"Are you sure you don't want us to come along?" Kazehana asked suddenly.
Tobias looked up from his bag, triple checking that he had everything he needed: laptop, clothes for a few days, toiletries, his drawing notebook and pencils, and his sonic screwdriver just in case. He knew everything was in there, but nerves were making him anxious. A glance at the two girls saw they were just as anxious and, he felt through the bonds, a little sad as they sat on the couch in the living room. He sighed and pulled them in a hug.
"I know you want to, but this is something I need to do on my own." He said quietly.
They both pulled away and nodded sadly, but they didn't protest. "What are you going to do when you find Faith?" Yahan asked.
He cocked his head. "Talk to her I think. See if I can't do what you and everyone else did with me and lead her out of the darkness." He said simply. He knew most people would have a larger or more complicated plan when it came to the Dark Slayer, but that really was it for him. He needed to see if he could do something that someone else had done for him. But first, he had to take care of a few things. "I'm going to give them the call and then get going. With any luck, I'll get there around noon or so."
Ok, maybe he did have a larger plan with it came to Faith, but it was mostly regarding finding her and making sure nobody knew he had gone after her. He hadn't liked how he couldn't get near the building she had been in last night, the Wolfram and Hart offices, despite trying for a good half hour from all directions and above. It was like they had a dome around them that wouldn't let spirits in, and that did not spell good news for whatever Faith had gotten herself wrapped up in. He had wanted to leave that night, but he remembered the note had said to wait a week before going after her, so he'd gritted his teeth and decided to get to the city around noon. By then, she was sure to be out and about, hopefully without the spirit repelling barrier around her. As for Buffy and the rest of the Scooby's, he had a simple way to excuse his absence.
He held out his hand and the phone flew into his hand, followed by him dialing the number for Buffy's dorm room. After a few rings, someone picked up.
"Hello?"
"Buffy, hey." He said, putting a bit of a rush in his voice. "Listen, I'm sorry to be calling so suddenly, but I'm afraid I need to cancel our training sessions for the next few days."
"Why? Is everything ok?" She asked concern clear in her voice.
"Yeah, yeah, but something has come up and I need to leave town to take care of it."
"Is it serious?"
'Yes.' Was the answer he thought. "Maybe, I'm not sure. But I'm catching the next bus and wanted to give you a heads up before I left."
"Ok, I'll see you when you get back then."
"Can you do me a favor and tell Giles too?"
"Sure."
"Thanks." He hung up and sighed. "Ok, that's taken care of." He shouldered his backpack and gave both girls a long kiss. "Time to get going than."
"Be careful." Kazehana said.
"And be safe." Yahan added.
He smirked, a little humor entering his serious eyes. "Careful and safe? It's like you two don't know the family at all." He quickly ducked as they both tried to smack him and, laughing, headed towards the door. "I love you."
"We love you too." They responded.
Tobias exited the building and took a deep breath, looking up at the sky with few clouds in it. "Time to get going." He glanced around and, spotting no one, flew into the sky to the height he'd barely be a speck to anyone down below, and instantly tore across the sky towards Los Angeles, creating a sonic boom as he broke the sound barrier.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXX
He'd done the math ahead of time. According to maps, LA was about two hours away by car, and that was assuming a speed limit between sixty and seventy miles per hour. The speed of sound, give or take, was a little over seven hundred, which meant he was coming up on it somewhere between fifteen to twenty minutes after leaving Sunnydale. Of course, he'd slowed down long before he got to the city limits, not wanting to draw attention to himself or, worse, shatter out some of the higher windows on the skyscrapers from the explosion of air that would result from him passing. Since he didn't have a better place until he knew where he was going, Tobias set down on the outskirts of town near the bus terminal, landing in the back where he didn't see a living thing in sight. He ducked inside it without anyone giving him a second look and sat down on one of the benches, glancing around before closing his eyes. He entered astral state as easily as before, but was bracing for a brief sensation of pain just in case Faith was shielded.
Fortunately, his fears were apparently groundless as he appeared in what looked like some sort of lobby. White marble floors and pillars, people in suits going to and fro, and a group of three in front that he barely registered before turning around to see he was standing in front of Faith.
The Slayer had cleaned up and changed her look since leaving. She was still going for the seductive look, with a black tank top and leather pants that hugged every single curve, a black choker, a blue denim jacket and her normal boots. She wasn't wearing much makeup so she looked a bit more normal, not as eye catching but still pretty. She was also staring right through him with a concentrated look and raising a black crossbow to aim, a wooden arrow already loaded to fire. He whirled around and looked at the group she was aiming at.
It was the same group of three he'd seen when he'd arrived but now he was absorbing every detail he could. One was a woman who looked like she was in her early twenties, long brown hair, modest top and jeans. Another was a man who had short brown hair, wearing a pair of wire rimmed glasses and a light grey suit with a light blue shirt. The one that caught his attention though was the third member of the group. It was Angel, and he was oriented in just the right way that he didn't see Faith aiming the arrow at his heart.
He heard the THWIP sound of the crossbow firing and reacted instantly. He spun on heel, gathering an invisible layer of air around his astral hand and caught the arrow, the tip an inch away from where his own heart would be. He saw the look of confusion on her face and willed himself to be seen by her and the trio behind him.
"Hello Faith." He said mildly.
The Slayer's look of confusion dropped away to shock and, he thought, a bit of fear. Without waiting for a response, she instantly turned around and ran, pushing through some of the crowd and out the front doors. He watched her go, sighing slightly as he rolled the arrow between his fingers. Her reaction could be either very good or very bad. Bad, because she was genuinely afraid of him and thought he was here for revenge on what she did to Buffy, and would lash out the next time they met face to face. Or good, because she was afraid of him because he had gotten inside her head and discovered what made her tick. Either way, stopping an assassination attempt had not been on the list of things he'd expected to do once he got to LA.
"Tobias?"
He was shaken from his thoughts by Angel's voice and turned around, now spinning the arrow between his fingers like a baton. "Hey Angel. Didn't expect to see you here." He said casually.
The vampire narrowed his eyes while his two companions were looking at Tobias warily. "What are you doing here? And what is Faith-"
"Doing out of her coma?" He finished. "Long story, too long to discuss in...wherever the hell we are." He stopped twirling the arrow and tossed it to the vampire, who snatched it out of the air. "Do you have someplace private we can talk?"
"Um, excuse me," The woman suddenly said, looking between the two. "Would somebody like to explain what the hell's going on?"
Tobias stared at her for a sec, but she didn't do anything besides look back defiantly, steel in her eyes. "Like I said, long conversation, private place to talk." He said, turning back to Angel.
After a few seconds, he said, "We can talk at our offices. Follow me."
Tobias sighed. "Angel, I'm not really here. This is me astral projecting, my real body is still at a bus station at the city's edge. Just give me the address and I'll take a cab."
"Astral projection?" The other man said, speaking with a British accent. "But-"
"Intersection of Twentieth Street and Washington Avenue." Angel suddenly said. "The apartment building."
"Thank you." Tobias said. "I'll see you there and then we can play the catch up game. Till then." He headed back to his actual body, vanishing from their sight.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Back at the bus station, Tobias's head jerked up and he opened his eyes. He got up, shouldered his bag, and headed for the information desk in the middle of the terminal.
"Excuse me," He asked the attendant on duty. "Where can I can find the nearest taxi stand?"
XXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Angel walked through the sewers quickly while trying to keep up with his thoughts that were going a lot faster than he was at the moment. In two hundred years of being alive, he'd seen a lot of things, been surprised a lot of times, but even he had never expected that he'd run into Faith Lehane, who would try to kill him only to be stopped by Tobias. Now, as he hurried back to his offices, Cordelia and Wesley taking his car, he couldn't help but feel a hot ember of fear in his stomach. If Faith was awake, what had she done during that time? And more importantly, what had she done to Buffy?
He finally came to the sewer entrance that opened to the basement of his building and climbed the ladder, pushing open the manhole at the top. The apartment building had been cheap and easy to pay for, but this particular one had been important since it had access to the sewer system in case he ever needed to get around the city during the day and his car wouldn't do, or if he needed an escape route.
The basement of the apartment building was fairly well furnished. He had a futon resting next to the depression where the sewer entrance was, covered by a rug when not in use, and a living room that had end tables, some lamps, a leather chair in front of a TV completed this room. Off to the right was the kitchen which he rarely used, complete with a fridge full of blood he bought from the butcher every other week, and in the rare instances he brought people down here, the tools he needed to prepare regular food. His bedroom was more Spartan, with a bed, lamp, and a few books he pursed when time allowed. That wasn't to say he didn't make sure he could defend himself. He also had a cabinet in the living room that held his various weapons: swords, daggers, flails, axes, and a few more bits and ends. A speed bag and boxing gloves kept his reflexes and muscles sharp and strong.
He covered the manhole with the carpet again and headed for the stairs and elevator that went through the entire three story building, all the way to the roof. A back staircase provided another route there, but this main case took him directly to the ground floor and into his office.
He opened the door and stepped through into it. The windows were bricked up, providing no way for sunlight to get to him during the morning hours while an overhead light showed the usual office space. A few filing cabinets, a wooden desk with one chair behind it and two in front, a shelving unit behind him to hold the business aspect of their private investigation services that wouldn't fit on Cordy's, and a phone. He paused, his sharp ears picking up the sound of shuffling papers in the other room/reception area where they greeted their clients. It could've been Cordelia doing some paperwork, but she normally did this while talking or humming some tune.
The vampire let his instincts take over and, slowly, opened the door, ready to react at the slightest instant. When, however, he saw who was sitting at her desk, he relaxed.
"You guys have got a lot of interesting cases here." Tobias said casually, flipping through some papers in a folder as he sat in Cordy's chair, feet up on her desk with a backpack resting next to him. "Sensitivity spell, pregnant women who would've given birth to demons, and my personal favorite, a demon possessing a nine year old boy." He snapped the folder shut. "I thought things like this only happened on a Hellmouth, not a major American city."
"How did you get in here?" Angel asked, ignoring the statement for the time being.
"Would you believe me if I said the door was unlocked?" He asked, looking completely innocent. Angel simply stared at him. Tobias shrugged. "Worth a shot. I opened it." He pointed the door from across the room, the lock on the doorknob clicking a few times as it changed between locked and unlocked. "When it comes to standard locks, deadbolts, chain locks, etcetera etcetera, nothing can keep me out."
"I see." Angel suppressed a shiver as he looked at the teen. Ever since he'd met Tobias in Sunnydale, he wasn't sure how to feel about him. He wasn't a demon, but he couldn't possibly only be human with the powers he had. The only reason he didn't worry too much was because, according to what Giles told him, he was firmly on the side of good, if a bit...eccentric.
"So, where are the other two?" Tobias's voice snapped him out of his thoughts. Looking at him, Angel saw that he had dropped the folder on the desk, crossed his hands behind his head, and was staring at the ceiling.
"They should be here in few minutes." Angel replied, sitting down across from him. "But while we're waiting, maybe we can talk about how you knew where to found Faith."
"Hhmm, let's wait until the other's get here. It's a long story, and I'm not in the mood to repeat myself." He paused. "But since I know you're thinking about it, I'll tell you right now that Buffy is fine."
Angel felt the spark of fear in his gut dim a little at the reassurance. "Does she know you're here?"
"No she does not, and I plan to keep it that way." He replied simply. Before Angel could press for an explanation, the teen glanced at the door, "And I think your co-workers are here."
Sure enough, Angel heard and saw the outline of Wesley and Cordelia through the glass. The door clicked and swung open, showing that the latter had her keys out and was holding the one that would've unlocked it, looking confused.
"Hello again." Tobias said with a small wave and smile.
"What are you doing in my desk?!" Cordelia demanded, storming toward them with a glare on her face. Angel half expected the teen to look surprised and recoil. He was sorely mistaken.
"Sitting in what is a very comfy chair, talking with who I assume is your boss, and enjoying the twitching of your right eyebrow." Tobias listed, sounding like he didn't have a care in the world. He held out his hand. "And I'm Tobias Song, newer resident of Sunnydale."
Cordy blinked before taking the hand and shaking it slowly. "Cordelia Chase. I used to live there."
"I guessed as much, considering the files you have in your desk and the fact that you haven't apparently gone screaming for the hills." Tobias said, waving at the folder before getting out of her chair. "It's nice to meet someone who used to live there. Makes me believe it's not a complete death trap." He looked at Wesley next. "And you are?" He asked politely.
Wesley smiled and held out his own hand. "Wesley, Wesley Wyndam-Pryce."
Angel instantly spotted the change in Tobias's body language. Instead of friendly and relaxed, it stiffened and tensed. He couldn't be sure, but he could've also sworn that he saw Tobias's eyes flash white for a second.
"Wesley Wyndam...Pryce you said?" He said slowly. Wesley nodded, looking confused. "So you were Faith's Watcher." The atmosphere turned cold at the mention of the Dark Slayer and Angel saw the vitality and warmth in Wesley's eyes change to shock, and then guilt.
"I was."
Tobias stared at him for a second, a muscle in his jaw jumping a few times. When he spoke, his voice was rock hard. "Solely because I have better things to do than scold you right now, I'm going to be civil and keep everything I have wanted to say to you since I found out what you did to Faith quiet for now. After we find and hopefully calm her down, though, I have quite a few things I'd like to say to you. Understood?" Wesley looked shocked at the sudden ice in his voice, and Angel couldn't blame him. This was an entirely new side of Tobias that was bringing back chilling memories of Angelus. Without waiting for a response, Tobias looked at Angel. "Now, since introductions are out of the way, let me fill you in about the Faith situation."
XXXXXXXXXXXXXX
They moved into Angel's office, Tobias taking one seat, Cordy taking the other, while Angel sat behind his desk and Wesley stood off to the side.
"Faith woke up about eight, nine days ago." Tobias started once they were settled. "According to the hospital that called later, she had woken up and stolen some clothes from a woman that she knocked out."
"Awake for a day and she's already stealing. Sounds like her." Cordelia said. Tobias shot her a look, but didn't say anything.
"When did you see her after that?" Angel asked, drawing his attention.
"The next day. She showed up at Buffy's college and tried to make trouble, but I managed to draw her attention when I got there."
"How did you know she'd be there?"
Tobias's mouth twisted in a small smile. "I learned everything I could about Faith when I found out about her and when she woke up, I took what I knew and essentially put myself in her head. After losing the Mayor, who from what I'm told was a father figure, I figured she's going to want revenge and want to make a show of it. And I was right, she confronted Buffy in a public area on campus and seemed pissed."
Angel cocked an eyebrow. That was impressive deduction for someone who'd never met Faith, and those that had wouldn't be able to predict her so accurately. She wasn't the kind of girl to have a plan, but make it up as she went. "What next?"
He hesitated for a second. "After she left campus, she disappeared again and showed up at Joyce's house. I got her to safety, then tried to talk to Faith-"
"Back up." Cordelia's amazed voice said. "You tried to talk to the crazy killer Slayer?"
Tobias scowled at her, eyes narrowed. "Watch the language. Faith might have been erratic, but she was by no means insane. Grief and revenge driven certainly, but not crazy."
Wesley and Cordy shared a look, then looked at Angel, but he just shrugged. He hadn't been there, but he was interested in why this teen was defending Faith.
"Buffy showed up a few minutes later." Tobias continued. "I was knocked out, so I only have a second hand account from Buffy, but apparently she and Faith fought for a little bit before they switched bodies through some kind of device that, according to Willow, apparently mimicked the effects or was imbued with a Draconian Katra spell."
"A Draconian Katra?" Wesley interrupted, looking stunned. "That's an extremely rare and powerful artifact. Few people know about them and even fewer know how to make or find one. How did Faith get one?"
"Again, this is conjecture, but from what I'm told, the Mayor of Sunnydale was connected when it came to magical or demonic circles, right?"
"Yes."
"Then, taking into account his apparent deviousness, long term planning and fail-safes, I think he arranged for it to be given to Faith when and if she woke up so she could have an escape route. I didn't realize it at the time, but I watched as Buffy in Faith's body was taken away by the police to be treated at the hospital, then taken into custody so she could stand trial. He made sure Faith could get away free and Buffy would be punished for what she had done, killing the Mayor and putting Faith in the coma in the first place."
Angel turned over the theory in his head. "It makes sense. What happened after that?"
"Well, I'll give Faith this, she is a terrific actor." Tobias laughed softly. "I talked with her, thinking she was Buffy after the police left, and I didn't suspect a thing. Though I was rather pissed at her for coming when she did, so I wasn't looking close enough to notice anything was wrong. I only started to suspect her after I saw her again at Giles place so he could tell us that Faith had been taken into custody of a Council wet works team." He growled angrily at the end. "Idiots."
"Excuse me?" Wesley said, sounding indignant.
Tobias glared at him. "You heard me English. The Council sent a team of freaking assassins to retrieve an emotionally troubled and vulnerable girl to drag her halfway across the world so she could be punished for doing something that was a complete accident! Not only that, you tried to pull the same shit when what she needed was someone to stand up and stand beside her, not drag her off in chains! Is it any wonder she went to the Mayor and betrayed you when you did the exact same crap to her!?" He yelled.
Angel was surprised at the sudden anger that was clearly shown on Tobias's face, and he wasn't the only one. Cordelia was leaning away from him with a wary look while Wesley, the target of the anger, looked shocked. He apparently wasn't used to or hadn't been yelled at like that before and Angel was afraid this might get physical.
But after glaring at Wesley for another second, Tobias took a deep breath and looked back at Angel, the anger fading until it was like it had never been there in the first place. "Sorry, I've been wanting to say that for a quite a while now."
The vampire took a minute to respond. He wanted to address that, but he decided to do it when they were alone. "Ok, uh… What happened after you found out the Council had Faith- I mean Buffy?"
"Well, this was where I started getting a little suspicious. When I saw Buffy at Giles's place, her manners and clothing style were different enough that it caught my attention, plus her speech patterns were less restrained and more casual, like she had relaxed. And when we found out that 'Faith' was going to England and not coming back for a long time, she actually started laughing. She said that it was because she was so happy 'Faith' was getting her just punishment, but I can't imagine her being so happy about that that she'd burst out laughing."
Angel nodded. Buffy wasn't the type of person to take that much joy in someone being punished, even if what Faith had done was horrible.
"After that, I started poking around a little and found out that Joyce had seen 'Buffy' holding the Draconian Katra device, saying it was some kind of weapon before smashing it-"
"She smashed it?!" Wesley said, looking and sounding scandalized. "That was an extremely rare and powerful device!"
"It was also a way to switch them back, so can you blame her for wanting to get rid of it?" Tobias asked, looking annoyed. "Anyways, I got more suspicious, but since I didn't know what that device was at the time, I thought it might have messed with Buffy's head or emotions, so I went out and found her at the Bronze. We talked a little, and were in the middle of a conversation when I realized why her sudden change in behavior was both strange and familiar. Deciding to test my theory, I brought up how me and Buffy both met, making a fake story, and she agreed with the events."
"And how did you two meet anyways?" Cordelia jumped in.
"I was trying to ask her for directions, her Slayer senses apparently made her think I was a vampire and tried to stake me." He responded. "But that's not important. I realized that Buffy and Faith had switched bodies and that I was talking with Faith while Buffy had been the one taken by the Council."
"So what did you do?"
Tobias hesitated a bit longer than Angel thought was natural. "Frankly, I didn't know what to do. I had no idea where Buffy was, I knew without proof the others wouldn't believe me, and the time it would've taken to convince them I was right could've been a dangerous waste if Buffy was already being taken back to England. Finally I had to admit there was nothing I could do besides wait and hope things changed."
Angel saw Cordelia and Wesley glance at him, and he was pretty sure they were having the same thoughts as him. The explanation, while logical, seemed like it was lacking a certain something. For some reason, Tobias was lying to them.
"Anyways," He said, sounding like he wanted to change the subject. "I went to Giles the next morning to tell him my suspicions, regardless of whether he believed me or not, and I found 'Faith' standing in his living room. I tested her on how we met, proving she was Buffy, and we convinced him as well. Then," He sighed, rubbing his brow. "Things got complicated. Willow and a friend she made, Tara, had apparently figured it out around the same time I had and summoned a Katra to switch Buffy and Faith back. Before we could think about how to find her, there was a news report about a group of vampires that had taken over a church and had hostages."
"Vampires? I thought you said this was the next morning?" Angel asked.
He scowled. "It was. We have a new player in Sunnydale who's been gathering a following. The vampires in the church had the attitude and behavior of religious fanatics. Apparently he's charismatic enough to convince them to take over a church in the middle of the day so they can 'face their fears' or something like that. The point was, me and Buffy ran over there, me getting there before her, and found that Faith was there as well. I'm guessing she saw the same report we did and couldn't turn her back on people in need." He smiled slightly before it vanished. "We cleared out the vampires and got the innocents to safety before Buffy showed up. They fought for a while but Buffy managed to use the Katra Willow and Tara had summoned to switch back. The last we saw of Faith was her running out of the church and disappearing. That was a week ago."
"You waited a week to track Faith down?" Wesley asked, disapproval clear on his face.
Tobias scowled. "You know, I'm beginning to see why you weren't well liked when you were in Sunnydale. Yes, I waited a week to track her down, but only because I had no choice in the matter. I'm generally somebody who does the right thing barring extreme circumstances, but there are forces in this world even I have to answer to."
"Like the Powers That Be?" Cordelia asked, looking interested. "Do you work for them?"
Tobias paused for a second, apparently considering something, then snorted. "No "I don't. The...entity, I guess you'd say, I answer to is more personal and frankly friendlier than beings of pure consciousness and energy on a higher plane of existence who don't even drop down to do anything themselves once in a while. Why, do you?"
"Well, kind off. Angel is a Champion for them and I get the occasional vision from them that shows the future. It's how we find people to help when they don't come to us first."
He looked surprised. "You're a seer?" She nodded. "Ohhhh...tell me, first time we've met did you get a minor headache, and again when you walked into the office?"
Now it was her turn to look surprised. "I...didn't really notice until you said that, but now that you mention it, yeah."
"Why, is something wrong?" Angel leaned forward, feeling concerned.
"Not wrong, just...seers and people who see the future tend to react badly around me and my family for some reason. It's nothing serious, just headaches, mild nausea, and a buzzing in the ears. More extreme cases it's a migraine, but that's rarer. And before you ask, no, I don't know why it happens, it just does." He added, looking at Wesley as he opened his mouth. "It should go away once I leave, speaking of which," He stood up and grabbed his bag. "I need to get some air." And with that, he opened the door to the staircase and elevator and went up, his footsteps receding.
Angel glanced at Cordelia, who seemed to read his mind. "He was right. As soon as he left the room, my headache went away." She leaned back, crossing her arms. "So am I the only one who thinks he's a little...weird?"
"Well, he's certainly unusual, but I'm a bit more concerned about his feelings towards me and how quickly he calmed himself." Wesley said. "And his apparent effect on seers. Angel, you met him in Sunnydale?"
"Yeah." He explained how they had met when he'd gone to Sunnydale to check on Buffy around Thanksgiving, and what Giles had told him about his abilities.
"Fascinating." Wesley muttered. "And you're sure it's not just magic?"
"I've been around for two hundred years, and I've never seen or heard about anything like what he can do, demons or magical. But we have a bigger problem at the moment anyways."
"Right, can't forget the psycho Slayer who tried to kill my boss and worked with a guy who turned into a giant snake." Cordelia said. "Do you think he was telling the truth about what happened?"
"I can't think of a reason on why he'd lie, but," Angel picked up his phone. "There's an easy way to find out."
XXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Tobias took a deep breath and resisted the urge to gag. He could practically taste the pollution in the air here. Sunnydale's air didn't have quite so much of it so he'd gotten used to the fresher stuff compared to major cities. "I'm getting soft." He sighed, staring at the skyline and listening to the traffic down below as he stood at the edge of the roof.
'No kidding. Compared to how our body was when we arrived, you've let it go to hell.'
Tobias rolled his eyes. 'Did you really just say that? We arrived on a Hellmouth. And didn't I tell you not to say anything if you can't say anything nice?' He snapped.
'Good luck with that. It doesn't change the fact that our body is getting weak because you only sit around and fight weaklings!'
'Oh, and I suppose you know a place we can train with total privacy!? I can't do anything because we have no place quite!'
'Did it ever occur to you to go back home and take a few days to do that!? Wait, scratch that, of course not! You've been too busy putting sticks into dead people's chests, making nice with the locals, and obsessing over a girl you're not even going to tap anyways.'
With a growl, he cut off the link, but he was faced with the fact that he failed to think of that. He was going to need to remember that possibility when this was over. He leaned on the waist level wall around the roof, enjoying the light reflecting off the task buildings in the distance. He was curious what they were talking about downstairs, but resisted the urge to check. The downside with having astral projection at an instant was that the urge to eavesdrop was very high, even more when you were wondering what was being said about you. After a little more than five minutes, he decided to go check and see if they were done. He arrived just in time to hear Angel say, "-ft Sunnydale about a week ago, described her mental state as borderline psychotic. "
"Who's borderline psychotic?" He asked, entering the room. He ignored Wesley as he walked by, but sensed him tense up. If it was anybody else he would've felt bad at how harsh he had been with them, but Wesley bore a large part of the responsibility for pushing Faith to the dark side and until he saw reason to behave otherwise, he wasn't going to play any nicer than he absolutely had to with him. With that in mind, he stood on the opposite side of the room on Cordelia's left. A buffer helped reduce the urge to throw insults.
"I just got off the phone with Giles. " Angel responded, completely serious behind his desk and looking in charge.
"Ah." He nodded. "And he confirmed my story. Did you mention me at all?"
Angel cocked an eyebrow. "No." He said slowly.
That was a relief. He didn't need either of them in LA and making things harder for him. He let the issue drop and hoped the others would pick up the hint. "Giles didn't see it so psychotic would be a reasonable conclusion, but I think Faith is something else altogether after I saw how she acted on the church. I think she's suicidal."
"Right, because trying to kill your boss in public is something all suicidal people try to do." Cordelia said dryly. He really could've done without the sarcasm, but let it slide. He had a feeling she'd change her mind in a second if someone asked him-
"What makes you think Faith is looking to kill herself?" Wesley asked cautiously.
That.
"I can't think of any other reason she'd be attacking Buffy in her own body while yelling, and I quote, 'you're disgusting, stupid murderous bitch. You're disgusting.' Now, unless I'm missing something about Buffy, I don't believe she's ever killed anyone." He waited, but nobody spoke up. "She's full of self-loathing, hate, and looking to be killed. Add in where she was last night and I'm concerned she might succeed."
"Last night? I thought you only got to town today." Angel said.
"I did, but I first I needed to find out where the hell she had run off to, so I astral projected and-"
"What do you mean astral project?" Wesley interrupted.
"Astral projection? Projecting your spirit outside of your physical body to anywhere in time and space? I did that to try and find Faith."
"But achieving that takes years of meditation, mental preparation and study. You're too young to-"
Feeling his annoyance rising, Tobias closed his eyes and entered his Astral state, appearing next to his physical body and using his powers to prevent it from falling to the ground. He appreciated how weird it must look to have two of him standing next to each other, based on the looks on Cordelia and Wesley had. Angel looked as calm as ever, his eyes only widening slightly.
"Yeah, years of study, meditation, and mental preparation. In reverse order, I'm mentally disciplined already, I meditate by choice, and study…well, I took a shortcut there." Tobias entered his real body again. "And you saw me doing it when I saved Angel at the hotel, so this shouldn't come as a shock. Moving on," he continued. "I tried to do that last night, but I was stopped by some kind of barrier. I did get the name of the building through, someplace called Wolfram and Hart."
Angel and Wesley shared a look and Cordelia threw her hands up. "Oh that's just perfect."
"I'm not going to like the upcoming explanation, am I?" Tobias asked rhetorically. He could already feel the headache coming.
"Wolfram and Hart is a law firm, but they're also much more than that." Angel said, leaning back. "They take on clients like other demons, criminals, and things like that. They do everything to getting their clients cleared of any charge, assassinate people, deal in dark magic, basically anything and everything for the right price as long as it's for the forces of evil."
Tobias's mind started putting the pieces together. If this company was versed in magic, that would explain why he couldn't get to Faith when she was in that building. Barriers to keep out external viewing magic or spirits would be a given with the resources at their disposal. "Based on your knowledge, I'm going to say that you've dealt with them in the past a few times. How recently did you piss them off?"
"A few days ago, they tried to kill a critical witness for a trial. We saved him and convinced him to testify against their client."
"So they got annoyed and then found out that there was a newly arrived Slayer in LA." And likely hired to kill Angel in exchange for something, maybe getting the murder charges to go away. This might be a little harder than he thought it was going to be. Then again, this wasn't the first time he'd gone up against impossible odds and an organized with more resources than him, and it certainly wouldn't be the last. In any case, if Angel was on Faith's hit list, than she would come looking for them. "Right, well if there's a Slayer gunning for your head who wants to die," he said to the vampire before looking at Cordelia and Wesley. "Then you two need to leave."
"I second that/certainly not." They said at the same time.
Tobias suppressed a groan of frustration. This was going to be painful.
"Look, I read a few of your cases, and Wolfram and Hart sound like heavy hitters in their own right, but there is no way you two can be here. Faith wants to die, meaning she's going to push every and any button she can to make us do it. Now if it was me, I'd take hostages to force the issue."
"Wesley, he's right." Angel interrupted. "If you want to help, help us track her down. Check police records for beatings, killings, anything in the past week, possibly around bars and his stations, but then you need to disappear. We're not going to give her any free targets. "
"You're being targeted by a relentless killer! I'm certainly not going to run and hide!" He said loudly, locking eyes with the vampire.
"I like the part where I'm scarce." Cordelia said quietly.
"That makes you the smart one." Tobias said.
Wesley ignored them. "We need to band together. Strength in numbers."
"Three is a number." Cordy pointed out.
"Two." Tobias corrected, watching the two start burning themselves out arguing.
Angel stood to his full height. "She's coming for me. I have a fight coming up and I don't want you in the way."
"I thought we were a team." Wesley argued.
"We're not a team. I'm your boss. You go where I tell you and I tell you to lay low." Angel said, starting to pace.
"It seems like you're taking this personally. Is this because of what she did to Buffy? "
Tobias didn't think so. Angel might be worried about how the blonde was coping, but this wasn't just anger, this was… something else. A determination he recognized.
"Partially." He admitted.
"I'm sorry." Wesley said sincerely. "But if you allow your emotions to cloud your judgement, one of you is sure to end up dead."
"Yeah, well, that's what the lady wants."
Tobias bit back the urge to say the first thing that jumped to his mind. Angel had only said it was what Faith wanted, not what he was going to do.
"That's not good enough Angel! She's not a demon. She's a sick sick girl and if there's even a chance she can be reasoned with-"
"There was." Angel interrupted. "Last year I had a shot at saving her. I was pulling her back from the brink before some British guy came in and made damn sure she'd never trust another living soul."
'Might be one among the living she'd trust.' But Tobias didn't say that, just watched as Wesley's face fell away to guilt again.
Cordelia spoke up. "Angel, it's not Wesley's fault that some British guy ruined your… Oh wait. That was you." She pointed at Wesley. She waved at Angel. "Go on."
"You don't need to." The British man in question said quietly.
Angel spared him another look before turning to Tobias. "You should go too."
"Yeahhhhh, how about no?" Tobias said. There was no way in hell he wasn't going to come face to face with the Dark Slayer again, and Angel trying to make him leave irritated him. "First off Angel, you aren't my boss so you have no power over me. Second, I traced Faith here with the purpose of talking to her, so good luck trying to prevent me from doing that. Thirdly, she's going to be relentless, stubborn, and determined to kill or be killed. It's going to take a very special kind of stubbornness to get through to her and it's the same kind me and my family specialize in. So no, I'm not running and hiding, and you sure as hell can't make me." He saw Angel open his mouth. "And if you say that I can't handle her because she's a Slayer or she's fragile, hard to reach, or anything asking those lines, I'll remind you that I've fought Faith already and came out without a scratch. And I've already gotten inside her head once, very nearly convincing her to trust me before it went wrong. Therefore, you gave no basis to make me this alone. So you might as well accept my help and skip the time you'd waste trying to convince me otherwise."
Wesley and Cordelia looked surprised at the small speech, but looked at Angel. He could see the gears turning in his head, the eyes looking for any signs of weakness in his own. He didn't find any, grunted, and said, "Let's just get to work."