So much for a quiet life

Her warnings did get to him in some way, but could a few words of hardspoken reality really dull down the luring speakings of power and security? The artifact was afterall lodged in his heart, feeling the pumps of warm blood to fuel the body that was his - All while it read his mind, his deepest desires and greatest fears. He looked at her hand around his wrist, deep frown on his brows while his breath seemed almost steady in a way that said that he had already made up his mind, “Since when have you ever started caring?” He asked in spite, trying to get back his wrist but she clearly had no intention of letting him.
Her words made him look away from her as he clenched his jaw. He knew if he chose this path there wouldnt be a way back to normal - Everything would change. But the whispers seemed so real. He heard the faint cries from the baby that had haunted his nightmares, but now it was matched perfectly with the memory of Saoirse’s cries in the night. “Wasnt it you who wanted a strong leader?” He then asked while he looked at her with serious eyes. It was all a ploy from the artifact, playing out the scenarios from the woods, the memory of Alyssa holding Buffy before the soul-binding.
He gritted his teeth and pulled at his wrist, hopefully getting it free from her grip. “You’re either with me or take your leave! I dont need a moral lesson, I need someone I can trust!” he exclaimed, frowning a little when he didnt feel like he was speaking his own words anymore. He swallowed hard and looked at the ground. “Can I trust you not to tell her?” He asked, but he didnt know that those words were the last of his own from this point.

He wasnt sure what he had expected to gain from yelling but it wasnt really his mind making sensible decisions at this point. He just frowned and looked away at her hiss, though it would have forced a reaction under any other circumstances, he seemed to have nothing to say to her at all. “Do what you must,” he just said, not looking at her as she made her leave. He just went deeper into the abandoned station and looked around at the people who had gathered, old young and homeless, all of them seeking shelter from the cold. He was supposed to feel bad for them, but he felt nothing. He went to a wall that was poorly lit by a electrical lantern that flickered, looking at the mark on his hand before he looked at the dust-covered bricks in front of him. The last thing he could recall was tearing up the mark and the faint echos of screams following.

It had been a few weeks, but despite what he had done, he had kept his promise of coming home to his family. Clearly something wasnt the same, he was strong as he had been before and something completely different about him was the fact that he didnt even seem worried about the artifact in him anymore, like suddenly everything had fallen into place and fixed itself after that one night. Obviously he disappeared whenever the artifact craved souls and it wasnt scarce. On the news there had been faint mentions of odd happening in the abandoned parts of the pipes, warning people to stay away while the police investigated - Though it didnt really keep people away. Amos was staying over more than usual, but that was because he had demanded of his mother to know what Baal had been doing on that night. He looked at his father with suspicious eyes to most of what the summoner did, like he was looking for a hole in the facade that had suddenly appeared. As much as he tried to keep it hidden, he was more protective of Saoirse than usual whenever Baal were around.

Amos wasnt sure how he really felt about the toddler if the bond had been stripped from them right in this moment. He had always hated kids, because to him they seemed like drooling blabbermachines, which was definitely how he would have viewed Saoirse before the bond. Now all he cared about was keeping her happy and healthy, but he also had to mind his studies. He always kept close to Saoirse, despite what he may have been doing. He tried to read his book sitting on the floor next to Saoirse, but as she called, it was like he was already ready for whatever request she may have, “You good?” He asked the toddler, gently tickling her side before he smiled softly at her.

Baal was looking at Saoirse as his hand rested in Buffy’s. It wasnt that he wasnt dumbfooled or blind to see what he was doing to the fenix, but it was safe to say that the artifact was making it all a nice distant blur to him. He turned his head to look at her at her whisper, lifting a hand to cup her face. He looked at her with soft eyes but he was as distant as he had been ever since coming back. He ran his thumb over her cheek before letting go, looking back at their daughter as she spoke of her. At first it didnt seem like he was really listening but then he scoffed and smiled, nodding a little. “Well since the boys are here, maybe filming her milestones would be a good idea,” he said.
He watched Buffy leave as she excused herself, sitting for a moment with his eyes lingering at the door before he got up. He then looked down at Saoirse and it was like that was enough to distract him from going. Amos noticed right away and frowned after a while. “Dad,” he said sternly, looking up at the daemon. “Go,” he then said, and Baal realized he was going somewhere. He went to the kitchen, tilting his head as he looked at Buffy, “Need help with your tea?” He asked, walking up to her as he wrapped his arms around her from behind. He inhaled her hair and then looked at her. “I have to leave again tonight,” he said in a soft tone, but he couldnt describe how the artifact was pulling and aching already.

“I’m not pushing you away,” he argued but his tone was calm as ever as he looked at her. He let her guide his hand to her chest and as he felt her heartbeat, his expression changed and his hand pressed to her heart and he wrapped his other arm around her. “You’re dying?” He repeated, looking down at his hand as he felt her heartbeat so weakly and he didnt know what to say or do. Nothing the artofact whispered could cloud this or promise him anything. It was like he finally felt something he hadnt felt in a long while - The worry and dread that had been pushed away for so many weeks. “How?” He asked under his breath, swallowing hard before he shook his head. He didnt want to believe it. “But the binding... we did this to avoid this....” he whispered, shaking his head as tears started to run down his cheeks. “How can I stop this?” He begged, feeling the frustration spread inside him. He felt angry, angrier than he had been in a while, but it was anger towards himself for having been so blind.

He listened to her explain, but even then it was like the artifact was trying to soothe his anger and dread, tell him that it could save her and keep her safe from dying. He gritted his teeth and clenched hos hand that was over her heart, to then pull himself away from her. “But I love you... I’m doing this for us,” he said with a frown on his brows, he couldnt understand why what he was doing was killing her. He couldnt believe it. It had to be the artifact’s warning. “I cant let you die. I am of the blood that made the daemons that wander the streets. I wont let anyone take you from me,” he then said, shaking his head, convinced that there was something he could do.
Stricken with anger towards himself he felt like he couldnt breathe but how could you flee from what made you angry if that was yourself? He moved around for a bit, pacing around as if he expected to have the artifact tell him something useful. Clenching his fist he turned and slammed it into the wall, just to unleash some of the tension inside of him. He wasnt the kind to find comfort in physical reactions, but then again, he hadnt been himself for weeks. “No!” It bursted out of him with such power almost like he believed he could change things with bare words. “I wont let you die!” he said in almost a cold tone, moving his hand from a fist-formed dent in the drywall that made up their kitchen. He clenched his jaw and felt the wetness in his eyes blur his vision and yet he was almost steaming with anger.

He hadnt seen their daughter and the face he got once he heard that small thump followed by the wailing, his face changed into something horrified. He just stared at the wall as Buffy went to pick up the crying Saoirse. Amos came running but as he saw Saoirse with Buffy, he calmed down. He knew something was up with the fenix with her heart beating so weakly, but he couldnt know why. He then looked at his father who seemed as absent as he always had been since he came back. “Unbelievable,” he scoffed before he looked as Buffy left. Baal just kept staring into the wall and Amos felt so angry at him, angrier than ever because he felt like he was seeing a pattern. “You really just are a deadbeat,” he hissed before walking off. Buffy didnt deserve this, not by one bit. He ran a hand through his black locks and shook his head. Grabbing his phone he sent a text to his mother.

[Messages between Alyssa and Amos]
[Amos:] Can you please beat some sense into Belial before I do? He’s gonna kill someone if he keeps goin like this.

He looked up as he saw the tall daemon go for the door. He sent the text and shook his head. “Dont you dare,” he whispered as he went to try and stop him. He grabbed his arm and tried to yank him back but the summoner wasnt weak anymore, and the unholy energy seemed to flow through his system as Amos felt the blisters form on contact. He just gritted his teeth and kept his grip, small grunts leaving his lips. “Let go,” Baal said in that different tone. “No,” Amos assured him but as thr summoner turned to look at his son, Amos felt weird because he knew it wasnt his father in control anymore. The summoner lifted his marked hand just to place it on Amos’ face and a worse pain couldnt have hit him in that moment. He screamed as he let go and waddled back to hold the affected area but touching it made the pain even worse. “She’ll kill you,” Amos whispered in horror once he realized how his mother might react, but it hurt so much that he didnt care to say it for Baal to hear. He waddled to the kitchen and tried to look for something that could clean the wound and then he heard the front door close. He grit his teeth in pain and anger but there was nothing he could do.

He hadnt expected Alyssa to show up so when she grabbed him, he hadnt had the time to react before she pinned him to th ground. He gritted his teeth as the artifact seemed to glow, making him struggle against her grip. Amos heard his mother but he felt ashamed to go and show her what had happened to him. His face seemed almost disfigured and he did worry that he would look horrifying for the rest of his life, but luckily it would wash off like when Trent had helped him. He searched for the anti-septic, grunting in pain as he heard Saoirse cry. He could feel her reach out in their bond, but he didnt want her to see him all covered in blisters and burns.

“Nothing can stand in my way now,” Baal said with an angry frown, but it was so far fetched from his own words. He needed to get on his feet again, fulfill the need that the artifact was hungering for - The souls. He wouldnt let Alyssa or anyone stop him anymore. “Simeon was weak. I’m not,” he mumbled before he bit his hand to let the blood flow. He started smearing it on the ground but it wasnt his mark, it was just a bunch of ancient daemonic symbols from the deep archived within the temple. His marks seemed to flare up the more he got to draw with his own blood. “She thinks she’s dying. But I’ll make her strong too,” he mumbled in his craze.

Seeing Buffy appear with Saoirse made Amos frown, because he didnt want to scare the toddler and he felt like he would. But it seemed that Saoirse was just in need of being close to him. As Buffy found what he needed and seemed to want to help him he let her, but he didnt like feeling lile someone who needed help. The antiseptic made him clench his jaw as he grabbed onto the counter but feeling the tender skin being allowed to breathe was soothing. He drew in a few deep breaths and tried to keep calm. “I’ll protect her,” he assured her as he picked up the toddler to rest on his arm that hadnt been infested with blisters just a second ago. He frowned at her words and wasnt sure what to say when it seemed like a goodbye. He looked down at Saoirse, and a part of him wished that she would have slept through all of this. “You’ll be safe,” he whispered at her, kissing her temple which was rather unlike him, but the whole caretaker thing may have opened a soft spot in his heart for his baby sister.

Alyssa was right, but he didnt want to believe it. Or the artifact didnt want him to, so it twisted and turned his mind to fit it’s agenda which it claimed to be to save the fenix. He wanted to finish the symbols which in itself was the worst idea when not even the priests had figured out what the symbols stood for. He heard Buffy’s call but he just continued even as she pleaded and begged for him to stop. It was only when she took his hand that he looked at her again and he felt her heartbeat even weaker. Tears formed in his eyes as she leaned her forehead onto his arm and his bloodied hand went limp. He hadnt had many letters left and it was only good that he stopped. Amos stepped out with Saoirse in his arms, his face stern with anger towards his father though it was clear that he had been affected by the unholy power when Baal touched his face. He looked shamelessly down when he saw his mother there as well.
“How can I stop this?” He pleaded under his breath as his hand touched Buffy’s face. The artifact was getting impatient, wanting the souls it had been fed for weeks. “It’s too strong. I, I cant deny it what it wants anymore,” he whispered, his jaw quivering as he was clearly struggling. He had seemed so strong and determined, but all that had been as long as the artifact got what it wanted. Connor appeared in the distance, treading his bike as fast as he could after he had felt Saoirse’s sadness. He jumped off his bike and widened his eyes at the scene ahead. “I ummm..... I told Xander...” he admitted as he scratched the back of his head, but then he went over to Amos and Saoirse, looking at Amos, he seemed to understand the situation or why Saoirse had been fussing.