A/N: Thank you to those who have reviewed. Please continue especially since we are coming to the climax. Sorry it took so long to update, but there was a major hole in the plot and I had to do a lot of things to fix it.
Disclaimer: I don't own Angel.
Lydia came out of the shadows, looking deranged with her hair messy, a little smile on her face and what appeared to be a bone saw in her hand. She threw it at Angel but he caught it by the handle.
"Lydia, where's Wesley's clothes,"
She seemed dazed and her eyes glazed over.
"Hello, anybody in there?" Spike yelled, annoyed.
Then Lydia suddenly collapsed onto the floor, face first. The two were able to see the tranquilizer dart in her back. Angel looked up to see Belle down stand behind with the gun.
"There probably in the trash or some room, they tear clothes up," she responded, she reached to drag the limp woman.
"Don't touch her," Angel growled.
"You think I was going to let her get away with what she did to me—really it doesn't matter, as long as you stay out of my way, Wolfram & Hart will stay out of yours. And I do think the Mist is bit more important than some coroner that no one will miss," she responded, still dragging Lydia. Angel didn't stop her exiting through a door in the back, past the body drawers.
In silence the two searched for my clothes or anything else I was wearing when I died. After a few moments, Angel found my jacket. Gunn had pulled the car into a dark alley by the building and the vampires filed into the car.
"Hey, did you get in a fight with Belle over some other body, because I saw her come out but I didn't see what body it was-"
"It was an unconscious Lydia," Angel replied.
"And you let Belle take her,"
"Well yeah," Spike said, "I choose the world over that psycho."
"What?" Gunn shouted as drove the car back to Giles' flat.
"Belle said that if we didn't get in her way, Wolfram & Hart wouldn't get in ours," Angel explained.
"And you really think that they keep that promised?" Gunn half-asked, half-yelled.
A tense silence filled the car, and Spike reached for the radio dial, but in unison Angel and Gunn said, "Don't".
They were back at Giles' flat but founded only Fred, Wynn and a few slayers.
"Everyone's out look for ingredients-" Fred explained from the couch, next to a weary Wynn, but stopped when she saw my shirt clutched in Angel's hands.
"Umm, we got it," Angel said awkwardly, his fingers wrapping around the material.
"Yeah," she said quietly, but then a sleepily Wynn accidentally jabbed her in the gut, "Ouch."
"Oh sorry," Wynn asked and then look at Fred's shirt, which now had a thin, light streak of blood on it, "The stitches still bleeding?"
"Your stitches are bleeding?" Gunn asked very concern.
"Just a little, and now it's stopped," she replied.
"Still we should get you to a hospital, it should have been there until noon anyway-" Angel began but was interrupted.
"Angel, I'm not going to sit in a hospital bed when some evil force of nature that killed Wesley, take over the world!" she screamed, that was followed by many deep breathes. I couldn't help but notice tears forming in her eyes.
Before anyone could say Willow walked in with what looked to be the claw of a Serion demon.
"One ingredient down, one million to go" she said sarcastically.
It took the majority of the day to find everything for the potion, and just about everyone but Fred and Wynn who were convinced to rest, ran errands. It was nearing late afternoon, when Willow and the leader of the Dover Order finally caught up with each other.
"Are you sure we have everything?" the red-haired witch asked.
"Yes, I am, do you want to see the scroll!" she replied.
"A matter of fact I do."
The older witch handed it to Willow, who inspected it. She nodded after each ingredient they had but then horror washed over her face.
"And you called me stupid," Willow whispered.
"What?" the other witch said annoyed, looking at the yellowing paper over Willow's shoulder.
"We have all the stuff the Dispel Spell but not the Gathering Spell-"
"They both use the same things-"
"For the Gathering Spell we need the body of someone killed by the Mist and the heart of an unclean."
"Where's the body?" the Leader said, with the same terrified tone as Willow, time was running out
"Wolfram & Hart," Angel said simply, grabbing his coat, pulling it over his head and going into his rental car.
The other followed in their own vehicles. Willow figured in order to have enough time that they spell would have to be performed at Wolfram & Hart, preferable its rooftop. She said the a center of evil would probably make the Gathering Spell easier that way, if they even got all the components for the potion that was to splatter in a circle for the Gathering Spell. Angel and them had to be at least 2 times over the speed limit and amazingly no police came after them.
The group barged through the door of the law firm much to the dismay of one of the secretaries.
"Nice of you to show up," the CEO of the Glasgow division snorted as he past by Angel, exiting from another day of meetings.
They entered into Belle's office, pounding the security team in their wake, but all they found was Josephine filing papers.
"Where's Wesley's body?" Angel asked.
"I haven't the slightest clue where," the renegade slayer replied.
"Well, where's Belle?" Giles interrogated.
She remained silent.
"Damn it, Jo, we aren't trying to take you away just stop the Mist!" Wynn yelled, outstretching and dropping her arms.
"Wynn, what happened?" Jo asked sincerely, noticing the deep gash on Wynn's arm, but before the Welsh slayer could replied she continued, "It was Lydia, that bitch, I so glad that Belle is torturing her in-"
Jo stopped herself, realizing she had already given too much information.
"Where's is Belle torturing-" Giles began but Angel and Spike left the room, they could smell blood. In the stairwell the discovered a secret door on the wall of the landing, through trailing the scent.
In the dim light they could see the corner chained to the wall, and they could hear Belle talking.
"You may make your statements and you speeches little sister but it's always mine that cut the most, almost like this dagger-" she stopped, hearing the intruders.
"I would stop that if I were you," Angel said, altering into his vampire face.
" What did I tell you-"
"Where's Wesley body-" he started but was interrupted by Fred's gasp. Through the open door of another room in the secret complex you could see my body lying there.
"We got one thing, but now we need a heart on an unclean," the Dover Order's leader said as Angel and others rushed to my body.
"What does that mean 'the heart of an unclean'?" one of the slayers asked.
"It's a heart of a demon," Belle replied, "what is it for?"
"The Gathering Spell for the Mist, do you have one on hand?"
"No, not in hand anyway," Belle said quietly.
I, and the rest of the group, then heard Fred laughing.
"You know what was doing this time yesterday? I was eating this great Indian dinner and about to call Wesley for a ride," her smiles turned into sobbing.
Spike put his arms around her and tried his best to comfort me, while Angel and Gunn had the job of carrying my body. As the group rushed to roof Willow and the leader of the Dover Order talked.
"We can't do the Dispel Spell without life energy can we?" Willow stated, rather than asked.
"No, I fear many of them will become martyrs,"
"What if we can use something other than their life forces…like the slayer power? I can use that!"
"But do you have the tool you used when you preformed that spell?"
"No, but Giles has it. Buffy believes that every new slayer should have it in their hands once, but did he leave if at his flat."
"I didn't," Giles came into the conversation, handing the ancient weapon to Willow.
"Let's do this," Willow said determined.
My body was laid in the middle over a circle of sand that was supposed to be soaked in the potion. However one component was missing.
"What do you mean they don't have a demon heart, they Wolfram & Hart!" the Dover Order leader cried when Wynn told her. Just then Belle and a tied up Lydia entered the partly shaded rooftop.
"What do you want?" Giles said in a cold, distant voice.
Belle paid not attention and untied Lydia.
"Kill me," she said simply to her half-sister.
"What?" Lydia yelled, confused.
"They need a demon heart; I'm demon, or at least half."
Lydia came closer as if for a hug, which made Belle remark, "Please we don't have time for a long, sappy farewell-"
Belle never finished the comment. Lydia snapped her neck, instantaneously killing Belle. Lydia used her autopsy skills and cut out perfectly the heart. Blood covered her hands so she wiped them off on Belle's blouse. There was no expression on her face, no remorse, angry, sadness, or even satisfaction.
Using Belle's heart, the group completed the potion and the Gathering Spell could begin. Everyone joined hands and went around the circle of sand and liquid. Willow and the Dover Order's leader were joined, they both held the crystal for the Dispel Spell. Then Lydia decided to join and no one objected, as if they didn't want to make what she did seem meaningless. Next to her was Wynn and Fred, the two had seem to developed a bond, probably because they had both been possessed by the Dark Mist. Next to Fred was Angel, Gunn, Spike and so on. And in the middle of the circle was me, or at least my body.
"If you break the circle you will unleash the Dark Mist and the world will come to an end. So don't break the circle at any costs," the leader of the Dover Order informed.
"Also," Willow announced," all, well at least most of you slayers have officially been unchosen. We are going to have to use your permanent slayer power in order to do the Dispel Spell."
It was obvious that the slayers were tortured by this. They had spent so much time wishing that they hadn't been chosen, but now they can't imagine life with out being a slayer. It was ironic.
The leader of the Dover Order didn't let the slayers think too much about it by beginning the Gathering Spell. She spoke in Latin and I caught parts of it, "you've been divided, so now untie. Join together with parts long forgotten."
Patches of the Dark Mist came swirling into the center of circle, combining with each other.
I barely heard Spike whispered," And this is the point of no return."
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