Trained Slayers. I think that they want to kidnap Buffy and keep her until she dies.
Or turn her into a vampire?
I don’t know. I think that would be considered as death. But if it’s Maya, she’ll make a guilt trip or…
Angel winced a little and Maya said, “What’s wrong, Angelus? Feeling pain already?” She slapped him hard enough to break his cheekbone and hissed, “That’s something to wince about. I promise, your death will be quick as long as you cooperate. But if you don’t, it’ll take all night.” Then she grabbed the collar of his jacket, tossed him forward, and growled, “Get moving before I send the Slayer your dust.”
Angel? It was Cira.
It’s Maya.
Dammit. I can’t merge right…
Cira?
She fainted. Buffy said mentally.
CIRA! Angel roared. WAKE UP!
Huh? Wha… I… I… AHHHH!
Angel didn’t have to ask. The pain rolled thought him and he winced and dropped to his knees.
At once, two people came over and roughly picked him up. “Angelus…” Maya hissed in his face.
Something settled over him and something caught his eye. It was a stake, and it raised and plunged through the thugs that were holding him. “Next one to move gets it,” a voice said.
Maya narrowed her eyes and tried to locate the voice.
The thing that had settled over him rushed out and tipped Maya over. It came back, and settled to the right of him.
Don’t worry. I know what I’m doing.
Cira?
Be quiet.
Words came out of nowhere.
“Leave him alone!”
Maya picked herself up and said, “Nice trick, Angelus, trying to project your voice. But it won’t save you.”
“I’m not Angel. I’m Cira, one of his soulmates.”
“Sure.”
“Don’t speak to me like that.” With that, a ghost image of Cira materialized.
“I’m the one who’s controlling the stake. Leave him alone, Maya, or I’ll stake you.”
Maya relaxed and her body shifted shape. “You’re a pathetic human,” she spat.
“Get your vampires right,” she snarled, her fangs emerging. “I’m lamia. And don’t speak to me like that.”
“You’re still a kid.”
Her eyes narrowed. “I’m 64.”
What?
Lamia age 1 year for each human 4.
“Excuse me,” she said viciously.
“By the Old Powers, I, Cira of the lamia, command you to leave. By the Power that binds this world together, leave now, and I promise not to hurt you.”
Several moments went by. Cira seemed to be getting more solid. Then he heard Maya say, “I’ll go, and will not hurt Angelus.”
“Stay true to your promise.”
“I promise, by the Old Powers.”
“Get out of here.”
Cira looked at her back as she left, then started to disappear.
“What going on?”
Don’t worry, Angel. I have no idea, but if I hadn’t been here…
I know. Cira disappeared completely. Angel reached out with his mind and touched a just waking up Cira.
Angel? I had the weirdest dream.
I know. It happened.
Suddenly, Cira was wide awake. What?
Was it about Maya?
Yes. And…
I know what happened.
Ang…el…
Cira?
Don’t… feel… well…
Cira?
She fainted again. I think she won’t be waking up any time soon. Buffy sounded worried.
Coma?
Yes.
Angel saw that the sun was about to come up. I’ll be there once night falls.
It’s sunrise?
Yes.
I gotta get home. I have school today.
That night, Buffy and Angel were walking in the lamia’s hiding place. They got the news at the same time.
“Cira’s in the hospital. She’s in a coma.”
They rushed to the hospital. Outside of intensive care were a few doctors.
“Family?” one asked formally when they told them who they were there to see.
“No,” Buffy said shortly.
“Then you can’t get in.”
“We’re her soulmates,” Angel said just as shortly
“Soulmates?”
“You can get in,” one of the female doctors said quickly. “The soulmate bond is almost like the family bond,” she explained to the others.
Inside, Cira didn’t look well. She kept twisting around, and the monitors with her vital signs didn’t give promising signs. Sure, her heartbeat and breathing rate were less then a human’s, but it was low even for the lamia. It hurt both of them to see Cira like this so much that they left.
On the way back to where he lived, Angel noticed someone laying in a gutter. It looked a lot like Cira, but it was gone the next moment. He dismissed it as a trick of the light.
The next night, Angel found a note taped to his door. It read: Cira died. His grief was so overwhelming that he started to cry. His mind reached out and touched Buffy’s. She didn’t send a thought, just sent grief and pain.
Weeks later, they were at the Bronze. Angel was looking at a wall bleakly when a tap came on his shoulder.
“Hi. I’m new here, and I was wondering if you want to dance,” a familiar voice intoned seriously behind him.
He turned around, hopefully. “Cira?” he gasped out in surprise when he saw the speaker.
“How’d you know my name?”
“Lucky guess.”
Little did he know that Cira had come back because of him. If one of the lamia die, they can come back to life if they recognized their soulmate, but their memory’s wiped, and they’re human.
“What’s your name?”
“Angel.”
“Nice name. Well, you already know my name, so I don’t have to introduce myself.” “Only Love”, by Selena, started to play, and Cira said, “This is my favorite song. Wanna dance?”
“If you’re new, where’d you come from?” Angel asked as they went out to the dance floor.
“I really don’t know. I woke up in a hospital one day, and I had no idea where I was, or even who I was. One of the nurses said that they had found me laying in a gutter, and I was pretty beat up. They named me Cira. I just got out yesterday, totally healed.”
He gently probed her mind as they danced. It was Cira, but her mind was totally wiped. “Have anything unusual about you that you’d like to share?”
“Not really.”
He didn’t encounter bloodlust. She was completely human. Angel didn’t care. She still had her power, and they’re still soulmates. “I feel like I know you already,” Cira said softly.
“So do I.”
I’ll start building memory with you. I promise, they’ll be good ones.
“Did you say something?”
Angel had forgotten about the telepathic bond. “Yes, but I don’t think you want to hear it.”
I know this was pretty mushy in parts. But this was about soulmates, and I suppose it’s going to be mushy. My next story won’t be as mushy, I hope.