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Disclaimer: I'm not Joss. I'm not Fox. I'm not Mutant Enemy. I'm not the WB. Therefore I can't claim these characters. But maybe Joss will give them to me as a Christmas present, because he loves me so much... Okay, let me have my delusions. They don't hurt anyone.
Author's Notes: I didn't get to do a Christmas fic last year, so I decided I'd do it this year. Buffy starts remembering the events of 'I Will Remember You' and she goes to L.A. thinking it was prophetic, when it is all a plan to reunite her with Angel. Cryptic enough for you?? This is for Rose, who sent me the lyrics and uploaded the pics on my site for me. I don't know what I'd do without her... Let me know what you think, I've developed a major craving for some virtual chocolate...
Prologue
The female Oracle looked at her counterpart in disgust before turning her gaze back to the glowing ball before them. They were messengers of The Powers That Be, powerful in their own right yet mere servants to the greater good. This often caused a conflict between conscious and duty, and that was what was resulting right now.
"How can you think that they are better off this way?" she demanded, gesturing to the glowing orb. It was not an actual orb, of course, for the Oracles had no use for material things. It had been made of air and earth, natural elements like the Oracles themselves. It shimmered in the large open space they occupied, the window to the mortal world that was at their disposal. She had called on it now to emphasize her point.
A blond girl sat among people who were obviously her friends. While they were laughing and joking, she was quiet and pensive, her chin in her palm and a look in her eye that betrayed the fact that although she was there, her thoughts were not. She was beautiful, yet dangerous, and she carried herself as such.
She was the Slayer.
And she was not doing well.
The orb split suddenly into two separate balls of light, and the new one was filled with the face of a dark man working for his redemption. The image displayed showed him fighting off a demon, a young woman cowering behind him in fear. He was brutal, yet not more so than needed. He was doing his job.
He was known as Angel.
And he, too, was not doing well.
"They are fine without each other. This matter of love does not concern us," he spat, turning away from the orbs in disgust. The place they resided was filled with nothing, and yet it was filled with everything. It was not heaven, it was not hell. It was supernatural and extraordinary and beautiful all at once.
It was their home.
"You seem to focus only on the love they share. Why not focus on the skills they possess as Warriors?" she replied calmly, her eyes fixed on the two.
"Their skill has nothing to do with this," her counterpart said. He was angry that she felt the need to interfere here, where she had no place to. This matter had been closed almost a month ago.
"Ah, that is where you are blind," she said wisely. Touching his arm, she forced him to look at her. "Their skill to fight comes from the will they have, and that will is close to being broken. Can you not see that they are miserable without each other?"
He sighed. "The matter is out of our hands. The Powers have the final say and they do not agree with you. And, I must confess, neither do I. If they were true Warriors, they would carry on no matter what happened. They are weakened by their love."
"You are wrong," she said violently, her anger making the facade around them shimmer in warning. "They are made stronger by their love. Why am I the only one that sees this?"
"You have always been compassionate when it comes to lovers, and that is your downfall," he retorted. "This matter does NOT concern us."
"If they are not reunited, they will die. It has been foreseen," she said.
"Then it is their responsibility to reunite themselves. We have no power over this," he told her, linking his hand in hers. They were two halves of one whole, the same as this pair of star-crossed lovers. Together, they were invincible. Apart, they retained some of their power, but they completed each other and that kind of bond was a different kind of power all together.
"Maybe if we just pushed..." she suggested, raising a golden brow at him.
"What do you propose?" he asked skeptically, crossing his arms over his chest. She took a step over to the orbs that still glowed brightly and sighed. Looking down, she was able to concentrate better. There was no floor, for the Oracles did not need something solid to stay upright on. They did not float, either, but merely existed.
"Let her remember," she said suddenly. "Not completely, but through dreams let her remember what happened. The fighting, him coming here, the Mohra demon. She could interpret them differently, perhaps as hints to the future. She will go to him if she thinks he is in danger--or perhaps for answers. Either way, they will be together..."
"And what if she does? We cannot turn him human for her," he argued.
"If we show The Powers how powerful they are together, rather than apart, surely they will realize the mistake they've made and promptly fix it."
"I know you have something else up your sleeve," he said in defeat, "and The Powers will probably have my head for letting you do this. But do what you will."
The female smiled in triumphant, her plan put into action instantly.
And so the dreams began.