REPRECUSSIONS
Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters except for the ones that I created.
CHAPTER 3-THE WATER TURNS DARK
The lightning jolts of pain shooting through his body made it difficult to concentrate. He had only gotten a quick glimpse of what had attacked him because after the initial gesture of having his side and shoulder slashed Wesley had managed to stumble back outside of the hotel. He had heard whatever it was that had attacked him crash into something and howl in rage. He didn't waste any time as he found to his horror that the cuts had gone deep enough that now his left arm was quickly growing weak. By the time he got back to his SUV Wesley had to resort to doing everything with his right arm and hand because he could barely move his left arm. Whatever had attacked him finally got itself freed up and came crashing through the windows in the front of the hotel just as Wesley turned the key and fired the engine. As the engine roared to life he hit the lights and fumbled for his shotgun that he had laid on the seat beside him. As he reached for the shotgun though the creature that had attacked him snarled in anger and leapt up on top of his hood.
"Bloody hell," Wesley cursed in both anger and pain as the creature thrust its fist straight through the windshield, showering Wesley with small slivers of razor sharp glass, and cried furiously when it discovered that its hand was caught. Fighting through the throbbing pain in his left shoulder and side Wesley brought the shotgun up level to the creature on the hood and pulled the trigger. Emptying both barrels into the creature resulted in almost the complete destruction of Wesley's windshield, but luckily the creature didn't fare much better. Not taking the time to make sure whether or not the creature was dead or alive Wesley painfully tore out of the hotel's parking lot and sped off down the road.
* * * * * *
After his encounter with Robin and the potentials Angel had retreated back to the Bronze, hoping to use the down time to let his body heal and to try to figure out exactly who he had faced a few minutes earlier. He debated on whether or not to call Buffy and ask her for help but decided against it as he had always been the one that she asked for help and his pride was still in full force. Not knowing exactly what was happening in Sunnydale but knowing that whatever it was spelled trouble with a capital trouble Angel furiously looked the Bronze over from top to bottom. In the end he found only a piece of a newspaper, which had a headline telling about a mass migration out of Sunnydale. Being even more confused by this Angel took another few minutes before swallowing his pride and setting off towards Revello Drive.
* * * * * *
While Robin had taken Rhona, Vi, Kennedy, and some of the better prepared potentials out on a patrol sweep of the city Willow and Giles had decided it best to keep the rest of them back at base camp. Giles had spent much of the time watching over Faith, who could now sit up on her own and generally hated being watched over like she was a five year old. Xander and Anya had also gone out into the city, although they had only gotten so far as their old apartment before one thing led to another and soon patrolling was put on hold for the night in lieu of a much more enjoyable activity for the two. Dawn had locked herself in her room after Buffy and Spike left, except for one daylight trip to Spike's crypt done in the vain hope and prayer that the two had come back. No matter what Giles or Willow could think up the youngest Summers' would simply not open the door. Finally deciding to give Dawn some time Willow had returned to the kitchen only to find Robin and those he had taken out on patrol with him that night looking tired and scared stiff.
"What happened," Willow exclaimed with a frightened look on her face as she rushed to get the first aid kit off of the kitchen counter.
"What's it look like, we got our asses kicked…royally," Rhona growled with a frustrated scowl on her face that hid the enormous reservoir of fear beneath.
"What…," A very shocked and nervous Xander asked as he rushed into the kitchen followed closely behind by an indifferent Anya.
"We were patrolling…and then we ran into…a vampire…he laughed at us," Vi managed to stammer out before bursting into tears.
"One vampire did all of this…," Willow said almost in a terrified whisper as she surveyed the injured potentials and Robin.
"He wasn't just…a vampire Willow, it was like he…it knew what we were going to do before we did it, we didn't stand a chance," Robin said with a pained grimace on his face and a hand on his chest as he leaned heavily back up against the refrigerator.
"A psychic vampire…great, this is just what we need right now," An exasperated Xander chimed in with sadly as he helped a few of the potentials to sit down and hand him their weapons.
"I doubt that he was psychic Xander…more like a more experienced fighter that had seen this fighting style before…," Willow said with a nervous frown on her face as she shook her head and took a few bandages out of the first aid kit.
"But who would know how the potentials fought…Buffy trained them but…," Xander asked with a confused and almost haunted frown on his face as he tried to search for the answer in the gazes of those around him.
"Then it has to be a vampire that's fought Buffy before right…a vampire that would know all of her moves," Anya interjected with an optimistic smile on her face as she managed to get Robin off of the refrigerator long enough to get the ice cube tray out.
"Right…but the question is who…most vampires that Buffy faced didn't make it to round two, only Angel and Spike stuck around long enough to…," Xander replied with a deep look of frustrated thought on his face as he pulled out a chair for one of the injured potentials.
"Hold it Xander, before we go jumping to conclusions we should go about this logically…what did this vampire look like, hair color, height, build…that usual," Willow stepped in with a nervous look of caution on her face as she started to inspect a bruise.
"Well he was big…," Vi replied with a nervous look of panic on her face before she squeezed herself into a corner of the room and looked away.
"Good…see now we're getting somewhere…he was big, okay what else," Willow asked with a positive smile on her face as she cast a quick glance around the room, hoping to turn some frowns upside down.
"Tall, dark, with one hell of a right hook," Rhona answered with a nervous frown on her face as she rubbed a bruise that was beginning to form on her cheek.
"And also a high dislike for getting shot by a crossbow bolt," Robin added weakly before he pushed off of the refrigerator and headed towards the living room.
An hour later found Willow, with Giles at her side, doing her best to call a meeting of the potential generally assembly to order. After checking up on Faith and trying his best to hide his injuries from her Wood had carefully sat down in one of the chairs nearest to Willow and Giles. Xander and Anya took up positions on opposite sides of the group than Willow and Giles to help to keep order. Faith had wanted to participate in the meeting, going so far as to get up out of bed and make her way to the top of the stairs before a worried Robin and Giles had convinced her to go back to bed and gets some sleep. Reluctantly the former rogue slayer had complied and had fallen asleep shortly after getting back into bed.
"Okay now…will everyone please settle down, we have a lot to talk about and not a lot of time to do it in," Giles said loudly with a very stern look on his face and tone to his voice as he looked around the living room while adjusting his glasses.
"Yeah, like what we're going to do about this new vampire in town, I swear one night after we kick Buffy out of here…," Kennedy started to say with a rather smug smile on her face, as she leaned back up against the wall and crossed her arms, before she was interrupted by a voice that caused everyone in the room to jump, even Giles and Willow.
"That had better be a joke…because if I heard you right then someone's here's going to be in a mountain of trouble…," Angel stated with a very angry and determined scowl on his face as he appeared from around a darkened corner and stood in the living room doorway, glaring at everyone in the room before finally boring a hole with his gaze through a trembling Willow.
"Angel…," Willow gasped out with a terrified look on her face as she began to slowly hide behind Giles, who found himself unable to speak.
"Angel…oh no, he's evil again," Xander exclaimed with a look of panic on his face as he pressed himself back up against the boarded up window and looked to Giles and Willow for help.
"I'm not evil, I haven't been for a while, why does everyone keep saying that," A confused but very determined and scowling Angel replied as he took a step into the living room, sending skittish and terrified potentials scrambling to get out of his way.
"You," Robin shouted with a very angry and shocked look on his face as he leapt out of his chair and charged Angel.
"Wrong move pal," Angel growled under his breath with an annoyed scowl on his face as he caught Robin's fist in the palm of his hand and wrenched Robin's arm around behind his back before he reared back and punched the slayers son hard in the jaw. Before anyone could almost move a muscle Angel vamped out and lift his gaze back up to bore another hole through Willow, but instead aimed his gaze straight at Giles. "Now I'm only going to ask this once…so don't even think about lying to me…where's Buffy," Angel asked with a very serious and threatening look on his face as Anya started to edge closer to a scared stiff Xander.
"She's not here…," An oddly calm Dawn said clearly as she slowly descended the stairs and stood in front of Angel, not making any moves to defend herself.
"Dawn…where is she," Angel asked, with a readily apparent amount of tension in his voice as he struggled to keep the demon in check.
"She's gone…we don't know where, after she lead a raid on Caleb that ended in disaster we talked and voted her out as our leader…we haven't seen or heard from her since last night, Spike stopped in afterwards and called us…and I'm quoting him…sad, sad, ungrateful traitors...then he and Faith fought for a bit before he bailed to find Buffy," Dawn replied with a calm look on her face that hid the absolutely terrified little girl underneath that was dying inside from her part in the banishment of her sister.
"Is that right…you know I think that this is a first for Spike…he was actually right for a change, who the hell do you think you are," Angel said coldly at first with an intense glare down at Dawn, who visibly trembled at Angel's glare while still in game face, before he turned his glare towards the rest of those assembled in the living room and eerily imitated how Spike had sounded when he had asked the same question.
"He said that to," Andrew said softly under his breath as he hid in the corner and tried his best to stay out of Angel's sight.
"Like they told Spike…they're her friends…," Robin grumbled loudly with a pained wince on his face as he tried to free himself but Angel only growled and increased both the pressure and pain of the hold.
"That's a joke right…after everything that she's done for you…don't even think about it Giles…this is how you repay her, put everything on her shoulders and then when the shit hits the fan you blame her for your failings…," Angel laughed with a mocking tone to his voice as he said the first part, getting a visible cringe and a lone tear from Dawn, before he set his jaw and nearly had to mouth the rest of his threat.
"Angel please…you don't understand…there were extenuating circumstances…," Giles started to say with a scared stupid frown on his face as he steeled his nerves and took a step forward in Angel's general direction.
"There always are with you aren't there Rupert," Angel sneered back with an angry glare on his face before he shoved Robin into the wall, knocking him unconscious. "I'm going to find Buffy now…and I swear that if there's even one single hair out of place on her head I'll come back here and let you all see a little bit of why the name Angelus…is a legend," Angel added with a very furious look on his face as he slipped out of his game face before he turned and stormed out of the house, nearly ripping the front door off of its hinges as he did so. Seconds later Dawn's composure finally shattered and she slid down to a seat on the lowest step of the stairs, shaking like a leaf as the sobs wracked her body.
* * * * * *
Wesley didn't exactly remember the way to get to Buffy's house and his finding it was more a stroke of luck than anything else. He was beginning to feel a bit faint from the loss of blood as well as what he thought was the beginnings of his body going into shock because of the severity of his injuries. His vision was beginning to blur a bit so when his eyes caught sight of a road sign that read Revello Drive he had to stop his SUV and do his best to clear his vision before looking again. As he pulled into the driveway of what he hope was the right house Wesley cursed loudly as he reached across his body with his right hand to open the door. He slid out of the SUV and only halfheartedly shut the door behind him as he slowly made his way towards the front door.
* * * * * *
Inside the house on Revello Drive everyone was still reeling from Angel's visit when Wesley pulled his SUV into the driveway and got out. Robin has been taken back to the kitchen and Anya and Giles were making sure that he was alright. Willow and Xander had taken all of the potentials back downstairs to the basement and had started them working on some more training, anything to calm their anxious nerves. After her brief appearance in front of Angel Dawn had rushed back upstairs and locked herself back in her room, refusing to come out. From outside in the hallway Willow had been able to hear the younger Summers continue sobbing away. Andrew had hidden in the living room long enough for everyone to forget that he was even there, allowing him a chance to plop down on the couch and try to find something to watch on television.
"Buffy…knew him…," Robin stuttered out with a tired and pained grimace on his face as Giles helped him to sit down on one of the stools. Anya and Giles shared a nervous and slightly scared look before Giles turned back to Robin.
"You could say that…shortly after Buffy arrived here in Sunnydale she bumped into Angel, or rather he bumped into her…anyway they dated," Giles started to say with a flustered smile on his face as he handed a wet washcloth to Robin.
"But he's a vampire…," Robin asked with a confused look on his face as he was having a hard time believing what he was hearing.
"So…that never seemed to stop those two from getting it on…her and Spike either," Anya quipped with an absentminded smile on her face, not fully realizing what it was that she was saying, even through the confused look that Robin cast her and the angry one that Giles sent her way. "What…," Anya mumbled with a slightly hurt frown on her face before she shrugged her shoulders and went to the refrigerator to get some more ice.
"Wait a minute…she actually…slept with that monster," Robin asked with a completely flabbergasted and disbelieving look on his face as his mind desperately tried to come to grips with what he was hearing.
"Unfortunately yes…and at the time none of us had any idea that it was happening…and when he left town I hoped that it would be for good…but alas…I was wrong," Giles replied with a nervous frown on his face as he pulled a stool up beside Robin.
"You sure were…he came back with a soul…but I guess you already know that," Anya started to say with a very excited smile on her face before her countenance fell to a look that was more crestfallen.
"Yes Anya…I did, Buffy told me, but why did he leave…after seeing him and Buffy together I don't see why he would have," Robin asked with a pained wince as he brought the wet washcloth up to the already forming bruise on his jaw.
"Really…I'm surprised that Xander hasn't told you what happened that night in the bathroom…," Anya quipped again with a confused look on her face as she scrunched up her face for a bit before looking optimistically over at Giles.
"Bathroom…what," Robin asked with a confused frown on his face as he turned his hardened gaze towards the former vengeance demon.
"Well after she broke up with him he came here that night and tried to force…," Anya started to say with a very serious look on her face before she was interrupted by someone knocking on the front door.
"I'll get it…," Willow said with a nervous and slightly scared look on her face as she came up from the basement and headed towards the front door.
"What if it's him again," Robin asked with a concerned frown on his face as he shifted his gaze from Anya to the pile of weapons on the counter.
"Then we'll be ready," Giles said with a very determined look on his face as he slid off of the stool and grabbed one of the crossbows on his way to the front door, just as Willow was turning the doorknob.
"Okay Angel we…Wesley," Willow started to say with a very serious look on her face, one that soon changed to one of utter shock and worry, at the sight of the grizzled former watcher in front of her.
"Hello Willow...Giles…nice night," Wesley mumbled back softly with a tired and pain filled smile on his face before he ducked his head slightly and walked past them into the house.
END OF CHAPTER 3