Summary: In the aftermath of the battle with the First, one man dedicates his life to fighting the forces of darkness throughout the world. This is the story of those crusades.
Miles Militis Candidus is latin for White Knight.
Chapter 2 - The Hyperion
Giles stopped the bus for what he hoped was the last time. He looked out the front door at the Hyperion, wondering what it was about Angel and grandiose living quarters.
The girls entered into the foyer, with Giles, Dawn, Willow and Xander following at the rear. Noticing that nobody was about, Xander pinged the bell sitting on the reception desk, expecting Cordy to come out and rip him a new one any second.
Instead, Wesley appeared from the office behind the desk, and Angel came down the stairs, both were surprised to see this many people milling around in their foyer.
"Yes I believe we had a booking under the name 'Hellmouth'" said Xander in a tired voice.
"What happened?" asked Angel. "Is...."
"Buffy's fine" interjected Xander. "She's keeping Faith company at the hospital, Faith's man-friend was wounded."
Angel tried to keep a straight face, but his relief was evident.
"Look not to be rude, but we've just been through Hell, literally, and these girls could use some rest, while I could do with sleeping until 2005." said Xander.
"Of course" said Wesley. "Let me get Fred and we'll sort out accommodations"
Wesley motioned for the girls to follow him upstairs, while Angel came down and intercepted the Scoobies before they could follow.
Willow noticed that Angel had 'something' face, and wondered what it was that couldn't wait till they were rested after what they had just been through.
Angel cut straight to the point. "Look, I've got some bad news, and it's probably better that I tell you now rather than you find out by accident later. It's Cordy. She's in a coma, so far we've tried everything, but.." Angel left it there, not willing to go through all the things they had tried.
Angel took an unneeded breath and continued "I'll let you get some rest, and if you want I'll take you to see her". This last comment was directed mainly at Willow and Xander, who had been closer to her than either Giles or Dawn.
Reluctantly the foursome headed upstairs to individual beds that were calling to them more every minute. Willow especially was zonked after her spell earlier in the day, while the other three were just plain tired after the adrenaline rush left their bodies needing to recharge.
A couple of hours later the rest of the gang who had remained at the hospital arrived at the Hyperion. Angel was sitting on the couch talking to Wes and Fred when he perked up. He turned toward the doors just before they opened and his eyes lit up as Buffy and the rest of the crew entered.
Fred turned to Wesley and mouthed 'Buffy?' silently. Wes nodded and they both turned to see Buffy and Angel hugging each other. Faith had clear streaks from her eyes down her otherwise dirty face, but they were tears of joy resulting from the Doctors news that Robin would be fine and she could see him tomorrow.
Angel asked Wesley and Fred to show the new girls to their allocated rooms while he told Buffy and Faith about Cordy.
2 days Later
Yesterday Xander, Willow, Buffy and Dawn had gone to see Cordelia. Buffy had pointed out that Dawn had actually never met Cordy, to which Dawn replied that she had never met Angel or Wesley either, but they seemed to remember her just fine. Dawn had said "so if Cordy is aware or watching somewhere, she won't be weirded out if I turn up, because she has all these memories of me from before."
Dawn had gone on to point out that Cordy had always complimented her fashion sense, to the obvious amusement of Willow and Xander who had been following the argument.
When they had arrived at her bedside, Willow teared up and was comforted by Dawn as she rubbed her back and then held her when the tears became too much. Xander looked on in stony silence, his face unusually showing no emotion whatsoever. Buffy was never Cordelia's best friend, but she was still visibly upset to see what had happened to the former Queen of Sunnydale High.
The morning after visiting Cordelia, Xander had given Kennedy, Buffy, Dawn, Rona and Vi tickets to the Madonna concert that he had organised through Angel. Xander had called it a 'stress-buster' and a thank you for defeating the first. He figured that owing Angel a favour was preferable to Buffy finding out what he was going to talk to Willow about, even if the guy you owed was now the CEO of an evil law firm. And so to make it look natural he had gotten tickets for the other girls as well. It was a bonus that Willow absolutely loathed Madonna.
Willow knew that something was up, but wasn't sure exactly what it was. Using patience she didn't normally possess, Willow decided to let Xander make the move rather than confronting him about it. Because she realised that as much as Xander knew that Willow hated Madonna, Willow bet that she was the only one that knew Xander was a huge Madonna fan.
Willow didn't need to wait long. Half an hour after the girls left for the concert, there was Xander knocking on her door on the second floor of the Hyperion. Willow didn't hesitate, "Come in Xander" she called out.
"Hey Will, how'd you know it was me?" asked Xander.
"Come on Xan, you go and organise tickets for a Madonna concert, through Angel of all people, you don't go yourself and you know I hate Madonna!"
"Ok then I'm busted" Xander smiled. "I need to talk to you about something" said Xander seriously.
"You know you can talk to me about anything. You know how sorry I am about Anya" confessed Willow.
"Thanks Will. That does mean a lot. I know you weren't her biggest fan, but I made a decision after losing her and seeing Cordy in that coma, and I need you to help me"
"Xander I'll do what I can, but why do I get the feeling that you want witchy help?" asked Willow.
Xander laughed. "I never could get anything past you could I?"
"Damn right buster!" said Willow. "Now spill"
"Ok, how do I say this?" said Xander mainly to himself.
"I've made a decision" Xander continued. "A conscious decision, I'm going to dedicate myself to fighting vampires and demons. None of this stake in one hand and Twinkies in the other. In Sunnydale I got caught up in fighting, but mainly I went along with the flow. It took me a long time to get to sleep our first night here. I debated going somewhere by myself and starting over, a new town, new job, no Hellmouth. But the more I thought about it, the more I wanted to make a difference. I can't do that by working in a hardware store in Cupcake, Iowa. I can't just turn my back on what I know is evil. I want to make a difference Will, and I won't take no for an answer."
"Uhh, wow." said Willow. "First off I can see why you wanted Buffy to be elsewhere. She would freak if she heard you right now."
"Maybe" said Xander. "But she has never understood that this is my decision, nobody else's. I could walk out of here and get hit by a bus. I could move away and live till I'm 90 and never see another vamp or demon ever again. Nobody knows what will happen in the future. All you can do is what feels right, and this feels right to me. Are you going to help me?"
"I'm not sure what exactly you want me to do" replied Willow.
"Well technically it's nothing you haven't done before. I want you to make me into a Slayer"