Title: Redemption

A bit 'a back story:

It's 2010. (The story takes place in an alternate timeline, after the events of The Gift and Welcome to Pltz Grb)

Angel Investigations is going strong, with a crew of Angel, Cordy, Gunn and Wes; along with relative newcomers Fred, Lorne, Faith, and Elena.

Over in Sunnydale…

Buffy's been dead for about 10 years now, after jumping into the portal Glory created with Dawn's blood. The remaining Scoobs (Willow, Xander, Dawn, Tara, Anya, and Giles) have continued to fight the collective forces of evil without her presence…well, most of the Scoobs.

Dru returned about a year after Buffy died, with a way to get the chip out of Spike's head. Without the Slayer to keep him grounded, he's gone back to the dark side, and along with Drusilla is back to being the driving force of bad-ness on the Hellmouth.

Summary: Spike and Dru have plans to open the Hellmouth and release hellfire-y badness with a side of an apocalypse on the unknowing residents of Sunnydale. Willow, afraid the Slayerettes have gotten in over their heads, calls Angel for backup.

A/N:Everything in Italics are flashbacks-I jump around a lot, so bear with me. The rest of the story, in the regular font, is what's taking place in present day (May 2010).

Prologue

b i Los Angeles, 2002 /b

"You were not doing fine!" Gunn yelled as he fought.

"That's what you-ooof." Her protest was cut off as a vampire hit her hard in the stomach.

Cordelia had had a vision of a woman fighting vampires in an abandoned warehouse, and loosing. The weird thing about all this was, this was the third vision Cordy had had of this particular girl. Each time, they had gone and saved her from the fate Cordelia had seen. But this woman didn't exactly appreciate the help.

"Look, whats-your-name-"

"Gunn-"


"Gunn, this is the 21st century. The man doesn't always have to save the day. I can take care of myself. So stop trying to save me!"

"The odds here? Were 20 to 1. Not in your favor."

"Hey!" Wesley called from across the room. "Fight after we're finished here! Right now, concentrate on the vampires trying to kill us all!"

Her response was delayed as she staked a vampire, but she made time in between attacks to send a scathing look Gunn's way.

"Then it's good I have this in my favor…"


She stood perfectly still, staring at a vamp that was coming towards her. She held her hands out in front of her and violently pushed them out, away from her body. The vampire was sent flying into a piece of wood that jutted out of the wall of the warehouse.

Wesley stared, openmouthed. "You never mentioned you were telekinetic."


"You never asked. Behind you!" She sent the vampire that was coming up behind him flying to the floor, giving Wesley the opportunity to stake it.

They had gotten rid of almost all the vampires in the warehouse when a door rolled back and more streamed in.

"Oh, man…" Gunn said angrily. "We can't take them all!"


"No shit, Sherlock." She sighed and pushed a loose strand of hair out of her eyes.

"Ok, I have a plan. On the count of three, start staking every vampire that freezes in place."

"What?" Wesley asked, confused.

"Don't argue with me. Just do it. One…two…three!"

She held both her hands out in different directions. On each side of her, by Wesley and Gunn, a vampire stopped moving as if a force field had surrounded it. Without asking questions, they both killed the vampires. As soon as the dust settled, she'd stopped another two in their tracks.

After what seemed like forever, Gunn and Wesley finished off the last few vamps, and they both went over to the witch.

"I'd say that was a job well done." Wesley said, brushing dust off his clothes.

"Yep. Now I'm outta here." She said.


"Can you at least tell us your name?" Gunn asked as she turned to walk away.


"Elena."

b Sunnydale, California, 2004 /b

Dawn walked into the Southern California home she used to share with her mother and older sister. Her sister's friends had moved in after Joyce Summers' death in 2000 and Buffy's the following year.

1630 Revello Drive was now HQ for the Slayerettes.


"Hello?" She called. It was weirdly quiet…someone was almost always home. "Willow? Spike? Xander?"

"In here, Nibblet." Spike's voice floated out of the kitchen.


Dawn set her backpack down by the door and went into the kitchen. Spike was standing in a corner, partially hidden in the shadows.
"Spike? Are you ok?"


"What? Oh, yea, I'm fine, Pet. Actually, I'm great."

There was something wrong about his voice…Dawn couldn't place it, but it scared her. She slowly stepped back through the entryway and into the hall. "Are you the only one home?" She asked him, as she backed up towards the front door.

"No." A high-pitched, English accented voice said from her left. Dawn jumped and turned around to see Drusilla coming out of the dining room.

"It hums, Spike…it sings to me. Beautiful, pure energy, singing…"She moved closer to the former Key, swaying slightly and moving her hands back and forth in front of her face.

Dawn ran into the living room, trying to put as much space between herself and the crazy vampire as possible. She was far from helpless, but she wasn't stupid enough to try to take on Drusilla without a weapon.

'If I could get to the weapons chest…' She thought desperately…but there was no way. Drusilla was already in between her and the stash of weapons.

"Spike!" She screamed, but she had a sinking feeling he wouldn't be helping her.

"Sorry luv, I really am. But Dru's hungry."

The vampire in question laughed and clicked her fingernails together, still advancing on Dawn. But having a Slayer as a big sister hadn't totally gone to waste, and she started to form a plan.

Without warning, Dawn threw herself past Drusilla and to the front door. She had her hand on the doorknob and had even managed to fling it open, but she felt something grab her ankle.

"No, no, we can't have any of that..."

Dawn screamed again as Drusilla pulled her back into the house.

Xander came home from his job at the construction site and tested the doorknob.

Unlocked.

He figured that Dawn had come home early from her visit to her friend's house...but he realized things were quite different when he got inside.

Not far from the entryway, Dawn lay unconscious, with Drusilla hunched over her. He didn't really register what he was doing; he just sort of threw himself towards Dru and knocked her off Dawn. They rolled into the living room, kicking and throwing punches at each other but rarely landing any.

Finding a suitable weapon wasn't nearly as much of a problem for Xander. He grabbed a small side table and smashed in into the floor, sending shards of wood everywhere. He picked up one of the legs, which had shattered into a perfect stake. He held it over Dru's heart, about to kill her, when someone came up behind him and picked him up by the back of the shirt.

"Hey now. None of that." Spike sounded almost bored as he dropped Xander back onto the ground. "We'll be going now, seems me and Dru have worn out our welcome." He helped his scary demon girlfriend to her feet, and they exited out the door into the growing twilight.

Xander almost went after them, but he realized Dawn was still unconscious. He ran over to her and took her pulse.

'Strong. Thank God.'

"Dawn? Dawnie, can you hear me?" It took a few seconds, but she came around.


"Xander? What happened?" She asked faintly, her hand moving to her neck that Xander had just finishing bandaging.

"I'm not really sure. Don't touch your neck, I don't want the bandage to move."

"Spike…he's…"

"Yea, I know. Evil. Or doing a really good evil impersonation."

b Los Angeles, a few hours later. /b

"Hi, you've reached Angel Investigations. We're not here right now, but if you're hopeless, we're here to help."


"For a reasonable fee."


"Cordelia! Will you just stop that? We do NOT charge the helpless! Anyway, leave a message after the beep and one of our associates will get back to you as soon as possible."

"I'm just trying to make us some money…"

"Cordelia…"

"Ok, fine, I'm done."

Willow laughed at Angel's answering machine message.

Sounded like the same old Cordelia….

the machine beeped, and she started to talk.

"Hey guys, it's Willow. I figured I should give you the update, seeing as how well Angel and Spike get along…he's seemed to have crossed over to the side of badness-Spike, not Angel...at least, not that I know of…

Angel's not evil, right? Ok, not the point, sorry. So, Evil-Spike attacked Dawnie, and then he and Dru…yea, Dru, she's back too. How big an un-fun is that? Anyway, we think they skipped town and, might come after you. So keep your eyes open, ok Angel? If you need to talk to me, I'm staying at Buf-Dawn's. I'm staying at Dawn's. Bye…"

Cordelia opened the double doors to the hotel just as the machine clicked off.

"What, no one's here to answer the phone? I find that seriously hard to believe." She called to the empty hotel.

Elena walked in after her, carrying shopping bags, like Cordy. Angel came down the stairs as the girls made their way to the offices.

"No again! If you two keep it up, we're going to go bankrupt."


"Sorry, Angel, but we have a shopping problem. We know it, you know it, get over it." Elena stated mater-of-factly.

"Besides…not all of it's shoes." She pulled a small bag out of her purse, along with another bag that had books and herbs in it.

"I needed to restock."

Angel sighed…he didn't argue with their resident Wiccan. She'd gotten them out of more scrapes than he'd care to count. And besides…her power of telekinesis was helpful to have around.

'And really cool.' He thought as she floated the bottles and volumes behind the desk.

"Shh, I wanna hear the messages." Cordy said. She pressed the 'play' button on the answering machine, and Willow's voice filled the lobby.

"Hey guys, it's Willow. I figured I should give you the update, seeing as how well Angel and Spike get along…"

"I hope that's sarcasm…" Angel muttered.

"…he's seemed to have crossed over to the side of badness-Spike, not Angel...at least, not that I know of…Angel's not evil, right?"

"Why does everyone always think that?" Angel asked.

Cordy smacked his arm as the message continued.

"…. So um Evil-Spike attacked Dawnie, and then he and Dru…yea, Dru, she's back too. How big an un-fun is that? Anyway, we think they skipped town and, might come after you So keep your eyes open, ok Angel? If you need to talk to me, I'm staying at Buf-Dawn's. I'm staying at Dawn's. Bye…"

Cordelia and Angel stood in stunned silence. Elena just looked perplexed.

"Who's Spike? And who's Dru? And I'm really confused…"She murmured, breaking her concentration and dropping a heavy looking book she'd been moving towards the desk onto the floor.

"Elle, do I have a story for you…" Cordy said. "Sit down, this could take a while."

Still in LA, a few hours later.

"…. Jesus. Ya'll sure had interesting lives before I met you." Elena said.

"Tell me about it." Cordelia sighed. "I think I covered everything."

Fred, Lorne, Wesley, and Gunn had come in to listen to Cordy's little trip down memory lane. Angel, having heard it-and lived it-all before didn't feel that it was necessary to pay attention, and had wandered away into his office, supposedly to close a case file. But everyone there knew he wanted to brood about Buffy, and they left him alone.

Except for Cordelia, who didn't really care.

"You guys keep yourselves amused, I'll be back in a minute." She got up from her seat and went into Angel's office, closing the door quietly behind her.

"Was that such a good idea?" Fred asked nervously.

"I wouldn't worry, cupcake." Lorne said, patting her on the shoulder. "If anyone can handle Angel when he's in a 'mood', its our little Vision Girl."

"Go away." Angel said sourly, without turning around.

Cordelia, realizing this was going to take longer than she had thought, sighed and sat down on the edge of his desk.

"Oh. Cordy." He said, sounding a little less cranky. "What's the matter?"


"Other than the fact that you've locked yourself in here so you can think about her?" She said, not having to name the 'her' in question.

Angel looked down at his hands. "I wasn't. Thinking. I mean, I was thinking. But not about that."


Cordelia rolled her eyes. "Right. Ok then. Want some company?"


He didn't answer, so she got up and started to walk away. Just as she put her hand on the doorknob, he looked up. "Company's always nice."

b Outside the Hyperion…. /b

Spike sat inside a rental-ok, stolen- car with Drusilla in the passenger seat.

"I know he's here…I can smell him. Daddy's home…" She giggled to herself. Spike didn't bother to respond as he kept his eyes locked on the hotel in front of them.

"So Peaches is home then? Do you know who else is inside?" He asked her.

Dru's eyes cleared for a rare moment as she glared at the bleached blonde vampire. "No, of course not."

'Of course not…' He thought, shaking his head. 'What a bloody nut.' Spike kept his thoughts to himself, though. No one wanted to piss off Drusilla.

"Can we go play?" She asked, barely able to contain her excitement.

"Soon, love. Soon." /i