Giles, Xander, Kennedy and the others had already left for LAX, their seven
o'clock flight to Heathrow arriving on time. It had been a terse farewell,
with Willow bursting into tears as she said goodbye to three of her best
friends before they headed out in Giles' beat up car. Kennedy also was in
tears as well, she tightly embraced the redhead before she headed off with
the two men. Willow then ran from Kennedy to Giles and gave the former
watcher a tight squeeze. He held her briefly before she turned over to
Xander, their eyes meeting and speaking in place of their mouths. Xander
icily greeted her hug, standing stoic against her but he eventually
loosened up and returned her hold.
"I'm sorry Xander," Willow looked into Xander's face.
"Don't be," Xander replied. "Being a watcher sounds fun, at least it will beat construction work any day. After I all, I get to be paid to save the world instead of it being a hobby. What can I say, it's my dream job!" He smiled, the first time he had smiled in a long time.
"You made a funny one? I was wondering what happened to the old Xander?" Willow returned the smile, chuckling at Xander's joke.
"Don't worry, there might be an iota of him still left in here," Xander kissed her on the cheek before breaking the embrace and walking away.
Willow stood there, watching the others as they walked away towards the car outside the Hyperion. Faith and Oz were loading up their luggage into Gile's car, cramming the massive suitcases into the miniscule trunk. Luckily, they somehow managed to accomplish this feat by the time the others arrived.
"Good work," Giles smiled at Faith.
"No problemo," Faith smiled back, crossing her arms as Giles walked over to the driver's seat.
"Well, I guess this is goodbye," Giles stuttered as Kennedy and Xander walked right past Faith, snubbing her and entering in the car without so much as exchanging a glance at her or Oz.
"Guess so," Faith shrugged, "At least not until another great evil's going to rise.which I don't think is going to be very long."
Giles smiled, "I'll keep that in mind.Faith, if anything of that sort happens, feel free to call me at my London residence. I shall continue to inform you of any updates with reestablishing the Watcher's council, a task which I'm sure will be rather difficult. But, I'm fairly confident that you, Willow and Oz can handle anything that comes your way."
"We'll manage," Oz answered Giles, "I doubt we'll encounter any challenges in Cleveland especially after Sunnydale." "Well, if you do, call me," Giles replied as he opened the driver's door and sat down. He rolled down the window to wave at everyone before he started the car and drove off. The rugged, beat up Citroen surged to life and sped off into the sunset.
Willow joined Faith and Oz outside and they collectively stared at the orange horizon that slowed darkened as the sun slowly fell. They remained silent for a moment, each contemplating some affair.
Oz thought of Willow, how he secretly wanted to reveal his love to her and re-ignite their relationship; but he knew that could never happen. She had loved two others after him, Tara, who had perished tragically; and Kennedy, who was now departing for England with the rest of her friends. Oz had despised how she had left him for the other witch, and as a result, unleashed his dark side upon them; but he hated himself for doing that. Then, with the Initiative purging the town of demonic influence, Oz had decided to pack up and leave. He drifted around the country, finally he reached Canada and traveled to Vancouver, where he joined a new punk band. They had spent the last year in Australia, playing various gigs around the Outback when Oz read in the newspaper that a cataclysmic earthquake had destroyed Sunnydale. That night, a mysterious light in his dreams warned him that Willow and the others were in great peril and that his mission was to protect her. First, he ignored the dream, but it continued to haunt him until he finally decided to return back to California, flying in to San Fransisco and then venturing southward on motorcycle, first stopping by the ruins of Sunnydale to see if anyone still was there. Then, he arrived in LA and found himself entangled once again in the affairs of the vampire slayers and their friends.
Faith reflected on La Morte. She had loved him before when he was an evil, malevolent beast that thrived on violence, but now he seemed so impotent, so weak that it disgusted part of her. She knew that if she brought back the old La Morte, that he would bring around nothing but death and chaos, but a part of her thrived on his dark side, and she knew she would have to restrain herself. Her side of her that liked the vulnerable and human La Morte, but she was not rid of her dark side, no matter how long she would restrain it, she feared it would resurface. And if it were allowed to resurface, she feared for the others, especially La Morte, whose volatile grip on his humanity would be shattered if she returned to her old self.
Willow felt alone, her closest friends had all left her in the matter of a day, and now she was stuck with a potential volatile circle of friends, including a rogue slayer, a death knight and a werewolf whom she had a tumultuous past relationship with. It was surely a powder keg waiting to explode and it was her duty to prevent that from happening. She was certain that Angel could help her maintain the balance among the group and keep up the fight against the encroaching forces of darkness, but he wouldn't be in Cleveland for a few weeks, making it her job to prevent the group from tearing apart and stopping any potential apocalypses from happening.
Faith was the first to speak, she turned over to face the others, "I picked out a nice ride for us, compliments of Wolfram and Hart." She gleefully ran off to the parking lot across from the hotel. Oz and Willow exchanged skeptical glances and piled their luggage on the curb while they waited for the slayer to come back.
Faith was back within a matter of minutes, driving a sleek black corvette.
"Hop in," she called as she rolled down the windows. Oz and Willow loaded up the trunk with their luggage before hopping in the back seats with awestruck faces.
"Nice wheels," Oz commented, "Angel let you buy a $52,000 car?"
"Yeah, he picked up the tab out of the company pocket, compliments of Wolfram & Hart law firm," she smiled as she turned on the radio, which blasted loud heavy metal music. She looked back at the others, and told them that she was going to get Robert and instructed them to wait for her.
Faith returned moments later, helped by Angel, both carrying a sickly La Morte without his armor. Faith carried his claymore in her free hand, and tossed it in the trunk of the corvette and then helped La Morte into the passenger seat. After she slammed the door and dropped the last of her and La Morte's equipment and personals into the trunk, Faith walked over to Angel.
"Thanks for everything Angel, I don't know where I would be without ya."
"Probably either dead or ruling the world with some great evil," Angel smirked at her. Faith returned the smile and kissed him on the cheek.
"See you around," She winked at him as she went around to the driver's side and got in. Angel watched as the black corvette raced off into the distance as it entered LA traffic. He looked back at the Hyperion, noting the silence and emptiness emanating from the place. Angel sighed and walked back into the hotel, sorrowfully noting how the loneliness he hadn't felt in years had suddenly crept back to him.
Meanwhile, a pair of eyes watched him through a pair of binoculars from an abandoned building several streets across from the Hyperion. The watcher was dressed in a brown jacket, black slacks and a blue shirt, his sapphire eyes glimmered with hatred as he put down the binoculars and sauntered over to a corner of the room where a shotgun, pistol, several knives and a sword greeted him. He mechanically stuffed the shotgun in a loop inside of his coat along with the sword. The man then placed the pistol in a contraption on the side of one of his arms that conveniently allowed him to fire it with a mere flick of his wrist. He placed one of the knives in a similar fashion on the other wrist and the others on the sides of his boots.
Wesley rose to his feet, his face blank and emotionless as he returned to the window. He glanced over to the other side of the room, where a map of Cleveland hung above his bed, several areas circled in red marker. His eyes returned to staring at the Hyperion.
"Don't worry Angel, I'll come for you later," he said as he flicked his right wrist and the knife came sliding out. He started sharpening it, until the loud ring of his cellphone interrupted him. He picked it up and answered it, a familiar voice speaking on the phone in highly accented English.
"Yes Ulrich, I know. I'll take care of them as soon as they set up shop in Cleveland, and yes.I know your ascension will be interrupted but trust me, they will be out of your hair by the time it comes."
"I'm sorry Xander," Willow looked into Xander's face.
"Don't be," Xander replied. "Being a watcher sounds fun, at least it will beat construction work any day. After I all, I get to be paid to save the world instead of it being a hobby. What can I say, it's my dream job!" He smiled, the first time he had smiled in a long time.
"You made a funny one? I was wondering what happened to the old Xander?" Willow returned the smile, chuckling at Xander's joke.
"Don't worry, there might be an iota of him still left in here," Xander kissed her on the cheek before breaking the embrace and walking away.
Willow stood there, watching the others as they walked away towards the car outside the Hyperion. Faith and Oz were loading up their luggage into Gile's car, cramming the massive suitcases into the miniscule trunk. Luckily, they somehow managed to accomplish this feat by the time the others arrived.
"Good work," Giles smiled at Faith.
"No problemo," Faith smiled back, crossing her arms as Giles walked over to the driver's seat.
"Well, I guess this is goodbye," Giles stuttered as Kennedy and Xander walked right past Faith, snubbing her and entering in the car without so much as exchanging a glance at her or Oz.
"Guess so," Faith shrugged, "At least not until another great evil's going to rise.which I don't think is going to be very long."
Giles smiled, "I'll keep that in mind.Faith, if anything of that sort happens, feel free to call me at my London residence. I shall continue to inform you of any updates with reestablishing the Watcher's council, a task which I'm sure will be rather difficult. But, I'm fairly confident that you, Willow and Oz can handle anything that comes your way."
"We'll manage," Oz answered Giles, "I doubt we'll encounter any challenges in Cleveland especially after Sunnydale." "Well, if you do, call me," Giles replied as he opened the driver's door and sat down. He rolled down the window to wave at everyone before he started the car and drove off. The rugged, beat up Citroen surged to life and sped off into the sunset.
Willow joined Faith and Oz outside and they collectively stared at the orange horizon that slowed darkened as the sun slowly fell. They remained silent for a moment, each contemplating some affair.
Oz thought of Willow, how he secretly wanted to reveal his love to her and re-ignite their relationship; but he knew that could never happen. She had loved two others after him, Tara, who had perished tragically; and Kennedy, who was now departing for England with the rest of her friends. Oz had despised how she had left him for the other witch, and as a result, unleashed his dark side upon them; but he hated himself for doing that. Then, with the Initiative purging the town of demonic influence, Oz had decided to pack up and leave. He drifted around the country, finally he reached Canada and traveled to Vancouver, where he joined a new punk band. They had spent the last year in Australia, playing various gigs around the Outback when Oz read in the newspaper that a cataclysmic earthquake had destroyed Sunnydale. That night, a mysterious light in his dreams warned him that Willow and the others were in great peril and that his mission was to protect her. First, he ignored the dream, but it continued to haunt him until he finally decided to return back to California, flying in to San Fransisco and then venturing southward on motorcycle, first stopping by the ruins of Sunnydale to see if anyone still was there. Then, he arrived in LA and found himself entangled once again in the affairs of the vampire slayers and their friends.
Faith reflected on La Morte. She had loved him before when he was an evil, malevolent beast that thrived on violence, but now he seemed so impotent, so weak that it disgusted part of her. She knew that if she brought back the old La Morte, that he would bring around nothing but death and chaos, but a part of her thrived on his dark side, and she knew she would have to restrain herself. Her side of her that liked the vulnerable and human La Morte, but she was not rid of her dark side, no matter how long she would restrain it, she feared it would resurface. And if it were allowed to resurface, she feared for the others, especially La Morte, whose volatile grip on his humanity would be shattered if she returned to her old self.
Willow felt alone, her closest friends had all left her in the matter of a day, and now she was stuck with a potential volatile circle of friends, including a rogue slayer, a death knight and a werewolf whom she had a tumultuous past relationship with. It was surely a powder keg waiting to explode and it was her duty to prevent that from happening. She was certain that Angel could help her maintain the balance among the group and keep up the fight against the encroaching forces of darkness, but he wouldn't be in Cleveland for a few weeks, making it her job to prevent the group from tearing apart and stopping any potential apocalypses from happening.
Faith was the first to speak, she turned over to face the others, "I picked out a nice ride for us, compliments of Wolfram and Hart." She gleefully ran off to the parking lot across from the hotel. Oz and Willow exchanged skeptical glances and piled their luggage on the curb while they waited for the slayer to come back.
Faith was back within a matter of minutes, driving a sleek black corvette.
"Hop in," she called as she rolled down the windows. Oz and Willow loaded up the trunk with their luggage before hopping in the back seats with awestruck faces.
"Nice wheels," Oz commented, "Angel let you buy a $52,000 car?"
"Yeah, he picked up the tab out of the company pocket, compliments of Wolfram & Hart law firm," she smiled as she turned on the radio, which blasted loud heavy metal music. She looked back at the others, and told them that she was going to get Robert and instructed them to wait for her.
Faith returned moments later, helped by Angel, both carrying a sickly La Morte without his armor. Faith carried his claymore in her free hand, and tossed it in the trunk of the corvette and then helped La Morte into the passenger seat. After she slammed the door and dropped the last of her and La Morte's equipment and personals into the trunk, Faith walked over to Angel.
"Thanks for everything Angel, I don't know where I would be without ya."
"Probably either dead or ruling the world with some great evil," Angel smirked at her. Faith returned the smile and kissed him on the cheek.
"See you around," She winked at him as she went around to the driver's side and got in. Angel watched as the black corvette raced off into the distance as it entered LA traffic. He looked back at the Hyperion, noting the silence and emptiness emanating from the place. Angel sighed and walked back into the hotel, sorrowfully noting how the loneliness he hadn't felt in years had suddenly crept back to him.
Meanwhile, a pair of eyes watched him through a pair of binoculars from an abandoned building several streets across from the Hyperion. The watcher was dressed in a brown jacket, black slacks and a blue shirt, his sapphire eyes glimmered with hatred as he put down the binoculars and sauntered over to a corner of the room where a shotgun, pistol, several knives and a sword greeted him. He mechanically stuffed the shotgun in a loop inside of his coat along with the sword. The man then placed the pistol in a contraption on the side of one of his arms that conveniently allowed him to fire it with a mere flick of his wrist. He placed one of the knives in a similar fashion on the other wrist and the others on the sides of his boots.
Wesley rose to his feet, his face blank and emotionless as he returned to the window. He glanced over to the other side of the room, where a map of Cleveland hung above his bed, several areas circled in red marker. His eyes returned to staring at the Hyperion.
"Don't worry Angel, I'll come for you later," he said as he flicked his right wrist and the knife came sliding out. He started sharpening it, until the loud ring of his cellphone interrupted him. He picked it up and answered it, a familiar voice speaking on the phone in highly accented English.
"Yes Ulrich, I know. I'll take care of them as soon as they set up shop in Cleveland, and yes.I know your ascension will be interrupted but trust me, they will be out of your hair by the time it comes."
