Summary: Picks up at the end of the Angel series finale 'Not Fade Away', continuing the storyline established in my fanfic 'What are we gonna do now?'. The Highlander crossover begins in part II and the Stargate SG-1 crossover begins in part III.
Notes: Started writing this the week after the finale, took a while since I was writing part V of 'What Are We Gonna Do Now?' at the same time. Thus bringing me full circle to the ginormous headachyness. Pray tell, why does the thinking hafta hurt so much? Maybe it's just me...My thanks to MadTom, TwistedSister1962, elsawriter, Lila, pink-zelda and Marie Nomad for your reviews. They were greatly appreciated. Feedback is always of the good. And can I get an All Hail to the Goddess Willow?
Disclaimer: Still belongs to Them. Only thing that belongs to me are the stories that pour forth from my fevered, insomnia ravaged mind.
DID SOMEBODY SAY SOMETHING ABOUT NOT FADING AWAY? - PART I
By screaminheathen69
Chapter the First
... "I think I wanna slay the dragon."
Angel hefted his favorite broadsword and strode forward, unflinching, fully expecting that after tonight, it would finally all be over. For the first time in a very long while, Angel didn't feel like he was carrying the weight of the world on his shoulders.
It was liberating.
"Let's go to work!"
He lopped the heads off two of the onrushing demons, then leaped thirty feet straight up to grab the dragon by the neck. As he started hewing away at its neck, he was grinning like an idiot, looking for all the world like he was enjoying himself.
Spike stared at him for a second, then shot Gunn and Illyria a glance. "Great sodding showoff." He put on his game face and jumped into the fray, wooden stake in one hand and a sword in the other, bellowing at the top of his lungs.
Gunn was fading fast, but he was determined to take out as many as he could before he went. He hefted his axe and stumbled forward, Illyria at his side. "You got my back, Blue?"
Illyria almost looked happy. "Indeed. Let us do more violence, in memory of Wesley."
"Abso-friggin'-lutely!"
He swung the axe as fast and hard as he could, blood and body parts flying with every stroke. Illyria fought bare handed, breaking and dismembering her foes and throwing the bloodied remains back into the onrushing horde.
From above, Angel could be heard yelling at the dragon. "Why hack won't hack you hack just hack die hack dammit!" The cursing coming from Spike was far more colorful. Leaning towards blue.
"Oh crap!" Illyria heard Angels cry and looked up, then grabbed Gunn and dragged him to the side as the dragon came crashing to the ground.
Angel crawled out from under the steaming carcass of the beast, stupid grin still plastered to his face. "Always wanted to slay a dragon. Who's next? Whoops!" He ducked as an axe almost relieved him of his scalp.
"Oh."
Things got bad, then worse. Gunn passed out. Illyria caught him and held him in one arm, using his axe to fend off the tide. Angel lost his broadsword and started fighting hand to hand, losing ground fast. Spike was holding his own until a Phaloth demon snuck up behind him and impaled him with the three foot long spike jutting from it's forearm.
Two hulking Tarkummon demons were wrestling with Illyria, pushing her slowly but surely to the ground.
The Phaloth picked Spike up, still impaled, and prepared to throw him into the mass of demons.
Angel was bowled over by six demons, could see the stake coming, couldn't block it. Oh, Hell. Wonder if this'll hurt... Good bye Nina...
It struck him funny, for all of a split second, that it was Nina that came to mind instead of Buffy.
He closed his eyes.
Suddenly, the weight on his chest was gone. He opened his eyes, only to find he had to squint against a glare. A brilliant green glare. A hand reached out.
"Are ya gonna get up, ya dumbass, or just lay there 'n get stomped?" Dumbfounded, he recognised the voice.
"Dawn?"
"Yup. C'mon." She pulled him up. His broadsword came floating to his hand. He looked first at it, then her, in disbelief.
She shot him a lopsided grin. "Let's go to work." She spun back to face the horde, firing bolts of ravening green energy from her hands, incinerating groups of demons with each shot.
Angel stood there flabbergasted. Damn. Can you believe that? He ducked a blow from a vampire, took its head off with one swipe, and jumped back into the melee. He caught glimpses of young women in the fight, Slayers cutting a huge swath of death through the horde.
He caught sight of Faith, who threw him a shit eating grin before he lost sight of her as she jumped into the midst of a dozen vampires, the Scythe a blur of silver and red.
Caught sight of Willow, radiating white light, floating above the street as she levitated Gunn's prone form up and clear of the battle while Kennedy and Vi provided cover.
Watched Dawn blasting demon after demon, even going hand to hand with monsters three times her size, her fighting style seeming vaguely familiar. Oh, yeah. Dragonball Z. Okay, way too much tv.
Smiled at the sound of Buffys voice right behind him. "Sheesh, you really pissed somebody off this time, didn't ya?"
For the next three hours, they fought back to back and side by side, sometimes joined by others (Faith, during one brief moment between waves, "Damn, Angel, is this your idea of a bachelorette party?"), mostly just the two of them taking on wave after wave of assorted Hellspawn.
Willow had placed Gunn in a stasis spell, then returned to the battle. She and Dawn waded in, bursts of blinding green and white light flaring about them, vaporising demon after demon, taking a huge toll. The Slayers plowed through the smaller demons, leaving the larger and more powerful ones to the White Witch and the Key.
Finally, in the twilight just before dawn, it ended. The good guys looked around tiredly, and there simply weren't any more enemies left to fight. A ragged cheer went up as they realised they had won.
Angel slumped against the fence, trying to stay out of the slowly rising sunlight, too tired to move. Illyria walked over and squatted down beside him. He looked at her tiredly.
"I believe we have avenged Wesley's death appropriately. It was a good battle, hard fought but ultimately ours." She was wearing that little smile she wore sometimes. It was her largest expression of happiness.
Angel nodded and rested his hand on her shoulder. "Good fight, Illyria. And thanks. Wes woulda been proud."
She cocked her head to one side, thinking. "I believe you are right. I am... pleased." She sat there, smiling her little smile, not saying anything else.
Buffy and Faith walked over to where Angel and Illyria were sitting. Dawn drifted down and landed next to them. Willow could be seen lifting Gunn's prone form down from a rooftop so that she could attempt a healing spell. Giles and Robin Wood were rounding up Slayers and tending to the wounded. Andrew was fussing over Spike. Spike was looking around for something to club Andrew with. Buffy stood there for a long minute taking in the sight of Illyria, then sheathed the katana that had been a gift from Duncan and Kate and turned to Angel.
"So, you just gonna sit there 'til the sun turns ya extra-crispy, or are ya gonna take some old friends out for a well deserved breakfast?" She stood there, wearing that silly Buffy grin, one eyebrow raised.
Slowly, Angel started chuckling, then broke out laughing. He couldn't help it, his relief was so great.
The fight wasn't finished, not by a damn sight. But he felt hope for the first time in a long while.
And hope, as the ArchDuke had said, hope is a powerful thing.
Chapter the Second
One very large bill at Denny's later (Giles wound up having to pay; Angel's Wolfram & Hart credit cards had already been canceled), the group had made their way back to the Hyperion to figure out the next step. And to make use of the showers. Angel had slipped in and relit the hot water heaters before they went to eat. He hadn't been back to the Hyperion since the debacle with Glory. He couldn't bring himself to go there, it reminded him to strongly of what he felt was a massive failure on his part to protect the people that Glory had butchered.
Angel, Buffy, Faith, Dawn, Willow, Kennedy, Spike, Andrew, Illyria, Wood, Giles, and Xander were sitting in the lobby. Gunn was upstairs, deep in a healing trance that Willow and Giles had induced. The Slayers were hitting the showers and raiding closets for clean clothes while the Scoobies and what was left of the Fang Gang got caught up.
Xander, as usual, got the ball rolling. "Sooo, DeadBoy. You still know just the right way to piss off all the right people, don't ya?"
Angel shot him an acid look. "I see Scraggle-Beard the Pirate over there still has a firm grasp of the obvious." Xander had taken to wearing a goatee in recent months. It wasn't filling in as well as he'd hoped.
Andrew giggled. "Scraggle-Beard. I like that one. Ow..." Xander smacked him in the back of the head.
Angel laughed, then sobered. "Yeah, well, that was the plan."
"What, to get yourselves backed into an alley facing a gimongous demon horde?" Buffy snorted. "Niiiice plan."
"Well, no, not that part. Cordy gave me a vision of what was going on, and what we had to do. Mess with the Senior Partners, screw up their plans for the Apocalypse, generally get 'em off track and mad. That's what we set out to do, and that's what we did."
"Worked a charm, it did," Spike said. "Cost us Percy, though." Standing over in the corner, Illyria shot Spike a dirty look. "Sorry, Blue. No disrespect meant to Wes."
She cocked her head and stared at him for a long moment. "I know. I am simply trying to understand this empty feeling I have. It is as though I have lost a part of myself. It is not logical."
Spike and Angel both spoke at once. "Yes, it is."
Faith was trying to hide the fact that she'd been crying. The news of Wesley's death had hit her harder than she thought possible. She turned away as tears threatened again.
Buffy didn't quite know how to handle Illyria. They had known that something bad had happened to Fred, but hadn't known the extent of it. She'd only known Fred for a short time, but had taken to her right away. She was so much like Willow, it was impossible not to like her right off. But now, Fred was gone, and here was this Old One, this God in human form that still looked so very much like Fred. It was definitely wiggins-inducing.
"So what's the story, Angel? Why pick the big fight with the Senior Partners? I thought you were all corporate-ized and Mr. Happy CEO these days."
"Happy? Not hardly. Why pick a fight? We finally figured out what they were up to, and why they lured us in. Didn't like it much, decided it was time to make a stand. We lost too much already. And too many friends. Doyle. Cordy. Fred. And now Wes."
Spike nodded. "They wanted us t' just fade away. Wasn't happenin'. I don't - no, we don't fade away. Better to go out in a blaze o' glory, an' all that." He sighed. "Ain't gonna fade away..."
Angel and Spike shared a look, understanding each other. "Right."
Angel turned back to Buffy. "How'd you know where we were, anyway? We didn't exactly advertise what we had planned for tonight."
"The Coven," said Willow. "They knew something big was going down a couple of days ago, they just weren't sure what or when. They put the word out to Buffy and Giles, and they started tracking all of us down. When they finally narrowed it down, we teleported into the alley."
Dawn piped up. "Just in time to save your broody butt, too."
"Thanks for that, by the way."
"Fugeddaboudit."
Buffy elbowed her sister in the ribs. "Okay, no more 'Sopranos' for you."
Willow scrunched down into the couch. "I'm just sorry we weren't in time to save Wesley. We couldn't sort out what was going on, there was some sort of cloaking spell blocking us. It wasn't until all the nasties started converging in the alley behind the hotel that we could get a lock on you, and then we got here as fast as we could from where we had gathered in Cleveland."
"Hey, gift horse, mouth, et cetera. I'm grateful you guys came at all. Last time I talked to Giles, I got the idea that you guys didn't care too much any more."
"Er, yes, sorry about that. You caught me at rather an awkward moment, and I had to cover myself. By the time the situation was resolved, it was too late to do anything. I truly am very sorry, Angel. We all liked Fred a great deal." He glanced at Illyria. "Um, no offense."
"None taken. I have grown accustomed to remarks of that sort."
"Er, well, all right then." He was cleaning his glasses furiously.
You'd think he'd wear the lenses out as often as he polishes those things, thought Angel.
Buffy sat down next to Angel. "Fact is, after things got going with Glory, we did kinda cut you outa the loop. But because we didn't trust Wolfram & Hart, not because we didn't trust you guys. We thought there was a leak when Glory kept tracking us down so quickly. And then, well... when we started hearing about some of what went on at that place, and some of what was going on with you guys... well, we kinda freaked out. Thought maybe you'd gone over. We were wrong, and I'm sorry."
"Oh."
Buffy spread her arms and made with the puppy dog eyes. "Still friends?"
"Oh, what the Hell, I guess so." Grinning, he drew her into a hug. After a minute, she pulled away from him, stood, and walked over to Spike.
"You too, Mr. Back-From-the-Dead-Again?"
Spike pretended to think about it for a few seconds. Hafta keep up appearances and all that. "I s'pose. Don't have s'many friends that I c'n afford to turn any of 'em away." He hugged her fiercely.
"I've missed you, you big ol' Billy Idol wannabe."
He smirked. "Good."
For once, there was none of the usual tension between Angel and Spike concerning Buffy. For now, at least, they had made their peace where she was concerned. And Angel had Nina now.
As the freshly showered Slayers started coming down into the lobby a few at a time, Angel's mind turned back to the Senior Partners. The Good Guys had won this round, but there was no way the war was over yet.
"Well guys and gals, as much as I'd like to sit here and get all caught up on the gossip, I think we really should get outta here pretty soon. The Senior Partners'll regroup before too long, and this place is kinda obvious."
Giles stood up. "Well, some of the Slayers are going back to Cleveland to keep watch on the Hellmouth. It's been strangely quiet of late, so of course we assume that something terrible is in the offing. The rest of us have some business to take care of while we're stateside, then we'll be heading back to Devon." He was smiling at Faith as he said the last.
She was beaming, leaning against her fiance'. "Right. And you're all officially invited to come with."
Angel was pleased, but puzzled. "Thanks. Why?"
"Nuthin' much, A. But you kinda hafta come, unless you just don't wanna be there for the wedding. Then I'd hafta get somebody else to give me away."
"Oh." A smile crept slowly across his face. "Oh!"
He went over and hugged Faith and shook Robin's hand. "Consider this my R.S.V.P."
"Kewl. Hey, any chance that Connor could come? I know me an' him mostly just butted heads, but I did kinda like the kid. And it'd be wicked great if we could get Lorne to sing for us!"
"Umm, you remember Connor?"
"Yeah, why wouldn't I?" Faith quirked an eyebrow.
"Long story. For later. Connor, well, maybe. I'll hafta go ask him. He's got that whole 'regular life' thing going these days. As for Lorne well..." He and Spike traded looks. "Lorne, well, Lorne's gone. And he pretty specifically asked that we not try to find him. Ever."
"Oh. Sorry. Well, ask Connor at least."
"I will."
"Great."
"Of course, there's this little problem with the Senior Partners. You know, the one where they're really pissed? I want to be there, but what if their flunkies show up? Could cause... complications."
Faith gave an exagerrated shrug. "So, we'll sick Dawnie on 'em. She'll give 'em a wicked ass kickin', they'll turn tail an' run, no more problem."
"It's so nice to be wanted," Dawn said, rolling her eyes.
"Aw, Dawnie, ya know I love ya..."
"You can be zapped, ya know." Dawn flexed her right index finger, and a curl of green energy twisted around it before disappearing with a pop. "Just think. Cajun-Fried-Slayer."
Faith held her hands up in an 'I surrender' gesture, then turned back to Angel. "So. Comin'?"
"Yes. Wouldn't miss it."
"Kewl."
"Oh, umm, can I, uhh, bring a date?"
Spike thought that he might actually die laughing at the expressions on the faces of the Scooby Gang.
Angel just stood there, a sheepish expression on his face as he told them about his werewolf girlfriend.
Chapter the Third
They spent a week in LA, taking care of business and catching up with family and friends.
First things first. Angel had Illyria take him to where she'd stashed Wesley's body. Angel had insisted that they return Wes to his home, and Giles had agreed. When Angel called Wes' father, the old Watcher had broken down completely. He had been a lousy father, and knew it, but that in no way meant that he didn't love his son. The news of his death was almost more than he could take.
They'd taken Wes' body to a mortician that Angel knew and had him prepared for his final voyage home. Faith had gone along, and stood vigil outside the embalming room. She insisted on helping carry the casket when they left. Angel had been somewhat puzzled by her actions, and said so. Faith shrugged one shoulder. "He had faith in me. I owe him almost as much as I owe you." Angel nodded. He knew where she was coming from. Redemption was hard enough. Having someone believe in you was a marvelous gift.
Angel led a group back to the ruin that had been the L.A. branch of Wolfram & Hart to recover whatever they could. He and Giles led teams through the wreckage looking for files, weapons, mystical objects, or anything else that could be useful to them or dangerous in the wrong hands.
Angel managed to recover a few of his personal belongings, but very little remained. But mostly, he was hunting for a certain contract. One that he had recently signed in his own blood. He was clinging to the hope that there might be a loophole. After all there were always loopholes in contracts, right? But no trace was found. Lots of other stuff, though. Giles, Bethany and Willow were ooohing and aaahhhing over the various mystical texts and objects that had been found.
Buffy and Dawn spent a day with their dad, it having been rather a long time since they'd visited. When he angrily demanded to know what had been going on, they told him.
Everything.
Everything about demons, magic, Gods, Goddesses, werewolves and numerous other things that go bump in the night. They told him about Slayers and the Key. About the Master, and the Mayor. About Angel and Angelus. About Glory and the First. They told him about dying and ressurection, and Heaven and Hell. Every single thing that had happened over the last eight years.
He hadn't believed them, of course. So, they set about showing him. Buffy had picked him up and tossed him into the air as though he were light as a feather. Dawn had caught him with her Power and lowered him back into his chair. After flipping him over a few times.
Hank sat there, not speaking, not blinking, for ten minutes. Finally, he said one word. "Wow."
Buffy arched an eyebrow. "'Wow'? That's it? 'Wow'?"
Her father looked at her, his eyes glazed. "Still processing. Not sure what to say."
"Just do me a favor and don't freak out like mom did. Been there, so very done that."
"Well, geez, Buffy. You and Spike did dust a vamp right in front of her. Hence, the wiggins," said Dawn .
"Well, yeah, there was that..."
Xander spent an afternoon at the DMV getting his liscence renewed, and was predictably crabby when he got back to the hotel that evening. In spite of the fact that he passed. "The line from Hell, I tell ya! No, wait, correction; the line to Hell. With suitably evil Hellish types at the end of said line."
Willow tried to get ahold of her parents, but as usual, they were out of the country. "It's been so long since I've seen them, I'm having trouble remembering what they look like."
Xander patted her hand. "Well, what'd ya expect? They always were away more than they were home. Hell, they didn't even know Sunnydale had turned into the Crater from Hell until they almost drove over the edge."
Kennedy nodded and wrapped an arm around Willow. "What about you, Xander? Gonna try to find your parents while you're in-country?"
Xander shuddered. "Not only no, but Hell no. Even if I did, they probably wouldn't recognise me through the booze. Nah, my family's right here. I've got sisters, brothers, and even a father-type person all right here. Let the drunks go be drunks without me."
From behind Xander, Giles spoke up. "Father-type-person, eh? I'm flattered. I think."
"Oh, umm, yeah, didn't see ya there G-Man. I, uhh, I meant 'old enough to be my father', yeah, that's it..."
Giles just smiled and nodded. "Sure..."
Angel took Buffy, Dawn, Willow, Giles and Xander to visit Cordelia's grave. He had recounted some of the experiences the Fang Gang had been through, and how it had been Cordy that had always managed to hold them together.
"Cordy. Shallow, vain, mean, sarcastic, probably the single most self obsessed person I've ever met in my life, Cordy. She became one of the most focussed people I've ever known. She took up the mission, and had the strength to keep us on track even through the agony the visions caused her. She was our anchor. She was our guiding force. She was a Helluva dresser." He sighed, laying a hand on her headstone.
"I miss her."
Later, as the rest of the group was leaving, Xander knealt down by Cordy's grave. "Hey there, Queen C. I always knew you had it in you. That there was more to you than just 'Queen C'. And I was right. You did good. I hope you're happy now. Wherever you are. And I hope you're at peace."
Wiping a tear from his eye, he followed his friends back out into the harshness of the real world. The world without Cordy, without Anya.
Some days were just too much.
Buffy, Dawn, Willow and Kennedy dragged Faith out on a shopping expedition. Faith didn't have a gown yet, and the girls decided that that simply wasn't acceptable. Faith had shrugged. "Kinda figured my body would reject a white gown, B."
Dawn snorted. "You got that right..."
Buffy and Willow both smacked her in back of her head. "Don't start."
"Sorry, sorry..."
"'Sides, I've been thinkin' along the lines of bridesmaids."
Dawn perked up. "Really?"
"Yup. 'Course, that means bridesmaids dresses, too..."
Dawn's eyes got huge, and Buffy could be heard muttering "God help us..."
It took two days to find Nina, as she had taken her family into hiding. Giles assigned four Slayers and a witch to keep watch over them until some method of permanent protection could be sorted out.
Nina came to stay with Angel at the Hyperion, and was looking forward to a trip to England. Angel had felt awkward introducing her to his old friends, especially Buffy. The two blondes stood there for a minute, sizing each other up. Nina spoke up first. "Ya know, Wes always did say that Angel had a thing for the hot blondes."
"Yup. And hey, who can blame him? Just look at the hotness that is us!"
They spent the rest of the evening chatting away like old friends.
Angel wasn't quite sure if that was good or bad...
There were at least a dozen attacks on Angel and the rest of his group during the course of the week, all successfully fought off. Illyria had taken to standing guard in the shadows by the entrance to the lobby, and had stopped three more attempts before they had a chance to get started.
Spike couldn't get over how powerful Dawn and Willow had become. They'd zapped a group of vampires that had jumped the three of them before Spike had time to react. "Bollocks. I'm outa th' loop f'r a year, 'n you two've become bloody superheroes. 'Ow's a bloke s'posed t' keep up?"
Willow and Dawn traded grins, then each took Spike by the arm and steered him towards the Hyperion. Dawn leaned close and whispered in his ear. "Don't even try, Spikey. You'll just get embarrassed."
Angel found Faith in the lobby one morning, practicing with the Scythe. He watched for a while, admiring how powerful and graceful her moves had become. It seemed she had finally found her focus. When she stopped to catch her breath, she saw him standing there and nodded. "Angel. What's up?"
"Nothing much. Just takin' in the show." Faith grinned. "When did you get the Scythe?"
"After they got back from Khazakstan, Buffy came to Cleveland and gave it to me. Said she figured that since I was the Slayer in charge of guarding the Hellmouth, I should be the one to have the Scythe. Thought it'd be more useful. I couldn't argue."
"Makes sense."
"Besides, she and Dawnie were gettin' ready to jet off to Rome so's Dawn could start school. Buffy figured she was due for a vacation."
"I can understand that." Angel nodded at the Scythe, raising his eyebrows questioningly. Faith shrugged and tossed it to him.
"Knock yourself out."
"Thanks." He gave it a few experimental swings, being careful to keep the stake-end away from himself. "So, is that when she met the Immortal?"
"Oh, no, you're not dragging me into that. You wanna know about B 'n him, you ask B. Okay?"
"Yeah, fine, no big. Just curious. Nina. I'm with Nina. Happy with Nina. Just curious."
"Uh huh."
Angel tossed the weapon back to Faith. "Fine. Sorry I asked." He walked away mumbling. "Ask a simple question, just curious, get your head bit off, geez..."
Faith snickered and went back to her practice.
Connor stopped in several times to visit, and had agreed to come to Devon for the wedding. He told his 'parents' that he was going as part of a summer student exchange program that Angel had arranged. They were still somewhat oblivious to the reality that their 'son' was a part of.
"Have a wonderful time, Connor. Send us a postcard!"
He felt a little guilty about lying to them, but felt it was for the best. And besides, he and Angel were finally on good terms, and he wanted to keep it that way.
Plus, if he didn't go, he'd miss out on the golden opportunity to make fun of his father dancing at the reception.
And that would just be wrong...
At the end of the week, a Watcher by the name of Alistair Gordon Lethbridge-Stewart showed up to take charge of the Slayers in LA. Once again, Angel had offered the Hyperion as a base of operations.
Lethbridge-Stewart, stuffy sounding though his name was, turned out to be an easy going and affable fellow, and everybody took an instant liking to him. This pleased Giles immensely, since they were old friends. He'd hoped that Alistair's easy going personality would make it easier for him to fit in here than it had been for Giles himself. Beneath the affability, he was fiercely protective of the Slayers and witches under his care, and would fight like a lion to take care of them.
The bags were packed, the farewells had been made, and the next stop was Cleveland to drop off the Slayers that were returning to keep watch on the Hellmouth.
Giles and Alistair were standing by the reception desk, watching and listening to the (more or less) controlled insanity of luggage being manhandled and people preparing to load up for the trip to the airport.
Angel was standing by the door with Nina. "Hey! Captain Peroxide! Here's a blanket, unless ya just want to go up in flames... actually, never mind..."
"Sod off, Peaches."
"Angel, why does he call you 'Peaches'?"
"Ummm... long story. Ask me some other time."
"'Ere, luv, let me tell ya all 'bout it..." Spike studiously ignored the growling coming from Angel.
Buffy threw her suitcase onto the ever growing pile. "Is this everything? We all packed? Where's Dawn?"
"I think she's still packing, Buffy," Willow called from where she was carefully tagging a crate full of various magical objects.
"Oh, you've gotta be kidding me! We've only known for, like, three days that we were leaving today. Dawn! If you're not down here in five, you can just fly your green glowy self to Cleveland on your own!"
"Bite me!" Dawn's answer came floating down.
Willow was walking past Faith, and couldn't resist. "Hey Faith, didja remember to pack the dress? Or did it disintegrate when you had the final fitting yesterday?"
"Yes, I packed it. No, it didn't disintrgrate. And by the way, kiss my ass, Red."
Willow shot Kennedy a grin, then chased a cursing Faith around the lobby making smooching sounds. Robin laughed himself out of breath.
"The van's here!" Rona called from her post by the door.
"Oh crap! Already? Angel, we need another crate for the weapons..."
As Kennedy and Vi hustled off with Gunn to find a suitably large box in the basement, Giles laughed quietly and turned to his old friend.
"They're insane. The lot of them."
"Yes. Wouldn't give it up for anything, would you?"
Giles thought for a second. "Could easily do without any more apocalypses, but otherwise, no. I suppose I wouldn't."
"Thought so."
They shook hands, and Alistair took Giles' hand in both of his. "I'll take good care of them, Ripper. Don't you worry."
"I know you will. Just keep your eyes open, old friend. Never know when the errant Hellgoddess might sneak up on you."
"I know a few wards that ought to help out with things like that. Rather hope I never need to test them, but all the same."
Giles nodded and walked over to the doors, where Angel and Spike were daring each other to run out to the van without a blanket. Giles looked at them, squinted up at the bright noonday sun, then back at them. Spike stopped goading Angel. "What?"
"I'll put twenty on Spike. Any takers?"
Spike snickered as Angel's jaw dropped.
A lot of money exchanged hands that afternoon.
Chapter the Fourth
They stayed in Cleveland for three days, mostly to make sure the hellmouth wasn't acting up, before moving on to New York. Rona had decided to stay, so Faith gave her the Scythe before she left. "Kinda like B said, here's where the action is. Kinda hopin' I ain't gonna need it, what with the weddin' an' all."
Spike wanted to go to the Rock 'n Roll Hall of Fame while they were there. It turned into a group outing.
While in New York, Kennedy took Willow to meet her family. They accepted her warmly, and they spent a pleasant afternoon getting aquainted. After berating Kennedy for not keeping in touch more often.
When they got back to the hotel that night, Willow was still in awe. "Goddess, Buffy, I knew her family had money, but damn. I think we could pack half of Sunnydale into just the west wing..."
The next day, they loaded onto a private plane that Giles had chartered, and they were finally off for England. It was a long flight, so the Scoobies and the remains of the Fang Gang spent it getting caught up. Angel and his crew hadn't heard the full story of what had happened with Glory yet. Dawn took great pleasure in filling them in.
"You blew up half a mountain?" Spike's eyes were about to bug out. Angel was just sitting there slackjawed.
"Yup." Dawn was smirking. She snapped her fingers. "Zap!"
Willow nudged her in the ribs. "Yeah, but there was just a little bit more to the story than that."
"Pick pick pick. Okay, so she came back and zapped everybody unconscious. We still kicked her scrawny butt. And closed a Hellmouth. Key-Girl and The Red Witch." She held her hand up and Willow gave her a high five.
Gunn grinned, shaking his head. "Girl's got some mad skills." Willow shot him a glance. "Sorry; both y'all got some mad skills."
Illyria 'harrumphed'. "In my time, such power was so commonplace as to be inconsequential. I myself could-"
"'Ere, Blue Belle, we all know things were better in 'your time'. It's their time now. Deal with it." Spike's tone was sarcastic, but there was understanding in his eyes.
Illyria looked as though she wanted to argue the point, but changed the subject instead.
"You say this Hellgoddess, this 'Beast', her name was Glorificus?"
Willow nodded. "Yup."
"I believe I met her once."
Buffy's head popped up from behind Illyria's seat. "When?"
Illyria closed her eyes, remembering. "Long, long ago. It was she that gave me the idea to attempt training those that you call dinosaurs to be my minions. It was something of a failure. I have long hoped to meet her again to express my dissatisfaction with her. It is not an unappealing thing, you having destroyed her. She was a nuisance."
Illyria opened her eyes and nodded once to Dawn and Willow. "Well done."
"Um, thanks," said Willow.
"Yeah, I find it pretty non-unappealing myself," said Dawn.
"As well you should." Illyria turned and stared out the window, having said all she wished to say.
Spike was chuckling. "Ya get used to 'er after a bit, Bit. Tell me more 'bout this 'Demon Duster Blast' of yers..."
Angel nodded. "Yeah. And why don't you just call it the 'Kamehameha'? You know you want to."
"Didn't wanna get sued. You know, copy-right infringement and all that."
Buffy popped her head over the seat again. "Besides, she would've been forever branded as a DBZ Geek." She ducked the Coke can Dawn threw at her, giggling.
"Nuthin' wrong with that, right Andrew?" Xander nudged Andrew.
"Nope. Goku rules."
"Not sure if I wanna see Dawn go all Super Saiyan Four, though. I'm thinkin' the tail-and-fur look, not all that attractive on our Dawnie." Andrew had picked up the entire Dragonball GT series on DVD while in LA, and a marathon viewing had ensued. Buffy had eaten two entire bowls of popcorn by herself.
"Super Saiyan Three maybe, all golden haired and glowy. She's already got the blue eyes," said Angel, earning himself a few surprised looks. "What? Gave myself away a while ago when I asked her about the Kamehameha Wave, so what's with all the shocked faces now?"
Robin spoke up from the rear of the plane. "Okay, it's official; waaayyyy too much time in front of the boob tube with this group. Gonna have to institute some rules."
Faith poked him in the ribs. "Oh, sure. Seems I recall you going through a whole bag of Twizzlers when you were rooting for Gohan during the DBGT-athon the other night."
"Hafta be sociable."
"Uh huh."
"Well, I do."
"Sure."
"Just want to be friends with your friends."
"Riiiight."
"Okay, fine, Gohan is God. Cut me some slack."
Faith smirked and cracked open another beer.
It was an interesting flight.
To Be Continued
Okay, this part is kinda small, wanted to get it done and sent in before I go on vacation. Oh, Glorious and Most Blessed Vacation! Ahem... Anyway, started this the night of the second airing of 'Not Fade Away', but stopped to finish part V of 'What Are We Gonna Do Now?'. Something about 'conflicting brainstorms'. Oy.
Many thanks to all of you that sent me feedback, it definitely fed the fires! And yes, I'm channeling 'Dragonball' again. My son and I had just watched 'Dragonball GT : Generations' when I started writing chapter four. It was sorta stuck in my brain. Poor brain.
And just for the bloody Hell of it, did any of you notice my little nod to 'Doctor Who'?
Feedback, as always, is of the good. Later ;)
'To thee no star be dark"