Arriving in LA for the first time in three years, Buffy didn't really know what to expect. Oh, she'd gotten the low down from Willow: the Hyperion, the green singing demon, and Angel's son (!). And Cordelia...how much she'd changed! Though they had never been very close, Buffy was still upset at finding out that Cordelia was in a coma.
LA itself was a mess - signs of the recent anarchy were everwhere. As the bus drove threw one of the comerical districts on the way to the Hyperion, Buffy turned to Willow and commented on the devastation.
"Yeah..." Willow had replied, but she had seemed too stunned to really formulate a response.
It seemed as though no little bit of LA had gone unscathed. There was trash everywhere...building were visibly falling apart...looting...people living on the streets...it was appalling.
It took nearly twenty minutes of that to reach Angel's hotel. As they were pulling up in front of the hotel, Buffy noticed that it, too, had been damaged, but, unlike most of LA, repairs had already begun.
All the lights seemed to be on in the hotel, even though it was nearing midnight. Of course, Buffy thought, Angel - vampire - night. Makes sense.
What didn't make sense, at first, was when Angel, Fred, and Wesley all came running out, shouting their heads off.
"Where were -"
"-worried-"
"-nothing left - just a crater..."
Angel took a second to come himself and his colleagues. Apparently, he failed at the former.
"WHY THE HELL DIDN'T YOU CALL!!??" he shouted. He was so angry that his face had changed over. "I'VE BEEN SITTING HERE, GETTING READY TO FIGHT A WAR, AND YOU DIDN'T EVEN BOTHER TO CALL ME!!????"
"Uhh...." Buffy replied. She certainly hadn't expected this. "I thought Faith would call."
Everyone turned to Faith. "Don't look at me, I thought Xander would handle it."
Xander looked up upon hearing his name. "Huh?" he asked, and everyone groaned.
"Well, it appears that we are all the victims of a mutual misunderstanding," Giles said, braking the uncomfortable silence.
"Yeah," Buffy said, but she really had no idea what to say. Any and all clever speeches she'd prepared for this occasion had all run like hell from her brain the second Angel started yelling.
"Um...would you like to come inside?" Angel asked.
"Yeah...that's what we came for."
The Hyperion looked worse on the inside. The walls were stained and cracking. What they were stained with, Buffy did not allow herself to notice. Dawn, however, did, and was soon afterwards violently ill.
"Here," Fred said, taking the sick Dawn by the shoulders and leading her out of the hall. "The bathroom is just down here, dear."
"Sorry we didn't have a chance to clean up a bit more," Angel apologized to Buffy as the Slayers sat down. "But we've been rather busy with other things. The vampires have been out in force since Jasmine's death."
"Who is Jasmine?" Buffy asked.
"That's a bit of a long story," Wesley answered, and, eying the tired Slayerettes, added, "Why don't we find rooms for all the young ones first?"
"Right," Buffy said, and she turned to the group. "Everyone follow Wesley, he'll get you settled in."
As Wesley motioned the group up the stairs, Willow and Giles detached themselves from it to stand with Buffy.
"Who's Jasmine?" Buffy repeated.
"Was," Angel replied, and he looked troubled. "Jasmine was Cordelia's child."
"Cordelia has a child?" Buffy asked, slightly startled.
"Yeah. Long story there too. The point is that she enslaved peoples minds, making them think she was bringing peace. But unfortunately, she ate people, so that wasn't so good," Angel explained.
"She ate people?" Willow asked.
"Yeah. So we got rid of her. I killed her," Angel said, looking even more troubled.
"What is it?" Buffy asked.
"What?" Angel replied, coming out of his trance.
"Its just that you look more absorbed in thought than you used to," Buffy said.
"Something that Wolfram and Hart said afterward," Angel said. "We ended world peace."
Recovering quickly, Willow said, "Well...their evil, right?"
There was silence for a moment, then Angel replied. "Right...you're probably exhausted. You can have the mater bedrooms. Their around the back," And he lead them away.
"Voldemort!" Harry yelled.
"Well, its good to see you remember me, Harry," Voldemort said. "I was afraid you'd forgotten me."
Choosing not to reply, Harry, instead, yelled, "Where's Mr. Weasley?"
"Ahh...the muggle lover! Yes, Lucius mentions him often. How lucky that he's the one who tried to help you...he was on the list anyway..." Voldemort's perpetual grin grew wider. "There he is. Why not try to help him?"
Mr. Weasley was laying, charred slightly, near the ruins of the house. Harry shifted on his broom. In order to get at Mr. Weasley, he was going to need to go straight past the assemblage of Death Eaters.
Wonderful, thought Harry. Why do these things happen to me?
"Coming...no? Well then. Weasley here has a long overdue nap, I believe..." Voldemort turned, raising his wand. Harry dove.
Instantly, Voldemort whipped around and shouted, "Avada Kedavara!", but Harry was no longer where he was two seconds before.
Realizing that it was only a matter of time before Voldemort, and his Death Eaters, found their marksmanship and learned to lead him enough.
As curses began whizzing past from all the Death Eaters, Harry began an aggressive series of dodges. Silently thanking Oliver Wood for all those late Quidditch practices, Harry let his training take over his body while his mind worked out a way to get to Mr. Weasley.
Think! Come on, think, damn it! Nothing doing. Wait! What was it Wood always said about flying? When I was first learning? Racking his brains as an Impediment Curse shot past. Damn it! What was that! He said I was a natural because I could...damn...think in three dimensions! That's it! With this enlightenment, a plan sprang into Harry's head.
Thinking that the chances that he would survive were slim, Harry focused his attention on the space above Mr. Weasley and rocketed towards it.
As the Death Eaters saw his pattern straighten out, they began shooting spells in a leading pattern. But just before he would have been hit, Harry released his grip on his broom.
Giving a yell of surprise, the Death Eaters, who had surrounded Mr. Weasley on the ground, rushed in to meet Harry. But it was already too late.
Seconds before hitting the ground, Harry raised his wand and yelled, "Accio broom!"
His Firebolt reversed and screamed towards him. He caught it just as he grabbed Mr. Weasley. The speed of the broom caught them both up, sweeping them away, into the sky, and towards the Burrow.
LA itself was a mess - signs of the recent anarchy were everwhere. As the bus drove threw one of the comerical districts on the way to the Hyperion, Buffy turned to Willow and commented on the devastation.
"Yeah..." Willow had replied, but she had seemed too stunned to really formulate a response.
It seemed as though no little bit of LA had gone unscathed. There was trash everywhere...building were visibly falling apart...looting...people living on the streets...it was appalling.
It took nearly twenty minutes of that to reach Angel's hotel. As they were pulling up in front of the hotel, Buffy noticed that it, too, had been damaged, but, unlike most of LA, repairs had already begun.
All the lights seemed to be on in the hotel, even though it was nearing midnight. Of course, Buffy thought, Angel - vampire - night. Makes sense.
What didn't make sense, at first, was when Angel, Fred, and Wesley all came running out, shouting their heads off.
"Where were -"
"-worried-"
"-nothing left - just a crater..."
Angel took a second to come himself and his colleagues. Apparently, he failed at the former.
"WHY THE HELL DIDN'T YOU CALL!!??" he shouted. He was so angry that his face had changed over. "I'VE BEEN SITTING HERE, GETTING READY TO FIGHT A WAR, AND YOU DIDN'T EVEN BOTHER TO CALL ME!!????"
"Uhh...." Buffy replied. She certainly hadn't expected this. "I thought Faith would call."
Everyone turned to Faith. "Don't look at me, I thought Xander would handle it."
Xander looked up upon hearing his name. "Huh?" he asked, and everyone groaned.
"Well, it appears that we are all the victims of a mutual misunderstanding," Giles said, braking the uncomfortable silence.
"Yeah," Buffy said, but she really had no idea what to say. Any and all clever speeches she'd prepared for this occasion had all run like hell from her brain the second Angel started yelling.
"Um...would you like to come inside?" Angel asked.
"Yeah...that's what we came for."
The Hyperion looked worse on the inside. The walls were stained and cracking. What they were stained with, Buffy did not allow herself to notice. Dawn, however, did, and was soon afterwards violently ill.
"Here," Fred said, taking the sick Dawn by the shoulders and leading her out of the hall. "The bathroom is just down here, dear."
"Sorry we didn't have a chance to clean up a bit more," Angel apologized to Buffy as the Slayers sat down. "But we've been rather busy with other things. The vampires have been out in force since Jasmine's death."
"Who is Jasmine?" Buffy asked.
"That's a bit of a long story," Wesley answered, and, eying the tired Slayerettes, added, "Why don't we find rooms for all the young ones first?"
"Right," Buffy said, and she turned to the group. "Everyone follow Wesley, he'll get you settled in."
As Wesley motioned the group up the stairs, Willow and Giles detached themselves from it to stand with Buffy.
"Who's Jasmine?" Buffy repeated.
"Was," Angel replied, and he looked troubled. "Jasmine was Cordelia's child."
"Cordelia has a child?" Buffy asked, slightly startled.
"Yeah. Long story there too. The point is that she enslaved peoples minds, making them think she was bringing peace. But unfortunately, she ate people, so that wasn't so good," Angel explained.
"She ate people?" Willow asked.
"Yeah. So we got rid of her. I killed her," Angel said, looking even more troubled.
"What is it?" Buffy asked.
"What?" Angel replied, coming out of his trance.
"Its just that you look more absorbed in thought than you used to," Buffy said.
"Something that Wolfram and Hart said afterward," Angel said. "We ended world peace."
Recovering quickly, Willow said, "Well...their evil, right?"
There was silence for a moment, then Angel replied. "Right...you're probably exhausted. You can have the mater bedrooms. Their around the back," And he lead them away.
"Voldemort!" Harry yelled.
"Well, its good to see you remember me, Harry," Voldemort said. "I was afraid you'd forgotten me."
Choosing not to reply, Harry, instead, yelled, "Where's Mr. Weasley?"
"Ahh...the muggle lover! Yes, Lucius mentions him often. How lucky that he's the one who tried to help you...he was on the list anyway..." Voldemort's perpetual grin grew wider. "There he is. Why not try to help him?"
Mr. Weasley was laying, charred slightly, near the ruins of the house. Harry shifted on his broom. In order to get at Mr. Weasley, he was going to need to go straight past the assemblage of Death Eaters.
Wonderful, thought Harry. Why do these things happen to me?
"Coming...no? Well then. Weasley here has a long overdue nap, I believe..." Voldemort turned, raising his wand. Harry dove.
Instantly, Voldemort whipped around and shouted, "Avada Kedavara!", but Harry was no longer where he was two seconds before.
Realizing that it was only a matter of time before Voldemort, and his Death Eaters, found their marksmanship and learned to lead him enough.
As curses began whizzing past from all the Death Eaters, Harry began an aggressive series of dodges. Silently thanking Oliver Wood for all those late Quidditch practices, Harry let his training take over his body while his mind worked out a way to get to Mr. Weasley.
Think! Come on, think, damn it! Nothing doing. Wait! What was it Wood always said about flying? When I was first learning? Racking his brains as an Impediment Curse shot past. Damn it! What was that! He said I was a natural because I could...damn...think in three dimensions! That's it! With this enlightenment, a plan sprang into Harry's head.
Thinking that the chances that he would survive were slim, Harry focused his attention on the space above Mr. Weasley and rocketed towards it.
As the Death Eaters saw his pattern straighten out, they began shooting spells in a leading pattern. But just before he would have been hit, Harry released his grip on his broom.
Giving a yell of surprise, the Death Eaters, who had surrounded Mr. Weasley on the ground, rushed in to meet Harry. But it was already too late.
Seconds before hitting the ground, Harry raised his wand and yelled, "Accio broom!"
His Firebolt reversed and screamed towards him. He caught it just as he grabbed Mr. Weasley. The speed of the broom caught them both up, sweeping them away, into the sky, and towards the Burrow.