((Note: ~* *~ enclose telepathic conversation. Youll understand a little bit into the story.))

Within a block of Giles's apartment, the small group was attacked by vampires. It was obvious they were master-less, because they were fresh from the grave and unskilled. They put up very little fight before being dusted by Buffy and Angel. Everyone gave a small thanks to them, even Xander, except Vera. Angel ran to his sister's side, which brought illicit twinges of jealousy to Buffy. He lifted her up and saw the rather large gash in her side.

"That's gotta hurt. C'mon, Angel, let's take her to Giles." Buffy suggested, touching his arm. He looked at her and nodded, the glance sending shivers down her spine.

His voice was so quiet, she barely heard it at all. But it was there. "Buffy, I just found my sister, I'm not loosing her now." Buffy gave him a small smile in return, and they began the one block walk to Giles's.

********************************************************************************************* Giles looked up from his research when he heard a knock on the door. He had been sure that Buffy was at the Bronze with Angel tonight, and even though she had promised to patrol before it got late, he had a feeling she wasn't going to. Which was just as well, since vampire activity had been down since Spike and Dru's death. Who ever it was knocked again, a bit harder. "Coming, coming," Giles said as he got up and walked to the door. He opened it and was shocked to see a small group of people, namely, his Slayer, Angel, Willow and Xander. And Vera, though he, of course, didn't recognize her. Angel was carrying the strange girl, and Buffy gave him an upset look.

He stepped back as he realized what they wanted. "Oh, come in, come in." Angel practically ran to Giles's couch and lay the girl down. Buffy followed close behind them and then walked to Giles's bathroom. She pulled out his first aid kit, and walked quickly back to the couch. She gently cleaned the wound as Willow explained to Giles who she what had happened. Which, of course, left out the entire part about who she was. Angel filled in for her.

Vera continued to be unconscious and Giles went into a state of shock. "You mean to tell me that this girl... oh my... how...?" He whispered loudly. It was quite a shock to learn that this girl, on his couch, was one of the legendary Eternals, though she didn't even know it, and was also Angel's only surviving relative. Things like that generally were shocks.

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A bright light surrounded Vera, and she drifted aimlessly around. Everything around her was filled with shimmering colors, every color that one could imagine. And then it all stopped swirling. Before her stood a tall pair of figures, shining gold. A man and a woman, each with rather terrifying violet eyes. With out even realizing that she had been standing, she kneeled before them, recognizing the aura they sent out. Powerful. Intense. "You have come before us, child, because it is time to warn you of your destiny." Said the man, his voice rich and deep. The woman smiled. "Stand, little one. You are of a higher position than we mere Oracles." She took Vera's chin in her hand, and without meaning to do so, Vera rose to her feet.

Then she processed what the woman had said. "Why have the Powers brought me here? I have been faithful in my duty." She ran over her past few experiences. Yes, she'd done each one exactly as she had been instructed to that night centuries ago, when she had almost died at her brother's hands. "I am innocent." The man smiled, but his smile was so different than the woman's, not warm and reassuring, but cold and slightly mocking. "She does not know the power she holds." His eyes twinkled, and Vera had the sneaking suspicion he was laughing at her on the inside.

"Power? Only that of a common witch..." She began to look even more confused than ever. What was going on?

"The Powers That Be have requested to meet you in person. We only have to warn you of what to expect." The woman's voice was gentle, calm.

"Have you heard of the Immortal Souls?" Asked the man, his voice hard, his tone contemptuous.

Vera nodded. The woman continued. "Your soul is one of them."

And in another flash of light the Oracles disappeared, and she found herself at a table, surrounded by a few vaguely familiar faces. Whistler, that jerk, was there. She hated him. Well not hated, but he aggravated her so much. So cryptic. Aeriel was seated next to him, laughing loudly. Though both were warning givers for the PTB, she was his opposite.

Further down the table was Caleb, who she'd met once through Aeriel, and Desdemona was next to him. Vera vaguely remembered meeting her, too. She knew they worked for the PTB, but didnt know how. The only other person she recognized out of the last 5 there was Tristan. She ran to him, and enveloped him in a huge hug. Tristan had a job like hers, and they were close, through telepathy, whenever they could spare a moment.

~*What's going on, Tristan?*~ She asked. She didn't want to seem stupid in front of the others, especially since she didn't know a few of them. She'd learned in her 237 years that first impressions really do count.

He grinned. ~*Sit down, baby. We'll all explain. I promise*~ She nodded, and sunk into a chair. All the chairs were different, she realized as she looked around. Whistler's was brown and mangy. She laughed at the thought. Aeriel was in a sky blue overstuffed chair. Tristan was in a deep gray velvet chair and a half. Her own was something soft and patterned all over with little red and blue flowers. It was then that she realized each chair mated it's owner's personality.

Then someone Vera knew well, as she had been one of her only ways to get assignments from the Powers, walked in. Her dress seemed to be luminous, and was something between lilac and silver in color. It was old fashioned, but pressed to state the time period it was from, not even the people in the room would have been able to say. Her golden hair was done up in a shining bundle near the top of her head, and her gray eyes sparkled. Diana, the goddess of Love and the Hunt. One of the ancient Greek Goddesses, she had been at a time, and more recently a helper to the Wiccans. She smiled at Vera, one of those radiant smiles that lights up the entire room, because the small girl was her favorite of the Immortal Souls. And today she'd learned of her true fate.

Friends and Colleagues. Today one more of our number will join us permanently." Vera's eyes scanned the room for a place where some one like herself could enter.

Diana smiled. "But first, let's see who came. Whistler?"

He gave a grunt of recognition.

She grinned, which was rather scary, as her smile was so dazzling. "Right. Aeriel?"

"Here, Dion." Answered the raven haired girl, whose eyes were something between black and silver. Only Aeriel would ever call her that. She knew it was allowed, for her.

"Caleb?"

"Aye, yeh know I'm here and yeh are putting off what--" He stopped suddenly as Desdemona clapped her hand over his mouth and hissed at him under her breath, her voice heavily laden with an Irish accent, as was his.

"Not yet. Wait, tis nae yer place to tell." He glared at her, but sat silently, twisting a lock of his blonde hair, his sapphire eyes malicious. She smiled back, her own strawberry blonde hair twisted into an intricate braid and her midnight blue eyes laughing at him.

Diana smiled. "All right, I take it that Desdemona is here as well. As for putting things off, be patient. William?"

A dark haired man with ice blue eyes looked up from the table, his voice heavy with an English accent. "Here."

"Drusilla?"

A robust looking young woman smiled at Diana. She replied in an accent strong enough to rival that of William's, "Yes?"

"Katrona?" The people that hadn't been named dwindled.

A young lady, looking to be 12 at the oldest smiled, her auburn hair plaited, her turquoise eyes twinkling. "Here."

"Alaric?"

The young man next to Katrona grinned a big goofy grin, his auburn hair, the same color as Katrona's, falling in his eyes, reminding Vera oddly of Xander. He looked to be about 17, and had the same color of twinkling eyes s Katrona. "Why are we here?"

"Ah, yes. You must be patient, as well, Alaric. Tristan?"

Vera's friend nodded, his black locks staying in place, having enough gel in them to hold them through a hurricane, and then through subsequent tornadoes, wind storms, and about 12 showers. His green eyes, grass green, were endlessly deep, but blocked all strangers from ever seeing his emotions. They reminded Vera of her brother's.

"Here, Diana."

"And finally, Vera."

She smiled unsurely. "Here. Which makes me ask...why?"

The Goddess smiled. "Child, you are one of the Immortal Souls. They are 6 pairs of souls, each bound to each other for eternity. Each pair has a meaning in life, and if they die they are reincarnated and always find each other again. Whistler and Aeriel are the Informants. Caleb and Desdemona represent Faithfulness. William and Drusilla represent Chaos. The pair grinned wickedly. "With out Chaos, there'd be nothing to fix. Katrona, or Kat, as we have all taken to calling her, and Alaric are for Prophecy and Clarity. They are for magick, usually. You and Tristan are the Savers, which may be the most important job of all."

The others murmured in agreement as she and Tristan had the grace to blush.

"But...there's supposed to be 12 Eternals. That's only 10."

"Yes, there are two more who haven't joined us because they do not know their true destiny yet. I believe you know them." A small smile played on her lips. "Angelus and Elizabeth, whom you call Buffy."

Vera gasped, but was so full of shocked things that this really failed to phase her much.

"Yes Vera. It's true. You've helped Buffy so many times in the past. I would always send you on the missions to help her, whereas Tristan was given other assignments."

Vera racked her memory, which had yet to fail her, which was rather odd in and of itself, and remembered a girl named Elsabeth. Shed been the first person Vera had helped on assignment. She'd looked very much like Buffy, when she thought about it.

"Well...I suppose this makes everything make a bit more sense." She smiled. Now she understood why she had dreams like she did, ones that showed her past lives. Now she knew just why she found Tristan so damn attractive, though he was like any other 17 or 18 year old to the rest of the world. She'd always wondered why that was.

And then the room began to fade, though to those who were still there, watching their newest best friend, saw her flicker and then disappear.

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Vera coughed, regaining consciousness. The first thing she noticed was that she had a rather large gash on her side, and it was painful. The second thing she noticed was that, where as her powers had always been there before now they were intense. It was sort of the same idea as having a light bulb hooked up to a 6 volt battery and then plugging it into an electrical socket and sending 120 volts through it: more intense, brighter, clearer.

"Shhhh...Vera, lie down." She heard her brother's voice and grinned. He'd be so exited!

Then she heard Diana's voice in the back of her mind, whispering. "It's not their time...not their time yet...They'll have their chance...wait..." Vera sobered, and Angel took that as a good sign.

"You gave us quite a scare, little one." He told her. She looked around, and her eyes caught on Giles's. With one glance, she knew he was telepathic.

~*Not yet. Please don't tell them yet. They don't need to know. Besides, Buffy and Angel ought to find out when it's their time*~ ~*As you wish, child. I've said nothing yet. Wait...Buffy and Angel?*~

She smiled. ~*Later*~

And as Vera drifted back to sleep, making sure she healed herself, she was a little happier for the past few days.

TBC