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"Little By Little"
Author: Skylar (supecrow@bellatlantic.net)
Disclaimer: Joss and company own everything
Summary: Rewrite of "The Freshman". As secrets are revealed, the Scoobs
find themselves making new adjustments, new friends, and new enemies.
AN: Sixth story in my Remedy series. For this series, I've just decided
to pick episodes at random to rewrite trying to fix Joss' mistakes. For
this series, there was no happiness clause in Angel's curse, so there
was no Angelus, and no Angel being sent to hell. However, Angel has
moved into the mansion on Crawford street and has regained his humanity.
Jenny was killed, only by Spike. And Xander and Willow never kissed.
Spoilers: Everything up to "The Freshman", plus the other stories of
this series.
Rating: I'd say PG-13.
Distribution: Want it- take it. Just let me know where it's going.
Feedback: As always, greatly appreciated.
To the east, the sun was getting up with the sky. It lit up the empty
blue, set on fire the early morning clouds like a match to kindling, and
turned the horizon a magnificent gold. Burying her head into her pillow,
Buffy lets out a low moan as she feels the annoying, far-too-early
morning rays streak across her face. <College...first day...god- it's
like a never-ending cycle of torture...>
Over the past two months of summer vacation, Buffy hadn't given much
thought to the fact that she'd be entering UC Sunnydale. Spending the
majority of her time with her friends and Angel at Cordelia's beach
house had kept her mind almost totally preoccupied during the summer
hiatus.
"It's seven," comes a cheerful voice...a little too cheerful for the
slayer's liking.
"Mmm-hmm..."
"Don't you have a class at eight?"
"Mmm-hmm..."
"Shouldn't you be getting ready?"
The tired blonde lifts her head to face a smiling Angel, an almost
inaudible growl escaping her lips as she eyes him. "Shouldn't you be
letting your girlfriend sleep?"
"Not when she wants to sleep in on the first day of classes. Come on-
get up." He slips an arm around her back, gently pulling her up into a
sitting position. Letting out a yawn, Buffy finally opens her eyes fully
to see that Angel was already dressed, having obviously been up for
awhile. "Why're you up so early?"
"I seem to recall promising someone that I'd go on campus with her
today," he smiles back, offering her the glass of orange juice he held.
"Unless of course, you'd rather go by yourself?"
"I'd rather spend the day in bed with you," she mumbles back, managing a
smile at the thought.
"Do you really think I'd let you do that?"
"I'd love you more if you let me sleep in today," she sighs, flopping
back down into the sheets, closing her eyes once again.
Seeing his gentle approach wasn't having his desired effect, Angel
scoops her up into his arms, carrying her into the bathroom. He gently
sets her down into the shower, and reaches over to turn on the water,
watching with an amused grin as the rushing jets soon wake Buffy to her
senses.
"You know, you'll be lucky if I even *let* you come with me today after
this!" Hearing him merely chuckle in response, Buffy leans her head
against the tiled shower wall, already dreading her first day at UC
Sunnydale. <This sucks...>
******
"This sucks!" Spotting Buffy and Angel making their walk across campus,
Cordelia wastes no time in approaching them with her latest complaint.
"This is just wonderful!"
"Nice to see you too, Cordelia," Buffy grins, adjusting her own bag over
her shoulder. "What's wrong?"
"Five books! I need to get five books for *one* class!
Unbelievable...and I thought the arts were supposed to be easy..."
Barely listening to the brunette's accompanying rambling, the couple is
relieved to see Willow hurrying over to them. "Where have you guys been?
You missed orientation."
"Darn," Buffy mock-pouts. "And I was so looking forward to it."
"Isn't this place great?" an overzealous Willow beams, walking along
with the three across campus.
"It's big," comes Angel's only response.
"And...big..." Buffy adds, clutching his hand a little tighter as her
eyes begin to trail over her new playing field. "It's big on the
bigness..."
"But isn't it awesome!" Willow continues, eager to start her college
experience.
"You're excitement is now officially scaring me, Will," Buffy grins,
though somewhat put at ease knowing that her over-anxious best friend
would be right alongside her in their new, slightly overwhelming habitat.
"Sorry..." Willow sighs. "It's just in high school, knowledge was pretty
much frowned upon; you really had to work to learn anything. But here,
the energy, the collective intelligence, it's like this force, this
penetrating force, and I can just feel my mind opening up, you know? And
letting this place just thrust into and, and spurt knowledge into...that
sentence ended up in a different place than it started out in."
"I'm with you, though," Buffy tries adding her support. "I'm all for
spurty knowledge."
"Which is always a good thing," Angel chimes in.
"You guys headed to get books?" asks Willow.
"Yeah- and I still need to get my ID card," Buffy sighs.
"Ooo- you probably should've done that first thing this morning," Willow
informs her. "There's a huge line there now."
"See what happens when you sleep in late?" Angel teases, gently nudging
Buffy with his shoulder.
"Ha-ha...just for that I'm gonna make *you* carry all of my books," she
smiles, pulling him by both arms into a tender kiss.
"Oh- boyfriend!" Willow cheers, seeing Oz appear before her. "It's my
on-campus boyfriend," she giggles, the couple sharing their own sweet
embrace.
"Don't you four ever give it a rest?!" Cordelia huffs, brushing past
them. "God- even on the first day!"
"Maybe it's just me," Oz speaks up, "but I think she's handling the
whole 'not-having-a-boyfriend-anymore' thing really well."
******
"Here you go." After finding the few remaining books that she needed,
Willow brings over a small basket for her best friend.
"Can't wait till mom gets the bill for these books," the slayer sighs,
already seeing Joyce's reaction to the huge deduction from her back account.
"I'm sure she'll understand," Angel assures her, calm and supportive in
his typical way.
"Try maxing out her credit card a few times, then you'll see how
understanding she can be," says Buffy, taking hold of his hand again as
they make their way through the aisles.
"Intro to psychology..." Willow recites aloud, finally spotting their
needed text up high on a nearby shelf.
"I'll get it," Buffy offers, handing the basket over to Angel in her
attempt to reach the top. "Ugh- this place discriminates against short
people," she groans, looking back towards the redhead.
"Ooo- I hear there's a rally next week."
With a final jerk, Buffy's hand flails over the top of the shelf,
managing to knock over the books. As a few make their descent, they land
with a not-so gentle thud, accompanied by a small whimper. "Oww..."
Glancing around the corner, the friends spot who had just fallen victim
to Buffy's book-wrath. "Oh- I'm sorry," the blonde immediately offers
the stranger, brushing back a strand of her hair as her eyes come to
rest on him. Looking up, holding the back of his head, Riley Finn finds
himself staring up at the striking beauty before him, a bit overwhelmed
by the sight of her. "That's...okay..." he finally breathes out.
"I'm so...it's just, the books were so high and then everything was
bad," she nervously smiles back, all too aware of the blatant way he was
staring at her.
"It's okay..." he says again, making a move to gather the books. "Lemme
just..." Seeing the young man fumbling around, trying to collect the
fallen texts, as well as letting his eyes linger on Buffy longer than
necessary, Angel takes it upon himself to give Riley's head another
jolt. With a casual shove, he knocks the few books that had remained on
the top shelf over the ledge, sending them crashing down onto his
already stricken head.
"Oww!" Riley yelps, reaching up a hand to the instant pain as his eyes
travel over to the tall, dark stranger he already didn't like- mainly
because of the way his left hand had never left the small blonde's he'd
just been smitten by.
"Oh- sorry about that," Angel flashes him a sly smile. "Just trying to
grab one for my girl. Here you go, sweetie," he grins, handing the book
to a slightly giggling Buffy.
"Thanks, honey." She reaches up, giving him a sweet kiss before turning
back to Riley.
"So..." Riley begins, finally picking himself up off the floor, "you're
all taking intro to Psych?"
"Boy- nothing gets past you, does it?" Cordelia smirks. "Those bumps on
the head can only help." Flashing him a quick grin, Cordelia heads off
with Oz to find the rest of her books.
"Your friend's really outspoken," Riley lets out a small laugh.
"Good quality to have," Angel retorts, pulling himself even closer to
Buffy in the process.
"Guess that depends on who you ask." His eyes never wavering, Riley
tries staring down Angel until finally deciding to turn his attentions
to more pressing matters. "Where are my manners? I'm Riley Finn," he
extends a hand to Buffy, practically gushing with joy when she accepts
it, giving it a light tug. "I'll be the T.A. for Professor Walsh's psych
class."
"Buffy," the small blonde replies. "This is Willow," she turns to the
side, throwing a glance back to the wiccan, "and this is Angel."
"Nice to meet you..." he smiles, casting a sidelong glance to Angel.
"...all of you."
"Hey guys-" the friends hear Cordy's yell from across the store, "if
you're all done beating up on the first of what I'm sure will be many
lameasses in this university, do you think we can get going?!"
"There's that outspokenness thing again," Willow beams, beginning to tug
on Buffy's free arm. "It was nice meeting you, Riley."
"Yeah- I'll, uh...see you guys in class later."
Finally succeeding in removing her best friend from the young man's
wandering eyes, Willow pulls her aside, a soft gasp escaping her lips.
"Can we say gawking?"
"What?"
"He was so flirting with you- if you can call that lame attempt actual
flirting."
"So that's why you felt the sudden urge to do more damage to the poor
guy's head," Buffy smiles up at Angel.
"My hand slipped," he flashes her his own smile, inwardly laughing
hysterically at the image of the awkward young man fumbling around
helplessly on the floor surrounded by books.
"How could it have slipped when it held a death grip on my hand," she
laughs, leaning further into his embrace. With a swift motion, Angel
lifts the hand he'd been holding up to his lips, placing a gentle kiss
across it's surface. "Forgive me?"
"Well since you put it that way..." Wrapping an arm around his neck, she
draws him into a deep kiss, slow and lingering. It's only when Cordelia
begins pushing past them that the lovers are forced to break apart.
"Do I need to carry around a water gun at all times to keep the two of
you separate? Don't make me break out the buckets again!" she threatens,
secretly overjoyed at the fact that during their time spent at her beach
house, Angel was able to partake in all of their outdoor activities-
including getting himself drenched during their water fights down by the
beach. "Now come on- we've got class."
"Never thought I'd see that day Cordelia Chase is anxious to get to
class," Oz muses, slipping an arm around his girlfriend as they head out
of the store.
"When it's my only alternative to watching these two make with the
smoochies, I'll take up permanent residence in a lecture hall if necessary."
"Well you can relax, Cordelia," Angel assures her, pulling Buffy to a
sudden stop. "I have to get going anyway."
"You're leaving?" Buffy's early morning smile instantly begins to fade
at the thought of possibly being separated from him. Over the entire
summer, the two hadn't spent more than ten minutes apart, a trend Buffy
had no intention of breaking.
"Your mother asked me to come into the gallery this morning. Something
about a new shipment...Celtic artifacts from 900BC...thought I'd be
interested."
"You're more interested in a bunch of rusty old antiques than you are in
me?" Buffy teases him, slipping her arms underneath his duster, pulling
him into a tight embrace.
"Of course not..." he grins, capturing her lips in a quick kiss. "But
you have to get to class and Joyce is expecting me."
"Ya know, you're supposed to be the one letting me have fun- not the one
who takes the place of my mom and Willow when they're not around to tell
me to go to class, or get up for class, or stay awake in class-" Buffy
is silenced as Angel places his lips over her own in a soft kiss.
"We'll go out and have fun tonight...promise."
"You guys Bronzing it tonight?" Oz perks up, looking to the others for
approval. "Our first set starts at eight."
"Sounds like a plan," Buffy's smile returns, already counting down the
hours until she'd be back at the mansion. "Love you," she whispers,
leaning up to give Angel a final, playful kiss before heading in to class.
******
By three o'clock, Angel was beginning to wish he'd stayed on campus with
the others. Joyce's shipment had been more than he'd anticipated and
unloading and assembling the displays had taken longer than he'd
thought. When he finally returns to the mansion, he half expects to find
Buffy waiting for him, but instead is met by the sounds of glass
clinking around in the kitchen. Tossing his keys onto the nearby bureau,
he cautiously makes his way through the great hall. Rounding the corner,
he peers his head into the foyer, surprised to find no one there.
"Hasn't anybody told ya it's rude to jus' sneak up on people like that?"
comes a heavily-accented voice from behind, nearly scaring the former
vampire to another death.
"Who are you?" is Angel's first of many questions upon getting a full
view of the somewhat unkempt and scruffy looking stranger who'd just
approached him from behind. "What are you doing in my house...?" comes
his next question as he watches the dark-haired young man make a move to
sit down on one of the sofas. "...sitting on my couch...?" Angel watches
with a frustrated glare as the newcomer lifts a bottle of his wine to
his lips, taking a drawn out sip. "...drinking my wine...?"
"Oh this?" he pulls the bottle away long enough to get out a few
mumblings. "It's alright. I found it this mornin'. Ya know, I expected
someone as old as you to have more whisky around this place, but wine'll
do just fine. Always does."
"You've been here since this morning? Drinking?" Angel asks with an
incredulous tone, taking a seat beside the stranger he still knew
absolutely nothing about. "It's three in the afternoon, and you're
drinking my red wine?"
"Ya know, you're right." He stands to his feet, scuffling into the
kitchen, bottle of wine in hand. When he returns a moment later, a new
bottle is found held firmly in his grasp. "Red wine is more of a
breakfast drink...white's usually for evening affairs." After another
few gulps, the stranger finally reaches out a hand to a more than
baffled Angel. "Name's Doyle..."
"Good- at least I know your name so I won't feel as bad when I throw you
out," Angel rises from his seat, making a move to grab him, but holds
back as he sees him stand as well to face him.
"Easy there, man...easy. I can see what Whistler meant when he said you
were gonna be a rough one to deal with."
"Whistler?" Angel makes a deep sigh of his name, already dreading what
kind of situation his relationship with the wise-ass, badly-dressed
demon was getting him into now. "You know Whistler?"
"Mmm...by the way- he sends his regards."
"So you're a demon?"
" *Half*-demon," he corrects him. "I always hate it when people assume
I'm some plain ol' demon...very rude, as it happens I'm very much
human-" Before he can finish his defense, Doyle lets out a harsh sneeze,
revealing a new, scaled and spiny demonic appearance. "-on my mother's
side. Now where was I..." Pausing for a moment to shift back to his
'better-half', Doyle turns again to face his chosen warrior. "...oh,
that's right- me..." Doyle quirks a smile, turning his head slightly as
he continues. "I've been sent. By the Powers That Be."
"The powers that be *what*?" Angel furrows his brow slightly, more
confused than ever.
"The Powers That Be in charge of everything. Ya know- fate, destiny,
maintaining balance...we're talkin' all the biggies here. And you my
friend have been chosen to help 'em."
"Why me?"
"Oh come on- vampire with a soul brings about a long-lost prophecy,
finally regaining his humanity with the help of his love- a slayer no
less- and you're asking 'why me' ?"
"Okay- you told me the story of my life, which, since I was there, I
already knew. So...why aren't I kicking you out?"
" 'Cause ya need me. I get visions. Which is to say great splitting
migraines that come with pictures."
"A seer?" Angel surmises, beginning to find some sort of sense in the
Irishman's ramblings.
"One of the more disadvantaged demons, yes..." Doyle grins, beginning to
pace around the mansion, stopping every so often to study one of the
various pieces of art that adorned it's massive interior. "...but useful
nonetheless. You been wonderin' what you're supposed to do now that
you've rejoined the land of the living? Well...this is it. Just 'cause
you don't run with the night anymore doesn't mean that you can outrun
it. You've still got power...you've still got your abilities...you've
got yourself a new job- working for the Powers...with me as your guide.
I get a vision of some poor fool in trouble, you rush in and save 'em.
Sound good?"
"Angel?!"
The sound of Buffy's loud huff brings Angel out of his semi-trance as he
catches a glimpse of her storming over to him in such a frenzy that she
doesn't even take notice of the third party in their home. "What a lousy
first day! I got thrown out of Professor Riegert's class for, get this,
sucking out all of the energy! Professor Walsh is a major bitch, and
Riley would not stop pestering me with all these annoying looks during
class! Thank god I'm home..." she slumps down on the couch, resting her
head in his lap. "So how was your day?"
Getting no immediate response, she glances up to see his face still set
on stunned. "Angel? You okay- oh..." She finally spots the new face
staring back at her from across the room. "I didn't know you had
company. Wait- I didn't know you knew anybody else to actually have
company? What's going on?"
"Buffy..." Angel softly begins, throwing a sidelong glance to the
half-demon still downing his bottle of wine, "...this is Doyle. He's a
demon-"
" *Half*-demon," Doyle shouts.
"He's a *half*-demon who gets visions. The Powers That Be decided to
send him here to help me save people and maintain balance for the
Powers." Seeing a bewildered look that he was sure matched his own cross
her beautiful features, Angel adds on his other bit of news. "Oh- and
your mother said she wants to talk to you about her latest credit card
bill. Did I leave anything out of how my day was?"
Lifting her eyes over to a happily grinning Doyle, she spots the almost
empty bottle he was clutching in his hand. "Hey buddy- you almost done
with that, 'cause I think I'm gonna need a drink myself."
"You must be the little missus," Doyle beams, having already spotted the
matching claddagh rings the couple shared. "How long you two been married?"
"Married?" Buffy squeaks out.
"Well yeah- you and my pal here are sportin' traditional Irish wedding
bands, so I only assumed. Ya know, I was married once. Sheer torture,
lemme tell ya-"
"We're married?!" Buffy yelps, turning in her seat to completely face
Angel, who can only offer her a weak smile in response to the tiny
detail he'd forgotten to mention to her almost two years prior.
"Oh...now I really think I'm gonna need a drink..."
Part 2
After about five minutes of Professor Walsh's lecture the next morning,
Buffy turns to Willow and Cordelia, anxious to fill her friends in as to
all that had transpired last night.
"So he gets visions of people in trouble..." Willow whispers her own
recount of Buffy's explanation, "...and Angel's supposed to go save them?"
"Right," Buffy smiles with a small nod.
"Because he was chosen by some greater Powers to be some sort of
warrior?" Cordy cuts in.
"Right. You guys clear on everything?"
"Almost..." Willow, apparently in deep thought pauses for a moment
before looking to her best friend. "Exactly how are the two of you
married again?"
With a proud glint in her eye, lifting her right hand to make a full
display of her claddagh ring, the slayer recites what she'd been told by
Angel earlier. "These were used as more than a sign of just devotion.
Devotion back in those days was usually marriage, so technically,
according to Irish tradition, we're married." Buffy and the redhead
share an exuberant smile between them, while Cordelia can only throw an
appalled glare at the description of this half-demon, Doyle. "You let
him stay at the mansion last night?"
"Well he was there all day anyway. We couldn't just throw him out."
"What'd you guys do after he filled you in on everything?" the brunette
asks.
"We spent most of the night up drinking-"
"So that's why you and Angel never made it to the Bronze," Cordy grins.
"We'll definitely be there tonight. Doyle will be with us-"
"Wait- you were drinking?" Willow gasps. "As in bevarages of the
alcoholic kind?"
"Relax, Will...Angel pulled the bottle away from me before I could even
get down two sips. It was mostly Doyle doing all of the drinking...it
was pretty funny actually-"
"What was pretty funny, Miss Summers?" Walsh calls up to her, drawing
the class' attention to the now-blushing blonde. "Care to enlighten the
rest of us, or may I continue with my lesson?"
"Umm...continue...by all means..."
Within another thirty minutes, Walsh dismisses class, having left Buffy
with one of her better embarrassing moments. As the three friends rise
from their seats, Willow tries, unsuccessfully, holding back her sharp
intake of breath at seeing Riley approaching them from his own desk.
"Hey Buffy," he greets the radiant young woman, flinging his backpack
over his shoulder as he approaches her.
"Oh...hey Riley. Professor Walsh isn't that mad about in class today, is
she?"
"Course not. It's when her head starts spinning around and she's spewing
pea soup that you should worry," he chuckles, happy to see her give a
small laugh as well. "Listen- I know this is really going to be forward
of me, and if you think I'm a jerk for doing this just say so."
"Can I say you're a jerk anyway?" Cordelia chimes in in typical fashion.
"Down, Queen C," Willow smirks, grabbing her by the arm and leading her
towards the side door of the lecture hall. "We'll be waiting outside."
"Sorry about Cordy," Buffy sighs. "She doesn't mean to be so...*her*..."
"That's okay- I'm kinda getting used to it."
"Hey Finn!" a voice calls in from the doorway. "You coming or what?
We're all grabbing some lunch."
"Oh..." turning to face his friend, Riley motions for him to come over.
"Graham, this is Buffy. Buffy- Graham," he introduces them.
"Nice to meet you," Graham offers her a warm smile and a handshake. <For
once, Finn was right. This girl is hot...she should have someone better
than Riley drooling all over her though...maybe Xander would be
interested...> "You coming to lunch or what man?"
"In a minute," he looks to him with pleading eyes, hoping he would get
the hint.
"Alright. It was nice meeting you, Buffy. Don't let Finn talk your ear
off...he has a tendency to do that sometimes."
"I'll try my best." Breathing a sigh of relief that they were finally
alone, Riley tries in his attempts once more.
"Anyway, I know you just me and all, but I'd never forgive myself if I
didn't do this." With a deep sigh, he begins his offer before losing his
nerve. "I was wondering what you're doing tonight."
"Well..." Buffy scrambles for a way to let him down as gently as
possible. "I think everyone's headed to the Bronze tonight."
"Would you be up for some company? Namely me?"
"Actually, Riley...Angel's going to be keeping me company tonight.
Pretty much like he does every night," she subtly hints.
"Angel? Oh...you two are...'you two'?"
"For the past three years...my ever-attentive boyfriend" <My husband>
she wanted to add, but decided to hold back on the revelation for the
time being. "I'm sorry Riley."
"Yeah...me too," he tries hiding his disappointment as he turns to
leave. "Well hey- maybe I'll see you guys at the Bronze tonight."
"Okay...I'll make sure to bring a muzzle for Cordelia though."
******
The line outside of the Bronze was wrapped around the corner. Not an
unusual sight for the only nigthclub in Sunnydale, but for some reason,
tonight it struck the friends as being a bit odd as they take their time
making their approach. With Angel and Doyle trailing behind them,
discussing something or other about their new partnership, Buffy,
Willow, and Cordy make their walk to the head of the line, positive
they'd be able to get into their usual hangout with no problem.
"So what's the story behind that one?" Doyle asks Angel, stretching out
a hand towards the feisty brunette.
"Cordelia? Cordelia...well..." Angel can't help but let out a light
chuckle, watching as Queen C begins arguing with the doorman.
"...there's no excuse for Cordelia..."
"Well...she's got a very...humanizing influence."
"You think she's a hottie," Angel observes, not blind to the fact that
the seer hadn't taken his eyes off of her from first sight.
"Ah, yeah, she's a stiffener alright. I can't lie about that."
"This is ridiculous!" the two hear their current topic of conversation
let out a frustrated yell, causing them to catch up with the others at
the head of the line.
"What's going on?" Angel asks, taking his usual place behind Buffy.
"They won't let us in," Willow answers him before turning to her own
boyfriend. "And to top it off, the new owner just threw Oz and the rest
of the Dingos out! Said they couldn't play tonight."
"New owner?" Buffy raises an eyebrow at the news. "Didn't know the
Bronze had gotten a new owner."
"Some big shot from LA," Cordy starts filling her in. "Ooo- I wonder if
he's got any connections in the business. Could be really useful...well,
for *me* at least."
"Awww...now isn't this a sight..." Sauntering past them, Anya sneers
towards Cordelia as she approaches the bouncer. "What's the matter- the
Bronze doesn't serve cheap flakes anymore?"
"Guess *you* won't be getting in then," Buffy retorts, her anger still
fuming over their last encounter. In an instant, the ex-vengeance demon
is strolling past them, being graciously allowed into the club. Seeing
that Cordelia was about to charge in after her, Doyle grabs hold of the
brunette's arm, pulling her back.
"Here, lemme try," Doyle offers, hoping his natural charm would make an
impression on the reluctant bouncer and, in turn, Cordelia. Forcing out
his best smile, he makes his way over to the door, going face to face
with the young man in charge of admission to the hotspot. "Hey
friend...what seems to be the problem? My friends are regulars 'ere, but
they're saying you won't let 'em in. Now why is that?"
"Yo- look here *friend*...I've got my list of who to let in, and who not
to let in. You and your little rag tag groupies over there ain't on my
list. Now kindly back your ass up before I back it up for you."
"Hey..." Angel takes charge, stepping up past Doyle to straighten out
the cocky bouncer with an attitude, "...you must be new..." he reaches
out his hand, lifting the corner of the young man's shirt to take a
glance at his name tag, "...Gunn..."
"And you must be crazy if you think I'm lettin' any of you in here," the
black man shoves Angel away with one swift motion, preparing himself for
a fight as he sees Angel's stance. Before he can even think of taking a
swing, a voice shouts out to him from inside the Bronze.
"Gunn!" Slowly making his way outside from the darkened interior of the
club, the smiling young man places a hand to his associate's shoulder.
He was wearing a regular business suit, though the dark blue color
hardly stood out in the shadows. Running his other hand through his
hair, tucking back the loose brown waves that just barely fell in neat
strands over his ears, he tosses a look to Angel, beginning to grin more
eagerly. "It's okay. These guys can come in."
Taking a few steps closer, a grimace stretches across Doyle's face as he
finally gets an upclose look at who their gracious host was.
"Hey Doyle," the young man greets him with a faint southern accent,
sensing the half-demon's realization as to his identity. "Long time no
see, huh?"
"Lindsey..." Doyle smirks, giving him a hard pat against the chest as he
and the others enter the Bronze. "What're you doin' 'ere, McDonald?
Wolfram and Hart decide to branch out into the club scene?"
"Aw, didn't ya hear? I quit...few weeks ago."
"Funny- why don't I believe ya?" Ignoring his skepticism, Lindsey offers
his hand to Angel, leading him over to a free table. "Lindsey McDonald."
Something was very wrong with the entire scenario. It ran in tiny volts
of electricity up his spine, flashing warning lights in his brain.
McDonald was someone to avoid, someone to keep an eye on. Stealing
himself against the shiver that threatened to crawl up his spine, Angel
politely answers, "Angel." He returns the handshake, still thrown off by
the young man's apparent background with Doyle. "You two know each other?"
"Oh yeah- we go way back." Lindsey pulls out a seat for Buffy, reaching
in a hand he hoped she'd accept. "And you are?"
"Buffy," she responds, gingerly shaking the stranger's hand before
making introductions around the table. "This is Willow, Cordelia, and Oz."
"You're the one with the band, right?" Lindsey points at him. "The
guitarist?"
"Actually I'm the 'no-talent hack' you just told to get off of your
stage..." Oz replies, "...but technically, I'm the guitarist, yeah."
"Sorry 'bout that, man. I didn't know you were friends with Doyle. If
the rest of your band is still here, you're welcome to set up to perform."
"So you're the new owner?" Angel guesses.
"Yep. I figured 'nightclub owner' would be much more appealin' than
'lawyer' to most women," he chuckles.
"Yo Lins," Gunn comes jogging over to their table. "You've got a call-
they said it was urgent."
"I've gotta take this," the new owner excuses himself. "But I'm sorry
again about the little mix-up at the door. I hope you'll all like what I
do with this place- you're welcome here anytime." As he begins to walk
away, he throws a final glance over his shoulder. "Great seein' ya
again, Doyle. Don't get into too much trouble."
"So who was that?" Angel turns to Doyle, expecting a full explanation.
"Lindsey's one of those guys you don't know whether to kill or commit.
But then, being a lawyer, you'd expect that."
"Demon?" Buffy checks.
"That's the really scary part- totally human...unless of course you
consider the fact that he's an all around weasel. He works for Wolfram
and Hart. They specialize in representing demons. It's more of the law
firm for the underworld- defending evil at all levels."
"So how's that different from any other law firm?" Cordy smirks, sharing
a laugh with him.
"You've got a point there, 'delia. Just stay away from him...all of ya."
Before any of the others can respond, a tall shadow approaches their
table, a warm smile across his face as he turns to face the slayer.
"Hey Buffy," Riley beams, nervously holding his drink in his hand.
"Hi Riley. Guys- you all remember Riley. Oh- except Doyle...Doyle, this
is Riley. He's the TA for a psych class we're taking. Riley, meet Doyle.
He's, uh...he works with Angel."
"Oh," Riley, genuinely curious to learn as much as he can about Buffy's
current boyfriend, turns to face Angel. "So you're not in school then?
What do you do?"
"Detective," Doyle answers for him, receiving a round of confused looks
from the table. "We have a little agency, that's all...Angel
Investigations..." he comes up with on impulse, shocking himself at the
certain ring the name had. "Ever heard of us?"
"Can't say I have. But at least now I know who to come to instead of the
police for help."
"Well...we help the helpless." <Damn- I'm pretty good at this winging it
gig.>
"Buffy," the tall blonde turns his attentions back to her, determined to
find some way of gaining her affection, "would you like to dance?"
"Umm..." She looks to Angel as if for approval. Seeing that his face
hadn't entirely shifted into jealous mode, she smiles up at Riley.
"Sure...why not," she answers, knowing full well that her cordiality was
only going to go so far. In spite of herself and what the others
thought, she did take a liking to the amiable young man- as a friend.
She hoped that given the chance to talk to him by herself while dancing,
she'd be able to let him know once and for all that he'd never be Angel-
that no man would ever take the place of her Angel.
"Great," Finn smiles, setting his drink down on their table. "I-" The
sudden beeping coming from the vicinity of his belt takes everyone by
surprise. "Damn," he mumbles, looking up to face Buffy with a sullen
look. "I'm sorry. I've gotta go. But maybe you'll save me a raincheck on
that dance?"
"See you in class tomorrow, Riley," she bids him goodbye, deliberately
avoiding having to offer him her decline. After watching him leave in a
hurry, Angel turns to his left, eyeing Doyle questioningly. "Angel
Investigations??"
"Well...it does have a certain ring to it..."
******
A strange smile passes over Lindsey's face once he reaches his office to
answer his phone call. "A few minutes late, aren't we?"
"Never mind that. Is he there?"
"Him and the rest of his friends. Ran into an old friend, too. Lilah
told me he'd be comin' here soon to help."
"What about the club?"
"Packed with a few of my choice clients...including Russell. Wall to
wall fangs...should get interesting. Too bad I'm not stickin' around to
see the mayhem."
"You should...it's gonna be fun. Just make sure Russell knows who to go
after. All your other clients are just distractions to keep Buffy busy."
"You sure this Angel's a vampire? He looked a little...alive to me,"
Lindsey shakes his head a bit at the obviously tanned face he'd just
encountered downstairs. "I mean, the way Lilah had filled me in on his
background, he's supposed to have been some ruthless monster who got a
bum deal bein' cursed with a soul. It may've been the lights, but he
hardly looked demonic to me."
"You calling me a liar, McDonald?"
"No...it's just that I've dealt with you Initiative boys before. Almost
all of us at Wolfram and Hart have. I don't know what it is about you
commandos...somewhere along the line you guys get some sorta 'above the
law' complex and need us to cover up some of your, shall I say,
*casualties* along the way."
"Just trust me on this, Lindsey. This guy's a vamp..." Xander smiles
into the phone before hanging up. "...or at least, he will be again when
I get done with him."
He'd done his homework over the past few months, not wanting to leave
anything to chance. Professor Walsh had extensive archives that were now
easliy accessible to him. He'd done plenty of research into the
practices of Wolfram and Hart. He'd read about the supposed champion
that would be called by the Powers- about the vision-plagued demon who
they would send to help him in his mission. He didn't need some stuffy
old watcher or slayer with an attitude to tell him that all of the
readings pointed to Angel.
He types in a few more notes on his laptop, leaning back in his chair as
he finishes. It would happen tonight. They'd bring Angel back to
headquarters for the standard 'rehabilitation'...only this time, it
would be by his own personal standards.
"Harris!" Forrest's shout can be heard from down the hall. "Harris!!"
comes another shout, this time from his other squad member, Graham.
"We've got a situation down at the Bronze. Walsh wants us down there,
now," Forrest informs him, grabbing some more gear as the three sprint
down the hall.
Part 3
Buffy slides a hand underneath Angel's jacket, snuggling closer to him.
His arm goes around her, hugging her close out of habit. His attention,
however, was focused on the sight of the Bronze's new owner making a
speedy exit out of the nightclub's back doors. Buffy places her head on
his chest, immediately relaxing as she hears and feels his steady
heartbeat. "You okay?" she glances up at him, sensing he was a little
preoccupied.
"Yeah..." Letting go of the strange feeling he'd been fighting all
night, he pulls her into his lap, wrapping her up into a tight hug from
behind. His hand moves to her stomach, gently letting his fingers trace
random patterns through the thin fabric of her tank top, eliciting a fit
of laughter from her. "Ticklish..." She leans further back against him
in response, turning her head slightly to smile against his neck. Angel
bends ever so slowly to kiss her, gently, reminiscent of their first
kiss. He slowly pulls away, content to hold her for a moment more of
total peace before leaning his head on her shoulder. "There isn't a
better feeling in the world than watching you smile," he whispers.
"Would you two stop it?" Cordelia grumbles from her seat across from
them. "It's bad enough this place is so dead tonight- but I don't need
to watch you two go at it all night as a form of entertainment."
"Do they do this a lot?" Doyle asks the brunette.
"Don't get me started..." she sighs, tucking a loose strand of hair
behind her ear.
"Well, so long I've got a clear means of escape once they get started,
it won't be so-" Doyle's voice escapes him as a searing vision takes
over. As the striking images flood his mind, his entire body jerks
forwards, his head slamming on the table.
"Okay- is he having a seizure or a vision?" Cordy checks, genuinely
concerned for their new friend.
"Doyle?" Angel checks, leaning in further to inspect him. "What is it?
What do you see?"
"Cordelia..." Willow's voice holds an uncertainty in it, as if she'd
just taken notice of something. "What you just said about the Bronze
being *dead* tonight..."
The friends' eyes collectively shift to where the wiccan was fearfully
staring at the rest of the Bronze-goers, all bearing their true vampiric
features. Stumbling out of their seats, Angel and Buffy are the first on
their feet, readying themselves in a familiar fighting stance. "Nice
timing with those visions, Doyle," Angel lets out an annoyed laugh.
"Really coming in handy."
"Don't blame me!" the half-demon shouts, standing off to the side of
them. "What about blondie here? What happened to that super Slayer
sixth-sense or whatever the hell you wanna call it?"
"Well...I got a little...distracted..." Buffy defends, managing a guilty
smile as she looks over to Angel.
"Yeah...you two tend to do that a lot," Cordy nervously chuckles,
standing with Willow and Oz alongside the others.
"What the hell is this?" comes an angry and shocked yell from Gunn as he
makes his way over to where they were all gathered. "I knew I shouldn't
have let-" Finally taking notice of the twisted, demonic faces that were
now staring right back at him, the young man quickly takes his own
fighting position. "Whoa! Lins is gonna freak!"
"Yer boss high-tailed it outta here," Doyle informs him. "You might
wanna do the same."
"And miss all the action?" Gunn passes him a smirk. "No way."
"Split up?" Angel suggests, his eyes darting through the massive horde,
trying to pick a good place to start.
"Be careful..." Buffy pleads before rushing after her first target.
"You kids really shouldn't be out partying this time of night," says
one, knocking the slayer to the ground first with a kick to the back of
her head.
"But then who'd be around to kick your ass?" Buffy quickly recovers,
plunging her stake through the first vamp.
"Relax cutie," another demon tries approaching her. "We just want him,"
he makes an outstretch of his arm, pointing to Angel.
"Why is everyone always after me?" Angel quickly gets out before
launching his own attack on the second vamp, quickly rendering him to
dust. The Scoobs continue trying to fight them all off, but soon find
that they're pretty well outnumbered. As he manages to dust another, Oz
takes notice of the five vamps headed in Angel's direction, attempting
to sneak up behind him. "Angel!" he calls out, desperate to grab his
attention.
Angel knocks down the vamp he was currently fighting, finally turning
around at Oz's shout. As he turns, one of the larger vamps catches him
with a massive kick- sending him into the wall. "Some warrior," Russell
smirks, grabbing the back of Angel's head and slamming it against the
concrete for a second time. Before Angel can think, four other vamps
grab him, pulling him away from the wall, trying to maintain a firm hold
on their captive. "Angel!" Buffy calls out to him, trying to fight her
way out of the corner she'd been backed into by her own attacking demons.
As he was glancing about at the others not fairing much better, his back
begins to feel the strain from his assailants' grips. From the far end
of the Bronze, Angel spots a string of masked figures swooping in, as if
out of nowhere. Rushing to his aid, one of them grabs hold of Russell's
neck, yanking him off of his feet from behind.
Russell's face meets Riley's swift kick, sending him, and unfortunately
Angel, to the ground. Not giving the vamp any time, Riley dives for him
as he pulls himself up off the ground. Angel, still dazed and confused
by what had happened, can only look on as the masked stranger and the
vamp have it out.
Somewhere in the middle of the scuffle, the former vampire catches a
glimpse of Buffy trying to break free of her own attackers. He rushes
over to her, catching one of the vamps from behind. He pulls him off of
Buffy, throwing him directly into the wall. Quickly recovering, the
frustrated demon charges directly for Angel but comes to a sudden halt
as he feels something strike him from behind. Watching as his opponent
slumps to the floor, having some sort of metal wire restraining him,
Angel looks up to see another masked figure in camouflage approaching him.
"Wh-" At first he wasn't sure what had happened- one minute he had been
face to face with some army commando, the next, the wind was knocked out
of him and he was lying on the ground, dazed and with a throbbing
headache. As he wages a brief but futile struggle against the metal
contraption that now encased his limbs as well, he looks behind himself,
hoping that he could catch Buffy's eye.
All the while, Buffy had been dividing her attentions between her own
fighting and making sure the other Scoobs were managing on their own.
She had just dusted another pair of bloodthirsty fiends when her gaze
landed on Angel- sprawled out on the ground against the nearby walll
facing her. "Angel..." Buffy manages to breathe out before rushing over
to him.
After fighting his way past his own assailants, Riley glances over his
shoulder to see the scene transpiring. He watches with a confused glare
as Xander steps closer to a captured Angel, his arms spread in front of
him, weapon in hand.
Anticipating the slayer's attack, Xander quickly lunges for her,
spearing her to the ground and plunging his fist against her face in a
sharp blow. Supressing his stunned gasp, Graham races over to Buffy,
helping her to her feet. "What the hell is wrong with you?!" he shouts
at his new teamate, knowing he'd get hell from Finn for breaking their
code of silence but somehow not caring at the moment.
Shoving her masked aide to the side, Buffy charges after Xander. She
knees him in the stomach, knocking the wind out of him, and begins
driving right hands to his eye. The two former friends exchange a few
blows until Buffy manages to catch him with a quick roundhouse, knocking
his weapon out of his hands.
From his position on the floor, Xander scrambles to retrieve it,
smashing the gun into Buffy's stomach, bringing her to her knees in
immense pain. Turning his attentions back to Angel, he adjusts his
hooded mask a bit before lifting the smaller gun he carried alongside
his belt. Taking his aim at a helpless Angel, Xander finds himself
hesitating. Garnering another idea, he turns back around, his
tranquilizer now aimed at Buffy.
Not wasting a minute, Riley makes a running dive after Xander, crashing
to the floor with him, but only after hearing the tranquilizer gun go
off. Still holding him pinned face first to the floor, Riley glances up,
only to see the small dart sticking out of Buffy's shoulder. "What is
wrong with you!" he fiercely growls into Xander's ear. "We were sent
here to collect Hostiles. What the hell do you think you're doing
attacking civilians?!"
"I wouldn't exactly call any of these people ordinary civilians," Xander
shoots back, rolling onto his side, managing to escape Riley's grasp.
Standing to their feet, Riley makes an attempt to help Buffy, but finds
himself being knocked backwards as Angel's leg shoots out, kicking him
back into the nearby pool table. As Riley goes tumbling over the wooden
frame, Graham makes a leap over him, hurrying over to Angel to free him
from the metal restraints. Being finally freed, Angel makes a mad dash
over to Buffy, gently pulling her into his arms. "Buffy? Buffy- can you
hear me?"
"What happened?" Gunn kneels beside him, maintaining a close watch on
their surroundings.
"They shot her with something."
"Who- uglies number one," Gunn nods towards the vamp currently ramming
Doyle's head into one of the pillars, "or uglies number two?" he adds,
this time nodding towards where the team of masked figures were making a
stealth departure, chasing after a few of the vamps who'd managed to
escape from the nightclub.
"Oh my god..." Willow hurries over, placing a hand on Angel's shoulder
for support as she bends down. "Is Buffy okay?"
"I think so," Angel answers, still trying to wake the slayer. "Buffy?
Buffy- wake up. Uggh...those army guys- whatever they were...one of them
shot her with something. Is everyone else okay, Willow?"
"We're good..." Oz answers for her, as he, Cordelia, and Gunn come
staggering over.
"Wait- where's Doyle?"
"Oh...this is just great." Pulling himself up from where he'd been
slammed through the table they'd all been sitting at a short while ago,
the half-demon kicks away some of the debris as he nears them. "I'm a
poor farmer's boy from Ireland...I shouldn't have to deal with this..."
******
"There's definitely something off about her."
"Maybe she's Canadian."
"Graham..." Riley sighs, throwing a sidelong glance to his friend. "This
is serious. I mean, did you see her tonight? She was really holding her
own."
"Plus she knocked me down- thereby proving her toughness," he grins,
taking a seat with his squad leader outside of Walsh's office. "What's
the big deal anyway? What's this thing you have for her?"
"Well...I guess I like her."
"You're kind of like a moron," Forrest joins in on their conversation,
hopping up onto the lab table.
"So, you...you knew that I had feelings for her?"
"Everybody knows, man," Graham answers.
" 'Oh, she's peculiar?' " Forrest mimicks one of his friend's casual
observations about the petite blonde. "Dead giveaway, buddy."
"I'm always the last to know."
"You also seem to be the last to notice one small detail about said
beauty," Graham brings Riley back to reality. "She has a boyfriend. A
boyfriend, who by my estimates, also proved his toughness tonight- I'd
watch myself, man."
"Mmm," comes Riley's only response before grabbing his gear and getting
up. "Is he still in there with Walsh?"
"You mean rebel-without-a-clue?" Forrest scoffs at his mention of
Xander. "Yeah- he's been in there for the last half hour."
"Wonder where his mind was tonight," Graham says. "Going after Buffy's
boyfriend like that..."
"Hey- maybe he likes her too," Forrest muses. "Should've let him taken
the big guy out of the picture for ya tonight so you'd be free to make
your move."
******
"You didn't get him?" Walsh asks Xander from behind her desk, her words
coming out as more of a blatant and angered observation.
"No...Finn and Miller stopped me. But I did manage to do some damage to
Buffy. The stuff should work great on her," Xander smiles to himself,
glad he'd been able to find out just what serum Giles had used on the
slayer for her eighteenth birthday. "At least, it did when she had it in
her the last time."
"It better work, Harris. This is a big risk to my organization," she
sighs, turning slightly in her seat to face him fully.
"I thought you said nobody really knew about the Initiative?"
"They will if you don't start being a little more careful in bringing
Angelus in! We can't afford any more mistakes, Harris. Our investor
isn't exactly the most patient woman in the world. She expects results-
and so do I."
"Well then tell me, oh wise and patient one...how do you expect me to
get the job done when I've got two of your stooges playing good
samaritans?" Walsh ponders his words for a moment, finally lifting her
eyes to face him with a smile of admiration.
"Finn's taken quite a liking to Miss Summers..."
"You're kidding me?" Xander scoffs loudly. "Oh this'll do nicely..."
"I think it's time we let him in on the big picture."
"What makes you think he'll go along with it?"
"Trust me..." Walsh says with a menace in her voice. "If Finn's
anything, he's loyal. He does what I want, when I want."
"What about Graham?"
"Hold off on him. Too much of a loner- never really been a team
player...I'm not sure whether he'll be so easy to persuade."
Xander begins to leave, but Walsh stops him. "We want this done,
Harris...immediately."
"Trust me..." he grins, taking the final step out of her office, slowly
closing the door behind him. As he turns to make his walk down the
corridor, he's too busy trying to catch up to Riley to even notice
Graham's shadow lurking from outside Walsh's room.
"Finn!" Xander calls out to him, stopping him in his tracks. "Wait up."
"I think you've got some explaining to do, Harris," the squad leader
sighs. "Starting with why you attacked and *shot* a civilian."
"You've got a real gratitude problem, ya know that?"
"And exactly why should I be tossing any thanks your way?" a surprised
Riley asks as the two continue down the hall.
"Cause I'm about to save you a whole lotta of grief before you even try
to get involved with a person like Buffy Summers."
"What do you mean 'a person like Buffy Summers'?"
"You have no idea who she is, do you?"
"Come again?"
"Haven't you noticed anything about her?"
"Well...after seeing her tonight...there is something off about her..."
"Gee- that's the understatement of the decade..."
******
A knock on her door interrupts Maggie Walsh's few moments of peace. She
stands to greet her guest, not really knowing who to expect, and her
welcoming smile falls from her face as Lilah Morgan walks into her
office. "I'd hoped you could do this, but apparently-"
"Well maybe if your associates would be a little more helpful," Walsh
retorts, slamming the door behind her as she walks back over to her
desk, only to find the lawyer had already seated herself, legs propped
up on the desk over her stack of files.
"Who- Lindsey??" she laughs, smiling for a moment before her face
hardens with determination. "You actually expected him to do something
right? Wait till he starts having his little pangs of guilt- he does
that occassionally, you know. They should've never hired him..." she
mutters to herself before returning her attentions to Walsh. "In any
event, it's been over three months, and you still haven't gotten the job
done. Our firm has certain interests...goals...Angel and the slayer
being buried in the ground being number one on our list. We want to
eliminate our problem before it has a chance to even become one. We
can't afford to have them screwing around with our business."
"Tonight didn't go according to planl..." Walsh lowers her head, making
a slight wave of her hands. "We had a few complications from within- but
we're taking care of it. I've got-"
"I don't care how you deal with this- just get it done. We've invested
too much money into your little G.I. Joe factory as it is."
"You know, you didn't have to come all this way just to lecture me."
"Don't flatter yourself, Maggie," Lilah laughs, leaning back further in
the comfortable leather seat. "I just wanna make sure McDonald doesn't
screw things up completely. If you want something done right...you get a
woman to do it..."
Part 4
"Buffy- would you please stop trying to move?" Giles begs of his former
slayer. "How am I supposed to make sure you're alright?"
"I think letting me go out and give a severe beating to the creeps who
did this to me should show you just how alright I am," Buffy snaps back,
obviously frustrated by all of her friends' coddling. The others had
joined them back at the mansion, and Willow had called Giles to inform
him of the evening's strange events.
The englishman has barely looked at the cut on Buffy's forehead when
she begins protest of having anything more done to her. "Look- I'm
fine. Now lemme go out on patrol to see if I can catch our army freaks."
"Buffy, come on," says Willow, "you're bleeding all over the place. Sit
still," she softly scolds.
"Will, I'm fine- really. It's worse than it looks. It's not that deep
of a cut."
"What about your ribs?" asks Oz. "I saw that one who shot you give you
a nice slam to the stomach."
"They're fine- if anything is suffering, it's my patience. Come on,
Angel," she says, extending her hand to head out on her mission.
"Buffy, please stay here at least until we figure out what's really
going on," he pleads with her. Reluctantly, she agrees, taking her seat
back down next to him. "Are you cut anywhere else?" Angel asks, running
a hand down her back to check for any other possible injuries. The
slayer quickly shakes her head, just wanting to get out of there and put
some sort of plan into action.
"So these...military people...they just appeared out of nowhere?" Giles
checks with them as he finishes up with tending to Buffy. "You're
certain they weren't with the vampires in the Bronze?"
"One of them saved me from one," Angel speaks up.
"Yeah- and another one speared me to the ground and held me at
gunpoint," Buffy mutters unappreciatively.
"They had weapons?" Giles raises an eyebrow. "What kind of weapons?"
"A bunch of tasers..." answers Angel, "...some sort of harpoon, and a
tranquilizer."
"Oh- that reminds me..." Giles reaches over into his duffel bag,
retrieving a small needle and plunges it into an unsuspecting Buffy.
"Hey! Haven't I been poked enough tonight?!"
"I want to find out just what they shot you with," Giles assures her,
removing the sharp point once he'd taken enough of a blood sample from
her. "Do you have any idea who these people might be?"
"What about that guy Lindsey?" Oz suggests, receiving a quick stare from
Gunn.
"You think Lins did this?!"
"I saw him leaving the Bronze right before the attack," Angel sighs.
"McDonald isn't exactly someone you wanna be working for full-time,
Gunn," Doyle adds.
"I don't work for him. I just...know him from LA. When we both moved
here to...get away from things...he asked me to help him out at the club."
"What do you know about Wolfram and Hart?" Doyle asks him.
"Just that Lindsey used to work for them. But he- he quit...awhile ago."
"I wouldn't be too sure of it," Angel adds. "I knew there was something
off about him tonight. He set us up- plain and simple."
"They wanted you..." Buffy murmurs, subconsciously pulling herself
closer to her lover. "They were after you."
"Wh- who?" Giles looks up, still a bit confused by everything. "The
vampires, or- or the commandos?"
"It kinda seemed like *both* were after you," Willow chimes in. "So now
what do we do?"
"There's not much else we can do tonight," Giles announces, immediately
receiving a sharp, angry glare from his former slayer. "I'm going to
run a few tests- see what you were injected with. In the meantime, all
of you stay on your guards and we'll meet back here tomorrow morning to
figure out our starting point. Agreed?"
The friends agree in unison, all heading their separate ways out of
the mansion, leaving only Gunn and Doyle with no place else to go. "Say
Angel man, do you mind if I-"
"Your room's right where you left it," Angel answers Doyle. "You're
welcome here as long as you need," he extends the invitation, giving him
a final smile before he heads up towards his guest room. He steals a
quick kiss from Buffy before turning to face Gunn, a cautious look in
his eye. "Where are you staying in Sunnydale?"
"With Lindsey- at least, I *was*," he lets out a scoff, running a hand
over his shaved head. "I just can't believe he'd be in on something
like this."
"He's a lawyer," Buffy reminds him.
"Working for Wolfram and Hart," Angel adds.
"What's the big deal about Wolfram and Hart?"
"From what Doyle told us, they're one of your more..." Angel pauses for
a moment, searching for the right word, "...sinister law firms. They
take special care of demons."
"Which, by the way," Buffy raises a hand in the air, "you aren't
surprised to find out exist- why exactly is that?"
"You think Sunnydale's the only place swarming with the big nasties?"
Gunn smiles back. "I've seen my share in LA."
"You looked pretty good fighting tonight," says Angel.
"Ain't no thing..." he shrugs lightly.
"Look- you're welcome to stay here until we can get things straightened
out."
"You two actually live here?" Gunn's eyes begin darting through the
halls, still stlightly taken aback by the massive structure.
"Roomy, huh?" Buffy looks over to him before nudging Angel gently in the
stomach. "We oughta start charging rent..."
Upstairs, grabbing his bag from off the bed, Doyle pulls out a
bottle of aspirin, chasing down the two white pills with a few healthy
swigs from his bottle. As he's sliding off his jacket, the sudden
ringing coming from his pocket takes him by surprise. Pulling out his
cell, he flips it open. "Hello?"
"Doyle? Hi- it's...it's Cordelia."
" 'Delia..." His sullen face quickly shifts into a beaming smile as he
sits down on the bed. "Didn't think you'd notice I'd slipped my number
into your bag," he laughs in spite of himself.
"Very subtle," the brunette chirps, a certain lilt in her voice.
"Well, you know- jus' in case you ever need some help. I aim to
please. What can I do for you?"
"I just realized I never thanked you for tonight," Cordy nervously gets
out, still surprised at herself for being so bold as to call him.
"Tonight?"
"You know- that part where you jumped in front of that vamp who was
coming after me-"
"Oh *that*-"
"-and then you got slammed through the table and were pretty much
knocked out-"
"You couldn't have jus' stopped at my heroics and not delve into the
total lack of skills to back it up?"
"Well anyway- I just wanted to thank you."
"My pleasure..." he answers, unsure of how to proceed. Thankfully,
after a minute or two of silence, Cordy's cheeful voice comes over the
line once more.
"So how is everyone?"
"Pretty good. Gunn's staying here too. I think Buffy and Angel already
went to bed- did you want to talk to them? I can go check-"
"Unless you want to feast your eyes on the damaging sight of them
groping each other, I'd advise against it."
"Mmm...I think I'll stick with my visions..." he trails off with a deep
sigh.
"Something wrong?" she asks, obviously concerned about how he was
fairing after being struck with one earlier in the evening.
"When I had the vision...I didn't know..."
"Oh- don't feel bad about cutting it so close to gametime with letting
us know we were in danger. We deal with that a lot."
"That's not what I mean. The vision I had...it didn't show the attack
at the Bronze."
"Well then, what did you see?"
"Angel...he was in cage. And Buffy was there, but...she couldn't move.
There were these two men. I could only make out one of them though-
tall, dark-haired...his face jus' looked so dark and cold. This all
sounds really disturbing, doesn't it?" he lets out a small chuckle,
trying to lighten the mood.
"No more disturbing than anything else that happens here," she responds
in turn. "I guess we'll start piecing things together tomorrow."
"Yeah..." he sighs, realizing that their conversation was quickly coming
to an end. "Sleep tight, 'Delia."
"You too, Doyle." After gently placing the phone back on the receiver,
Cordy wraps her arms around herself as she leans back into her pile of
pillows, snuggling into their warmth. " 'Delia'...I kinda like that..."
******
"Come on...come on...pick up..." His fingers nervously drumming ontop
of his desk, Lindsey stares idly at his clock, wondering just what his
associate could be doing at this hour.
"Well..." comes a smooth voice after a few more rings, "...isn't it past
your bedtime, McDonald?"
"Just thought you'd like to be the first to receive the news, Lilah."
"Mmm...enlighten me."
"Tell the office we've bagged our demon...or rather, *I've* bagged our
demon." The young man was more than a little surprised to hear the
round of laughter he received in response.
"My dear Lindsey," Lilah begins after regaining her speech, "did you
actually think your little firing squad got the job done tonight?"
"How did you know that I-"
"-have been working with Walsh's Initiative?" she finishes for him.
"The first lesson in war is to know your enemy better than they know you."
"We're not enemies, Lilah..." he tries working his charm on her. "We
both want to bring Angel in. I just decided to use some outside sources
to get the job done."
"You should've known our toy soldiers wouldn't be able to take care of
him," Lilah chastises him, all the while working out her own strategy to
discuss with Walsh later that evening. <Why not dispose of the both of
them...I'll use Lindsey to get Angel and the slayer, then have Walsh and
her boys kill them all.> "But how great would it look if the two of us
brought his ashes to LA?"
"You've got a plan then?"
"Of course I do!" she says with a joyous chuckle. "Not everyone's as
insipid as you...some of us have creativity..."
******
Angel could feel Buffy's tossing and turning in his arms for the
past hour. The both of them still felt uneasy about how to handle
things, not even knowing what their plans were, or whether or not their
extreme worries were really warranted. "Buffy? Are you alright?"
The slayer sighs as she cuddles up against Angel, pulling the covers
up tighter around them. "I'm sorry...I didn't mean to keep you up."
"You haven't," he sighs, kissing the top of her head. "I guess we're
both still a little shaky about everything." They lay in peaceful
silence until Buffy speaks up, changing the subject for the first time
that night. "How come you never told me about us being married for the
past two years?"
"Because...you never asked?" he tries, smiling down at her with his
trademark half-grin.
"Try again." She leans up on her elbow to stare at him fully.
"I guess I didn't want it to seem like I was...pressuring you into
something you weren't ready for." He slides a hand down her bare arm,
his fingers seeking out her claddagh ring as he reaches her hand. He
lowers his voice as he gently begins twirling it in small circles. "I
wasn't even sure you'd ever want this sort of commitment with me." As
Angel's face turns more solemn, Buffy reaches for him, pulling him to
her and rolling over so that he lay ontop of her, wrapped in her arms.
"What part of 'I love you' haven't you fully grasped yet? Angel...you'd
asked me if I ever thought about the future?" He gently nods in
response. "You're all I see or want when look into the future. You're
all I've ever seen or wanted...nothing could ever change that."
For a moment, Angel simply gazes down at her, entranced by the glow
of her skin in the moonlight and the fall of her hair across the silk
pillow. He draws his arms around her, pulling her even closer as he
lays back against their mountain of pillows. He looks at her with an
pleading intensity that she'd rarely seen him display. "I just want to
hold you..." he whispers, brushing his lips against her cheek.
Reaching up, Buffy presses her lips to his, running her hand through
his hair. With a contented sigh, she snuggles into their embrace,
burying her face against his chest as she sprawls out ontop of him,
engulfing him with her warmth.
******
Wednesday morning dawned in Sunnydale, as the first rays of sunshine
crept over the horizon. At present moment Buffy, who was sleeping
spreadeagled across her lover's chest, turns her face towards the sound
of the incessant ringing of the phone that threatened to ruin her
precious moments of comfort.
"Don't pick that up..." she mumbles against Angel's sun-kissed skin,
pulling the sheets over the both of them to disuade him even further.
"It's either pick it up now or wait till they come over to be
bothered..." Angel slowly pulls down the black sheets from his head,
leaving only Buffy completely covered. Reaching over blindly, his hand
finally grabs the cordless. "Hello?"
"Hey Angel!" Willow's voice comes leaping over the line. "I didn't wake
you guys did I?"
"Willow...when do you ever wake us up?" he teases, not trying to hide
his saracasm at the situation.
"I just thought we should get an early start since we still have classes
to go to at eight."
"Did you want to talk to Buffy?" At Willow's quick and eager reply,
Angel lifts the covers above Buffy's curled up frame, gently sliding the
phone under to her before letting them fall back down.
"Sleepy..." Angel can hear Buffy mumble from under the sheets,
delighting in the feel of her low, rumbling voice against his chest.
"Sleepy Buffy has classes today," Willow reminds her. "I've already
called everyone...we'll be over in a little bit."
"Will...it's...it's..." She peeks her head out for a moment to catch a
quick glimpse of the clock before retracting back under her toasty warm
tent, "...it's five in the morning..."
"Too bad," the redhead chuckles. "Oh- and breakfast would be a nice
thought." Without giving her best friend a chance to respond, she hangs
up, smiling to herself at the prospect of Angel's cooking awaiting her.
"This blows..." Buffy pouts into Angel's chest, receiving only a soft
murmur of agreement from him.
"Whoa! 'Delia warned me about walking in on you two!" Picking up on
some of the slayer's last comment, Doyle quickly averts his eyes from
the sight of the huge lump rustling around under the covers.
"Doyle..." Angel sighs, slowly crawling out of bed, the drawstring of
his black sweatpants swaying loosely from his waist, "we were just
getting up."
"So I see..."
"You've been spending too much time with Cordelia," Buffy yawns, rolling
herself to her feet, headed towards their bathroom. "I'm gonna take a
shower...maybe it'll help wake me up."
"Buffy," Angel turns to her, "wait a minute..." He walks over to her,
placing a hand over her forehead. "You feel okay?"
"Yeah...just a little out of it. Maybe something I..." Before she can
finish, the petite blonde slumps to the ground, thankful that Angel was
there to catch her.
"She alright?" Doyle approaches them, reaching out a hand to help steady
her as Angel pulls her back to her feet.
"Doyle- go downstairs with Gunn to let the others in. Tell them we'll
be down in a little bit."
"Sure." The half-demon heads down the hall to wake Gunn, leaving a very
troubled Angel with Buffy. "Buffy, what's wrong?"
"I don't know...I just feel so weak..."
"That injection..." Angel surmises. "I just hope it's nothing more than
this."
Part 5
"Do I smell waffles?"
Slowly making their descent down the stairway, Buffy and Angel share a
confused look as Cordelia begins her march into the kitchen. "No" Angel
answers her, taking hold of Buffy's hand, leading her over to the couch.
" *Could* I smell waffles?"
"Cordy," Willow begins, "we didn't come over here to eat. But now that
she mentions it, *is* there any food that needs eating?"
"Didn't have time, Will," Angel sighs. "Buffy's not feeling so good."
"What's wrong?" In an instant, she's by her best friend's side, placing
a warm hand on her shoulder.
"We think it's that injection. Giles," he turns towards where the
englishman was sitting, "did you find out what it is?"
"All I've been able to determine is that it contains a series of muscle
relaxants. No poisons or anything else that could do serious damage as
far as I could tell. It's strangeit's almost identical to the formula
the Watcher's Council uses to test a slayer during her rite of passage"
"Wait a minute-" Buffy pops her head up, suddenly struck with an idea.
"You don't think Travers has started up his own secret undercover branch
of the Council, do you? Maybe he's one of the guys behind this."
"Unlikely," Giles sighs. "Though I can't seem to come up with anything
else."
"Great" the slayer moans. "So what am I supposed to do in the meantime?
Drag myself around the mansion all day? Stay in bed- actually, that's
not such a bad idea," she manages a small laugh, leaning into Angel's
shoulder.
"Go to classes," Giles responds. "Just take it easy, alright? I'll see
if I can come up with something to reduce the effects. We're certainly
going to need you if these soldiers start making their presence known in
full force."
"Which begs the question, how do we go after them?" Oz breaks his
silence, reminding them all of their main goal.
"From what you've all said, they don't seem to be potential enemies, as
of yet. Perhaps if you'd run into them during patrol" Giles lets out a
deep sigh in thought, lowering his head as he tries coming up with a
form of strategy. "If there were only some way of drawing them out into
the open" Upon hearing the sudden movement of Doyle standing from his
seat, grabbing Gunn along the way, Giles looks up. "Doyle? Something wrong?"
"I think we're gonna pay our friend Lindsey a visit. I don't think the
vamps were the only ones he set us up for. Those army guys- it was all
too much of a coincidence that they just happened to show up when we
were attacked."
"Check in with us during the day," Angel says. "Let us know as soon as
you find something."
With Doyle and Gunn headed out the door, Willow takes it upon herself to
rally the others into heading for campus. "We'd better get going.
Professor Walsh asked me to lead the class today in a discussion. I
wanna get there early to go over some things with her so I don't make a
total fool out of myself."
"Gotta love that positive attitude," Oz smiles, wrapping an arm around
her waist as they head for the door alongside Cordelia.
"You're sure you'll be okay?" Angel checks with Buffy as she slings her
bag over her aching shoulder. "You know, maybe you should stay home today."
"Nahif I'm not sleeping here, I'll be sleeping in class. Not too much
of a difference. Besides, Walsh is a total slavedriver- I miss any more
classes and she'll ship me off to the salt mines."
"Alright. Hey-" he gently grabs her by the shoulder, pulling her to him.
"I love you."
"I love you." She pulls him down into a soft kiss before linking an arm
with Willow, allowing herself to be dragged to Psychology.
"Aw man" Oz mutters after they've only walked two blocks towards UC
Sunnydale.
"What's wrong?" Willow looks over to him.
"I promised Devon I'd show up for band practice this morning for our
show in LA this weekend. I'm already late," he notices as he glances at
his watch. "Cover for me with Walsh?"
"Sure, surego- have your fun while your poor girlfriend gets stuck
embarrassing herself talking in front of over a hundred people in class."
"If it's any consolation, it'll only be ninety-nine people since yours
truly won't be there. Actually, ninety-eight, since Buffy will probably
be asleep-" Willow shuts him up, pulling him into a quick kiss.
"I'll meet you in the cafeteria at noon," he promises. "I just have to
swing by the lecture hall to get what I missed from Walsh."
******
Willow's role as leader of the discussion group didn't go as bad as
she'd anticipated. After twenty minutes, Walsh had commandeered the
class from the shy redhead and even ended her normally torturous hour
long class early.
"Well that was fun, huh? Buffy?" Willow gently shakes her friend's
shoulder, hoping she wouldn't slip face forward onto her desk. "Buffy?"
"Sleepywant bed"
"For the past forty minutes, that desk's been your bed," Cordy grins.
"Want bed with Angel"
"Come on," Willow helps her to her feet, leading her out of class, but
not before being stopped by Riley.
"She okay?" he checks, wondering whether the stuff Xander told him he'd
used on her was as strong as he'd said.
"Oh yeah- just had a long nightstudying- you know how it is."
"Mmm" he gently nods his head.
"There you go again with those wonderful conversation skills, Finn,"
Cordy beams, eager to get in her early morning quips. "Keep this up and
you might actually make some friends by the end of the semester. Then
maybe you'll stop lurking around us."
"You know, you might wanna watch that mouth of yours Cordelia," Riley
snaps back, surprising the brunette as well as himself. "It could get
you into a lot of trouble one of these days."
"Ooo- threats from Fish-boy! Watch me tremble."
Watching with a disgusted look as the three leave, Riley's startled when
he feels Walsh's hand come to rest on his shoulder. "I like her," she
grins widely, noticing Riley's instant glare.
"Why didn't you tell me about any of them before?"
"Didn't think you'd want to hear it. Forrest told me you'd grown quite
fond of our little slayer."
"That was before I found out about her demon lover," he snaps back,
letting the stack of papers he'd been piling fall to the floor in his
haste.
"Jealous of Angelus, are we? Xander filled you in?"
"Filled him in on what?" a voice asks from behind them.
Riley jumps and quickly turns around. "Dammit Harris" After he catches
his breath, he returns to his discussion with Walsh. "I know what has to
be done now."
"Where did Willow go?" Xander inquires, ready to set their plan into action.
"She just left with Buffy. You can probably catch her."
"Hehit's not her I'm looking to catch right now."
******
"You sure you'll be okay up here by yourself?" Willow didn't like the
idea of leaving a weakened Buffy alone in the dorms, but she was anxious
to get down to the cafeteria to meet Oz.
"If you don't mind a little drool on your pillow, I'll manage. Besides,
Cordelia will be with me."
"Point being?"
"Hey!" Queen C quickly takes offense. "I happen to be a very good
babysitter. Just ask my bratty little cousins."
"Go ahead-" Buffy assures the redhead. "Just bring back some food."
"OkayI shouldn't be long."
Hurrying down the hall, Willow's journey comes to a sudden stop as she
lands face first into a broad surface. "Umph! Oh, sorry, IXander?"
Willow takes a step back, nervously tucking a strand of hair behind her
ear. "Wh- what are you doing here? I didn't know you're taking classes?"
"I'm not," he answers her, trying to keep a civil tone. "Anya is. I'm
trying to find her dorm room," he lies, straigtening out a crease in his
shirt. "Sowhere are you headed in such a hurry?"
"Ohthe cafeteria. Oz is meeting me for lunch after he gets his work
from Professor Walsh." The young wiccan still wasn't quite sure how to
react to seeing the guy she'd called one of her best friends just months
ago. At the moment, she was thankful she'd decided to let Buffy take a
nap in her's and Cordelia's dorm room, knowing just how the slayer would
deal with coming face to face with him again.
"He wasn't in Psych class with you?"
"How did you know we're taking Psych?"
"Anya's in your class," he quickly covers. "Guess you never took notice
of her, huh?"
"Well, that whole thing with her wanting to destroy us hasn't exactly
endeared her much."
"FunnyAngel's really managed to endeare himself to all of you- despite
some of his, uh, less noble actions. Where is he anyway? I would've
thought Buffy'd be parading him around on a leash now that there's no
more fear of him getting flash-fried."
"Angel's at home- working on something."
"Probably Buffy," he mutters, though loud enough that he was sure she'd
heard him.
"For your information, Buffy's up in my dorm room, and you know what-"
she musters on her stern face, tired of having to deal with him, "you're
lucky that she is, otherwise she'd be flipping you on your ass right
about now!" Turning sharply on her heel, she storms away, hastening in
her pace downstairs.
"For my information" Xander chuckles to himself at Willow's choice
phrasing. "For my information, I go straight to the source." He flips
out his cell phone, rounding a corner as he makes his retreat back to
grab his gear. "Our furry friend will be headed your way in a little bit."
"Forrest and Riley are already headed back to headquarters," Maggie
tells him. "I'll take care of Osbourne- you three meet back here to
carry out the rest."
******
"You can't find Lindsey?...Well did you find anything in his
apartment?...No, nothing here. Giles left a little while agoNo, not
yet- their last class gets done at six, but I'm probably gonna go out
and do some searching before they get backAlright, but be careful."
Still apprehensive after his phone call from Doyle, Angel lays on his
back on the couch, trying to achieve some sleep despite
the sick headache pounding through his head. They were still nowhere
closer to figuring anything out, and it wasn't looking promising after
Doyle and Gunn found Lindsey's apartment in shambles. If McDonald was
involved with their attacks, someone else had managed to get to him
before they had a chance.
So intent was he on his thoughts, that it took him a few moments to
realize that someone was ringing the doorbell- continuously. He looks at
one of the clocks adorning the wall- 12:00. He lets out a deep sigh,
missing Buffy so much that he seriously debated whether or not to
surprise her on campus, and hurries to open the front doors.
"Hey, Oz-" His greeting is cut short as an unconscious Oz slumps to the
ground. "Oz!"
Angel kneels down and checks for a pulse, relieved to find that it was
slow and steady. A shadow crosses over Oz's body, causing Angel to look
up and gasp in shock and surprise. A gun was leveled at him- a gun being
held by one of the same masked figures from the night before. With two
more soldiers behind him, the intruder takes a sudden step forward, his
finger steady on the gun's trigger.
Before he can utter another sound, the gun goes off, striking Angel in
the chest. He looks down, fully expecting to see a hole and blood.
Instead, a dart was sticking out from him.
"Who? Who-" WIth a cocky smile, the figure slowly peels back his black
hood, a sneer upon his lips as a devious laugh escapes him.
"Xander" Angel's voice trails off as the tranquilizer takes effect,
sending him crashing to the floor alongside his fallen friend.
"A double creature feature," Riley muses out loud, earning a wide grin
from Forrest.
"Cool. Can't wait to tear into these two in the lab."
******
"You know, I'm starting to feel a little better," Buffy announces as
she, Cordy, and Willow return to the mansion.
"At least one of us is" Will pouts, slouching back onto one of the couches.
"Im sure Oz just got caught up with band practice," Buffy tries
consoling her.
"All afternoon?"
"Maybe they all decided to crash for the day. Drive up the coast to LA
or something."
"But why wouldn't he call? I mean, I may be all school-nerdy, but I
still would've went. A- am I that boring he wouldn't want to take me
along?" As she sees her best friend had no other explanation to give
her, she tries covering up her sullen mood. "Listen to meI'm sorry. I
*am* glad that you're feeling better."
"Chalk that up to my homecooking!"
"Cordeliayou ordered us a pizzanot exactly my idea of Julia Child."
"Okaybut still- dialing requires effort," she smiles, tossing her bag
onto the dining room table. "Speaking of chefs, where's your personal
gourmet? I would've thought he'd have dinner on the table by now."
"Angel?" Buffy walks down the great hall, peering her head in and out of
some rooms. "Angel? Honey, you home?"
"Buffy?" To the slayer's surprise, and slight disappointment, it was
Giles who answered her call from the library.
"Hey. Where's Angel?"
"He's not with you?"
"Nowe just got back"
"Oh. Wellhow- how are you feeling?"
"Much better- where's Angel?"
"You're sure? I mean, I think I may have come up with something to
reverse the drug's effects and-"
"Where's Angel??"
"Have you eaten yet? We can all order something," he tries stalling
again. "Maybe a few pizzas-"
"Giles! Where's Angel?" With a deep exaggerated sigh, Giles steps past
her out towards the fireplace. "I don't know. Nobody's heard from him
since this afternoon."
"What?" Hearing her shocked yell, Cordy and Will join them from the kitchen.
"Gunn and Doyle couldn't find Lindsey," Giles begins to explain. "They
checked in with Angel, but that was hours ago. They mentioned that Angel
said something about doing some searching on his own, but still"
"Giles- what about Oz?" Willow speaks up, hoping that maybe her
boyfriend had checked in with someone else.
"Oz? I haven't seen him since you all left this morning. He's missing too?"
"This doesn't look good," Cordy announces, signs of worry beginning to
show on her face as well. "Where are Doyle and Gunn now?"
"Out looking for Angel-"
"Which is where I'm headed." Not wasting another minute, Buffy picks up
her jacket from where she'd tossed it, heading for the door.
"Buffy, wait-" Giles shouts in vain. "You're still not a hundred- *slam*
-percent"
******
Agent Harris stares down at the still form before him. He glances
briefly around at his surrounding teammates, passing a slow, stone cold
stare among them.
"Ten minutes since you last moved," he mutters to a weakened Angel. "I'd
say this is where you finally meet your grave, Deadboy...only this time,
you'll stay buried. You know, every man faces this moment. Here, now.
Watching, waiting. Nerve endings screaming in silence. Never knowing
which thought might be your last."
"Oh, shut up!" Lilah shouts to him, making her entrance known as she and
Walsh enter the labs of Initiative headquarters under Lowell House. "We
don't want to bore him to death. At least, not until the slayer's here
to see it."
Kneeling down in front of Angel's secluded cell, Xander reaches in a
hand through the bars, grabbing hold of the side of his face as he
begins whispering to him in a sing-songy voice. "And won't the Buffster
get a nice surprise when she sees her precious little Angel has been
turned back into the monster he really is, hmm?" With a solid slap to
Angel's face, Xander grins wildly as he stands back to his feet,
starting to leave with the others.
Before he can leave, he turns back to watch a minute longer, to affirm
Angel's current condition, watching on with a fervent sense of pride
that he alone had been the one to finally overpower the supposed Scourge
of Europe. <It didn't take an army, or some great, all-mighty and
powerful demon. Just lil' old me. Bet Giles would've never seen this
coming- won't G-man be proud?>
"For years I've waited for this day," he finally muses out loud. "Years
watching Buffy pass me by just to catch a glimpse of you. Years of
having to listen to her and all the others go on and on about how
wonderful you are, how perfect for each other the two of you are. Years
of being everyone's whipping board- just look at all the good *that* did
me."
"You might not be the deranged soldier of fortune that you are today,"
Lilah's quick to support him, offering him the sincerest smile she could
plaster on. "How nice."
"What do we do with the werewolf?" Walsh asks her most prominent
investor, throwing a glance to where poor Oz was layed out in his own
cold cell, unconsciously slumped into a small pile in the corner.
"Think of him as a large guinea pig. Do what you want with him. He's
just added insurance to make sure that the slayer gets here."
"And when exactly will that be?"
"Soon enoughour dear Lindsey should be dropping in on them any minute
now. And won't they be all too anxious to take him up on his offer to
bring them to Angel?" she laughs, making even Walsh cringe with the true
evil lurking behind her every word.
******
Though she was currently lacking the unique strength and powers of her
typical slayer self, years of fighting had provided Buffy with an
impressive display of techniques, most of which her current vampire foe
was on the receiving end of. "Look- I don't have time for this!" she
yells, knocking the demon to the ground. "So if you don't mind, why
don't you just lay still while I stake ya, k?"
Seeing an opportunity for escape, the fledgling makes a mad dash across
the cemetery, seeking refuge in the run-down warehouse that rested only
a few blocks out of reach. Although her mind was telling her elsewise,
Buffy caves in to the voice of reason, knowing she had to chase him.
"This sacred duty stuff is a real pain in the ass"
Slowly entering the abandoned building, readying herself with stake in
hand, Buffy's more than shocked when she's blindsided from behind, being
kicked to the ground beside the nearby crumbling wall. The slayer has
her stake ready when she pulls herself back up, only to have her head
snapped back by the vamp's striking fist. Two follow-up blows send her
reeling backward, landing against the wall again.
With shadows spilling in and out of the darkened room, it soon became
aware to her that she now had two demons to deal with. Figuring he'd let
his opponent rest for a moment, the fledgling turns his attentions to
their guest, making a blind dive for the masked figure. "And what are
you all dressed up for?" he laughs, taking note of the young man's army
attire. "Halloween isn't for a few months."
As the fight between the two ensues, Buffy, her strength quickly fading
again, corners them both, diving in for a neat flying tackle, bringing
them to the ground. They wrestle briefly as the demon struggles to
extract himself from both fighters' holds. Growling loudly, he manages
to free one arm, and slashes the slayer's upper shoulder, ripping
through her shirt and breaking the skin.
Clutching her stake in one hand, Buffy no sooner steadies herself on the
ground than the now-unmasked figure dives in front of her to attack the
vamp. With a graceful flip, the young man lands nimbly on his feet
behind the creature, driving his weapon through his heart from behind as
Buffy does the same with her own weapon of choice. One by one, as specks
of dust float between them, the two heroes come face to face with each
other.
"Graham?"
Neither one lowering their guard, the two stand before one another,
grimaces of confusion and worryment sprawled across their features.
After a round of heavy breathing has passed, their eyes never waivering,
the debarred Initiative member takes it upon himself to utter the first
of few words to pass between them.
"WellI guess we have to talk."
"I guess we do."
Part 6
"Somebody should speak before one of us graduates." With everyone
gathered in the mansion's dining room, Buffy's return home with a
ready-to-battle, military-clad Graham by her side made for quite a
surprise. Ten solid minutes had passed since any sounds could be heard
throughout the massive structure, until finally, Buffy drew everyone's
attention with her simple observation.
"What are you?" Graham looks over to her from across the table.
"Capricorn, on the cusp of Aquarius. You?"
"Sorry. Came out a little blunter than I intended. It's just...you're
amazing. Your speed, your strength-"
"Also passionate, artistic, and inquisitive," Buffy manages a weak
smile. "Who are you?"
"You know who I am. The rest...what I do...I can't tell you."
"Well then, let me." Standing from her seat, she begins her pace around
the table, folding her arms across her chest every so often, her voice
fluttering somewhere between bewilderment and frustration. "You're part
of some military monster squad that captures demons, vampires- probably
have some official sounding euphemisms for them, like...unfriendlies, or
non-sapiens&"
"Hostile sub-terrestrials," Graham affirms her suspicions.
"God- could you guys be more lame?" Upon seeing everyone's faces turn
sour at her timely remark, Cordelia withdraws in her seat a bit, urging
Buffy to continue her interrogation. "Sorry, sorry&"
"So, you deliver these HST's to a bunch of lab-coats who perform
experiments on them. How am I doing so far?"
"A little too well," Graham raises his eyes in trepidation, fearing just
how much else she, or anyone else for that matter, knew about the unit
he'd given his sworn allegiance to for the past few years.
"How 'bout you fill us in on what we're missing?" Gunn suggests, his
eyes fierce with determination as he stares intently at the commando,
finally beginning to open up to the others.
"About ten years ago, the government launched a special strategic unit
known as the Initiative. There are teams throughout the country.
Sunnydale's force was headed up by Maggie Walsh-"
"Professor Walsh?" Willow gasps.
"I knew something more was wrong with her besides just being a
mega-bitch," Cordy adds.
"When I joined four years ago, Walsh was in the middle of her own
private research. An experiment, code-named ADAM. She was building what
was supposed to be a demon-hybrid. Things got out of hand; it took us
eight months, but we were finally able to destroy the monster she'd
created. Anyways&"
Feeling reluctant to go into details about the experiment any further,
Graham takes a deep stabilizing sigh before continuing. "When the
authorities found out in Washington, our government funding was cut off.
Walsh started having us do jobs for anyone who would invest their money,
keeping a source of funding open. Until finally, she found her own
private sponsor-"
"Wolfram and Hart," Doyle concludes, shaking his head in sheer
disbelief. "They knew I was being sent 'ere with the visions. Probably
figured usin' these Initiative boys would be an easy way of gettin' rid
of their big problem."
"They're big problem being?" Cordy inquires.
"Angel."
"Why don't we shift gears here back to *my* original question," Graham
steers the conversation his way, turning to face Buffy. "What are you?"
"I thought a professional demon-chaser like yourself would have figured
it out by now. I'm the Slayer." Her admition earns her nothing but a
blank stare. "Slay-er? Chosen One.
She-who-hangs-out-a-lot-in-cemeteries?" Still not sensing a hint of
recognition in his eyes, Buffy lets her arms fall to her sides. "You're
kidding me! Ask around. Look it up. Slayer, comma, The."
"Buffy&" Giles' soft murmur breaks through the awkward silence that had
fallen upon them. "Perhaps later would be the best time to swap battle
stories. We have a slightly larger problem on our hands right now. The
first of which being-"
On sheer impulse, Buffy grabs Graham by the neck, slamming him backwards
off of his chair, landing him on the cold floor before Giles can breathe
out the rest of his sentence. "Where's Angel?!" the slayer finishes for
her former watcher, deaf to the yells of her friends to pull back.
"Hold it, hold it," Doyle, along with Gunn, try grabbing her arm on
either side, attempting to yank her off of a helpless Graham. "Hang on a
second, Buffy. If we want soldier boy 'ere to tell us anything, he's
gonna need to breathe."
With a final tug, they succeed in getting her to release the hold,
pulling her far enough away from a startled Graham to give him a chance
to bring himself to his feet, taking a few deep gulps of much-needed air.
"Angel? What are you talking about?"
"Angel and Oz are missing," Willow informs him, her voice giving away
her initial fears. "Care to share?"
"I can't believe they actually did this&" Graham sighs to himself. "How
long have they been gone?"
"Since this afternoon," says Giles. "Graham- what do you know about this?"
"It may already be too late," comes his response, earning himself
another chokehold from Buffy.
"You can either talk now, or you can talk through a respirator- really
doesn't make that much of a difference to me! Where are they?!"
"Now how do you expect to get anything with that attitude?"
A devious smile breaks out across his face as Lindsey reaches around to
close to mansion's front doors behind him. "Door was open- thought I'd
let myself in." Buffy, releasing Graham, steals a quick glance at
McDonald before wrenching in disgust.
"What is it with you creeps? Do you all have some giant betting pool
going to see which one of you slimiest?"
"My money's on the loser who just walked in door number two," Cordy
rolls her eyes at the young lawyer. Lindsey merely nods his head,
seemingly ignoring her.
"And just where did you go after you *set us up* the other night?" Gunn
demands. "Man, I trusted you! Well&more or less. So you set a bunch of
demons loose to have a field day with us to show your loyalty? I don't
buy it!"
"You shouldn't." The tall, sleek stranger takes a few cautious steps
towards them, trying to put together the story he and Lilah had worked
out. "You weren't the only ones set up. Whoever sent those vamps to the
Bronze, who, by the way, totally wrecked *my* new *property*, sent a
bunch of 'em after me too. I was literally evicted from my apartment.
It's a miracle I was even able to escape when I did."
"We saw what they did to yer place," Doyle speaks up. "What's the
matter, McDonald? Your little demon friends don't play so nice when they
haven't been fed?"
"Well, I hope I didn't worry anyone."
"Nah&" Cordy assures him. "We just figured you were dead."
"It's not me they want to see dead- or any of you, for that matter. They
just want Angel, and boy&they sure got him, didn't they, Miller?"
"Look- one of you goons better start with the info, and pronto!" Buffy
demands, stepping between the two of them.
"Since I don't think your new friend here is ready to totally turn
traitor on his troops quite yet, looks like you're all stuck with me as
your tour guide. I can take you to where they've got 'em."
"Why the devil should we trust you?" Giles flares. "Your law firm is
responsible for all of this madness in the first place!"
"Correction, Jeeves- my *former* law firm and their high priestess Ms.
Morgan are behind all of this," he lies. "So it's either follow me, or
wait for the army squad to send your friends back to you in a nice neat
box."
"And how do we know you won't doublecross us- again?" Gunn raises a
suspicious eye.
"You don't."
Seeing no alternative, realizing they'd already wasted valuable time,
Buffy, Doyle, and Giles take charge, the others following their lead as
they make their way toward the front doors.
"You realize he's leading us into a trap," Giles warns the slayer,
hoping his assessment would in fact be proved wrong.
"I know&but we don't have any other choice." As she reaches for the
knob, her eyes avert back to see Doyle keeled over with another vision.
Holding a hand to his head, his eyes blaring open as the images streaked
before them, he begins describing the horrifying scene before him.
"Angel and Oz&they're trapped&some sort of cage. There's blood&a few
vampires in with Angel&god- Lilah's there." As the vision begins to
calm, he turns to face Cordy, who'd been by his side the entire time,
trying to help him through it. "That man&"
"The same man from before?" the brunette checks, receiving a small nod
as a response. "Doyle- what did he look like. Could you make out a face
at all?"
As his head lifts towards the nearby bookcase, his eyes come to rest on
a single picture. Surrounded by a setting sun and his former circle of
friends stood the dark and cold figure staring straight back at the
half-demon. "Him&" he points a still-shaky hand at the smiling portrait.
With a final trembling look, a single breathe escapes Buffy's lips as
she leads her friends out of the mansion. "Xander&"
Part 7
"Angel? Are you all right? Angel??"
Angel groans as he slowly regains consciousness and his eyes begin to
focus. "Wh- what's going on?" Supporting himself on his palms, he
struggles to get up from his prone position on the ground, finding it a
bit difficult. He looks around, spotting Oz across the darkened room. In
the dimmed light, he can just about make out his friend's silhoutte, the
young man's hands turning white from their tight grip around the bars
that held him in his own cage. "Ozyou okay?"
"Well, this cage is a lot smaller than the one Im used to, but other
than that" Leaning over onto his knees, Oz lets out a heavy sigh,
passing Angel a despondent glance. "We've got a problemnamely Xander
and his new running buddies."
At mention of the newly discovered traitor, Angel winces, trying to pull
himself closer to his cage's own bars. "What is this place? And how the
hell did Xander get wrapped up into all of this?"
"All very good questions," comes a voice approaching from the corridor.
A hand reaches out, flipping on the laboratory's lights as the newcomer
makes her way over to the captives.
"How about some good answers," Oz raises his head slightly to face her.
"Starting with who you are."
"My, myand Harris told me you were the quiet one," Lilah chuckles to
herself. "But then, I wouldn't expect Angel to be doing much talking."
Crossing her arms across her chest, she leans against Angel's cage,
smiling down at him. "By now that sedative's completely in your
bloodstream. Only a matter of time before the fun starts. But I
digress" she quickly spins on her heel, turning back around towards Oz.
"I suppose introductions are in order- Lilah Morgan. It'll be the last
name either one of you will ever know, so I'd treasure it."
"You" Angel manages a small whimper, the effects of the drug starting
to overtake him, "work for Wolfram and Hart"
"Trust Doyle to give all of our secrets away," she replies in turn,
moving to stand beside one of the lab tables.
"Not *all* of our secrets," another voice, a frighteningly familiar one,
emerges through the lab's code-locked doors. Both Angel and Oz could
neither believe nor disbelieve it as they watch Xander slowly pace over
to them. "What's the matter, Angel?" he smiles tightly, casually resting
the stun gun he'd been carrying over his shoulder. "Not quite yourself
today?"
"Not when I'mdrugged andlocked up." Mustering all of his remaining
strength, Angel grabs hold of the cage's bars, being rewarded with a
blunt knock to his forehead with the end of Xander's gun. "Don't
worryI'm gonna fix it so that you're back to your good ol'
murdering-self in no time."
"Xander" Oz begins, not really sure of how to continue. After another
few moments of hesitation, he can only produce a simple question. "Why?"
"Hey- nothing personal, man," Xander replies. "I've just finally
realized what needs to be done to demons such as yourself," he grins
widely. "And don't worry about WillowI'll make sure your furry remains
get to her."
With a loud almost-growl escaping his lips, lunges his full weight
against his cell's bars, only to receive a sudden shock of voltage from
the now brightly glowing steel.
"I wouldn't try that again if I were you" With Walsh and Forrest
marching behind him, Riley enters the lab, glaring at them from afar.
"we're increasing the voltage."
"Riley" Angel groans, forcing himself to his feet with a final jolt of
energy. "What is this?"
"Can't you guess?" Walsh answers for her young prodigy. "We only want to
protect the rest of humanity. A just cause, I'm sure you'll agree."
"Yeah Angel" Xander's voice lowers to a coy whisper as he kneels down
in front of the cage. "You remember how eager you were to become *human*
again- so eager that you risked killing Buffy in the process."
"I know"
"You don't know anything, freak!" Xander snaps back. "She could've died-
Buffy could've died! And you wanna know what's even worse? She
*would've* died, just to save you!" Gathering his emotions, he stands
back up, joining the others. "But ya know- that got me to thinkingwould
she still die for you if she got a chance to see what you really are?"
As if on cue, Wolfram and Hart's latest client, Russell Winters, enters
from the corridor, a gleam in his amber eyes, a wicked smile almost
seeping from his exposed fangs.
"No. N- no," Oz begins stuttering, stumbling back up on his feet, trying
desperately to find some means of escape. "You can't! Xander- you can't
do this!!"
Stepping aside to let Russell pass by, Xander looks over to his one-time
friend, a simple grin beginning to spread across his face. "Watch me"
******
A chill hangs in the evening air as a black van slips discreetly behind
UC Sunnydale's large campus, stopping just outside the back entrance to
Lowell House. Hopping out of the vehicle, Buffy looks across the field,
frowning at the location. "What're we doing here?"
"This is headquarters" Graham meekly answers her, offerring a hand to
help Cordelia, which was quickly slapped away.
"Ugh! Don't touch me, creep!" the brunette winces away, instead, and
more favorably, grabbing hold of Doyle's shoulder to steady herself
stepping out.
"You know- I've had enough of you!" Graham's attitude flares up. "I've
taken just about all the guff I'm gonna take from you!"
"Oh yeah? At least we don't need a bunch of fancy star-wars weapons to
do our job!"
"Noso long as you have a tube of lipstick and daddy's credit card,
you're set, right?!"
"That's enough!" Giles takes charge, bringing their bickering to a halt.
"We don't have time for this, understand? Graham- either get your act
together and help us, or leave this instant!"
"I'd prefer option number two," Cordy suggests, earning an angry glare
from Giles.
"That goes for you as well. I swearyou've been fighting with him almost
as much as you've minced words with Xander. Now all of you had better
get with it. Buffy's still not at one-hundred percent, so we've all got
to pull more than our fair share, understood?"
"Do you think we could get to the actual fightin' pretty soon," Doyle
draws their attention, "or are we plannin' on spending the evening out
here?"
The Scoobs had only just gotten around to the lower entryway where
Lindsey had been leading them when there was a commotion along the side
of the building. Several men, similarly dressed in Graham's own
camouflaged attire, were in a hurry to enter.
"So what's the plan for getting in?" Willow speaks up in a hushed whisper.
"You were just gonna show us the way, weren't you Lindsey?" Buffy peers
at him, a stern intensity in her glare.
"It's your funeral" he mumbles, pressing in a series of numbers to
enter through the steel doors. Leading them into the elevator to take
them down through the maze of labs below, the dashing lawyer lets out a
small chuckle. "You know, a little niceness goes a long way. You
shouldn't always be so damn cynical of everyone. Like me, for example.
What's it gonna take to convince all of you that I've changed? I have to
get myself killed along with the rest of you once we make our way in here?"
"Well, it's a start," Cordy assures him. As the gray doors slide back
open, the friends find themselves face-to-face with ten or so seemingly
ambitious members of the Initiative, scowling at them with their weapons
boasted in front of them. "Like I said-" Cordy sighs, "it would be a
start, so if you guys are gonna kill any of us, please kill the nice man
in the Gucci suit first, cause I'd really love to watch."
******
Somehow- and they'd had a pretty good idea as to how and why- Lindsey
had lead all of them straight into the arms of Walsh's soldiers. Her
underground mission control was large enough; not too remote and
sufficiently large enough to contain halls upon halls of labs. It was
also slightly set apart from the rest of the university's halls, so any
chance of extra assistance was out of the question, the slayer thinks
cynically to herself.
Upon being dragged to the central corridor, the friends are greeted by
another swarm of Initiative recruits. Their clothes were dark and
unremarkable and they all wore a reinforced vest underneath, their masks
pulled down low over their faces. Captors and captives made their way
silently along the darkened corridor towards a room which had a light
shining overtop its door. Voices were audible as they approached, their
collective fears rising as they recognized several of the voices' owners.
"Buffster's sure gonna love this"
The slayer recognises that particular voice immediately. Though she
tried hoping against all reason, she couldn't deny the familiar tones,
now laced with a deviousness she'd never heard in them before. With a
chill which ran right through her, Buffy knew that Xander himself was in
that laboratory.
The room was definitely a laboratory; that much was apparent from the
surgical equipment, test-tubes and other instruments that were in
Buffy's limited line of vision as she was the first to be escorted into
the room. Seeing Lilah greet them all with a wicked grin, Lindsey steps
past the soldiers, grabbing Buffy by the arm. "Look who we've got
joinin' us here," he smiles at his associate, shoving the slayer into
the hands of two of the commandos, who quickly pull out their guns,
holding them alongside her neck. "Ya know, it's a real shame you and I
didn't decide to work together sooner, Lilah. We make a good team."
Taking a few slow steps towards him, a beam begins to spread across
Lilah's face, a small chuckle escaping her lips. "Good- yes. Team" WIth
a gesture of Lilah's hand, Lindsey finds himself being restrained as
well, three more Initiative recruits holding him back at gun point. "I
think not"
"What is this, Lilah?" Lindsey's eyes dart out at her, only slightly
surprised by her callous actions.
"A good old fashioned double-cross, McDonald. I'm sure you're familiar
with the phrase."
"Ow! Hey watch where you stick that thing!" Cordelia struggles briefly
with the young man holding on to her, but quickly gives up when she
realizes that she can't break free. "What kind of government agents
threaten innocent civilians?" she glares at Walsh.
"Oh come on, Cordy" comes Xander's voice as he, Riley, and Forrest
finally step forward. "I'm sure you've had worse treatment"
"A certain ex-boyfriend comes to mind" she mutters. "How could you do
this, Xander? *Why* would you do this?" In answer to her, he merely
steps off to the side, revealing the sight of Angel and Oz locked up in
their cages along the side wall.
Tears nearly spring to Buffy's eyes as she sees a helpless Angel staring
back at her from his incapacitated state. Doubled over on his hands and
knees, a small trickle of blood trails down his neck, spilling into the
small pool that had already gathered underneath him.
"Poor, poor Angel," Xander sighs, watching as Russell grabs hold of his
head from behind, yanking it back with a sharp grip to show Angel's
distressed face for all to see. Angel tries to pull away from him, and
the vampire's cruel laugh echoes throughout the lab.
"Xander" Buffy gets out through a choked sob. "Wh" She shakes her head
off to the side, finally looking back over to shoot him a bitter scowl.
"I never knew you could be like thiswere capable of this" Xander
shrugs. "Desperate times call for desperate measures, Buff."
Buffy finds that any further words were escaping her, but she
communicates quite well with a nice ringing glare. Riley simply
chuckles. "You're in lovewith that *thing*...and you call yourself a
slayer"
Smiling cruelly at their captive, Xander grabs the access card to the
cells from Walsh. His intention was to drag Angel over to the slayer and
the others to give them an up-close view of Angel's soon-to-be return to
his "true state". Watching with a cautious eye as his former friend
makes his way past his own cell, Oz has time for one thought before
Xander can make it over to Angel.
Knowing the pain that would ensue, trying to prepare his body for the
searing sting, Oz rushes the bars of the cage, timing his desperate
manuever perfectly as it has his desired effect. Sending a consequential
bolt of voltage to a nearby Xander, the young man's move causes enough
of a distraction, allowing Buffy to free herself from her captors.
Using the two recruits as a springboard, Buffy's legs fly out, kicking
Gunn's captors off of him. With a few twists, the slayer untangles
herself from her own stunned soldiers, knocking them off to the side as
she, along with Gunn, work their way over to the others.
"Don't just stand there- stop them!" Lilah shouts out to the collective
members of the Initiative. "Walsh- what the hell are we paying you for?!"
With a simple grabbing of the arms that were wrapped around his waist,
Doyle flips Forrest over his shoulder, a hard punch to the face
following after. His celebration was short-lived however, as he takes
notice of a commando, who still held a firm grip on Cordelia, lifting
his gun to her head. As she hears the clicking of the barrel, Cordy can
only look up to the half-demon, a longing and desperate glance held
firmly in her eyes. But as she shuts her eyes, anticipating the fatal
shot, she hears a sudden crack land across the back of the soldier's head.
Able to once again move freely, the brunette quickly spins around to
find Graham standing overtop of his knocked-out former colleague, his
own weapon held tightly against his chest. "I never liked SeanI'd
choose you over him anyday."
By now, Russell, already slipped into game face, had forgotten his
initial task of turning Angel and his frustrations and anger were coming
to a head. Easily busting the lock on Angel's cage, essentially freeing
Angel as well in his haste, he charges for the slayer, making a mad dive
for her. The attack of the vampire she'd seen only minutes ago feeding
from her lover sends her into a frenzied counteroffensive. Hands and
feet shoot out in lightning-fast displays as the others try rushing over
to her aid, already seeing signs of tiredness darken the drugged
slayer's features.
"What are you doing, McDonald?" Lilah grabs hold of his arm, pulling him
back before he can offer any assistance. "Let the freaks have it out! Or
are you still having those pesky pangs of conscience?" Lindsey looks on
with a sullen look, but does nothing, as he stands beside Lilah,
watching as Riley and Xander race past them.
With Giles by her side, Willow hurries over to where Oz was still caged.
She instinctively goes to reach her hands around the bars before
remembering herself, retracting before she can come into contact with
the charged-steel. "Walsh has the key-card," he tells them, nodding to
where their professor was watching everything unfurl.
"I wouldn't try anything, you two." Looking back over their shoulders,
Giles and Willow wince as they meet the end of Xander's gun. The
englishman felt the sudden urge to knock the young man right off his
feet and beat some sense into him. Instead, he controls himself and
tries with a heavy heart to reach him. "Xanderyou can't do this. Deep
down, you really don't want to do this- you must know that. This isn't
you. This blasted Initiative rubbish isn't you."
"Oh yeah? And just what makes you think you know me so well, Giles?"
"He knows you just as well as I do, Xand," Willow joins in. "You don't
wanna do this. Xander- if you do thisthere's no going back. We can help
you-"
"Harris has all the help he needs," Riley steps over to them, snapping
Giles' head back with a sharp punch. Two follow-up blows send him
reeling backwards, landing on the floor against the nearby wall.
Mustering all of her courage, all her strength and nerve, Willow balls
up her fist, reaches as far back as she can manage, and lands a hard
shot to Xander's jaw.
"You knowthat almost sorta hurt," Xander responds, gingerly rubbing his
face before lifting his gun again.
"How 'bout this!" comes a voice from behind. Gunn's first punch leaves
Xander stunned; the more forceful follow-up kick strips him of the
weapon he held in hand. "Did that hurt?" The streetfighter helps Giles
to his feet, leaning in to make-out what the former watcher was trying
to tell him. "Walshget the card"
Before Gunn can make a move, Willow pushes past him. As she comes within
a few steps of reaching Walsh, she feels a hand tighten around her arm.
Without worrying who'd grabbed her, the red-head spins around, her fist
connecting with Xander's face again. Without giving him a chance to
recover, Xanders pain is evident as he falls to the ground, his jaw
following after him as he continues yelping in pain at the blunt strike
of Willows knee.
She sends Walsh sprawling across the nearby labtable topped with
glassware, most of which tips over and shatters on the floor. Struggling
with her for a few moments, the redhead finally manages to knock the key
out of her hands, the small plastic card sliding across the tiled floor,
landing at Lindsey's feet. Taking his time in reaching down to retrieve
it, the young man holds it in front of him, his mind in a frenzy over
what to do. Without giving himself any more time to consider it, he
sprints over to Oz's cage, freeing him from the cell.
"Cute, McDonald" Lilah mutters to herself. "Very cute" Suddenly she
wanted to burn the charming lab to the ground. Touch a match to it and
burn it flat to the foundation. But not until she disposed of McDonald
once and for all.
Having no clue as to what it would in fact do, she grabs the nearest
piece of weaponry she can find, lifting an awkward-looking gun into her
hands. Straightening her shoulders, she takes aim, cursing under her
breathe as Lindsey rolls out of the way, her blast radiating through one
of the pillars instead, the concrete crumbling down in a heap.
This is it, Linds she laughs, kicking away some of the debris as she
nears him. "I'll give your notice to the office when I get back."
With lightening-fast speed, Doyle lunges for her just as she shoots off
another blast, his shoulder ramming into her back full force. The
weapon's beam shoots up to the ceiling, succeeding in reducing another
pillar to rubble, but also blows out a huge chunk of the framework of
the lab's ceiling.
As she glances over her back to see her friends getting pummeled, a pair
of hands come swooping down, grabbing hold of Buffy's shoulders from the
front and yanking her off her feet. Russell attacks her again, only to
find the slayer more than willing to meet him halfway with her stake.
The two exchange a few blows until Buffy manages to catch him with a
quick roundhouse. Russell is spun around, only to come into blunt
contact with the fatal stake. The slayer scrambles to her feet, merely
throwing aside the commandos who tried stopping her, eager to reach Angel.
"Are you alright?" She inches toward his face, searching his face for
any indication he was in severe pain.
"I'm fineOz?"
"He's out too," she assures him, lifting an arm underneath his shoulders
to help him to his feet. It was clear that he'd been drugged, and she'd
already seen that he'd been seriously weakened thanks to Russell. With a
steady stream of blood still trickling down the side of his neck,
seeping into the fabric of Buffy's sweater, Angel relaxes his weight
onto her with a painful intake of air as she leads him over to the
corridor. "Doyle!! Graham!!" she calls for them, anxious to get Angel
completely out of the lab. Tearing one eye away from him, she fixes her
sight on the half-demon, watching as he and Graham fights their way past
Forrest to finally reach her.
"He alright?" Graham places a hand on Angel's shoulder, feeling the
blood smear underneath his touch.
"Get him out of here. I'm grabbing the others." Doyle passes her a stern
glare, trying to bring her to her senses.
"You can't take 'em all on yourse-"
"Just go!"
Not willing to fight with her, knowing he'd lose anyway, he, along with
Graham, pulls a reluctant Angel out of her arms, leading him towards the
elevator. "Buffy"
"She'll be fine. I'm gettin' you out."
"Go back for Buffy," Angel almost growls, trying to pull Doyle to a stop.
"I do that and both of us will wind up with our asses kicked. Now come on."
Grunting as he finally recovers from Willow's blow, Xander pulls himself
to his feet, catching a glimpse of Buffy as she races towards him. He
watches as she takes out a few more of his teammates to reach Cordy and
Giles, leaning down to tell them something before pointing them in the
direction of the corridor. As she turns back around she finally spots him.
Buffy's face takes on a look of intense hatred as she charges for him.
Xander anticipates her attack and manages to knee her in the stomach,
knocking the wind out of her, and delivers a solid punch to the side of
her face. After motioning to Riley, the two grab hold of her from
behind, swinging her away from them, sending her to the floor- right in
front of Lilah.
"How nice" she grins, lifting her recovered weapon of choice in front
of her. "You know" she begins, aiming for her intended target, "this
is gonna look so, so good come promotion time."
"No!" Xander vaults over, knocking the weapon from Lilah's hands as he
comes crashing down ontop of her. The gun goes off again, this time
sending an energy blast through where one of the few remaining pillars
met the ceiling, bringing even more frailty to the structure.
The concrete falls in huge chunks around them as a stunned Buffy
scampers to her feet, looking over to face Xander in disbelief of what
he'd just done. Before she can make a move to approach him, she sees
Walsh struggling away from Willow, grabbing hold of Riley as she hurries
over to get Xander. "Let's go, Harris!" Still staring back at Buffy,
shocked himself by his momentary emergence of conscience, Xander pulls
away from her, turning to pull Lilah up off the floor in a firm grip.
"What the hell did you think you were doing?!" he yells, shaking her
slightly. "Kiling Buffy was never part of the plan!"
"It was never part of *your* plan!" Lilah corrects him, forcibly
extracting herself from his hold. "I need the slayer dead- whether that
meets the requirements of your little game of revenge doesn't matter to me!"
"Angel's the only one I want!"
"Well you didn't get him, did you?! He's gotten out- still human by the
way! And now thanks to you and that other worthless bastard," she tosses
a glare to where Willow was helping Lindsey up, "this place is caving in!"
"We've got to get out of here!" Walsh orders, pulling on Xander once more.
"Wait- where's Forrest?" Riley yells, looking around for his friend. One
glance to his right gives him his answer as he sees him laid out
underneath a pile of fallen concrete, a gash now gracing the side of his
head, blood flowing steadily from his temple. "Let's go!"
As the others near her, Willow's eyes scan the lab in search of Oz.
"Where is he?" she looks frantically to her best friend. "Buffy, where
is he??"
"Will, just go! Gunn, Gilesget them all out of here!"
"I'm not leaving without Oz!" Willow desperately cries, trying to pull
herself out of Giles' arms.
"I'll find him, Will. I swear. But I need you five to get out now! Go!"
Minutes later, Doyle, Graham, and Angel look up to see Gunn emerging
from the the building, the others close behind. Aside from some cuts and
bruises, the friends were fine, smiles of relief forming on their lips
as they see Angel had made a safe departure from the lab.
"Buffy" Angel breathes out as he looks past them, hoping to see his
beloved come racing out at any moment. "Wh- where's Buffy?"
"She's getting Oz," Willow lets out a whimper, her eyes filling with
unshed tears as she prays a silent "please" to the powers that both her
boyfriend and best friend would return to her safe and alive. The
minutes dragged by monotonously as they all waited, Doyle and Gunn
having to restrain Angel from going back in himself. As he was trying to
free himself from their holds, Angel spots Buffy, literally crawling
out, her leg seemingly injured.
Struggling to rally from their wounds, Angel and Buffy eye one another
across the field. Angel was certainly the worse off- already weakened
from the drugs, his neck still seeping with blood, his other wounds
barely closed, and yet somehow he manages to meet her more than halfway
in their awkward sprints to one another. Buffy launches herself into his
arms, pulling him close, and softly presses her lips against his.
Stroking her head softly, running his fingers through her soft, golden
tresses, Angel lets out a deep sigh. "Thank god" He holds Buffy by her
shoulders and steps back to look at her. "Are you all right?"
The weary slayer strokes his face, her unshed tears beginning to blur
her vision. "I am now." From the corner of her eye she sees Willow
racing over to her, her red hair swaying lightly as she jogs along the
grassy field to reach them. "Buffy!" she cries, pulling her friend into
a tight embrace. "Oz? Where's Oz? Buffy...? Where...where is he?"
Buffy finds herself unable to face her, averting her eyes to the ground
with a stifled sob. Immediately, spontaneously, Angel was hit with the
realization and lowers his own head in turn, stricken contrite and
sorry. He feels Buffy slip from his grasp, sliding slowly down alongside
him to the ground.
Willow was on her level now, crying, face down on the grass. Her pleas,
her anguish finally overtake her as she shoves the arms Buffy had
stretched out to her away. "NoOz...oh god, no" she whimpers, brushing
off Angel's hand as if the simple touch burned her. She refused to meet
Buffy's eyes, even as the petite blonde grabs hold of her face. "Will,
II justcouldn't find him" she gets out between her own small sobs.
"Everything had collapsed, andWillowI'm so sorry"
The wind in the leaves rustled and made an eerie, melancholy music that
was tuneless, yet music just the same. The ground was cold and hard as
the sound of Willow's sobbing reached the others, thick and billowing,
sounding almost ghostly, forcing them all into their own clouds of grief
at the loss of yet another one of their own.
Part 8
A three-hour long wait at the hospital did nothing to alleviate the
friends' pain. Bandages and stitches did their job of covering up
surface wounds, but there was no quick-fix, no treatment that was
helping any of them deal with their loss. The drive home was
excruciatingly slow, the minutes before they reached the Summers' home
stabbing at them, tearing away at their reserves.
Willow seemed frozen. Her hand hovered near her throat; her heart came
up, darkening her eyes. As she sat by her side, something disturbed and
frightening burgeoned in Buffy's heart just from watching her friend's
reactions. "Oh" Willow sighs, reaching to draw both Buffy and Angel
against her sides. The slayer could feel her best friend quivering all
over, just as she was.
Finally pulling up in the driveway, Graham slides open the door to his
van, taking a few careful steps aside, trying to avoid any further
confrontation with any of them. He knew he'd been partly responsible for
the evening's tragic events. And although he doubted any of them were
the type to hold a severe grudge, he had no idea how he would even begin
to be forgiven by the friends.
"Are you guys, uh" He turns towards Giles, at the moment, the one who
was holding himself together the best. "Will you all be okay here? I
mean, if any of you need a ride home, I can"
Giles nods slightly, brushing a hand across his forehead before taking a
few steps towards him. "Thank you, Graham. I'm just going to take Willow
in with Buffy. Talk with Joyce a bit. You'll wait out here for us?"
"Sure."
Angel and Buffy take guard around Willow, walking with her up onto the
porch. As Joyce pulls open the door, a long sob escapes from the
redhead's choked throat. She sways and would have fallen if Angel and
Buffy hadn't been there to support her. "Oh my god" Joyce whispers,
stepping out beyond the doorframe. "Buffy, what happened?" She pauses a
moment to take in their battered appearances. Her daughter sported a
wide bandage across her forehead, a few spots of blood seeping through
the gauze. A similar bandage adorned Angel's neck and he was whiter than
she was recently used to seeing him.
As she looks up to her, Willow's eyes go bleak, dark and haunted.
Despair washes the radiant color from her face as a few more tears flow
down her cheek. "Come inside," Joyce instructs, swallowing her own sob,
just knowing that something major had transpired in the past few hours.
The friends make their way in, watching as Giles' arms replace Buffy's,
encircling Willow's shoulders, drawing her close as he and Joyce walk
her into the kitchen.
"I didn't expect this" Cordelia sobs, taking a seat beside Doyle and
Gunn on the couch. "I meanI never thought" The brunette who always
prided herself on her way with words finds herself at a loss, leaning
further against Doyle in search of some added comfort.
"Just one of those things you deal with," Lindsey speaks up, immediately
wishing he'd chosen his words more carefully as he sees Angel come
rushing towards him. Without a moment's hesitation, he grabs him by his
jacket, pinning him up against the wall. "We wouldn't have to be dealing
with anything if it wasn't for you!" he mutters between gritted teeth.
"You were setting us up the whole time, weren't you?"
"Angel," Doyle calls from his seat, gently pushing Cordy aside as he
goes over to him, pulling him off of the lawyer. "He's not worth it,
man. Come on." Taking a few steps backwards, Angel's arm reaches out
blindly for Buffy, finally resting upon her shoulder, pulling her into
an embrace.
"My advice to you, McDonald," Doyle begins, "is to head back to LA,
'cause I don't think you're gonna wanna be around when all of us have
recovered from this."
"Hey look," Lindsey shrugs, "I don't want to be here any more than you
want to see me. But I don't have a choice."
"You always have a choice," Angel snaps back.
"You sold your soul for a fifth floor office and a company car," Doyle
adds as he sits back down.
"And aside from that, I did help you all tonight. I can't be all that
terrible, now can I?" he flashes them all a quick, sly smile.
"Do you actually expect us to believe you?" shouts Angel. "After all the
hell that you've us through, why in the world should we believe anything
that comes out of your mouth?"
"Hell, if it wasn't for me, you'd all probably be back at the labs
fighting it out with a *different* vampire," he grins, letting his eyes
fall questioningly on Angel.
"Is that what your people want?" Buffy speaks up.
"Noturning him back was all Harris' idea. It's Lilah and the others
who'll just settle for seeing him dead." Running a hand through his
hair, the dashing young man heads towards the front door, turning back
around to face them as he reaches for the doorknob. "Look, you can
believe me or not, it's really of no consequence to me. If you guys have
any more questions or want my help, you know where to find me. And if
you don't want my helpI know other people who'd be more than happy for
it. Either way, I have a business to run here. And just rememberyou
guys are always welcome at the Bronze."
"Just get the hell out," Angel orders, moving protectively closer to
Buffy as he notices the lingering stare that Lindsey was giving her.
"I'd be careful, Angelus," Lindsey smirks.
"Don't call me that!" Angel growls back, wishing for a moment that he
was still capable of baring a game face. Lindsey straightens his
shoulders, and a wall of invisible power seems to rise between the two men.
"If Lilah wants something, she'll get it. But then again" he passes one
last glance to the small blonde he'd become enraptured with since first
meeting at the Bronze, "you could say the same thing about me."
Angel stands watching him until the door is safely closed behind him.
The former vampire walks back over to where Doyle waited with a fierce,
stiff posture. "Want me to follow him?" he asks quietly. "See where he's
headed?"
Buffy answers for her boyfriend, shaking her head slightly. "Nohe won't
be going anywhere. He'll be here for awhile. It's just a matter of who
he's gonna be with that we'll have to worry about."
"Did anyone see Xander or Riley get out?" Cordy asks.
"They high-tailed it outta there along with Walsh and Lilah," Gunn
answers, a frustrated sigh accompanying his words. "So what do we do now?"
"We wait" Angel says. "That's all we can do. We've already lost" he
finds himself unable to voice his friend's name, swallowing down his own
sob before continuing. "we're not gonna lose anyone else by jumping
into something and taking the battle to them."
After an hour or so of quiet reflection among the group, Buffy heads
into the kitchen, leaving Angel to send everyone home for the night to
try and salvage a few hours of sleep.
"You two staying with us tonight?" Angel asks Doyle and Gunn, receiving
a simple nod from each of them.
"You gonna be back to the mansion soon?" Doyle inquires, looking past
Angel's shoulder back into the house.
"Yeahwe're just gonnamake sure Willow's gonna be okay tonight. Maybe
bring her back with us."
"That's a good idea," Cordy manages a faint smile as she turns to head
down the porch steps. Waiting at the bottom for Doyle to join her, she
passes a warm grin to Angel, giving him a quick wave goodbye before he
walks back into the house.
He tentatively makes his way into the kitchen, finding only Joyce
sitting on a stool at the counter, dwelling over a cup of tea. "Joyce?"
he whispers for fear of startling her. "Is everything okay?"
"Mmm" she gives a quick nod, motioning for him to take a seat beside
her. "Are you alright?" she asks, staring up at his neck. "Buffy said
you lost a lot of blood."
"I had a transfusion at the hospital," he responds, sliding onto his own
stool. "Never thought I'd be needing blood again to survive," he lets
out a small chuckle, sharing a laugh with her to try and lighten their
spirits.
"Rupert just left a few minutes ago. Buffy's still a little weak, but
she took Willow upstairs. She's going to be staying here a few nights.
Her parents are out of townnot that it makes much difference in her
home," she adds with a certain disdain. "I doubt Sheila even knew that
Willow had found Oz" she trails off, taking a sip from her mug to keep
down her own sob. "It's just so awful"
"I know" The two sat frozen, staring aimlessly around the kitchen in
silence. It was Angel who finally found a voice to speak, clearing his
throat before beginning in a whisper. "I've seen a lot, Joycetoo much
over the years. Most of it, the pain, I deserved to see. But Buffy and
the othersthey're only eighteen, and they've seen so much. Especially
Buffy," he adds as an afterthought, receiving a low murmur of agreement
from Joyce. "But no oneshould have to deal with this much. Losing
Ozand Xander, in a way."
"I never could've imagined Xander would do something like this," Joyce
sighs, standing from her seat, bringing her mug over to the sink. "When
Buffy told me eveythingI just still can't believe it. It's a miracle
that any of you got out alive."
As Angel gets up, he slips out of his jacket, laying it over the stool.
"I'm gonna get Buffy. Head home for the night. You're sure Willow will
be okay?"
"She'll be fine. I'll look after her for a few days until she's ready to
go back to the dorms with Cordelia. And Angel," she crosses over to him,
folding her arms across her chest. "I know I don't have to tell you,
butlook after Buffy. She's really taking this hard."
"We all are" he answers, turning slowly around to head upstairs. As he
crosses the living room, before he can even get to the stairway, he sees
she'd already come down, spotting her sitting on the couch, her gaze
fixed on something resting on the mantle over the fireplace.
"Hey," he whispers to her, tracing a finger alongside her cheek as he
sits down beside her. Looking up to where she was still staring, Angel
finally sees the object that held her gaze- a picture taken only a few
months earlier of the friends at Cordelia's beachhouse after the prom.
"That was a lot of fun," Buffy finally says, adjusting her position
slightly as she leans into Angel's embrace, her eyes still fixed on the
picture. "We all had a lot of fun." She throws him a glance as she
begins rambling through details of their weekend. "You got to see the
ocean. A- and we were all on the beachswimming and playing. A pack of
seagulls attacked Cordy on the boardwalk- I wish you could've seen that
instead of being stuck at the house taking care of Xa"
Her gaze once again turns towards the mantle. "What happened?" she
whimpers, finally letting her emotions sneak to the surface, getting the
best of her. "How did everythingjust when everything was making
sensecoming togetherI let it all fall apart"
Reaching for her chin, Angel gently tips her tear-streaked face up to
meet his eyes. "This is not your fault. No one could've known this
would've happened."
"I'm the slayer," she whispers back, her bottom lip trembling slightly.
"And you do all that one person can do- more than any person is expected
to do." As Buffy goes limp, her head drooping forward, Angel nestles her
into his arms, laying back onto the couch. He breathes a sigh of relief
as he feels her relax into their embrace, sprawled out ontop of him. As
he wraps his arms around her, he uses one to massage her back and the
other to gently stroke her head, in between the soft kisses he
continually places ontop of it.
"I don't" Angel takes a deep breathe before going on. "I don't know
what to saywhat to doto make things right" Buffy wanted to cry again,
for no reason at all, except that he was so sweet, so loving, and so
intensely a part of her being. Lifting her head, she gazes up at him,
pulling him as close to her as possible. "Just say that you'll always be
here with me" She sniffles a bit as she reaches up to capture his lips
in a gentle kiss. "Just say that you'll always be with me."
******
Tired and still in shock over the evening, Joyce shuts off the kitchen
light before going to head upstairs. Her first smile of the night graces
her features as she takes in the sight waiting for her in the living
room. With her daughter clutching to Angel tightly, her head resting
snugly underneath his chin, Joyce can't resist walking over to them,
observing the gentle sleep that had finally taken over them. Reaching
out a soft hand, she gently tucks a strand of her daughter's hair behind
her ear. In a similar warm gesture, she lets the tips of her fingers
gently run over the dark spikes of Angel's hair before turning back
around towards the downstairs closet.
Retrieving a blanket from the top shelf, she carefully tosses it over
them, tucking around the ends that fell loosely over the ends of the
couch. With a final kiss to Buffy's forehead, she quietly walks over to
the staircase, casting them a hopeful glance. "Watch over them" she
softly prays to whoever might've been listening. "help them deal with
this"
******
"How do you propose we deal with this?!"
A manicured hand carelessly throws one of the beakers resting on the
nearby lab table against the wall. "Just be glad that we've managed to
procure another lab for you, Maggie," Lilah grins. "I usually don't take
so kindly to failure-"
"We didn't fail," Riley interjects on behalf of his mentor. "Because of
you, we lost a good man tonight! And if memory serves, it was *your*
partner who ruined everything!" Lilah couldn't hold back a fit of
laughter from Finn's last remark.
"Partner? Pleaseif I live to be two-thousand and see the second coming
of Christ, I'll never be partners with McDonald-"
"But we always work so well together, Lilah," comes a new voice from
where the elevator doors slowly slide open. "We can almost pinpoint the
time when one of us stabs the other in the back."
"How'd you find us here?" Lilah passes him an angry glare, almost
wrenching in disgust at the sight of her rival.
"Corielle Labs? Not such a surprising choice, considering your family
helped with the funding."
"Nice to know you take an interest in my background," Lilah smirks back.
"But I'm still wondering just why you're here? Shouldn't you be prancing
around with your new friends at that pathetic excuse for a nightclub? I
would've thought you'd be keeping a closer eye on the place, especially
considering your new fascination with our favorite little slayer."
At Lilah's intentional slip, Xander stands from his seat, lifting his
arm from around Anya's shoulders. "Haven't you done enough for one
night, Lindsey?" Xander takes a few steps towards him, fuming over
having his plans ruined, as well as learning the lawyer's new intentions.
"I haven't even started"
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