Thankings once more to all reviewing type persons. Replies are at the end of the chapter. I won't be replying that often though. I tried to reply for every chapter in a Matrix story I did and thinking up things to write usually takes as long as writing the chapter itself.
Anyway, moving on…
Chapter 3: Heads, they win
"Since this guy can level cities when he wants, it's probably not a good idea to go charging in guns blazing."
Angel nodded, almost in disappointment, at Fred's statement. He had hoped to barge in, decapitate every one of Gythurit's minions and watch him shriek in terror before he tore his throat out, slowly. He wanted to make him suffer for everyone who had been died because of him.
"Also," Wesley added, "Since he is, and has roughly 50 Fretatharek demons at his command, we'll have to watch out for a poison that their bodies produce that they inject into their bodies through their teeth. It basically boils the victims internal organs over a period of roughly two hours."
There was an almost disturbing calm in Wesley's voice as he informed the others of this fact, as well as an almost sadistic grin as he noticed the disturbed facial expression from Lorne.
"Frethesteth?" Asked Gunn in an exasperated tone of voice, "What is it with these guys and names that are ridiculously hard to say?"
"Fred? Wes? Anyone?" Angel said sternly, not wanting the discussion to drift off topic, "Any idea on how to decapitate this guy without having any more towns explode?"
Wesley was the first to speak.
"My people have searched through all relevant data on mystical items that could create large, symmetrical craters and came up with this." He handed a photograph that he had been carrying to Angel.
"It's called the orb of the Shapers." Wesley continued, "They were an ancient and extinct race of Demons who tried to re-shape the world and kill all of humanity in the process. Fortunately, they were wiped out by their own creations. There was only one known remaining orb in existence and until last year it was in the possession of the Watcher's council."
"So you think this Gythurit guy found it in the rubble?" Lorne asked incredulously.
"It's doubtful, the orbs are surprisingly fragile. It probably exploded alone with the council building. No, I think Gythurit stumbled across a new one."
There was a brief silence whilst everyone absorbed this information.
"Any way to neutralise these things safely?" Angel asked, placing the photograph back onto the desk for the rest of the group to see.
"We're still working on that. The Shapers weren't known for their common sense and we're not sure they built an off switch on the orbs."
"Keep looking, as long as that thing works, Gythurit could easily destroy…"
"Mr. Angel sir." Angel looked to the door to see the unsurprisingly nervous face of the new mail deliverer, known only as 'Larry'.
"What is it?" Angel asked, not caring much about the man's state of mind.
"You, uh, have a delivery." He stuttered.
"Well bring it in." Angel replied after sighing in exasperation.
Larry hastily made his way to the desk and deposited a fairly large parcel on the desk. He then virtually sprinted out of the room. Angel's interest in the situation barely increased. Most of the staff had come to fear him after, (as they called it), 'the purges' began. The process by which Angel killed every employee who was killing humans, whether they did this or not, the employees of Wolfram and Hart had become increasingly paranoid since Angel took over as C.E.O.
When Larry had left the room with no lingering scraps of dignity to show for his visit, Angle reached for the package and wearily undid the strings.
"As I was saying," Angel said, "Until we can find a way to neutralise this thing, every city in the world is in danger of being reduced to rubble."
"I've been skimming threw the contracts and records in the arch…"
Gunn cut himself off as the contents of the parcel fell onto the desk.
The contents caused everyone to instinctively step backwards, soon after this they regained their composure and stepped forward again.
"No." Angel whispered in disbelief. He couldn't accept the sight that was before him. It was impossible.
Buffy Summers' severed head revealed an obvious expression of pain. Her features had frozen in the earliest stage of a scream before she died. The flesh around her neck was stretched, showing an already horrified Angel that her head had been twisted off.
"Is that…" Wesley, whose disbelief was almost as great as Angel's, stopped himself in mid sentence.
"What the," Gunn cut himself off "Who the hell is that."
Angel wasn't listening. His mind had turned to a chaotic mesh of confussion, disbelief, anger and fear. Part of him wanted to break down and cry, another wanted to destroy everything around him.
Get out of there, said a part of his mind that could still think rationally, get out now!
Angel pushed himself out of the chair and forced himself to maintain a deadpan facial expression.
"Angel?"
"Where are you…?"
He ignored the calls from the others. He barely noticed the presence of anything or anyone around him as he made his way to the elevator.
The elevator itself was empty, and unnervingly quiet. The usual humming it produced when in motion seemed to be drowned out by Angel's anger, which in turn was drowning out everything, the confussion, the disbelief, even the despair. All that mattered now was the anger.
Unbidden, an image of the spontaneous kiss that he and Buffy had shared in Sunnydale sprang into his mind. Her speech which showed that there was, somewhere down the line, a future for them. A future that was now dead, as dead as she was.
Angel forced the image from his head and tried, in vain, to stop the new wave of pain it had brought forth. The rage he felt caused him to slam his fist into the elevator's wall. It gave slightly under the force of the blow and the elevator shook somewhat but continued its ascension at a steady pace.
Eventually, Angel arrived at the suite that Wolfram and Hart had given him. The sun was all but gone, casting a shadow over the room.
The first thing Angel did after stepping inside and locking the door was to take as many things that easily breakable and hurl that at the wall that was furthest from him. If anyone outside heard the sound of property damage and the grunts of exertion from Angel, they were smart enough to ignore them and walk away.
Angel was still angry after every smashable item in the room had been destroyed. But now he was thinking more clearly. He clawed through his memories, trying to think of anyone who had the will and resources to kill Buffy. After almost an hour however, he could come up with only one possibility.
"Haven't you figured out yet that you don't say no to the senior partners without serious consequences?"
The statement that Eve had told him earlier that day replayed over and over in his head. Behind the new wave of anger and bloodlust, there was also understanding. The 'serious consequence' had just been delivered to Angel in a neatly wrapped parcel. The Senior Partners were punishing him for his disobedience. Buffy was dead, and it was his fault.
No it wasn't, a part of his mind said to the rest of him, this is their doing, this is her doing.
Angel's head snapped upwards at this realisation, and he launched a hand swiftly towards his phone.
"Hello?" Harmony's voice added to Angel's anger. The irritation he typically felt towards her was now amplified.
"Harmony," he said, forcing calm into his voice, "Where is Eve?"
To be continued.
Right, thanks once more to all reviewers and now for the replies which you probably all skipped to the end early for.
Naz: Shave your own goat you freeloader. Your reviews grow stranger by the week, or chapter I guess I should say, oh well, thanks for reviewing.
buffy1: Oh, thanks. If i ever feel less lazy I'll correct the errors in chapter 1.
Tariq: Alas poor Angel shall remain cookie-less, I would say more but I can't think of anything. Thanks for reviewing.
Biscuit: Angel should be getting vengeful by the next chapter, and Angel seeing Buffy's head is as much of a reunion as you'll see, (sort of), I'm afraid. In any case, thanks for reviewing.
Brianna: Thanks I'm glad you enjoyed it. It's always difficult to respond to reviews like yours because all I can think of to say is thanks for reviewing. Oh well, thanks for reviewing.
Anyway, moving on…
Chapter 3: Heads, they win
"Since this guy can level cities when he wants, it's probably not a good idea to go charging in guns blazing."
Angel nodded, almost in disappointment, at Fred's statement. He had hoped to barge in, decapitate every one of Gythurit's minions and watch him shriek in terror before he tore his throat out, slowly. He wanted to make him suffer for everyone who had been died because of him.
"Also," Wesley added, "Since he is, and has roughly 50 Fretatharek demons at his command, we'll have to watch out for a poison that their bodies produce that they inject into their bodies through their teeth. It basically boils the victims internal organs over a period of roughly two hours."
There was an almost disturbing calm in Wesley's voice as he informed the others of this fact, as well as an almost sadistic grin as he noticed the disturbed facial expression from Lorne.
"Frethesteth?" Asked Gunn in an exasperated tone of voice, "What is it with these guys and names that are ridiculously hard to say?"
"Fred? Wes? Anyone?" Angel said sternly, not wanting the discussion to drift off topic, "Any idea on how to decapitate this guy without having any more towns explode?"
Wesley was the first to speak.
"My people have searched through all relevant data on mystical items that could create large, symmetrical craters and came up with this." He handed a photograph that he had been carrying to Angel.
"It's called the orb of the Shapers." Wesley continued, "They were an ancient and extinct race of Demons who tried to re-shape the world and kill all of humanity in the process. Fortunately, they were wiped out by their own creations. There was only one known remaining orb in existence and until last year it was in the possession of the Watcher's council."
"So you think this Gythurit guy found it in the rubble?" Lorne asked incredulously.
"It's doubtful, the orbs are surprisingly fragile. It probably exploded alone with the council building. No, I think Gythurit stumbled across a new one."
There was a brief silence whilst everyone absorbed this information.
"Any way to neutralise these things safely?" Angel asked, placing the photograph back onto the desk for the rest of the group to see.
"We're still working on that. The Shapers weren't known for their common sense and we're not sure they built an off switch on the orbs."
"Keep looking, as long as that thing works, Gythurit could easily destroy…"
"Mr. Angel sir." Angel looked to the door to see the unsurprisingly nervous face of the new mail deliverer, known only as 'Larry'.
"What is it?" Angel asked, not caring much about the man's state of mind.
"You, uh, have a delivery." He stuttered.
"Well bring it in." Angel replied after sighing in exasperation.
Larry hastily made his way to the desk and deposited a fairly large parcel on the desk. He then virtually sprinted out of the room. Angel's interest in the situation barely increased. Most of the staff had come to fear him after, (as they called it), 'the purges' began. The process by which Angel killed every employee who was killing humans, whether they did this or not, the employees of Wolfram and Hart had become increasingly paranoid since Angel took over as C.E.O.
When Larry had left the room with no lingering scraps of dignity to show for his visit, Angle reached for the package and wearily undid the strings.
"As I was saying," Angel said, "Until we can find a way to neutralise this thing, every city in the world is in danger of being reduced to rubble."
"I've been skimming threw the contracts and records in the arch…"
Gunn cut himself off as the contents of the parcel fell onto the desk.
The contents caused everyone to instinctively step backwards, soon after this they regained their composure and stepped forward again.
"No." Angel whispered in disbelief. He couldn't accept the sight that was before him. It was impossible.
Buffy Summers' severed head revealed an obvious expression of pain. Her features had frozen in the earliest stage of a scream before she died. The flesh around her neck was stretched, showing an already horrified Angel that her head had been twisted off.
"Is that…" Wesley, whose disbelief was almost as great as Angel's, stopped himself in mid sentence.
"What the," Gunn cut himself off "Who the hell is that."
Angel wasn't listening. His mind had turned to a chaotic mesh of confussion, disbelief, anger and fear. Part of him wanted to break down and cry, another wanted to destroy everything around him.
Get out of there, said a part of his mind that could still think rationally, get out now!
Angel pushed himself out of the chair and forced himself to maintain a deadpan facial expression.
"Angel?"
"Where are you…?"
He ignored the calls from the others. He barely noticed the presence of anything or anyone around him as he made his way to the elevator.
The elevator itself was empty, and unnervingly quiet. The usual humming it produced when in motion seemed to be drowned out by Angel's anger, which in turn was drowning out everything, the confussion, the disbelief, even the despair. All that mattered now was the anger.
Unbidden, an image of the spontaneous kiss that he and Buffy had shared in Sunnydale sprang into his mind. Her speech which showed that there was, somewhere down the line, a future for them. A future that was now dead, as dead as she was.
Angel forced the image from his head and tried, in vain, to stop the new wave of pain it had brought forth. The rage he felt caused him to slam his fist into the elevator's wall. It gave slightly under the force of the blow and the elevator shook somewhat but continued its ascension at a steady pace.
Eventually, Angel arrived at the suite that Wolfram and Hart had given him. The sun was all but gone, casting a shadow over the room.
The first thing Angel did after stepping inside and locking the door was to take as many things that easily breakable and hurl that at the wall that was furthest from him. If anyone outside heard the sound of property damage and the grunts of exertion from Angel, they were smart enough to ignore them and walk away.
Angel was still angry after every smashable item in the room had been destroyed. But now he was thinking more clearly. He clawed through his memories, trying to think of anyone who had the will and resources to kill Buffy. After almost an hour however, he could come up with only one possibility.
"Haven't you figured out yet that you don't say no to the senior partners without serious consequences?"
The statement that Eve had told him earlier that day replayed over and over in his head. Behind the new wave of anger and bloodlust, there was also understanding. The 'serious consequence' had just been delivered to Angel in a neatly wrapped parcel. The Senior Partners were punishing him for his disobedience. Buffy was dead, and it was his fault.
No it wasn't, a part of his mind said to the rest of him, this is their doing, this is her doing.
Angel's head snapped upwards at this realisation, and he launched a hand swiftly towards his phone.
"Hello?" Harmony's voice added to Angel's anger. The irritation he typically felt towards her was now amplified.
"Harmony," he said, forcing calm into his voice, "Where is Eve?"
To be continued.
Right, thanks once more to all reviewers and now for the replies which you probably all skipped to the end early for.
Naz: Shave your own goat you freeloader. Your reviews grow stranger by the week, or chapter I guess I should say, oh well, thanks for reviewing.
buffy1: Oh, thanks. If i ever feel less lazy I'll correct the errors in chapter 1.
Tariq: Alas poor Angel shall remain cookie-less, I would say more but I can't think of anything. Thanks for reviewing.
Biscuit: Angel should be getting vengeful by the next chapter, and Angel seeing Buffy's head is as much of a reunion as you'll see, (sort of), I'm afraid. In any case, thanks for reviewing.
Brianna: Thanks I'm glad you enjoyed it. It's always difficult to respond to reviews like yours because all I can think of to say is thanks for reviewing. Oh well, thanks for reviewing.