Sunnydale Hospital
6 pm
Cordelia hung up the phone and said, "Okay, they're coming, but it
will be at least two hours before they get here. So do you really
think the plan--AGH!" She yelled, and grabbed her head in her hands.
Doyle caught her as her legs gave out and she leaned on him until the
vision had passed.
When she had stopped yelling, Wesley was waiting with some of the
migraine pills he had learned to keep handy. "Thanks," she said,
gratefully, and accepted the cup of water that Willow offered her.
"Don't suppose you could take those back?" she said to Doyle, as she
straightened up, but let him continue to hold her.
"I would if I could, Cordelia," he said apologetically.
"Doesn't hurt to ask," she sighed. "Okay. It was a group of demons, I
don't know what they were, except they were mean. They had some nasty
looking swords, and they were in the Bronze. We have some time,
though. The Dingoes were playing."
"Was Adam there?" Willow asked.
"I didn't see him, but then again those visions aren't very specific
sometimes. Maybe he's planning on showing up after his pals have some
fun first."
"Let me make a few calls," Giles said. "Maybe I can convince the local
Police Department to close down The Bronze for the evening."
"Yeah right," Oz said. "I gotta get down there and warn the guys.
Maybe if we cancel the concert people will leave on their own."
"I'm going with you," Willow said.
"Willow--"
"Don't argue with me," she warned. "Remember my resolved face?" she
showed it to him, and continued. "Going out there alone is suicidal.
And before you even say I need to rest, I'm fine."
"I don't think either of you should be going anywhere," Giles
interrupted. "Oz, if your fellow bandmembers are at the Bronze, call
them and tell them to get out. You, all of you, will be needed later
when we go up against Adam." He waited to see if there would be any
argument, but there wasn't. "Okay. So, Oz make your calls. Then as I
said before, I'll make some calls and see if I can get the place
closed early."
Oz realized that he couldn't argue with Giles' logic, so he didn't. He
went out to the hall to use the payphone.
"Giles, I agree with you that we need to stick together and out of
harm, but don't we need to get some things from your place?" Wesley
suggested.
"Yes, I suppose we do," Giles said. "I thought about moving all of us
there to wait for Buffy and Angel, but that would be too dangerous. If
Adam is going to go on the attack, that is one of the places he'd go
eventually. I'm open to any suggestions as to where we could stay
until we locate Adam."
"What about the school library?" Willow suggested. "I mean Sunnydale
High. I know it's all burnt out and everything, but I doubt anyone
would expect us to be there."
Giles said, "That might work--"
"AAAAAGGGGGGHHHHH!" Cordelia screamed again, and Giles added drily,
"--if we didn't need a sound-proof room."
"Not...funny," Cordelia gasped. "Oh, God, I'm gonna be sick," she
moaned. She pulled out of Doyle's arms and ran to the bathroom,
slamming the door behind her.
"Cordelia?" Doyle knocked on the door. "You okay?"
"No!" Cordy yelled, not opening the door.
"Oookay, so.... who's gonna get the weapons and stuff from your
place?" Doyle asked Giles.
"Well, I know exactly what is needed, so myself," Giles said. "And any
two others who are willing to come along."
"Me," Charlotte said, and the expression on her face dared Doyle to
argue.
Doyle ran his hand through his hair wearily, and responded, "I'd come
but--"
"No, stay with Cordelia," Charlotte said. "It looks like she's going
to keep getting visions until we've returned Sunnydale to the semi-
normal place it was before tonight."
Cordelia exited the bathroom, and Doyle put his arm around her,
alarmed at her appearance. Her face was pale, and she had been
crying. "I'm okay," she said unconvincingly. "I just...that was
awful. Adam this time," she said. "It was like watching someone in
highschool biology lab...except in his case, he was dissecting
people." She shuddered at the memory, and Doyle held her tighter,
trying to comfort her.
"Where?" Giles asked.
"He's going to be at the Bronze. I don't know how much time we have. I
wish I did."
"Bad news," Oz said, re-entering Charlotte's hospital room. "I had
Devon ask the owner of the Bronze to close down early. He refused,
it's one of his biggest nights for making money, he said."
"Why is it that people refuse to act sensibly on the Hellmouth?" Giles
muttered. "Very well, then. I guess we are forced to a change in
plans. Someone needs to stay behind to tell Buffy and Angel where the
others are. But the rest will go to my apartment and stockpile on
weapons. Then we'll go to the Bronze, to wait for the attack by Adam
and his demon minions. We will hold them off as long as we need to,
because I don't have much hope for stopping this without Buffy's
help. No offense meant against you, Charlotte, but I was always of
the opinion that the two of you would need to work together to defeat
Adam."
"No offense taken, Giles," Charlotte replied. "I understand, and
especially after this afternoon, I agree. Besides maybe we'll get
lucky and Buffy will show up before Adam does."
"Now that would be welcome, considering things haven't gone our way
yet," Wesley said.
"I'll stay behind, and wait for them," Cordelia offered. She noted
Doyle's concerned expression and said, "No, you're not staying with
me. You're going to be needed at the Bronze more than here. I'll just
take that bottle of pills that Wesley keeps in his pocket and keep
them handy for the next vision."
"Are you sure?" Doyle asked. "I can stick around--"
"Doyle, really, I appreciate the offer, but no. Go save the city from
the demons. I'll catch up with you guys later."
&&&&&&&&&
Sunnydale Hospital
8:30 pm
Buffy and Angel arrived at the hospital and found Cordelia. "Where is
everyone?" Buffy demanded, not noticing Cordelia's wince in response
to the sudden onslaught of sound. Angel saw it though, and guessed,
"Visions?" with a worried look on his face.
"Uh, yeah," Cordelia said softly. "Too many to count. I think I've
already overdosed on migraine pills," she added, pulling the bottle
out of her purse and frowning at it.
"I'm sure you have," Angel said, retrieving the bottle from her grasp,
ignoring her "Hey!" of protest. "Sit down," he said firmly, helping
her to a nearby chair.
"Sorry, Cordelia," Buffy said reluctantly. She still hadn't gotten
used to the idea of Cordelia and Angel being close friends; although
she insisted to herself that she wasn't jealous of Cordy.
"It's okay," Cordelia replied. "They're all at the Bronze. I got a
vision of some demons doing all kinds of fun demony stuff there. Then
I got a view of Adam's idea of fun, also at the Bronze. They left
about an hour or so ago, to try to hold the demons off. They were
hoping that Adam wouldn't show up before you did."
"What's the plan?" Angel asked.
"For the other demons, just the normal slaying stuff. But for Adam,
Giles thinks that he and Willow can manage a paralyzing spell. But it
takes time to do all the chanting and stuff, so until it works the
idea is to keep Adam distracted and away from Giles and Willow.
"Then when Adam is under the control of the spell, someone is
supposed to cut his head off. And then, to make sure that he doesn't
grow another one, Willow is stopping by her chem lab for some
acid....I can't remember what kind, but it's the kind that will eat
away at anything it touches."
"Gross!" Buffy said, revolted by the mental image that was suggested.
"Yeah, you got it. Use the acid to destroy the body," Cordelia said.
"Well, it should work," Angel said.
"_Should_," Buffy replied. "Meaning we're counting on a whole lot of
things to work together in order for this plan to work." She sighed,
and said, "Okay, let's go. It's better than nothing."
END of FIVE
6 pm
Cordelia hung up the phone and said, "Okay, they're coming, but it
will be at least two hours before they get here. So do you really
think the plan--AGH!" She yelled, and grabbed her head in her hands.
Doyle caught her as her legs gave out and she leaned on him until the
vision had passed.
When she had stopped yelling, Wesley was waiting with some of the
migraine pills he had learned to keep handy. "Thanks," she said,
gratefully, and accepted the cup of water that Willow offered her.
"Don't suppose you could take those back?" she said to Doyle, as she
straightened up, but let him continue to hold her.
"I would if I could, Cordelia," he said apologetically.
"Doesn't hurt to ask," she sighed. "Okay. It was a group of demons, I
don't know what they were, except they were mean. They had some nasty
looking swords, and they were in the Bronze. We have some time,
though. The Dingoes were playing."
"Was Adam there?" Willow asked.
"I didn't see him, but then again those visions aren't very specific
sometimes. Maybe he's planning on showing up after his pals have some
fun first."
"Let me make a few calls," Giles said. "Maybe I can convince the local
Police Department to close down The Bronze for the evening."
"Yeah right," Oz said. "I gotta get down there and warn the guys.
Maybe if we cancel the concert people will leave on their own."
"I'm going with you," Willow said.
"Willow--"
"Don't argue with me," she warned. "Remember my resolved face?" she
showed it to him, and continued. "Going out there alone is suicidal.
And before you even say I need to rest, I'm fine."
"I don't think either of you should be going anywhere," Giles
interrupted. "Oz, if your fellow bandmembers are at the Bronze, call
them and tell them to get out. You, all of you, will be needed later
when we go up against Adam." He waited to see if there would be any
argument, but there wasn't. "Okay. So, Oz make your calls. Then as I
said before, I'll make some calls and see if I can get the place
closed early."
Oz realized that he couldn't argue with Giles' logic, so he didn't. He
went out to the hall to use the payphone.
"Giles, I agree with you that we need to stick together and out of
harm, but don't we need to get some things from your place?" Wesley
suggested.
"Yes, I suppose we do," Giles said. "I thought about moving all of us
there to wait for Buffy and Angel, but that would be too dangerous. If
Adam is going to go on the attack, that is one of the places he'd go
eventually. I'm open to any suggestions as to where we could stay
until we locate Adam."
"What about the school library?" Willow suggested. "I mean Sunnydale
High. I know it's all burnt out and everything, but I doubt anyone
would expect us to be there."
Giles said, "That might work--"
"AAAAAGGGGGGHHHHH!" Cordelia screamed again, and Giles added drily,
"--if we didn't need a sound-proof room."
"Not...funny," Cordelia gasped. "Oh, God, I'm gonna be sick," she
moaned. She pulled out of Doyle's arms and ran to the bathroom,
slamming the door behind her.
"Cordelia?" Doyle knocked on the door. "You okay?"
"No!" Cordy yelled, not opening the door.
"Oookay, so.... who's gonna get the weapons and stuff from your
place?" Doyle asked Giles.
"Well, I know exactly what is needed, so myself," Giles said. "And any
two others who are willing to come along."
"Me," Charlotte said, and the expression on her face dared Doyle to
argue.
Doyle ran his hand through his hair wearily, and responded, "I'd come
but--"
"No, stay with Cordelia," Charlotte said. "It looks like she's going
to keep getting visions until we've returned Sunnydale to the semi-
normal place it was before tonight."
Cordelia exited the bathroom, and Doyle put his arm around her,
alarmed at her appearance. Her face was pale, and she had been
crying. "I'm okay," she said unconvincingly. "I just...that was
awful. Adam this time," she said. "It was like watching someone in
highschool biology lab...except in his case, he was dissecting
people." She shuddered at the memory, and Doyle held her tighter,
trying to comfort her.
"Where?" Giles asked.
"He's going to be at the Bronze. I don't know how much time we have. I
wish I did."
"Bad news," Oz said, re-entering Charlotte's hospital room. "I had
Devon ask the owner of the Bronze to close down early. He refused,
it's one of his biggest nights for making money, he said."
"Why is it that people refuse to act sensibly on the Hellmouth?" Giles
muttered. "Very well, then. I guess we are forced to a change in
plans. Someone needs to stay behind to tell Buffy and Angel where the
others are. But the rest will go to my apartment and stockpile on
weapons. Then we'll go to the Bronze, to wait for the attack by Adam
and his demon minions. We will hold them off as long as we need to,
because I don't have much hope for stopping this without Buffy's
help. No offense meant against you, Charlotte, but I was always of
the opinion that the two of you would need to work together to defeat
Adam."
"No offense taken, Giles," Charlotte replied. "I understand, and
especially after this afternoon, I agree. Besides maybe we'll get
lucky and Buffy will show up before Adam does."
"Now that would be welcome, considering things haven't gone our way
yet," Wesley said.
"I'll stay behind, and wait for them," Cordelia offered. She noted
Doyle's concerned expression and said, "No, you're not staying with
me. You're going to be needed at the Bronze more than here. I'll just
take that bottle of pills that Wesley keeps in his pocket and keep
them handy for the next vision."
"Are you sure?" Doyle asked. "I can stick around--"
"Doyle, really, I appreciate the offer, but no. Go save the city from
the demons. I'll catch up with you guys later."
&&&&&&&&&
Sunnydale Hospital
8:30 pm
Buffy and Angel arrived at the hospital and found Cordelia. "Where is
everyone?" Buffy demanded, not noticing Cordelia's wince in response
to the sudden onslaught of sound. Angel saw it though, and guessed,
"Visions?" with a worried look on his face.
"Uh, yeah," Cordelia said softly. "Too many to count. I think I've
already overdosed on migraine pills," she added, pulling the bottle
out of her purse and frowning at it.
"I'm sure you have," Angel said, retrieving the bottle from her grasp,
ignoring her "Hey!" of protest. "Sit down," he said firmly, helping
her to a nearby chair.
"Sorry, Cordelia," Buffy said reluctantly. She still hadn't gotten
used to the idea of Cordelia and Angel being close friends; although
she insisted to herself that she wasn't jealous of Cordy.
"It's okay," Cordelia replied. "They're all at the Bronze. I got a
vision of some demons doing all kinds of fun demony stuff there. Then
I got a view of Adam's idea of fun, also at the Bronze. They left
about an hour or so ago, to try to hold the demons off. They were
hoping that Adam wouldn't show up before you did."
"What's the plan?" Angel asked.
"For the other demons, just the normal slaying stuff. But for Adam,
Giles thinks that he and Willow can manage a paralyzing spell. But it
takes time to do all the chanting and stuff, so until it works the
idea is to keep Adam distracted and away from Giles and Willow.
"Then when Adam is under the control of the spell, someone is
supposed to cut his head off. And then, to make sure that he doesn't
grow another one, Willow is stopping by her chem lab for some
acid....I can't remember what kind, but it's the kind that will eat
away at anything it touches."
"Gross!" Buffy said, revolted by the mental image that was suggested.
"Yeah, you got it. Use the acid to destroy the body," Cordelia said.
"Well, it should work," Angel said.
"_Should_," Buffy replied. "Meaning we're counting on a whole lot of
things to work together in order for this plan to work." She sighed,
and said, "Okay, let's go. It's better than nothing."
END of FIVE