Part Eleven

The three Kravlarian demons followed Angel and Gunn in silence. They still had their weapons, but Gunn allowed himself to relax once he'd realised they weren't going to block their way out of the prison, or whatever it was where Buffy had been held. At Angel's instructions, he'd placed the box holding the Kravlar Key on top of Buffy, and the vampire carried both effortlessly but with great care.
Gunn couldn't help wondering why the demons were following them so placidly, almost reverentially. And he couldn't help imagining that it was all part of a trap, so he held his weapons in readiness. With the ropes that had bound Buffy, he'd slung Angel's axe and sword over his back. Angel was defenceless, and Gunn knew his first priority under attack would be to protect Buffy. He didn't like the odds, but at least he was prepared.
Angel stumbled slightly, and the box fell to the ground. The demons seemed to hold their breath as Gunn quickly picked it up, while Angel righted himself and shifted Buffy to a more comfortable position. Gunn looked at the Slayer, worried that she was barely breathing, and her skin was a very unnatural shade of grey, but he said nothing: the worry was mirrored, if not magnified, in Angel's face.
One of the demons pointed to the box, uttered a few words in its unintelligible language, and drew a large circle in the air in front of him. He then held out his hand, head on one side, as if asking for the box to be given to him.
"Show him the key," Angel instructed.
"Are you kidding?" Gunn demanded.
"He knows more about it than we do," Angel pointed out. "It could save us some time." Gunn started to argue, but Angel cut him off. "Don't give it to him, just hold it up - if he means no harm, he'll show us what to do with it."
"If he means harm," Gunn muttered, "he's dead."
Reluctantly, he took the key from its box, holding it gingerly by the tip of the blade, and let it dangle in front of him. He handed Angel the box, and turned to the demon, axe at the ready. The key glowed slightly, and three of its gems sparkled in the dim light.
The demon examined the key, careful not to get too close. Then he slowly stretched out his arm, and with a single claw he pressed the three intricate sigils which decorated each cross-section of the key. All three demons quickly moved to stand beside Gunn, ignoring his battle stance.
Even amid the wind and rain and thunder, Gunn was almost deafened by the rushing watery sound that formed around them as a portal opened in the air above the spot where the demons had been standing. He turned back to Angel.
"You really mean for us to go through?" he asked sceptically.
"I don't think they'll do anything that would jeopardise them getting the key back," Angel answered, although he wasn't completely sure.
"Is this one of your new psychic things?" Gunn asked. "Or are we clutching at straws here?"
Angel looked at Buffy, then back at Gunn.
"Pretty much clutching at straws," he admitted.
The demons stepped into the portal, and disappeared.
"Ask me," Gunn said, "we should let them go, and keep on our heading. We could be walking right into a trap."
As he spoke, both the locator sparks spiralled away from above Angel's head, and disappeared into the portal. Angel stepped through without hesitation. Gunn sighed, and followed them, axe and sword held ready to swipe at the first hint of trouble.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Buffy sighed, and snuggled her nose into Angel's shoulder. She loved the smell of him, and wanted to breathe in his scent for the rest of eternity. She lifted her arms to clasp her hands behind his neck, and felt his arms under her back and thighs grip her tightly to his body.
"Hey," he said softly.
She opened her eyes, and realised that he was carrying her, walking through the colourless mist of the portal.
"Hey," she said, smiling.
And then she frowned. Her eyes were open, she could see Angel, feel him holding her in his arms, and she could talk outside her own thoughts. It had been a while since things felt so real.
"This is different," she commented.
"Are you okay?" he asked, concern etched across his face.
"I thought I was ..." Buffy stopped, not sure what she'd thought. Had she been dreaming, or really on the way back to heaven? Why did this feel real, but not real? She looked at him quizzically. "Is this a dream?" she asked.
Angel considered the question.
"We're in a portal," he told her. "You've been unconscious for a while - you had me worried. Are you okay?"
"I will be," she answered confidently, and, deciding it was another lovely Angel-inhabited dream, she closed her eyes again.
"Buffy." Angel shook her gently. "Stay with me. Look at me. Buffy!"
She sighed again, and her head lolled back in the crook of his elbow as her arms dropped from around his neck. Terrified, Angel leaned his head close to hers, his senses searching for signs of life. Her heartbeat was aint, but it was enough to give him hope.
Close to tears, he concentrated on mentally willing himself out of the portal...

... and stepped into the office space behind the counter in the Hyperion. Gunn was already there, but there was no sign of the three demons that had accompanied them. While Tara and Lorne looked on with relief, Willow clapped her hands in glee. Then their faces fell when they realised that Buffy was unconscious. Giles stepped forward and placed his hand gently on Buffy's head, his concerned eyes meeting Angel's.
"Kenjiin?" Angel asked Willow, but she shook her head.
"What happened?" Giles asked him, as Angel carefully moved around the counter, still carrying Buffy.
"Don't know," the vampire answered, heading for the stairs. "She was like this when we found her. I don't think she's injured too badly," he added, "I think she's been drugged, or poisoned. There's a strange rash on her arm, like something's burned her. We need to figure out what it is. And we need to get Kenjiin out of the portal."
Behind him Lorne and the two witches put their heads together, while Giles followed Angel and his Slayer up the stairs. Gunn lifted the phone receiver to call Sunnydale, but the line clicked dead as he put it to his ear. At the same time, the lights went out. The only illumination came from the shimmering portal.
"Jayce said ..." Giles began. "Damn!"
He told Angel and Gunn of the call he'd received earlier.
"We dismissed it," he admitted ruefully, "because of the Sanctorium spell. But, of course, that doesn't protect us against humans."
"Illuminae!" Willow cried, waving her hand at the chandelier that hung suspended from the huge dome above the lobby, and it lit up brightly. The lights on the landing glowed faintly, but enough to dispel any shadows.
"Get her upstairs," Giles told Angel as he headed back down to the lobby. "Presumably, whoever it is will be after the key, not Buffy. Willow, Tara - anything you can do?"
Gunn handed Angel's axe and sword to Lorne, and moved in front of the counter. There were several ways into the hotel, and the lobby was central to all of them. Giles opened the weapons armory, tossed a crossbow and several arrows to Tara, and helped himself to a broadsword and a small dagger.
"Um …" Tara looked helplessly at Giles, not at all sure about the crossbow. "We're expecting people? Not demons?"
"Yes," Giles confirmed, "people who will probably try to kill us in an attempt to get the Kravlarian Key."
"We can't just hand it over?" Lorne suggested. "You know, since I'm pretty sure none of us will be taking a vacation there any time soon."
"Got that right," Gunn nodded grimly.
"Let's just wait and see what they want," Angel suggested, hurrying down the stairs and taking a sword from the armory.
"And who they are," Giles added.
"I think I've located Kenjiin," Willow announced from behind the counter. "Shall I bring him through?"
Angel nodded. With the portal closed, at least one source of danger or distraction would be eliminated. He joined Gunn and Giles in front of the counter, while Willow, Tara and Lorne remained on the other side. Willow was reciting a spell at the portal, which rippled as she finished. Seconds later, Kenjiin stepped through it and it closed behind him with a wet whoosh.
Before anyone could explain to the demon what was happening, the main door of the hotel burst open, and five demons lurched down the steps towards them all. They were humanoid in appearance, but with pale green skin and dark red eyes, and each of them had long braided red hair, so dark it was almost black.
"The Sanctorium spell is intact," Willow cried. "They can't hurt us."
"They come for me," Kenjiin announced. "Not enemies."
The demon picked up the Kravlarian box from the counter, and walked with it towards Angel. The vampire sighed, and regarded his ally solemnly.
"They'll hunt you," he warned, "maybe kill you, to get that back."
Kenjiin nodded once.
"My world," he said. "Safe."
"Safer than here," Angel agreed. He placed his hand on the demon's shoulder, and said two words that were not in any human language. Kenjiin repeated both gesture and words, and headed for the rear exit, followed by the five newcomers: the car park was out that way, and access to the sewer system.
"You think it was them, killed the lights?" Gunn asked, puzzled, as he watched them leave.
"Nope," Angel said with certainty.
A small army of black-clad men swarmed into the lobby from the main entrance and the courtyard, all pointing sub-machine guns at them.
"I think it was these guys," he said.
Silence fell in the lobby for ten or fifteen seconds, and then Lilah Morgan made her entrance. She walked casually down the steps, glancing up curiously at the unnaturally lit chandelier, and stopped inches from Angel.
"Let's not fight," she suggested, her eyes roaming from the vampire to his human and non-human colleagues. "Innocent people could get hurt."
"That's right," Willow said ominously, her eyes dark as she glared at the woman. "They could."
Lilah recognized the woman who'd performed the spell on the Wolfram and Hart building, and raised her eyebrows, nodding in respect.
Angel remained impassive, controlling his frustration. Gunshot – even fully automated – could seriously hurt him, but wouldn't kill him. But his four human companions would probably die if Lilah's little army opened fire. He wasn't sure about Lorne, and made a mental note to ask him sometime.
"What do you want, Lilah?" he asked, feigning weariness.
"I believe you have something that was mysteriously removed from our possession early this morning," Lilah informed him enigmatically.
"What? Like your soul?" Gunn muttered.
"You know what I mean," Lilah told Angel through gritted teeth. "Give it to me, and we'll leave, no harm done."
"If you mean the Key of Kravlar," Angel said, "it isn't here."
"I can have this place ripped apart …" the female lawyer threatened.
"Be my guest," Angel held his arm open invitingly.
"You'd endanger these people's lives to protect it?"
"You know me better than that," Angel countered. "It isn't here."
Lilah opened her mouth to reply, but was interrupted by her cell phone, beeping in her coat pocket. Scowling with irritation, she flipped it open. Her expression changed to fury as she listened, and she snapped it closed with such force it might have crumbled in her grip. Taking in a deep breath and lifting her chin defiantly, she stared at Angel for a moment, eyes full of hatred.
"This isn't over," she told him, and turned on her heel, gesturing the soldiers to follow.
"I really think it is," Angel said quietly to her retreating back.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

In the sewers beneath the Hyperion Hotel, Hrahek and his minions battled against Kenjiin and his five followers. The long narrow box, holding the key for which they fought, lay in a muddy puddle, ignored for now. It glowed slightly, and tiny sparks flickered within three of its gems.
Kenjiin, though smaller than Hrahek, was a stronger and more experienced warrior, and his followers out-manoeuvred the Kravlarian demons at every turn, but the battle was not simply about supremacy in this dank human-built tunnel – the future of two demon worlds hinged on its outcome.
And, if Hrahek had his way, this human world would pay for its treachery, too. Furious with the entire Wolfram and Hart organization, he had sworn an oath to destroy them, and the humans they represented, once the matter of the Key was settled. He had left Gavin Park in a battered mess amid his destroyed office, television screens smashed and exploding around him. Had he arrived in time to meet Lilah's exit from the hotel, he would have ripped her apart. Now, he concentrated his fury on his long-time enemy and rival, eager to set his destructive plans in motion.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Sunnydale
Midnight
Cordelia put the phone down, and stretched her arms over her head. It had been a long day. A long couple of days, actually, and made longer by her not-entirely-voluntary trip to Sunnyhell and the mixed memories that that had awakened.
Glad that it was finally over, and she'd be returning to Los Angeles in the morning, she snuggled down under the duvet. She could just, barely, catch a scent of Angel on the pillow, and it brought a wistful smile to her lips. He'd sounded worried on the phone, speaking quickly and in short sentences, his mind obviously elsewhere, but at least he was back safely. No doubt all this – this whatever it was – with Buffy would re-awaken Mr. Broody Pants, but she could cope with that. She was thankful that her visions had not come true, and that everyone was safe. Heroes two, visions nil.
And then it dawned on her.
"Oh my God!" she breathed, reaching for the phone. Impatient, and almost frantic, she muttered 'come on!' under her breath while listening to it ring out. Finally, the vampire answered. "Angel, you have to get her back in the portal. No, just listen. Angel! Shut up and listen to me!"
In her last vision, Cordelia had seen Buffy's death. Firstly she had seen her battling with several demons, and suffering injuries but not fatal wounds. Then the Slayer had been pulled from a dense fog, and it was at that point that Cordy had felt her death. They had all assumed that Buffy had battled the demons before Angel and Gunn had found her – hence the injuries – and that taking her out of Kravlar would cancel out the next part of the vision. Now Cordelia doubted that interpretation.
"What if the fog I saw her in was the portal?" she said. "What if bringing her out of there is what's going to kill her? You said it was like being in a fog – remember? And in my vision, I saw her being pulled from the fog, and then she …"
"But she didn't," Angel tried to reason with her. "She's still alive, Cordy. We think she's been poisoned …"
"I'm not getting into the demon dimension time-thing argument with you," Cordelia countered, "but I'm very edgy about this, Angel – I've got a horrible feeling about it. I can't explain it, but it's way creepy and …"
"Okay," the vampire agreed. "We'll try to re-open the portal. Do you think the cure is in there? Or in Kravlar?"
"I don't know!" she said, frustrated at the lack of information her visions gave her. "I just know you have to get her back in there, soon, before she ..."
Cordelia shivered.
"Just be careful," she pleaded. "And hurry."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Los Angeles
Friday, 1 am
As Angel stepped into the portal, carrying Buffy, both Willow and Tara sank to the ground. They were exhausted, and Willow's nose was bleeding. Giles and Lorne helped them to their feet, while Gunn brought two chairs from the inner office for them to sit on. Giles handed Willow his hanky, and watched the two girls with concern.
"It's okay," Willow assured him, and Tara nodded tiredly. "Just a lot going on this last couple of days – kind of takes it out of us."
"Willow," Giles said softly, "you …"
"It's okay, Giles," Willow smiled, appreciating his concern. "It's under control; we're just tired is all."
Giles wasn't in the mood to push the matter, but he worried that neither girl fully understood the powers they were dealing with, or the extent to which those powers could hurt them. Putting it aside for another day, another opportunity to have a quiet talk with them about magic and the responsibilities and possible costs of its practice, he gave them a thankful smile.
"What now?" Gunn asked, nodding once at the portal, not happy that Angel had insisted on going alone.
"We wait," Giles said simply.
The five of them exchanged worried looks. Angel had called them together after Cordelia's call, and after much discussion they had agreed that ignoring Cordy's intuition would be foolish. Angel and Gunn had had to focus on an image of the Hyperion in order to return, and it seemed feasible that without that kind of direction the Slayer could remain permanently in limbo. Buffy had remained unconscious, and was getting paler and weaker while they tried to research what poison she may have ingested, or what spell could have rendered her so ill. It had not taken them long to prepare the spell to re-open the portal, and all they could do now was wait, and hope.
"And pray," Tara added quietly.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Los Angeles
Friday 9.30 am
Nathan Reid closed the portfolio on the table before him, and smiled at the six faces seated on either side of him. His smile lingered on Lilah's tense features, and he revelled in the ripple of power that her extreme discomfort gave him.
"Naturally," he concluded, "we have retained all of Hrahek's deposits in part-payment of our fees and to cover some … security costs, and his portfolios have been transferred to Lord Kenjiin, as is customary in such circumstances. There is still the matter of the Kravlarian Key, but negotiations are already under way. All things considered, this matter has resolved itself satisfactorily."
Five senior representatives nodded thoughtfully.
"Thank you, Lilah," Reid prompted. It was not in recognition of work well done: she was being dismissed.
Lilah forced a smile, and pushed back her seat. As she pulled the door closed behind her, trying to linger without making it obvious, she heard Reid's voice lower conspirationally.
"Now," he said, "as for our other project …"
There was a pause, and Lilah almost growled, realizing they were waiting for her to close the door. She pulled it shut with an angry tug, and went in search of some lesser being to take it out on.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Angel stared at Buffy's face, willing her to open her eyes. He'd been holding her, and talking softly to her, for what seemed like hours as the grey mist of the portal swirled damply around them. He wasn't tired, but aware of the passing of time and Buffy's dangerous condition.
"Buffy?" he said gently, holding her close to him. "Hey."
When yet again he received no response, he carefully knelt down, then sat on the ground, and placed Buffy in a sitting position across his legs, holding her against him with her head on his chest. He gently placed his hand on her cheek, and was shocked at how cold she was.
"Buffy?"
Buffy opened her eyes, and smiled weakly up at him.
"Are we there yet?" she asked in a whisper he could barely hear.
"Where?" he asked curiously.
"Heaven," she said with a sigh, closing her eyes.
"Buffy look at me," he urged, his dead heart aching for her. He brushed a stray strand of hair behind her ear, and touched her cheek again. "Buffy!"
With obvious difficulty, Buffy looked at him, frowning slightly.
"Listen to me," Angel said urgently. "We're not going to heaven – we're going home. Okay?" She simply looked at him, as if not comprehending. "Home, Buffy – okay? Dawn's waiting for you – they're all waiting for you to go home."
"Home," Buffy repeated, her eyes searching his. She blinked a few times, and moved her head slightly to focus on his face. "Home?"
"Come home with me," Angel said. "Please, Buffy. Don't leave me."
Buffy frowned again, and struggled to get her mind straight
"I thought …" she faltered. "I thought we'd be in heaven. You and me. Mom is there. I thought we were going there …"
Angel hugged her close to him, almost wishing it could be so, and kissed the top of her head. Buffy put her arms around him, and held on tightly.
"This isn't a dream, is it?" she asked in a small voice.
"No, my love," he said softly. "You're sick, maybe poisoned, and we're in the portal. I need you to stay awake – you have to concentrate on getting out of here. It's not a dream. I'm sorry."
Buffy sighed again, and, terrified that she'd slipped away once more, Angel moved her away from him so that he could see her face. Tears slid down her cheeks, and she looked at him with such crushing sadness that he felt like weeping too.
He had seen that look before, when he had stolen her dreams from her in the past. One Christmas a few years ago, when he had tried to kill himself rather than endure the torment and temptation inflicted by the First Evil, Buffy had pleaded with him, begged him to be strong, sobbing in her terror of losing him. The following year, shortly before her Graduation, when he'd told her he would be leaving Sunnydale so that she could have a normal life, he had broken her heart. And later that same year, just after Thanksgiving, when he'd asked the Powers That Be to take back his humanity because he feared he'd cost her her life, he'd hated himself again for causing her so much pain. She would never remember the last incident, as time had been reversed to remove the memory from everyone except Angel, but the look he saw in her eyes now brought it all back to him in vivid detail.
"I'm sorry," he said again, voice breaking with emotion.
Buffy stared at his face, his beautiful dark eyes moist with tears, and smiled sadly. She sensed that this reality was only a veil away from the real world, and she so wanted to stay here, in his arms, safe.
"Angel," she said, swallowing to hold back her tears, "I ..I …"
"I know," he said softly, leaning forward to touch her face with his own, "I love you, too."
They both closed their eyes, and held each other for a few long moments. Then Buffy reluctantly lifted her head away from him, and shivered.
"Take me home?" she asked, knowing finally that heaven had to be only the place of her dreams.
Angel nodded, and helped her to her feet. He pulled her into a tight embrace, then bent slightly and kissed her, gently at first and then more fervently when her passion instantly mirrored his own. Only Buffy's need for air pulled them apart, and she smiled tenderly at him.
"I've missed you," she said.
"Me too," he replied. "Let's go home."

~*~*~* Finis *~*~*~