Set when Doyle and Cordelia made up the Fang Gang. All the characters belong to their respective creators.
As The Crow Flies
Or
Where Angels Fear To Tread
So this is LA, Eric Draven thought to himself as he strolled along the city streets. It was just a few hours past minute and still people walked the street. The crowd had changed though, from the busy working upper class to the wandering lost lower class. Prostitutes and their pimps, drug dealers, gang members, all showed themselves more openly when night fell. You could say that the night really belonged to them. Eric wasn't in the least bit frightened though. What where they going to do to him? Kill him? He was already dead.
Purposely, Eric entered a dead-end alley and waited for the gang that he knew was following him. He didn't have to wait long. Three men, kids really, followed him in. Two had guns and the third that hung back had an evil looking knife. Eric was facing the end wall so they didn't see his smile. The change came over him and the smile turned wicked.
Suddenly, a figure from no where landed directly in front of him. Thinking the gang had somehow circled around him, he attacked. Lightening fast, the stranger caught his punch and held on to his fist.
"I'm not your enemy. I'm here to help," the stranger said.
"Don't worry about me, I can take care of myself," Eric replied and pulled his fist from the other's grip.
"Not against the whole gang you can't," the blond stranger insisted and tried to push him out of the way.
The stranger wore a look of surprise when Eric didn't move. Eric did too because of the strength the stranger had used and how close he had come to actually being pushed aside. They had no time to ask questions though because another three members of the gang showed up just then and all six attacked the both of them.
Draven had his opponents down just seconds before the stranger did. He admired the man's strength and agility. It wasn't human though, and Eric wondered if he'd run into another of his kind.
"What are you?" the stranger asked out of the blue when the gang was subdued.
"I could ask the same of you," Eric shot back.
The stranger was still for a moment then nodded, "Not here. If you're not too suspicious, we can talk at my place."
"Okay," Eric accepted the other's suggestion.
"When is Angel going to start charging for his services? This is the third time we've used this same filter and the coffee has about lost its flavour!" a female's voice rang out as the two approached the door.
"You're Angel then I presume?" Eric asked of the stranger.
"Yes. Now I'm at a disadvantage," he remarked.
"The Crow," Eric replied.
"That's not your real name," Angel stated.
"Neither is Angel yours," he smiled knowingly and his expression dared Angel to deny it.
"Don't keep a customer waiting Angel! Come in, come in. Have a seat. Some coffee?" the young woman chided Angel then invited Eric in the office in one fluid motion.
"No coffee thank you," Eric smiled. Maybe this Angel guy wasn't so bad after all, whatever he was.
"He's not a customer Cordelia. We have to talk, privately, so I'm going downstairs," Angel explained and made his way through a door to an old service elevator.
Eric followed quietly while looking around the place. What he assumed was Angel's private office contained many books on the supernatural, especially demons. What is this guy into? Eric thought.
"Can I get you anything to drink? I don't have much besides…uh…water," Angel asked lamely.
"That's okay. Who goes first?"
Going into business mode Angel said, "You."
"You're not going to believe me, actually you might after what I saw tonight, but I died about a year and a half ago on Hallowe'en night. It was supposed to be my wedding night. Three thugs broke into my apartment, raped my wife-to-be and threw me out the window. My apartment was 15 stories up. Exactly one year later, again on Hallowe'en night, I was brought back to life by a crow. As the legend goes, a crow can…"
"Bring back a soul that has been wronged to set things right," Angel interrupted and finished for him.
"How did you know?"
"I've met one of you before," he stated.
A glimmer of hope entered Eric's eyes and voice as he asked, "How do I end it? How can I go back to Shelly?"
"I don't know that, I'm sorry," Angel honestly was sorry he couldn't help and Eric saw that.
Eric's face fell but he nodded and smiled wistfully.
"I'm a vampire," Angel stated bluntly.
Eric cocked his head to one side, like a bird might to see something better, then nodded again.
"You don't look surprised, why?"
"After what I've been through, not much surprises me anymore. You're different though aren't you? I feel like we're kindred spirits."
"Talk about it! Look how both you guys dress. Do all haunted souls who are trying to set things right get their outfits from the same store?" a badly dressed man commented as he entered the room. Eric was instantly on guard but Angel's relaxed attitude made him hold back.
"Doyle this is…" Angel prompted, trying to get 'The Crow's' real name.
"Eric."
"…Eric, Eric this is my assistant Doyle," Angel continued.
"Nice to meet you Eric. Got a last name?" Doyle asked.
"Does he?" Eric asked right back, thumbing towards Angel. Doyle got the message.
"Uh, boss, you got a customer upstairs who seems mighty anxious," Doyle revealed his reason for coming downstairs.
"I'll be right back. Make yourself at home," Angel said then headed up the stairs.
"So what's your story?" Doyle prodded.
"None of your business is what it is," Draven replied shortly and moved across the room from Doyle, who got the hint and decided to follow Angel.
"What's wrong?" Angel asked bluntly, his mind on other things.
"Boy, you don't beat around the bush do you?" the woman asked.
"Wastes time."
"Okay. I've got this guy who follows me around all the time. He pops out of no where, almost literally, and he seems too strong to be human. I think he's stalking me or going to kill me. I just get really scared whenever I notice he's around," she explained.
"What does he look like?"
"He's fairly tall, long black wavy hair, oriental I think, and dresses all in black every time I see him. Oh, and I always see a crow nearby watching me as well," she described.
At the mention of the crow, Angel looked straight up at the woman and asked, "Are you sure you saw a crow?"
"I'm pretty sure. It was a large black bird and it scares me to death. Please, can you do anything about it?" she pleaded.
"I'll see what I can do. I'll send Cordelia home with you so you won't be alone if that's alright with you?" he suggested.
She just nodded her head, barely holding back the tears. This 'man' must really be frightening her but he trusted Cordelia could take care of herself in most situations. He walked her to the door and told Cordelia the plan then watched them leave. Angel didn't want to face Eric downstairs but all the evidence led right to him. Turning to Doyle, he saw the what-have-you-gotten-us-into-now look. He ignored it and went downstairs.
"Eric?" he called into the empty room. Instantly he listened for a heartbeat and found one so faint he almost missed it. Eric emerged from the bathroom wrapped in Angel's bathrobe.
"I hope you don't mind. You did say make yourself at home didn't you?" Eric grinned at them.
"Yeah, well that was before we found out you were a stalker," Doyle burst out.
"We don't know that for sure, Doyle," Angel amended.
"She was here?" Eric asked, shocked.
"You see! He even admits it," Doyle defended himself.
"Hold on. Before we go jumping to conclusions, let's here Eric's side of the story," Angel interrupted before things got ugly.
"Thank you. Let me just get dressed first," Eric said and disappeared into the bathroom again.
Doyle saw his boss's warning look and kept his mouth shut.
"So you're saying that you're actually tracking this woman's real stalker but that you're letting yourself be seen to warn her because he's really good?" Doyle tried to make sense of the whole thing.
"Yes, that's about it," Draven grinned at them again.
"So who is stalking her? Or what?" Angel asked.
"I'm not sure, but whatever it is it's strong, quick, agile, and very smart."
"Any other traits that might distinguish it from the thousands of demons you've just described," Doyle prompted, a little rudely.
"Yes, it can become invisible."
"Oh, that's much better. That brings it down to just a few hundred," Doyle thanked him sarcastically.
"Stop it Doyle, Eric knows less about what's out there then you, much less, but it's not his fault. Remember, just a year and a half ago he was a normal human being then he lost everything," Angel rebuked Doyle.
"Right. Sorry, man," he apologized.
"No worries," Eric replied and smiled, though a little sadly. Doyle flinched inwardly.
"Eric, do you have a description maybe?" Angel questioned. He nodded.
"Give it to Doyle and then you and me are going hunting," Angel instructed.
"He's nearby," Eric spoke up suddenly as they traversed the roofs of one of the bad sections of the city.
"How can you tell?" Angel wondered aloud.
"I can sense him and I can sense her fear. Sometimes it gets like this when I'm trying to help someone. I get so attuned to them that I can tell where they are and what they're feeling," he explained.
"Let's go, but you better stay back since she thinks it's you," a crow flew overhead, "And try to keep that bird out of sight."
"Angel!" Cordelia almost shrieked.
"What happened?"
"He came for her. Instead of just stalking her he actually tried to get to her. I know who it was," she explained.
"Who?"
Making sure the woman couldn't hear her, she answered, "The guy you brought in today."
"He's been with me all night."
"Then where is he now?"
"I told him to stay back while I checked things out."
"Well, he attacked just moments before you arrived. How long ago did you leave him? Long enough for him to get here ahead of you?" she interrogated him.
Angel withdrew into himself to think this over and left Cordelia to take care of things. There was a crow he had to catch and he wanted a few answers from it fast. He genuinely wanted to believe in Eric but it didn't look good. What made it worse was that Eric wasn't where he had left him.
While searching the roof where Eric had been, his cell phone went off but when he answered all he got was static. Angel couldn't understand why Doyle and Cordelia insisted he carry the thing when it never worked when he needed it. Either the battery was dead or all he got was static. He was tempted to throw it away but cringed at what Cordelia might do to him for that.
Finding nothing, Angel searched the 'Thief's Highway' (the rooftops) in concentric circles expanding out from where he started. It didn't take long before he picked up Eric's peculiar scent. It was close to where Cordelia and his client had been hiding. When he narrowed it down though, all he found was an ash-like substance in a pile that suspiciously looked like a puddle of blood. He followed a trail of ash 'droplets' to a fire escape leading down to the streets then lost the trail. It vanished completely.
"Looking for me?" Eric's voice called from the end of the dead end alley the fire escape led to.
"Eric?" Angel called back. He didn't get a reply so descended the ladder into the alley.
Cautiously, Angel approached where the sound had come from. He didn't see anything in the alley though. There were just a few garbage bins and cardboard boxes, the usual detritus found in alleys. He turned his back on the alley to go back up the ladder and that's when Eric attacked him.
Angel was instantly knocked to the ground but managed to bring Eric down with him. Quickly rolling away, Angel went on the defensive as Eric sprang up just as quickly. It didn't take long for Angel to realize that he might just not be able to win this fight. Eric was moving faster than when he last saw him fight and his strength was also increased. Angel figured he was holding back before so Angel would underestimate him.
Glancing around for a weapon, Angel barely dodged a kick and had to give up ground. If someone had been watching the fight it would have looked like a martial arts exhibition. It was a spectacular display of skill and agility. It was also very clear that Eric was the better of the two. Angel needed a weapon and fast.
Just then Eric managed to get a firm grip on Angel and threw him into one of the garbage bins. Angel landed heavily and heard glass smash beneath him. Reaching below him, he was able to grab a broken bottle. It wasn't much of a weapon but it was better than nothing.
A few moments went by then he burst out of the bin hoping to catch Eric by surprise. He did, but barely. Instead of burying the bottle in Eric's heart, he just managed a very deep gash along his ribs. Eric went down and Angel, knowing that if he were going to finish this he'd need better equipment, opted to retreat. He hated leaving an enemy alive after a fight but this one was stronger than he'd first thought, and much more cunning. As he entered the sewers, Angel hoped to get to Doyle before this 'crow' did.
"Doyle?" Angel called before he emerged from the sewer access. There was no answer.
It didn't look like there had been a struggle but that was hard to tell in the aftermath of what looked like a frenzied search through Angel's extensive book collection. One book caught his eye. It sat open in plain view of the sewer access and had a large note attached to it. He quickly read the note then the few pages in the book it indicated. It explained a lot.
Grabbing a few impressive weapons from his arsenal, he headed back out the sewer access. Again he hoped that he met up with Doyle before his enemy did.
"Cordelia?" Doyle called into the empty room. Where were they? he thought as he did a quick visual check of the place. The signs of a struggle worried him.
"No bodies. At least I've that going for me," he muttered under his breath as he left. A pair of eyes high in the sky followed, unbeknownst to him.
"We should be safe here," Cordelia assured the victim in all of this as they entered Angel's 'basement suite'.
"'Should' be safe? That's not exactly all that reassuring," she commented.
"I'm sorry, but with demons you never know what safe really is. Besides, Angel's out there looking for him and he always finds his man, or demon, as the case may be. Don't worry. By the way, what's your name?" Cordelia asked.
"Dana, I think. I don't really remember that much before this 'thing' started stalking me," she replied.
"That's okay. I'd be glad to forget a lot of my past, especially the part where my dad lost all our money," Cordelia commented.
Dana raised an eyebrow at this but kept silent. She looked around at Angel's interesting décor (many medieval weapons hanging on the walls and shelves upon shelves of very old looking books set off nicely by a very expensive looking leather couch). Noticing Cordelia going to the kitchen, she followed.
"Okay, I can offer you…" Cordelia opened the fridge then quickly shut it before Dana could see the many blood packets inside, "Water, water or water," she finished lamely.
"I think water would be just fine. Is there anything to eat?" Dana asked.
"I think we might have some donuts upstairs. Make yourself comfortable and I'll go check."
While Cordelia was upstairs, Dana instinctually began snooping around the place. She started at the bookshelves and was amazed to see them all about demons and other types of 'mythical' monsters and beings. Something nagged at her in the back of her mind but nothing immediately came forward so she didn't worry about it. Eventually she found the open book Doyle had left for Angel. She read the note and the indicated pages and realized they were about her problem. Dana began to wonder what kind of people she had gotten herself mixed up with.
After about an hour or so of tracking, Angel knew where the demon was heading - to his place. He hoped that Cordelia hadn't hid out there but he had a sinking suspicion that's exactly where she'd gone. He put on an extra boost of speed and, now that he knew where he was going, flew across the rooftops.
Meanwhile, Doyle was on his way back to the office hoping that the gang would meet up there or at least leave some sort of note as to where the heck everyone had gone. He hoped that Angel had stopped by and had read the note. He also hoped that Angel and Eric hadn't had a confrontation, a big mistake could've been made. It was a lot of hopes but that's all he could go on right now.
Angel came up through the sewer access again, on full alert. He silently watched as the woman he was protecting read through the pages of the book Doyle had left. A slight creak gave him away and the woman turned and reached for a gun that wasn't there from a holster that wasn't on her. When she finished her turn and no gun was in her hand and it was only he, she looked very confused.
"I…I'm sorry, I guess it was just instinct," she stammered an apology.
"Instinct?" he asked.
"Like I told Cordelia, I don't really remember anything before this thing started stalking me. Just my name, Dana, and that's even a little iffy," she explained.
"I wish I could forget some of my past, actually most of it," Angel commented as he headed to the elevator, he'd heard Cordelia moving around up there.
"What is it with you guys and your pasts? And what exactly are you?" she asked.
Angel stopped before the elevator and turned to face her, "Everyone has parts of their pasts that they regret, some more than others. As for what we are? We're people who care and realize there are more things out there than most people can imagine."
Dana watched him go up, dimly reminded of another man. Who she couldn't say but she believed she respected him a great deal.
"Cordelia!" both Doyle, from the front door, and Angel, from his office, called at the same time.
Cordelia took her head out of the mini fridge just in time to see them enter from both front and back doors and something come crashing through the window. She quickly scurried to an out of the way section of the front room while Doyle blocked the door between it and Angel's office. Unable to resist though, she peeked through the glass to see just exactly what had come through the window. She also heard Dana come racing up the front stairs and waved her over before she ran into the already over-occupied room.
"Eric?" Angel asked.
"Of course. Who else would I be?"
"Angel, careful! The demon's power isn't invisibility…" Doyle started.
"I know Doyle, I got your message. The demon is a shapeshifter. That explains a few things," Angel interrupted.
"So how do we know this is the real Eric Draven?" Doyle asked Angel while looking at Eric.
"The demon can't shapeshift into two forms at once so the real Eric Draven will have a crow," he explained.
"Right. Okay mate, call in that bird of yours and we won't kill you on the spot," Doyle threatened.
"You mean my bird?" another voice asked from the open window.
That Eric Draven jumped down from the sill into the office. Cordelia quickly scooted Dana and herself as far away as possible from glass wall separating the two rooms while Angel tried to place himself within striking distance of them both. Doyle, taking Angel's lead, made sure he could grab the Eric closest to him in a hurry.
"I say we take both of them out and wait 'til that damn bird gets here and let it sort out who's who," Doyle suggested with mock bravo.
Angel conveniently ignored Doyle and watched carefully as the two Erics faced each other.
"Pretty good imitation but not quite good looking enough," one of them remarked.
They continued to circle each other. Angel could tell Doyle was getting antsy, he was himself. A quick glance showed that Cordelia was slowly making her way out of the office with Dana. He knew he could count on her in a pinch. As soon as those two were gone he'd settle this his way, which was amazingly like Doyle's suggestion. Unfortunately, the two 'Eric's took it out of his hands.
They had been circling while Angel had glanced away and he couldn't tell which one started it but suddenly they were both fighting each other. Feeling useless, he looked to Doyle on the other side of the room but he looked just as lost. Then one of the 'Eric's went out the window and was followed by the other just as quickly. Angel leapt out the window after the both of them trusting that Doyle would take care of the girls.
Even with his vampiric eyes, Angel couldn't find them. He did see the crow though. It circled him, flew off, came back and circled him then flew off in the same direction. It landed on a fire escape and cawed at him. Angel could almost swear he heard the crow say, 'What are you waiting for, this way!' so he followed the bird. It led him to the docks.
Once he got there it wasn't hard to find what he was after. They were fighting on the end of a pier and making quite a racket. The crow circled the two then came back to Angel but made to move to distinguish between the two.
"You're a lot of help," Angel remarked and received a squawk in reply.
He quietly made his way down to the pier. He had the beginnings of a plan but nothing solid. Somehow he had to get them separated enough for the crow to point the real one out. The only thing he could think of at the moment was knock one into the water and hope it's the demon.
Not wasting any time, he charged the two knocked one off the pier. The crow leapt from its resting place and instantly skimmed the water where Eric had fallen in. Angel looked to the other one and saw its real features starting to emerge when it realized it had been discovered. It took off and Angel started to follow.
"Could I get a hand here?" Eric's voice stopped him.
Angel helped him up and apologized, "Sorry, all I could think of on short notice."
"No worries," Eric answered.
They set off over the rooftops again.
"Scully!" Dana suddenly said.
They had holed up in one of Doyle's hideouts after Angel had left and Cordelia was trying to hypnotize Dana to recover her lost memories. Doyle paced anxiously between the door and the phone and started when Dana finally responded to Cordelia's administrations.
"Cool! Did you hear that Doyle, I actually hypnotized her into remembering her last name," Cordelia exclaimed.
"Sorry to disappoint you, but I remembered it on my own. I didn't want to hurt your feelings because you seemed so eager to help, but I don't believe in hypnotism," Dana 'Scully' deflated Cordelia's excitement.
"Oh, well, do you remember anything else?"
"This is going to sound corny, but a bright light then nothing," she explained.
"I'm from Sunnydale, the town with it's own Hellmouth. A little corniness I can handle," Cordelia replied.
"What's a Hellmouth?" Dana asked.
"Basically just a doorway to hell that lots of bad demons want to open. Some want to suck everything in and others want everything in it to come out. Take your pick, I've dealt with both."
"Hence the name Hellmouth, emphasis on the mouth," Doyle added.
"You believe this?" Dana asked skeptically.
"Lady, when you've seen what we've seen, you'd believe that the sun revolved around the earth and that it was flat too."
"But there's got to be some sort of scientific explanation for it. Ghosts and goblins and demons do not exist…" she paused for a moment, "It feels like I've said this same speech to a work partner over and over again."
Cordelia and Doyle looked at each other with perplexed expressions and wondered what kind of 'work' this 'Dana Scully' was in.
Angel landed and rolled to his right expecting instant attack. It didn't come. He stood up slowly and surveyed the alley. It was full night and no moon but his vampire eyes could see just fine in the dark. He made his way down the alley to the dead end and found nothing so backtracked to the fire escape he'd come down. A slight sound alerted him to Eric's descent and he stepped out of the way. Eric landed in a crouch and looked up at him. The crow flew silently overhead and Eric's eyes followed it. Then with a nod to Angel they were off. The crow had spotted the demon and was following it.
They managed to herd the demon into a dead end alley. Angel dropped down in front of it and Eric took up position near the exit.
"Why were you after the woman?" Angel asked.
"Money," he replied simply.
"She's rich?"
"No. I was paid a lot of money to make sure she disappeared. I almost had her in the car accident but she got away. I've been tracking her."
"Who sent you?"
"I don't know."
Angel took an axe from his long coat and asked, "Will this change your mind?"
"It would if I actually knew. I was told by a man a day before he died. It was a very painful case of smallpox."
Silence descended and Angel readied for an attack. It never came. Instead, Eric came up from behind the demon and clasped its head in his hands. Instantly the demon went into convulsions but Eric kept his grip firm.
"What are you doing?" Angel demanded to know.
"I'm giving him a taste of the fright he's given others. Actually, it's a full meal," Eric remarked, although he was no longer Eric but 'The Crow'.
Finally The Crow released the demon, stood up, and looked down on it with a tilted head. Angel saw the fury in his eyes and wondered how far he could go. He got his answer quickly.
"That's…that's all you can…can do?" it asked from its position still curled on the ground. What Angel had taken for sobbing was actually laughter.
The Crow's eyes blazed as he picked the demon up by the front of his shirt and threw him against the alley wall.
"No, that's not all I can do. I can also send you to hell," The Crow said and Angel believed it.
"I can handle it from here. There are others who need your help. This one can't be reformed," he said to Angel and turned in the demons direction. Before he finished the turn though, Angel grabbed him by the shoulder trying to stop him. They exchanged glances then The Crow shrugged off Angel's hand and completed his turn.
Angel knew when to stand back, this was Eric's way of putting things right, but when he heard a familiar voice come from the alley he couldn't leave.
"Angel, what's going on? The last thing I remember is some demon knocking me out and chanting. How'd I get to L.A.?" Buffy asked.
The Crow stopped Angel before he could get any closer. Without a word, The Crow spun around, pulled out a knife and stabbed Buffy straight through the heart.
"Angel?" she whispered questioningly as she went down. He saw the light disappear from her eyes and knew she was dead. He'd seen death too many times not to recognize it.
Angel attacked The Crow thinking he'd been played the whole time. This time The Crow didn't fight with a smile. It was business.
The alley filled with the sounds of their battle. The Crow was making excellent use of his knife against Angel's axe but couldn't hold out forever against the axe's reach. Angel knew that one slip on The Crow's part and it was ended.
Angel finally managed to knock the knife out of The Crow's hands, but in his anger, over swung the axe and The Crow took advantage of that by vaulting over Angel's head and regaining his knife. Angel twisted around quickly and just blocked a stab and made swing of his own. The Crow now had his back to a large trash bin. Grabbing the edge, he flipped himself up to the fire escape right above it. Before Angel could follow he jumped back down, but over Angel's head, and landed facing Angel's back. Angel felt the point of the knife against his back and right behind his heart. He waited for the plunge and hoped he would be with Buffy.
Like the attack he waited for earlier, the knife plunge never came. The Crow knocked the axe from Angel's hands and spun him around to face Buffy's remains. Angel shut his eyes, he didn't want to see her dead…again. A tear escaped his eye and he realized he'd been crying through the whole fight.
"Look at it!" The Crow demanded and pressed the knife harder. Angel didn't though, hoping that it would just end quicker.
"I'm not going to kill you. I've touched you and know your soul inside and out. It's not Buffy, it never was. Look and see for yourself," The Crow urged.
Hesitantly, Angel looked. A deep breathe escaped him and he sagged in The Crow's arms, it really wasn't Buffy.
A moment later he composed himself and faced The Crow. The Crow was gone. Eric stood there now with a look of understanding on his face.
"I'm sorry. When I'm The Crow, my sense of compassion tends to…well, disappear. All I could think of was that the demon had to die. It rejected its chance to atone therefore it must die. The Crow is my 'beast' just like Angelus is yours," Eric explained.
"You know?"
"Like I said. I've touched you. I know your soul and all your memories. It doesn't happen with everyone, just those I really need to help."
"How are you supposed to help me then?" Angel asked.
"I think we were meant to help each other, like soldiers in a war" Eric said.
"Yes," Angel agreed.
The door burst open and men came swarming in wearing the letters FBI.
"Everyone, don't move! I'm looking for Agent Dana Scully…" the man didn't get much further.
"Mulder?" Dana asked from the couch.
"Scully, are you all right?" Mulder asked, his gun still aimed at Cordelia and Doyle.
"Yes, you can put that away. These two have been helping me remember. I guess I got amnesia after the accident but I still don't remember how I got to L.A." she explained.
Mulder ordered the others to back off and they left the room.
"Thank you…uh…" Mulder began.
"Mulder, this is Cordelia and Doyle. This is Agent Mulder, my partner," Scully made introductions.
"Thank you both. If you could stick around, I'd like to ask you a few questions," Mulder requested.
"Uh, Mulder, there's no questions to be asked on this one. I know the full story. They really have to get going," Scully urged Mulder to let them go.
"Are you sure?"
"Positive."
"Okay. Thank you again."
"Just doing our job," Cordelia said and quickly made her way out the door followed closely by Doyle.
"She's an FBI agent?" Angel asked, "That would explain why it looked like she reached for a gun when I startled her."
"Yeah. Her partner's a guy named Mulder. That name seems awfully familiar for some reason," Doyle commented.
"So, where's Eric?" Cordelia asked.
"He went back home. He said there were important people that were waiting for him back there," he explained.
"I remember!" Doyle exclaimed, "He's the FBI agent who sometimes goes sniffing into our type of cases. He's mostly into the whole 'Alien Conspiracy' thing though. As if we don't have enough problems down here as it is."
Cordelia nodded agreement enthusiastically but said, "So they work for the government? Great, we're never going to get paid for this one!"
Doyle and Angel looked at each other and laughed. She looked at them in a ridiculing way, which only made them laugh harder. Finally she stormed out of Angel's office, but not before stating, "We still need more coffee and coffee filters." Angel and Doyle's laughter could be heard all the way down the hall.
As The Crow Flies
Or
Where Angels Fear To Tread
So this is LA, Eric Draven thought to himself as he strolled along the city streets. It was just a few hours past minute and still people walked the street. The crowd had changed though, from the busy working upper class to the wandering lost lower class. Prostitutes and their pimps, drug dealers, gang members, all showed themselves more openly when night fell. You could say that the night really belonged to them. Eric wasn't in the least bit frightened though. What where they going to do to him? Kill him? He was already dead.
Purposely, Eric entered a dead-end alley and waited for the gang that he knew was following him. He didn't have to wait long. Three men, kids really, followed him in. Two had guns and the third that hung back had an evil looking knife. Eric was facing the end wall so they didn't see his smile. The change came over him and the smile turned wicked.
Suddenly, a figure from no where landed directly in front of him. Thinking the gang had somehow circled around him, he attacked. Lightening fast, the stranger caught his punch and held on to his fist.
"I'm not your enemy. I'm here to help," the stranger said.
"Don't worry about me, I can take care of myself," Eric replied and pulled his fist from the other's grip.
"Not against the whole gang you can't," the blond stranger insisted and tried to push him out of the way.
The stranger wore a look of surprise when Eric didn't move. Eric did too because of the strength the stranger had used and how close he had come to actually being pushed aside. They had no time to ask questions though because another three members of the gang showed up just then and all six attacked the both of them.
Draven had his opponents down just seconds before the stranger did. He admired the man's strength and agility. It wasn't human though, and Eric wondered if he'd run into another of his kind.
"What are you?" the stranger asked out of the blue when the gang was subdued.
"I could ask the same of you," Eric shot back.
The stranger was still for a moment then nodded, "Not here. If you're not too suspicious, we can talk at my place."
"Okay," Eric accepted the other's suggestion.
"When is Angel going to start charging for his services? This is the third time we've used this same filter and the coffee has about lost its flavour!" a female's voice rang out as the two approached the door.
"You're Angel then I presume?" Eric asked of the stranger.
"Yes. Now I'm at a disadvantage," he remarked.
"The Crow," Eric replied.
"That's not your real name," Angel stated.
"Neither is Angel yours," he smiled knowingly and his expression dared Angel to deny it.
"Don't keep a customer waiting Angel! Come in, come in. Have a seat. Some coffee?" the young woman chided Angel then invited Eric in the office in one fluid motion.
"No coffee thank you," Eric smiled. Maybe this Angel guy wasn't so bad after all, whatever he was.
"He's not a customer Cordelia. We have to talk, privately, so I'm going downstairs," Angel explained and made his way through a door to an old service elevator.
Eric followed quietly while looking around the place. What he assumed was Angel's private office contained many books on the supernatural, especially demons. What is this guy into? Eric thought.
"Can I get you anything to drink? I don't have much besides…uh…water," Angel asked lamely.
"That's okay. Who goes first?"
Going into business mode Angel said, "You."
"You're not going to believe me, actually you might after what I saw tonight, but I died about a year and a half ago on Hallowe'en night. It was supposed to be my wedding night. Three thugs broke into my apartment, raped my wife-to-be and threw me out the window. My apartment was 15 stories up. Exactly one year later, again on Hallowe'en night, I was brought back to life by a crow. As the legend goes, a crow can…"
"Bring back a soul that has been wronged to set things right," Angel interrupted and finished for him.
"How did you know?"
"I've met one of you before," he stated.
A glimmer of hope entered Eric's eyes and voice as he asked, "How do I end it? How can I go back to Shelly?"
"I don't know that, I'm sorry," Angel honestly was sorry he couldn't help and Eric saw that.
Eric's face fell but he nodded and smiled wistfully.
"I'm a vampire," Angel stated bluntly.
Eric cocked his head to one side, like a bird might to see something better, then nodded again.
"You don't look surprised, why?"
"After what I've been through, not much surprises me anymore. You're different though aren't you? I feel like we're kindred spirits."
"Talk about it! Look how both you guys dress. Do all haunted souls who are trying to set things right get their outfits from the same store?" a badly dressed man commented as he entered the room. Eric was instantly on guard but Angel's relaxed attitude made him hold back.
"Doyle this is…" Angel prompted, trying to get 'The Crow's' real name.
"Eric."
"…Eric, Eric this is my assistant Doyle," Angel continued.
"Nice to meet you Eric. Got a last name?" Doyle asked.
"Does he?" Eric asked right back, thumbing towards Angel. Doyle got the message.
"Uh, boss, you got a customer upstairs who seems mighty anxious," Doyle revealed his reason for coming downstairs.
"I'll be right back. Make yourself at home," Angel said then headed up the stairs.
"So what's your story?" Doyle prodded.
"None of your business is what it is," Draven replied shortly and moved across the room from Doyle, who got the hint and decided to follow Angel.
"What's wrong?" Angel asked bluntly, his mind on other things.
"Boy, you don't beat around the bush do you?" the woman asked.
"Wastes time."
"Okay. I've got this guy who follows me around all the time. He pops out of no where, almost literally, and he seems too strong to be human. I think he's stalking me or going to kill me. I just get really scared whenever I notice he's around," she explained.
"What does he look like?"
"He's fairly tall, long black wavy hair, oriental I think, and dresses all in black every time I see him. Oh, and I always see a crow nearby watching me as well," she described.
At the mention of the crow, Angel looked straight up at the woman and asked, "Are you sure you saw a crow?"
"I'm pretty sure. It was a large black bird and it scares me to death. Please, can you do anything about it?" she pleaded.
"I'll see what I can do. I'll send Cordelia home with you so you won't be alone if that's alright with you?" he suggested.
She just nodded her head, barely holding back the tears. This 'man' must really be frightening her but he trusted Cordelia could take care of herself in most situations. He walked her to the door and told Cordelia the plan then watched them leave. Angel didn't want to face Eric downstairs but all the evidence led right to him. Turning to Doyle, he saw the what-have-you-gotten-us-into-now look. He ignored it and went downstairs.
"Eric?" he called into the empty room. Instantly he listened for a heartbeat and found one so faint he almost missed it. Eric emerged from the bathroom wrapped in Angel's bathrobe.
"I hope you don't mind. You did say make yourself at home didn't you?" Eric grinned at them.
"Yeah, well that was before we found out you were a stalker," Doyle burst out.
"We don't know that for sure, Doyle," Angel amended.
"She was here?" Eric asked, shocked.
"You see! He even admits it," Doyle defended himself.
"Hold on. Before we go jumping to conclusions, let's here Eric's side of the story," Angel interrupted before things got ugly.
"Thank you. Let me just get dressed first," Eric said and disappeared into the bathroom again.
Doyle saw his boss's warning look and kept his mouth shut.
"So you're saying that you're actually tracking this woman's real stalker but that you're letting yourself be seen to warn her because he's really good?" Doyle tried to make sense of the whole thing.
"Yes, that's about it," Draven grinned at them again.
"So who is stalking her? Or what?" Angel asked.
"I'm not sure, but whatever it is it's strong, quick, agile, and very smart."
"Any other traits that might distinguish it from the thousands of demons you've just described," Doyle prompted, a little rudely.
"Yes, it can become invisible."
"Oh, that's much better. That brings it down to just a few hundred," Doyle thanked him sarcastically.
"Stop it Doyle, Eric knows less about what's out there then you, much less, but it's not his fault. Remember, just a year and a half ago he was a normal human being then he lost everything," Angel rebuked Doyle.
"Right. Sorry, man," he apologized.
"No worries," Eric replied and smiled, though a little sadly. Doyle flinched inwardly.
"Eric, do you have a description maybe?" Angel questioned. He nodded.
"Give it to Doyle and then you and me are going hunting," Angel instructed.
"He's nearby," Eric spoke up suddenly as they traversed the roofs of one of the bad sections of the city.
"How can you tell?" Angel wondered aloud.
"I can sense him and I can sense her fear. Sometimes it gets like this when I'm trying to help someone. I get so attuned to them that I can tell where they are and what they're feeling," he explained.
"Let's go, but you better stay back since she thinks it's you," a crow flew overhead, "And try to keep that bird out of sight."
"Angel!" Cordelia almost shrieked.
"What happened?"
"He came for her. Instead of just stalking her he actually tried to get to her. I know who it was," she explained.
"Who?"
Making sure the woman couldn't hear her, she answered, "The guy you brought in today."
"He's been with me all night."
"Then where is he now?"
"I told him to stay back while I checked things out."
"Well, he attacked just moments before you arrived. How long ago did you leave him? Long enough for him to get here ahead of you?" she interrogated him.
Angel withdrew into himself to think this over and left Cordelia to take care of things. There was a crow he had to catch and he wanted a few answers from it fast. He genuinely wanted to believe in Eric but it didn't look good. What made it worse was that Eric wasn't where he had left him.
While searching the roof where Eric had been, his cell phone went off but when he answered all he got was static. Angel couldn't understand why Doyle and Cordelia insisted he carry the thing when it never worked when he needed it. Either the battery was dead or all he got was static. He was tempted to throw it away but cringed at what Cordelia might do to him for that.
Finding nothing, Angel searched the 'Thief's Highway' (the rooftops) in concentric circles expanding out from where he started. It didn't take long before he picked up Eric's peculiar scent. It was close to where Cordelia and his client had been hiding. When he narrowed it down though, all he found was an ash-like substance in a pile that suspiciously looked like a puddle of blood. He followed a trail of ash 'droplets' to a fire escape leading down to the streets then lost the trail. It vanished completely.
"Looking for me?" Eric's voice called from the end of the dead end alley the fire escape led to.
"Eric?" Angel called back. He didn't get a reply so descended the ladder into the alley.
Cautiously, Angel approached where the sound had come from. He didn't see anything in the alley though. There were just a few garbage bins and cardboard boxes, the usual detritus found in alleys. He turned his back on the alley to go back up the ladder and that's when Eric attacked him.
Angel was instantly knocked to the ground but managed to bring Eric down with him. Quickly rolling away, Angel went on the defensive as Eric sprang up just as quickly. It didn't take long for Angel to realize that he might just not be able to win this fight. Eric was moving faster than when he last saw him fight and his strength was also increased. Angel figured he was holding back before so Angel would underestimate him.
Glancing around for a weapon, Angel barely dodged a kick and had to give up ground. If someone had been watching the fight it would have looked like a martial arts exhibition. It was a spectacular display of skill and agility. It was also very clear that Eric was the better of the two. Angel needed a weapon and fast.
Just then Eric managed to get a firm grip on Angel and threw him into one of the garbage bins. Angel landed heavily and heard glass smash beneath him. Reaching below him, he was able to grab a broken bottle. It wasn't much of a weapon but it was better than nothing.
A few moments went by then he burst out of the bin hoping to catch Eric by surprise. He did, but barely. Instead of burying the bottle in Eric's heart, he just managed a very deep gash along his ribs. Eric went down and Angel, knowing that if he were going to finish this he'd need better equipment, opted to retreat. He hated leaving an enemy alive after a fight but this one was stronger than he'd first thought, and much more cunning. As he entered the sewers, Angel hoped to get to Doyle before this 'crow' did.
"Doyle?" Angel called before he emerged from the sewer access. There was no answer.
It didn't look like there had been a struggle but that was hard to tell in the aftermath of what looked like a frenzied search through Angel's extensive book collection. One book caught his eye. It sat open in plain view of the sewer access and had a large note attached to it. He quickly read the note then the few pages in the book it indicated. It explained a lot.
Grabbing a few impressive weapons from his arsenal, he headed back out the sewer access. Again he hoped that he met up with Doyle before his enemy did.
"Cordelia?" Doyle called into the empty room. Where were they? he thought as he did a quick visual check of the place. The signs of a struggle worried him.
"No bodies. At least I've that going for me," he muttered under his breath as he left. A pair of eyes high in the sky followed, unbeknownst to him.
"We should be safe here," Cordelia assured the victim in all of this as they entered Angel's 'basement suite'.
"'Should' be safe? That's not exactly all that reassuring," she commented.
"I'm sorry, but with demons you never know what safe really is. Besides, Angel's out there looking for him and he always finds his man, or demon, as the case may be. Don't worry. By the way, what's your name?" Cordelia asked.
"Dana, I think. I don't really remember that much before this 'thing' started stalking me," she replied.
"That's okay. I'd be glad to forget a lot of my past, especially the part where my dad lost all our money," Cordelia commented.
Dana raised an eyebrow at this but kept silent. She looked around at Angel's interesting décor (many medieval weapons hanging on the walls and shelves upon shelves of very old looking books set off nicely by a very expensive looking leather couch). Noticing Cordelia going to the kitchen, she followed.
"Okay, I can offer you…" Cordelia opened the fridge then quickly shut it before Dana could see the many blood packets inside, "Water, water or water," she finished lamely.
"I think water would be just fine. Is there anything to eat?" Dana asked.
"I think we might have some donuts upstairs. Make yourself comfortable and I'll go check."
While Cordelia was upstairs, Dana instinctually began snooping around the place. She started at the bookshelves and was amazed to see them all about demons and other types of 'mythical' monsters and beings. Something nagged at her in the back of her mind but nothing immediately came forward so she didn't worry about it. Eventually she found the open book Doyle had left for Angel. She read the note and the indicated pages and realized they were about her problem. Dana began to wonder what kind of people she had gotten herself mixed up with.
After about an hour or so of tracking, Angel knew where the demon was heading - to his place. He hoped that Cordelia hadn't hid out there but he had a sinking suspicion that's exactly where she'd gone. He put on an extra boost of speed and, now that he knew where he was going, flew across the rooftops.
Meanwhile, Doyle was on his way back to the office hoping that the gang would meet up there or at least leave some sort of note as to where the heck everyone had gone. He hoped that Angel had stopped by and had read the note. He also hoped that Angel and Eric hadn't had a confrontation, a big mistake could've been made. It was a lot of hopes but that's all he could go on right now.
Angel came up through the sewer access again, on full alert. He silently watched as the woman he was protecting read through the pages of the book Doyle had left. A slight creak gave him away and the woman turned and reached for a gun that wasn't there from a holster that wasn't on her. When she finished her turn and no gun was in her hand and it was only he, she looked very confused.
"I…I'm sorry, I guess it was just instinct," she stammered an apology.
"Instinct?" he asked.
"Like I told Cordelia, I don't really remember anything before this thing started stalking me. Just my name, Dana, and that's even a little iffy," she explained.
"I wish I could forget some of my past, actually most of it," Angel commented as he headed to the elevator, he'd heard Cordelia moving around up there.
"What is it with you guys and your pasts? And what exactly are you?" she asked.
Angel stopped before the elevator and turned to face her, "Everyone has parts of their pasts that they regret, some more than others. As for what we are? We're people who care and realize there are more things out there than most people can imagine."
Dana watched him go up, dimly reminded of another man. Who she couldn't say but she believed she respected him a great deal.
"Cordelia!" both Doyle, from the front door, and Angel, from his office, called at the same time.
Cordelia took her head out of the mini fridge just in time to see them enter from both front and back doors and something come crashing through the window. She quickly scurried to an out of the way section of the front room while Doyle blocked the door between it and Angel's office. Unable to resist though, she peeked through the glass to see just exactly what had come through the window. She also heard Dana come racing up the front stairs and waved her over before she ran into the already over-occupied room.
"Eric?" Angel asked.
"Of course. Who else would I be?"
"Angel, careful! The demon's power isn't invisibility…" Doyle started.
"I know Doyle, I got your message. The demon is a shapeshifter. That explains a few things," Angel interrupted.
"So how do we know this is the real Eric Draven?" Doyle asked Angel while looking at Eric.
"The demon can't shapeshift into two forms at once so the real Eric Draven will have a crow," he explained.
"Right. Okay mate, call in that bird of yours and we won't kill you on the spot," Doyle threatened.
"You mean my bird?" another voice asked from the open window.
That Eric Draven jumped down from the sill into the office. Cordelia quickly scooted Dana and herself as far away as possible from glass wall separating the two rooms while Angel tried to place himself within striking distance of them both. Doyle, taking Angel's lead, made sure he could grab the Eric closest to him in a hurry.
"I say we take both of them out and wait 'til that damn bird gets here and let it sort out who's who," Doyle suggested with mock bravo.
Angel conveniently ignored Doyle and watched carefully as the two Erics faced each other.
"Pretty good imitation but not quite good looking enough," one of them remarked.
They continued to circle each other. Angel could tell Doyle was getting antsy, he was himself. A quick glance showed that Cordelia was slowly making her way out of the office with Dana. He knew he could count on her in a pinch. As soon as those two were gone he'd settle this his way, which was amazingly like Doyle's suggestion. Unfortunately, the two 'Eric's took it out of his hands.
They had been circling while Angel had glanced away and he couldn't tell which one started it but suddenly they were both fighting each other. Feeling useless, he looked to Doyle on the other side of the room but he looked just as lost. Then one of the 'Eric's went out the window and was followed by the other just as quickly. Angel leapt out the window after the both of them trusting that Doyle would take care of the girls.
Even with his vampiric eyes, Angel couldn't find them. He did see the crow though. It circled him, flew off, came back and circled him then flew off in the same direction. It landed on a fire escape and cawed at him. Angel could almost swear he heard the crow say, 'What are you waiting for, this way!' so he followed the bird. It led him to the docks.
Once he got there it wasn't hard to find what he was after. They were fighting on the end of a pier and making quite a racket. The crow circled the two then came back to Angel but made to move to distinguish between the two.
"You're a lot of help," Angel remarked and received a squawk in reply.
He quietly made his way down to the pier. He had the beginnings of a plan but nothing solid. Somehow he had to get them separated enough for the crow to point the real one out. The only thing he could think of at the moment was knock one into the water and hope it's the demon.
Not wasting any time, he charged the two knocked one off the pier. The crow leapt from its resting place and instantly skimmed the water where Eric had fallen in. Angel looked to the other one and saw its real features starting to emerge when it realized it had been discovered. It took off and Angel started to follow.
"Could I get a hand here?" Eric's voice stopped him.
Angel helped him up and apologized, "Sorry, all I could think of on short notice."
"No worries," Eric answered.
They set off over the rooftops again.
"Scully!" Dana suddenly said.
They had holed up in one of Doyle's hideouts after Angel had left and Cordelia was trying to hypnotize Dana to recover her lost memories. Doyle paced anxiously between the door and the phone and started when Dana finally responded to Cordelia's administrations.
"Cool! Did you hear that Doyle, I actually hypnotized her into remembering her last name," Cordelia exclaimed.
"Sorry to disappoint you, but I remembered it on my own. I didn't want to hurt your feelings because you seemed so eager to help, but I don't believe in hypnotism," Dana 'Scully' deflated Cordelia's excitement.
"Oh, well, do you remember anything else?"
"This is going to sound corny, but a bright light then nothing," she explained.
"I'm from Sunnydale, the town with it's own Hellmouth. A little corniness I can handle," Cordelia replied.
"What's a Hellmouth?" Dana asked.
"Basically just a doorway to hell that lots of bad demons want to open. Some want to suck everything in and others want everything in it to come out. Take your pick, I've dealt with both."
"Hence the name Hellmouth, emphasis on the mouth," Doyle added.
"You believe this?" Dana asked skeptically.
"Lady, when you've seen what we've seen, you'd believe that the sun revolved around the earth and that it was flat too."
"But there's got to be some sort of scientific explanation for it. Ghosts and goblins and demons do not exist…" she paused for a moment, "It feels like I've said this same speech to a work partner over and over again."
Cordelia and Doyle looked at each other with perplexed expressions and wondered what kind of 'work' this 'Dana Scully' was in.
Angel landed and rolled to his right expecting instant attack. It didn't come. He stood up slowly and surveyed the alley. It was full night and no moon but his vampire eyes could see just fine in the dark. He made his way down the alley to the dead end and found nothing so backtracked to the fire escape he'd come down. A slight sound alerted him to Eric's descent and he stepped out of the way. Eric landed in a crouch and looked up at him. The crow flew silently overhead and Eric's eyes followed it. Then with a nod to Angel they were off. The crow had spotted the demon and was following it.
They managed to herd the demon into a dead end alley. Angel dropped down in front of it and Eric took up position near the exit.
"Why were you after the woman?" Angel asked.
"Money," he replied simply.
"She's rich?"
"No. I was paid a lot of money to make sure she disappeared. I almost had her in the car accident but she got away. I've been tracking her."
"Who sent you?"
"I don't know."
Angel took an axe from his long coat and asked, "Will this change your mind?"
"It would if I actually knew. I was told by a man a day before he died. It was a very painful case of smallpox."
Silence descended and Angel readied for an attack. It never came. Instead, Eric came up from behind the demon and clasped its head in his hands. Instantly the demon went into convulsions but Eric kept his grip firm.
"What are you doing?" Angel demanded to know.
"I'm giving him a taste of the fright he's given others. Actually, it's a full meal," Eric remarked, although he was no longer Eric but 'The Crow'.
Finally The Crow released the demon, stood up, and looked down on it with a tilted head. Angel saw the fury in his eyes and wondered how far he could go. He got his answer quickly.
"That's…that's all you can…can do?" it asked from its position still curled on the ground. What Angel had taken for sobbing was actually laughter.
The Crow's eyes blazed as he picked the demon up by the front of his shirt and threw him against the alley wall.
"No, that's not all I can do. I can also send you to hell," The Crow said and Angel believed it.
"I can handle it from here. There are others who need your help. This one can't be reformed," he said to Angel and turned in the demons direction. Before he finished the turn though, Angel grabbed him by the shoulder trying to stop him. They exchanged glances then The Crow shrugged off Angel's hand and completed his turn.
Angel knew when to stand back, this was Eric's way of putting things right, but when he heard a familiar voice come from the alley he couldn't leave.
"Angel, what's going on? The last thing I remember is some demon knocking me out and chanting. How'd I get to L.A.?" Buffy asked.
The Crow stopped Angel before he could get any closer. Without a word, The Crow spun around, pulled out a knife and stabbed Buffy straight through the heart.
"Angel?" she whispered questioningly as she went down. He saw the light disappear from her eyes and knew she was dead. He'd seen death too many times not to recognize it.
Angel attacked The Crow thinking he'd been played the whole time. This time The Crow didn't fight with a smile. It was business.
The alley filled with the sounds of their battle. The Crow was making excellent use of his knife against Angel's axe but couldn't hold out forever against the axe's reach. Angel knew that one slip on The Crow's part and it was ended.
Angel finally managed to knock the knife out of The Crow's hands, but in his anger, over swung the axe and The Crow took advantage of that by vaulting over Angel's head and regaining his knife. Angel twisted around quickly and just blocked a stab and made swing of his own. The Crow now had his back to a large trash bin. Grabbing the edge, he flipped himself up to the fire escape right above it. Before Angel could follow he jumped back down, but over Angel's head, and landed facing Angel's back. Angel felt the point of the knife against his back and right behind his heart. He waited for the plunge and hoped he would be with Buffy.
Like the attack he waited for earlier, the knife plunge never came. The Crow knocked the axe from Angel's hands and spun him around to face Buffy's remains. Angel shut his eyes, he didn't want to see her dead…again. A tear escaped his eye and he realized he'd been crying through the whole fight.
"Look at it!" The Crow demanded and pressed the knife harder. Angel didn't though, hoping that it would just end quicker.
"I'm not going to kill you. I've touched you and know your soul inside and out. It's not Buffy, it never was. Look and see for yourself," The Crow urged.
Hesitantly, Angel looked. A deep breathe escaped him and he sagged in The Crow's arms, it really wasn't Buffy.
A moment later he composed himself and faced The Crow. The Crow was gone. Eric stood there now with a look of understanding on his face.
"I'm sorry. When I'm The Crow, my sense of compassion tends to…well, disappear. All I could think of was that the demon had to die. It rejected its chance to atone therefore it must die. The Crow is my 'beast' just like Angelus is yours," Eric explained.
"You know?"
"Like I said. I've touched you. I know your soul and all your memories. It doesn't happen with everyone, just those I really need to help."
"How are you supposed to help me then?" Angel asked.
"I think we were meant to help each other, like soldiers in a war" Eric said.
"Yes," Angel agreed.
The door burst open and men came swarming in wearing the letters FBI.
"Everyone, don't move! I'm looking for Agent Dana Scully…" the man didn't get much further.
"Mulder?" Dana asked from the couch.
"Scully, are you all right?" Mulder asked, his gun still aimed at Cordelia and Doyle.
"Yes, you can put that away. These two have been helping me remember. I guess I got amnesia after the accident but I still don't remember how I got to L.A." she explained.
Mulder ordered the others to back off and they left the room.
"Thank you…uh…" Mulder began.
"Mulder, this is Cordelia and Doyle. This is Agent Mulder, my partner," Scully made introductions.
"Thank you both. If you could stick around, I'd like to ask you a few questions," Mulder requested.
"Uh, Mulder, there's no questions to be asked on this one. I know the full story. They really have to get going," Scully urged Mulder to let them go.
"Are you sure?"
"Positive."
"Okay. Thank you again."
"Just doing our job," Cordelia said and quickly made her way out the door followed closely by Doyle.
"She's an FBI agent?" Angel asked, "That would explain why it looked like she reached for a gun when I startled her."
"Yeah. Her partner's a guy named Mulder. That name seems awfully familiar for some reason," Doyle commented.
"So, where's Eric?" Cordelia asked.
"He went back home. He said there were important people that were waiting for him back there," he explained.
"I remember!" Doyle exclaimed, "He's the FBI agent who sometimes goes sniffing into our type of cases. He's mostly into the whole 'Alien Conspiracy' thing though. As if we don't have enough problems down here as it is."
Cordelia nodded agreement enthusiastically but said, "So they work for the government? Great, we're never going to get paid for this one!"
Doyle and Angel looked at each other and laughed. She looked at them in a ridiculing way, which only made them laugh harder. Finally she stormed out of Angel's office, but not before stating, "We still need more coffee and coffee filters." Angel and Doyle's laughter could be heard all the way down the hall.