Title: A hundred soldiers are better than four
Author: Willowph Summary: the typical Buffy shows up to save the day at the end of 'Not Fade Away'. Disclaimer: not mine, they belong to Joss. And Michaela, Jacques and the ghost roads belong to Nancy Holder Rating: PG? Spoilers: Any and all of both series but specifically season 5 of Angel. Feedback: not expected but appreciated.
"Let's go to work." Angel said as he raised his sword and charged into battle.
The remaining members of his team were close behind him. They were fighting for what seemed like hours. The first time Angel noticed that they weren't alone was when a bolt from a crossbow flew past his ear and into a demon sneaking up on him from behind. He looked up in the direction the shot had come from, expecting to see his son. He was kidding himself if he thought Connor would stay away from this fight. He was right; Connor was there, on top of a nearby building. What he didn't expect was that Connor had brought back-up of the slayer variety. Angel looked around, there were slayers everywhere. Once or twice he caught a glimpse of Buffy, Faith or one of the scoobies but never for long.
He was just wondering how they were going to take down the giant troll-like demons, not to mention the dragon, when he heard a whistling noise. A few seconds later then demon exploded as if hit by a missile. When the smoke cleared he saw army helicopters moving in, complete with sidewinder missiles and flood lights. The US government would never help him out so there was only explanation, Riley Finn. Buffy obviously had a fair bit of warning about this to get Riley involved. Which meant one of two things, either the coven's seer was at it again or one of his employees had made a transatlantic phone call. He guessed it was Wesley when Angel had started going bad had called Giles. In fact that's exactly what Wesley had done. The army of slayers had originally been assembled to take down Angel, their mission changed after Wesley informed them of Angel's plan. That was when Buffy had called Riley, if Angel was going to piss of the senior partners it was better to have as much back up as possible. Once the initial assessment of the battle ground had been made the soldiers were given orders to only fire on things off the ground, extra large demons and things that flew, they were not to fire at the ground.
And thus the battle went, the slayers, scoobies and Angel Investigations battling on the ground and the Initiative battling in the air. At some point during the battle, Angel wasn't quite sure when, somebody had managed to get Gunn off the battlefield and to the Hyperion for some much needed medical attention. The demons began to retreat as dawn neared, some retreated into the sewers others into interdimentional portals. They'd be back though, of that Angel was certain. Once the majority of the army of demons had retreated Angel and Spike hurried to the hotel, trusting the others to bring the wounded and dead to the hotel. They wouldn't do any good if they were toast.
Once the wounded were taken care of the senior scoobies and Angel Investigations finally had time to greet each other and catch up a little.
The first thing Buffy did was launch herself into Angel's arms. She had been wanting to do that since they entered the hotel but there had been wounded to tend to.
"I knew you weren't going evil," she cried, and then much to his surprised kissed him passionately right in front of everybody.
"No way that was just a hello," Spike mumbled under his breath.
"Buffy wha..." Angel said.
"Turns out cookies don't take as long to bake as I thought," she whispered in his ear.
"Really?' Angel asked playing along, "and just how long do they take?"
"Not much longer," Buffy said. "We get through this intact and I'll let you know."
Angel grinned a rare grin, one he reserved just for Buffy.
"Deal," Angel said.
Buffy kissed him one more time before approaching Spike, "and you, you jerk, I have to find out from Andrew you're alive!" She accompanied the admonishment with a slap upside the head.
"Ow slayer, that hurt." Spike said, rubbing his head, "hey where's 'lil bit? I didn't see her fighting."
"Dawn stayed behind in England with Giles mad Kennedy working with the girls who weren't ready to fight," Buffy said, "we may have an apocalypse on our hands but we still run a school."
"Always the big sis, trying to keep her out of danger," Spike said reading between the lines.
"Well that might have had something to do with it," Buffy said reluctantly.
Buffy turned to the next person, who she didn't know but upon closer examination knew immediately who he was, "You're Connor," she stated.
"How'd you know?" the boy asked.
"You have your father's eyes," Buffy said simply.
Willow slowly approached Illyria.
"This is so weird," Willow said circling the former god, "she's Fred, but not."
"As the half breeds always tell me I am not Fred," the god said, "I simply inhabit her body. It is hurtful if I alter my appearance to her likeness, but I do not understand why."
"It's not a thing you can really explain," Willow said before walking away. It was too hurtful to hear that thing's voicing coming from Fred's mouth.
"Enough with the reunions," Xander said, "those things ain't going to stay gone forever we need a plan. And a better one than hack and slash."
"Agreed," said Riley who had just walked through the door with Sam and Graham.
"Nice of you to join us," Spike said, "what couldn't find somewhere to park your flying death traps."
"Hey, those flying death traps saved your un-life bleach boy," Riley retorted.
"Well you owed me for putting that damn chip in my head," Spike retorted.
"Enough you two," Buffy said, stepping in between the bickering men. "I know not everybody here gets along but we have to work together so get over it!"
The two men looked sufficiently berated and Riley even looked a little sheepish, "good now can we get started?" Buffy asked, "Got any place we can use as a conference room?"
"The old dining hall's the best I can do," Angel answered, "through there." Angel pointed to a set of door.
The scoobies, AI and Riley, Sam and Graham entered the room and closed the doors behind them. The new slayers, Connor and the rest of the initiative soldiers were left outside in the lobby or in some of the rooms getting well needed rest. Gunn was also recuperation upstairs.
"Before we get down to business can I ask a favour from some of your men?" Angel asked Riley.
"Depends what it is," the soldier answered.
"We lost Wes last night," Angel said, "before the alley. His body's at this address, could a couple of your men go and bring him back here. While they're there they could also make sure his mark is dead. Illyria says she killed him but just double check. Cut off his head or something. The demon's, not Wesley's."
"I think that's do-able," Riley said, "you got a picture of Wesley so the boys know who they're looking for?"
"Not around here, but give me a few minutes and I'll give you a sketch," the vampire answered.
"Any other body's you need to recover or bad guys you need to make sure are dead," Riley asked.
"Well since you offered..." Angel began, "here's a list of the members of the Black Thorn that we went after, and where we went after them. I'll give you some sketches. And if you're guys run into a green scaly demon wearing a trench coat tell them not to kill him, he's one of ours."
"We can do that," Riley said, "my men get fidgety when they have to sit around, better for them to be out doing something."
"I'll sketch while we talk," Angel said, "let's get down to business."
"First thing we have to take care of is getting the civilians out of the city," Riley said, "We don't want anymore civilian casualties."
"That's probably a job for your guys," Willow said, "they're more likely to listen to men in uniforms."
"I agree," Riley said, "probably the best way would be to broadcast it over the TV and radio. We want to try to avoid a panic though. Have them evacuate in groups, make the outer areas first working inward."
"no you wanker, we should do it the other way round," Spike interrupted, "inner city first, that's where the demons showed up last night, it's their preferred battle ground. At the moment the suburbs are a whole lot safer than in here. Get the people round here out first."
"Dead boy junior's got a point," Xander said, "we should get out the people most at risk first."
"Ok," Riley said, "I'll get my men on it." Riley went out into the main room to order his troops.
"Next order of business, back up," Buffy said, "you can never have too much back up."
"Well we already have the soldier boys," Xander said, "who else is left?"
"Oz," Willow said.
"Kate," Angel added.
"Pike," Buffy added.
"Wasn't there another witch in Sunnydale?" Angel asked, "That girl Willow used to hang out with?"
"We're not exactly on the best terms with Amy," Buffy said.
"Wasn't there another one? A boy?" Angel asked.
"Michael!" Willow exclaimed, "I could try to find him."
"We could see if Giles still talks to Michaela," Xander shrugged.
"Anybody else?" Angel asked.
"Not alive," Faith said, "but we could try that thing where past slayers take over some of the more normal people's bodies."
"Only thing with that is they have to be girls," Buffy said, "all the girls here are either slayers, soldiers or former hell gods."
"Ok, so that's not going to work," Faith said.
"We could contact Jacques," Willow said, "see if he can do anything."
"Something tells me he won't be able to," Angel said, "but we can ask."
"Who's Jacques?" Sam asked.
"And while you're at it who the hell are Michaela, Michael and Pike?" Spike asked.
"Jacques, is the gate keeper," Willow explained, "he keeps all the other world nasties from coming into our world. Michaela is a powerful sorceress who at one point had a fling with Giles. Michael was in a coven with me for a little while, I don't know where he is now but I can try to find him."
"And Pike used to help me out before I moved to Sunnydale," Buffy finished, "he still lives here, or at least he did the last time I got a Christmas card from him."
"Xander, Sam, see if you can track down the back up," Buffy said, "the rest of us have to figure out how to use said back up."
By night fall the inner city had been completely evacuated and the suburbs were beginning to vacate. The senior council, as the new slayers had dubbed them, had come up with a fairly solid plan. Parts of their back up had already arrived. Pike still lived in LA so he was the first to arrive; Michaela arrived a few hours later having taken the ghost roads. Michael was in New York and was flying in the next day with some other witches. Oz was in Colorado and would be there in two days since he was driving. They had contacted Jacques but as suspected there was little he could do. Most of the creatures were coming from dimensions whose gateways he didn't control.
The battle raged for over a week, the forces of good suffered numerous casualties but in the end they won out. Now two days after the end of the battle what was left of the army of good stood on a hillside overlooking Los Angeles. Before them stood over a dozen newly erected tombstones. Off to their left were three tombstones that were a bit more worn. The first was inscribed with the name of Allan Francis Doyle. Next to him lay his princess, Cordelia Chase. And finally their most recent casualty before the war, Winifred Burkle. It seemed odd to see her name on a stone when her body was standing but a few feet away.
Wesley Windham Pryce was the first of the new tombstones; he was followed by Alexander Levelle Harris, Michael Sutton, Kate Lockley, Graham and numerous slayers and soldiers.
Xander's dying wish had been that Anya was included on his tombstone, so it read 'Alexander Levelle Harris and Anya Jenkins together in love forever.'
There were others that they nearly lost including Connor who had gotten skewered by a polgara demon. Giles, Dawn, Kennedy and the younger slayers had flown in for the service. Unfortunately nobody would ever know the good these people did or that they died protecting the world.
Riley and Sam stood before Graham's grave leaning on each other for support. They had both been injured and Graham's death hit them both hard. Their soldiers stood before their fallen brothers in sorrow.
Willow stood in front of Xander's grave holding tightly to Buffy's hand her other hand around Oz's. Angel stood on Buffy's other side, lending his support but emoting his own grief over losing Wesley. Giles, Dawn and the other slayers stood before the graves of the fallen slayers. Gunn was kneeling before Fred's grave in tears.
Connor, Illyria and Pike hung back, feeling somewhat out of place. Illyria wished to morn for Wesley but did not want to appear weak before the humans. Pike wanted to be there for Buffy but she was already surrounded. Connor felt conflicted in one way he'd only known these people for a week but in another he had known some of the for years. Strangely what he wanted most right now was a hug, preferably from his mother but anyone would do. Buffy seemed to sense the boy's confusion and his need for comfort. She squeezed Willow's hand before slipping away from Xander's grave.
Buffy didn't say anything just walked up to Connor and gave his a comforting hug. When she pulled away Connor looked surprised.
"You looked like you needed one," she said with a shrug.
"Ya," Connor said, "how'd you know?"
"You've got more of your father in you than you think," Buffy said with a smile.
Connor smiled back at the woman who, in a way, was his step mother.
"Thanks," he said quietly.
He didn't know why he took that as a complement. The Connor he was before, the one who grew up in Kortoth, would have found his similarities to Angel disgusting. This Connor however saw Angel for the champion he was.
Angel watched as his love and his son interacted. He had missed his son over the past year but had been comforted by the fact that he was happy. Father and son had fought side by side for the last week. It had been an experience that Angel had enjoyed but now he suspected that Connor would return to his family. It would sadden him to see his son leaving. Now that he had signed away the shanshu prophesy there was no chance he would ever have more children. The prophesy was obviously not meant for him or Spike since the younger vampire had been killed by a fire breathing dragon 4 days ago. That was the last tombstone before the slayers and the soldiers. A tombstone that read 'William (Spike) Simpson, 1898 -2004, he was one of a kind.'
All the people buried or commemorated here would be missed. At the Sunnydale crew's request a second row of headstones were added for those who died in Sunnydale, both in the big battle and before. There stood headstones for Jenny Calendar, Joyce summers, Tara MacClay, Amanda, Annabelle, Molly, Chloe and the others who didn't make it out of the hell mouth.
Today was a sombre day but as Angel once told Buffy, tomorrow the stuff of everyday living begins. There was still a lot of work to do before the city could be repopulated. The streets had to be cleared of demon bodies, demolished and damaged buildings had to be torn down or fixed and other chores to make the city habitable with little or no sign of what went on in the past week.
Over the next weeks members of the army began to trickle back to where they came from. The majority of the slayers returned to England with Giles, Dawn, Faith and Willow, the soldiers returned to the jungles of South America. Soon the only ones remaining in LA were the Angel investigations gang, Pike, Connor and Buffy. Pike of course returned to his home. Connor, Buffy and Angel now stood in the lobby. The others had decided to leave them alone.
"The city's cleaned up," Angel said to Connor, "You going to head back home?"
"I'm not sure where home is anymore," Connor answered honestly, "Part of me thinks it's that house in the woods outside of town while another part of me feels just as at home here, with you."
"Connor," Angel said, "You may know who I truly am to you but your parents and sister don't. If you chose to stay here they wouldn't understand. Of course you're welcome here when ever you want but I think you should go back to your family."
Both Connor and Buffy knew that it broke Angel's heart to say that, be he was right.
"Ok," Connor agreed, "but I'm going to come back to visit."
"Actually," Buffy said, "I think I have a solution to your problem."
"What?" Connor asked.
"You're looking for a job," Buffy began, "Angel's shorthanded. It's too far to commute to the city everyday from your house. Angel gives you a job, you get to stay here and your parents are none the wiser."
"It could work," Connor said thoughtfully. "That is if you want me to work for you?"
"Well the part of me that's your father doesn't want you to get hurt," Angel said, "but I know you can take care of yourself. Welcome to the team."
"I'll talk to my parents tonight," Connor said, "What about you Buffy are you staying?"
"I don't know yet," Buffy said truthfully, "I have to have a little talk with Angel. But don't worry I won't leave without saying goodbye. You'd better get going if you're going to make it home before dark."
"Ya," Connor said, "bye Dad." Then he gave Angel a hug. Angel was stunned, Connor had never hugged him and that was the first time since he had regained his memory that Connor had called Angel 'Dad.'
"Bye Connor," Angel said, "be careful."
"I will," Connor said rolling his eyes, "bye Buffy."
"See you soon," Buffy said giving him a hug.
Connor then turned and walked out the doors of the Hyperion hotel into the last afternoon sun. Angel watched him until he could not longer see his son.
"So are you going to stay?" Angel asked, turning to face Buffy.
"That's up to you really," Buffy said, "I'm ready but the question is can you get past your doubts and insecurities."
"Buffy you have no idea how much I want you to stay but the curse is still an issue," Angel said, "I can get over sunlight and children but I don't know if I could risk putting you and the rest of the world in danger."
"Well you see Angel," Buffy said, trailing a finger down his chest, "I happen to be pretty tight with a very powerful witch. I'm sure she could do something about the pesky little clause."
"You really think Willow could do that?" Angel asked.
"She activated all those slayers didn't she?" Buffy asked, "One phone call and she'll get on it. Just tell me you want me to stay."
"I want you to stay," Angel said, "more than anything. Will the other slayers be ok without you?"
"They've got Faith and Giles," Buffy said, "and the older ones help the younger ones. They'll be fine. Or we could always start a second school over here. It is getting pretty crowded at headquarters in England. Plus it would give you more fighters once they're mature enough. We could start the younger ones out at Giles' estate in England and then they could come here to finish up their learning and get field experience before getting their assignments. That could really work. I'd probably have to bring over a couple of watchers for the book stuff but other than that we're all set. God knows this place in big enough to be a school."
It was clear to Angel by this point that Buffy was rambling, thinking out loud. He didn't have the heart to stop her for a while because he loved to hear her ramble. Plus it sounded like a pretty good plan, win-win situation. Finally he put a finger to her lips.
"Before you start he decorating maybe you should call Giles and see what he thinks. Not to mention that call to Willow." He said.
"You're right," Buffy said with a smile, "I was getting a little carried away. Can I use the phone in your office?"
Angel nodded and Buffy slipped into his office to use the phone.
After talking to Willow about fixing Angel's curse Buffy called Giles. Giles agreed that it sounded like a good plan and Buffy started planning right away. It truly was getting crowded at Giles' estate and she wanted the LA school up and running as soon and possible.
Within a few months the halls of the Hyperion hotel had gone from nearly deserted to noisy and bustling with teenage girl activity. Things were pretty close to perfect; Willow had fixed Angel's curse, Angel Investigations was back up and running and the slayer school was a real success. Having this school to give the girls field training seemed to be doing some real good. Buffy was happy and she could tell Angel was too, even if he did occasionally complain about the noise level.
The end
Author: Willowph Summary: the typical Buffy shows up to save the day at the end of 'Not Fade Away'. Disclaimer: not mine, they belong to Joss. And Michaela, Jacques and the ghost roads belong to Nancy Holder Rating: PG? Spoilers: Any and all of both series but specifically season 5 of Angel. Feedback: not expected but appreciated.
"Let's go to work." Angel said as he raised his sword and charged into battle.
The remaining members of his team were close behind him. They were fighting for what seemed like hours. The first time Angel noticed that they weren't alone was when a bolt from a crossbow flew past his ear and into a demon sneaking up on him from behind. He looked up in the direction the shot had come from, expecting to see his son. He was kidding himself if he thought Connor would stay away from this fight. He was right; Connor was there, on top of a nearby building. What he didn't expect was that Connor had brought back-up of the slayer variety. Angel looked around, there were slayers everywhere. Once or twice he caught a glimpse of Buffy, Faith or one of the scoobies but never for long.
He was just wondering how they were going to take down the giant troll-like demons, not to mention the dragon, when he heard a whistling noise. A few seconds later then demon exploded as if hit by a missile. When the smoke cleared he saw army helicopters moving in, complete with sidewinder missiles and flood lights. The US government would never help him out so there was only explanation, Riley Finn. Buffy obviously had a fair bit of warning about this to get Riley involved. Which meant one of two things, either the coven's seer was at it again or one of his employees had made a transatlantic phone call. He guessed it was Wesley when Angel had started going bad had called Giles. In fact that's exactly what Wesley had done. The army of slayers had originally been assembled to take down Angel, their mission changed after Wesley informed them of Angel's plan. That was when Buffy had called Riley, if Angel was going to piss of the senior partners it was better to have as much back up as possible. Once the initial assessment of the battle ground had been made the soldiers were given orders to only fire on things off the ground, extra large demons and things that flew, they were not to fire at the ground.
And thus the battle went, the slayers, scoobies and Angel Investigations battling on the ground and the Initiative battling in the air. At some point during the battle, Angel wasn't quite sure when, somebody had managed to get Gunn off the battlefield and to the Hyperion for some much needed medical attention. The demons began to retreat as dawn neared, some retreated into the sewers others into interdimentional portals. They'd be back though, of that Angel was certain. Once the majority of the army of demons had retreated Angel and Spike hurried to the hotel, trusting the others to bring the wounded and dead to the hotel. They wouldn't do any good if they were toast.
Once the wounded were taken care of the senior scoobies and Angel Investigations finally had time to greet each other and catch up a little.
The first thing Buffy did was launch herself into Angel's arms. She had been wanting to do that since they entered the hotel but there had been wounded to tend to.
"I knew you weren't going evil," she cried, and then much to his surprised kissed him passionately right in front of everybody.
"No way that was just a hello," Spike mumbled under his breath.
"Buffy wha..." Angel said.
"Turns out cookies don't take as long to bake as I thought," she whispered in his ear.
"Really?' Angel asked playing along, "and just how long do they take?"
"Not much longer," Buffy said. "We get through this intact and I'll let you know."
Angel grinned a rare grin, one he reserved just for Buffy.
"Deal," Angel said.
Buffy kissed him one more time before approaching Spike, "and you, you jerk, I have to find out from Andrew you're alive!" She accompanied the admonishment with a slap upside the head.
"Ow slayer, that hurt." Spike said, rubbing his head, "hey where's 'lil bit? I didn't see her fighting."
"Dawn stayed behind in England with Giles mad Kennedy working with the girls who weren't ready to fight," Buffy said, "we may have an apocalypse on our hands but we still run a school."
"Always the big sis, trying to keep her out of danger," Spike said reading between the lines.
"Well that might have had something to do with it," Buffy said reluctantly.
Buffy turned to the next person, who she didn't know but upon closer examination knew immediately who he was, "You're Connor," she stated.
"How'd you know?" the boy asked.
"You have your father's eyes," Buffy said simply.
Willow slowly approached Illyria.
"This is so weird," Willow said circling the former god, "she's Fred, but not."
"As the half breeds always tell me I am not Fred," the god said, "I simply inhabit her body. It is hurtful if I alter my appearance to her likeness, but I do not understand why."
"It's not a thing you can really explain," Willow said before walking away. It was too hurtful to hear that thing's voicing coming from Fred's mouth.
"Enough with the reunions," Xander said, "those things ain't going to stay gone forever we need a plan. And a better one than hack and slash."
"Agreed," said Riley who had just walked through the door with Sam and Graham.
"Nice of you to join us," Spike said, "what couldn't find somewhere to park your flying death traps."
"Hey, those flying death traps saved your un-life bleach boy," Riley retorted.
"Well you owed me for putting that damn chip in my head," Spike retorted.
"Enough you two," Buffy said, stepping in between the bickering men. "I know not everybody here gets along but we have to work together so get over it!"
The two men looked sufficiently berated and Riley even looked a little sheepish, "good now can we get started?" Buffy asked, "Got any place we can use as a conference room?"
"The old dining hall's the best I can do," Angel answered, "through there." Angel pointed to a set of door.
The scoobies, AI and Riley, Sam and Graham entered the room and closed the doors behind them. The new slayers, Connor and the rest of the initiative soldiers were left outside in the lobby or in some of the rooms getting well needed rest. Gunn was also recuperation upstairs.
"Before we get down to business can I ask a favour from some of your men?" Angel asked Riley.
"Depends what it is," the soldier answered.
"We lost Wes last night," Angel said, "before the alley. His body's at this address, could a couple of your men go and bring him back here. While they're there they could also make sure his mark is dead. Illyria says she killed him but just double check. Cut off his head or something. The demon's, not Wesley's."
"I think that's do-able," Riley said, "you got a picture of Wesley so the boys know who they're looking for?"
"Not around here, but give me a few minutes and I'll give you a sketch," the vampire answered.
"Any other body's you need to recover or bad guys you need to make sure are dead," Riley asked.
"Well since you offered..." Angel began, "here's a list of the members of the Black Thorn that we went after, and where we went after them. I'll give you some sketches. And if you're guys run into a green scaly demon wearing a trench coat tell them not to kill him, he's one of ours."
"We can do that," Riley said, "my men get fidgety when they have to sit around, better for them to be out doing something."
"I'll sketch while we talk," Angel said, "let's get down to business."
"First thing we have to take care of is getting the civilians out of the city," Riley said, "We don't want anymore civilian casualties."
"That's probably a job for your guys," Willow said, "they're more likely to listen to men in uniforms."
"I agree," Riley said, "probably the best way would be to broadcast it over the TV and radio. We want to try to avoid a panic though. Have them evacuate in groups, make the outer areas first working inward."
"no you wanker, we should do it the other way round," Spike interrupted, "inner city first, that's where the demons showed up last night, it's their preferred battle ground. At the moment the suburbs are a whole lot safer than in here. Get the people round here out first."
"Dead boy junior's got a point," Xander said, "we should get out the people most at risk first."
"Ok," Riley said, "I'll get my men on it." Riley went out into the main room to order his troops.
"Next order of business, back up," Buffy said, "you can never have too much back up."
"Well we already have the soldier boys," Xander said, "who else is left?"
"Oz," Willow said.
"Kate," Angel added.
"Pike," Buffy added.
"Wasn't there another witch in Sunnydale?" Angel asked, "That girl Willow used to hang out with?"
"We're not exactly on the best terms with Amy," Buffy said.
"Wasn't there another one? A boy?" Angel asked.
"Michael!" Willow exclaimed, "I could try to find him."
"We could see if Giles still talks to Michaela," Xander shrugged.
"Anybody else?" Angel asked.
"Not alive," Faith said, "but we could try that thing where past slayers take over some of the more normal people's bodies."
"Only thing with that is they have to be girls," Buffy said, "all the girls here are either slayers, soldiers or former hell gods."
"Ok, so that's not going to work," Faith said.
"We could contact Jacques," Willow said, "see if he can do anything."
"Something tells me he won't be able to," Angel said, "but we can ask."
"Who's Jacques?" Sam asked.
"And while you're at it who the hell are Michaela, Michael and Pike?" Spike asked.
"Jacques, is the gate keeper," Willow explained, "he keeps all the other world nasties from coming into our world. Michaela is a powerful sorceress who at one point had a fling with Giles. Michael was in a coven with me for a little while, I don't know where he is now but I can try to find him."
"And Pike used to help me out before I moved to Sunnydale," Buffy finished, "he still lives here, or at least he did the last time I got a Christmas card from him."
"Xander, Sam, see if you can track down the back up," Buffy said, "the rest of us have to figure out how to use said back up."
By night fall the inner city had been completely evacuated and the suburbs were beginning to vacate. The senior council, as the new slayers had dubbed them, had come up with a fairly solid plan. Parts of their back up had already arrived. Pike still lived in LA so he was the first to arrive; Michaela arrived a few hours later having taken the ghost roads. Michael was in New York and was flying in the next day with some other witches. Oz was in Colorado and would be there in two days since he was driving. They had contacted Jacques but as suspected there was little he could do. Most of the creatures were coming from dimensions whose gateways he didn't control.
The battle raged for over a week, the forces of good suffered numerous casualties but in the end they won out. Now two days after the end of the battle what was left of the army of good stood on a hillside overlooking Los Angeles. Before them stood over a dozen newly erected tombstones. Off to their left were three tombstones that were a bit more worn. The first was inscribed with the name of Allan Francis Doyle. Next to him lay his princess, Cordelia Chase. And finally their most recent casualty before the war, Winifred Burkle. It seemed odd to see her name on a stone when her body was standing but a few feet away.
Wesley Windham Pryce was the first of the new tombstones; he was followed by Alexander Levelle Harris, Michael Sutton, Kate Lockley, Graham and numerous slayers and soldiers.
Xander's dying wish had been that Anya was included on his tombstone, so it read 'Alexander Levelle Harris and Anya Jenkins together in love forever.'
There were others that they nearly lost including Connor who had gotten skewered by a polgara demon. Giles, Dawn, Kennedy and the younger slayers had flown in for the service. Unfortunately nobody would ever know the good these people did or that they died protecting the world.
Riley and Sam stood before Graham's grave leaning on each other for support. They had both been injured and Graham's death hit them both hard. Their soldiers stood before their fallen brothers in sorrow.
Willow stood in front of Xander's grave holding tightly to Buffy's hand her other hand around Oz's. Angel stood on Buffy's other side, lending his support but emoting his own grief over losing Wesley. Giles, Dawn and the other slayers stood before the graves of the fallen slayers. Gunn was kneeling before Fred's grave in tears.
Connor, Illyria and Pike hung back, feeling somewhat out of place. Illyria wished to morn for Wesley but did not want to appear weak before the humans. Pike wanted to be there for Buffy but she was already surrounded. Connor felt conflicted in one way he'd only known these people for a week but in another he had known some of the for years. Strangely what he wanted most right now was a hug, preferably from his mother but anyone would do. Buffy seemed to sense the boy's confusion and his need for comfort. She squeezed Willow's hand before slipping away from Xander's grave.
Buffy didn't say anything just walked up to Connor and gave his a comforting hug. When she pulled away Connor looked surprised.
"You looked like you needed one," she said with a shrug.
"Ya," Connor said, "how'd you know?"
"You've got more of your father in you than you think," Buffy said with a smile.
Connor smiled back at the woman who, in a way, was his step mother.
"Thanks," he said quietly.
He didn't know why he took that as a complement. The Connor he was before, the one who grew up in Kortoth, would have found his similarities to Angel disgusting. This Connor however saw Angel for the champion he was.
Angel watched as his love and his son interacted. He had missed his son over the past year but had been comforted by the fact that he was happy. Father and son had fought side by side for the last week. It had been an experience that Angel had enjoyed but now he suspected that Connor would return to his family. It would sadden him to see his son leaving. Now that he had signed away the shanshu prophesy there was no chance he would ever have more children. The prophesy was obviously not meant for him or Spike since the younger vampire had been killed by a fire breathing dragon 4 days ago. That was the last tombstone before the slayers and the soldiers. A tombstone that read 'William (Spike) Simpson, 1898 -2004, he was one of a kind.'
All the people buried or commemorated here would be missed. At the Sunnydale crew's request a second row of headstones were added for those who died in Sunnydale, both in the big battle and before. There stood headstones for Jenny Calendar, Joyce summers, Tara MacClay, Amanda, Annabelle, Molly, Chloe and the others who didn't make it out of the hell mouth.
Today was a sombre day but as Angel once told Buffy, tomorrow the stuff of everyday living begins. There was still a lot of work to do before the city could be repopulated. The streets had to be cleared of demon bodies, demolished and damaged buildings had to be torn down or fixed and other chores to make the city habitable with little or no sign of what went on in the past week.
Over the next weeks members of the army began to trickle back to where they came from. The majority of the slayers returned to England with Giles, Dawn, Faith and Willow, the soldiers returned to the jungles of South America. Soon the only ones remaining in LA were the Angel investigations gang, Pike, Connor and Buffy. Pike of course returned to his home. Connor, Buffy and Angel now stood in the lobby. The others had decided to leave them alone.
"The city's cleaned up," Angel said to Connor, "You going to head back home?"
"I'm not sure where home is anymore," Connor answered honestly, "Part of me thinks it's that house in the woods outside of town while another part of me feels just as at home here, with you."
"Connor," Angel said, "You may know who I truly am to you but your parents and sister don't. If you chose to stay here they wouldn't understand. Of course you're welcome here when ever you want but I think you should go back to your family."
Both Connor and Buffy knew that it broke Angel's heart to say that, be he was right.
"Ok," Connor agreed, "but I'm going to come back to visit."
"Actually," Buffy said, "I think I have a solution to your problem."
"What?" Connor asked.
"You're looking for a job," Buffy began, "Angel's shorthanded. It's too far to commute to the city everyday from your house. Angel gives you a job, you get to stay here and your parents are none the wiser."
"It could work," Connor said thoughtfully. "That is if you want me to work for you?"
"Well the part of me that's your father doesn't want you to get hurt," Angel said, "but I know you can take care of yourself. Welcome to the team."
"I'll talk to my parents tonight," Connor said, "What about you Buffy are you staying?"
"I don't know yet," Buffy said truthfully, "I have to have a little talk with Angel. But don't worry I won't leave without saying goodbye. You'd better get going if you're going to make it home before dark."
"Ya," Connor said, "bye Dad." Then he gave Angel a hug. Angel was stunned, Connor had never hugged him and that was the first time since he had regained his memory that Connor had called Angel 'Dad.'
"Bye Connor," Angel said, "be careful."
"I will," Connor said rolling his eyes, "bye Buffy."
"See you soon," Buffy said giving him a hug.
Connor then turned and walked out the doors of the Hyperion hotel into the last afternoon sun. Angel watched him until he could not longer see his son.
"So are you going to stay?" Angel asked, turning to face Buffy.
"That's up to you really," Buffy said, "I'm ready but the question is can you get past your doubts and insecurities."
"Buffy you have no idea how much I want you to stay but the curse is still an issue," Angel said, "I can get over sunlight and children but I don't know if I could risk putting you and the rest of the world in danger."
"Well you see Angel," Buffy said, trailing a finger down his chest, "I happen to be pretty tight with a very powerful witch. I'm sure she could do something about the pesky little clause."
"You really think Willow could do that?" Angel asked.
"She activated all those slayers didn't she?" Buffy asked, "One phone call and she'll get on it. Just tell me you want me to stay."
"I want you to stay," Angel said, "more than anything. Will the other slayers be ok without you?"
"They've got Faith and Giles," Buffy said, "and the older ones help the younger ones. They'll be fine. Or we could always start a second school over here. It is getting pretty crowded at headquarters in England. Plus it would give you more fighters once they're mature enough. We could start the younger ones out at Giles' estate in England and then they could come here to finish up their learning and get field experience before getting their assignments. That could really work. I'd probably have to bring over a couple of watchers for the book stuff but other than that we're all set. God knows this place in big enough to be a school."
It was clear to Angel by this point that Buffy was rambling, thinking out loud. He didn't have the heart to stop her for a while because he loved to hear her ramble. Plus it sounded like a pretty good plan, win-win situation. Finally he put a finger to her lips.
"Before you start he decorating maybe you should call Giles and see what he thinks. Not to mention that call to Willow." He said.
"You're right," Buffy said with a smile, "I was getting a little carried away. Can I use the phone in your office?"
Angel nodded and Buffy slipped into his office to use the phone.
After talking to Willow about fixing Angel's curse Buffy called Giles. Giles agreed that it sounded like a good plan and Buffy started planning right away. It truly was getting crowded at Giles' estate and she wanted the LA school up and running as soon and possible.
Within a few months the halls of the Hyperion hotel had gone from nearly deserted to noisy and bustling with teenage girl activity. Things were pretty close to perfect; Willow had fixed Angel's curse, Angel Investigations was back up and running and the slayer school was a real success. Having this school to give the girls field training seemed to be doing some real good. Buffy was happy and she could tell Angel was too, even if he did occasionally complain about the noise level.
The end