaos deep inside her throat.

“What do we do?” Isabel asked. “Last night was a disaster. How the hell are we going to beat them?”

“We got our asses kicked, it’s true, but we got more kills,” Angel replied. “It’s safe to say they have been weakened, not as much as we had hoped, but weakened nonetheless. They will be closing ranks with the end so near.”

“Again, what do we do?” Max asked. Seeing Liz hurt the night before scared the hell out of him. What if something had happened to him and he was unable to heal her? The thought of losing her was, unbearable. He wanted nothing more than to get this over with and move on, away from demons and death and on to their happily married life together. More than anything now he wanted to settle down somewhere safe and start a family.

“First, we need to find their new location,” Maria answered. Michael burned the warehouse to the ground, so they would need to relocate immediately.

“Spike, Connor and I will go out tonight on reconnaissance,” Angel announced.

“What about the rest of us?” Alex asked, not liking being left out.

“There’s plenty of work that needs to be done here,” Angel answered. He needed Alex here, looking after the others. The house was protected, but nothing is ever completely infallible.

~*~*~*~*~

“Where are you going?” Alex inquired curiously.

“Out,” Maria answered curtly. She wasn’t telling him, not now.

“Maria…” he started, getting frustrated.

“You need to stand guard here, we won’t be gone long,” Mara replied, as she grabbed Michael’s hand and led him out the door quickly. She took a deep breath, savoring the light scent of calming jasmine wafting through the air.

“How do we get down to the sewer?” Michael asked. They had done a tracking spell before leaving the house and they were positive their foes were hiding underground, most likely in the sewers.

“There’s an entry point about a half mile away from where they are,” Maria responded knowledgably.

“How the hell do you know that?” he questioned curiously.

“Sewer duty comes with the job,” she answered. “Lucky for us they are hiding in the good part of the sewers.”

“There’s a good part?”

~*~*~*~*~

“Ew…” Maria complained softly, as she stepped over a dead rat.

“Shhh…Do you hear that?” Michael whispered.

“Is that…Oh my,” Maria finished. There were definitely sounds coming from a little ways down the tunnel, sounds of pleasure and the slightest bit of pain. “Are they…Oh yea they definitely are,” Maria answered herself.

“Fucking horn dogs,” Michael commented.

“Just think of it as an advantage for us,” Maria whispered back. Michael cocked his eyebrow and Maria answered, “They’ll be too distracted to respond quickly.”

“Are you ready for this?” Michael asked cautiously. This was a grey area for both of them. Michael had killed Pierce, but never another human. Maria had killed tons of demons, and her job was to protect the sanctity of human life. So, where did Rath and Lonnie lie in the ocean of grey? The fact was they killed Kyle and until they themselves are killed they would continue to be an enemy. Another important fact, they were only half human, whether that was a plus or negative Michael wasn’t sure.

“They killed Kyle,” Maria answered. “When we tell Valenti that his son is dead, we should also tell him that his murderers are dead.” Maria did not feel guilty about this. She tried her hardest to remember the rules about mortality and the balance of power, but when it came to humans she knew their potential to sin. Her time in the white room had left her with the permanent disposition that humans were innately evil, and although she tried to protect the innocents, weeding out the bad seeds was not a problem for her any longer.

“Okay, let’s do this.”

~*~*~*~*~

Maria and Michael slipped upstairs quietly and took a long leisurely shower before joining the others in the living room. At least they had so good news to announce, in a fashion.

“Did you find them?” Maria asked as she walked in the room hand in hand with Michael.

“Yes,” Angel answered.

“I feel a but,” Maria commented lightly.

“Well keep your hands to yourself,” Spike shot back sarcastically. To everyone’s surprise Michael chuckled.

Ignoring the comments, Angel continued with his explanation, “They have holed up in an old abandoned convent. Apparently the warehouse wasn’t their only location.”

“There are more of them aren’t there?” Maria asked dreading the answer. Angel nodded sullenly. “Great.”

“Well, you’re going to need some help then,” a familiar voice announced from the doorway.

“Buffy,” Angel whispered, mystified.

“Love is it really you?” Spike asked, as he and Angel approached her.

“Who else would I haunt? Everyone else I knew is dead,” she replied sarcastically, but with out malice. Spike reached out and watched his hand disappear into her body.

“I’m sorry,” Angel whispered.

“It wasn’t your fault, so no need to apologize,” Buffy answered warmly. Being dead made you surprisingly free and happy. The mortal feelings of confusion and sadness no longer lived in her heart. She was just happy to see both the men she loved.

“When you say help, I’m assuming you don’t mean you?” Alex asked breaking up the reunion.

“No, unfortunately this is a battle I can’t take part in,” Buffy replied. “However, there are those who can,” she answered with a cryptic smile, as she walked towards the window on the far side of the room.

“Slayers,” Angel stated as he peered out the window. There were about twenty young women walking through the front gate and towards the house.

“Maybe we aren’t dead after all,” Spike commented.

“Well, technically…” Maria started sarcastically.

Buffy smiled and reveled in the look on both men’s faces. In life she would have been jealous of another blond vixen in their lives, but now she realized her importance. Maria did one thing that she was never able to do herself; she kept them together and made them a family. Family is truly the most important thing in the universe. Death lifts so many mortal veils.

Part Eighteen: The Beginning of the Beginning

"Cowards die many times before their deaths; the valiant never taste of death but once."
--- Shakespeare



“We go in from three directions,” Angel explained the logistics of the upcoming battle. The morning light was beginning to stream through the blinds. It seemed too bright and shiny for the night that was to come. “I want Spike…”

Maria let his voice drift from her mind and concentrated her attention outside, looking at nothing in particular. How did she end up here? Her life had become a prime time drama at some point, but she couldn’t pinpoint the exact moment. Was it when she came to LA? No. Was it when Max healed Liz? No. Was it the first time her father told her the story of the Order of the Eternal and the little princess who would change the world for all eternity? Maybe. Perhaps it happened even earlier than she could remember, in the womb.

Would she change her life? Sacrifice everything to be normal?

No.

“Should we really be doing this tonight?” Max asked concerned. They had gotten their asses kicked the other night and although they were all healed up, for the most part, they were no where near full strength.

“If we don’t go now the ritual could begin…we can’t risk that,” Angel replied. His voice didn’t leave any room for argument.

“We may be too late,” Maria whispered thoughtfully. It really was such a bright morning on such a gloomy day. Something felt different.

“What if we are? Too late I mean,” Isabel asked worriedly.

“Then the sacrifice must be made,” Buffy filled in.

Eyes still focused outside, Maria pushed herself from her chair and padded over to the window. The light felt warm on her skin, but it did nothing to force away the goose bumps covering her entire body.

“Your path is a long one full of pain, but you will find happiness,” Maria repeated slowly. “Is it peaceful?” she asked quietly.

“Very much so,” Buffy Summers answered. Although she had yet to crossover this time, she knew how joyful and fulfilling heaven could be.

~*~*~*~*~

“You are not going to die,” Michael whispered steadily as he gripped her body slightly tighter than before. They were lying side by side in bed, Maria’s head buried in Michael’s chest and his arms wrapped around her thin frame.

“I don’t want to die,” Maria assured him. She wouldn’t finish her thought aloud because although she was sure he could handle hearing it, she couldn’t stand to say it to him. But I’ll do what I have to, for you.

~*~*~*~*~

“Just try,” Spike requested.

“Humph,” Buffy sighed getting frustrated with the task. Death was peaceful, she thought ruefully. To be truthful, however, she always enjoyed the way he frustrated her and it felt damn good to be able to feel it again. Why hadn’t she searched them out? Why had she let herself waste the rest of her life alone?

Concentrating she reached out for the coffee mug. “I told you this wasn’t going to work,” she muttered defeated.

“If you don’t believe it will work, it won’t work,” Spike answered shaking his head slightly.

She frowned, but tried again and again her hand went through the mug. She sighed and her frown deepened. It was obviously hopeless.

~*~*~*~*~

“Ow,” Alex said with out real urgency. “Ow, ow, ow, ow, OWWWWWWW,” he cried a little more agitated and shaking his hand violently.

“What?! What is it?” Isabel cried out worriedly. She had been walking down the stairs to the basement when she heard Alex’s cries.

Alex looked up and blushed. “Hey, I didn’t see you there,” he answered coyly.

“Alex, what’s wrong?” she asked still worried.

“Nothing,” he answered. “I just…well I was looking through the Paisly Codex of Weaponry and I sort of got a paper cut,” he admitted sheepishly. At her bemused face he added, “Its bad, look!” Isabel leaned forward and looked at the dire wound. She smiled slightly and leaned closer to the thin red slice before dropping a butterfly kiss atop it.

“Better?” she asked sweetly.

“Yes,” he answered with a grin, “but I think I could use one more.” Alex leaned forward and grazed her soft lips with his own. “Don’t let any one tell you that you don’t have the same healing touch as your brother,” Alex whispered.

“Has my brother been kissing your booboos better?” Isabel asked mockingly. “Alexxxxxxxxxx,” she half screamed, half giggled as he picked her up and threw her over his shoulder.

“I love you,” Alex whispered after he put her down and leaned his forehead against hers.

“I love you too,” she answered with a shy smile.

~*~*~*~*~

“This is it,” Angel announced. They were ready to split up into three separate teams and surrounded the rundown convent.

Maria would lead Michael, Liz, Max and seven Slayers through the side entrance. Spike would lead Alex, Isabel and seven more slayers through the back. Angel would take his team, Connor, six slayers and the incorporeal Buffy Summers, through the front entrance. Buffy couldn’t fight, but she would do her best to be a distraction for the demons.

One more look between the three friends and silent words passed.

I love you.

Get yourself killed and I’ll kill you.

The Sex Pistols are overrated.

Prepared, they tightened their grips on their weapons and bravely walked in three separate directions.

~*~*~*~*~

“Uhhhhh,” Isabel cried out as a demon struck her from behind, knocking her down. Reacting quickly, Alex jumped the monster from behind and snapped its neck before the creature knew what was happening.

Across the room Liz threw a demon off of Max with a powerful blast of energy, before her world ended in one quick, painless and swift slice through the heart. In pure grief and rage Max exploded, sending ten demons into hell and injuring many more.

The room began shaking ever so slightly, but it quickly became violent and unsettling for the warriors.

“The ritual,” Alex cried out. It was too late he could see the opening of the portal beginning to appear in the center of the room.

“You can’t stop it,” Illyria taunted between punches. Angel lay under her taking her full wrath.

“Watch me,” a voice promised viciously from behind her. Before Illyria could react and axe swooped down, killing her in one swift movement. The blonde stood triumphantly above Angel and reached her hand out to him, pulling him up and putting him back in the fight.

“Thought you were dead,” he commented tersely between blows.

“Yeah, well, I never really took to it before, so…,” Buffy answered wryly as she joined the fight. It felt good to be able to affect the world and kick some ass.

Maria looked up and cringed. A sword was coming down on her, but she didn’t have the half second to react and protect herself. She closed her eyes and waited, but the blow never came. Instead the demon dropped to the floor dead. She looked up and smiled brightly at Michael before jumping up and fighting off two more demons.

The shaking become more violent and the weather became erratic. The wind became so strong it ripped the roof right off the convent. The rain poured so heavy you could barely see what you were fighting right in front of you. The thundered boomed and lightening cracked mercilessly.

“Guys!” Maria screamed.

It was time. If they didn’t end this now the world would be too far gone. Angel and Spike flanked Maria as they moved back towards the portal. The demons did their best to keep them away from the opening, but Buffy and Connor made sure they made it there.

Angel grabbed Buffy and embraced her in one final kiss. He pulled away slowly to look at her angelic face. Then without a word he stepped back into the portal. His body disappeared in a bright flash of powerful light.

Spike gave Buffy a sideways grin and jumped in after Angel confidently. Buffy smiled warmly and let out a small sigh. Her champions were gone, but she couldn’t move on, not just yet.

Buffy and Connor held back the demons, while Michael and Maria shared their final moments.

“I’m sorry,” Michael whispered.

“Michael…you have no idea how glad I am that I was able to spend this time with you. I love you so much. You have made me so happy. You’ve made me complete. I’m ready for this,” Maria replied. She smiled, lifted his chin and kissed his lips softly. “Look after them,” she whispered. She stepped back towards the light when her body was suddenly thrown violently and the bright light of the portal blinded her mercilessly.

“No!”
The End