REPRECUSSIONS
Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters except for the ones that I created like Alyssa, Amy, and Kelli.
CHAPTER 30-LAST RITES
Alyssa's memory of the moments immediately following Ethan Rayne's entrance into the bedroom would be obscured for the rest of her life. Despite the fact that her legs felt like Jell-O and that her clothes were nowhere to be seen she made a frantic attempt to get to the nearest door, one that Ethan had not used to enter the room, and pray to God that it lead to a way out. She scrambled into the room and had to resort to falling against the door to close it, hearing the sound of Ethan chuckling gleefully in the other room. With tears slipping down her cheeks and a searing pain in her back Alyssa fumbled with the doorknob until she was sure that it was locked.
"Oh come now my little poppet…this is only going to make things worse for you in the end," Ethan called out with a sinister and mildly excited smile of glee on his face as he walked slowly over to the bed and began to make it.
"Stay away from me you freak," Alyssa growled out with such an angry tone of voice that she surprised even herself before she clung to the sink like an addict to their last hit to help her wobble her way back up to her feet.
"A freak am I…please Alyssa, if you would just come out of the bathroom I believe that you would find out that I am far from being a…freak, as you so eloquently put it, in fact I believe that you and I could have a lot of fun together…," Ethan countered with a carefree tone to his voice and his movement as he continued to make the bed, stopping momentarily to take a deep whiff of the sheets.
"Fuck you," Alyssa screamed out at the top of her lungs, an act that almost caused her to pass out, before she regained her composure as best she could and used anything and everything as a support to get her over to a window on the other side of the room.
"A great idea but…sorry luv…we did that last night," Ethan shouted back with a rather pleased with himself grin on his face before he walked back out of the room and came back a moment later with a couple of bottles of wine and two glasses.
"Damn…," Alyssa groaned with a very sickly expression on her face as she fought back the urge to vomit for a bit before the urge became to overwhelming and she unloaded into the nearby toilet.
"Okay…I think the coast is clear," Xander announced with a nervous and excited all at the same time tone to his voice and look on his face as he looked back into the room and waved at the others.
"For now," Dawn groaned with a worried look on her face as Willow, as silently as possible, pushed her out of the room and out into the hallway, with Kennedy and Anya close behind.
"Where are we going," Anya asked with a confused and not overly excited expression on her face as she straightened up and peered in through the window into another room.
"We're…well we're…Will," Xander started to reply with an annoyed scowl on his face before he realized that he really had no idea where he was going and turned back to Willow.
"How should I know, as long as it's away from Adam it's okay by me," Willow stammered back with a nervous and scared look on her face before she shrugged her shoulders and turned back to Kennedy.
"What iff we follow da signs dat say exit," Kennedy offered up with a hopeful and optimistic smile on her face as she slipped her hand into Willow's.
"Sound's like a plan to me, let's move out people," Xander stated with a more confidant tone to his voice than his earlier statement as he waved everyone behind him onward.
"Alright everyone, a quick status report, Adam has somehow been brought back to life and as of yet his current whereabouts are unknown, our city based camera took these pictures early this morning right before the sun came up, and from the looks on your faces I don't think that I need to tell you who our two friends are…," Gunn stated with a concerned sigh and shrug of his shoulders as he gestured to a large flat screen television that had been mounted on the wall behind him.
"Bloody…," Spike gasped with a shocked and surprised scowl on his face as he stared wide eyed at the images in front of him.
"No…," Buffy whimpered softly to herself, an act that only Spike and Angel heard, before she rolled her head back and sighed deeply. Spike was about to say something comforting when he felt her trembling hand find his under the table.
"So the big bad Mayor finally decided to run for another term…and he brought along the old duffer…," Spike said with a hopeful joke smile on his face before under the table Buffy squeezed his hand as hard as she could, nearly shattering the bones in his hand.
"That…old duffer Spike, is the Master, he's the vampire that sired Darla…and started everything, but Buffy killed him years ago…she killed them both…," Fred countered with a less than impressed scowl on her face as she initially glared across the table at Spike before he gave her his best smile and wink. After finishing her rebuttal of Spike no one noticed Fred look down at the papers in front of her in a furious attempt to hide her smile and red face.
"But yet somehow they're back, and we get the chance to kill them…this time for good," Cordelia said with an unhappy frown on her face as she turned to get a reassuring look from Angel.
"Okay…so what about Caleb, what do we do with him," Spike asked with an unconvinced frown on his face as he began to slowly trace lines in Buffy's palm with his thumb.
"We're working on that Spike, I believe that his power is directly proportionate to the characteristics of the hellmouth, thusly…," Fred began with a very excited and worthwhile smile on her face as she stood up and looked around the room before Angel held up his hands in mock defeat.
"Uh Fred…care to run that by us again…in English," Angel asked with a hesitant and slightly worried smile on his face as he hoped that he hadn't damaged Fred's ego.
"I think what she means is that Caleb gets his powers from the hellmouth, we shut it down…and we shut him down," Gunn replied with a couple of pauses and a nervous frown on his face as he turned to look over at Fred.
"But what if the First is giving him some of its power, I mean we already know that the First can manifest itself whenever and wherever it wants, maybe it's found a way to give Caleb some of its power," Buffy interrupted with a nervous and slightly scared look on her face before one of the proximity alarms went off.
"Are you sure you know where you're going," Andrew asked with a timid expression on his face as he puzzled at the name of the last street that they passed.
"Of course I know where I'm…why aren't you keeping watch," Robin started to reply with a hurried and frustrated scowl on his face before he looked up into the rearview mirror and saw Andrew staring back at him.
"Because she's not back there…and my neck hurts…why can't we…STOP," Andrew started to whine with a tired pout on his face before he spotted someone familiar out of the corner of his eye and yelled out the rest. Throwing caution to the wind Robin slammed on the brakes, such a sudden and sharp act that Andrew, who had been staring out one of the side windows at that moment, tumbled forward into the front passenger seat with a loud exclamation.
"What…," Robin shouted with a very angry sneer on his face as he reached into the tangled mess that was the former villainous nerd and grabbed him by the throat.
"I…I thought I saw…Alyssa," Andrew choked out as he tried, unsuccessfully, to pry Robin's vice like grip off of his neck while frantically pointing with his thumb back towards the side of one of the houses nearby.
"Alyssa…but she's…oh God," Robin started to say as he was about to give Andrew's neck a good squeeze when he recognized the young slayer trying to use the windowsill to pull herself back up to her feet. For a moment Robin was glad that there was a sizeable bush underneath the windowsill for the young potential to hide behind or he would have seen something that he hadn't wanted to see. With a flash of speed Robin let go of a gasping Andrew, put the car into park, and raced towards the clearly injured potential. "Alyssa…wait no, don't…stop," Robin shouted loudly as he raced across the lawn towards the shaking young woman, grabbing a large blanket that had been left out of the lawn on the way before he knelt down at her side just as she curled up into a ball and began to cry.
"No…," Alyssa mumbled frantically through the sobs as she increasingly tried to curl up into an even tighter ball while Robin tried to keep his heart from beating out of his chest as he threw the blanket around her.
"Andrew…," Robin yelled with a very nervous and confused edge in his voice as he carefully picked the terrified and sobbing potential up into his arms and turned back towards the car. Andrew started to respond as he climbed out of the car but the second that he caught sight of the state that Alyssa was in he quickly threw himself back into the car, yanked the drivers side door shut and buckled his seatbelt. Andrew didn't happen to glance back in the rearview mirror as Robin very nearly tumbled into the car and ordered him to drive, despite the presence of blood on the hands of the son of the slayer. Had he glanced back he might have seen Ethan Rayne step out of the house, grinning from ear to ear and giving them an almost cordial toast.
"Got a minute…," Angel asked softly with a cautious tone to his voice as he leaned into the darkened room, lit only by a lone lamp.
"You're in charge here…," Buffy mumbled back in reply as she unwrapped a pack of cigarettes and tossed the little bits of plastic into a nearby trashcan.
"Those things will kill you ya know," Angel countered with a scowl of disapproval on his face as his gazed was fixed on the pack of cigarettes in Buffy's hands.
"Thought that was your job…or at least your kind, kill the slayer before she…," Buffy began to say with a sad and depressed pout on her face as she slumped down in her chair a bit and fished around in her pockets for Spike's lighter.
"Stop it Buffy, why can't you just admit that you're scared to death about all of this, I can see it…Spike, well…even he's not thick enough not to see it," Angel said with a concerned look on his face as he pulled up a chair and sat down beside Buffy as she pulled Spike's lighter out of one of her pockets.
"Did you actually have a reason for coming in here Angel, or was it just to poke fun at me…," Buffy rebounded with a dose of venom in her voice as she turned her head away from Angel and lit up her first cigarette.
"Stop it Buffy, this isn't the time or the place to be arguing like two children, tonight could very well be the end of the world and you're acting like a…," Angel snapped back with a very frustrated and impatient scowl on his face as he gripped the back of Buffy's chair and had to work hard to contain his anger.
"I know how I'm acting Angel…and it's because I can't take it anymore, any of it…when this is all over tonight, provided that we live of course, we're done…Spike and I are done for good, no more spending every night patrolling and saving the world from one disaster after another, that's your job," Buffy quickly replied, staring off into space with an almost haunted look in her eyes, as she calmly flicked the ashes off of the end of her cigarette into a small ashtray.
"You speak for him now…," Angel asked, more than a bit surprised at Buffy's words, as he let go of the back of Buffy's chair and leaned back.
"That I do Angel, sure he'll still want to go out occasionally but as for the fate of the world resting in our hands…that all ends tonight," Buffy answered with a half look of interest on her face as she rolled the cigarette back and forth between her index finger and thumb.
"And I can't talk you out of this…," Angel wondered aloud with a hopeful expression on his face as he stood up and cautiously laid a hand on Buffy's shoulder.
"Sorry…but no, you used to be able to talk me into our out of basically anything Angel, those days are behind us now…and forever," Buffy stated with an almost sad and nostalgic smile on her face before she took a deep breath and another drag on her cigarette.
"Are you and I…we still good then…," Angel asked with a quietly worried look of concern on his face as he optimistically waited for Buffy's answer.
"Always…," Buffy softly whispered back after blowing out some of the smoke and turning her head to look up at Angel.
"How the leg pet," Spike asked with a soft look in his eyes as he pulled up a chair and sat down next to Molly.
"Okay I guess…still hurts like a bloody son of a…," Molly began to say with a forced smile on her face before Spike broke into a smile and chuckled a bit.
"It won't be long now…pretty soon Buffy and I and the others are going to have to go back to good old Sunnydale for the big throw down," Spike pointed out with a less than thrilled look on his face as he stared past Molly and concentrated on a small spot on the far wall.
"Yeah…try not to die huh…because I'd hate to have to have Angel teach me how to fight," Molly stated back with a steadily growing smile of sarcasm on her face as at first she stared straight ahead, trying not to let her level of worry show through, before she couldn't help but turn her gaze to Spike.
"Yeah luv…I'd hate that to…," Spike whispered back softly before he reached out, gave Molly's hand a reassuring squeeze, and then went off in search of Buffy.
"Mr. Giles come quick, it's Andrew and Mr. Wood," Amy exclaimed with a look of frantic panic on her face as she tore down the stairs, very nearly slipping on the bottom one because of her eagerness to relay the news.
"What…," Giles stammered out with a very confused expression on his face as he looked up from teaching the potentials about how to properly block against a much taller opponent.
"They're back…Alyssa's with them…it's bad…," Amy stammered out with a terrified look on her face before she dug her fingernails in to the railing.
"Bad…how bad," Giles asked with a grave look of concern on his face as he lifted his head up and turned to face Amy.
"Really bad…she's bleeding, and crying and Andrew's a mess…," Amy shouted back in reply with a still terrified look of panic on her face as she reluctantly let go of the railing and took a step back up the stairs.
"All of you stay here, Vi…you're in charge until I get back, continue to do the blocking routines until I come back and tell you otherwise, Amy…lead the way," Giles stated with a very concerned and serious edge to his voice before he charged up the stairs behind Amy and stepped into the kitchen just as Robin and Andrew came in through the front door with Vi holding it open, looking as if she were about ready to pass out.
"Giles," Andrew called out with such a look of panic on his face that internally Giles wondered how the former geek had even been able to make it through the door without passing out.
"How bad is it," Giles asked with a very serious and slightly unsure tone to his voice as he directed Robin upstairs and into Buffy's old bedroom.
"I couldn't tell through the blood…and there was something else…," Robin began to say with a hesitant and unsure look on his face as he gently laid Alyssa down on the bed.
"What could possibly…oh," Giles started to ask with a look of deep concentration, as he started to pull the edge of the blanket back, before he noticed that the blanket was the only covering that Alyssa had.
"Sorry Rupert but it couldn't be helped, when we found her she was already naked and barely moving, we rushed her right over here," Robin answered with a cautious look on his face as behind him Andrew went into damage control and did his best to keep Amy and Vi out of the bedroom.
"This will need to be handled very delicately…," Giles started to say with a nervous look on his face before to a great degree his most immediate problem was solved.
"Giles…," Willow's voice called out from downstairs as she pushed Dawn in through the door with Kennedy helping her while Xander and Anya shut the door behind them.
"Giles we got trouble," Xander shouted with a very serious and nervous tone to his voice before he collapsed down onto one of the chairs in the living room and leaned back, trying to catch his breath.
"Dat's the understadement of da year," Kennedy added with a tired and scared expression on her face before she followed Xander's actions and sat down on the couch, letting Willow help Dawn find a seat in the dining room as Giles quickly came down the stairs, his mind full of questions.
"God, what…damn…," Faith mumbled softly as any and all actions that she made caused a brilliant blast of painful stars to explode in front of her eyes as she finally came to.
"Good you're awake," Angel stated with a very concerned smile on his face as he walked away from the necro-tinted windows and to her bedside.
"Angel…oh God…Wesley, where…," Faith continued with a panicked look on her face as she tried to sit up in bed, only to throw herself back down flat on the bed and grit her teeth against the pain while Angel hoped that she hadn't pulled her iv tube out in the process.
"Whoa, easy Faith, calm down…Wesley's right here," Angel said with a hurried and concerned look on his face as he pulled a chair closer to Faith's bed and laid a hand on her bare arm.
"Where…Angel," Faith pleaded with a pained look on her face as she kept her eyes closed in the hopes that it would help the pounding in her head.
"Right next to you…see," Angel quickly said with a nervous tone in his voice as he reached over and picked up Wesley's hand off of the bed and pulled it over until it was far enough across the gap that Faith could reach out and interlock their index fingers at the tip. Wesley's touch, even though he was currently unconscious and in a drug induced coma seemed to calm Faith down, but only a small bit.
"Angel…thank you, look…I need to ask you for something," Faith mumbled back with an oddly nervous tone to her voice, one that made Angel sit down in the chair and prepare himself for what he thought would be bad news.
"When I heal enough to get around…I'm leaving…by myself," Faith started to say with a confidant and serious edge to her voice before she couldn't continue as her voice cracked and she had to look away from Angel.
"You're not going anywhere Faith, I won't let you…I don't know the entire story about what happened to put you two in your current condition but I can tell by the way that you're acting that you blame yourself for it, and you think that running away will solve everything…make it easier on Wesley and the rest of us…well sorry Faith but that's where you're wrong, you'd only be hurting him more if you left, Wesley's not exactly a saint you know, he's made some bad decisions in his day and he's had to pay for them…," Angel said as he interrupted Faith's escape speech to give her a piece of his mind and to make sure that she knew how he felt.
"But Angel I…," Faith started to say as she managed to open her eyes again, but this time without the painful fireworks display.
"I swear that I never saw the two of you together coming Faith, but ever since you have…you're both better because of the other, so in other words I'm not going to let you leave…even if it means drugging you senseless until he comes to…," Angel added with a very serious and sincere look in his eyes as he made sure that this time Faith was looking him squarely in the eyes.
"I don't think I can do it Angel…be good and all, not in front of everyone who knows how big of a whore I am…," Faith relented, uncharacteristically, softly at first before her voice further softened into almost a barely audible whisper.
"You're not a whore Faith…no matter what you think, but I agree that it would be very hard for you and Wesley to make this work in surroundings that are constantly reminding you of your failures…so if you agree not to leave and to help in Wesley's rehabilitation then…I have a proposition for you that I think you're going to like…," Angel shot back with a still very serious and sincere look in his eyes as he stood up and helped Faith get her arm back onto her bed as he could tell that her strength was quickly being sapped.
"I'm not going to work for Wolfram and Hart here in LA Angel…or anywhere else for that matter, I'm done playing for the devil," Faith countered with a slowly weakening tone of voice as her eyelids were starting to become heavy.
"You're right…you are, but we'll talk about this all later, once you wake up…," Angel started to say with a much softer tone of voice than he had used earlier before Faith's eyelids became to heavy for her to keep them open and she drifted off back into sleep.
"How much time do we have…," Cordelia asked with an impatient pout on her face as she finished climbing the last few steps up to the roof of the hospital with Fred close behind.
"About an hour…then the sun goes down and all hell breaks loose," Gunn replied with a deep breath as he continued to scan the streets below with his binoculars.
"Guess it gives happy hour a whole new meaning huh," Cordelia joked with a nervous smile on her face squinted her eyes against the sun's glare and stared down at the deserted streets below. Thirty minutes earlier Angel had arrived with a large contingent of Wolfram and Hart soldiers, some borrowed from other branches, and hopefully enough firepower to win the day.
"Is everyone in position…," Angel asked from the shadows of the stairwell with an unhappy frown on his face he impatiently waited for the sun to go down.
"Almost there Angel, Connor and his team are almost at the school, we haven't located Adam yet but something tells me that's only because he doesn't want to be found, and just before you came up I sent some trucks over to Revello Drive to pick everyone up," Gunn answered confidently with a slightly unsure smile on his face before he put his binoculars down and turned back to Angel.
"Revello drive…Angel, why did you have Gunn send trucks there…," Cordelia asked with a slightly confused look on her face as she walked back away from the edge of the roof and back towards Angel and the stairwell.
"Because even though I'd rather see Giles get what's coming to him I don't want anymore innocent blood on my hands…," Angel replied calmly after remaining silent for several moments.
"And because if anything were to happen to any of them…Buffy would never forgive him," Fred added with an impish grin on her face, one that Gunn quickly shared, before a less than thrilled Lilah walked up.
"What do you want Cruella," Gunn asked with a sarcastic smile on his face as he went back to scanning the streets below with his binoculars.
"Do you really think that this is going to work Angel, the First isn't some evil that you can do away with simply by dumping a bucket of water on it like the Wicked Witch Of The West in The Wizard Of Oz, more than likely you'll all die tonight…," Lilah replied with a cold smile on her face as she crossed her arms and stepped in between Angel and Cordelia, making sure that she could see the angry scowl on Angel's face.
"Shouldn't you be scurrying under some rock with the other cockroaches right about now Lilah," Fred stated with a very calm and under control expression on her face before she checked to make sure that the safety on her gun was still on, making sure to let Lilah see this action and gets its full meaning.
"Ooh…that hurt, anyway Angel the First is going to try to cross over tonight, and if it can succeed then not even Wolfram and Hart can stop it," Lilah said, at first assuming a fake look of fear on her face, before she smiled at Angel.
"Then it's all very simple Lilah, we stop the First from crossing over by any means necessary, and if the Initiative tries to get in our way…as I expect them to…then we're going to have a few surprises for them, and if that doesn't work then I'll just use my ace in the hole," Angel replied with a calm and somewhat impatient frown on his face as he looked up out of the stairwell and hoped that sunset wouldn't be that much longer.
"You're ace in the hole…and just what might that be…," Lilah asked with an impatient frown on her face as she took step towards Angel and glared down at him.
"Sorry Lilah, but you're just going to have to wait like everyone else…," Angel started to say with a smug grin on his face before he noticed the change in light and stepped up a couple of more steps.
END OF CHAPTER 30