FanFiction Archive

Bonds of Soul and Demon - Secrets Revealed

Janna had finally received the information she had asked her uncle for. It had arrived in the mail, a pair of leather-bound journals and some loose papers, all carefully packed in a box. A quick inspection showed that they had arrived intact, but were not written in English. Some of the notes were in German, other portions were in the old language of the gypsies. Unfortunately, Janna had never learned to read the old language. She had the infomation about the cursing of Angelus, or at least she hoped that she did.

By now, she knew that Buffy had somehow broken the curse, freeing Angelus from his soul. What she had to do was to try to find a way to restore his soul before it was too late. It would also be good to know how the curse had been broken to begin with. He had been a great danger before, she doubted that he would be safer now.

This was going to take a lot of time. She would have to get the sections translated before she could inspect the phrasing of the curse. Unfortunately, she didn't know anyone that could read the old language. Maybe she could use a computer program to translate the sections?

Her efforts to begin a swift translation were interrupted by a sudden, intense desire to have Xander Harris. Where had that come from? He had sat in her class for months, and she had felt no shred of attraction for him, but now... There was power in the air. For some reason, this power was making Xander Harris the most desirable male in Sunnydale. oh, dear.

~

Willow was certain that something wasn't right. There had been the odd dreams, full of magic and cauldrons of bubbling substances. She had awoke feeling like she had just missed a very important message. She found herself thinking how great Xander looked at school that day, and wondering what the odds were that he had been sending her flowers and presents.

She realized where her mind had gone and shook her head. Xander couldn't be her admirer. Not only did he show no interest in her when she was there, he could never have kept it secret so well if it had been him. Logically, she also had to admit that he just didn't see her that way. He never had, and probably never would. She had thought her hopeless crush on Xander was fading, what had brought it back to life? Not only that, but it seemed that every other female in school, including the seniors and the teachers had aquired her crush as well. That seemed not only suspicious but unnatural to her. She resolved to avoid Xander, having long since realized that it would only hurt to reach for him and be ignored again.

She realized that there had to be something, wrong as emotions started to run higher. Things began to get ugly, especially when Ms. Calender and Amy Madison decided to have a sorcoress battle in the library over who got to seduce Xander. Amy had just finished turning Buffy into a rat before that started. Feeling definately underpowered, Willow had fled the library, fleeing to the safety of her bedroom.

She read the volume of passionate poetry. Even if Xander would never see her as a woman, she still had her secret admirer. She read the poems over again after she finished her chemistry homework. She determindly avoided going where Xander might be, having learned his habits years ago. She had a suspicion that things would only get uglier.

Willow had no idea how right she was. She missed the mob of Xander crazed students roaming Sunnydale, seeking to dismember Cordelia for her rejection and dismissal of Xander. She also missed seeing Xander try to hide with Buffy's mom, only to have her try to put the moves on him as well. By far the most terrifying part of the evening was the fact that the spell had somehow affected Drusilla, the crazed childe of Angelus. She had decided that she wanted to turn Xander and keep him by her side forever.

Giles and Jenny Calender finally managed to sort out the fact that this had been caused by Amy Madison casting a spell at Xander's behest, although they hadn't quite figured out why. Afer they had broken the spell, Sunnydale's female population stopped trying to divide Xander into little pieces so that everyone could have a share.

It had been a very eventful night.

~

Willow spent a good deal of her free time the next day pondering passion. She knew about crushes, where you saw a person, and wanted to get close to them, blinded yourself to their faults, and followed them, staring like a big eyed little puppy, hoping for the least crumb of affection from them. Crushes, while intense, didn't destroy somebody's world. You tried to get them to notice you, even doing foolish things just so they would look at you. Hoping for one smile from them. Willow knew about crushes. She had, after all, had a crush on Xander for years. He had remained oblivious, instead developing an instant crush on Buffy.

That had hurt. She had hoped so desparately for him to see her, and he was blind to her. He was dazzled by golden locks and short skirts, topped with a briliant smile and bright eyes. She could see why Xander wanted Buffy. Jesse had wanted Buffy, Owen had wanted Buffy, half the guys in school thought that Buffy looked gorgeous. Willow tried very hard not to resent that fact. Most days, she managed.

She also pondered obsession. Obsession, where you want somebody so badly that you blind yourself to any obstacles to your happiness. Buffy had obsessively pursued her relationship with Angel, deliberately ignoring the fact that she was a Vampire Slayer, chosen to fight evil and Angel was a vampire. Yes, he'd had a soul, which was now gone. Soul or no soul, he was still a vampire. Obsession, while spell induced and temporary, had caused Amy and Ms. Calender to hurl spells at each other in the library. It had caused Harmony and Aura and other girls to sieze knives and axes and try to find Xander and Cordelia to chop them into little bits.

Obsession was a crush taken much to far. Instead of merely doing foolish things to get their attention, a person would do dangerous things. Sometimes, violent, horrible things, like attacking a perceived rival with a deadly weapon. She could see how it had happened. She worried that Buffy's near obsessive patrolling was a possible sign that the Slayer was not dealing well with Angelus.

Willow wondered what it would be like to simply be in love.

Meanwhile, all was not happy in the lair of the family of Angelus. They could not fathom what had caused Dru to be so fascinated by Xander Harris. She had gone from barely remembering his face, to violently obsessed, seeking to destroy anyone in her way that wanted to prevent her from claiming him as her own. Spike personally suspected that there had been a spell.

Angelus found himself doing something he had never felt the urge to do before, borrowing a habit from his souled version. He brooded. It had seemed like all the women of Sunnydale were after that annoyance Harris. What if that had included Willow? She would be his, he didn't want her mooning after some mortal.

~

Willow was helping to do some research on a prophecy that Giles feared might be affecting Sunnydale. It spoke of one who had guarded the bright warrior returning to the darkness, leaning on his blood to have power over the mouth, and his heart would decide the fate of the world. Giles was extremely worried. He had called everyone together to try to research the prophecy. If the one who had guarded was Angel, then it would imply that the fate of the world depended on Angelus, which could be very bad.

Giles shut the book in front of him with a frustrated sigh. "Willow, could you please bring me the Quintaron Compendium of prophecy? I think it's on the third shelf, near the section on demonic possession."

"The Quintaron? I suppose so, what happened to your foot anyhow?" Willow didn't really expect an answer. His foot had been injured on the night that Xander's spell - okay, Amy had been the one to actually cast it, but it had been for Xander, had driven all the women of Sunnydale mad with lust.

Willow got up from the computer, where she had just found a site with the prophecy, and several possible interpretations and commentary. She walked back to the row of shelves with the volumes of prophecy and possession, picked up the Quintaron Compendium and glance up. Willow froze momentarily at the sight of Xander and Cordelia in a passionate kiss. Xander and Cordelia.

She bolted from the library, barely remembering to drop the Quintaron on the table near Giles as she ran from he library, tears streaming from her eyes. She had almost accepted the fact that Xander would neve love her, never desire her. But... they had hated Cordelia. He would rather kiss someone that he hated than be with her. Not only that, but he hadn't told her. How could he keep a secret like that if he was supposed to be her best friend?

By the time that Willow made it to her house, oblivious to the many dangers of Sunnydale after dark, she had nearly convinced herself that nobody would ever find her desirable at all, and she was doomed to a life of loneliness and misery.

Her ideas of solitary middle age were shaken by the sight of another bouquet of roses, these ivory with red edges in a vase the color of rubies. There was also a moderate sized box sitting on her bed. Opening it, she found blouses and shirts in silk and velvet. Some had short sleeves, some had full pouffy sleeves like a fairy tale, some had no sleeves at all. The tops were a vibrant array of gem tones, deep green, sapphire, amythyst, dark grey, emerald green. She breathed a small sigh of wonder. These were for her?

That moment, looking at the shimmering fabrics and fresh roses, Willow made a decision. Her admirer was very welcome. She felt desired, wanted because of this person and the gifts they had left her. She had been asked to do no more than look at her gifts. It was time she accept the idea that somewhere in Sunnydale was a person that wanted her.

She walked over to her bed, and pulled the golden pendant from it's resting place by her pillow and fastened it around her neck. The stone resting at the hollow of her throat.

~

Angelus had not slept well. He had been having strange dreams that disturbed his slumber and faded away when he awoke, leaving him irritable and uncertain as to what he had dreamed. He paced in front of the closed windows, wishing that he knew what was going on.

"Naughty gypsy girl. She thinks nobody can see her, all hidden in the pages and little grey boxes. But I see her." Dru was holding her doll, Miss Edith. She swayed slightly, humming a fragment of forgotten melody. Suddenly, she frowned. "Nasty gypsy! The young one has found the secrets of the old one, and she wants to take my Daddy away from me. Do you want to stay and play for a bit, Daddy love?" Dru smiled coyly at him, fluttering her eyelashes and holding one hand to her collarbone, her fingers trailing along her skin suggestively.

"Secrets of the old one... what are you talking about, Dru?" Angelus growled, feeling annoyed at her ramblings. Then, it clicked for him. Gypsies. It had been an old gypsy that had cursed him with a soul. If there was a young one... The computer teacher. She was trying to find a way to bring back the soul. He had to stop her before she found a way.

He made his way to the high school, for once pleased by the way his soul had taken the time to learn the tunnel and sewer system of Sunnydale. Depending on how much she had learned, time could be very critical. Silently, he emerged in the school building, seeking some clue to how many people were here. He couldn't sense the Slayer, so that was a bit easier. Moving through the halls, the library was silent and dark. The only light spilled into the hall from the computer lab.

He entered the room, suddenly looming into the vision of the woman inside.

"Hello Jenny. Isn't Calendar a bit to close to Kalderash? I see you have her books. Too bad you won't get the chance to use them." Angelus' voice was like silk over steel, smooth and dangerous. He moved towards the dark haired woman slowly, his eyes gleaming golden from a suddenly vampiric face.

She shrieked and bolted past him, running towards the door to the parking lot. Smiling, Angelus pursued her. He could have caught her easily, snapping her neck like a twig, but he wanted to play a bit. Besides, something was nagging at his mind. Wasn't this Willow's favorite teacher? She might be upset if the woman was killed. He would simply have to silence her another way.

~

The next day, Willow was called to the principal's office as soon as she walked into the building. The staff seemed a bit disturbed by something. She wondered what could be going on.

"Principal Snyder? You wanted to speak with me?" She could only find the answers one way. Her voice was timid, hoping not to draw wrath or lectures on herself.

"Yes, Rosenberg. Sit down. There was a bit of an incident last night. Ms. Calendar, whom I'm sure you know is our computer teacher, was attacked last night. She's currently hospitalized. I haven't been able to get any idea of when or if she will be able to return to teaching, so I have decided that until such time comes, you will fill in for her. You will teach her computer classes. Be sure to do a good job. You can go now." His words shook Willow, but she merely murmured something and left the office.

She was still somewhat stunned the rest of the day, her mind clearing only when she was sent in to gather Ms Calendar's things. She found a pair of old leatherbound books, and a few papers that had fallen to the floor and been picked up by the janitor. They didn't seem quite what she would expect from the techno-pagan teacher. Willow gathered them up, frowning slightly. She promised herself that she would look at them at home.

After many more hours, Willow was safely at home. She spread out the papers, immediately aware that they were not in Jenny's handwriting. They were also a mixture of German and another language. Willow had been picking up some German from the researching into the many old books on demons, perhaps she could puzzle out some of this.

There were things about a fallen daughter, and vengence. Something about suffering and pain. A soul.. Oh, merciful god, these were papers from the old gypsy woman that had cursed Angel! How had Ms Calendar got them? Wait... something about happiness. She had a suspicion forming.

She was certain that these papers and books contained information about the curse placed on Angelus. Possibly even how to cast it again. Jenny must have been trying to learn how to recurse Angelus. He had learned about it and silenced her.

Willow immediately began hacking into the hospital records, seeking to learn what exactly had happend to her favorite teacher. She found the records without too much trouble, slowed by her shaking fingers. Jenny had been beaten, several bones were broken, and she was in a coma. The physical damage was expected to heal, but there was no estimate on how long it would take for her to wake up. Her throat was marked only by a bruise in the shape of a hand. For some reason, Angelus hadn't killed her.

On to 'The Most Dangerous Prey'

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