A/N – Sorry all, but I'm honestly going to try to cut back on my author's notes and thank you's (I can hear the boos and hisses already!)… There are so many that the thanks are getting as long as my story! Not to mention, it takes time to update them after each review I get. So… I want to thank everyone that has reviewed this last time around. Anne, Angelus, Morrigan, Yashoda, DDuck, Imzadi, Genevieve719, Angel-cordy, Steffi, Bella7, The Blue Faerie, Trysta… I appreciate your undying support of this story to a degree that's almost mind-boggling. Please keep on reviewing… I love to hear from each and every reader, whether they like this or not. And occasionally, you may see epic thanks if I'm moved enough to do such things (wink, wink :P). So, without further ado… here's the next installment. Let me know how you like it!
The tightness that had been in Cordelia's chest since the moment she'd woken up was starting to recede a bit the closer she walked to the Hyperion. But… she couldn't help the little bit of apprehension as well. There were so many memories held within that aged hotel and she wondered at how everyone was going to react as they walked in those doors. Angel walked a few paces ahead of her and Cordelia quickened her stride so she could grab a hold of his hand. Startled, the vampire looked over at her and then looked down at their interlocked fingers. When he looked back up at her, her dark eyes had a look in them that dared him to let go. Instead of taking her dare, he squeezed her hand and pulled her closer to him as he reached out to open the door.
Angel pushed the door and it squeaked from the lack of use as the group stared into the darkened lobby. Cordelia drew in a breath and walked carefully into the Hyperion, pulling Angel in behind her. The dust that covered the floor and the spider webs that hung from every conceivable object were glaring testaments to the hotel's abandoned status. Cordelia's hand ran over the banister and it came away with quite the layer of grime. She turned to look at the rest of the gang with a disgusted look.
"Well… I, for one, am glad this place is actually still here… When I talked about it earlier, I was afraid that you all would tell me you sold it or something," she said as she shook her hand free of the dust. Wesley looked around the hotel in a reflective awe.
"To be truthful, Cordelia, I haven't really given this place all that much thought," he said. Fred shook her head in agreement.
"Me neither…" she said. Gunn looked a bit abashed.
"Well… to be honest, it was the next item on the 'for sale' docket," he said, his eyes going nervously to the ground. Cordelia turned to look at him, hands on hips and a frown on her face.
"Oh? And what had been the first?" she asked, although she had a horrible, sneaky suspicion she knew what it was. There was an uncomfortable silence for a moment, before Angel spoke.
"Your apartment," he said. Cordelia didn't know whether to be hurt, angry, confused… so she decided on all three.
"My apartment? And where, pray tell, did you expect me to live when I woke up? At Evil'R'Us?" she asked. Again, silence.
"Oh yes," she continued. "I forget… you all didn't expect me to wake up, did you?" This time everyone looked anywhere but at her. The hurt wasn't as blaringly painful as it had been before, but it still stung to be faced with the truth time and time again.
"Cordy…" Angel started, but she held up a hand.
"Forget it," she sighed. "I know what happened. I know the 'whys' and 'wherefors'… Let's just get this place cleaned up so that we have some place to actually do some research, since we all know how much we enjoy that part of the 'Save the World' tour." Taking advantage of Cordelia's willingness to not pursue the subject any more, and their own desperation to ease their own guilt, everyone sprung to life and headed towards the offices and the basement to see what they could use to make their old headquarters spotless once again.
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It was close to three hours later that the hotel lobby looked anywhere near the grand hotel it had once been. Everyone was starting to convene back in the office area as they stretched and rubbed sore muscles from the hours upon hours of scrubbing, scraping and whatever else had been required of them. They all stood around the large, newly polished oak desk with refreshments in hand and completely silent. Fred was the first to break.
"I'm so sorry, you guys…" she said, setting her taco that Lorne had been kind enough to procure for her down and looking at each of her friends. Three hours of being bombarded with memories that she'd once forgotten and memories she'd forgotten for her own benefit made the slight Texan realize all that had happened in the past year. "I'm sorry that I forgot, I'm sorry that I kept forgetting, and I'm sorry that I wasn't strong enough to do anything but forget…" Wes cleared his throat.
"We all forgot. We all did things we are… ashamed of… We all have equal parts of the blame," he said. "If I hadn't taken Conner, none of this would have ever happened…" Cordelia set her coffee down next to Fred's taco.
"If I hadn't been stupid enough to let the freaking Senior Partners into my head on my birthday, none of this would have ever happened," she said.
"Well…" Gunn started, "I'm sorry that I…"
"Well, I'm sorry I ever became a vampire," Angel's voice broke in, his face hard and his voice even harder. "Then I would have never would have become Angelus, never would have become Angel, never would have come here and met you all, and never would have ultimately caused all this to happen." Everyone's eyes widened, but no one said anything. Angel stood up straight and uncrossed his arms.
"What is it we are trying to do here? Are we going to go back over every moment of the past and try to absolve ourselves? We had no way of knowing where everything was going to take us. We had no idea at how involved the Senior Partners would become in shaping this moment and we certainly had no goddamn idea that they could even do such a thing. So… let's not waste time on what we can't change," he said harshly. Lorne shifted in his chair slightly as he cleared his throat.
"Angelkins is right, kiddies. We've got bigger fish to fry. We all know where our paths have led. If we'd stayed those paths, I doubt there would be a world anymore. The Powers have intervened enough to show us the way. Now, the tough stuff is up to us. We need to find a way to get those filthy Senior Partners out of our lives for good. Because if we don't, the past is going to rule the future. We've got to check our baggage at the door, boys and girls, because we need to come together as a team and do what we do best. It's why the Senior Partners did what they did anyways… they are afraid of us and what we do when we are a team," he said. There were ghosts of smiles on all their faces as they realized that the green demon was right.
"Lorne is correct," Wes said. "There was a reason behind all of this and now we've broken out of their mold. Let's get our books…"
"I'll go check the basement for weapons," Angel told everyone.
"I'll go check to rooms to see what books have been left here," Fred said, catching the sudden need for action.
"Gunn, you and Wes will have to head back over to Wolfram Hart. Get the texts that we need," Cordelia instructed. The two men nodded. "I'll go help Fred look around the place to see what we all left here. Spike and Conner can help us." The ghost and the boy looked at each other questioningly.
"Looks like we're not chopped liver after all, mate… we're on search and rescue," Spike said with a roll of his eyes. Buffy let out a snort.
"You could just sit quietly," she said. Spike let out a snort of his own.
"Like that's bloody likely," he said, causing all in the room to smile. The mood in the room sufficiently lightened, Cordelia clapped her hands in a way reminiscent of her cheerleader past.
"Let's get ready to kick some baddie ass," she said as she swept out of the room. Angel followed in her wake, with everyone else doing the same.
"Well… off we go," Lorne said, staying pointedly seated. Gunn was the last to leave the room as he searched for where he'd put his stuff.
"They were your pretty words that jump started the gung-ho gang and now you're just sitting there," Gunn said as he picked up his axe.
"My well of inspiration has run dry…" the demon said as he stood.
"I never would have thought you to be a speech giver…" Gunn said as he clasped a hand on Lorne's shoulder. The demon let out a breath as he stood up and watched everyone leave the room.
"Yeah, well, just call me Braveheart… Just don't expect face paint… the blue would clash with my new suit," he said. Gunn laughed as he stood and followed the gang.
"Or your face…" he shot back over his shoulder. Lorne let out a chuckle as he straightened his tie and went to join in the ragtag missions
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"How long do you think they're going to keep having their little bleeding heart sessions? They tend to be bloody downers, for the most part," Spike asked the blond next to him as they watched the group talk amongst themselves preparing to set off on their assigned tasks. Buffy let a stake twist through her fingers as she slouched down onto the lobby couch.
"They've got things to sort out that don't include us, Spike," she said simply. Spike let out a snort.
"I'm sorry, you're sorry, we're all sorry… even that little cockroach from earlier is sorry… Haven't we things to do? Evil plots to foil? Baddies to thwart?" he asked.
"The end of the world's not going anywhere just yet. And if we're all at each others throats or avoiding each other like the plague, the end of the world will be the end of us… then the world…" she said, not looking at the ghost. Spike watched her for a second.
"Right… well then… are we just going to continue with the small talk, then?" he asked.
"What are you talking about, Spike?" she asked, turning her tired blue-green eyes to him.
"Well, we've been at each other's throats for as long as I can remember. If there's a spring cleaning going on, we should probably clean out a few of our own closets…" he said. Buffy rolled her eyes, but couldn't help the small smile that crossed her face at his ridiculously lame metaphor.
"By all means, air your grievances…" she invited.
"I've got no problem with anything, but is seems that you have some hang ups with being around me," he said, punctuating his speech by poking at her shoulder. Both of their jaws dropped as his finger connected causing Buffy to stumble slightly at the unexpected pressure.
"Well bloody hell… I can touch people. Why didn't I know I could touch people?" he asked. Buffy could only watch as he reached forward and poked her shoulder again.
"I wonder what this means," she said finally.
"It means I'm bloody well human again," he said with a smile alighting his eyes.
"Let's not get all jumpy with the conclusions," Buffy said.
"What's not to get jumpy about?" he asked, standing up. His hand snuck out to snatch the stake Buffy had been tossing around. His hand went right through it.
"There goes your 'human' theory," Buffy said. Spike frowned and concentrated harder before trying again. His hand went through the wood once more.
"Bloody hell," he said. "I could do that earlier. I wielded a sodding weapon. You saw it…" Buffy watched as Spike start to pace angrily.
"Maybe it was a one-time deal," she said. The ghost spun to give her his usual pointed look.
"They wouldn't do that," he said. Buffy frowned.
"Who?"
"I don't bloody well know! The Senior Partners and the Powers That Be seem to be all interchangeable as of late… could be either one," he said.
"I don't see the Powers making all this a one-time deal. And I don't see why the Senior Partners would give you a weapon and then say 'oops, never mind'. They don't seem the type," she commented.
"Then why could I touch you?" he asked. Buffy shrugged and was about to say something until a commotion broke her thoughts.
Their heads both turned quickly to see the group, minus Gunn, Wes and Cordelia, convening in the stairwell. Spike smirked as he made his way towards the willowy Texan now making her way towards them.
"Hello, luv… where are you off to?" he asked charmingly. Fred gave him a look.
"To do the job I was given. And if I'm not mistaken, I think Cordy ordered you to help," she said. Spike grinned shamelessly.
"Anything to help a lovely lady such as yourself," he said, moving to put an arm around her slim shoulders. Only Spike and Buffy were surprised when his arm went right through her. The brunette just gave him an arched look.
"You're a loony," she said before she made her way towards the stairs, dust cloth in hand. Buffy and Spike looked at each other again.
"Maybe she's a fluke?" the Slayer suggested. For the next few moments, Spike made his way around the room and subtly experimented with all the others, failing miserably in each attempt. He let out a disappointed sigh, but perked up when he saw a dark head entering the lobby again.
"Granddad!" Spike suddenly said, opening his arms wide and heading towards Angel in a last ditch effort to prove that he and Buffy weren't going mad. Angel's eyes widened at the blond's approach and he held up his hands.
"Don't come near me, Spike, or I'll have you exorcised quicker than you can say 'boo'," he said with a dark look. Spike sneered, but dropped his arms.
"Granddad made a funny. The world is ending," he said in a way that resembled a pout. Angel glared at him before he made his way to the weapons cabinet. Spike sat down next to Buffy again and succeeded in prodding her shoulder roughly.
"Looks like you're the fluke, luv," he said. Buffy groaned and put her head in her hands.
"Great, just what I need," she said. Her impending diatribe of woe was interrupted.
"We got books!" Cordelia crowed in triumph as she came down the stairs. "They were squirreled away in the room Wes usually used… Let's get to work! Maybe we can get a few steps a head before Wes and Gunn get back with more books." Buffy looked at Spike and then looked to where Angel, Conner, Cordelia, Fred and Lorne all circled around the front desk with books being piled in front of them.
"Looks like we'll have to figure this one out later. And do me a favor, keep your big mouth shut about this until we need to tell," she said. Spike smirked.
"The 'need to know' hubbub makes me feel all important like," he said. Buffy pinched the bridge of her nose for a second.
"How 'bout you just keep your big mouth shut?" she suggested. Spike, usually ever-so-contradictory, just gave her a small smile and waved for her to go join the gang in their investigative pursuits.
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He watched them all scramble around to try to solve this end of the world thing. End of the world… it didn't seem as catastrophic as he would have imagined it to be. Yesterday, he probably would have screamed like the little girl his brother's usually claimed he was.
It was strange, really, being in this place. He wasn't supposed to remember it, but he did. Conner let out a breath as he paced just out of earshot of 'the gang'. Every now and then, he would cast a glance at the group. Killing that monk earlier had awoken something in him that he really couldn't put a name to. And if Conner were really honest with himself, it had awoken earlier, he just hadn't noticed it yet. Every time he looked at his group of 'saviors' he felt the anger come back. It was the anger that he had felt in that flash of life earlier that day. It had been that pain… It took everything in him at times to keep from running over to that cabinet with all the weapons and take each and every one of them out. Yet, thought of his parents, of his sister and brothers, of his friends in this life kept him from doing that. One of these lives was his, and it would all become clear if he just waited. All he had to do was mask the growing hate. With that thought, Conner turned to watch the one they called a 'vampire'. And he watched the beautiful woman that was always at his side. A flare of anger and hatred almost seared him as a moment where she hadn't been by the vampire's side flashed before his eyes.
"Hey, Conner!" that same woman called to him. Conner turned to see everyone looking at him.
"Yeah?" he asked as he approached. The small one – Fred? – put her hand on him arm and he resisted the urge to shrug it off.
"We were wondering if you remember if those monks said anything to you when they took your blood," she said. The monks? Oh… the monks… the ones he didn't kill…
"No, I don't think they did," he said. Cordelia slumped down in her chair and put her chin in her hand.
"Well, damn. Not a single lead in that department except for the fact that they borrowed his blood without a by-your-leave…" she muttered unhappily. The one with the glasses cleared his throat.
"Saving the world isn't supposed to be easy, Cordelia," he said. Cordelia rolled her eyes.
"Oh if only they had cliff notes…" she bemoaned. Wes chuckled.
"The only thing we have at the moment is that they needed Conner's blood and that there's a reference to the Destroyer. We'll have to start there and dig whatever we can out of it," he said. Everyone nodded. Conner shifted on his feet and looked at his watch.
"I really need to get home. I told my parents I'd be studying, and if I'm any later they will start to look for me," he said. A look of disappointment crossed the vampire's face, but Conner only smiled inwardly at it.
"We'll give you a lift home," he said before Cordelia drew him away to speak to him. Conner went to pick up his things, but focused his hearing on the couple.
"… make sure he's safe," Cordelia finished. Out of the corner of his eye, Conner saw the vampire nod.
"I'll take the first watch. At dawn, Gunn or Wes will have to relieve me," he said. Cordelia nodded.
"I'm coming with you," she said as she started to go get her coat. The vampire held her back gently.
"No, Cor, I want you to stay here where it's safe. They're after Conner, you'd just be in the middle of it," he said. She reached up and caressed his cheek.
"I'm safer with you, Angel," she said simply. Conner made a face at that statement and turned away when the two leaned it to share a kiss. There were more words, but he blocked them out as he righted his school bag and picked up his coat.
"We're ready to go," Gunn said, tossing a set of keys in his hand. The vampire held out his hand.
"Let's go," he said. Gunn rolled his eyes.
"Man, it's just a car…" he said.
"Yeah, my car," the vampire said back. The black man tossed the keys to him as they began to file towards the door.
"Wes, you, Fred, Spike and Buffy get to work on those texts. Gunn, Cordy and I will take Conner… home… we'll set up a look-out rotation when I get back," he said. Wes nodded, already deep into a book. The vampire then looked to Conner.
"Let's go," he said. Conner wanted to sneer at the man's back, but Cordelia wrapped her arm through his and was guiding him to the door. He wasn't sure which was worse… being baby-sat by this bunch or being almost kidnapped by fanatical monks. With a quick breath, the teenager resolved for the second time that night to be patient. For what, though, he wasn't exactly sure…
A/N2: Well, some of that was filler, some of that was important, and most of it didn't sit well with me. I do want to thank Bella7 for taking the time to read through it before I posted it. She thought it was fine, so I'm taking her word as gospel. She spent enough time reading the whole thing beginning to end that I think I'll trust her… :) Anyways, all… please let me know what you think. The next chapter should have a bit more meat to it, hopefully. My muse has been either on vacation or just plain lazy as of late. We're getting there, folks… we're getting there. Slow but sure wins the race… Til then, PLEASE review. Thanks!
