THREE STRIKES
Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters except for the ones that I created.
CHAPTER 13-MORE FIGHTS…AND CATCHING UP
Penn laughed in his usual arrogant way and motioned for Angel to attack, and the elder vampire obliged. The two were soon locked in combat, throwing each other almost through the walls and knocking down more than one zombie along the way. Wesley and Gunn tag teamed the Kungai demons as they charged, with Wesley smacking the first one across the face with the flat of his axe, causing the demon to spin around and be impaled by the next demons tack horn. Gunn watched in shock as the first demons body was sucked dry of its life essence. Seeing this before Wesley acted fast and swung his axe at the next demon in line, catching the charging demon off guard and sending its head tumbling back down the hallway. Following his lead Gunn swung his own axe and off went another head. After that Wesley tried to go to Angel's aid but another Kungai demon grabbed his arm and spun him around, aiming a punch at his chin. Acting as fast as he could Wesley started to bring his axe up to hopefully deflect the blow, but all he was able to manage was to get the flat blade of the axe in between his chin and the Kungai demon's hand. In the end he only managed to get himself knocked to the ground with a snarling Kungai demon standing over him, shaking its injured hand.
"We can't keep this up much longer…," Gunn shouted with a fair amount of fear in his voice as he took the opportunity provided him and killed the Kungai demon that had just tried to hit Wesley.
"We don't exactly have many avenues of escape if you haven't noticed…wait a minute…of course…," Wesley started to shout back with an annoyed scowl on his face as he got back to his feet. With an excited smile on his face Wesley reached deep into his bag and began to feverishly sift through the contents.
"Wes now's not the time to…," Gunn started to say with a very nervous look on his face as he took point and hacked off another zombie's head.
"Yes…I found it…Angel, Gunn, we're getting out of here…," Wesley shouted in delight as he pulled a well worn scroll out of the bag and ripped the seal off.
"What's that…," Gunn asked with a less than an enthusiastic look on his face as he glanced back over his shoulder at the parchment that Wesley held.
"Our ticket out of here…a teleportation spell," Wesley exclaimed in earnest as he raced to unroll the parchment.
"Great…now let's hope that Connor's gotten Lindsey out already," Angel mumbled under his breath before Penn pressed his attack.
* * * * * *
After Angel had left to go and try to find and help Wesley and Gunn Connor had taken it upon himself to help Lindsey down the stairs as fast as he could go. This plan had worked well for a time, as the zombies were far to slow to keep up, but after going down several more floors Connor felt the strangest feeling wash over him like an ocean wave. It felt as if he could feel that the current path that he had embarked upon would only end in folly and his death. Cursing his luck Connor broke with the plan and smashed in one of the doors that led out of the stairwell and was relieved that the only person in the hallway was a scared young woman, who kept her distance from him though she didn't seem to be very afraid of him. Connor started to head for one of the elevators before she stopped him.
"N…no…not that one, they're waiting for you in the lobby, take that elevator over there and go all the way down to the parking garage, you can get out there," the young woman said with a slowly growing look of pain on her face as her look soon reminded Connor of how Cordelia looked at times when she received a vision.
"What…why should I trust you…for all I know they could be waiting for me in the parking garage and the lobby is free…," Connor demanded angrily with an impatient scowl on his face as he set Lindsey down beside the nearest elevator.
"I wouldn't…I can't lie to you Connor…not with our future and what will happen between us at stake, you're to important to me to die now…," the young woman said with a very worried look on her face as she kept looking back over her shoulder, as if she expected someone to come rushing around the corner at any second.
"What…I don't understand…," Connor stammered out with a confused frown on his face as Lindsey mumbled softly to himself about how their time was running out.
"Neither do I…but whatever happens you cannot die here tonight…," the young woman replied with an almost panicked expression on her face as she slowly edged a little closer to Connor and Lindsey. Connor cursed under his breath for ever meeting such a confusing young woman, whom for some strange reason he seemed to recognize, before he made his decision, pushing the down arrow button of the elevator nearest to him.
"Whatever…I don't plan on dying here tonight Ms…," Connor started to say with a very serious look on his face before he stopped and looked the young woman in the eye as she stopped merely a couple of feet in front of him.
"You'll find out soon enough…come on," the young woman shouted as she shoved Connor into the just opened elevator and the two dragged Lindsey in after them as Connor could hear the sounds of approaching security personnel.
* * * * * *
The ride back to the Hyperion was taken up mostly by a plethora of baby talk, with Faith trying to drown it out with a combination of the radio turned up high enough and plugging her ears with her fingers. Fred and Cordelia started a game to try to figure out what Faith and Wesley should name the baby before Faith shouted in anger at them to cease and desist. She was still having a hard time dealing with the fact that she was going to be a mother, with a large part of her wanting nothing more than to run far away, hopefully far enough that she could leave her problems behind. But her more rational side scolded her for even thinking of leaving as she begrudgingly admitted to herself that Wesley would probably be ecstatic about becoming a father and it would shatter him if she were to leave.
"So how are you going to tell Wesley Faith…I'll do it…if you want," Elaine dared to ask with a nervous frown on her face as she hoped the offer would ease the tension between the two a little. Faith started to shout something back angrily but when she opened her mouth she thought better and thought for a second before answering.
"No…thanks…thanks anyway…this is something that I have to do…," Faith replied softly with now an even more nervous look on her face as she spotted the Hyperion in the distance.
"Well however you do it Faith, just do it soon…I don't know how long I can keep from saying something to Wesley or Angel…," Cordelia said with a serious look on her face as the Hyperion came into sharper view.
"Who's that…," Fred asked with a concerned and slightly confused look on her face as Cordelia parked Angel's car next to one that was already there.
"No clue…maybe it's just someone that needs help…we're still a detective agency remember…even if we haven't really done much detecting lately," Cordelia answered with a confused and slightly worried look on her face as she shut the engine off and got out. The four women looked the car over for a little bit, hoping that something would spark a memory, before walking up to the Hyperion's front doors. No sooner had they walked through the front doors when their whole world changed. Cordelia nearly passed out at the sight of Groo sitting quietly on the circular couching talking to an old man that she didn't recognize. Fred however did recognize the old man and let out an overly excited squeal.
"Uncle Arthur," Fred squealed loudly with an exuberant smile on her face as she rushed across the lobby and nearly tackled her startled uncle as he stood up.
"Winifred…," Was all that Arthur could get out because Fred had him locked in the tightest bear hug that she could manage.
"Hey Cordelia…," Oz said with a bit of apathy in his voice as he slowly trudged down the stairs, followed by a yawning Kate. Cordelia stared at Oz in shock for a few seconds before she calmed down and smiled.
"Oz…Kate, what are you guys doing here and…," Cordelia said with a short sigh of relief before she turned slightly back towards the center of the lobby as Groo walked towards her.
"Hello prin…Cordelia…I hope that our visit finds you well," Groo said, flinching slightly at his oversight, with a nervous smile on his face. Had either he or Cordelia been looking over they would have seen Kate unconsciously grinding her teeth at Groo's slipup. Oz frowned in confusion as for some reason he could hear Kate's teeth grinding against each other along with several rapid heartbeats. He was just about to point out his confusing predicament when Faith broke in.
"What the hell's going on here…," Faith growled with an impatient scowl on her face as she felt more like lying down, or possibly curling up against Wesley next to a roaring fire, than to stand here and make with the salutations.
"It's a long story," Oz began with a sly and tired smile on his face as he walked up to Cordelia and nodded his head.
"Well we've got awhile…so spill," Cordelia said with a slightly worried frown on her face as she checked her watch and then followed a nervous Elaine towards a smiling and giggling Fred.
* * * * * *
Angel felt like his insides were being liquefied. Gunn felt like he was going to throw up and Wesley felt sick to his stomach. The three had never experienced being involved with a transportation spell and later would all agree that they never wanted to go through one again. Wesley had finished reading the words of the spell only seconds before an enraged Penn threw his first punch at Angel. That punch was only met by empty air, causing the recently reborn vampire to howl in anger before stalking off. In his hurry to cast the spell Wesley had forgotten to carefully choose the spot that they'd all rematerialize at. And so it was quite a shock to everyone involved when they came back to their senses and found themselves falling fast straight towards the fountain.
"Bloody hell…," Wesley mumbled, with eyes as wide as silver dollars, before he plunged headfirst into the lukewarm water.
"Oh shi…," Gunn shouted in alarm before he followed Wesley into the fountain before rolling off of the former watcher and trying to wipe the water out of his eyes. Meanwhile Angel just held an unneeded breath and stumbled out of the fountain as fast as he could.
"Wesley…what...," Angel sputtered out with a less than impressed scowl on his face as he tried to shake the water out of his hair.
"Sorry…I didn't have time to properly finish the spell," Wesley replied meekly as he shrugged his shoulders and pulled himself up and out of the fountain.
"Forget about it, the spell worked that's the important thing…now all we…," Angel started to say with a small sigh and shrug of his shoulders as he was starting to look around for any dangers while squeezing the first few drops out of his saturated clothes.
"Connor…," Wesley shouted in alarm before he hefted his axe on his shoulder and took off in a run towards the front of the building, where Connor and the mysterious young woman were struggling to carry a very lethargic Lindsey. Gunn started to run to help before Angel stopped him.
"We can handle this…go get your truck…we're going to…," Angel started to say with a very serious look on his face before a security detail burst out of the towers front doors and charged towards Connor and Lindsey. "Connor behind you…," Angel shouted in alarm as he spun on his heel and charged into the defense of his son and onetime adversary. He barely took note of the young woman that was perspiring heavily as she struggled to help Connor, her dark crimson hair having fallen out of the clumsy ponytail that she had tried to put it in before encountering Connor. Wesley started to run past Connor to help Angel with the security detail when the mysterious young woman stopped him.
"Wait…let Connor go…you can help me with Lindsey," The young woman said as she used her eyes to plead with Wesley. The ex-watcher stood silent for a few minutes before he motioned to Connor that he'd take his spot. Without a word Connor gave Lindsey over to Wesley and rushed to help Angel, who was having a harder time with the security detail than he would have expected to have.
"What are these guys…," Angel questioned out loud with a very concerned and angry scowl on his face as the guard that he had just knocked out jumped right back to his feet.
"They're not human…," Connor added with a look of disgust on his face as he kicked one of the guards in the stomach, only to have the guard grab his foot and give it a very powerful, and painful, twist. Connor cursed out loud as he stumbled backwards and fell to the ground, with his right knee feeling as if it were on fire.
"Connor…," The young woman shouted with a look of absolute fear on her face as she dropped Lindsey and rushed to Connor's side, only to get backhanded across the face and sent flying off to the side.
"Angel…," Wesley shouted in surprise and alarm as he struggled to hold Lindsey up, ultimately stumbling to the ground and hitting his head on the curb. Instantly everything went black.
* * * * * *
Faith had listened at first to Oz's explanation but when Kate had started her story she had become a bit queasy and left the lobby, complaining that she was just going to use the restroom. Tiredly she stumbled her way to the room that she and Wesley had used during their recuperation from the zombie attack in the sewer. Fumbling with the doorknob she started to head towards the bed but her stomach overruled her lethargy and she rushed to the bathroom before dry heaving for a few minutes. She fumed silently for a few seconds as she sat there on the freezing bathroom floor before she stood up, cleaned herself up and made her way slowly over to the bed. She quickly pulled off her shoes and then set about unbuttoning her pants, feeling like taking a long nap. When she had finally pulled her pants off she threw them into the far corner of the room and slid under the covers of the bed, pulling them up tight around her and trying to fall asleep. Unfortunately for her there was a knock at the door.
"Go away," Faith shouted as loudly as she dared, hoping that whoever it was would take the not so subtle hint and leave.
"Faith…are you okay in there," A squeaky and nervous voice said from the other side of the door, a voice that Faith immediately recognized as Fred's. The two had never been that close, partially stemming from the fact that Faith felt that Fred still harbored feelings of some kind for Wesley. Fred had more than once denied the existence of those feelings but Faith had seen the way that Fred looked at her and Wesley when the two publicly displayed some sort of affection for the other. The tension about that had eased considerably though as Faith had gratefully noticed that Fred and Gunn moved in together, just a few short weeks before the zombie attack.
"I'm fine…now go away," Faith shouted back, this time with a bit more of a confrontational tone to her voice, hoping that she'd scare the Texan away.
"Do you want me to get you anything…a glass of water or something," Fred asked with a hopeful look on her face as she leaned lightly up against the door, hoping that the formerly rogue slayer wouldn't rip it open suddenly and send her hurtling to the floor.
"I'm fine…just tell me when Wesley gets back…but don't you dare tell him or…," Faith started to yell angrily before she forced herself to calm down before her eyelids finally became to heavy and she fell into much needed sleep.
"Don't worry I won't…that's your job…," Fred replied with an uneasy frown on her face before she shook her head and walked back down to the lobby.
"How is she…," Oz asked with a concerned frown on his face hopped up on the counter and retied one of his shoelaces.
"Grumpy would be putting it mildly…God I hope I don't get like that when I'm pregnant…," Fred moaned with a worried and exhausted look on her face as she slumped her shoulders and plopped down onto the circular couch right next to Cordelia.
"Wait…she's…pregnant, but…," Oz sputtered out with a shocked and confused look on his face as he looked up from his position on the counter and cocked his head to one side and squinted slightly.
"Yeah but don't say anything to any of the guys until Faith tells Wesley the good news…," Cordelia ordered with a firm scowl on her face as she waved an index finger around in the air as if she were giving orders to her troops.
"Yes ma'am, we won't say a thing…right Groo…Kate," Oz replied with a good natured mock salute that caused Fred to giggle a bit and Elaine to just look on in wonder and confusion.
"Of course Oz…we would not think of usurping that secret…," Groo exclaimed proudly with a very serious look on his face as Kate eyed him oddly for a bit before she spoke.
"Well it's not our place…um…what he said," Kate started to say with a nervous smile on her face before she became flustered and ended up staring at the ground as she crossed her arms and unconsciously leaned into Groo's shoulder.
"Exactly…," Groo muttered softly, to wrapped up in the fact that Kate was leaning on his shoulder to care about the odd looks that he was receiving from everyone except for Oz and Arthur, who both tried to keep from snickering. Cordelia was about to ask a rather pointed question in response but was interrupted by the sight of a familiar face hurrying towards the Hyperion's front doors. The boys were back.
END OF CHAPTER 13