The Nyazian Prophecies

There was a huge crash in the basement of Lamia House. Salome crept down the stairs slowly, peeking around the railing. She frowned deeply at the noise. "Ace? Andrew?" She called out. "Jay? Oni?"

There was another crash. Salome padded quietly through the hallway. "...Magdalen?"

When there was no response, Salome opened her hand and the Nyazian Fang appeared. She gripped it tightly. "Okay, hellbeast," she called out. "If you want to do it this way, we can do it this way. I really have no problem taking you out."

She stopped in front of the open basement door. She saw someone moving downstairs holding a large axe. She raised the sword. "Show yourself."

Salome brought the sword down as the intruder jumped up, landing in front of her.

Connor's eyes went wide and he began to fall backwards. The Nyazian Fang immediately disappeared from Salome's hand and she grabbed onto the front of his shirt. He flailed wildly for a moment before Salome managed to pull him up onto the kitchen floor.

"Holy Moses, Ace!" Salome cried, smacking him in the shoulder. "You scared the crap out of me!"

Connor pulled himself up and rubbed the back of his neck. "Sorry. I was a little busy."

Salome looked him over, at the animal skins he was wearing. She shook her head slowly. "No... You're not doing this Connor."

"You're dressed all Quortothy!" Salome cried. "You're going to try and save Angel!" Salome grabbed Connor's arm. "You're going to try going through one of the fissures!"

"He said he's all right," Salome insisted. "If anyone can survive Quortoth, it's him. And with Spike... Well, they're more likely to kill each other than taken out by some random demon."

"The Council isn't doing anything!" Connor snapped. "It's my father! I'm just supposed to leave him?"

Salome nodded slowly. "Yeah. You are. At least until we can figure out how to safety get to Quortoth and come back. The more people that travel through, the faster the fissures open." She cupped his face. "Please. Just... Hold off on it for a bit, okay? Let's find out more about the rifts."

Oni happily placed busts and statues inside the glass case at Flying Demon Monkeys. She looked over her shoulder and smiled at Crawford who was leaning against the counter. "So I received a call from Doctor Doyle and she said my latest article on the Nyazian people and their connection to rifts in the space-time continuum will get the cover of the Journal of Theoretical Demonology. This is an incredible coupe for a novice in the field." She closed the case and skipped over to Crawford. "However, very few people are granted access to a Nyazian Demon." She knelt beside him, frowning slightly. "Salome seemed less than ebullient over the prospect. I tried to tell her that none of her enemies will read the periodical, as it is only available to Ethno-Demonologists and that most of the demons she kills are illiterate."

Crawford smiled though it seemed forced. "She'll get over it. You don't even know if you're right, right?"

Oni nodded. "Yes, as it is theoretical, I am not positive my findings are conclusive. I also spent quite a bit of time pondering the Gatekeeper's supposed Nyazian origins." She beamed at Crawford. "We should celebrate my joyous news. You and I should have dinner at a fancy restaurant."

"Of course, you are not comfortable in public." Oni licked her lips, thinking about it. "Perhaps we could order a fancy meal from an establishment and eat it at Lamia House. Or just have Doublemeat Medleys on good china."

He began to cough violently, blood spattering onto Oni's face. He slumped to the ground, his eyes sliding shut.


Vincent Kartheiser	Anna Paquin	Bret Harrison	Kou Shibasaki	Allison Mack	and Tom Lenk

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Based on the Characters by Joss Whedon	Created by Emcee

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Guest Starring

Nicole DeBoer
Archie Kao
James Franco
Paul McGann

Written by

Emcee

Oni bit her lower lip, pacing back and forth in Moon's Magical Supplies. She wrapped her arms around herself, trying to stop from shaking. Andrew sat on the counter, watching her worriedly.

"What's going on?" Oni asked, voice trembling. "Why is this occurring? Crawford was fine and then..."

Andrew jumped off the counter, picking up a towel. He halted Oni's pacing, turning her to face him. "We'll figure out what's going on." He held up the towel. "Now come on, let me clean you up."

Gently, Andrew wiped the speckles of blood from Oni's face. "You just have to stay calm. Crawford needs you to be strong right now."

Matty came down stairs, his face ashen. "I've made him comfortable upstairs." He placed a hand on Oni's shoulder. "He's all right now. He's just resting."

"He's done this before," Andrew said quietly, turning to Matty. "I saw him in Caritas, when we went out together. He had blood on his hands when he coughed."

Andrew shrugged. "I don't know! I didn't know what it meant! Crawford is pretty much a demon... Demons do weird things, even ones with a lot of human qualities."

Oni pulled away and began to pace again. "I thought there might be something unwell with Crawford, but he always ignored my queries."

Suddenly, Oni stopped and turned to him. "You have known Crawford for some time, have you not, Matthew?"

Matty nodded. "Yeah. I have. He used to come into the store back when we sold school books. He only started coming in again last year when we switch over to the magical stuff and extended the hours."

"Has this ever occurred to him prior to this?" Oni asked, grabbing Matty's arm. "Has he ever coughed up blood and fallen into unconsciousness?"

Matty remained quiet for a very long time. He looked away from Oni, unable to meet her gaze.

"What is it?" Oni demanded. "You are aware of something I am not. You must divulge it to me!" Her eyes welled with tears. "Please, Matthew. I care about Crawford very deeply."

Finally, Matty looked up. "I've been trying to get him to tell you for a while. I thought you deserved to know."

Oni took a step back. Andrew wrapped an arm around her, keeping her steady. "I deserved to be aware of what?"

"I don't know exactly what it is," Matty admitted. "But it's been going on ever since I met up with Crawford again last year." He paused, taking a deep breath. "It's why he came in here in the first place. He wanted to find a cure."

"He's sick," Matty finally managed out. "I don't know what it is, but... He's been sick for years. I think... Since this happened to him."

"He didn't want to worry you," Matty replied. "He thought he had it under control. He's been making potions to surpress the symptoms, but he's built up a tolerance, I think."

He went behind the counter and went searching for something. "Crawford found a doctor-- a demon doctor-- in town."

Matty finally found the address book and began to flip through it. "From what I've heard about him, there's not a lot Lorne doesn't know about in town. Crawford probably swore him to secrecy like he did me."

"Why didn't you break that oath?" Oni demanded angrily. "If you thought I should have known, why did you not tell me?"

"Because it wasn't my place," Matty replied. "This is between you and Crawford. If he didn't want you to know, I couldn't betray my friend. I'm sorry, Oni. I've been trying to get him to tell you since I found out you two were dating."

He picked up the phone. "I have the name and number of the doctor. We'll get him here and make sure Crawford's all right." He swallowed hard. "Or at least find out exactly what's wrong with him."

He dialed the number. After a few moments, he spoke, "Doctor Decarabia? I'm a friend of Crawford Lee's. We need your help."

Jamie leaned against the dorm room door, staring up at the ceiling. He sighed deeply, frowning slightly. His foot rested against a large package.

Mandy jogged to the door. She was sweating profusely, breathing heavily. Jamie finally looked down as she stopped in front of the door.

"Boyfriend-type person," Mandy greeted him, smiling. "I'd kiss you, but I'm a little sweaty at the moment. Wouldn't want you get it all over you."

Mandy gave him a light slap on the chest. "Don't get all pervy on me." She fished a set of keys out of her pocket and opened up the door, going inside. "Come on in." She grabbed a towel off the bed and wiped off her face. "So to what do I owe the pleasure?"

"I..." Jamie sighed and looked down. "I talked to Andrew. Apparently, there's something wrong with Crawford. He and Oni are going to be busy tonight."

Mandy frowned slightly. "Hmm... At any other time, I'd say Watcher-less time is Fun Time, but considering the dire that hangs around like an albatross, I'm a bit worried about that."

"You're a bit worried about everything lately," Jamie sighed. "You were just out training, weren't you?"

"My point is you've been out there training every day. Like you think there's going to be something that makes you ready to fight this big, all-consuming evil that's going to rain down on us." Jamie wrung his hands. "There's only one problem with that, Mand."

Jamie shrugged slightly. "Maybe I'm not the best guy to talk about this. Out of all of the people around here, I'm the most clueless. I'm all about technology and facts and mathematical equations. The world you guys know is sword and sorcery. I shouldn't really have an opinion..."

Mandy took Jamie's hand, squeezing them. "You're a part of this, the same as everyone else. You have every right to comment on the sitch."

Jamie nodded. "All right then." He pulled his hands away and got to his feet, pacing. "Okay, the way I see it, the big bad isn't Magnimus. Sure, she's the face of it, but really..." He shook his head. "It's not here. It's not the demons. It's Quortoth itself. It's the fissures that are opening up that are going to devour us all. And that's not something we can fight against with fists or swords or whatever."

"I'm saying you need to relax." Jamie stopped pacing, knelt down and placed his hands on Mandy's knees. "You and Connor both, honestly. You're running yourselves ragged without a real plan. And the only way we're all going to get through this is if we make up a plan."

"Who are you kidding?" Mandy asked. "You really think we're all going to get through this?" She turned away. "It already got Angel and Spike."

"They're not gone," Jamie insisted. Mandy glared at him and he pulled back. "What? They aren't! Not for good! I'm sure of it! They were able to send a message to Connor tell him they were okay and not to go after them."

"Which means they're in trouble!" Mandy pointed out, the pitch of her voice rising. "And we should be helping them!"

"We will," Jamie assured her. "We just need to figure out how. So why are you using up all of your energy training?"

"I've never done this before," Mandy whispered. "The Apocalypse thing." Her lower lip trembled. "I've heard about it, all of the different catastrophes that have happened, all of the people that have died. And I don't know if I'm ready for it."

"You've been training for two years," Jamie reminded her. "Faith and Buffy taught you how to be a Slayer and they've survived lots of these things. They told you all about them."

Mandy nodded. "Yeah. They did tell me all about it. And what we're dealing with just a continuation of Glory's plan to get home. That was how Buffy died and she is the greatest Slayer who has ever existed."

Jamie got up, rubbing his leg for a brief moment. "Buffy and Faith believe you can do this..."

Jamie walked back out into the hall. He picked the box up and brought it into the dorm room. He held it out to Mandy. "Don't believe me?" He urged Mandy to take it. "Take it."

Mandy took the box, set it down on the bed and opened it. She put a hand over her mouth and gasped.

"It arrived by special messenger," Jamie explained. "If they didn't believe in you, they wouldn't have sent you this."

Mandy reached into the box with a trembling hand and drew out the gleaming Pure Scythe. She held it, testing the weight.

"I don't get all of this," Jamie whispered. "I don't know why any of this is happening or how we're going to stop it... But I know you were Chosen for a reason, Mandy Boyd."

"It's all right, Andrew." Connor leaned against the wall, talking on the phone. "If there's something wrong with Crawford, you should be there to take care of him and Oni. We'll be all right over here." He leaned heavier against the wall. "No, I'm not going to run off and try to find a fissure from Quortoth so I can go find my father." He sighed. "My loving girlfriend has reminded me Angel gave up his freedom and nearly his life to keep me safe and he wouldn't be happy about me going off to rescue him without a plan."

Connor heard the sound of someone being sick. He looked off in the direction of the noise. "Hey, Andrew... I'll talk to you later. Take care of Oni and Crawford. Bye." He hung up and went running to the bathroom. He opened the door and found Salome, arms and head resting on the edge of the toilet seat.

Salome looked up, wiping her mouth with the back of her hand. "Ace." She sat up, frowning slightly. "You shouldn't be in here. It's all gross and illusion-shattering."

Connor continued into the bathroom and sat down on the floor beside Salome. He shifted her so her head rested in his lap. "I grew up in a hell dimension. 'Gross' is a relative term." He bent down and pressed a kiss to her temple. "And I don't have many illusions about our relationship anymore." He gently stroked her hair. "So what's going on? You and Mandy get into a drinking contest again?"

Salome shook her head. "Mm... No." She leaned back. "I think, now that I've got control of my powers again, I'm just getting the every day sort of queasy from the hell dimension fissures."

Salome shrugged. "Either that or the milk in the fridge needs to be thrown out. Not sure." She looked up. "Did I hear you on the phone?"

Connor nodded. "Yeah. Apparently you're not the only one not feeling their best." His brow furrowed deeply. "Crawford's sick. He's been taken to some sort of demon doctor."

Salome nodded. "Yeah. He and Lorne were friends back in the Wolfram and Hart days."

Salome nodded. "Yeah.... He comes into the club sometimes." Her cheeks turned fuchsia. "Or, uh... He did." She held up a hand and went back to the toilet, throwing up once again.

Connor frowned and rubbed Salome's back gently. "I think whatever's wrong with Crawford is more serious than a little sickness though." He sighed. "I could hear Oni in the background. She sounded hysterical."

Salome jerked up, turning to Connor, wide-eyed. "Oni hysterical? Then it's something serious."

"They'll call when they have more news." Connor stroked Salome's arm gently. "Are you sure you're going to be all right?

Salome nodded. "Yeah. I'll be fine." She rubbed her stomach, pulling up her dark blue tank top slightly. "Just don't understand why it's hitting me now."

"Cracks are getting bigger every day," he sighed. "Guess they're just catching up to you."

Salome flushed the toilet and got to her feet, making her way to the sink. She ran some water, cupping her hands beneath the flowing water and collected it in her palms. She rinsed her mouth out before turning back to Connor. "Well, here's hoping I can get a hold on it. The last thing we need is another problem right now."

Connor groaned. "Why'd you have to go and say that? Now you know something else is going to come up."

"What?" Salome threw her hands up in the air. "It's not like I said as long as--"

Connor pointed at Salome. "Don't even say it. Just saying it as an example will probably jinx us. We really do have enough problems."

Connor wrapped an arm around Salome's waist. "Just try to take it easy, Baby. We're going to need you at full strength soon."

Salome smiled. "Hey... You know me, Ace. Nothing's going to keep me down for long."

Magnimus paced back and forth, hands steepled. "So... Tell me... How did those vampires get into my world?"

"It is the Fissures, my wonderous, beauteous lady..." The minion knelt down in front Magnimus, bowing deeply. "As demons from your world have been transported her, inhabitants of this world can be transported the other way." He sat back up. "They had no desire to travel to the dark dimension. The rifts are beginning to act quite randomly now, not requiring us to call creatures."

"But the vampires have been in my world for days in this time." She frowned deeply. "How long have they survived in my domain now?"

The minion bowed deeply. "It seems, as the worlds begin to merge, the time fluxuations are beginning to fade and we are starting to exist simultaneously."

Magnimus laughed. "This is good... This is very good. Soon, it'll be too late. The rifts won't be random, but permanent. The worlds were join and no one will be able to stop me."

"Most beautiful Magnimus..." The minion held up his hands. "I do not understand... You are not bound by mortal flesh as your sister was. Why are you not able to stop them now?"

"My powers are connected to Quortoth," Magnimus explained. "I can't unleash my true fury until the dimensions have become one."

"We will not speak of them!" Magnimus held her hand out, her expression venomous. "I do not need them to claim dominance. A vain, arrogant child and a powerless wretch... They add nothing to my supremacy. They were weights I carried with me until I could be rid of them."

She looked down at herself. "The Three-In-One is now The One. I need no help from them to maintain control."

"Was misguided!" Magnimus snapped. She placed her hands on the sides of her head, snarling. She tore her fingers through her hair, tearing out clumps. "He is unworthy of me and my true..." She stumbled.

"I have existed in this world for longer than I intended..." Magnimus replied, rubbing her temple. "I had thought the merger would have occurred, that I could..." She laughed. "I'm losing it..."

"Your sister, most Magnificent One," the Minion offered. "She exhibited these symptoms when we were serving her."

"She was stuck in human form," Magnimus snapped. "Grandae saw to that. It drove her mad. I... Am pure..." She laughed. "All I need to do is speed up the merger. I will be restored once we are one."

"Uhh..." The Minion shrank down again. "And how will The Most Perfect... You... Increase the merger?"

"The humans the Destroyer works with have been researching the fissures," Magnimus replied. "And from what I know of humans.... They are easily corruptible." She smiled darkly. "I just need to find the right thirty pieces."

Oni smiled softly as Crawford finally opened his eyes. She clutched his hand tightly before bending down and kissing it gently. "Hey there." She rested her cheek against their joined hands. "You have me quite concerned."

"I..." Crawford coughed. "I didn't mean to." He forced himself to sit up. He blinked, looking around blearily. "Where am I?"

"Mister Wells, Matthew and I brought you to Doctor Decarabia's," Oni explained. "Matthew said he was your physician."

Oni bit her lower lip. "He also said you have been ill. Which is something you have not confided to me about."

Oni nodded. "I do understand." She kissed him gently. "Doctor Decarabia stated that he had to make the curatives he administered to you more potent than usual, as you seem to have built up a tolerance. They will make you feel fatigued." She nuzzled Crawford gently. "I will be nearby. I will just tell Matthew and Mister Wells that they are able to leave now to attend to other matters."

Oni let go of Crawford's hand and continued out the door. Andrew and Matty sat up when they saw her enter.

"Please leave," Oni said quietly to Andrew and Matty. "Thank you for staying with me, however you are needed elsewhere."

Oni nodded. "Yes. I am. Please leave me and the Doctor alone. I need to have speech with him."

Andrew gave Oni a kiss on the cheek. "Give me a call and I'll be right back here."

Oni turned her attention onto Doctor Decarabia, who had the appearance of a distinguished older man, save for his cat-like eyes, claws and the pentagram etched in his forehead. "Doctor Decarabia," Oni looked up at the Doctor. "I will need you to disclose Crawford's condition to me."

"I am well aware of the oaths demon physicians must take. They are, in fact, non-existent." Oni crossed her arms over her chest. "You cannot use the Hippocratic Oath as an excuse not to tell me. You will tell me what is wrong with the man I love so I may properly care for him."

Doctor Decarabia paused for a moment. "Mister Lee began to come to me when I first moved my practice to the Hellmouth. He was suffering from a cough, fatigue and other symptoms. He informed me they have been persistent since he was struck by the power from an interdimensional rift."

"Are a symptom," Decarabia replied. "The energies from the dark dimension mutated him down to the cellular level. It is aggressive and invasive. It is destroying the healthy cells in Mister Lee's body."

Oni shook her head slowly, tears in her eyes. "I do not understand. What is it you are telling me?"

Decarabia put a clawed hand on Oni's shoulder. "Miss Kato, the interdimensional force that invaded Crawford is manifesting as a cancer. And it is terminal."