Part Twenty-five
Wolfram & Hart building, Los Angeles, California. January 19, 2001
Xander Harris walked in through the front doors of the law firm, and immediately the old spider-sense started tingling at the presence of so many demons.
Unfortunately for him, Xander hadn't heard Lorne's shocked remark with regard to his upcoming future. And Rachael was under orders not to let herself get captured as well, and so the poor woman had to agonizingly wait outside the building for backup to arrive.
Thus, just like for a lot of his life, Xander was all alone amongst enemies.
The head security guard - the same incredibly tall demon that had made Spike reconsider wreaking havoc, here in the lobby of Evil Inc. - came up to Harris at once. "Hold it right there-"
But unfortunately for the bad guy, Xander knew about his species and their few weaknesses. The young man just instantly drove a long knife through the body into the demon's left butt cheek, penetrating the heart blindingly fast; and someone even William the Bloody was wary of, quickly joined the ranks of the dearly departed thanks to the one-time Zeppo.
Xander subsequently didn't move as several security guards rushed forward, and aimed their guns at him. He just said, "The name's Alexander Hall. I have an...appointment with Lilah Morgan."
"Lower your weapon to the ground, right the hell now!" the second-in-command, who looked human, demanded.
But Xander just released a cruel grin, as he hefted the knife. "You guys try to disarm me, and I'll try to kill you all. In fact, I'll try so hard - that you'll be forced to kill me, to stop me! And if that happens, well...let's just say the Senior Partners won't be very happy with you. In fact, they're probably watching us all right now...so what do you say, punk? Do you feel lucky?"
The guards looked at themselves in confusion. They weren't used to their targets acting like this. And the mention of the Senior Partners was definitely unnerving...
The thing was, if the comparison was to be made - these flunkies were like rabid dogs, while Xander was like a feral wolf. And the difference between wolves and dogs is that the latter, having been domesticated by humanity over the millennia, had picked up some of their habits - a dog could conceive of the notion of 'he who fights and runs away, lives to fight another day'.
But wolves, as Xander had learnt from Oz, know nothing of such human thought patterns. A wolf only ever loses one fight in its life - the one it does not get up, and walk away from afterwards.
And at a subconscious level, if it came down to that - both Xander and the guards knew *exactly* who was going to win the fight around here.
The private office of Lilah Morgan, Wolfram & Hart building, Los Angeles. A few minutes later
Shortly before midnight, Lilah leaned back in her chair, alone in her office. Things had certainly changed dramatically for her, in the last 24 hours.
The day had started out with only the promise of future action, on her Timetripper project. Plus, middle management had been in an uproar about Lindsey's hiring of Spike and Drusilla backfiring on the firm.
Then had come the party at Holland Manners' residence, which had quickly turned into a nightmare bloodbath for the Special Projects division. As Mr. Hunt Acrey had so charmingly put it, a 15-body massacre with the majority of the contracts staff dead was not part of its quarterly plan, at this branch of the firm! Nonetheless, this had had the effect of making Lilah and Lindsey the senior surviving members of the division.
Of course, Lindsey was tainted by the Spike situation. After all, he had been the one who had hired the vampires in the first place, that had killed a large number of the firm's personnel. Not something that looked good on Lindsey's record, for his attempt to move up the ladder within Wolfram & Hart.
With that as her competition, Lilah felt optimistic about her chances for promotion. And what she was watching right now on the monitors, made her chances look even brighter. Her plan was finally coming to fruition, in a manner that the Senior Partners were certain to appreciate.
Lilah stared at the screen. It showed the interior of an elevator. And in the elevator, as it made its way to the floor where Lilah was now sitting, stood Xander Harris flanked by two security guards.
"Why, hello, Mr. Harris. I've been waiting so long to meet you in person," she said out loud, a predatory smile crossing her face.
1630 Revello Drive, Sunnydale, California. January 20, 2001
"Why can't my daughter just have a normal birthday?" Joyce asked angrily after midnight, as she hit the armored knight on the head with a frying pan. The Knight of Byzantium had stuck his head through the kitchen window, and Joyce wasn't about to let that go unchallenged.
The party had started out so normally, too. All of the Scoobies had been there. They had pitched in to help prepare the party, insisting that Joyce not strain herself. Even though she seemed to be healing well from her surgery, the Scoobies still knew that February 21, 2001 wasn't that far off...
All the members of the gang knew of Xander's first letter, by now. Buffy had, with the permission of Joyce and Giles, shared it with the others. They immediately of course had taken to doing whatever they could to help Joyce's recovery, although Anya had unnerved them all - when for an entire weekend, she had learned all she could about estates and wills...
Her comment that the transfer of wealth through California's probate laws being more complicated than she had first thought, had thankfully been made out of earshot of both Buffy and Joyce.
The blonde guardian of the Hellmouth had hoped to keep all of the details of the first letter from the Scoobies. However, she had underestimated Willow's determination, when it came to the matter of her former childhood friend. And the redhead, once she knew Xander had written something to Giles, just would not let the matter go. Buffy and her father figure had finally been worn down, and Willow had become the fourth person to read the letter in its entirety.
The others only knew the gist of the note and that future letters were coming, just not when. That delayed explaining the second letter, describing Dawn's origins. Giles had shown it to Buffy and Joyce, but that was all - figuring his Slayer and her mom had a right to know all the information possible that might help in defending Dawn.
And just like in that other world, those in the know were unsure as to how that news would be received, so they figured they would put it off as long as possible. Unbeknownst to them though, now that Dawn knew how Xander would be writing a second letter, she was actively looking for it to read for herself...
In any case, life had progressed for the Sunnydale inhabitants as normal as it was possible on the Hellmouth. Buffy had encountered, on several occasions, these armored knights who were now attacking the Summers household. She knew enough about them to understand that they were after Dawn, and they were somehow connected to Glory.
Of course, Buffy couldn't just go up to them and say that Glory was dead. They would demand explanations, and that would lead to...uncomfortable subject matters. So she simply tried to avoid them as much as possible, and when that didn't work the Chosen One just beat them up a lot.
Buffy's birthday had rolled around and despite the promising start, the festive occasion had maintained the traditional attendant weirdness. By this time, the Scoobies had barricaded themselves within 1630 Revello Drive, and were doing their best imitation of settlers in the Old West waiting for the cavalry to come to the rescue.
Of course, the settlers in the Old West hadn't had a Slayer and several magically gifted individuals in their midst. And the Sunnydale PD was quite simply incapable of a good imitation of the U.S. cavalry, even if they had bothered to respond...
Yes, even though Richard Wilkins was dead, his legacy lived on. A police force in the know, but still determined to do anything and everything to make Buffy's life hell.
Thankfully however, that was *finally* changing; the latest actions of the new DA, who was said not beholden to the late Mayor in any shape or form, had convinced several of the top cops in town that the climate would be more congenial for them elsewhere.
And Cleburne's replacements were slowly working their way up the ladder, keeping a close eye on the Scoobies - especially Willow.
Getting back to the here and now, the Knight whose head had been Joyce's target drew himself back outside. Well, he fell that way would be a more accurate description. {A curse on this house, and all these people in it!} the man angrily thought to himself.
Joyce looked around, to see what else was going on in the kitchen. Anya, Andrew and Giles were the others defending this room. Giles moved over from where he had finished helping moving the kitchen table up against the back door, to where Joyce was.
"Joyce, you shouldn't be here. Look, get upstairs and we'll hold them off-" Giles said.
"I'm staying!" the oldest Summers female present said to the former Watcher.
"But Joyce, your condition-" the British man started.
Only to be interrupted by the middle-aged woman, "NO! Rupert, this is my house - I'm staying. After all, it's my daughter they're after..." She was one of the few who knew the contents of Xander's second letter, after all.
"Is that the best you can do?" the two of them suddenly heard Anya snapping at Andrew. She appeared to be unhappy with the way he'd wedged the table against the door, even though it looked fine to Giles.
The former vengeance demon quickly pushed the apologetic Mr. Wells out of the way, and started positioning the table herself. "This is like when we're in bed together, I have to do all the work!" she growled at her boyfriend.
Despite being in the middle of a life-or-death struggle, both Giles and Joyce blushed at Anya's comments. {Good God - has the woman learned *no* tact whatsoever, ever since she became human?} Rupert briefly thought to himself.
Giles then heard noise from the other parts of the house, where the Scoobies were also fighting off the attackers. He turned back to Joyce. "Stay here - if you need assistance, just shout!" With that, he headed into the dining room. In there Jonathan, Tara and Willow were defending those windows.
"Need any help?" Giles asked the trio of defenders.
Willow shook her head. "No, we have it under control. I think Buffy might need some help though, I saw a bunch of those knights running towards the window near the front door. Jonathan, go with him!" she said.
Jonathan and Giles quickly hurried from the dining room into the living room, where Buffy and Dawn were making their stand. The two males could hear the two sisters arguing...
"I'm telling you, Dawn, get upstairs!" Buffy shouted at her sister. But before the Key could respond, the window shattered as several Knights jumped through.
The Slayer muttered under her breath, and moved to attack them. {You'd think these guys would get the hint, from all the times I've put the beat down on them!}
She kicked out at the lead one, and he flew back out the window. As Buffy, knowing that these jokers would put Dawn in danger, barely held back when fighting them. She turned to face the next one, just ducking under the sword he swung at her head.
The Knight, in so doing, left himself vulnerable to Giles punching him in the side of the head. The Knight staggered off-balance to his left, from the blow. This allowed Buffy enough time to turn her full attention to the Knight in question. When he righted up, he was met by Buffy's fist full in the face. Thus he fell back towards the window, out of the fight for the present.
But sadly, like ants at a picnic, if you swatted away one Knight - three others appeared to take his place. Buffy found herself being advanced upon by several more of the Knights, the blonde girl recognizing the lead one being as the leader from that night in the alley.
"We seek the Key! Tell us what we want to know, and we will spare you and the others in this domicile," Orlando gravely intoned.
"Oh, come on! Just leave us alone. Can't we have one normal night here?" Dawn yelled at him, not realizing that she was in fact what he was seeking. One of the Knights then knocked her unconscious, swinging the handle of the sword that he held.
"Dawn!" Buffy yelled. "You bastards! And I'm thinking that the threatening act hasn't worked before, so why should it work now?" the Slayer declared, as she punched that Knight who had gotten too close to her.
The other Knights advanced, supporting each other. "Because we are within your home, and unless you plan to somehow kill us all - we can return whenever we desire. And hurt all those who live here!" Orlando threatened.
Threatening Buffy was not a good idea, and threatening her family and friends was an even worse idea. And doing so within earshot of her Watcher, who had once been known and feared by the name 'Ripper' was, most likely, the worst possible idea they could have come up with.
The Knights were concentrating on the Slayer, and so didn't see Giles come up upon their flank with a mace he had just picked up from the weapons chest. Rupert swung the mace, and was rewarded with a satisfying crack as the mace impacted on the helmet worn by the nearest attacker. The legs of that Knight buckled, as the others realized they were under attack from another source.
"You two!" Orlando said to the two Knights nearest Giles. "Kill him!"
They advanced as ordered, and now that they knew of the threat that was the British man, they were taking no chances. Giles prepared himself; he had no illusions about the upcoming results of this fight. Even though he was more than competent when it came to armed combat, he could easily recognize the highly trained warriors in his opponents.
They weren't going to give the older guy a chance in this battle. However, the universe was not about to abandon the Tweed Man, for the Knights had again forgotten about a threat to them. As they advanced on Giles, they suddenly tripped when they shouldn't have.
Off to the side, Jonathan finished the hex spell he had just incanted. It was just some quick and dirty minor magic, but enough to make the two attackers clumsy on their feet. Giles looked back at the young man, smiled in appreciation and immediately attacked the two Knights as they tried to get up.
Orlando took in what had just happened, and silently berated himself for not gathering more information on the Slayer's friends. General Gregor would surely have not made such a mistake. But his self-recriminations were cut short, by his being attacked by Buffy.
The vampire Slayer, still pissed over her sister and seeing that he was momentarily distracted, launched a flying kick at Orlando that impacted on his chest. He fell back with a loud thud. Buffy was unable to follow up her advantage though, as two other Knights rushed forward to defend their leader.
But the college girl parried their blows with ease. Giles was getting the upper hand on his two opponents. Jonathan was keeping an eye on the fight, looking for opportunities to intervene.
However suddenly, his eyes widened. "Guys!" Levinson shouted out. "We got a lot more visitors coming!"
Through the window, Jonathan could see quite a few Knights on the street starting towards the house. Giles looked out the window too, as he finished throwing one of his attackers back out through it. "Damn!" he said. "We need a wall or something there, to-to keep them out..."
Suddenly, a look came to Giles' face. "Willow, Tara! Get in here!" He then used the handle of the mace to hit his second attacker, still on the floor, in the head. The Knight slumped back down. Giles reached down, and half-dragged/half-hurled him out the window.
"Buffy, we need to get those three back out through the window - right now!" Giles shouted, as Willow and Tara came into the living room.
Buffy started attacking her two opponents with gusto, driving them back towards the window. Orlando started to rise to attack the Slayer from the rear, however he met Giles as he rose.
Once again the mace descended in a downward descent, and met the head of one of the Knights of Byzantium. As the blow stunned Orlando, Giles had an easy time pushing him out of the house. He then noticed that Buffy had just about forced the two other Knights outside too. Thus, the Brit turned his attention to the three magic users in the room; he hurried over to the trio, and explained what he wanted them to do.
All three nodded, and quickly moved into position. Giles ran over and tackled one of Buffy's attackers. Once down, he kneed him hard in the side, where there was a gap in his armor. The Knight moaned in pain, and Giles used the opportunity to lift the guy up and push him through the window.
That left one - who, now that he was alone, Buffy quickly kicked out through the broken glass.
Once he was gone Jonathan, Tara and Willow quickly chanted a spell. There was a flash of light; and then the Knights who were running up to the broken window, suddenly bounced back as if they had hit an invisible wall. Which was exactly what they had done; hit an energy wall put up by the magical spell.
Giles surveyed the scene. "Well, that should hold them off for a while..."
A noise from behind them in the hall closet caused the Scoobies to whirl around, to see the source of the noise. The closet door squeaked as it opened, and a young man looked out.
"Is, is it back to normal out here yet?" Greg asked nervously, the guy who just happened to be Buffy's date for the evening.
Revello Drive, Sunnydale, California. The same time
The demon known as 'Doc' observed the scene that was taking place in front of Summers home, from the safety of further down the street. He knew who lived there. When the Knights of Byzantium had shown up in town, Doc had made it a point to be fully informed as to their activities and their interests.
When they had become determined to learn more about the Summers woman, Doc had done likewise. And when they had figured out that Buffy Summers knew something about the Key, Doc hadn't been far behind.
Needless to say, this information had been of great interest to him. In his evil mind, it could possibly help out in his plans to bring back Glorificus. To put right what had once gone wrong...
So when he'd learned the Knights were moving upon the Summers home, Doc had gone there himself. With some friends, of course.
"Well, now. It looks like the Knights may have bitten off a little more than they can chew," Doc commented, his demonic eyes and tail briefly appearing.
"They'll find a way around that shield, good sir; if not tonight, then later!" one of Doc's three companions, the hobbit-with-leprosy looking creature named Jinx, commented.
The others, fellow worshippers of Glory called Dreg and Murk, were quick to agree. "Most definitely!" "Absolutely!"
Doc raised an eye at the minions' actions. He knew that Glorificus had preferred their sycophantic ways, but to be honest, he wasn't too thrilled with their attitude himself. {Oh well, you take your help where you can get it - as Ms. Summers is about to learn} he mused to himself.
"Then it would be beneficial to us to make sure that doesn't happen, at least not until we have what we need. Come, let's see what we can do to help."
And they proceeded to do so - luckily for the Scoobies, as the man known as Josef Lemke was spending a much-needed evening at home with his wife and newborn child.
The private office of Lilah Morgan, Wolfram & Hart building, Los Angeles. The same time
"So *this* is the guy everyone has been all worked up about!" Lindsey MacDonald remarked, as he entered Lilah's office.
Xander was sitting on a couch at the far side of the office from Lilah's desk. For some reason, he really wasn't being that sociable with Lilah and her staff - two security guards hovered nearby him, but stayed out of arm's reach.
Lilah smiled, with the smile of someone who feels the game had been won already. "Mr. Alexander Harris, meet Mr. Lindsey MacDonald. You'll have to pardon him, he just managed to get most of our department killed - so he may not be the most pleasant person to be around, at the moment..." Lilah took advantage and twisted the figurative knife in Lindsey's gut quite a lot. After all - she could afford to do so, now that she had won everything she'd planned to get.
Lindsey grimaced. "How was I supposed to know that that loopy duo would go off the deep end completely? Besides, Holland authorised everything I did, all the way to the hilt. Don't forget that little tidbit, Lilah..."
Xander just watched the interplay between the two lawyers in silence.
"And of course, he's here to say that now, isn't he? You should have seen what was coming, Lindsey, what with the nut case talking about the stars and everything-"
Lilah's comment stirred Xander's memory. "Drusilla and Spike, right? You guys hired those two for something. And you're surprised when it turned around and bit you on the ass?" Xander said with a smirk.
This annoyed Lindsey, who to be honest wasn't having the best day. So he wasn't about to put up with lip from someone who was supposedly a prisoner of the firm. {This guy needs to be taught a lesson... }
The man strode over to where Xander was sitting, "I'm thinking that you're in no position to criticize anyone right now-" he started to say, leaning down and placing his hands on the table in front of the former Scooby as he did so.
Xander just grinned at the attorney. With a speed that the lawyer clearly did not expect, Xander pulled out the knife he had used on the demon in the lobby - and drove it through Lindsey's plastic hand, pinning him to the table.
The male attorney yelped in surprise, but fortunately not pain.
"*That's* why I'm over here!" Lilah observed, wondering to herself if Xander had known ahead of time that the hand he had pinned to the table was a fake one, and if the Timetripper even cared one way or another. The security guards just looked at Lilah - and seeing that she wasn't too disturbed, didn't move to help Lindsey.
"You really aren't very good at that whole 'thinking' thing, are you?" Xander asked the Texan, as he pulled at his impaled fake hand. "You know, I thought lawyers were supposed to be smart, but after meeting you two - I'm not so sure anymore."
"A little help here?" Lindsey hissed out at Lilah.
"Yes, Ms. Morgan, please help your colleague. After all, here at Wolfram & Hart, we're all one big happy family," Xander said sarcastically, with a feral grin on his face.
"How the hell did he get a weapon into the building?" Lindsey asked, finally getting free.
"He told security that if they tried to take it from him, they would have to kill him. And that a dead Mr. Harris would make the Senior Partners...unhappy. All true enough, so they brought him to me," Lilah replied.
"And you couldn't have warned me about that?" Lindsey asked, with more than a trace of irritation.
"I could have, but I thought I'd see what happened if I didn't," Lilah smiled and folded her arms, as she answered her colleague.
Growing impatient with the banter, Xander turned and fixed his glare on Lilah. "Where is Faith's soul?" he asked in a deadly cold voice. Inwardly, he was starting to feel concerned - Cleburne probably should have stormed in here by now...
"Mr. Harris, please - let's not get ahead of ourselves. We have much discuss as to what you can do for the firm. Later on, we'll discuss Ms. LeHane's ultimate disposition-" Lilah continued grinning at Xander.
Which was a big mistake.
With a speed that again took all the other occupants in the room by surprise, Xander leapt up and charged at Ms. Morgan. He easily passed by the guards and before they could react, he was in front of the female attorney. The man grabbed her by the throat with his left head, easily thwarting her attempts to push him away.
"Listen to me, you bitch! You should have no illusions about what I'll do to you, for all the shit you've pulled lately. Because when I came back from Ken's playpen, I killed three people for things they hadn't even done yet! Technically, they were all innocents. So the way I look at it, I'm not exactly gonna be welcome when it comes to getting through the Pearly Gates one day! I got nothing to lose - so if you don't tell me where that Orb is right now, I'll put you on an express elevator straight to Hell!" Xander growled at her.
Lilah actually felt her blood turning into ice at his words. She knew enough about Xander's history to know he wasn't bluffing. "Mr. Harris-" she managed to choke out.
The two guards *finally* rushed to her aid, and the first man received Xander's right fist to his face for his trouble - quickly ending up in dreamland.
"Don't push your luck!" Xander then snarled, and the second one stopped in his tracks at the threat potential in the former slave's voice. Harris then turned his attention back to the lawyer in his grasp. "Now, where were we?" he asked.
"Sleep," a voice at the doorway said, and Xander visibly struggled against the order for a second. "Sleep!" the new arrival said again with more force.
Xander struggled some more. "Get...out...of my..." he grunted. The former Scooby actively fought against what was happening, and tried to grab his trusty old .45 handgun tucked in the waistband of his pants. However Xander's right arm had already fallen asleep, and it was like trying to move through liquid lead.
"Sleep!" There was a higher volume used by the speaker, and there was more than just a trace of frustration in his voice. Finally Xander lost the battle and slumped over, letting go of Lilah's throat as he did.
Ms. Morgan almost leapt clear of him, rubbing at her throat. "You took your own sweet time about it!" she managed to croak out.
The warlock just grinned at Lilah, and didn't fail to notice Lindsey had a matching smirk on his face. "Ma'am, you just paid me to stick my head in if he got out of hand. You didn't pay me to run around after you, or anything like that."
Lilah made an exasperated face at her contract employee. One of the disadvantages from Spike's little rampage was that the majority of the on-call staff used by Wolfram & Hart were a little busy hunting him down, and Lilah had been forced to used contract labor for her own project.
She turned to the security guard that was still standing, "Move him to the interrogation room, and do it quickly. Tell them to start with the drugs right away! We probably only have a limited amount of time..."
Rome, Italy. Two hours later
Several ambulances raced down the street, with their sirens blaring in the morning daylight. One of them came dangerously close to the curb, and several pedestrians scattered. With the exception of two men - who judged that the ambulance wouldn't get close enough to concern them.
"Huh. Personally, I think that went well," Cleburne commented.
"Yes sir, they shouldn't bother any of the good people of this city ever again," Gunny replied. Behind them, off in the direction from which they were coming, the top couple of floors of a luxury apartment building had smoke and flames pouring out from several of the windows.
"Remind me to ask Esther for a raise after this one. And while I'm at it - one for you too, Gunny," Cleburne joked as they continued walking down the street.
At the end of the street there was a sidewalk cafe, with several of its customers rubbernecking at the scene they could see down the street. As the two Siberians approached the cafe, they both started to slow down a little bit.
"Colonel..." Gunny said softly.
"I see him." Cleburne was referring to the one customer in the cafe who was not enthralled by the scene a short distance from them. An older man, with the look of someone who had seen a lot in life, was sitting at one of the tables calmly sipping a cup of coffee.
He watched the two Siberians get closer to him with feigned disinterest. But all three parties knew how much this was just an act.
"Morning," the older man said in English with a coarse Afrikaner accent. "You two were up early. What was that old Yank army slogan, get more done before nine o'clock than most people do all day?"
"Cyrus," Cleburne said simply.
"I hear you're been asking after me, trying to find me," Cyrus motioned for Cleburne and Gunny to sit down at the table with him. The two of them looked at each other and then surveyed the surrounding area, before sitting down.
"Well, it *would* have been easier if you had a steady address. 'Course, you've not really had one since 1999 and your company folded," Cleburne debated for a second about ordering something, then decided against it. "You were still in the trade, but not easy to get in touch with. Last I heard, you were in Sierra Leone..."
"Things got better there, with less need of my services. And you don't keep people like me around when things are going well, man. I thought it best to keep moving after that, I'm a real popular man back home!" He grinned at Cleburne.
"Yes, there's no doubt the South African authorities would like to have a chat with you - among other things," Gunny said.
Cyrus raised an eyebrow at the noncom's comment. The South African then turned his attention back to Cleburne, who had just finished turning on his cell phone. "Generally, if they're not looking to lock me up, people only look for me when they're in a tight spot. I've not heard anything about you blokes being in a tight spot. Just some crazy ragheads takin' potshots at you..."
Cleburne ignored Cyrus's comment. "I recall one time you mentioning a bit of trouble you got into back during the late Seventies, up in Angola. You and your patrol had quite a story to tell, huh?"
Cyrus' face reddened. "You dragged me out of hiding, to make fun of stories I told years ago?" he started to seethe.
Joshua raised his hand. "I know better than to do that. Look, Cyrus, you know there are things that go bump in the night, things that most people refuse to even acknowledge exist. Your own government knew that, otherwise they would have retired you permanently when you told them your story - and sure as hell they wouldn't have reinstated you a few years later, back to your old duties."
"Lot of good it did me, man. You know what happened, when they gave up the ghost..."
"Capitalism became your guiding light. Personal security companies, I think that's what they call your line of work now. Been a real growth industry in Africa, ever since Idi Amin. Every little dirty war became your personal training ground, as you trained the troops of the side that paid you the most. And you were quite good at it."
The older man now looked a little bit confused. "And this brings me to Rome to talk to you, why?"
"Certain arrangements are taking place at the international level now, Cyrus. One result of those arrangements is the need to train individuals with how to deal with certain threats...not normally covered in boot camp. You've dealt with these things before, and you're good at training soldiers...hold on."
The buzzing of Cleburne's cell phone drew his attention. He opened up the secure communications device, "Hello?"
A pause. "Yeah, Esther, we're done here. No need to worry about that problem anymore."
Cleburne's brow then furrowed in response to whatever he was hearing. "What?"
"When, how, where?" Cleburne was clearly getting agitated
"What? Wolfram & Hart?! Crap! Call Red, he's in Los Angeles right now. I think Riley might be there also, tell them to play cavalry. They're already doing that? Good! We're on our way back, right the hell now!" He jabbed at the phone and stood up, "Come on, you two, we'll have to talk as we run and fly!"
Gunny stood up immediately, he knew the Marine colonel well enough to know that whatever had happened, it was bad. "What's the situation?"
"The kid has gone and gotten himself into a whole shitload of big trouble!"
Conference room, Wolfram & Hart, Los Angeles. The same time
Lilah and Lindsey had gathered together with someone called Nathan Reed - who had taken over for Holland Manners earlier that day, to the big annoyance of Lilah. In fact, when she had heard the news, the female attorney had thought to herself, { Unbelievable! What does a woman have to *do* to get ahead in a man's world, I ask you? } Then she involuntarily shuddered when some of the answers came into her mind, particularly when the Wolfram & Hart twist to Lilah's life was factored in.
In any case, the bald white man had lost no time in asserting his authority. "Mr. MacDonald. Ms. Morgan. Quite a situation you've created for me - and during my first day on the job, too."
"Sir-" Lilah started to say.
"As long as I'm the head of Special Projects, I don't want to hear anything except results, counselor. Is that clear? What's the situation with Mr. Harris?"
Lilah and Lindsey looked at one another. The Texan started to explain, "Well, sir, it's problematical to question someone who's unconscious. The drugs that we administered should have gotten him awake and talking, but they didn't. And why the hell the scopolamine and all the other stuff didn't work - is just beyond the technicians' ability to explain, at the moment. I'm sorry-"
Nathan was in no mood for this, though. "I'm not Holland Manners, Mr. MacDonald. I don't have the sentimental streak for you two that he did - let's be clear on that right now! And as for Harris, wake him up and get him talking the old-fashioned way. Kill him if necessary, and interrogate his soul-"
Lilah and Lindsey again looked at each other, and Lindsey cleared his throat. "Well, sir - that's a complicated thing right now..."
Nathan sighed. "Don't beat around the bush with me, either of you. Or you'll end up in it! Speak frankly!"
Lilah started to explain about the Soul Stone, placing it on the table in front of Reed. "We found this artifact on him. Mr. Harris has obviously done something that we're not sure of the implications of yet-"
Lindsey almost had admiration in his voice as he interrupted, "Man must have planned ahead, in case something went wrong for him - the moment he dies, the guy's essence will most likely undergo something none of us here at Wolfram & Hart will like. The Soul Stone is proof of that - its counterpart must be somewhere close by in the city, Harris must have someone ready to grab his soul before we can do it..."
Lilah went on, "We can almost certainly come up with a way to get around that, but...it'll take time. And most likely, that's a commodity that's in short supply right now..."
Nathan looked annoyed. He told the duo, "Fine. Get a Falanjoid demon to suck out the man's brains, then it won't matter if he dies or not; the psychics can get all the answers they need that way!"
Again the two lawyers looked at each other, as Lilah uncomfortably admitted that they'd already thought of that. "I'm afraid though that the Falanjoid took one sniff of Mr. Harris, and then ran away screaming - as did another of its species, later on..."
Reed now looked pissed. The bald guy with glasses looked at his watch and then told Lilah and Lindsey, "We don't have time for this, Siberian Trip Wire is probably on its way here right now..."
He paused. "We need the best people available, to get every bit of information that the Senior Partners want. And we can't afford to be disturbed by these interlopers, who think they have a claim on Xander Harris. So, have him transferred into the custody of..."
"Who?" asked Lindsey and Lilah together, when it became obvious that the question was begging to be asked.
Nathan smiled. "The Covenant of Trombli, in that dimension called Pylea."
Unknown place, unknown time
"Hello. Anyone there?" the female voice rang out, oddly familiar to Xander.
The former Scooby and current 'guest' of Wolfram & Hart looked around the dark surroundings he found himself in. "Hello?" Harris called back, somewhat uncertainly.
"Hello, where are you?" The voice shouted back.
"Stay there, I'll come to you!" Xander answered, shouting into the darkness. He started towards where the voice was, "And keep talking so I can find you!"
"Okay, but what do I say? Oh! How about this? I think there should be a law passed that my sister no longer be allowed to celebrate her birthday! Because every time she does it, something strange and dangerous happens..."
Xander couldn't help but laugh at that. "Sounds like someone I used to know..." Several yards away in the gloom, he could make out the dim form of a young girl. "What happened to you?"
"I don't know. One moment I'm in the living room enjoying some birthday cake, when these nuts in medieval armor come in yelling about some key - then one of 'em hit me on the head, and next thing I know I'm here..."
Xander stopped for a moment, when he heard the word key. The shape in front of him seemed familiar. {I know it, don't I? Yeah, yeah - it's definitely a blast from my past} He looked closely, and slowly approached his companion. "Dawn?" the 24-year-old guy asked hesitantly.
Dawn Summers's head shot up. She then stepped forward herself... "Xander!" the girl shouted out, and threw herself into a tight hug of her friend. "How-? I thought I'd never see you again..."
Xander Harris was now confused. The last thing he remembered was being in that bitch Lilah Morgan's office, and hearing some guy telling him to sleep. And Dawn would surely not be anywhere near Wolfram & Hart; as by this time, Buffy and Giles would be aware of what Dawn's true origins were, the second letter should have been delivered by now - so this couldn't be the girl in question.
But still, as he hugged what looked like Dawn - Xander realized just how much he had *missed* the child in his arms.
Because by the summer of 2003 - Buffy and Anya had slept with Spike, Willow and Faith had become murderers, Tara and Joyce had ended up dead, Angel and Cordy had hit the road and completely left him behind, and Giles had abandoned them all to go to England - twice...
Dawn was the one pure thing he remembered from his other life; the only part of it that was never sullied or tainted by living on the Hellmouth - her whining, kleptomania and taser notwithstanding.
The brunette teenager was also a little confused. The last thing she remembered had been the Knights of Byzantium attacking Buffy's birthday party, now she was here in this dark landscape. Of course, her confusion at meeting Xander was understandable - as she believed the guy had been dead for nearly two years now.
Dawn suddenly trembled. {Oh no...am I dead too? Is, is this the afterlife? I don't remember dying, though, just getting knocked out.}
Actually, she needn't have worried. What neither of them knew was that Brother Feodor's changes to the ritual that had converted the Key into human form months ago - had granted Dawn some...well, extra benefits, this time around.
Extra benefits that in the fullness of time would become apparent to Xander, the Scoobies and others who came to be interested in the whole Key situation.
The young girl then thought firmly, {I'm not dead, I can't be - this all feels way too real. So that means.} She squealed in delight and thought, {XANDER'S ALIVE! How, why - wait, I don't care! My future husband is back! }
Dawn, still hugging Xander, suddenly sensed him tense up. "Xander? What's wrong? You're back, everything should be fine - right?"
Xander didn't answer, as his mind worked through what he was experiencing. { This can't be Dawn, since I'm a prisoner of Wolfram & Hart - and there is no way they would just leave me here, wherever *here* is. } He straightened up as he thought, {So, I guess this isn't real. I'm dreaming or something.}
"Xander?" Dawn asked in a frightened voice. {Why are you looking at me like that?}
Xander smiled at what he thought was the dream version of Dawn. "It's all right, Dawnie. I know now that you're not real-"
Dawn stepped back, and stabbed him with a fierce look in her teenage eyes. "Not real? Not *real*?! Hold on there, bucko-"
Xander couldn't help himself, he laughed out loud at Dawn's fiery response to his comment. "Dawn-patrol, I got to admit - you do remind me quite a bit of the real Dawn-"
"I AM THE REAL DAWN!" Dawn shouted at Xander. She proceeded to poke Xander in the shoulder with her finger. "See, see? No dream can poke you like that. And I'll make you black and blue if I have to, to convince you that I'm real!"
"Ow!" Xander said half-laughingly, as he grabbed Dawn's fingers to stop the poking. "Okay. Okay, if you say you're real, then you're real." {Even though it's obvious you can't be, otherwise I'd be screaming in pain from the damn headaches.}
Dawn leaned back, seemingly mollified by Xander's stated acceptance of her realness. "That's better. Now, let's get back to the important stuff. Like, where have you been these past two years, and are you coming back home with me now?" She folded her arms in an unconscious imitation of her sister, when the brunette asked that question.
Xander chuckled again. {Hey, this is pretty good!} "Well - you know, a little bit of this and that, here and there, doing the James Bond thing. Although come to think of it, I don't have any snazzy gadgets or clothes. How about you, Dawnster?"
"Oh, it's been a drag. I tell you, living with Buffy is just awful at times! She's always whining about one thing or another..." Dawn's voice shifted to a high-pitched imitation of Buffy's, "I can't keep a boyfriend, school is hard, slaying interferes with my social life, Greg doesn't understand me..."
Xander frowned. "Greg? I don't - there's no Greg in Buffy's life-"
"Well, you haven't been around since high school. She hooked up with him a few weeks ago, after her former honey Jeff Johnson ran out of town - when Dracula made him like some kinda mindless slave, last year? Anyway, she brought Greg to her birthday party. Some upperclassman, but he's like totally useless! When those Knights of the Round Table wannabes attacked, he just vanished! I think he's hiding in the basement or something..."
{Wait a minute. Buffy never dated anyone named Greg, or Jeff Johnson. And the Knights of Byzantium never attacked Buffy's house, as I recall. Why the heck would my imagination get so creative like this? } Xander thought to himself, with a sudden feeling of dread.
His thoughts were cut short by Dawn. "And you haven't answered my other question. Are you coming back home with me? I mean - you gotta, Xander! Everyone will be so thrilled to see you-"
Xander couldn't help but snort at this. "Somehow, Dawn, I kinda doubt that. I know of several people back in the 'dale, who really weren't too gung-ho on me being around..."
Dawn sighed. "Hey, I'm not going to defend what those three scatterbrains did. It was way stupid, and I've torn into them about it more than once, so they know how I feel. And hey, Christmas was a real knock-down and drag-out fight with Buffy about it! I think they're finally seeing the light, though; when Willow went to LA recently to re-ensoul that Darla person, she told me afterwards how she talked to Cordelia about you. And I may be a teenager, but I can still read between the lines...would you believe that that - that - brunette *hussy* still wants you?"
Xander felt more doubt creep into his mind, as the memory of talking with Gwen Raiden briefly ignited. For a figment of his imagination, this Dawn seemed to know an awful lot beyond what his subconscious should know...
Harris shook his head. {More likely it's my subconscious projecting a wish fulfillment with regard to the girls} he thought to himself. Xander silently chuckled, those classes the Wizard had him taking were clearly leaving their mark on his psyche.
"If you say so, Dawn. But still, I'm not coming back with you. You know that old poem, 'miles to go before I sleep'..."
Dawn frowned at him. {Xander quoting poetry? And not from a comic book? }
She looked around for some place to sit. Not seeing anything to use as a chair, the teenage girl shrugged her shoulders and sat down on the ground. Miss Summers noticed that it seemed to be black sand, so it was probably okay. She then reached up and grabbed Xander's hand, pulling him to sit down next to her.
"Xander, there is nothing in the world which should stand between you and coming back home! Everyone misses you. *I* miss you. I visit your gravesite weekly, although now that I know you're alive I probably won't be going anymore..." She sheepishly smiled at Xander. "Uh, sorry, I know she was your girlfriend and everything - but I wasn't that close to Faith. So I don't visit her often."
"Faith?"
"Yeah, we buried her close to you, but not right next to you. Several yards away. Mom had a bench put in between your two graves so that when we visit, we'll have a place to sit down." Dawn smiled. "By the way, thanks for the letter to Giles about Mom. They operated on her, and it looks like she's recovering nicely."
Xander smiled at Dawn's comments. "You're welcome. And I have a gravesite? Cool. I hope it's nice. 'Course in Sunnydale, that's one thing they do right, designing tombstones. After all - the undertakers have so much experience."
Dawn nodded. "Oh yeah. Very quiet and peaceful, with a great view. I enjoy my visits there..." Dawn suddenly looked troubled. "Well, maybe not enjoy visiting your gravesite, I like spending time at some place that we honored you with. Because we thought you were dead. Not that we were happy that you were dead. Or thought you were dead..."
Xander reached over and patted Dawn on her knee, amused by the teen babble. "That's all right, Dawnster. I know what you meant. As matter of fact, I'm honored that you visit my grave so regularly."
Dawn smiled with a big grin at that. "When we get back home, I'll show it to you. You'll like the saying on the tombstone! 'The soul of a hero'." Dawn used her hands to emphasize her point about the saying.
"The soul of a hero?" Xander repeated. "I never knew that. Uh, so who came up with it?" {Now, why would that even matter? You know all this is just a figment of your imagination!}
"Willow did. She was all torn up after you died in that explosion. We all were, when it looked like you had gotten blown up. But Willow took it the worst-"
"Well, she has only herself to blame!" Xander snapped.
"Xander!" Dawn almost shouted. "Willow's sorry, they are all for what they did-"
"Look, Dawn, I know what you're saying is some form of deep-seated desire to make everything right again, on behalf of my subconscious. But I can't believe I'm having this conversation with myself!" Xander sighed to himself.
"Hey, I told you I'm real!" She folded her arms and looked fiercely again at Xander. "Look, I know this is real. This doesn't feel like a dream. So I'm real, and you're real. The sooner you accept that, the sooner we can get you back home!"
Xander frowned, {She's right about one thing, this doesn't feel like a dream. It feels different. Stronger, more focused. } "Dawn-" he started to say.
"No, you listen here Xander!" Dawn declared, her tone clearly showing she would brook no interruption. "Somehow, I don't know how, we have a connection. So we're here. Together. We're talking to each other, and we need to plan how to get you back home! It's the key to resolving this whole thing-"
{The Key? Wait, Dawn mentioned that before - oh no. Oh, crap! This is Dawn Summers talking - and she doesn't know she's the Key? Then it's really her!? Maybe we *do* have a connection - oh God, Brother Feodor. He must've done something different from the first time around, when he did that ritual! This has gotta be Dawn's consciousness or whatever, her body is probably back in Sunnydale right now...no physical proximity, that's why there are no headaches from the Vulcan mind-meld thing.}
Focusing his thoughts, the man then said, "Dawn, I can't go back to the Hellmouth. Not now, and possibly not ever." Xander held his hand up, to stop the inevitable interruption from the Key in human form. "I can't show my face publicly."
"Why not? It's a really handsome face!" Dawn pouted.
"Well, it's also a face a lot of people have come to know, and want to be in the company of. And they aren't too sensitive when it comes to the methods they would use to know me, and get to spend time with me."
"We could stop them. Look at all the things we've stopped before!" Dawn declared.
"Yeah - the Scooby gang's stopped demons, vampires and all the things that go bump in the night. But the things I hide from don't need to hide in the dark, kiddo. They can walk around in broad daylight, without people screaming and running away in terror. And they can make people go away and not come back, in a very bad way."
"I'm not afraid of them! Buffy can kick their asses, if it comes to that-" Dawn declared.
Xander smiled, looking at his young friend. "No she can't, because Buffy can't kill people that way with a gun or a knife - and that's what it'd take, to stop these humans. Plus - remember Ted, and what happened then? Dawn, you need to be afraid if these guys ever try to grab hold of any of you. In their own way, they're more dangerous than anything you've ever faced. And bottom line - I have things to do over the next few years, and I don't want to know that you got hurt because of me."
Dawn's face clearly showed she wasn't happy at Xander's words. "You're still mad because of what Buffy and the others did, aren't you?"
For a fraction of a second, Xander considered dodging that question. Then he decided a straight answer was the best response. "Yeah, I am. Very much so in fact, even after all this time. That's the kind of thing you don't ever forget. You don't leave a fellow warrior down in the field."
"Huh?"
Xander sighed. "Look, Dawnie, if there's one thing I want you to understand from our little confab today - it's the fact that I'm no hero. I'm a survivor."
"I still don't get what you're-"
"Lemme finish. Dawn, heroes are people who die in a blaze of glory on the battlefield or whatever, and everyone remembers who they were and what they did. The survivors? They're the guys that no one remembers, but they're also the ones that walk away alive once the smoke clears afterwards..."
Xander had a cold, wintry smile on his face. "I know what category I've always belonged in. I do what I have to do, and a lot of the stuff I've done - it would quite possibly make you hate and despise me, if you knew details! But there are rules that even I follow, and not leaving someone behind to be eaten by a vamp is one of them."
Dawn focused on just that last sentence. "Xander, they were wrong, they were stupid, and it was horrible what they did. No one's gonna argue with you on that point! I told Buffy as much at the time, and several times since as a matter of fact! I think we just about drove Mom crazy with some of our arguments, at that..."
Xander chuckled, as he imagined the two Summers girls arguing. "You two should go easy on your mother, Dawn. She needs peace and quiet. Now more than ever."
"I know, but over time I managed to drill it into Buffy's head the wrongness of what she did. She's really sorry about it-"
Xander's snort interrupted Dawn's sentence, but ignoring that she just kept right on going. "-and she wishes that she could do whatever it took, to set things right. Can't you please find it within your heart to forgive them? And come home where you belong? We need you, *I* need you-"
Then the Key noticed the former Zeppo starting to smile. "What?"
Xander almost chuckled again. "I'd almost forgotten. You still have that cute crush on me these days, don't you?"
"IT IS NOT A CRUSH!" Dawn screeched, before she heard herself and her face instantly went red. "I-I-I mean..."
"Dawn. It's okay. Future knowledge and all, remember? Believe it or not, you'll get past this, meet someone your own age. Well, as long as it's not that asshole vamp you parked with during Halloween-"
But Dawn only heard the love of her life rejecting her, in the cruelest way possible. "NO! You're the one I want...I mean, as soon as I turn 18-"
Xander interrupted, "I'll be 28 years old by then, remember? And *way* too old for you. Look, Dawnie-"
"DON'T CALL ME THAT! I'm not a child!"
Xander sighed, as he contemplated that. "Yeah, you're not. And I know that, even if no one else does in quite the same way. Okay, Dawn Summers, lemme put it like this - you're someone very special. No, let me rephrase that - you're not special, you're extraordinary..."
The man went on, "I remember during 2003, how I told you that - you were nearly 17 years old by then, and we were in the fight of our lives against an enemy that had us outmatched in almost every which way. You did something that really impressed me, and I'll never forget it. So you're not a little girl, but you're not a grownup yet either. Do us both a favor, Dawn - don't be in such a hurry to become one. 'Cause it really ain't all it's cracked up to be..."
Miss Summers had listened to Xander's little speech in complete fascination, when suddenly she noticed the gloomy landscape around them starting to become brighter. White light was definitely appearing, and growing more intense with each passing second. "Xander-?"
But Harris just smiled, as they both got up. "It was good to see ya again, Dawn. Take care of your mom and Giles for me-"
There was no time for her to reply, as their connection was broken in a blast wave of blinding light.
Sunnydale General Hospital, Sunnydale, California. The same time
Dawn blinked, thinking she was still talking with Mr. Harris. "Xander-?" Then she noticed she was lying in a bed that was not her own, and there were bright lights shining down upon her. "What-?"
"Dawn?" That was Buffy's voice, and she sounded scared. "Are, are you okay?"
The young brunette winced, as her head hurt. A LOT. "Buffy? Where am I?"
Joyce Summers leaned down, all sweet motherly concern. "You're in the hospital, sweetie. You got a very nasty hit on the head-"
"What happened?" the teenager asked, the pain receding a little.
"That doesn't matter right now," Joyce said quickly, shooting a look towards her oldest daughter not to mention anything. Especially how the Knights had retreated, after they had been openly attacked on the street by a horde of mercenary demons that unknown to the Scoobies were on Doc's payroll. "All that matters is that you rest, and get better."
"Mom-" Dawn started to say. Then she remembered, "Xander! Mom, he's alive, I was just talking to him-"
Buffy shook her head at once. "It was only a dream, Dawn. I mean, you've been out cold - from the moment that guy hit you. And Mom and I have been right by your side, every instant since then."
"But..."
"I'm afraid Buffy's right, sweetheart. I'm sorry, but Xander's gone now and whatever you thought happened - you must have just dreamed it all up," Joyce said comfortingly.
The human incarnation of the Key contemplated that. And the more she thought about it, the more it made sense to her. "Yeah, I-I guess you're right..." Dawn said hesitantly, already starting to dismiss the memories as just a schoolgirl fantasy.
Which was rather unfortunate, as in a higher dimension the Senior Partners had plans for Xander Harris - plans that were not pleasant to contemplate, not at all.
Wolfram & Hart building, Los Angeles, California. Two hours later
Red flattened himself against the wall, as the bullets whizzed past him. The guards at the end of the hallway were definitely determined to stop the commandos from getting through the door they were guarding.
Red sighed to himself, and squeezed off a couple of shots in return as several of his fellow soldiers worked their way down the hallway. { The things I do for my country... }
Not long ago, Red had been enjoying his leave. He had come to Los Angeles to spend time with Ametila; she had been able to get a couple of evenings off from work, and they had hoped for a fun couple of days together...
Still. They had been out at the Griffin Observatory stargazing, when his constant companion had interrupted. Every member of Siberian Trip Wire was required to always have his or her cell phone nearby, when on leave or not in the field. The ringing that came from it was sometimes dreaded, and sometimes welcomed by the members who carried said communications device on their person.
Red, although he sometimes welcomed the adrenaline rush from his job - after all, he was a Navy SeAL - had definitely not welcomed this interruption to his date. Ametila had not been happy, either; she wasn't stupid, and by this time had a pretty good idea as to what her boyfriend did for a living. The demon waitress knew that whatever had prompted the call, would most likely consume the time she had set aside for the two of them...
Of course she had been right; when Red had learned what was going on, well - he fully believed in Cleburne's creed that when one of their people was in trouble, everyone rode in to the rescue. He had taken Ametila back to her apartment, and after a quick kiss goodbye had hurried to the point where STW was setting up a base in Los Angeles.
Riley Finn had already arrived and was setting up the S&R operation, trying to pull together the loose elements of STW that could get to Los Angeles on such short notice. Red knew that there were more elements on the way, Cleburne was rocketing across the Atlantic in his rush to get to the City of Angels - but in a situation like this, time was of the essence. The operation had to be launched as soon as possible, and thus couldn't wait for the additional forces.
Red had taken command, and quickly completed the work Finn had started. The first order of business had to been to learn as much as possible, from Rachael and the others. Also, as much information as they could gather on Wolfram & Hart's activities had been gathered. Once that was done, a quick raid had been launched.
They had timed the raid to go off about 3 am. A raid in broad daylight might be too hard to explain - and going in at this time, Red hoped to minimize any possible public questions that needed to be answered later. The soldier knew that this was a gamble, at that time of the morning vampires were most likely to be moving around - but he accurately judged that once they got into the building, the time of day wouldn't make a difference as to the number of vampires present.
The two dozen commandos had entered the Wolfram & Hart building through the parking garage, and were making their way up to the office suites where they believed Xander was. Well - *hoped* was a better description, the intelligence available for this op was much more sketchy than Red was used to dealing with, and he silently hoped it wouldn't come back to haunt him later when this was all over.
At any rate, Byrne heard the gunfire from the guards up ahead slacking off, as some of the enemy combatants were forced to reload their weapons. Red and two other commandos took advantage of the opportunity to slip around the corner, and spray that end of the hallway with a burst from their assault carbines.
Behind them Riley stepped forward, and tossed a grenade down the hall. The explosion silenced the remaining guards there. The STW commandos then advanced down the hallway to the doorway leading upstairs. Needless to say, they knew better than to take the elevators in such a situation. Elevators were too likely to be stalled between floors by those defending the building.
Red and his team made their way up the floors up their objective. Every once in a while, they would stop on a floor to change stairwells. This acted to shake up the defenders of the building. After all, the commandos being used by Wolfram & Hart were clearly not strangers to their line of work.
And so, despite all the efforts of the bad guys, the Siberians slowly but surely made their way to the office of Lilah Morgan.
Red knew from talking to Rachael and Oz that this was the attorney who had delivered the threat to Xander. So Byrne figured this was the best place to find the answers he was seeking and maybe, just maybe, Alexander Hall himself.
After several minutes, they arrived at the floor of their destination. The door to the floor was opened, and the commandos kept themselves hidden for a few seconds.
Riley then peered around the door, using a small mirror stuck to a short pole. "Clear!" he announced.
Red motioned, and the commandos made their way into the lobby of the floor. The men stayed close to the walls and shadows. Their caution was proven justified, when several shots rang out from above their positions. Several enemy guards and commandos were overlooking the balcony on them.
"I hate being on the lower ground..." Red grumbled. He returned fire, as did his comrades. After several seconds, the defenders of the building were driven back, and the STW operatives resumed their advance to Ms. Morgan's office.
Several figures were suddenly visible through the glass windows. One of them looked to be restrained in a chair...
{That's gotta be him! } Red thought. { Okay, showtime... }
The commandos quickly moved into position around the door. Riley and Red looked at each other for a second, and then nodded. Riley reached over and opened the door...
...and they found themselves standing in the parking garage, exactly where they had started from ages ago. All of the commandos looked around in confusion, and Red felt a pounding pain behind his forehead. He heard Riley next to him checking the magazine on the soldier's weapon.
The Iowan said in complete disbelief, "This is impossible, I have all the ammo I started out with - it's like I haven't used any yet! And that can't be, from all the fighting we just did-"
"Gentlemen?"
Red and the others turned to the source of the voice addressing them, and saw Lilah Morgan standing there.
"You're standing on private property with lethal weapons, and you do not have a warrant to do so. As a lawyer, it's my professional duty to inform you that as such, you're committing a crime. And if you have any funny ideas of trying to force your way upstairs? Please be assured that while you were undergoing your little magical mystery mind tour, enough security was moved into place to turn any such attempt into a bloodbath..."
Lilah smiled. "And of course, *that* will lead to unfortunate publicity, that I'm sure none of us here wants. And who knows what'll happen, after that? So I suggest that you vacate the premises immediately. You have 30 seconds to depart, before this all becomes a media circus..."
With that, Lilah turned around and walked off. Red watched her victoriously strut away, knowing that something really supernaturally freaky had just happened. { Well, crap. Make that holy crap - Mother Hen is surely going to blow a gasket over this... }
The private office of Lilah Morgan. A few minutes later
Lilah walked into her office. "They're taken care of, but I don't know how long it'll be before they try something else," she announced.
Nathan Reed nodded, as several warlocks busied themselves in their endeavors. "It doesn't matter. We just needed enough time to get ready for this..." He turned to the warlock, who had been the one to perform the sleep spell on Xander earlier. "Is it done?" he asked in a no-nonsense tone.
The warlock's reply was in the form of consonant representations of a mathematical transfiguration formula. "Crv dr pff lr ploos pls vos strp umpt pls plsrts in uft frm pltz!"
The chant resulted in a glowing interdimensional portal opening in front of them; as the entire building was a hotspot of psychic energy, and the doorway to other worlds. Nathan then nodded to the guards, who were present in the room. They reached down and grabbed the unconscious Mr. Harris; they subsequently dragged him through the portal, followed closely by Reed and Morgan.
And just like last time, what awaited the former Zeppo on the other side of the rainbow was a fate even worse than death...
TBC...