This story is the last of my *world* trilogy. It's time to tie it all together.
TITLE: The World Turns Full Circle.
AUTHOR: Kim
E-MAIL: [email protected].
DISCLAIMER: I don't own them, I don't want them, they make me cry too much. Joss and his people do the owning thing
SPOILERS: Everything, just to be on the safe side.
TIMELINE: S5/S2
FEEDBACK: Please.
RATING: PG
AUTHOR'S NOTES: AU fic.. This takes place after my stories The end of the world, as we know it and A Whole World of Regret
The World Turns Full Circle.
Prologue
Five years have passed since the PTB diverted a meteorite from crashing into and destroying the earth, instead a chain of events - instigated by Glory and Angelus - brought about the *End of days*
After the battle was won, life for those left behind was never to be the same again.
Leaving a broken hearted Slayer behind, an unconscious Angel was whisked away to England and restored with a brand new existence. The vampire known as Angel/Angelus was washed away forever and in his place a twenty-seven year old English man called Liam Pryce was born.
TPTB were as good as their word about rewarding the soul and within a few weeks of arriving in London, to all those concerned, it was as if Liam Pryce had never been anybody else. Memories of a happy childhood replaced the nightmares of reality and, so that he wouldn't be totally alone in this new world, memories of Wesley were installed as part his family. Only Wesley and his friends in Sunnydale would remember the truth about the vampire's past. Buffy Summers had been quite adamant that her memories would not be taken away from her and, after her sacrifice, the Oracles had agreed it was not necessary.
She alone would carry the pain of separation and since she accepted this, TPTB were happy to leave things as they were.
So, once Angel's new body had finally recovered from the ordeal of re-birth, the twenty-seven-year-old human simply woke up one morning and accepted the memories of his new life without question. To all concerned Liam Pryce had never been anything other than.......... Liam Pryce.
This story picks up five years later.
Part One.
London.
2006
Angel gazed blearily at the computer screen trying desperately to make his tired brain remember exactly which of the artefacts listed had to be included for the following week's exhibition. Removing his designer framed glasses; the thirty-two year old research manager rubbed the tension from his strained eyes with a weary but satisfied sigh of relief.
Turning away from the screen, Angel stood up from his chair and stretched the cramp from his long muscular legs. It really had been one hell of a hard week, but that wasn't unusual in his line of work. The week before had been just as bad, and the month before that, and etc etc.
Angel like hard work, in fact he thrived on it but, as much as he loved his job, sometimes the pressure seemed to swallow up every waking hour. Everyday was the same, work, work, work and if he was really lucky, a little sleep at the end of it. However, that was the price he was willing to pay to do a job that he loved. The paper work was a pain but he got the chance to travel all around the world visiting excavation sites and museums and that alone made up for the drudgery.
Walking over to the large window behind his desk, he stood quietly letting the sights of a busy London rush hour wash over him. So many forgettable faces all heading in different directions, each so tied up in they're own little world that they hardly noticed the person standing two feet away. The twenty-first century had turned human life into a frantic rat race and, from the evidence that passed by his window, it was spiraling more and more out of control, heading on a destructive path that would one day implode. Liam Pryce didn't much like the hustle and bustle of this century, he was much happier surrounded with dusty old artefacts from the past. His friends at school had joked he was born out of his time and, on days like these, he tended to agree with them.
The small knock on the office door brought his attention away from the outside world and back into the warmth of his office.
"Mr. Pryce, I'm off home now, I just wanted to remind you about the underground strike tonight. The buses are really crowded and it looks like you might have trouble getting home" Angel's personal assistant popped her head around the door with a warm friendly smile.
"Thanks, Marie. It completely slipped my mind" Angel sighed heavily at the prospect of walking the five miles home.
It was at times like these that he missed being able to drive his car to work, but nobody drove into the city these days. Too many cars and far too much pollution had brought about the ban the previous year. Now public transport had the upper hand and periodically brought the capital's work force to its knees. It really was becoming a crazy world.
"Maybe you shouldn't stay so late tonight" the woman offered again knowing that if *Liam* didn't leave soon he would have no chance of getting a ride home.
Marie Temple was fifty-two years old, married with three grown children. She had worked at the British museum as a personal assistant for over twenty years and, in all that time, she could honestly say that she had never enjoyed her work more. Liam Pryce was the perfect employer and the P.A fussed over him more like a son than a superior.
Marie was always reminding the handsome young man that he needed to eat a better diet, he needed to take a lot more rest and at thirty-two years old, he seriously needed to find himself a wife. The nagging always came with genuine affection so it was taken as it was offered. Angel would laugh back that he ate when he was hungry, he rested when his eyes no longer stayed open and as far as a wife was concerned, how was that possible when the best ones were already taken. Knowing the reply would make her blush and keep her off his back, the subject was always changed for another week.
Marie thought it was a terrible shame that such a nice young man was so often alone, she knew many of the female staff at the museum would have happily volunteered for the job of Mrs. Pryce. At a little over six feet tall, with chiseled good looks, deep-set dark eyes, and an athletically muscular physique, to say that Angel stood out in the crowd would have been a gross understatement. Angel left the crowd standing far behind and the fact that he didn't even notice only added to the charm.
When he had first stated at the museum almost five years ago he had dated a few of his colleagues but it had never lasted longer than a few weeks. The rejected girls all accused him off being cold and afraid of commitment but Marie knew that was not the case. There was sadness about the man that she couldn't quite put her finger on, it was as if he was looking for something but didn't quite know what it was. Liam Pryce wasn't so much lonely as alone, and as she grew to understand him better, the Personal Assistant accepted that the man actually preferred it that way.
"Will you be going to the Head of Departments' party tomorrow?" she asked as she buttoned her coat for her own journey home.
"No, my cousin Wesley's back in town. I have this rule that family always comes first and considering he's the only family I have, that rule is not too hard keep " Angel's genuine smile reached deep into his eyes as he leant over for his briefcase.
Wesley had been out of the country for three months this time and it would be good catching up all the news. One of these days he really would have to visit the United States and see what was keeping his only family member away for such long periods of time. Angel had his suspicions, probably a girl and knowing Wesley as well as he did, it was probably a very pretty girl. The thought of his cousin in love made him happy.
"Have a nice weekend then" Marie's smile broke through his musing as she turned and left the office.
After his assistant had left, Angel filled his case with unfinished paper work and decided to call it day. If he couldn't get the train home, he was in for a hell of a long walk. And, just looking out the window told him the weather was not going to be kind to anyone walking tonight.
Stepping into the cold night air, he pulled up the collar on his thick dark overcoat, curled his fingers tightly around the handle of his briefcase and walked in the direction of Tottenham Court road tube station
Marie had been right about their journey home; the buses were all filled to capacity with people imitating sardines. On reaching the underground station, Angel found the gates heavily locked. With nothing else for it, he dropped his head against the bitter wind and started the long walk home.
One hour later, depressed and frozen to the marrow, Angel turned off of the heavily lit main street and headed down a darkened alley he knew would cut his journey by half a mile. As his soft footsteps trod carefully through the darkness a bloodcurdling scream filled the alley. Angel recognised the cry of a woman and without even thinking, he sprinted forward to help.
A few yards down, a small-terrified girl was frantically fighting off her attacker but it was painfully obvious that the man, holding her by the throat, was far too strong for his victim. Angel seethed with rage at the sight; he raised his briefcase and brought it down hard across the attacker's back. The force of the impact should have knocked the bastard out cold, but instead the large dark figure dropped the girl, turned straight at Angel and growled.
"What the hell?" Angel stepped back in surprise at seeing what he could have sworn were yellow eyes, stalked menacingly towards him. Before he got a chance to take a closer look, the small victim stepped forward and thrust a large wooden cross at her attacker. The figure with yellow eyes growled once more and then turned, fleeing into the night.
Watching the threat disappear, the frightened girl closed her eyes and slumped back against the wall with a muffed sob of relief.
For a second Angel found he couldn't move. But, realising that the girl was possibly hurt, he quickly forgot all thoughts of those yellow eyes and turned his full attention on helping her.
"Are you all right? What on earth did he want, money?" Angel asked as he walked the young woman towards the safety of the well-lit street ahead.
"I'm fine, thank you for your help, you were very brave" she looked up and smiled a flash of brilliant white teeth.
Now they were in a better light, Angel could see into the girl's face for the first time. She was young, probably still in her teens and yet her worldly eyes belied her age. With thick dark hair and eyes the colour of ebony the word *gypsy* whispered into Angel 's head without even thinking it.
"You really should be more careful, Miss. It's not always safe to be out on your own... Hey, did he bite you?" Angel 's eyes fell onto the two small puncture marks on her slim throat. "Good God, the guy must have been high on something"
** The damn junkie must have been really desperate to attack a child** he reached into his coat pocket and pulled out a crisp white hankie. Passing it to the girl he watched as she pressed it to her neck
"You saved me from the darkness, my family will bless you" the large black eyes sparkled with gratitude as her blood stained the fresh white linen.
"Do you need to see a doctor? I really think we should report this to the police" Angel asked with concern. Although the bleeding seemed to have stopped he was worried about the possibility of delayed shock.
**You read about it all the time, how the victim seemed fine one moment and then.....**
Before he got a chance to complete his thought, Angel was taken completely by surprise as the girl raised a small slender hand and with a single stroke of her fingertips, brushed his cheek.
"You have the face of an Angel, a young face but it hides an old soul" her eyes locked on to the handsome stranger but she immediately felt all was not as it seemed. There was something very false with the picture in front of her, but it was not an evil facade. The soul of this man was of the purest form; not a single sin stained his essence. That in itself was what was wrong.
Angel stood and watched in fascination as the girl lifted his hand and lightly traced her finger across his skin, exploring the fine lines that criss-crossed his palm.
"You have a very long life line, unusually long" her small voice whispered into the cold night air, her warm breath frosting as she spoke.
Instinct told Angel to withdraw his hand; fortune telling wasn't something he had a great deal of time for, but as the young girl changed direction he seemed drawn to her words.
"Your heart line is badly broken, it's torn and scattered to the winds of time." A deep sadness entered the voice at witnessing such pain.
Angel didn't move, he knew without question that she was mistaken. He had never had his heart broken because sadly, he had never been in love.
"Her world is empty without you, the sacrifice was brave but the hunger never leaves her heart" the gypsy girl continued to read the lines on Angel's palm with an almost quizzical expression. The more she read about the brave stranger the less she understood.
"Who needs me?" Angel found himself whispering the question and then cursed himself for being so stupid.
**This was all nonsense. He was cold, hungry and he really should be heading towards home **
"She still fights but she is all alone, there is something missing from both of your worlds" the girl abruptly dropped Angel 's hand and pressed her own palm flat against his chest. Looking directly into his eyes, the seriousness in her voice startled him.
"You shouldn't be here, it wasn't your choice"
Angel shuddered and then pulled himself together. It was ridiculous that such a small girl could affect him so powerfully. Then again, that was all part of a gypsy's charm so maybe he shouldn't have been so surprised after all.
Stepping back, he watched her small hand fall away without further protest
"Are you sure you didn't knock your head?" Angel asked as sensitively as he could, the girl was making little sense and he feared that maybe she was more hurt than he had first thought.
"You are a good man and I bless you " the girl reached up and pressed her lips to his cheek but instead of the expected kiss she whispered against his ear.
" Believe in your heart even when your head refuses to accept the inconceivable " on that last note she turned and disappeared into the night.
Angel stood and watched until she was completely out of sight.
**You saved me from the darkness, my family will bless you** for no apparent reason the words returned and no matter how hard he tried to shake them, they danced in his head for the rest of the cold journey home.
TBC
TITLE: The World Turns Full Circle.
AUTHOR: Kim
E-MAIL: [email protected].
DISCLAIMER: I don't own them, I don't want them, they make me cry too much. Joss and his people do the owning thing
SPOILERS: Everything, just to be on the safe side.
TIMELINE: S5/S2
FEEDBACK: Please.
RATING: PG
AUTHOR'S NOTES: AU fic.. This takes place after my stories The end of the world, as we know it and A Whole World of Regret
The World Turns Full Circle.
Prologue
Five years have passed since the PTB diverted a meteorite from crashing into and destroying the earth, instead a chain of events - instigated by Glory and Angelus - brought about the *End of days*
After the battle was won, life for those left behind was never to be the same again.
Leaving a broken hearted Slayer behind, an unconscious Angel was whisked away to England and restored with a brand new existence. The vampire known as Angel/Angelus was washed away forever and in his place a twenty-seven year old English man called Liam Pryce was born.
TPTB were as good as their word about rewarding the soul and within a few weeks of arriving in London, to all those concerned, it was as if Liam Pryce had never been anybody else. Memories of a happy childhood replaced the nightmares of reality and, so that he wouldn't be totally alone in this new world, memories of Wesley were installed as part his family. Only Wesley and his friends in Sunnydale would remember the truth about the vampire's past. Buffy Summers had been quite adamant that her memories would not be taken away from her and, after her sacrifice, the Oracles had agreed it was not necessary.
She alone would carry the pain of separation and since she accepted this, TPTB were happy to leave things as they were.
So, once Angel's new body had finally recovered from the ordeal of re-birth, the twenty-seven-year-old human simply woke up one morning and accepted the memories of his new life without question. To all concerned Liam Pryce had never been anything other than.......... Liam Pryce.
This story picks up five years later.
Part One.
London.
2006
Angel gazed blearily at the computer screen trying desperately to make his tired brain remember exactly which of the artefacts listed had to be included for the following week's exhibition. Removing his designer framed glasses; the thirty-two year old research manager rubbed the tension from his strained eyes with a weary but satisfied sigh of relief.
Turning away from the screen, Angel stood up from his chair and stretched the cramp from his long muscular legs. It really had been one hell of a hard week, but that wasn't unusual in his line of work. The week before had been just as bad, and the month before that, and etc etc.
Angel like hard work, in fact he thrived on it but, as much as he loved his job, sometimes the pressure seemed to swallow up every waking hour. Everyday was the same, work, work, work and if he was really lucky, a little sleep at the end of it. However, that was the price he was willing to pay to do a job that he loved. The paper work was a pain but he got the chance to travel all around the world visiting excavation sites and museums and that alone made up for the drudgery.
Walking over to the large window behind his desk, he stood quietly letting the sights of a busy London rush hour wash over him. So many forgettable faces all heading in different directions, each so tied up in they're own little world that they hardly noticed the person standing two feet away. The twenty-first century had turned human life into a frantic rat race and, from the evidence that passed by his window, it was spiraling more and more out of control, heading on a destructive path that would one day implode. Liam Pryce didn't much like the hustle and bustle of this century, he was much happier surrounded with dusty old artefacts from the past. His friends at school had joked he was born out of his time and, on days like these, he tended to agree with them.
The small knock on the office door brought his attention away from the outside world and back into the warmth of his office.
"Mr. Pryce, I'm off home now, I just wanted to remind you about the underground strike tonight. The buses are really crowded and it looks like you might have trouble getting home" Angel's personal assistant popped her head around the door with a warm friendly smile.
"Thanks, Marie. It completely slipped my mind" Angel sighed heavily at the prospect of walking the five miles home.
It was at times like these that he missed being able to drive his car to work, but nobody drove into the city these days. Too many cars and far too much pollution had brought about the ban the previous year. Now public transport had the upper hand and periodically brought the capital's work force to its knees. It really was becoming a crazy world.
"Maybe you shouldn't stay so late tonight" the woman offered again knowing that if *Liam* didn't leave soon he would have no chance of getting a ride home.
Marie Temple was fifty-two years old, married with three grown children. She had worked at the British museum as a personal assistant for over twenty years and, in all that time, she could honestly say that she had never enjoyed her work more. Liam Pryce was the perfect employer and the P.A fussed over him more like a son than a superior.
Marie was always reminding the handsome young man that he needed to eat a better diet, he needed to take a lot more rest and at thirty-two years old, he seriously needed to find himself a wife. The nagging always came with genuine affection so it was taken as it was offered. Angel would laugh back that he ate when he was hungry, he rested when his eyes no longer stayed open and as far as a wife was concerned, how was that possible when the best ones were already taken. Knowing the reply would make her blush and keep her off his back, the subject was always changed for another week.
Marie thought it was a terrible shame that such a nice young man was so often alone, she knew many of the female staff at the museum would have happily volunteered for the job of Mrs. Pryce. At a little over six feet tall, with chiseled good looks, deep-set dark eyes, and an athletically muscular physique, to say that Angel stood out in the crowd would have been a gross understatement. Angel left the crowd standing far behind and the fact that he didn't even notice only added to the charm.
When he had first stated at the museum almost five years ago he had dated a few of his colleagues but it had never lasted longer than a few weeks. The rejected girls all accused him off being cold and afraid of commitment but Marie knew that was not the case. There was sadness about the man that she couldn't quite put her finger on, it was as if he was looking for something but didn't quite know what it was. Liam Pryce wasn't so much lonely as alone, and as she grew to understand him better, the Personal Assistant accepted that the man actually preferred it that way.
"Will you be going to the Head of Departments' party tomorrow?" she asked as she buttoned her coat for her own journey home.
"No, my cousin Wesley's back in town. I have this rule that family always comes first and considering he's the only family I have, that rule is not too hard keep " Angel's genuine smile reached deep into his eyes as he leant over for his briefcase.
Wesley had been out of the country for three months this time and it would be good catching up all the news. One of these days he really would have to visit the United States and see what was keeping his only family member away for such long periods of time. Angel had his suspicions, probably a girl and knowing Wesley as well as he did, it was probably a very pretty girl. The thought of his cousin in love made him happy.
"Have a nice weekend then" Marie's smile broke through his musing as she turned and left the office.
After his assistant had left, Angel filled his case with unfinished paper work and decided to call it day. If he couldn't get the train home, he was in for a hell of a long walk. And, just looking out the window told him the weather was not going to be kind to anyone walking tonight.
Stepping into the cold night air, he pulled up the collar on his thick dark overcoat, curled his fingers tightly around the handle of his briefcase and walked in the direction of Tottenham Court road tube station
Marie had been right about their journey home; the buses were all filled to capacity with people imitating sardines. On reaching the underground station, Angel found the gates heavily locked. With nothing else for it, he dropped his head against the bitter wind and started the long walk home.
One hour later, depressed and frozen to the marrow, Angel turned off of the heavily lit main street and headed down a darkened alley he knew would cut his journey by half a mile. As his soft footsteps trod carefully through the darkness a bloodcurdling scream filled the alley. Angel recognised the cry of a woman and without even thinking, he sprinted forward to help.
A few yards down, a small-terrified girl was frantically fighting off her attacker but it was painfully obvious that the man, holding her by the throat, was far too strong for his victim. Angel seethed with rage at the sight; he raised his briefcase and brought it down hard across the attacker's back. The force of the impact should have knocked the bastard out cold, but instead the large dark figure dropped the girl, turned straight at Angel and growled.
"What the hell?" Angel stepped back in surprise at seeing what he could have sworn were yellow eyes, stalked menacingly towards him. Before he got a chance to take a closer look, the small victim stepped forward and thrust a large wooden cross at her attacker. The figure with yellow eyes growled once more and then turned, fleeing into the night.
Watching the threat disappear, the frightened girl closed her eyes and slumped back against the wall with a muffed sob of relief.
For a second Angel found he couldn't move. But, realising that the girl was possibly hurt, he quickly forgot all thoughts of those yellow eyes and turned his full attention on helping her.
"Are you all right? What on earth did he want, money?" Angel asked as he walked the young woman towards the safety of the well-lit street ahead.
"I'm fine, thank you for your help, you were very brave" she looked up and smiled a flash of brilliant white teeth.
Now they were in a better light, Angel could see into the girl's face for the first time. She was young, probably still in her teens and yet her worldly eyes belied her age. With thick dark hair and eyes the colour of ebony the word *gypsy* whispered into Angel 's head without even thinking it.
"You really should be more careful, Miss. It's not always safe to be out on your own... Hey, did he bite you?" Angel 's eyes fell onto the two small puncture marks on her slim throat. "Good God, the guy must have been high on something"
** The damn junkie must have been really desperate to attack a child** he reached into his coat pocket and pulled out a crisp white hankie. Passing it to the girl he watched as she pressed it to her neck
"You saved me from the darkness, my family will bless you" the large black eyes sparkled with gratitude as her blood stained the fresh white linen.
"Do you need to see a doctor? I really think we should report this to the police" Angel asked with concern. Although the bleeding seemed to have stopped he was worried about the possibility of delayed shock.
**You read about it all the time, how the victim seemed fine one moment and then.....**
Before he got a chance to complete his thought, Angel was taken completely by surprise as the girl raised a small slender hand and with a single stroke of her fingertips, brushed his cheek.
"You have the face of an Angel, a young face but it hides an old soul" her eyes locked on to the handsome stranger but she immediately felt all was not as it seemed. There was something very false with the picture in front of her, but it was not an evil facade. The soul of this man was of the purest form; not a single sin stained his essence. That in itself was what was wrong.
Angel stood and watched in fascination as the girl lifted his hand and lightly traced her finger across his skin, exploring the fine lines that criss-crossed his palm.
"You have a very long life line, unusually long" her small voice whispered into the cold night air, her warm breath frosting as she spoke.
Instinct told Angel to withdraw his hand; fortune telling wasn't something he had a great deal of time for, but as the young girl changed direction he seemed drawn to her words.
"Your heart line is badly broken, it's torn and scattered to the winds of time." A deep sadness entered the voice at witnessing such pain.
Angel didn't move, he knew without question that she was mistaken. He had never had his heart broken because sadly, he had never been in love.
"Her world is empty without you, the sacrifice was brave but the hunger never leaves her heart" the gypsy girl continued to read the lines on Angel's palm with an almost quizzical expression. The more she read about the brave stranger the less she understood.
"Who needs me?" Angel found himself whispering the question and then cursed himself for being so stupid.
**This was all nonsense. He was cold, hungry and he really should be heading towards home **
"She still fights but she is all alone, there is something missing from both of your worlds" the girl abruptly dropped Angel 's hand and pressed her own palm flat against his chest. Looking directly into his eyes, the seriousness in her voice startled him.
"You shouldn't be here, it wasn't your choice"
Angel shuddered and then pulled himself together. It was ridiculous that such a small girl could affect him so powerfully. Then again, that was all part of a gypsy's charm so maybe he shouldn't have been so surprised after all.
Stepping back, he watched her small hand fall away without further protest
"Are you sure you didn't knock your head?" Angel asked as sensitively as he could, the girl was making little sense and he feared that maybe she was more hurt than he had first thought.
"You are a good man and I bless you " the girl reached up and pressed her lips to his cheek but instead of the expected kiss she whispered against his ear.
" Believe in your heart even when your head refuses to accept the inconceivable " on that last note she turned and disappeared into the night.
Angel stood and watched until she was completely out of sight.
**You saved me from the darkness, my family will bless you** for no apparent reason the words returned and no matter how hard he tried to shake them, they danced in his head for the rest of the cold journey home.
TBC