Caela slept through the rest of the early morning on through early afternoon. Her mind and her body were exhausted. She feared that she would have to be the one to watch Orin die. Of course that's what she assumed would happen to her. She had never seen it like the Powers That Be had done before with the other things that she was given knowledge about. This was something that was left in the dark, something that was left for her to find out. She wasn't used to having mind games done on her. She hated it even. Her whole life she was able to sense things or see things of what had or has yet to happen. She wanted to tear someone's eyes out of their sockets she was so frustrated with the thought that she was NOW supposed to discover something on her own. She was being tested of her dependency. She would live, just not honorably with the reminder that she doesn't know what will happen.

Pike, Cordelia and Wesley had arrived to the house three hours after the drama. They were now helping out in the explanations to Orin about what the hell was going on. They knew it was going to take a lot of proof if the boy was naive. Thankfully Orin was very understanding to the whole thing. He nodded when they asked if he understood about the vampires and demons that lurked in the night, about the witches, the apocalypses and the continuous End Of Days.

"So, you see, Caela, Angel and Buffy are said to stand up against this....God and take him down before he does any more shit." Pike was trying his best to clean up his language. It was improving, yes, but it still needed a little work.

"Ok, but now I have a question...Why does she think that I am the one?" He looked at everyone that surrounded him at the kitchen table and waited for someone to come out with the answer.

No one spoke. Not because they didn't know, but because they knew that the prophecy meant that he was to die, and that alone was a touchy and hard subject to have to talk about with the boy.

Cordelia and Wesley had arrive home with the rest of the Scooby Gang and Giles, who had arrived an hour earlier, stood up and walked around the table, cleaning his glasses. He was dodging the truth a little, that, everyone could see. "Someone...with the ....strength and will can only fight this particular evil. One who has-"

"Heart." Caela finished for him, she was changed in a pair of running clothes from her new wardrobe and standing in the entrance of the kitchen, open to anything that he may say to her, whether it be on his part or against her. She felt very vulnerable at the moment. She knew she would get emotional.

She walked in with excellent grace. Pike stood up and gestured for her to sit in his seat, she took him on his offer and smiled in thanks. She tucked her feet under her so that she sat in a tight Indian style position. "The only reason why you were...." She swallowed a small lump in her throat. "chosen ta play dis part in dis important battle is because you weren't corrupted by your past. People have stomped on you for centuries, yer soul I mean, and not once have ya ever returned that hatred on someone else. Only someone with a pure heart can do this. You are..." She looked away from him and at the table, nothing in particular, just at the wood itself. "You are a diversion, so that I don't get hurt." A tear slid down her right cheek and landed quickly on her right hand in her lap. She knew it sounded like a selfish reason for someone to risk or even end their lives for, and she was ashamed of it. She looked at him with tears in her eyes, waiting to be released like the first. She held them at bay. He just stared at her and contemplated what was being said.

Finally, after a few minutes of thinking he spoke up in the dead silent room. "Why are you crying?" It was an out of the blue question as he leaned into the table to speak to Caela directly. Caela let out a laugh at first, but then resulted in a convulsing sobbing cry. He moved out of his chair and took her in his arms as she cried in her seat with him on his knees on the floor. She tugged on his shirt as if she were trying to crawl away from the world that she was stuck in. Orin was able to calm her and shush her into a more comprehending state. Everyone just watched, they put in no attempt into helping him help her, nor did anyone else step in to replace him. Orin was appreciative for that.

Caela pulled her head up and kept her eyes on the water stain that she had put on his dark blue tee shirt. Orin gave her the most sympathetic look she had ever seen, she was pretty sure that he had never given this look to anyone else as well. This was new to him. He had never seen someone so distraught in his life, and to make it worse he did not understand the reasons for their pain. He waited patiently, watching her collect herself.

Taking in a deep breath, she began again. "Ya are ta die, and I do not think I will be able to live with meself." She swallowed a sob, keeping her face straight as she watched him absorb what she was telling him.

"Why wouldn't you be able to live with yourself? You're not to do anything wrong are you? Aren't you supposed to save the world or something? Isn't that what this is all about?" He looked around the room, watching everyone give fake smiles in a "yes" response. Turning back to Caela, seeing that her composure was breaking again. "Shhh....Please....Please, don't cry." Not only was it new for her to hear these words from someone, especially from someone of whom she had just met about a day ago, but Orin was surprised that he was even saying such a thing. He didn't know himself that someone can hurt him with just crying.

She took a deep breath and let the aching ease it's way out of her system, allowing herself to speak again. "Yes, dat is what we are all destined to do." She looked deep into his eyes, making sure that he would be able to handle what she was about to tell him. Finalizing her estimate change to a statement, she continued. "But we, Angel, Buffy...." She looked at her guardians around the table and then returned to Orin. "Me, we are fated to live." She placed her hands on either side of his face, her palms cupping his cheeks. "You are not."

She watched him rerun everything that had been said to him regarding what he was to do, how he was to do it, and what was to come of him in the end. He took a deep breath and looked around at the faces in the room, taking each one into consideration, taking his time to read each one's expressions. He then placed his hands over Caela's and slid them off of his face as he stood up and walked around to the living room, opening the front door. He did nothing but stand there, his hands at his sides, his head aimed straight forward, watching. Watching the world go by. As he took another deep breath he turned around slowly and walked back to the entrance of the dinning room, looking to everyone again.

He had everyone's attention, all eyes, all ears, and souls. After a minute of standing before them he spoke. "I accept it." He looked to Caela, dead in the eyes with a straight face that he had never held before. "I will go with you." To Giles and Wesley this time. "No resistance." To Pike and Cordelia. "And I will fight." Buffy's eyes grew wide, as well as Angel's as he turned to them with the last said. Before they could protest he held his hand in front of them, palm outwards, cutting them off. "I don't mind dying for the world. But I at least want to give this thing some damage before I go." He then took a small step towards Buffy, giving her a soft look. "Teach me to fight. Please. Let me kick SOME ass before I go."

She thought about it, looked to Angel, then Giles and finally to Caela. She gave Buffy a small smile and nod in approval and then looked back up to Orin. Buffy did the same and pressed her lips tight, releasing her tension eventually with a deep sigh, she nodded to Orin in response.

Part Eleven

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