-1Armageddon

By Cesar Perez

Prologue

On an alternate plane of reality

A lone figure sat alone in a giant hall staring at a series of floating globes. The hall itself was bathed in only the glow from the globes and a fire which blazed in the fireplace behind the figure, masking his face and body from view. The room was immense in size, it could easily have held a hundred men with ease, and on many occasions it had, but that was long ago. Tapestries hung on the walls, the great banners made of silk and cloth, each held an image in it's center, some of lions or of griffins, the family crests of those who had once filled the hall. One banner out shone them all. It sat at the head of a giant circular table, blood red with gold edging, the figure also in gold, showed a great dragon holding a large sword in one giant clawed hand and in the other a single white rose. The figure stared at the dragon examining every stitch as he had done so many times over the years, and in his mind, just as he had done so many times, reflected on the meaning of the figure in the tapestry. The dragon itself was two fold, first it represented wisdom, for the dragon was a wise creature, secondly it represented a now long dead king. The sword represented the kings great strength, and the white rose, the peace that the long dead king had bought to a warring land.

Turning his attention to the series of globes that floated eight feet above the ground, the figure studied them. Figures moved inside each globe, men, women, vampires, witches and even demons. Then as so often happened these days, the figure sniffed in disgust and turned from the globes and centered his attention to a book which lay open on the table. Turning, the figure was revealed in the light. The figure was a man, or what was once a man, his beard immense and covering most of his face came down to his lower abdomen. His hair wild, tangled and dirty also hung down, so long was his hair, that he could sit on it easily. Large and dirty hands with long nails picked up the long quill feather. Dipping it into a small jar with ink, he turned to the book, the current page was already half filled with a beautiful calligraphy script.

"Where was I?" The man wondered, and quickly re-read the last few lines that he had written.

"Ah, yes."

"Tis the year of our lord 2000 and 6, the month May the day the 15th. Soon all will be lost." The figure wrote with a heavy heart, "Already the sands of time are against us, perhaps too much sand has passed through the hour glass that even if I do get out of here, it may be too late.

How easily did the manipulations happen, so subtle were they, that not one of the prophesized ones noticed it happening. Yet I must remember how skilled in that particular art, mine enemies are. Even now, they do not approach head on, with courage nor with honor. They move from side to side as would a snake, whisper into this ear and into that ear, all the time moving people as if they were chess pieces on a giant board. How easily do they seduce, and how easy they find the weakness of others and use it to their advantage. My most hated of enemies." Taking a deep breath, the man dipped the pen in the ink bottle again and continued.

"Mordred and Morgana, how I despise thee both. Thou hast destroyed what is good and hath turned it into something evil. I have not forgotten how thou manipulated a great king and bought about the destruction of a great kingdom. Nor have I forgotten the fate which thou hast handed to me. Trapped here in the ruins of this once great castle, forgotten, friendless and alone. As the years turn into decades and those decades turn into centuries, I can feel my sanity leaving me, it drops as does the sand in the hour glass. I have been strong, and I have been patient, but even the strongest and the most patient have their limits, and I have reached mine. Soon I will lose all hope altogether and drift into madness. Yet in these dark days, I am reminded that there is still time, not much time, but a little. They need to summon me, set me free, just summon me, and perhaps I can correct those things that thou hast destroyed and perhaps give back hope to the future. I admit that I am losing hope, but I have not lost it yet completely. To be summoned is all I require, great and mighty Lord in heaven, do not let thy world fall into darkness. Your champions only await thy call. Let them summon me my lord, is all I ask.

The man put down the pen and leaned back in his seat.

"Summon me." He begged softly

Chapter one: Remembering what is lost

Los Angeles, California

Regional offices of Wolfram and Hart

Archives and research department

Smoking a cigarette, Spike moved along the long narrow shelves, looking at the titles of the books as he passed by them. Pulling one off the shelf.

"How about 'Demons of the post Mesopotamian times?'" He asked bored out of his mind, wishing that all this damn research wasn't necessary, just go out and find the big and bad and kill it. That was his motto.

Wesley Wyndam Price replaced a book on the shelf as he heard the voice call out to him "No, that period is way too early. We need something from the Egyptians, third dynasty, I think." he added

"Egyptians." Spike snorted in disgust, "Third dynasty." but he kept looking

Spotting a possibility Spike snatched out another book off the shelf, the book next to it falling to the ground as well.

"Demons and Monsters of Ancient Egypt." He called out happily, hoping this meant that they could leave this giant dust filled library.

"That's it!" Wesley called back as he came around the corner. Seeing Spike holding up the book in triumph, he noticed the book on the floor. An old book by the look of it, and in bad condition..

"Careful Spike." Wesley admonished as he picked up the book handling it gently. These books are very old and are very rare.

"Who bloody cares." Spike groaned "Let's get out of here and back into the fresh air!"

Wesley shook his head, Spike would never understand. Looking at the book in his hands, he noted that there was no title on the spine. Looking at the cover Wesley's breath was taken away.

"Oh my!" he gasped

Spike feigned shock "Yes, it's another bloody book, you poof! Come on, I'm hungry!"

Wesley caressed the cover of the book, "Yes, we must get this to Angel immediately." he said excitedly

"Anything, let's just get out of here!"

Angel stared out into the moonlight brooding. His thoughts scattered throughout the cosmos, just thinking of all that he had lost in the last year. Gunn was dead, Fred was dead, his son Connor gone, Cordelia gone. Cordelia dead. That is what hurt him the most, the one that kept him up most days, wondering if she was indeed in heaven. Wondering if she even missed him at all. Wondering if she missed him as much as he missed having her here. Sometimes if he concentrated he could actually hear her voice.

"C'mon broody boy, let's go out and have a coffee, you need to get out more, you need to wear something other than black."

"What would Cordelia say if she could see me now like this." Angel wondered to himself

Yet Angel could not help himself, lately, he was just going through the motions. Angel was not particularly interested in anything anymore, not the business, not even Sanshu meant anything to him anymore. He had lost his Seer, his best friend, the woman he loved, Cordelia Chase. Angel remembered in fondness how Cordelia had stormed her way into his and Doyle's lives and business in Los Angeles. How he had learned that Cordelia was so much more than just a stuck up cheer leader that he had met in Sunnydale. How much strength and compassion she possessed, how she had bullied, cajoled and even manipulated him, to make him a better man. To break him of his brooding habits, to forgive himself for the past, to show him that he had a future worth living. Rich, rapacious, spoiled and stupid Cordelia Chase as she was viewed by the people of Sunnydale, especially those who were supposed to be her friends.

The Scooby gang had grudgingly accepted her as a member, and treated her as an outsider. He, himself had not treated her any better than anyone there. So little of her did he know then, so much he did not see then, how blind the others were to her true nature.

Yes, Cordelia was snobby, and even mean in high school, earning the title 'Queen C'. Yet no one ever asked her why she was that way, what forced her to behave in such a fashion. It was only years later that Angel understood that it had all been a front, a way to protect herself from others, to shield her feelings from being hurt. To hurt them before they could hurt her. A lesson learned from the lack of love from her own family, who were more interested in making money, than caring for their daughter. Cordelia's parents gave her gifts instead of love and understanding.

Angel even remembered the one time that Cordelia opened her heart to someone, exposed her heart to another. Xander Harris, had in a moment of stupidity (in Angel's opinion) cheated on Cordelia with Willow. Angel remembered when Buffy told him of the incident, how even she felt sorry for Cordelia. Who at that very moment was in surgery, having an iron re-bar removed from her body. Angel never told anyone, that he had gone by the hospital that night after leaving Buffy at home. He had just wanted to stop in for a second and wish her a speedy recovery, thinking at the time that Cordelia's parents and friends would be there so he wouldn't stay long. Angel remembered well the sight of Cordelia laying in bed alone, crying, no friends nor family by her side to help her, to comfort her and tell her that everything would be okay. He stood in the doorway silently not wishing to intrude, with his heightened hearing he could easily make out the conversation of the nurses down the hall.

"Who's crying Ruth?" One nurse had asked the other

"The Chase girl. Crying for hours now." Ruth said tiredly only wanting to go home

"Where's her family?"

"Barbados, I think. The maid was here earlier to drop off some things for her."

Thinking back on the incident now, Angel could now well understand the reason for the shields that Cordelia had erected around her heart. He could understand the 'Hurt them before they hurt you' reasoning behind Cordelia's actions. Back then he had been in love with Buffy and because she didn't care for Cordelia, Angel had never been that close to her.

It was only later that Angel saw the goodness in Cordelia. The changes in her that came about when she lowered her shields around Angel and Doyle. The drastic and dramatic changes in her after Doyle's death and Wes had joined them. How it was Cordelia who took care of everyone, Wes, Fred, Gunn, Lorne, and most especially him. Cordelia had been the one that formed these completely different people into a family. How could he not fall in love with her.

Once he had thought that Buffy was his one true love, that there could never be another woman who could rival her. How wrong he was to ever think that. Buffy was his first true love, but it was a love built on passion, heat, and that Angel now realized was not true love. What he found with Cordelia was indeed true love.

Buffy and he had never really talked, well not about anything of real substance. Angel had never confided his past to Buffy. They had great times together, passionate times together, but passion fades, even the hottest fires eventually burn themselves out. Cordelia on the other hand knew Angel's past, even knew his real name. The things he had done as Angelus, Cordelia even knew how Angel took his blood. Cordelia never judged him, she was the only person during his long life that understood the difference between Angel and Angelus.

Then came the one act that separated Cordelia from any other person that he had ever known.

Cordelia had become half demon to help him in his quest to become mortal again.

No one had ever shown him that kind of loyalty and friendship or love. The pain that she endured for his redemption still left him in awe. That is what separated Cordelia from someone like him, or even someone like Buffy for instance. Angel was on a quest for redemption. Buffy was chosen to be the slayer and given the abilities to go with it.

Cordelia had not been chosen, didn't have the abilities in the beginning, and any need that she felt for redemption for the things that she had done in high school, were paid for long ago. Yet Cordelia had decided to join the fight of the light against evil, she became a Champion of Light by choice, and in Angel's eyes that made her actions the purest of them all.

Now she was gone from his life, and Angel knew that it would be a long time before he recovered from this loss.

The door to his office slammed opened interrupting his present chain of thought. Angel scowled as he watched Wes and Spike hurry inside. He wanted to be left alone, he wanted to brood.

Wes took one look at Angel "I know, I know you are in that kind of mood again. However this is important." he said showing Angel the book.

Angel looked at it and shrugged "What about it? More prophesies?" he asked tiredly

"Not exactly." Wesley pointed out to the symbol on the cover of the book, "I recognize this symbol, this is the symbol for the charmed ones!"

Spike looked excited, "Really! The charmed ones! Who the bloody hell are the charmed ones!" he mocked Wesley's excitement

"Spike." Angel shook his head tiredly, maybe he would leave early tonight and get some rest.

Ignoring Spike, Wes continued "The charmed ones are a legend, three witches, born of the same mother. Each is a powerful witch on her own, but when they unite their powers, they form the trinity. The power of three and their powers increase exponentially. This looks to be their spell book." Wes told the two vampires as he flipped the pages, "An old one at that."

Angel sighed "What's your point Wes?"

Wes closed the book "The charmed ones would make powerful allies Angel. Think of it, with their power on our side, we could really do something meaningful."

"Great." Spike admitted, they had just about lost everyone else he thought "We could do with some magical help." he told Angel.

"Yeah." Angel agreed "But, where do we find them?"

"Well…" Wes began as he opened the book again and began to read "The family name is Halliwell. I can do a simple searching spell, it should tell us where to find the family."

Angel stood up and stretched, "Okay you do that. I'm going home. Let me know the results of your spell, and we'll take it from there."

"Right…" Wes thought of the ingredients he would need "I should have something by morning."

"Okay. Let's go Spike."

Spike got into the car with Angel, as they waited for the car to warm up, Spike looked to his Grand Sire.

"Angel." He began uncomfortably, not good with the touchy feely things yet. "I know you're missing the cheerleader. It'll get better mate. Just takes time."

Angel looked at Spike angrily, then sighed, Spike was trying.

"I know you're right William." Angel admitted "But right now…"

"I know…" Spike smiled "Now get us home you bloody Poof." he joked trying to lighten the mood.

Smiling for the first time that day, Angel drove off.

Two days later.

San Francisco

Eight PM.

Halliwell residence.

Piper Halliwell looked up from the crib that held her youngest son, who was presently wailing that he was hungry, then to the playpen which held her oldest who was also hungry. Her hair in disarray, and her nerves frazzled she quickly looked at the clock.

"Where are they!" she demanded to know as she reached for the formula bottle with one hand and a spoon with the other in a vain attempt to feed both her children simultaneously.

"Phoebe and Paige promised me they'd be here." she told her children who were clamoring for their dinner.

Over extending herself, Piper dropped the spoon, and muttered a curse under her breath,

"Wait till I get my hands on those two…" She thought angrily.

A white light appeared in the corner of the room and a man appeared.

Seeing who it was, Piper sighed in relief, "Leo, thank God you're here. Help me with your children." she demanded.

Leo smiled at his wife, "Sorry I'm late, I was trying to track something down." he began as he picked up Chris, his youngest son and fed him his bottle. Leaving Piper able to feed her "Big boy".

Twenty minutes later, both children were fed, changed and dressed for bed, and thank heavens asleep. Piper practically threw herself down on the couch and kicked off her shoes.

Leo lifted his wife's legs and sat, then began to rub his wife's tired feet.

"OH!" Piper exclaimed "That feels so good!" She moaned, as she made herself more comfortable. Her eyes drooping tiredly.

"Glad I could help." Leo smiled gently

"You do help." Piper sat up and kissed him gently "It's just been one of those days, you know?"

"Yes, I've had one of those myself." Leo admitted, still a bit worried about tonight

Pipers eyes narrowed in concern, "Something wrong?" she asked

Leo shook his head in frustration, "That's just it, I don't know." he admitted "Since I have become your White Lighter again, I've been watching all the magical channels. Looking out for any possible dangers for you and Phoebe and Paige, and the children."

"So?" Piper prodded

"So…" Leo continued "Someone, I don't know who yet performed a searching spell for the charmed ones."

"A searching spell? For us?"

"Not a very skilled one either." Leo admitted "That is what is making tracking it down so difficult. It's as if it was done by an amateur and not a witch or warlock."

Piper looked up confused "But why would an amateur be looking for us?"

"That is just it." Leo admitted "I don't know." Looking around the big empty house

"That is what is worrying me a bit. Where are Paige and Phoebe anyway, I thought they were supposed to be here tonight."

"They were supposed to be here." Piper sniffed "I just don't know. Phoebe said something about talking to Les about the column, and Paige, I guess, is still at the school."

Just then the front door opened and closed quickly, and footsteps echoed down the hall. Piper and Leo looked up and saw Phoebe.

"I know, I know, I'm so late." Phoebe saw the angry look on her sisters face "The time just got away from me. I'm so sorry, how are Wyatt and Chris?"

Piper relented, "Sleeping." she admitted

"Where's Paige?"

"Late as well." Piper admitted "But, that's okay, Leo was here to help. How are things at the paper?"

"Busy, Les was having a bit of trouble with one troubled teenage girl. He asked me for my help, I think we got it sorted out." At least she hoped they did.

Phoebe turned as she heard the knock on the door.

"I'll get it."

Opening the door, Phoebe saw three men standing there. Two dressed completely in black, one with bleached blonde hair the other dark and brooding. The other man dressed in a sports jacket and dress shirt with no tie and wearing glasses.

"Good evening." the man with the glasses spoke in a British accent "We are looking for the Halliwell residence?"

Phoebe eyed the men carefully not trusting them, especially the two men in black.

"I'm Phoebe Halliwell."

The mans face lit up "We found it!"

"Bout bloody time. This is the thirtieth house we've been at." Said the blonde, also with a British accent

The man with the glasses held out a hand "My name is Wesley Wyndam-Price, and these are my associates, Angel and Spi-William." Wesley held out a card.

Phoebe took it, "Angel investigations, we help the hopeless?" she read the card

"Yes, quite, we recently came into possession of something that we believe belongs to your family."

"What?" Phoebe asked skeptically

Wesley held up the book, "May we come in?"

Phoebe stared at the cover of the book, it held the exact same symbol and in fact almost looked exactly like the book of shadows up in the attic.

"Where did you find that?" she asked reaching for the book

Wes held onto the book, "We will explain everything, may we come in?"

Phoebe nodded and held the door open, "Please come in." The three men entered the brightly lit hallway, Phoebe closed the door, "This way." she led them to the living room.

Leo and Piper looked up as they heard the voices coming down the hallway. Leo sensed something was wrong the moment he saw the three men. Quickly he jumped to his feet.

"Vampires!"

"What!" Phoebe jumped away from the three men and Piper quickly stood ready to fry them.

"Please wait." Wesley held up his hands "We mean you no harm."

Piper looked at Phoebe in shock, "How could you invite vampires into the house!" she demanded

Wes looked at Leo "You are a White Lighter!" he exclaimed

Leo nodded as he stared at Wesley "You are human." he said softly "What are you doing with vampires?"

Angel held up his hands "Perhaps I can explain. My name is Angel…"

Leo put his hand on Piper's shoulder "You're Angel?"

"Yes."

"I've heard of you." Leo admitted "The angelic one, Angel the Vampire with a soul."

"Yes, as Wesley told you, we mean you no harm. We are just here to return something to you, and perhaps ask you for a favor." Angel told the others

Confused Wesley looked to Angel, "What favor?"

Spike put his hand on Wesley's shoulder, "Let Angel tell it mate." After all, it had been his idea.

"May we sit?" Angel pointed to the seats

Leo looked to the still skeptical women "It's okay, Angel is a Champion of light."

Looking at Piper's confused expression, "I'll explain later."

The group sat down and Angel began.

"Two days ago, Wesley and Spike were doing some research on some demons that have been terrorizing the homeless in LA. While they were doing that, they came across this book."

Wesley held it up, and Leo gasped as Wesley placed it in his hands

"The book of shadows!"

Piper stared at the book, "That's in the attic, isn't it?" she looked to Phoebe who shrugged

"No." Leo corrected "Not this book, this book was written by the first charmed ones almost 1500 years ago. It was stolen five hundred years ago and never seen again. How did you find it?" he asked Wesley.

Wesley shrugged "It was in the archives of a giant library. The moment I saw it, I recognized the symbol and knew who it belonged to, I did a searching spell…"

"That was you?" Leo now understood

"Yes, we wanted to return the book to the charmed ones." Wesley explained

"Wow" Piper was seriously impressed by some of the spells in the book "This is some powerful magic!"

Leo stared at the three men "Why just return it? You could have…"

Wesley cut him off, "That is no way to begin a friendship." he began "As you have realized, Angel is the vampire of prophecy, a champion of light. Spike here is also a vampire with a soul and is now fighting with us, well most of the time."

"Hey!" Spike began offended

"Wes." Angel said tiredly

"Yes, well, in the last year, we have had some major set backs. Angel has lost his seer, some of our closest friends have died protecting the world from the dark. Now it is just us three, we were hoping that from time to time, if we could call on you for help."

Leo was shocked "You lost your seer?"

"Yes." Angel said simply, but his face betrayed the pain he felt inside "Her name was Cordelia, Cordelia Chase."

"I'm sorry." Piper could see that Angel was torn to pieces over the loss, she could very well understand that kind of loss.

She and Leo had lost their son Chris, who had come from the future to warn them about their oldest child, about the evil that Wyatt had done. He came back and changed the future, but paid for it with his life. Still, Chris had been reborn as an infant, and was now sleeping peacefully upstairs. Even though she knew that her son was sleeping upstairs peacefully, Piper and Leo had suffered greatly for months.

Angel nodded accepting Piper's condolences.

"I also have a favor to ask, if it is in your power to grant that is." Angel began

"What?" Phoebe asked also seeing the vampires pain.

Angel shifted in his seat, not wanting to get his hopes too high, "Last night, Spike and I were reading the book of spells, inside there is a spell that allows you to talk to the dead. I was hoping that you would perform that spell, and let me talk to Cordelia one last time. I never told her…" Angel almost broke down, but regained his composure "I just want to say goodbye."

Leo flipped through the pages and found the spell.

"It's complicated." he began "And you will need Paige."

Piper stared at the vampire for a long moment. True, the man is a vampire, but hadn't Leo said that he was a Champion of light? That had to be good. Besides these men had returned the book of shadows to them. Something that they could have used for their own purposes and for their own profit. Yet they had returned it and asked only for their friendship in return. Piper decided it was worth the effort to trust these men. For now at least.

"We'll do it." Piper promised and looked up "Paige! We need you at home!" she called out

Paige orbed into the room and looked around frantically, "Is something wrong? I know I'm late…"

"It's okay." Piper told her and began to fill Paige in on what was going on.

Looking at the spell, Paige shook her head "Well it's complicated, but do-able."

"Let's go upstairs to the attic." Phoebe led the way.

The room was set, black candles lit and incense was burning. The sisters chanted softly as they mixed the herbs into a potion. Angel stood nervously to the side hoping beyond hope that this would work. That he could see and talk to Cordelia one last time, tell her how he felt about her.

"We're ready." Piper announced

The three sisters joined hands and spoke together. They chanted for a few minutes in Latin, then held their hands high in the air.

"We form the trinity, we form the tri-angle, we reach out to touch one that is gone from our sight. We call out to Cordelia Chase, we call out to speak to thee. Come before us so that we may see you again, travel through the mists, travel through dimensions, come to us, come to us, come to us."

Suddenly the cauldron began to smoke

"Come and see your Champion, come and see your Champion, come and see your Champion."

The smoke cleared and a translucent Cordelia Chase stood before them all.

"She's beautiful." Phoebe whispered to her sisters, who stood silently, who all thought she looked like an angel.

"Angel!" Cordelia smiled her 100 watt smile, reaching out to him

"Cordy!" Angel stepped to her, reaching out to her, but their hands could not touch

"Damn it!" Cordelia complained looking up to the heavens "One touch, is that too much to friggin ask for!" she demanded very un-angel like

Piper laughed silently, this Cordelia must have been a handful when alive

Cordelia looked to Angel "I don't have much time Angel."

Angel nodded and began, "I'm so sorry I couldn't save you, I…"

Cordelia shook her head "No I'm the one that's sorry, it was all my fault. If I hadn't…"

Angel shook his head, he had already forgiven her for what happened with Connor, "It's okay, and you came back just in time to save us all. You saved everyone. Especially me…" Angel took a deep breath and said aloud what he had held back for so long "You saved me from the long empty night. You bought back hope into my life. I love you Cordelia, with all my heart and soul, I will always love you."

Cordelia smiled, "I love you too Angel." Then frowned and began in a snappish, very Cordy like voice, "And by the way Sir Broods-a lot, I have been watching you from up here. NO MORE BROODING!" she yelled at him "I did what I had to do, and I have no regrets, well except for not sleeping with you…" Cordelia shook her head, then more gently she continued "There are still people who need you, there are still people in pain, don't let them down, don't let me down, and most importantly don't let yourself down."

Cordelia turned and looked at Wesley and Spike.

"I'm counting on you two, if either of you let me down, I will kick your asses when you get up here." she threatened

Cordelia frowned "My time is almost up, OH CRAP! I almost forgot." Turning to the three sisters "I'm supposed to tell you to read the book tonight, there is a spell you must perform before the sun rises, something about a family protector or something." Turning back she looked to Angel.

"I'll always be with you, watching over you. I love you Angel." she said beginning to vanish into the smoke once more

"I love you too Cor." Angel watched as the smoke faded again, and she was gone.

There was silence, everyone's eyes were on Angel.

Finally, Spike patted him on the shoulder, "Well you told her, mate."

Angel smiled sadly "Yeah, I did."

Leo smiled "She seems like quite a woman."

"I would have loved to have known her." Phoebe added "She really seems to tell it as it is."

"She did." Angel laughed, the first real laugh he had since Cordelia's death, and it felt good.

Wesley laughed as well, "Yes, Cordelia always told you the brutal honest truth, whether or not you wanted to hear it. Still she had more compassion, and more courage than any woman I have ever known. She was a good friend."

"The best." Angel corrected

Spike turned to go down, "Come on guys, let's have a drink to the cheerleader."

Angel accepted the glass of scotch from Leo, then turned to the women, "I just want to thank you for what you did, letting me talk to Cordelia one last time. To say the things that I needed to say to her. If you ever need our help, just call us, we'll be here." He promised

Phoebe smiled as she took a seat, "So tell us, how did you meet Cordelia?" she asked knowing from her own job as an advice columnist that Angel needed to talk to someone.

Angel smiled ruefully, "That is a long and complicated story."

"It's early yet." Piper sat next to Leo, "We have time, Cordelia seems like she was quite a woman."

"She was." Angel sat down

Paige who was still standing, held up the book of shadows, "I'm just going to take this upstairs and take a quick look about this spell that we were told about."

"Okay Paige…" Piper leaned back "Let us know what you find."

"Will do."

Wes looked up excitedly, "Would you mind if I joined you. I just wanted a closer look at the book. Perhaps ask you some questions of a magical nature."

Paige smiled at the handsome man "Sure, come on." and led the way back up to the attic.

"Well…" Angel began "I first met Cordelia in Sunnydale, the Hellmouth."

"Hellmouth?" Piper asked

Leo was the one who answered, "The Hellmouth is an epicenter of evil. There are several around the world, a couple right here in the US."

Piper looked at Leo, "But, wasn't Sunnydale destroyed by an earthquake?"

"No luv." Spike sipped his drink, "It was destroyed in a great battle, an apocalypse. I should know, I was there, fought along side the slayer and I died there as well."

"You died there?" Phoebe stared at the strange vampire

"Yeah, bloody hell, did that suck big time." Spike shook his head, remembering the searing pain he felt at the time.

Angel smiled "Anyway, this was about eight years ago now…" He continued to tell the story of how he met Cordelia.

Wes stared at all the herbs and ingredients for spell work that laid all out on the counters of the attic.

"You do magic?" Paige asked curiously

"A bit." Wes admitted "I'm no expert, no where near, but when it has to be done. I'm the one that usually does it."

"That can be very dangerous." Paige warned "A lot can go wrong, if you don't know what you're doing."

"It has." Wes admitted ruefully

Paige saw that this was a painful subject for the man, and decided to change the topic.

"So how did you get involved with fighting to save the world from evil?" Paige asked curiously.

"I was a watcher." Wesley began, seeing her confused face he explained "Since the dawn of time there have been demons. All the things that you were told as a little girl that didn't exist, vampires, werewolves, demons of all kinds. They once ruled this world, through ancient and powerful magic, they were cast into their own hell dimension. Some however, like vampires still exist here. So since the dawn of time there has been the Slayer."

Wesley chuckled as he quoted, "Unto every generation a girl child is born, with the power and strength to fight them. Since then as well, has been the watchers. A secret society, we find the chosen one and help train her for her life's work." Smiling ruefully Wes shook his head "After that it gets complicated." he admitted

Paige shook her head amazed, "I can imagine."

"Okay let's see what we can find." Paige opened the book and began to read.

"Wow." She said moments later, "There are some very powerful spells here. Look at this one." She pointed out "How to open a pocket dimension, inside this dimension, you will not age, and can not die." Paige shook her head, turning more pages

"Here it is!" Paige pointed to the page "The Champion."

Wes read aloud "So it came about during the time of the great battles, when the white kingdom was lost. The knights laid on the field of battle, dead, or so we thought. One knight did we the charmed ones find that was still alive. Crucified, but still alive, one knight of the most noble blood, the one knight whose name was spoken of in prophecy. The Champion that would lead the final battle against the forces of darkness on the day of Armageddon…" They continued to read, finally reaching the end, Paige finished the paragraph.

"So that our future generations of witches of the family of Halliwell are protected until the time of Armageddon. The Champion lies in wait to protect our future generations. In times of peril, just repeat these words, Champion, Champion, Champion…

"NO!" Wes warned but he was too late

"Protect me?" Paige finished

There was a brilliant flash of lightening, Paige and Wes closed their eyes and covered their ears as a tremendous clap of thunder sounded.

"FREE!" The Champion cried "FREE AT LAST!"

Wes and Paige looked up amazed at the sight before them. A…What Paige assumed was a man, standing at least six feet tall, with more hair than she had ever seen on one human being. The next thing she noted was the stench of sweat and dirt, which nearly made her gag.

Wes also stared in awe, but then yelped as the Champion turned on him and pulled a giant battle sword.

"So thou are the knave that threatens the charmed ones!" he cried raising his sword preparing to strike.

"NO! I'm not in danger from him!" Paige grabbed the Champions arm, as she heard pounding footsteps coming up the stairs

Instantly, the Champion stopped

"Thou are not in danger m'lady?" He asked confused

"No, I'm not in any danger." Paige answered him as Phoebe and Piper ran into the room quickly followed by Leo, Angel and Spike.

Seeing the huge man before them, Piper and Phoebe gagged at the smell, but prepared themselves to fight.

Champion seeing the other two sisters, dropped to one knee, "Sisters Halliwell, thy Champion awaits thy bidding."

Piper placed a hand over her nose and tried breathing through her mouth.

"What the hell is going on?" She demanded

Paige shrugged "Meet the family protector?" she tried lamely

Phoebe moved further back, "You released him? You were just supposed to find the spell!"

"There was no spell!" Paige complained "All I did was call his name, and here he is!"

"Well…" Leo began "We can talk about this later…" He gagged "Right now, someone needs a bath, and clean clothes."

Champion looked over his right shoulder "What do you mean, he means me?" he said to no one, "Do I need to bathe?" he asked the invisible person again "Why did thee not tell me before?" he demanded to know

"Oh yeah big guy." Piper told him in no uncertain terms. "You need one, big time."

"Use the spare one." Phoebe told Piper, "We don't want him in ours."

Champion bowed before the sisters, "Forgive thy servant if I offend thee."

"Just come with me." Leo led the man towards the spare bathroom.

"You alright Wes?" Angel asked concerned, he had lost enough friends lately

Wesley nodded, still holding his nose. "Fine, or I will be once we open a window in here."

Piper reentered the living room and sat down.

"How's it going with his clothes?" Phoebe asked

"I'm running them for the third time." Piper said exasperatedly "I can't believe how much dirt and grime and sweat there was on them. They're almost clean though." Turning on her younger sister, "Okay Paige, what happened?"

Paige shrugged "Wes and I were reading the story about how the Champion came into the service of our family. It's a really sad story…"

"I'm sure that it is and I will read it later." Piper promised "But how did he get here?"

"I was reading it aloud, so that Wes could hear it." Paige looked to her angry sisters

"There was no spell, I just called for the Champion and said I was in danger. Then, BANG! There he was big as life and almost decapitated Wes." Then remembering added

"And if you remember, Cordelia told us that we were supposed to perform the spell anyway, before sunrise." she defended

"What time is it?" Phoebe asked

"Almost eleven." Piper admitted

"Okay, so we did what we were supposed to do. Now when the guy is all cleaned up, we can ask him what is going on."

Angel nodded in agreement "If Cordelia said it was important, you can bet that it really is important."

Spike reentered the room and sat down.

"How is he, Spike?" Angel asked

Spike sat back by the window and lit a cigarette, careful to blow the smoke outside as per instructed, "Oh he's happier than a pig in slop. Singing away and scrubbing up." Turning to the sisters, "By the way luvs, I'd use a strong disinfectant before even thinking of getting in that tub again. Anyway, he doesn't smell anymore at least. Leo is lending him some clothes, he's getting dressed now."

Minutes later, dressed in jeans and t-shirt and wearing sneakers with his sword still worn around his waist. A much cleaner, but still very hairy Champion entered the room.

"By Merlin's beard, I feel like a human again!" he said lustily and turned to an empty corner "Next time just tell me I need to bathe." he said to no one

Everyone began to exchange glances.

"Someone is a few sandwiches shy of a picnic." Spike said airily

Turning back to the sisters, "Now, if you will excuse me for a moment. There is something that must be done immediately."

Piper looked up in alarm, "What do you have to do?" she asked nervously

Champions features darkened, "I must right, some of the things that have gone wrong. Only now that I am free can I do this." Reaching into his pocket, Champion removed a golden necklace, with a large pendant secured to it. Strange runes and symbols covered it.

"By Merlin's power, do I beseech thee…" Champion began as mist began to surround him

"What is he doing?" Phoebe demanded of Leo

"I don't know." Leo admitted

"Take me back in time, let me right what was done wrong. Take me BACK!" Another clap of thunder and the Champion was gone.

"Where did he go?" Paige asked

Piper shook her head "Better yet, what is he going to do?"