DISCLAIMERS ETC IN PART 1.
TIMELINE: AFTER "ARE YOU NOW OR HAVE YOU EVER BEEN" AND BEFORE "FIRST IMPRESSIONS"
ONCE UPON A TIME... NOT SO LONG AGO - PART 9
"Vampires in the building." A security guard informed Holland Manners. Holland was in a middle of a night meeting. He excused his colleagues and walked out of the meeting room to his office.
"Camera?" He asked the guard that accompanied him.
"Angel." The guard confirmed the unspoken suspicion.
"Don't stake him. Bring him over here." Holland ordered.
A few minutes passed before the guards escorted Angel to Holland's office.
"Angel, nice to meet you." Holland scanned Angel from top to bottom.
"And you are?"
"Holland Manners. I am division head of Special Projects."
"Special projects?" Angel asked. "Like what you raised in that box?"
"What are you looking for, Angel?" Holland ignored the vampire's remark.
"I… came seeking your help." Angel lowered his eyes, realizing how degrading that sounded.
"You, came seeking, *our* help?" Holland repeated in amazement.
"Do I have to say it twice?" Angel asked impatiently.
"Release him," Holland ordered the guards and they pushed Angel ahead.
"What are you up to?" Holland inquired of him.
"There's a book I need to translate."
"The book of Armaine."
"You know it?"
"We know you got it from the British Museum." Holland informed him.
Angel clenched his jaw, trying to restrain himself from unleashing his hatred and anger for the firm. He reminded himself that he was the one using them.
"I need to translate this book. It holds-"
"The cure for the Slayer." Holland finished for him.
"How do you know?"
"There's nothing you do that we don't know. You better get that deep into that pretty head of yours."
"Do you know how to cure her?" Angel asked.
"No, but we can use our resources to get the book translated." Holland said.
"I need you to do this for me. I'll do anything…" Angel stepped forward.
"Anything?"
Angel eyed him. "What do you want me to do?"
"What do you want from me?" The uniformed guard backed away in fright.
"Give me the keys." Angel hissed, his golden eyes shimmered as he approached the terrified guard, sporting his game face. The guard sent his shaking hands to his belt, taking out the keys chain.
"Please don't kill me…" He pleaded as Angel snatched the keys from his hand.
Angel grabbed him by his throat, throwing him at the wall.
He crouched over to the guard. "Pretend you're dead…" Angel whispered. "Or I'd have to kill you for real."
On the security camera, Holland watched Angel doing a swift movement, snapping the guard's neck.
Angel walked over to the sealed and locked diamond ring. He walked over to the wall, touching it until he found a notch. The wall revealed a hole with a small electricity box in it. He unlocked the box, and then used the key with the immobilizer, unlocking the laser alarm rays that protected the glass box of the ring.
He shattered the glass to pieces with his fist and took the diamond.
"Thank you Angel. Well done." Holland grinned when Angel put the ring on his desk. Lindsey sneered looking at Angel in disgust.
"How's your hand?" Angel returned Lindsey's smirk, looking at the lawyer's plastic hand.
Lindsey rubbed his prosthesis, gritting his teeth. "I'll get you. Don't worry about it." He hissed.
"Boys, calm down." Holland said. He looked at the ring. "Good job, Angel." He said. "The parnpuar demon is useless without this ring. He will value it greatly." Holland smiled. "He's one of our most faithful customers."
"My pay." Angel said expressionless.
"You don't want to work for us?"
"I did what you asked me. I'm running out of time. I need to translate that book."
"I think we still need your services." Holland said simply.
Angel narrowed his eyes. "You're not gonna tell me the key to the translation. Are you?"
"All in good time, my friend. All in good time." Holland clasped his hands together.
Angel, low spirited, walked from the sewers into the Hyperion.
"Don't move!" Cordelia called when he walked into the lobby. She pointed a crossbow at him.
"Cordelia, I didn't lose my soul." Angel said quietly.
"And how do I know it for sure?"
"You'd have to trust me."
"I don't."
"Cordy…" He hissed. "Where's Buffy and Wesley?"
"Upstairs, in bed." She said. Angel glared at her.
"Uh, I mean, Buffy is in bed. Not that they're-"
"Cordelia, shush." He dismissed her with a hand gesture and walked over to the stairs.
She walked after him into his room. He looked at Buffy's pale face and sighed.
"I don't have a heart, yet it aches so much." He whispered.
"So what did you do?" Cordelia asked him.
"I gave Wolfram and Hart a powerful ring that will unleash a deadly demon on lots of innocent humans." Angel said nonchalantly. "I screwed up. I forgot who I'm playing with." He ran his hand through his hair. "I thought they'd really give me the key."
"I found the key!" Wesley stormed into the room, holding the book.
"What?" Angel turned around sharply, grabbing Wesley.
"I paid Merl to hang around the demons and find out if anyone knows something about the book."
"So you have it?"
"Yes. It's quite simple actually. Blood. Blood will translate the words."
"That's why the book smells of blood." Angel mumbled.
Wesley flipped through the pages, until he found out the demon's name.
He took out a dagger and cut his hand above the book. He squirted the blood on the pages.
The blood touched the book and immediately soaked into the yellow fading pages.
They all stared at the text, anxious.
"Nothing happened." Cordelia finally said.
Wesley squirted more of the blood, smearing his hand on the book.
"I'll kill that Merl." Angel huffed.
"Wait, look." Wesley said and they all looked at the red glow that rose from the book. The letters started to change in front of their eyes.
"Wow, it's amazing." Cordelia whispered.
Wesley flipped through the pages. "It translated everything!"
"See that wasn't so hard." Angel said. "Now get me the cure. Go." He added.
"I'm working on it." Wesley grabbed the book, keeping it open on the right page and walked out of the room.
"I'll help him." Cordelia suggested and walked out of the room too.
Angel walked over to Buffy.
He sat on the edge of the bed and caressed her hair. "You'll be all right, love." He whispered.
"Well, did you find anything?" Angel asked, approaching Wesley.
"Not since the last time you asked, 5 minutes ago."
"Wesley, I told you I need it as soon as possible."
"Well, lay off him a little, he's not superman." Cordelia said.
Angel tapped on the desk nervously.
"Do you mind? I need to concentrate." Wesley said.
"Do it faster." Angel asked again.
"I'm trying my best…"
"Not good enough."
"Angel!" Cordy raised her voice, defending Wesley.
"I'm sorry."
"Take a walk!" She ushered him away.
He looked at her like a little boy whose mother had just yelled at him. "Okay…"
"Angel…" He heard Buffy's faint voice. He walked into his room. Buffy sat up in his bed.
He sat next to her and took her hands. "We did it, we translated the book." He told her.
"Are you okay?" She asked him quietly, moving her face closer to his.
"What?" He was confused.
"You sound… not happy." She said.
"No, I am happy… it's just…" He sighed and stroked her hair gently.
"You don't have to go through all this trouble for me," Buffy put her hand on his chest.
"How can you say that?"
"You save people's souls, you give people purpose to live and get on with their lives. I'm not like these people, Angel. I'm a Slayer. I don't have a future, I fight the good fight for these people until one day the bad guys win…"
"Buffy-"
"I don't have anything to look forward to. My friends in L.A turned their backs on me when I became too freaky for their taste, after I was called. And I still tried to save them… and I couldn't… so I decided to turn away from my duty… moved to Sunnydale… seek a normal life… but my duty found me again. I can't pretend to be someone I'm not. I'm the Slayer, and…" She swallowed, and let her hand slip from his chest. "I don't want you to spend the rest of your immortal life blaming yourself for my death… if I didn't find this demon, I would have found another one. My number is up. Buffy was never going to win."
"Buffy, don't talk like this." Angel grabbed her arms.
"Angel, I've finally accepted my destiny. I will never be a normal girl. I'll always be a Slayer. Just remember me in a hundred years. Remember when no one else will, that once upon a time there was a slayer called Buffy… and that she wanted to die in her knight's arms."
"Buffy…"
"And remember that she loved you." Buffy raised her head. She couldn't see Angel, but she could feel him looking at her. He didn't talk. The tears streamed down his face.
TBC....
TIMELINE: AFTER "ARE YOU NOW OR HAVE YOU EVER BEEN" AND BEFORE "FIRST IMPRESSIONS"
ONCE UPON A TIME... NOT SO LONG AGO - PART 9
"Vampires in the building." A security guard informed Holland Manners. Holland was in a middle of a night meeting. He excused his colleagues and walked out of the meeting room to his office.
"Camera?" He asked the guard that accompanied him.
"Angel." The guard confirmed the unspoken suspicion.
"Don't stake him. Bring him over here." Holland ordered.
A few minutes passed before the guards escorted Angel to Holland's office.
"Angel, nice to meet you." Holland scanned Angel from top to bottom.
"And you are?"
"Holland Manners. I am division head of Special Projects."
"Special projects?" Angel asked. "Like what you raised in that box?"
"What are you looking for, Angel?" Holland ignored the vampire's remark.
"I… came seeking your help." Angel lowered his eyes, realizing how degrading that sounded.
"You, came seeking, *our* help?" Holland repeated in amazement.
"Do I have to say it twice?" Angel asked impatiently.
"Release him," Holland ordered the guards and they pushed Angel ahead.
"What are you up to?" Holland inquired of him.
"There's a book I need to translate."
"The book of Armaine."
"You know it?"
"We know you got it from the British Museum." Holland informed him.
Angel clenched his jaw, trying to restrain himself from unleashing his hatred and anger for the firm. He reminded himself that he was the one using them.
"I need to translate this book. It holds-"
"The cure for the Slayer." Holland finished for him.
"How do you know?"
"There's nothing you do that we don't know. You better get that deep into that pretty head of yours."
"Do you know how to cure her?" Angel asked.
"No, but we can use our resources to get the book translated." Holland said.
"I need you to do this for me. I'll do anything…" Angel stepped forward.
"Anything?"
Angel eyed him. "What do you want me to do?"
"What do you want from me?" The uniformed guard backed away in fright.
"Give me the keys." Angel hissed, his golden eyes shimmered as he approached the terrified guard, sporting his game face. The guard sent his shaking hands to his belt, taking out the keys chain.
"Please don't kill me…" He pleaded as Angel snatched the keys from his hand.
Angel grabbed him by his throat, throwing him at the wall.
He crouched over to the guard. "Pretend you're dead…" Angel whispered. "Or I'd have to kill you for real."
On the security camera, Holland watched Angel doing a swift movement, snapping the guard's neck.
Angel walked over to the sealed and locked diamond ring. He walked over to the wall, touching it until he found a notch. The wall revealed a hole with a small electricity box in it. He unlocked the box, and then used the key with the immobilizer, unlocking the laser alarm rays that protected the glass box of the ring.
He shattered the glass to pieces with his fist and took the diamond.
"Thank you Angel. Well done." Holland grinned when Angel put the ring on his desk. Lindsey sneered looking at Angel in disgust.
"How's your hand?" Angel returned Lindsey's smirk, looking at the lawyer's plastic hand.
Lindsey rubbed his prosthesis, gritting his teeth. "I'll get you. Don't worry about it." He hissed.
"Boys, calm down." Holland said. He looked at the ring. "Good job, Angel." He said. "The parnpuar demon is useless without this ring. He will value it greatly." Holland smiled. "He's one of our most faithful customers."
"My pay." Angel said expressionless.
"You don't want to work for us?"
"I did what you asked me. I'm running out of time. I need to translate that book."
"I think we still need your services." Holland said simply.
Angel narrowed his eyes. "You're not gonna tell me the key to the translation. Are you?"
"All in good time, my friend. All in good time." Holland clasped his hands together.
Angel, low spirited, walked from the sewers into the Hyperion.
"Don't move!" Cordelia called when he walked into the lobby. She pointed a crossbow at him.
"Cordelia, I didn't lose my soul." Angel said quietly.
"And how do I know it for sure?"
"You'd have to trust me."
"I don't."
"Cordy…" He hissed. "Where's Buffy and Wesley?"
"Upstairs, in bed." She said. Angel glared at her.
"Uh, I mean, Buffy is in bed. Not that they're-"
"Cordelia, shush." He dismissed her with a hand gesture and walked over to the stairs.
She walked after him into his room. He looked at Buffy's pale face and sighed.
"I don't have a heart, yet it aches so much." He whispered.
"So what did you do?" Cordelia asked him.
"I gave Wolfram and Hart a powerful ring that will unleash a deadly demon on lots of innocent humans." Angel said nonchalantly. "I screwed up. I forgot who I'm playing with." He ran his hand through his hair. "I thought they'd really give me the key."
"I found the key!" Wesley stormed into the room, holding the book.
"What?" Angel turned around sharply, grabbing Wesley.
"I paid Merl to hang around the demons and find out if anyone knows something about the book."
"So you have it?"
"Yes. It's quite simple actually. Blood. Blood will translate the words."
"That's why the book smells of blood." Angel mumbled.
Wesley flipped through the pages, until he found out the demon's name.
He took out a dagger and cut his hand above the book. He squirted the blood on the pages.
The blood touched the book and immediately soaked into the yellow fading pages.
They all stared at the text, anxious.
"Nothing happened." Cordelia finally said.
Wesley squirted more of the blood, smearing his hand on the book.
"I'll kill that Merl." Angel huffed.
"Wait, look." Wesley said and they all looked at the red glow that rose from the book. The letters started to change in front of their eyes.
"Wow, it's amazing." Cordelia whispered.
Wesley flipped through the pages. "It translated everything!"
"See that wasn't so hard." Angel said. "Now get me the cure. Go." He added.
"I'm working on it." Wesley grabbed the book, keeping it open on the right page and walked out of the room.
"I'll help him." Cordelia suggested and walked out of the room too.
Angel walked over to Buffy.
He sat on the edge of the bed and caressed her hair. "You'll be all right, love." He whispered.
"Well, did you find anything?" Angel asked, approaching Wesley.
"Not since the last time you asked, 5 minutes ago."
"Wesley, I told you I need it as soon as possible."
"Well, lay off him a little, he's not superman." Cordelia said.
Angel tapped on the desk nervously.
"Do you mind? I need to concentrate." Wesley said.
"Do it faster." Angel asked again.
"I'm trying my best…"
"Not good enough."
"Angel!" Cordy raised her voice, defending Wesley.
"I'm sorry."
"Take a walk!" She ushered him away.
He looked at her like a little boy whose mother had just yelled at him. "Okay…"
"Angel…" He heard Buffy's faint voice. He walked into his room. Buffy sat up in his bed.
He sat next to her and took her hands. "We did it, we translated the book." He told her.
"Are you okay?" She asked him quietly, moving her face closer to his.
"What?" He was confused.
"You sound… not happy." She said.
"No, I am happy… it's just…" He sighed and stroked her hair gently.
"You don't have to go through all this trouble for me," Buffy put her hand on his chest.
"How can you say that?"
"You save people's souls, you give people purpose to live and get on with their lives. I'm not like these people, Angel. I'm a Slayer. I don't have a future, I fight the good fight for these people until one day the bad guys win…"
"Buffy-"
"I don't have anything to look forward to. My friends in L.A turned their backs on me when I became too freaky for their taste, after I was called. And I still tried to save them… and I couldn't… so I decided to turn away from my duty… moved to Sunnydale… seek a normal life… but my duty found me again. I can't pretend to be someone I'm not. I'm the Slayer, and…" She swallowed, and let her hand slip from his chest. "I don't want you to spend the rest of your immortal life blaming yourself for my death… if I didn't find this demon, I would have found another one. My number is up. Buffy was never going to win."
"Buffy, don't talk like this." Angel grabbed her arms.
"Angel, I've finally accepted my destiny. I will never be a normal girl. I'll always be a Slayer. Just remember me in a hundred years. Remember when no one else will, that once upon a time there was a slayer called Buffy… and that she wanted to die in her knight's arms."
"Buffy…"
"And remember that she loved you." Buffy raised her head. She couldn't see Angel, but she could feel him looking at her. He didn't talk. The tears streamed down his face.
TBC....