A/N1: Thanks for the positive reviews. Please keep them coming. It's the
only way I will know if readers find the story at all interesting. Will it
be B/A? Well, the story is drama and romance with a dash of angst. I'll
give you a hint. Spike won't be in it until the end and I never bought the
B/S or C/A relationships. If you believe Willow, Anya or Fred should be
with Angel then you are reading the wrong story.
A/N2:(** denotes thoughts; ~~~~ denotes flashback.)
Detailed Summary: AU. Angel never ended up in hell when Buffy stabbed him to close Acathla. He's in a world where no vampires or demons exist but have been entering through gaps in between dimesions. It features characters from BTVS and ATS, same but different. To fix this world, Angel & this dimension's Buffy, must find a way to close the gaps and send the all of the tresspassers back to their original dimension. But, of course, someone doesn't want that.
---------------------------
As dawn approached, Angel slowly walked into headquarters. Through Doyle's underground connections, they were able to purchase the Hyperion Hotel at a significant discount. Since it was haunted, it had been on the market for some time. A Thesulac demon was feeding of the paranoia of a woman who had been trapped there for years. Doyle was able to procure an Orb of Ramjarin that made the demon apparent to them all. Angel destroyed the demon by attaching one of the demon's tentacles to an electrical box.
Angel took a long glance around the massive lobby. His associates were nowhere to be found. None of them kept the hours he did, they were human of course. The peace and quiet forced him to reflect on all that had happened in the past two years.
After Doyle rescued him, he spent his first whole year in this reality in a stupor. They accepted cases and solved them. He did just enough to help out, no more, no less. On a few occasions, especially against the Calu demon, he just gave up; hoping he would get killed and finally find some peace as the people he killed in the past year continued to torment him. Let's just say that the mission the Powers That Be (PTB) had in mind held no appeal to him. Finally, Doyle had enough.
~~~~.
"Angel, time to go. We have a new case."
As he put on his trademark leather duster, "Who's the client?"
"I had another vision and it involves an associate, sometimes a friend, of mine." Doyle grimaced. "He's in a very dangerous place and if he doesn't get help soon, he's not going to make it."
"All right." ** Why did I even ask? It's not like I care. ** "Let's go."
After a short drive along the crowded streets of Los Angeles, they arrived at an ancient abandoned post office off the beaten path. Even with a full moon, the building was in a perpetual shadow. There were no streetlights, cars or people in the vicinity. Angel's felt something old and powerful yet not dangerous.
They slowly walked into the unlocked building and descended to the basement. Up a short staircase they went and entered a room with an ancient fountain. A cherub statue in the middle dribbled water into it. No one had been here for quite some time.
"Go ahead." Doyle handed Angel an ancient Greek vase. "They're waiting for you." Without question, Angel approached the fountain holding the vase in front of him. Suddenly, the cherub's eyes opened and a blinding white light enveloped him.
Once the blinding light receded, a vista of whiteness overwhelmed him. His clothes, shoes and jacket were all white. But the vase was unchanged. Two beings suddenly appeared in front of him: one male, one female. They wore a white toga with skin the color of a gold-bronze mix.
The vase floated out of his hands and landed on a small table near the female. "A lovely gift. Thank you."
"Third century B.C. I believe it is from Macedonia while Alexander the Great ruled."
"You have lost your way." The male interjected. His black eyes focused on Angel. "You want to ask for something." The female followed. "Your soul cries out." The male finished the line of inquiry. "Speak."
"I want to go back. There is nobody I know here. I know that I'm needed back home." He fell to his knees. "That Sunnydale needs me. That Buffy needs me. It is the only way that I can atone for all the wrongs I committed last year as Angelus."
"The scales must remain balanced. You can not return home." The female paused and appraised Angel. "Assistance will be given."
The room was fading. Angel shouted. "SOMEDAY! Will I return home someday!" He was then standing by the fountain. Before the cherub closed it's eyes, he saw the head nod imperceptibly. It gave him hope.
"Doyle! Where are you?" As he left the room, he reached in his pocket to grab the car keys needed to drive home. They were missing but there was a note in Doyle's handwriting.
"Angel, I had another vision from the PTB while you were immobilized. Sorry about leaving you stranded but I didn't know how long you were going to be. If I'm not at the hotel when you awaken, I'll be at the usual pub with a pint in my hand. Doyle."
An hour later, he arrived back at the hotel. He would have arrived sooner but a couple of vampires were along his route trying to get a quick meal. His anger made quick work of them. **PTB!! For someone reportedly having tremendous power, they surely don't use it. ** "Doyle! Are you here?"
"Hello salty goodness!" After recovering, a stunning brunette in high heels wearing a business suit remembered her line. "Excuse me. Angel Investigations!" Her smile brightened. "We help the helpless. Can I help you?"
"CORDELIA?!"
~~~~.
He still couldn't believe how the arrival of Cordelia as their Administrative Assistant profoundly affected him. Back home, he rarely ever interacted with her. All she did was be jealous of Buffy and flaunt how popular and rich she was. Here, she became his friend and his confidant. She still had virtually no tact whatsoever but he found that endearing. She was a true friend and remained so after discovering that Angel wasn't exactly human.
A week after Cordelia started working; Doyle had a vision about a former bookstore owner with a detailed library of exotic books about all kinds of weird creatures that shouldn't exist. Unfortunately, a Xanthos demon intended to plant his eggs in his victim's head. Angel and Doyle saved the day and convinced the bookstore owner to join their cause. His name: Wesley Wyndham Price.
Angel headed up the stairs to his room for a well-deserved rest.
The next afternoon, after Angel procured some pigs blood, he entered the lobby and witnessed a heated discussion between Wesley and Cordelia. He smiled to himself since it was so noticeable that they were attracted to one another. Since he didn't want to interfere in their mating dance, he entered his office without attracting any attention.
He closed his eyes and tried to savor his mug of blood. Half an hour later, his intercom buzzed. "Could you join us in the conference room? We have a new client and you're expertise is needed?"
"Sure Doyle. I'll be there in a sec."
The walk to the conference room took him past the library where he was able to get a sketchpad. He found that if Doyle didn't have a vision, his drawing abilities were very useful. The conference room was a long rectangular room with no windows but had an artificial skylight. A glass conference table dominated the center of the room. Angel entered through the south entrance so he could meet the customers as soon as possible. The members of Angel Investigations were at the far end facing him while a man and two women were seated facing away. The man was dressed in an Italian designer suit with impeccably groomed hair. The two women, one redhead and the other with light brown hair with blond highlights, were dressed different from one another. The redhead was in a business suit (not designer) and the other was dressed in a designer sleeveless shirt with a short skirt. Her left arm was bandaged up to her elbow.
"Angel. Thanks for coming. Let me introduce you to our new clients." While Doyle was speaking, the three of them rose from their seat and turned to face him.
** Oh my God! ** He was completely shocked but managed to whisper. "Buffy?"
A/N2:(** denotes thoughts; ~~~~ denotes flashback.)
Detailed Summary: AU. Angel never ended up in hell when Buffy stabbed him to close Acathla. He's in a world where no vampires or demons exist but have been entering through gaps in between dimesions. It features characters from BTVS and ATS, same but different. To fix this world, Angel & this dimension's Buffy, must find a way to close the gaps and send the all of the tresspassers back to their original dimension. But, of course, someone doesn't want that.
---------------------------
As dawn approached, Angel slowly walked into headquarters. Through Doyle's underground connections, they were able to purchase the Hyperion Hotel at a significant discount. Since it was haunted, it had been on the market for some time. A Thesulac demon was feeding of the paranoia of a woman who had been trapped there for years. Doyle was able to procure an Orb of Ramjarin that made the demon apparent to them all. Angel destroyed the demon by attaching one of the demon's tentacles to an electrical box.
Angel took a long glance around the massive lobby. His associates were nowhere to be found. None of them kept the hours he did, they were human of course. The peace and quiet forced him to reflect on all that had happened in the past two years.
After Doyle rescued him, he spent his first whole year in this reality in a stupor. They accepted cases and solved them. He did just enough to help out, no more, no less. On a few occasions, especially against the Calu demon, he just gave up; hoping he would get killed and finally find some peace as the people he killed in the past year continued to torment him. Let's just say that the mission the Powers That Be (PTB) had in mind held no appeal to him. Finally, Doyle had enough.
~~~~.
"Angel, time to go. We have a new case."
As he put on his trademark leather duster, "Who's the client?"
"I had another vision and it involves an associate, sometimes a friend, of mine." Doyle grimaced. "He's in a very dangerous place and if he doesn't get help soon, he's not going to make it."
"All right." ** Why did I even ask? It's not like I care. ** "Let's go."
After a short drive along the crowded streets of Los Angeles, they arrived at an ancient abandoned post office off the beaten path. Even with a full moon, the building was in a perpetual shadow. There were no streetlights, cars or people in the vicinity. Angel's felt something old and powerful yet not dangerous.
They slowly walked into the unlocked building and descended to the basement. Up a short staircase they went and entered a room with an ancient fountain. A cherub statue in the middle dribbled water into it. No one had been here for quite some time.
"Go ahead." Doyle handed Angel an ancient Greek vase. "They're waiting for you." Without question, Angel approached the fountain holding the vase in front of him. Suddenly, the cherub's eyes opened and a blinding white light enveloped him.
Once the blinding light receded, a vista of whiteness overwhelmed him. His clothes, shoes and jacket were all white. But the vase was unchanged. Two beings suddenly appeared in front of him: one male, one female. They wore a white toga with skin the color of a gold-bronze mix.
The vase floated out of his hands and landed on a small table near the female. "A lovely gift. Thank you."
"Third century B.C. I believe it is from Macedonia while Alexander the Great ruled."
"You have lost your way." The male interjected. His black eyes focused on Angel. "You want to ask for something." The female followed. "Your soul cries out." The male finished the line of inquiry. "Speak."
"I want to go back. There is nobody I know here. I know that I'm needed back home." He fell to his knees. "That Sunnydale needs me. That Buffy needs me. It is the only way that I can atone for all the wrongs I committed last year as Angelus."
"The scales must remain balanced. You can not return home." The female paused and appraised Angel. "Assistance will be given."
The room was fading. Angel shouted. "SOMEDAY! Will I return home someday!" He was then standing by the fountain. Before the cherub closed it's eyes, he saw the head nod imperceptibly. It gave him hope.
"Doyle! Where are you?" As he left the room, he reached in his pocket to grab the car keys needed to drive home. They were missing but there was a note in Doyle's handwriting.
"Angel, I had another vision from the PTB while you were immobilized. Sorry about leaving you stranded but I didn't know how long you were going to be. If I'm not at the hotel when you awaken, I'll be at the usual pub with a pint in my hand. Doyle."
An hour later, he arrived back at the hotel. He would have arrived sooner but a couple of vampires were along his route trying to get a quick meal. His anger made quick work of them. **PTB!! For someone reportedly having tremendous power, they surely don't use it. ** "Doyle! Are you here?"
"Hello salty goodness!" After recovering, a stunning brunette in high heels wearing a business suit remembered her line. "Excuse me. Angel Investigations!" Her smile brightened. "We help the helpless. Can I help you?"
"CORDELIA?!"
~~~~.
He still couldn't believe how the arrival of Cordelia as their Administrative Assistant profoundly affected him. Back home, he rarely ever interacted with her. All she did was be jealous of Buffy and flaunt how popular and rich she was. Here, she became his friend and his confidant. She still had virtually no tact whatsoever but he found that endearing. She was a true friend and remained so after discovering that Angel wasn't exactly human.
A week after Cordelia started working; Doyle had a vision about a former bookstore owner with a detailed library of exotic books about all kinds of weird creatures that shouldn't exist. Unfortunately, a Xanthos demon intended to plant his eggs in his victim's head. Angel and Doyle saved the day and convinced the bookstore owner to join their cause. His name: Wesley Wyndham Price.
Angel headed up the stairs to his room for a well-deserved rest.
The next afternoon, after Angel procured some pigs blood, he entered the lobby and witnessed a heated discussion between Wesley and Cordelia. He smiled to himself since it was so noticeable that they were attracted to one another. Since he didn't want to interfere in their mating dance, he entered his office without attracting any attention.
He closed his eyes and tried to savor his mug of blood. Half an hour later, his intercom buzzed. "Could you join us in the conference room? We have a new client and you're expertise is needed?"
"Sure Doyle. I'll be there in a sec."
The walk to the conference room took him past the library where he was able to get a sketchpad. He found that if Doyle didn't have a vision, his drawing abilities were very useful. The conference room was a long rectangular room with no windows but had an artificial skylight. A glass conference table dominated the center of the room. Angel entered through the south entrance so he could meet the customers as soon as possible. The members of Angel Investigations were at the far end facing him while a man and two women were seated facing away. The man was dressed in an Italian designer suit with impeccably groomed hair. The two women, one redhead and the other with light brown hair with blond highlights, were dressed different from one another. The redhead was in a business suit (not designer) and the other was dressed in a designer sleeveless shirt with a short skirt. Her left arm was bandaged up to her elbow.
"Angel. Thanks for coming. Let me introduce you to our new clients." While Doyle was speaking, the three of them rose from their seat and turned to face him.
** Oh my God! ** He was completely shocked but managed to whisper. "Buffy?"