"Speech"

'Thought'

*Text*

Chapter 36 - Surprise

Sunnydale Docks – 11:30 pm, Wednesday

Oz and Andrew watched from the shadows as Angel and Buffy walked onto the docks, Jenny electing to stay behind in her car to give them some privacy. Buffy snuggled into Angel's side, gleaning as much comfort as she could. Angel himself was carrying the box containing the Judge's arm on his right shoulder with ease.

'Man, looks to me like the Slayer's lost it,' Warren thought, disgusted from the Bronze.

'Keep an eye out for incoming, don't focus on them,' Oz replied with a frown.

'Okay, boss!' the three members of the Pack said faithfully.

'Oh, damn it, I can already tell this is gonna take forever. He should just get on that damn ship, already, that box needs to get gone,' Xander thought wearily.

The star-crossed couple eventually stopped near the berthed cargo ship. Angel placed his burden against a pole on the dock and said, "I should go the rest of the way alone."

"Okay," Buffy replied softly, blinking back tears.

"I'll be back," Angel tried to reassure her.

"When…six months, a year? You don't know how long it'll take," Buffy said with a small sob.

'Oh, for crying out loud,' Cordelia transmitted to her boyfriend, rolling her eyes. 'Even if this was the plot for a romance novel, it couldn't possibly get any cheesier!'

"I'll be back soon," Angel promised firmly, tilting Buffy's chin to look into her eyes.

'Urghh, I think I'm gonna be sick,' Warren said telepathically, as he phased in from his location at the Bronze.

'Where were you?' Oz asked.

'Sorry, boss, Giles wanted an update,' the wolf replied.

'Fine,' the Alpha responded.

Angel's head suddenly whipped around in their direction, as the wind changed. Guessing accurately over the lack of sympathy regarding his and Buffy's situation, Angel took a ring off his finger and turned to his girlfriend.

"I have something for you," he said softly. Angel continued as Buffy gazed at him, her love speaking volumes, "I was going to give it you earlier, but well, with the arm and everything. Happy birthday, love." Angel then placed the ring on her finger.

"It's beautiful," Buffy replied, wiping away the tears now running down her cheeks.

'Urghhh, somebody kill me now,' Warren moaned.

'Ditto,' Xander replied, suddenly fighting the urge to laugh. He figured Cordelia was right, this couldn't possibly get any more tacky...

"My people – before I was changed – they exchanged them as a sign of devotion. It's a Claddagh ring. The hands represent friendship, the crown represents loyalty, and the heart represents... well, you know, love. Wearing it with the heart towards yours it means you belong to someone," Angel explained, pointing out each part of the ring and turning the heart towards Buffy's.

'Bleugghhhh,' Andrew said succinctly.

'This is getting ridiculous,' Xander growled as Buffy kissed the ring and sniffed back tears.

"I don't want you to do this," the Slayer insisted tearfully.

"I don't want to, either," Angel said thickly.

"Then don't!" Buffy cried.

'Oh, come on,' Oz growled as they kissed. Then a dark cloying smell of death hit his nostrils, as well as everyone else's.

'Vampires!' Andrew snarled.

'How can Gel Boy miss that stench?' Xander demanded of the group. 'Everyone, let's go-'

'Hey, maybe we should let them deal with the enemy alone. Maybe it'll teach them a lesson,' Cordelia said darkly.

'Too risky,' was Oz's response. 'Let's go!'

"Buffy, I…" Angel said, as a vampire ploughed into him.

"Angel!" Buffy cried, as he was grabbed from behind by another vampire.

But then the hidden Scoobies surged forward, leaping into the fray even as Angel and Buffy started fighting against the undead. A number of vampire minions converged on the Slayer so Oz leapt, pinning two to the dock and quickly decapitating them with one paw. Andrew snarled and lunged at another, who snarled back in return.

"Stupid mutt," the vampire growled, ducking Andrew's paw.

Growling savagely, the Beta ducked the undead fist and swiped the vampire's legs out from under it. However, the vampire did not go out without a fight. Not far away, a pile of dust rained down on the docks as Xander threw his opponent against a broken fence.

"Oh, shit," another vampire said, looking down at a piece of wood sticking out from its chest cavity: which had just barely missed the heart.

"You ruined my favorite top, you asshole!" Cordelia snarled, glaring at the vampire she held at arm's length and cursing her near-miss.

Growling, Cordelia thrust her fist through the vamp's chest. Before the dust had even begun to fall, two other minions attacked her from two sides.

'You okay, Cordy?' Xander asked distractedly.

'I'm fine, doofus, it's just that bastard ruined my clothing!' Cordelia seethed angrily, as she dealt with her new opponents.

A minion scurried for the box containing the Judge's arm; only to be stopped by Buffy. Holding the box in one arm, the minion threw a fist at the Slayer. Ducking, Buffy lashed out with a kick to the torso. Snarling, the vampire flew through the air, dropping its prize.

"Buffy!" Angel cried, dusting another vampire and attacking another.

Another vampire picked up the package, only to be immediately pinned to the ground by a newly-arrived snarling Jonathan and Warren. The package skidded dangerously close to the water's edge...

'Stupid bloodsucker,' Jonathan cursed, before tearing the vampire's head off.

'Warren!' Oz commanded.

'Got it, boss,' Warren replied, as he charged into the cluster of vampires whom Angel was fending off.

Taking on two of them, Warren left Angel with the remaining three. Buffy lunged at one of Angel's attackers, having taken out many of the minions already. The vamp lashed out kicking at the Slayer, viciously catching Buffy under the ribs and driving the air out of her lungs. Buffy had been dangerously close to the water, already; unfortunately, the kick sent her over the edge.

"Buffy!" Angel cried out yet again, growling at her attacker.

Cordelia blurred to the water's edge and jumped in, Angel quickly dusting his opponents and about to follow a mere second later; when Xander stopped him. Harris gave him the box containing the Judge's arm and said, "Get on that damned ship!"

"But Buffy-" Angel automatically protested.

"We'll take care of her. Now get going – or I will stake you myself, and do the job you obviously don't want to!" Xander suddenly snarled at the demon breed vampire, his eyes changing color from the sheer fury he was now feeling.

Angrily yanking the box out of the sparkle-pire's hands, Angel obeyed orders and got on board the cargo ship just as the horn sounded and the seagoing vessel departed the dock. Somewhere up above, the Powers That Be were suddenly rocked by the threads of fate and destiny getting hopelessly snarled and ripped apart; but the deed was done, and now, not even they could rescind it.

"Angel, help!" Buffy choked out, spluttering water.

"I've got you, relax!" Cordelia growled. 'Gee, is that guy all you can think about?' she thought in annoyance, as she started to tow Buffy to safety.

Not far away, Xander dealt with his latest opponent and was about to step to the water's edge; when suddenly, two vampires darted in from the darkness. The Pack had just finished with the last remaining vampires, when they appeared.

'These aren't newbies, guys,' Xander transmitted as the first vampire lashed out with unexpected strength, rocking his head back.

The Pack snarled and lunged as the second vampire darted and ducked around them. The werewolves soon learned that Xander was right...

'They're a lot faster than normal,' Warren commented, ducking a fist.

Fast though they were, Xander blurred with supernatural speed; he grabbed one and twisted its head off. Oz grabbed one and yelped as the other vampire punched him hard, right on the nose. The undead guy then kicked Warren and Jonathan in quick succession, earning pained yelps from the broken bones. Andrew leapt in, only for his ear to nearly be twisted off; and when he tried to bite, the vampire punched him in the throat, which almost led to him choking to death.

"Xander!" Cordelia called out, as she and Buffy quickly climbed out from the water. Harris ignored her, as he ran for the vamp that was giving the Pack trouble; but that member of the undead suddenly broke off and ran for it, having seen what Harris had done to its counterpart.

'Andy, I need to go. Stay here, Warren and Jonathan take care of him for me,' Oz commanded.

Werewolf Andrew whimpered and nodded. Jonathan and Warren did likewise.

'We'll be okay, boss,' Jonathan and Warren said painfully, concerned.

'Yeah, go,' Andrew's pained reply could easily be heard.

"Let's go, Cordy!" Xander said quickly to his mate. And so the two sparkle-pires and Werewolf Oz raced into the night, following the vampire's scent.

'You okay?' Xander asked the pack leader as they ran.

'Yeah, we're alive and they're dust,' the Alpha replied. 'Good pretty much covers it.'

'Andy? Warren? Jonathan?' Cordelia asked, concerned.

'I'll be okay,' came the pained reply from all three werewolves.

The gang came to a stop at an open manhole, left ajar in the vampire's haste to escape. Werewolf Oz immediately howled his anger and frustration into the night.

'I know, dude,' Xander replied, snarling himself and hitting a lamp post, the metal immediately buckling from the sheer strength of the blow.

"I know it's frustrating, but we gotta go back to the library," Cordelia said, placing an arm on Xander's back. "Hey, at least Angel got away with the box, right?"

Sighing, Xander took her in his arms and said, "Yeah, at least there's that."

Oz, Xander and Cordelia made their way back to the docks at Pack speed, to find Jenny and Buffy alongside Warren, Andrew and Jonathan.

"Buffy, you need body heat. Best to let one of Oz's boys carry you back to the library – or back to your home, if you think you'll need a change of clothes," Xander suggested.

Andrew was injured, Warren didn't volunteer and Jonathan offered but was turned down due to his own injury. So Oz agreed to do it, knowing how close Willow was to the Slayer and how much her best friend's safety meant to her. And sure enough, water evaporated from her clothing as the enhanced heat from Oz (108 degrees Fahrenheit, thank you very much Ethan Rayne and his chaos magic!) warmed her up.

Unconsciously getting as close as she could to Oz, Buffy drowsily murmured, "Oh, Angel..." before falling asleep; the cold and the night's events having drained her strength almost completely.

"We'd best get back to my car," Jenny said, feeling relieved that Angel was gone. Sure, her mission of watching the ensouled vampire would have to be taken over by another member of the Kalderash clan, but at least now with the Judge's arm gone, the threat of Armageddon was over.

Or so the computer teacher thought…

The group walked along the dockside, Oz carrying a sleeping Buffy. A recovered Andrew walked at his side. They were followed by a limping Warren and Jonathan. Arm in arm, Cordelia and Xander disappeared together, heading for home; Cordy wanted to get changed before returning to Sunnydale High.

After all, the very idea of looking less than her best in public? As if!

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Spike's lair in the warehouse district – 12:45 am, Thursday

"Spoiiiiikkke! Daddy's not coming baaaack!" Dru suddenly wailed, shuddering and throwing the remains of her human meal down to the floor.

"What do you mean, love?" Spike asked from his wheelchair, tenderly wiping the blood from her chin.

Dru threw himself at him, sobbing into his chest like a heartbroken child. "Miss Edith told me the Slayer and the Angel-beast would free Daddy, she did, she did! But now, the stars, they say that's not gonna happen!"

"What are you talking about, ducks? Angel's cursed with a soul, and all that rot. He's a white hat now," Spike replied, puzzled.

Suddenly pushing Spike away, Drusilla swayed back and forth. "Kalderash naughties put a soul into my Daddy...but every lock has a key, it does..."

"Dru, are you saying that bloody poof can be got rid of?" Spike asked, looking shocked and aghast. "We can get the real Angelus back?"

"Mmmmmmmmmmm, yes, but those bad puppies and my kitten – they've changed everything!" Drusilla moaned frantically.

A wicked grin suddenly appeared on Spike's face. "Y'know, love, I may have the solution to that damned soul..."

"Ooooohhh, Spoike, you're oh-so-clever, my clever boy, what is it?" Dru crooned with a gleam in her eye.

"The Order of the Kun-Sun-Dai," Spike grinned maniacally, thinking of all the fun the Whirlwind would create once his grandsire was back on the winning team. After all, he had sort of looked up to Angelus before those bloody gypsies had started mucking about with things...

Drusilla swayed and dance around the warehouse to music only she could hear. Clapping gleefully, Drusilla grabbed a bewildered minion and dance with them.

"Oooohhhh the stars, Spike, they say now that you're going to fix it!" she moaned ecstatically. Drusilla didn't mention that she could no longer see any trace of Buffy's aura around Spike; even though she was clairvoyant, she didn't understand that a few years hence, her boyfriend would have chosen the Slayer over her. Well, if Xander and the others hadn't done what they did tonight.

All Dru understood was that things were finally perfect between her and Spike, and now, she couldn't be happier.

"Don't I always, love?" William said in reply to her spoken comment, blowing her a kiss.

Drusilla smiled and caught it as Spike roared for a minion and gave orders to fetch a shaman of the Order within two days, or he would eat their eyeballs. "No, no, my precious Spoike. Not yet. Not until the Angel-beast comes back, which won't be for months now," Dru crooned.

"What she said, belay that order! And the poofter's gone?" Spike demanded, looking worried.

"I got it, boss," the minion named Lucius called out, walking into the warehouse and carrying a box.

"Good," Spike replied absently, still focused on Angel. Then he sniffed suspiciously, and wheeling himself over, he ripped off the lid of the box. A human arm was there instead of the expected demon one. Growling angrily, Spike demanded, "WHAT THE HELL IS THIS?!"

"Angelus got away with the original arm, boss," Lucius replied somewhat fearfully. "So Dalton and I demonized this one, hopefully it should still work..."

"What? DALTON!" Spike roared, summoning the bookish minion.

"Yes, sir?" Dalton replied.

"Let's hear it, before I let Dru eat yer eyeballs!" William the Bloody hissed furiously.

"Uh, well, all we really need is an arm, sir. Uh, as long as we demonize it enough, it-it should work to completely reassemble the Judge," Dalton said hastily, almost tripping over his own tongue. "That's why Lucius, he-he ripped this arm off of his evening meal, and now..."

"These scabby-looking, telepathic, mouth-less demons – they can infect humans with an aspect of their being. I read about it a while back," Lucius said carefully. "And as luck would have it, I came across one and kept a sample of their blood after I killed it, not too long ago..."

Drusilla lit up upon hearing that. "Oh, clever boy!" she crowed. "It'll work, Spoike, I know it will!"

Sighing and motioning for Lucius to place the box with the others, Spike nodded and just hoped for the best. Lucius walked over to ten-foot grid frame, inside which all the boxes were placed in the necessary order. All that was missing was the left arm, and the head. Then it was just the head, and once it was in place – Drusilla knew that Hell would soon erupt on Earth.

"My Tin Man," Drusilla cheered, looking up at the monstrous frame. At Spike's order, another vamp brought the box containing the head, and put that into position as well.

The next moment, a bright light emanated through the cracks in the boxes. The front of the now-unified boxes opened up like a pair of twin gates, to allow the Judge to step out. The tall, blue-skinned demon with horns opened his eyes, as he stepped fully into the warehouse lair human arm now transformed through the demon blood.

"Who brings me forth once again?" the Judge demanded, trying not to wobble on his feet.

"I did, mate," Spike said in deep satisfaction.

"You! You and her. You stink of humanity! You share affection and jealousy," the Judge roared angrily.

"Yeah? What of it?" Spike replied belligerently. He rapped on the Judge's armor with his knuckles, which made Big Blue reconsider his previous statement; only a true creature of evil could do that and survive, after all. "You got a problem with that, let's settle it here and now!"

"For now, I am weak," the Judge intoned darkly. "My full strength will return in time. Perhaps more quickly if you had supplied my true arm. To that end, I need to feed on one amongst you who stinks of humanity."

"Take your pick," Drusilla said calmly, gesturing at the assembled vampires.

The Judge's gaze rested on Dalton. "That one is full of feeling. He reads. Bring him to me."

Three minions grabbed Dalton and yanked him forward at Spike's gesture. He was so annoyed and distracted over Angel having apparently departed the Hellmouth, he didn't bother asking about why the Judge couldn't just zap the minion, like according to the legend. "Go ahead, then."

"No. No! NO!" Dalton screamed in fear as the Judge put his right hand on the vampire's chest, and the undead guy with glasses began to go up in smoke; before he disappeared in a flash of fire.

Unbeknownst to the Scooby Gang, a storm was about to hit – the likes of which Sunnydale had never seen...

A/N: So, Angel is gone, but the Judge still managed to show up. And since Xander never dressed up as a soldier for Halloween, what does this mean for the white hats coming up with a plan to prevent Armageddon? Tune in next time to find out? Come on, you know you want to!