FF/The Armageddon(2/?)

["sam " <shadowmage_draco@xxxxxxxxx>]

Title: The Armageddon(2/?)
Author: Shadowmage_draco
Disclaimer: I do not own any of the
characters commonly associated with
Buffy the Vampire Slayer; they are used without
permission.
No copyright infringement is intended.
Archive: Just ask
Pairing: B/W
Note: Buffy and Willow reveal there feelings, as
powerful forces begin preparation
for the war of Armageddon, and as always feedback is
greatly welcomed

Chapter 2: The path unfolds

Sunnydale, CA

Willow awoke as the first rays of sun light hit the California coast
line, Buffy was on the
phone apparently talking to Giles from what she could make out of the
conversation. Here
voice was gripped with fear, and willow could se that she was
physically trembling as she
tried to form words out of thoughts that were racing through her mind
at the speed of light.

"Buffy, just calm down and speak slowly" said a very groggy
Giles.

"I H-h-had a vision, it was p-p-p-prophetic" Buffy stammered
her voice
barley above a
whisper.

Giles was starting to get very worried, what could shake up Buffy
this
bad after all she has
been through it had to be big. His voice full of anxiety he asked
"What is it" Her reply sent
a cold shiver down his spin, she had simply said Armageddon. Her and
willow were on their
way over and so was the rest of the scoopy doo gang, as they so liked
to call themselves.
Giles mind began to go over all of his training as a watcher,
recalling all the prophecies and
lore that were covered and now the one the council feared the most
seemed to be un folding.
His mind drifted back as he recalled his mentor reading from an
ancient scroll that had been
transcribed from the book of the ages. <The warrior and her soulmate
stand against the
darkness. The Dark Lords of the underworld seek to destroy them and
then the realm of
man. Only together in love will they survive, only together in love
will the guardian of the
chosen come to fight on their behalf, and only then can the
Armageddon
be prevented. This
is the prophecy of the shadow mage Talon>. This was all he could
recall of the story and
prophecy. The scroll;; had been passed down from generation to
generation of watchers, it
was all they new of Talon and the Armageddon for the book that
contained all the
knowledge of this particular prophecy had long been lost to the
mortal
realm. His thoughts
was interrupted by a load pounding at the door. He quickly got up
and
answered it. It was
Zander and Anya. He let them in and waited for Buffy and Willow to
arrive.

"It was scary Giles, He said that I must find my soulmate, my one
true
love or neither one of
us could survive the darkness that was coming." Willows heart
skipped
a beat when she
heard what Buffys had just told Giles.

All Giles could say was "I see"

"I see, he talked about the battle of Armageddon, the end of
everything that we know and
said that only Me and My soulmate could stop it, I don't know
what to
do."

Willow was becoming hyper aware of what everything the slayer was
saying. Her mind
began to race, <Could this be the same messenger that came to her, if
so then possibly her
dreams would come to reality and she and Buffy could be together.> A
voice from deep
inside her said was shouting for joy at this prospect, <could it be>.


Buffy had noticed Willow drifting away as she was talking.
"Willow,
are you all right"
asked a very worried slayer. Willow did not respond and buffy walked
over to her, "Will
you still in there?"

Willow suddenly became aware that Buffy was standing in front of here
talking but she
really did not hear what the blonde was saying now, she had to know
"Buffy what did the
messenger look like?"

Buffy was a little taken back by this question but answered it
anyways
"He was about six
feet tall, and wore body armor, kinda like the one you see in the
movies about knights and
dragons..."

Willow cut in before Buffy could finish " And He was there but
not
there, almost
transparent"

Buffy finished the sentence for her " and he said to find the
book of
the ages"

"exactly"

"how did you know that Willow"

"I also had a dream, that he came to me and told me to seek my
soulmate and find the book
of ages for the next cycle was upon us"

Before Buffy could reply a very anxious Giles cut into their
conversation "Did you say the
next cycle was upon us?" sweat was now running down his forehead
and
he had lost some of
the coloring in his face. parts of the tale were now coming back to
his mind and he was on
the verge of sure panic.

"Giles are you O.K." asked Willow and Buffy in unison.

"If the next cycle is upon us that can only mean the forces of
darkness have already started
there move to gain control over the mortal realm, I have got to call
the council"

"The council, did you forget that we are not talking to them"
shouted
an agitated slayer.

"We need there help, the prophecy of Armageddon is different than
any
other prophecy"

"How is that, we've faced the end of the world before"
Her voice was
full of anger,
rumbaing how the council had betrayed her.

"Buffy, it is believed that all life goes through different
cycles,
some are shorter than others,
but in general they usually last about 2500 years. No one is for
sure
when the cycle we are
in actually started but from what you are saying I believe now that
it
most likely was about
500 BC

"So why bring the council into this"

"When the cycles changed it is rumored that magic on both the
sides of
light and darkness
both are the strongest. The last time the cycle changed it is said
in
several ancient text that
the Gods were still in direct control of the mortal realm, but now
they are not. The prophecy
that seems to be unfolding here was written when that cycle was
giving
way to this one.
There are several among those who know about the book of the ages and
it's prophecy that
is was scribed to from the Gods themselves, more particularly the
Goddess.

The room grew deadly silent at Giles words. Willow was the first to
speak "The Goddess"\

"Yes" was all Giles said, his face was now very somber.
"So you can
see that what we are
dealing with is greater than anything we have ever faced before,
greater than anything man
has ever faced"

Everyone just sat there looking at Giles, except for Willow who was
intently staring at
Buffy. <I have got to tell her> "Buffy we need to talk"
Willow said
in a voice so soft that
the slayer had to strain to hear her.

"Now?"

"Yes now, Giles can we use the kitchen?"

He was about to say something to Willow about now not being a good
time after all there
was allot they needed to discuss, but Willow had on her resolve face
and there was
something else in her eyes, love. He simply nodded and Willow got up
and started to walk
out of the room, a confused Buffy followed.

"What was that about?" Piped Zander

"I am not sure, but I think this prophecy is unfolding even
more"

"It was Anya's turn now "What is that suppose to mean"

Giles looked at the two of them, then to the kitchen door that Buffy
had shut behind her ,
then back toward them. "We will have to just wait and see"

Willow looked at Buffy the messengers words were echoing repeatedly
in
her mind <TELL
HER>. She took a deep breath and gathered every once of her inner
strength, normally the
idea of telling Buffy that she loved her would have frightened her
very much but after
hearing about Buffy's dream she was pretty sure now that the
slayer
felt the same way or at
least she hoped she did. Buffy watched willow in amazement, The
redhead had taken a deep
breath and then came out with the resolve face. This was big, all
Buffy could think was
somehow Willow had figured out about her love for her and now she
was going to have to
face this alone without her best friend and love.

Willow was now staring at Buffy wondering what to do. The slayer
looked very worried,
willow thought, <no, that is not it shes nervous and their is
something else>. It took her a
couple of seconds to figure out what was mixing itself with the
nervousness that filled the
beautiful blondes eyes, then it dawned on her, Willow was beyond a
shadow of a doubt that
Buffy felt the same way. Willow started to walk towards her, after
all actions speak louder
than Words.

She was now standing just inches from Buffy, the slayers body was now
trembling, her eyes
locked onto Willows. Buffy had just started to say something when
Willow leaned into her
and every so gently placed a soft kiss upon her lips. All Buffy
could
do was let out a
whimper. Then Willow spoke "I love you"

"Willow?"

"Yes"

"Did you say that you love me" Buffys voice was so quit that
Willow
had to strain to hear
her even though she was only inches from her.

Willow looked into Buffy's eyes, "Yes, and I do love you.
Every
fabric of my being loves
you. You are the first thing I think of when I wake up and the last
thought in my mind as I
go to sleep. I love you so much that I don't think I could make
it
through a single day
without you by my side" Willow could not stop talking, all the
emotions she had bottled up
inside of her came pouring out, each word nothing but the truth of
her
own heart that she had
been suppressing for so long. "I do not know how or when it
happened
but it did, all I
honestly know is that I love you and I always will.

Willow had spoken from her heart and now waited to see what was going
to happen now.
Her insides were churning, she had put her soul out on the table and
now it was Buffys turn,
a voice kept screaming out inside of the young witch <please feel the
same way>. A tear
rolled down Buff's cheek. It was follow by another then another.
The
slayer was crying.
Willow was not sure what to do so she went with her gut instinct and
closed the gap between
them and held Buffy in her arms. As soon as she did she felt buffy
relax and heard a small
whimper come from the slayer "Willow, I have waited a very long
time
to hear those words"

"You have" Willow asked holding onto Buffy even tighter.

"yes, and now I guess it is my turn"

"Your turn for what"

"to say that I love you Willow, love you more than life itself.
The
only reason that I can go
out there every night and face the Hellsmouth is because of you"

"Because of Me"

"Your my reason to keep on living, my entire world. My mom,
Giles,
Zander, and Anya
there all good friend and I care for them and if something would
happen to any off them I
don't know what I would do but I could go on. However a world
without
my Wills is one I
don't think I could last that long in, without you I would just
curl
up and die."

"Buffy don't talk like that" Willow said as tears were
rolling down
her eyes, she did not
want anything to happen to Buffy and did not like it at all when she
talked about death.

"I can't help I, it is how I feel. I love you so much that
it hurts."
Buffy then leaned into
Willow and place and returned Willows kiss "I love you
Willow"

"What do we do now"

"Well Willow I think we should march back in there and tell Giles
that
we have found our
soulmates"

"You think were each other soulmates"

"I know it " Said a now extremely confidant slayer

"So do I"

Slowly they broke there embrace and took one anthers had. "Guess
it
is time to face our
friends, " asked Buffy

"Yep" Gulped Willow, <What were they going to say>

The two walked back into the room hand in hand. Zander and Anya
there
eyes filled with
curiosity were looking at them and Giles was on the phone. He hung
it
up and looked at the
two of them. Before he could say anything Spike, who had come up
from
the basement
when his vampiric ears picked up on the conversation going on in the
kitchen and was now
standing in the hallway, not wanting to come out into them room for
the curtains were wide
open, inserted his two cents "It's about Bloody time". A
devilish
grin filled his face, all he
could think about was how much this was going to get to soulboy.

"And what are you doing up here" shouted giles

"Vampiric hearing" was all he could say as both Willow and
Buffy both
turned a most
interesting shade of red.

"There blushing" shouted Zander

"Mark one up for the rocket scientist" Spike said, he was
laughing out
loud now <Wonder if
the watcher would notice if he called LA>

It was Giles who spoke next "I take it the two of you have
something
to tell us"

Buffy looked at willow and the redheaded smiled, let go of Buffys
hand
and warped her arm
around the slayers waist. With that buffy looked straight at giles
and simply said "Were do
we find this book of the ages"

"I see" Replied Giles and he did.

"see What" Zander asked

"see that there in love, sometimes I don't know why I put up
with you"
Retorted Anya.

Zander came back "because you love me" and Anya smiled

"Well Giles how do we find the book of ages, after all according
to
the messenger after we
find one another we are suppose to look for the book of ages"
Buffys
words were extremely
focused at the moment, she knew that she loved willow and willow
loved
here. She also
knew that if they were going to be together forever, but at the
moment
forever seemed to be a
very short time, the Armageddon was coming and she had to protect her
new found love.

Giles spoke, his words did not come out easily and everyone could
sense that something was
defiantly wrong "I am not sure, I spent the last several minutes
trying to contact the council,
but there is no answer, I fear something is going on"

"The prophecy" Willow and Buffy said in unison

"I don't know, I just don't know"

Half way around the world something indeed was going on.

England

In the reception area of the watchers council complex the switch
board
was ringing , its
operator sat in a trance unable to move or even acknowledge in her
mind that it was ringing.
There were several others in the main lobby, mostly watchers or
researchers for the council
who had dropped in to try and find out why the council had called a
secret session and was
meeting in privacy. However that would have to wait for they to like
the switch board
operator were seemly frozen in time unable to move or even think. In
fact the only two
figures that seemed to be moving at all were slowly making there way
towards the main
meeting chamber.

The council was in session, every single council member was there,
fifty two in all. They
were in full session and tempers were flaring. The head of the
council himself had called this
special meeting which soon turned into a heated debate. The subject
was what are we to do
about Buffy Summers, and as soon as the head of the council opened it
for discussion lines
were immediately formed and they had been fighting amongst themselves
for over a half
hour now. Even as the head of the council was trying to regain some
control over this
meeting Talon and his messanger were making their way to the meeting
chambers and the
council caught up in there rather heated discussion was oblivious to
the fact that very soon
things were going to change forever.

"I demand order" shouted the council head as he banged a
heavy wooden
gavel on the large
oak table they all sat around "and I demand it know. He had
succeeded
in getting there
attention so he continued "We will discuss this subject in an
organized controlled manner, it
is our duty to do so, Mr. Rilley I believe you have the floor".

Thank you sir," said a middle aged man wearing metal rimmed
glasses
"as I was saying we
should simply call another slayer and write off Ms Summers as a lost
cause"

A young woman raised here had and the council head recognized her.
"And how do you
propose to do that, I am the newest member of this counsel but last
time I checked there
could only be one slayer"

"Mr. Rilley, she brings up a good point. Have you any
suggestions"

"Yes sir, we must element Ms Summers"

The council head thought about his Rilly's answer for a second
then
spoke "I tend to agree"

"That is insane, we can not kill a slayer who has done nothing
wrong"
a young man newly
promoted from watcher to council member shouted

"You have something to add Wesley" Asked the head of the
council.

"Ms summers still is doing her duty and rather well might I add.
She
has done nothing
wrong"

"She has broken off communications"

"Since when is not talking to the council a capitol offense"

"You off all people should know, she would not except you as her
watcher but instead defied
the council by staying with Mr. Giles after we had dismissed him for
his failure in the test .
She then broke all communications with us. She is out of control and
a out of control slayer
can be a very dangerous thing, or do you get forget about the
incident
with Faith"

""Buffy handled that problem for us, and has continued about her
duty.
She is doing what
she was trained to do, what she was meant to do and the more I
reflect
on what happened
during my brief presence in Sunnydale the more I believe Giles was
correct in his actions"

"He disobeyed the council, he questioned the way we do things.
If we
are to fight this war
then order and control must be contained." the head of the
councils
voice was filled with
rage as responded to Wesley's almost sacrilegious remarks

There was no stopping Wesley now, the council had gone to far and he
knew it. "Then
possibly are way of doing things is wrong" as Wesley finished
that
statement the council
once again broke into utter chaos.

This time the head of the council would not be able to regain control
he would have no need
to. The room fell silent as the great oak doors were ripped off and
thrown by an unseen
force down a deserted hallway. The room filled with a mystic blue
haze and two figures
now stood in the door way. All heads turned to them and pure terror
gripped them. The
larger figure wore battle armoire of a knight and carried a rather
large and impressive
looking sword but he was almost unrecognized by them. It was the
other figure that they
were immediately drawn to and as soon as they looked upon him they
could no longer speak.
He wore the robes of an ancient mage with a red and black hooded
cloak
that seemed to
flutter as if it was caught in a mild breeze even though there was
none. The hood was pulled
up over his head and the only facial feature that could be seen was a
set of glowing blue eyes
that permeated through the mist and pierced into each one of there
souls looking for some
shred of humanity.

Talon stood there for several minutes gazing into each and every
member of the councils
soul. He had to make them see the light, the Armageddon was growing
nearer. Then he
spoke his words echoed like thunder throughout the entire complex
shattering every window
in the massive building. "Know this; I am Talon, Guardian of the
Chosen, hand picked by
the Gods of man." as he spoke his eyes began to change. the
steady
blue glow gave way to
what appeared to be bright blue flames dancing in his eyes and a
bright blue light now
surrounded his body. The messenger then knew that his master had
become very angry at
these mortal men and even he was frightened at what vengeance the
Guardian of the Chosen
might enacted upon this particular group.

Talon had looked into there souls hoping to find a way to make them
see the truth but what
he saw there was darkness, the council had been lost, except for a
very few who had seen the
light on there own. The majority of them were plotting to murder the
chosen one, only these
few were opposed to the idea. If anyone there were able to see pass
the intensity of his eyes
they would have noticed a single tear roll down the immortal mages
cheek. He knew now
what he must do and he shed that single tear for the council and the
task that he now had to
take, the path of his destiny had taken an unexpected turn and it now
tore at his eternal heart
but there was no other choice , they were to far gone.

"I see into the neither regions of your souls and feel what each
of
you feel in the abyss of
your mortal hearts, your thoughts have become like an open book to
me.
I thought that your
hearts had grown cold and your souls callus with the passage of time,
but know I know that
the hearts of most of you have grown dark. The evil that you are so
set against fighting has
already beaten you. It did not happen in any war, or through any
type
of black magic, but in
each of your hearts and souls. You did not forget the rules of the
Gods but over time willing
chose to ignore them. For you it is no longer about the fight
against
darkness but it is about
power and control and these things have corrupted you. then darkness
it set itself upon your
mortal souls. There are few among you who still care for the
watchers
and the chosen one,
but as for the rest of you could care less, all that matters to you
is
that you remain in control.
you have become servants to the very forces the council was
established to fight aganist"
Talon raised his hand into the air and the haze in the room became a
thick fog, and as
quickly as it came it was gone along with Talon. Wesley and five
others were left standing
before the messenger. The meeting chamber floor was now covered in
ashes of what used to
be the rest of the council, judgment had been passed.

The messenger walked towards Wesley and the remaining council members
who were
trembling in fear. There was movement in the hallway and several
watchers had run into the
chamber, they froze in utter shock at what they saw.

Wesley looked at the messenger and all he could say was "Why"

"They were to far gone, the Guardian of the Chosen was unable to
make
them see the light,
you and the others who remain however had already seen the light
before we arrived in the
mortal realm. It was necessary for judgment to be passed"

The watchers who had entered the room stood there stunned at the
words
they had heard.
The looked at the messenger, then to the remaining council members
and
knew that it was
true, Talon had come, they were in awe.

"In time they could have been made to understand, We could have
protected the slayer form
them" Wesley said with all sincerity in his voice. He had
opposed
what they had become but
still regretted there deaths.

"My lord would have wanted it that way also, it hurt him deeply
to
have to deal with his
servants the way he was forced to, but there is no way he could make
them see that which
they had no desire to see, and the price has become to high for there
existence to be tolerated
any longer"

Wesley looked around at the watchers and his fellow council members
and saw that they
were just as confused as he was, "What is happening that is so
great
that the Guardian of the
Chosen is forced to come and judge the council, what is price is so
high that warrants the loss
of so many souls"

"The Realm of mortal man itself is at stake. Know this young
council
member, the cycle of
chaos is coming to an end, as we speak the Dark Lords are moving in
preparation to
consume this realm. The chosen and her soulmate seek one another, if
they have found each
other yet I do not know, but they were still searching when I left
the
realm of shadows. The
Dark Lords seek to destroy them before they can fulfill the prophecy
written in the book of
the ages. All this is happening for a reason, know that reason to be
that the Armageddon is
at hand"

The room was silent, no one dared even move after hearing the
messengers words. They had
to remind themselves to breath, their greatest fear the destruction
of
the entire mortal realm
seemed to be unfolding before there eyes and they had failed to see
it
coming, failed to aid
the chosen one in her quest, and failed the powers they had sworn to
serve. There hearts
were filled with great sadness, and each and everyone of them wept in
shame. The
messenger just stood there and waited for them to let everything sink
in.

It was Wesley who finally spoke, "What can we do to help them"

"This is what is to be done. The watchers and slayers in
training are
released from their
bond as is everyone else who is under the employment of the council.
For now and till the
end of time the council is disband, for the Guardian no longer has
use
of such an
organization for he shall soon walk the mortal realm if all goes as
he
has foreseen . You and
the other council members are to gather all the books and knowledge
contained within these
halls that the six of you can take and travel to the hellsmouth. You
must do this quickly for
time draws short. When you arrive immediately contact the chosen one
and her friends and
aid them in any way you can."

"We shall do as you ask, and this time we will not fail them"

"This I Know". and as the messager finished that last
sentence he
simply vanished into thin
air.

They all stood there For a moment then Wesley yelled " You heard
him
start grabbing book
we got very little time"

The Realm of Shadow

The messenger having just returned from the mortal realm made
straight
away towards the
throne room. He instantly spotted Talon looking out a east window at
the vast mountains of
the realm. "My Lord, are you all right"

"I will be fine my faithful servant, I wish I could have spared
them
my judgment but they
were to far gone into the darkness." Another tear rolled down his
eternal cheek, it had hurt
him greatly to judge the council for ant human suffering caused him
great pain, but that was
why he had been chosen in the first place. He gathered up his self
and spoke yet again
"Did you give those who remain my instructions"

"Yes my Lord"

"Good for the path of the prophecy is unfolding, the Dark Lords
were
not fast enough in
there attempt to keep the soulmates from one another, but they will
seek to destroy them
anyway"

"Then they had succeeded in finding one another"

"Yes, they have"

"What is to happen now my Lord"

"The time has come for you to once again to enter the realm of
mortal
man but this time I
will send you forth with the staff of shadow "

"Why am I to take such a powerful item into the mortal realm, my
lord"

"The soul mates and their friends now seek the book of the ages
as
they were instructed, the
time has come for us to reveal it along with some very special gift
that will aid them in the
task at hand".

"When do I leave my Lord"

"I will send you to them when they need they you the most"

"There is more my Lord, I hear it in your voice"

"You have served me well and your insight does you great justice.
The
soulmates have a
very dangerous and painful path ahead of them before the Armageddon
starts and our
warriors go into battle. It will take everything they have for them
to survive and the cost that
they will be forced to pay is great but know that rewards shall be
greater"

"I do not understand of these things you speak my Lord"

"The cycle of chaos is breaking apart at the seams, and they
alone
stand at the hellsmouth.
Already I can hear the sounds of war, they echo in the night like
distant thunder and grow
louder at each passing hour. They are bonded and will survive as the
Gods themselves had
said those around them however lives hang in the balance of the
fates.
I sense great sorrow
for the two, now go my faithful servant for I shall be calling you
soon"