Disclaimer: I do not own Buffyverse or anything else you may recognize
Thank you to everyone who has favorited, followed or reviewed this fic so far.
Agent N: Thanks for the review. Me too. I think Soulless Spike would be weirded out, and Ensouled Spike would be against them all.
hunter41963801: Thanks for the review. Glad it was great.
Chapter 40- Reunion
Buffy's hand was shaking a little but she knew she needed to watch this, all of them did, and with that, she pressed the start button.
Gunn walked into the Hyperion's lobby, supporting Angel, calling out to the rest as Cordelia and Wesley arrived, Gunn and Wesley helping Angel to the sofa. Gunn then informed them that he found him in the motel, and Cordelia thought Darla had done this, till he revealed she was dead, and deliriously said how they had made her drink, saying it was 'her', and when Cordelia asked who 'her' was, he finally namedropped Drusilla while pushing himself off the couch.
"Now they know she's there too", Willow said with a sigh. "Cordy has met her before too."
"So they know how big of a threat she is", Tara realized.
Cordelia and Wesley were both horrified, following Angel to his office with Gunn while Angel looked for something, and Gunn got the explanation that Drusilla was a Vampire too, and started getting the picture, while Angel slammed the drawer of his desk shut, and searched through a cabinet, saying he was going to save Darla.
"But she's dead already", Dawnster said.
"Which means there is only one way to save her", Buffy said with a raised eyebrow as Dawnster realized what it was.
"Oh God!" She muttered.
Wesley tried to calm Angel down, saying it was too late to save Darla and she'd rise as a Vamp, but then Angel stood up, spinning a wooden stake in his hand, saying she won't as he'd save her from that.
"Looks like the only way to save her now", Giles said with a sigh.
"Please tell me Lindsey is gonna get what's coming to him", Xander begged.
"Not for a long time", Summers said, shaking her head.
"But it is?" Xander asked.
"Yeah, but like she said, very, very long time later", Rosenberg told him.
"I'll wait", Xander said darkly.
Gunn paced around as Wesley worked on the laptop, explaining the family tree to Gunn, and Gunn finally realized that the granddaughter remade the grandmother, finding it weirder than the bloodsucking thing.
"Now that he puts it that way", Buffy trailed off. "Ewww."
"Remember, Drusilla said to Darla 2 recordings ago that she could be her mumma?" Tara reminded, and everyone's eyes widened in realization. "You think she was being crazy or making a prediction?"
"Knowing her, it could be either of those", Maclay said.
"Like our Willow said earlier, maybe she keeps up the craziness so no one can tell when she's making a prediction", Harris reminded them.
Angel drank the blood in a container as Wesley told him the sunset timing, while Cordelia informed him that Lindsey had been in a meeting all day. Angel set the unfinished container of blood on the table next to Wesley and went to put on his coat, while Gunn looked down at the blood. Wesley reminded he couldn't enter the offices undetected and he said he was going to Lindsey's home and was invited already, so he'd kick it down and go through alone, leaving.
"If he gets kicked a little here, wouldn't mind it", Xander said.
"Me neither", Dawnster spoke up.
Angel kicked in Lindsey's door and stood in the doorway surveying a completely cleaned-out apartment. He slowly walked in, looking around, shaking his head, moistening his lips and swallowed. Behind him a woman appeared in the open door to the hall, and as they talked, he was told that Lindsey had moved, and everything was forwarded to his place of employment, which Angel knew.
"What? He moved already?" Xander asked, shocked like the rest of the past gang. "What is he, Joker?"
"He might just be Angel's Joker", Rosenberg told him. "Just without the crazy laughter and makeup and all that."
"The comparison between them…makes sense", Buffy said, rubbing her head.
"They are prepared for everything", Dawn sighed. "Well, almost everything."
The woman then mentioned Lindsey had a cousin- a strange English woman who was pregnant, and she wanted to get a nursery ready for birth, as Angel realized Drusilla would want the ritual. The woman informed that she wanted somewhere on the west side so her daughter would be born near the stars, though she'd said one could be in LA and never witness a star.
"So Drusilla wants to be there for the birthing too", Buffy muttered.
"What a great mother, yay", Dawnster said sarcastically.
"Angel better get there fast if he's to stop them", Giles said.
"We all know Drusilla didn't get dusted though", Willow pointed out. "I mean, when she came to town to get Spike, I'm pretty sure that was after this."
"Yes, it was after this", Summers confirmed with a nod.
Drusilla pushed open an overhead window with a long rod, hearing them sing as the starry night sky was seen while Darla's body was laid out on top of a greenhouse table.
"Poor her", Buffy whispered, never having thought she'd say that for Darla, and the rest were in agreement too.
Drusilla told Lindsey grandma was pleased with the place and then called her daughter.
"This is getting weirder", Xander muttered, everyone uncomfortable.
"Tell me about it", Harris told him.
Lilah and Holland then arrived, Lilah jokingly asking Lindsey if he thought he'd a chance with her now, while Holland said Drusilla was glowing, and she reminded she was going to be a mummy. Holland said they'd love to stay for the birth but had a previous engagement, and walked off with Lilah before noticing Lindsey wasn't following, and he wanted to stay but Holland told him this was a family matter so he walked out while Drusilla rambled, then giggled looking down at Darla.
"And no matter how much you try, you'll never be part of this twisted family", Dawn told Lindsey in a petty tone.
"Maybe that's his punishment, he wanted to be with Darla, but she never cared about him that much", Rosenberg told her.
Cordelia handed Angel a list, as he said Drusilla would want the body in the ground, and they should stick to cemeteries with a view of the night sky, realizing she was looking at this as a birth as she was getting the nursery ready, and remembered she spent hours in the garden at Sunnydale talking to stars. Gunn realized since Drusilla liked gardens and was preparing a nursery, it'd be a plant nursery since it had dirt, the view and was a birthplace, Cordelia realizing they needed to look for one connected to Wolfram and Hart, and Wesley said they'd do business with a corporate supplier.
"Gunn keeps surprising", Buffy commented.
"Yeah, for someone who's just supposed to be a street Vampire hunter, he is very intelligent", Summers agreed.
"You'll be seeing more of it later, don't worry", Maclay assured while muttering in her head. 'Even if it's to save a scumbag.'
Drusilla's greenhouse, sitting on top of a building was shown. Angel dropped down onto the roof and walked towards it. Inside he found a large seedbed table filled with dirt. He ran his hands over the surface of the dirt then carefully started to brush some of it aside at one end of the table, revealing the head of a shroud-wrapped body. He carefully pulled the thin shroud back to reveal Darla's face.
"It's hard, impossible even, but you have no choice", Willow sighed sadly.
"Yeah, you don't", Xander agreed with a nod, realizing Angel was now feeling exactly how he had when Jesse had been staked.
Angel stood there, looking down at her for a moment, then pulled a stake out of his pocket. He slowly raised it with both hands, never taking his eyes off Darla. He hesitated for a moment, then raised his hands over his head and stabbed down - just as Drusilla hit him over the head from behind with a shovel throwing him down across the seed-table. Angel turned to look who was attacking him and got hit again, dropping him to the ground as she said this wasn't a fitting gift for the newborn grandmummy.
"It's the only thing he can give her now", Tara muttered.
"Nothing goes well", Harris groaned.
Angel tried to get up and she hit him over the head again, sending him back on all fours groaning. She said she'd seen him coming and that the moon had told her to come to 20th century, to which Angel responded it was the 21st now, making her comment she was lagging.
"So she does realize that", Dawnster muttered, while all watched, tense, especially the past gang.
Drusilla kicked the shovel up under his chin, throwing him back against the wall, just as Darla woke with a gasp.
"And he couldn't save her", Willow said sadly, everyone realizing this was getting worse.
"No, he couldn't", Maclay shook her head.
Angel and Drusilla fought, and Angel was finally giving as good as he got, while Darla was sitting up behind them, gasping and staring around the room. Angel broke the shovel handle off in Drusilla's hand, knocked her down and rushed over to the table with the broken wooden handle raised, ready to stake Darla, only to see the empty indentation of her body in the dirt. He looked around for her, when he was suddenly grabbed by his throat and lifted about a foot off the ground - by Darla. He tried to remove her hand from his throat but couldn't budge it. Drusilla said. "Now everybody's home."
"She's awake now, and turned again", Buffy groaned. "Tell me he still staked her."
The future people had grim looks as she put her head in her hands. "Oh no!"
"Darla never ever got what she chose", Rosenberg told them. "Especially in her second life."
Drusilla quipped her baby was up from nap. Darla looked around at Drusilla and Angel chopped down on her extended elbow, breaking her grip on him, and threw her headfirst into some planters. He quickly picked up his stake and headed for Darla, but Drusilla tackled him and got the stake away from him. He kicked her off and jumped back to his feet. Drusilla threw him on top of one of the tables and tried to stake him with the broken shovel handle, while he rolled his upper body from side to side to avoid her stabs. Angel kicked Drusilla off and just managed to grab a hold of Darla before she ran out of the greenhouse. He pulled her back, and Darla turned his own motion against him, crashing them both into the table. The two of them shot up, smashing the glass in the ceiling with their heads, then Darla tossed Angel across the room.
"Drusilla wasn't that much of a fighter from what I saw, and Darla's newborn", Xander said. "Why is Angel having so much trouble?"
"Because he's conflicted", Summers explained. "Darla was human one day ago, he has blurred the lines between human Darla and Vampire Darla."
"Oh!" Xander said, now realizing Angel was pretty much exactly him in the situation with Jesse.
"Grandmum", Drusilla put a hand on Darla's shoulder, but Darla just tossed her away. Darla saw Angel getting back up and ran towards him and tackled him backwards through the glass wall of the greenhouse, landing them both outside on the roof. Drusilla jumps out through the hole and Darla, now in vamp face, tackled her to the ground and shook her while Drusilla just laughed.
"Vampire Darla returns", Dawn muttered, summing it up for the past people, who now knew this was going to get worse, with Drusilla around and Darla a Vampire again.
Angel pulled Darla off Drusilla and tossed her across the roof, bent to pick up a stake, then went to stake Darla. But he hesitated when he saw her, back in human face, looking around herself in confusion then up at him. "Angel?"
"He is conflicted", Buffy muttered with a nod.
Angel pulled his arm back to stake her, but again Drusilla tackled him, throwing him back against the greenhouse. Darla got up and ran to the edge of the roof, looking over, got up on the edge and stepped off just as Angel was getting back up. Angel ran to the edge and looked down to the street but there was no sign of Darla anywhere. Angel looked around the roof for Drusilla, but she had vanished as well.
"A confused newborn Vampire and Drusilla", Willow muttered. "This doesn't look good for anyone."
"And it isn't", Maclay told her grimly.
"Had a feeling", Tara sighed.
Angel hurried back to the lobby, handing the others some weapons as he said they were going to go out, because right now Darla and Drusilla were separated and this was the best chance of taking them down, and said they'd go to the one solid lead they had- Wolfram and Hart. Cordelia reminded him of the Vampire detectors, but Angel said he wasn't going to wait, and Gunn agreed to accompany him, and soon all three went with him.
"Sounds like a bad plan", Xander said.
"Because it is", Buffy told him.
Willow's expression was dark. "Wolfram and Hart are getting what they wanted, and they may not like it."
"They won't", Rosenberg confirmed.
Holland walked into Lindsey's darkened office, saying his wife had asked if Lindsey would bring a date to the evening, but he had none. Holland assured Lindsey that the Senior Partners had noticed his good work, but also told him to find the time to have healthy attachments outside work, and assured they'd celebrate their success when Drusilla stepped out of the shadows, carrying a doll, with Holland apologizing for not noticing her.
"The doll is for Darla?" Dawnster asked.
"Most probably, yes", Giles said with a nod, everyone creeped out by her, as always.
Drusilla mentioned Angelus, and Holland asked how he'd fared, to which she responded he was on his way here and was cross, but Holland assured they'd taken precautions and would reunite her with her baby.
"Calling Darla her 'baby' is still creeping me out", Xander muttered.
"You're not the only one", Tara said.
The phone rang and Lindsey picked up, and then informed there was untagged Vampire inside, then opened the door to reveal Darla, and she smelt his neck while putting her hands on the side of his face calling him warm, Suddenly she tossed Lindsey across the room. Drusilla smiled and held out her arms to her. Darla grabbed a hold of her hand and ran back out of the room, dragging Drusilla behind. Holland said into the phone to let them leave without incident and told Lindsey that it was healthy attachments.
"She's out of it, isn't she?" Dawnster asked.
"She accepted her fate, and when she did, she was turned into a Vampire against her will", Summers pointed out. "And she's angry about it."
"Looks like this time, she can feel more than just pleasure then", Giles muttered.
"I wish Lindsey gets tossed like that more", Xander sighed.
"Just wait", Harris told him.
Angel drove his convertible, Gunn beside him while Cordelia and Wesley tossed in the back seat due to his speeding, and then Cordelia was hit by a vision, but Angel didn't stop, till Wesley mentioned it, so he did, and Cordelia had a flash of a guy holding a gun, but it was in the other direction. Angel didn't want to turn around, saying she should have done it before leaving the hotel and that it could be a false alarm. Cordelia gave him a mean look, pulled out a stake, holding it up, aimed at him then put it back down. Angel spun the car around on the street and headed in the other direction.
"Not even listening to visions now, it's started", Willow said with a sigh.
"What has?" Buffy asked.
"His downfall", Willow muttered grimly. "I can see it."
"Angel wouldn't…." Buffy trailed off. "Would he?"
"He has been pushed too far", Tara pointed out to her.
Darla and Drusilla headed down a crowed sidewalk with Darla tossing a confused Drusilla around, onto the sidewalk. A guy tried to help Drusilla up, but Darla tossed him aside, then grabbed a hold of Drusilla and tossed her over a parked car onto the road. Drusilla stood up, only to get hit by a honking car. Drusilla rolls down the street a ways and a blonde woman got out of the car and hurried towards her as Drusilla slowly got back up. The woman took one look at Drusilla and ran off as Darla came and slammed Drusilla down on the hood of the car.
"She doesn't understand why 'grandmother' is angry, does she?" Dawnster asked.
"In her mind, she was giving Darla what she wanted, only it was the opposite of what she actually wanted", Summers sighed.
Darla hit the confused Drusilla, making her stumble into the path of another car that managed to swerve around her, tires screeching. Darla grabbed a hold of Drusilla again, slamming her up against the side of the car. "Why?" Drusilla then said. "For you. All for you. I thought it was what you wanted - to be saved." Darla looks at Drusilla as a guy in red pickup truck kept honking his horn to get them to move out of the road, and slowly she took a step back, letting her hands drop from Drusilla's shoulders. Drusilla was crying. "All alone. All alone in the dirt. - We've lost our way and the little worm won't dance if he's told to." She started to sob. "No. No."
As much as they hated Drusilla, it was hard to not feel something for her whenever she cried. As a Vampire, she may be evil, but the effect that Angelus' and Darla's actions had on her was still clear all the time, especially in moments like these.
Darla pushed Drusilla's hair out of her face, then slowly took her in her arms to comfort her, softly stroking her hair and letting Drusilla cry. The guy got out of the pickup, telling them to continue making out at home, saying the rest of them had lives. The two pulled apart and Darla walked to him, vamping, saying not for long, then grabbed him and fed, dropped him to the ground and turned back to Drusilla with a smile, back in human face. Drusilla called her new and she suggested to go shopping. She took a hold of Drusilla's hand and the two of them walked off down the road, giggling.
"Vampire Darla is truly back now", Buffy muttered in horrified realization, which the rest were having too.
"So it all went wrong again", Giles groaned. "Now I can only imagine the havoc they are going to cause."
"No need to imagine", Summers told him. "You'll see it soon."
A boombox was playing loud heavy metal music. There was a patched together poster covering the wall and candles, a turtle shell and other paraphernalia set out on the workbench in front of it. The guy from Cordelia's vision was sitting before it cradling a gun, worshipping some Morgog and ready to die for him, but then Team Angel arrived. Cordelia told Angel to take it easy and handle it delicately, but before she could finish he threw the boombox at the altar, making the guy dive off his chair as the music was ended.
"That wasn't delicate", Xander said, cringing.
Angel grabbed the gun and twisted it from his hand, telling him Morgog needed a roadmap to find hi hairy-spine and wasn't worth it, plus the kid probably had millions of reasons to live, then dumping the bullets tossed the gun into the barrel, trying to walk out as his team tried to stop him, but he didn't want to help him due to more important things, and walked out.
"Wow, that was…." Buffy trailed off.
"Cold?" Rosenberg asked and she nodded.
"I think he's going to snap any moment now, he's had enough", Tara whispered.
"He didn't snap after years of carrying his guilt", Buffy said, still in some denial. "He wouldn't…."
But it sounded like she was trying to convince herself more than the rest.
Darla and Drusilla were trying on clothes in a store when a phone rang and Drusilla danced, saying she was ringing before Darla pulled her phone out, and Holland inquired about her well-being, finding out she was feeling her old self, while looking at the body of a drained woman, and Holland told her she could go for a massacre instead of spree, and that Wolfram and Hart fully supported them. Darla hung up the phone, appreciating it as Drusilla posed in a red coat with a thick fur trim.
"Careful what you wish for, Holland", Maclay muttered to him, while the rest were just tense.
Darla asked a whimpering woman for shoes but she kept sobbing and crawling so Darla put her bare foot on her back, reached down and snapped her neck, calling service unacceptable before examining dresses while Drusilla examined a necklace.
"They have the right to deny service", Willow joked in very dark tone, there was no humor in it, it was dry with a grim look.
"Well Angel, you better stop 'em since you left a mission given to you by Cordy's vision to do it", Xander said with a sigh.
Lindsey, Lilah and Holland were in Lindsey's office as Holland and Lilah agreed they didn't have to worry about Angel for a while. At that moment Angel, holding on to a rope, crashed through the window into Lindsey's office, scattering glass everywhere, then jumped to grab a hold of Lindsey, asking about Darla and Drusilla.
"You were saying?" Dawnster asked with a scoff.
Holland introduced himself to Angel, offering his hand, but he said he might lose it, reminding Lindsey of chopping off his hand, before pushing him off, and Holland told him he was head of Special Projects, Angel realizing Darla was one of those too. Holland corrected that Darla was just a tool but he was the project. Security guards arrived as Angel said he'd crush the life out of him but Holland was confident he won't as he didn't kill humans, but Angel said he didn't qualify.
"I don't think he qualifies at all", Willow scoffed, equating him to Warren in her mind.
"So Angel is their project", Buffy muttered. "What do they want with him?"
"You'll know later", Summers told her.
Angel snarled. "You set things in motion, play your little games up here in your glass and chrome tower, and people die - innocent people." Holland casually said. "And yet I just can't seem to care." Angel stared at him and Holland smiled ever so slightly. "But you do. And while you're making threats, wasting time, crashing through windows, your girls are out painting the town red, red, red." Angel asked where but Holland said that'd be telling, though the people were still waiting for their champion to save them. Angel noticed the guards and scoffed Holland wouldn't let him walk out, but Holland said he would as they didn't want him dead, telling his guards to escort Angel out, saying he'd do it himself but had a wine tasting at home, and Angel wasn't invited.
"He kicked Angel and threw his actions in his face without even flinching", Giles noted, actually a little scared by Holland. So calm, collected, intelligent, and also narcissistic and cruel. He may not be any kind of Demon, but all these qualities made him more dangerous than even Glory, since she was powerful but stupid, he didn't have power in the real sense of the word, but he did hold a lot of power, and had the intelligence to use it.
"The most dangerous enemies are the ones who use their minds to manipulate", Rosenberg agreed with him.
Holland walked out as Angel let the guards lead him out along with Lindsey, who said he'd send him a bill for the window and shirt, and Angel said after he was done with Darla and Drusilla he'd pay him in person, letting two cops cuff him. Lindsey told the cops to give Angel a nice holding cell with southern exposure, as he was cool with Angel dying, and Angel was pushed into a cop car with Kate on the back seat.
"Jeez, just what we needed to make this all better", Xander said sarcastically.
"I'd say the same thing, except without the sarcasm", Maclay said to him, surprising him.
"What?" He asked.
"Let's just say she's seeing a little bit of sense right now", Dawn told him.
Angel wondered when he should escape but Kate informed him of the murders at the clothing store on Fifth and Hill, knowing it was Darla and Drusilla, and knew he could stop them. She told the driver to pull over, then pulled out a key and Angel twisted so she could unlock his cuffs. The car stopped and Angel looked at Kate for a moment, then got out.
"Well, at least she knows the bigger threat is more important than her vendetta this time", Buffy said. "Just hope it was worth it."
Lindsey arrived at the Manners mansion, greeting Holland's wife Catherine and giving her flowers, while Holland held up a glass in the wine cellar, surrounded by men and women, including Lilah, and gave a speech about how the Senior Partners were pleased with their work, and then Lindsey entered, getting a glass of wine too, while Holland toasted, praising Lilah and Lindsey, then everyone drank while Holland talked more, only for some footsteps to be heard as all turned to see Darla and Drusilla enter, dressed in their newly acquired clothes.
"Why….why are they here?" Dawnster asked, everyone from the past now tensing, having a really bad feeling about this.
"I don't think it's the wine tasting", Tara muttered.
"They're here for a tasting", Harris said with dry humor.
Darla said Holland's wife was kind enough to invite them in, Drusilla adding she was sweet like clover and honey, licking a bit of blood from the corner of her lips, making his smile disappear, as Darla reminded Holland he'd said something about a massacre, both she and Drusilla vamping out.
"Told you to be careful", Maclay reminded.
"Looks like I overestimated Holland", Giles said in realization. No matter how much power he held over his firm, and how intelligent he was, trying to control two Vampires, especially with the caliber of Darla and Drusilla, was stupid, and now it was blowing up in his face.
"So…they're going to massacre all of them?" Buffy asked the future self.
"It's actually worse", Rosenberg muttered to her, confusing the past people. What could be worse than such a massacre? Sure, all of them did deserve to die, but up till now Wolfram and Hart was the only one with a semblance of control over Darla and Drusilla, even if it wasn't much.
Angel walked up the sidewalk to the yellow tape roping off Drusilla's and Darla's shopping spree. He passed between the cop cars parked in front of it and one of the plainclothes detectives gave him a hard look as he walked by. In the store there was a person taking crime scene photos and a dark-skinned cop gathering up a broken necklace from the floor into an evidence bag. He straightened up and scanned the store behind him in the mirrors right in front of him. No one was there but as he bent back down to his work it was shown that Angel was actually standing right behind him. Angel looked around for a moment, then moved on.
"Benefits of no reflection", Xander muttered.
Darla and Drusilla surveyed the lawyers in the cellar, Drusilla running her hand across Lilah's jaw and complimenting her beautiful skin, to which she said she moisturized, and Drusilla called it thoughtful. Darla told Holland they'd brought her back as a human with a soul to wallow and beg Angel to restore her, and Holland said he'd miscalculated in thinking Angel would have done it right away, while Darla giggled and Drusilla rambled crazily.
"For someone so smart, Holland sure made a stupid move", Willow said, and no one could disagree there.
"And now it has blown up in his face", Dawn commented.
Angel walked through a curtain into the hall with the store's fitting rooms. He carefully opened one of the doors to reveal a woman crouching in one corner, her hands pressed over her ears. She gasped at the sight of him as he comforted her, assuring the police would take care of her, and she mentioned a party that Darla and Drusilla were headed for, a tasting. Angel told her to find a cop and she walked out, looking at the store's dress she was wearing, saying it was too much.
"Angel's on his way now, they should be stopped", Buffy said with a sigh.
Drusilla sensed sirens, and Lilah wondered if it was police sirens but Lindsey said she sensed what the place was built for, Holland agreeing, as this was a bomb shelter in the 50s before he converted it, and Drusilla and Darla mocked how they were all huddled hear in fear, like during war. Holland apologized to Darla for her suffering but reminded she was a Vampire again, and all here would help her get what she wanted. Darla said she sensed fear from them all, other than Lindsey, who said he didn't mind. Holland assured they were on the same side but Darla said she'd make this a people cellar.
"More like lawyer cellar", Dawnster muttered, not that it alleviated the mood.
Angel walked up to the open front door of the Manners mansion and saw a blood trail on the beige carpet, leading to where Catherine was lying on the floor. Catherine lifted her head a little. "Help us."
"Invited in now", Giles said.
"So now he can put a stop to them", Buffy muttered.
"Daddy's home", Drusilla said. Angel walked down the steps to the cellar, stopping outside the open door to the former bomb shelter. Darla greeted. "Angelus. - Here for the tasting?" Drusilla gestured. "Look what we have for you." Angel didn't react. "It's not Daddy. It's never Daddy." Drusilla hissed at him. "It's the Angel-beast." Darla asked. "Come to punish us?" "Yeah, yeah", Drusilla lifted her hands as if they were tied above her head. "Spank us till Tuesday." She growled. "We promise to be bad if you do."
"Which means don't spank 'em", Xander muttered to himself, everyone still tense at the scene.
Holland called out. "Angel..." Angel apologized to Darla. "I'm sorry I didn't get to you in time." Darla smirked. "I'm not." Drusilla caressed the side of her face. "He's soul-sick. Not even thinking about his own family." She pulled one of the men over by his hair. "Only thinking about them." Darla took a step towards Angel. "Come on, love. I never did get that good-bye kiss." Angel told her. "You will. - But not tonight."
"Wait, wait, wait, what?" Buffy said, her eyes widening in horror, as did those of everyone else in the past. "What's he doing?"
"He has snapped", Tara muttered, having called it, but still horrified like the rest.
"So…he's going to…." Dawnster asked the future people and got nods. "But he wouldn't!"
"Wolfram and Hart got what they wanted, but not in the way they wanted", Willow muttered grimly.
Lilah got up. "For god's sake, help us." Holland begged. "Angel - please. - People are going to die." Angel threw Holland's words back in his face. "And yet, somehow, I just can't seem to care." Holland watched wide-eyed as Angel shut the double doors on them.
"Well, at least he got his", Xander muttered. While everyone was horrified that Angel could do this, the smirk getting wiped off of Holland's face was almost worth him losing his soul (figuratively). Almost!
"At what cost?" Maclay asked him, and he had no answer.
"They deserved to die, but Angel didn't kill them because of that, he did that because he wanted to satisfy his desire for revenge", Rosenberg told them all.
"I did the same thing once", Buffy muttered, remembering when she had locked in Billy Fordham with Spike, Drusilla and their Vampires.
"But we did it because we knew he was too lost now, you know why Angle did it", Summers told Buffy, who was rubbing her head.
Darla turned to caress Holland with a big smile on her face. Holland asked. "Angel? P-please we can negotiate. We..." Angel slid the lock on the door shut. Drusilla took a step forward. "Daddy." Lindsey had a slight smile creasing his face. Darla pulled Holland down and bit him. Angel unhurriedly walked up the steps from the cellar, ignoring the screams and sounds of fighting coming from the cellar.
"Oh my God!" Buffy said, her hand on her mouth, tears in her eyes over Angel snapping, her denial fading away. "He just…"
"Yes, he left them to die at the mercy of those two", Harris muttered with gritted teeth.
Giles made no comment, just watching the scene with a grim look, and so did the rest, knowing Angel had lost it now, and it was about to get worse from here, since his team would definitely not be pleased with his actions.
Angel was sitting behind his desk with Cordelia, Wesley and Gunn sitting on the other side of it. Wesley asked in horror. "And you - just walked away?" Angel said. "No, I walked to my car and then I drove away."
"And the difference is?" Xander asked, his judgmental nature slightly returning to him.
Gunn asked. "You didn't do anything?" Wesley realized. "You allowed Darla and Drusilla to have free reign." Angel defended himself. "I didn't bring either one of them into this. They did." Wesley pointed out. "You could have stopped them." Angel assured. "And I will." Cordelia asked. "When? After they've finished off all the people you don't like?" Wesley tried to mediate. "Angel, while it's certainly true that these lawyers brought this on themselves - what you did is..." Cordelia finished. "...is wrong." Gunn agreed. "You went too far."
"And when he's saying it, you know it's true", Rosenberg said.
Wesley said after a moment. "We've all been worried about you, and I guess it's fair to say we all share some of the blame. - We should have spoken up sooner." Gunn added. "And louder." Cordelia told him. "You have to change the way you've been doing things. - Don't you see where this is taking you?" Wesley agreed. "Listen to her! Right now the three of us are all that's standing between you and real darkness." Gunn said. "Best believe that, man." Angel quietly said after a beat: "I do. - You're all fired." Angel got up and walked away while the other three sat there like frozen statues. The screen went black.
"What the…?" Buffy trailed off, not having any words for this.
"Okay, letting the lawyers die, I could understand, but this?" Dawnster asked. "After everything they did for him when he was in his funk?"
"Like my younger self said before, he has snapped", Maclay said grimly. "And he wants to stay that way."
"But why?" Buffy asked. "Can't he see what it's doing to him?"
"He believes that is the only way to stop his enemies now", Summers said with a sigh.
"No! It can't be! There are better ways!" Buffy said. "None good, but still better than this."
"He knows that, but he doesn't care anymore", Rosenberg told her.
"Failing to save Darla is getting to him", Dawn said. "And now he's taking it out on everyone."
"Like I take it out on all Demons", Xander said with a sigh, his judgmental nature fading away as he realized a parallel there.
"Yeah, but we weren't dicks to those who care about us", Harris told him. "Angel is, from now on."
"Yeah, as much as I hate to say it, Angel's a dick now", Willow muttered.
"And not even the likable kind", Tara sighed, she was understanding of why Angel had a breakdown, but treating his friends who had supported him like that didn't sit well with her either.
"Now he's going to make this whole city a battleground between himself and the forces of darkness, isn't he?" Giles asked.
"Yes, that's the gist of it", Summers said before asking. "Want to take a break now?"
Buffy looked down before looking back up. "After what we just saw, I think I could use one."
"We call could", Dawnster agreed.
"Let's go then", Rosenberg sighed as they all got up and left for the dining room.
The start of the Dark Angel arc was amazing, with the Angel/Darla Trilogy which ends in next episode, but after that, it was just wasted. They managed to ruin what could have been this show's best arc.
Anyway, next chapter's a break, then the ending of the Angel/Darla Trilogy, followed by 3 episodes of Angel being a dick.
Hope all enjoyed and see you all next time with another chapter. Stay safe from the coronavirus ya all!