Title: What Matters Most

Rating : T

Summary: What if Willow could not restore Angel's Soul in Season Four? What will the Team of Angel Investigations do when their boss is their next Job? Who will they call?

Buffy and Angel:

"In all those years, no one ever mattered. Not like she did. Now she's gone. Forever" –Angel, Season 3

"[To Angel] She was the love of your life, and she died. And you weren't there when it happened. You couldn't help her fight. You couldn't save her. (pause) You couldn't die with her"- Cordelia , Season 3

A/N: Just to let readers know, I do not know what is going on in Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season Seven as Angel Season Four is happening. I followed Buffy until Season Three then followed Angel to his show. I am going under the assumption that Buffy knew Willow went to help Angel and the gang in L.A. and that her Angel instinct kicked into gear. If anyone wants to advise me on what was happening, be my guest. Happy Reading! I am also ignoring the Jasmine thing, but Cordelia may/may not be pregnant, I do not know right now.

Chapter One: No Other Way

"The road to redemption is a rocky path" – Angel

Hyperion Hotel Basement, Angel Investigations

The room was silent. Fred, Connor, Lorne, Wesley, Faith, and Gunn just continued to look intently at Willow, wondering if they had heard her wrong.

"We have to kill him." Willow said simply.

"What are you talking about? Angel…he… we can't…" Fred stuttered.

Willow sighed as she stared at the group. They had all just faced the wrath of Angelus, but still held hope for Angel, their friend, to come back to them. But she knew that was not possible anymore. Willow knew what they were going through. It felt like five years ago back in Sunnydale. The terror everyone when through when Angelus was loose , the pain everyone felt, especially Buffy. Now it is finally coming to an end. Angel will die because they could not find a way to restore his soul.

"We have no other choice. I have been searching for a way to try and restore his soul and so has Wesley. Nothing. " Willow said reluctantly.

"NO! We can't just give up on him. " Faith said. She would not let anyone give up on him. She even heard herself early when she was talking to Wesley.

I'm not gonna kill him, Wesley. Angelus. Don't care what you thought you sprung me for, Angel's the only one in my life that never gave up on me. There's no way I'm giving up on...

No way. He never gave up on her. She would not be the one to drive a stake through his heart. She simply couldn't.

Connor spoke up. "I say we kill him."

"Connor! How can you say that? Despite what you think, he is still your father! He loves you more than anything!" Fred yelled at Connor.

"Hold up, Connor-kins. You Dad here, well not here right now, but he is taken over by a demon. He is still somewhere, and we need to do everything we can for him. He would do the same for you. Heck, for anyone in this room. He has done more to help the helpless, people he has no personal connection to. We are his friends." Lorne said, trying desperately to convince them that Angel is worth saving.

"Hello? I absolutely love how everyone is talking about Angel like he is actually an angel…I'm right here." Angelus spoke up, tired of hearing the group of children wine and cry over his wimpy counterpart.

"Shut Up! You do not get to talk about him! You hear me!" Faith shouted at the purely evil vampire, who had the face of her friend.

"Willow, are you sure there is nothing else we can do?" Wesley said.

Wesley was having his own flashbacks as well. He remembered when he first came to work for Angel. He had forgotten and dismissed his past and welcomed him to his team. Angel care so much about helping others. He craved his own redemption more than he craved human blood. Angel hated Angelus with everything inside of him. He would rather die than have Angelus wreaking havoc on the world again. He knew what he must do.

I know you're not planning to kill me, Wesley. But you're willing to, and that's good.

"No, Wes, there is nothing else." Willow said sadly.

"Someone should go tell Cordelia" Fred said, with tears in her eyes. "She upstairs, sleeping."

"I will" Connor said as he headed up the stairs.

"We shouldn't feel bad about this. I mean Angel hates this guy. He always said that we should kill Angelus if we had the chance or were in this type of situation. We knew this day may come." Gunn said.

"The only question is now, who is going to stake me? Or Cut off my head? Or set me on fire? Or just throw me out in the daylight and let mother nature take care of me? You have a lot of choices. Who is going to kill Angel? Your dear friend."

Angelus knew he was getting to them. He just need to scare them. Or , he could try to make them think Angel has a chance of coming back. Nope, going for the guilt angle.

"Will it be you Wes? I gave you a job. Forgave you when you stole my son from me and turned him over to Holtz where he was raised to hate me. Saved your life too many times to count." Angelus smiled when Wesley turned his head and continued to stare at the wall.

"Or you Gunn, didn't I tell you last year that i knew I could trust you when you killed me when you had to? Well take your best shot!" Gunn had a far off look in his eye, probably replaying that moment over again in his mind.

"Fred? You think you can? I mean, I did save you from Pylea, the demon dimension you were stuck in. I was the only one here who tried to help you adjust and I believed in you. Doesn't that mean anything?" Her tears were following faster, even after his harsh, but true words.

"Faith? Not the first time you tried to kill me, huh? Remember that arrow you poisoned me with? Too bad I never got any of your blood huh? But Buff's sure was tasty!"

"SHUT UP! You are not Angel! Not even close. You may look like him and have his memories, but you are not him. You are the demon that inhabited his body and stole him! Nobody listen to him!" Faith scream, not wanting to hear the vampire talk about her past.

"And what about Buffy? I feel like she should be here for this. I mean, she did kill me last time, shouldn't she have the right to do it all over again? Possibly go through some more emotional turmoil? Gee, I am sure that would be swell…" He voice started to fade as the group walked up the stairs to get away from the demon who took away their friend. They had to figure out what to do. And they all knew they had to call the one person who deserved a say in this matter, not that they really had a choice.

A/N: Like it? Hate it? Review to let me know if I should continue!