Chapter 15
"I heard you're little speech to Wesley's father." Angel said as he watched Buffy pace in front of the windows.
"I know." Buffy said.
"You ok?"
"I don't know who he thinks he is. He acts like his shit doesn't stink and ours is nuclear waste." Angel chuckled. "This isn't funny Angel. He's treating both of us like pawn scum and there's no words for how he treats Wesley."
"I know. But there's really not much we can do."
"We could do us all a favor and kill him. Wouldn't be able to trace it back to us."
"I think it would make us both feel incredibly guilty and we'd never be able to look Wesley in the eyes again."
"Then we could move away, some where far, far away, and change our names and just live out our lives. Granted yours would be way, way longer than mine."
Angel smiled. "I love you."
Suddenly, the alarms blared throughout the building. Buffy and Angel ran out of their office to investigate, as did Gunn. "What's happening?" Buffy asked.
"We've lost power, communications." Gunn said.
"All right, can somebody please shut off the.." The alarm stopped. "That's better." Angel said.
"Not sure it is. I think that means we lost security, too."
Spike walked out of the elevator through the door. "Uh, something's wrong with the elevator."
"Get security online. We need to know if this is a false alarm." Buffy said.
The cyborgs came into the lobby, punching out one of the men. More cyborgs jumped down behind Buffy, Angel, and Gunn. "I'm thinking it's not a false alarm." Gunn said.
"Great. I'm not wearing my fighting boots." Buffy looked down at he pointed-toe, stiletto boots just as the wave of cyborgs attacked.
Buffy and Angel engaged the cyborgs. Gunn knocked one out, but another engaged him in a fight. The cyborg punched Gunn in the stomach, then threw his chain around Gunn's neck, slinging him into the stairs. Angel saw Gunn being beaten, but had his own cyborg to fight off before he could go to his aid. Buffy backflipped away from two cyborgs and then jumped up, kicking both of them in their chins. Another grabbed her from behind and threw her up and over the second story railing. She stood back up, shaking off the bruises and the pain, and jumped off the railing. She launched herself at the three cyborgs and tackled them to the groun.
Angel's cyborg kicked him across the room. Gunn's cyborg had taken control of the fight, wrapping its chain around Gunn's neck and choking him. Spike was walking around the lobby and noticed Gunn's situation. "Gunn!"
"Spike.. what are you.." Gunn choked.
Spike was standing in front of Gunn, holding his fist out, ready to punch, but also holding his other hand up in a stop motion while he thought. "Sorry. I have to concentrate." Gunn choked more. "Shh. Don't talk." Spike finally threw his punch, connecting with the cyborg's head and knocking it back so that it loosened its grip on Gunn's neck. Spike smiled at his accomplishment, but Gunn just stared at him.
The cyborg hit Angel, knocking him down. Wesley's father knocked the cyborg in the head with a chair, knocking it away from Angel. Roger offered his hand to Angel to help him stand. "Thanks." Angel said.
"Buffy, Angel, Wesley's on the roof. He needs your help." Dawn said, standing with Fred.
"Hey, Gunn, go find out what's happening with security. Dawn and Fred, there are people down. Go see who's injured." Buffy said.
"We'll go find Wes." Angel added.
"I'm coming with you." Roger said.
"Look, we don't have time.." Buffy started.
"He's my son."
"Oh, uh, Eve's stuck in the elevator." Spike called.
"So tell maintenance." Buffy shot back, running off. She and Angel ran out onto the roof, followed by Wesley's father.
"Wesley! Wes! Where's Wesley?" Angel asked. No one was on the roof but them.
"Well, that's just the thing. I'm sorry to have misled you, but this was never about Wesley." Roger tasered Buffy and she fell to the ground, unconscious. He held out a wand Angel recognized from Wesley's vault. "Atistrata." Angel collapsed, clutching his stomach and grunting. "It is, by the way, a pleasure to meet you, too." A white smoke flowed out of Angel's body and into the wand, making the tip glow white. "Don't fight it. It'll be easier for you." Roger spoke into an earpiece. "Ready for extraction. We're finished."
Wesley took the staff out of his father's hands. "Not quite." He held a gun pointed at his father. "Hello, father."
"Walk away from this, Wesley. You'll never understand what we're trying to do here."
Buffy groaned and looked around as Wesley said, "You're using the Staff of Devosynn to take Angel's will, make him your slave. Your cyborgs panic a bit too easily."
"That creature is more dangerous to mankind than you realize."
"You're wrong about him. He's not what you think."
"He's a puppet. He always has been. To the Powers That Be, to Wolfram & Hart. Now he's ours."
"You went to a lot of trouble to get this staff. You had us attacked, you smuggled in a weapon.. You brought in an army so you could escape. I don't know why you're doing all this, but did you ever once consider there might be another way? Did you ever once consider talking to me about it?"
"No. You've failed me enough for one lifetime."
Buffy crawled over to Angel and laid his head in her lap. She stroked his face as she watched Wesley and his father interact. Fred ran out onto the roof. "Wesley!"
"Fred.. get out of here!" Wesley said.
Fred ran over to Buffy and Angel. She held Buffy steady. "What the hell is going on?"
"You know what that vampire is and what he's done, and you follow him anyway?"
"Maybe I know what I'm doing. Why can't you trust that?"
"You disgrace yourself with the Council, you join forces with him and that Slayer, and you have the nerve to ask me why I can't trust you?"
"I've done everything you ever asked, and I've done it well."
"I asked for this, hmm? I wanted to be humiliated?"
"No, I suppose I don't know what you really wanted." Wesley walked toward his father, still pointing a gun at him. "You never had any use for me as a child, and you can't bear the thought of me as an adult. Tell me, father, what is it that galls you so, that I was never as good at the job as you.. or that I just might be better?"
"Oh, yes, this is Los Angeles. We have to talk about our feelings. Then maybe we'll hug."
"It's doubtful."
"Hand me that staff."
"No."
"Now, don't make me shoot you."
Wesley walked back to the edge of the roof. "Go ahead."
"Do you know how powerful that thing is?"
"I don't care."
"I will kill you for it. Please believe me." A helicopter was hovering over the roof, shining bright white lights on it.
"Oh, I believe you. I was raised by you, after all." Wesley held the staff over the edge of the roof. "But I drop this, the crystal shatters, and Angel is restored. So I reckon whether I live or die, your plan has failed."
"I see. Well, then.. maybe if it's someone you care about.." Roger grabbed Fred, pointing a gun at her head.
"Fred!" Buffy yelped, grabbing for her.
When his father grabbed Fred, Wesley pointed the gun at his father and shot it without another moment of consideration. Buffy ducked and covered Angel as Wesley shot his father in the chest until his clip is empty.. 9 times. Wesley's father fell to the ground, and the helicopter departed. Wesley walked up to his father's fallen body and stared, upset. Fred looked at him, then at Angel. Wesley stumbled away, dropping his gun as he went and bent over behind a roof vent to vomit. Fred looked after him, concerned. When Wesley stood, he heard the buzzing of electronics behind him. He turned to look and saw his father's body fade into the body of a cyborg, shimmering with electricity. Wesley stared at it in disbelief. Buffy grabbed the wand and smashed it. Angel gasped and groaned. Buffy held onto him as she stared at Wesley and the cyborg.
Wesley walked into Angel's office to find him sitting on the couch, holding his stomach. Buffy gently dabbed a cold, wet rag on his forehead, sitting protectively next to her husband. "How are you guys doing?"
"My neck stings a little, but I'll live." Buffy said, smiling slightly.
"You know that worst part about losing your free will?" Angel asked.
"Having no control over your body?" Wesley asked.
"Well, there's that and.. you get really nauseous."
"The effect should wear off before too long."
"Any idea where these things came from? What they were trying to do with my husband?" Buffy asked. Wesley shook his head. "Great. Like we don't have enough to worry about. Now the good guys may be after us, too."
"We have to assume we crossed some powerful forces when we took over this company."
"They're all trying to bring us down. The perception is that we're weak." Angel said.
"No. The perception is I'm weak. That's why they went for me."
"They're wrong. You do what you have to do to protect the people around you. To do what you know is right, regardless of the cost. You know, I never really understood that. You're the guy who makes all the hard decisions, even if you have to make em alone."
"Right now I feel like the guy who shot his own father."
"Well, it was just a robot with a fancy glamour." Buffy said.
"That thing knew everything about me."
"You know, if they had access to the Watchers Council's old files, they'd have your background information, character assessments.."
"Psychological profiles. Everything they'd need."
"Well, like I said.. don't beat yourself up." Angel said. "Oh.. you know.. I killed my actual dad. It was one of the first things I did when I became a vampire."
"I hardly see how that's the same situation."
"Yeah. I didn't really think that one through."
"You should get some rest." Buffy said to Wesley.
"So should you." Wesley said. He got up and left.
"Which one of us was he talking to?"
"I think both of us." Angel said.
"Well, I don't know about you, but I could curl up right here and sleep for the next ten years."
"Ditto."
Buffy smiled and leaned over to kiss Angel. Just before his lips met hers, she pulled back. "Do you really think the Council's regrouping?"
"Buffy, shut up." Angel pulled her to his lips and kissed her deeply.
"I heard you're little speech to Wesley's father." Angel said as he watched Buffy pace in front of the windows.
"I know." Buffy said.
"You ok?"
"I don't know who he thinks he is. He acts like his shit doesn't stink and ours is nuclear waste." Angel chuckled. "This isn't funny Angel. He's treating both of us like pawn scum and there's no words for how he treats Wesley."
"I know. But there's really not much we can do."
"We could do us all a favor and kill him. Wouldn't be able to trace it back to us."
"I think it would make us both feel incredibly guilty and we'd never be able to look Wesley in the eyes again."
"Then we could move away, some where far, far away, and change our names and just live out our lives. Granted yours would be way, way longer than mine."
Angel smiled. "I love you."
Suddenly, the alarms blared throughout the building. Buffy and Angel ran out of their office to investigate, as did Gunn. "What's happening?" Buffy asked.
"We've lost power, communications." Gunn said.
"All right, can somebody please shut off the.." The alarm stopped. "That's better." Angel said.
"Not sure it is. I think that means we lost security, too."
Spike walked out of the elevator through the door. "Uh, something's wrong with the elevator."
"Get security online. We need to know if this is a false alarm." Buffy said.
The cyborgs came into the lobby, punching out one of the men. More cyborgs jumped down behind Buffy, Angel, and Gunn. "I'm thinking it's not a false alarm." Gunn said.
"Great. I'm not wearing my fighting boots." Buffy looked down at he pointed-toe, stiletto boots just as the wave of cyborgs attacked.
Buffy and Angel engaged the cyborgs. Gunn knocked one out, but another engaged him in a fight. The cyborg punched Gunn in the stomach, then threw his chain around Gunn's neck, slinging him into the stairs. Angel saw Gunn being beaten, but had his own cyborg to fight off before he could go to his aid. Buffy backflipped away from two cyborgs and then jumped up, kicking both of them in their chins. Another grabbed her from behind and threw her up and over the second story railing. She stood back up, shaking off the bruises and the pain, and jumped off the railing. She launched herself at the three cyborgs and tackled them to the groun.
Angel's cyborg kicked him across the room. Gunn's cyborg had taken control of the fight, wrapping its chain around Gunn's neck and choking him. Spike was walking around the lobby and noticed Gunn's situation. "Gunn!"
"Spike.. what are you.." Gunn choked.
Spike was standing in front of Gunn, holding his fist out, ready to punch, but also holding his other hand up in a stop motion while he thought. "Sorry. I have to concentrate." Gunn choked more. "Shh. Don't talk." Spike finally threw his punch, connecting with the cyborg's head and knocking it back so that it loosened its grip on Gunn's neck. Spike smiled at his accomplishment, but Gunn just stared at him.
The cyborg hit Angel, knocking him down. Wesley's father knocked the cyborg in the head with a chair, knocking it away from Angel. Roger offered his hand to Angel to help him stand. "Thanks." Angel said.
"Buffy, Angel, Wesley's on the roof. He needs your help." Dawn said, standing with Fred.
"Hey, Gunn, go find out what's happening with security. Dawn and Fred, there are people down. Go see who's injured." Buffy said.
"We'll go find Wes." Angel added.
"I'm coming with you." Roger said.
"Look, we don't have time.." Buffy started.
"He's my son."
"Oh, uh, Eve's stuck in the elevator." Spike called.
"So tell maintenance." Buffy shot back, running off. She and Angel ran out onto the roof, followed by Wesley's father.
"Wesley! Wes! Where's Wesley?" Angel asked. No one was on the roof but them.
"Well, that's just the thing. I'm sorry to have misled you, but this was never about Wesley." Roger tasered Buffy and she fell to the ground, unconscious. He held out a wand Angel recognized from Wesley's vault. "Atistrata." Angel collapsed, clutching his stomach and grunting. "It is, by the way, a pleasure to meet you, too." A white smoke flowed out of Angel's body and into the wand, making the tip glow white. "Don't fight it. It'll be easier for you." Roger spoke into an earpiece. "Ready for extraction. We're finished."
Wesley took the staff out of his father's hands. "Not quite." He held a gun pointed at his father. "Hello, father."
"Walk away from this, Wesley. You'll never understand what we're trying to do here."
Buffy groaned and looked around as Wesley said, "You're using the Staff of Devosynn to take Angel's will, make him your slave. Your cyborgs panic a bit too easily."
"That creature is more dangerous to mankind than you realize."
"You're wrong about him. He's not what you think."
"He's a puppet. He always has been. To the Powers That Be, to Wolfram & Hart. Now he's ours."
"You went to a lot of trouble to get this staff. You had us attacked, you smuggled in a weapon.. You brought in an army so you could escape. I don't know why you're doing all this, but did you ever once consider there might be another way? Did you ever once consider talking to me about it?"
"No. You've failed me enough for one lifetime."
Buffy crawled over to Angel and laid his head in her lap. She stroked his face as she watched Wesley and his father interact. Fred ran out onto the roof. "Wesley!"
"Fred.. get out of here!" Wesley said.
Fred ran over to Buffy and Angel. She held Buffy steady. "What the hell is going on?"
"You know what that vampire is and what he's done, and you follow him anyway?"
"Maybe I know what I'm doing. Why can't you trust that?"
"You disgrace yourself with the Council, you join forces with him and that Slayer, and you have the nerve to ask me why I can't trust you?"
"I've done everything you ever asked, and I've done it well."
"I asked for this, hmm? I wanted to be humiliated?"
"No, I suppose I don't know what you really wanted." Wesley walked toward his father, still pointing a gun at him. "You never had any use for me as a child, and you can't bear the thought of me as an adult. Tell me, father, what is it that galls you so, that I was never as good at the job as you.. or that I just might be better?"
"Oh, yes, this is Los Angeles. We have to talk about our feelings. Then maybe we'll hug."
"It's doubtful."
"Hand me that staff."
"No."
"Now, don't make me shoot you."
Wesley walked back to the edge of the roof. "Go ahead."
"Do you know how powerful that thing is?"
"I don't care."
"I will kill you for it. Please believe me." A helicopter was hovering over the roof, shining bright white lights on it.
"Oh, I believe you. I was raised by you, after all." Wesley held the staff over the edge of the roof. "But I drop this, the crystal shatters, and Angel is restored. So I reckon whether I live or die, your plan has failed."
"I see. Well, then.. maybe if it's someone you care about.." Roger grabbed Fred, pointing a gun at her head.
"Fred!" Buffy yelped, grabbing for her.
When his father grabbed Fred, Wesley pointed the gun at his father and shot it without another moment of consideration. Buffy ducked and covered Angel as Wesley shot his father in the chest until his clip is empty.. 9 times. Wesley's father fell to the ground, and the helicopter departed. Wesley walked up to his father's fallen body and stared, upset. Fred looked at him, then at Angel. Wesley stumbled away, dropping his gun as he went and bent over behind a roof vent to vomit. Fred looked after him, concerned. When Wesley stood, he heard the buzzing of electronics behind him. He turned to look and saw his father's body fade into the body of a cyborg, shimmering with electricity. Wesley stared at it in disbelief. Buffy grabbed the wand and smashed it. Angel gasped and groaned. Buffy held onto him as she stared at Wesley and the cyborg.
Wesley walked into Angel's office to find him sitting on the couch, holding his stomach. Buffy gently dabbed a cold, wet rag on his forehead, sitting protectively next to her husband. "How are you guys doing?"
"My neck stings a little, but I'll live." Buffy said, smiling slightly.
"You know that worst part about losing your free will?" Angel asked.
"Having no control over your body?" Wesley asked.
"Well, there's that and.. you get really nauseous."
"The effect should wear off before too long."
"Any idea where these things came from? What they were trying to do with my husband?" Buffy asked. Wesley shook his head. "Great. Like we don't have enough to worry about. Now the good guys may be after us, too."
"We have to assume we crossed some powerful forces when we took over this company."
"They're all trying to bring us down. The perception is that we're weak." Angel said.
"No. The perception is I'm weak. That's why they went for me."
"They're wrong. You do what you have to do to protect the people around you. To do what you know is right, regardless of the cost. You know, I never really understood that. You're the guy who makes all the hard decisions, even if you have to make em alone."
"Right now I feel like the guy who shot his own father."
"Well, it was just a robot with a fancy glamour." Buffy said.
"That thing knew everything about me."
"You know, if they had access to the Watchers Council's old files, they'd have your background information, character assessments.."
"Psychological profiles. Everything they'd need."
"Well, like I said.. don't beat yourself up." Angel said. "Oh.. you know.. I killed my actual dad. It was one of the first things I did when I became a vampire."
"I hardly see how that's the same situation."
"Yeah. I didn't really think that one through."
"You should get some rest." Buffy said to Wesley.
"So should you." Wesley said. He got up and left.
"Which one of us was he talking to?"
"I think both of us." Angel said.
"Well, I don't know about you, but I could curl up right here and sleep for the next ten years."
"Ditto."
Buffy smiled and leaned over to kiss Angel. Just before his lips met hers, she pulled back. "Do you really think the Council's regrouping?"
"Buffy, shut up." Angel pulled her to his lips and kissed her deeply.