Chapter 12: Arcade.

Connor woke up and has been attacked. Fortunately Angel was there and got them both out of danger. Angel got a call about an attack.

12 hours before end of chapter 11.

Player 1: Gunn.

            The clock echoed in the apartment till the button was pushed by two fingers feeling their way. Gunn threw the covers beside him and got up with a yawn. His life was now like his morning routine, clear, put-together and for once he knew what he was doing, he understood things, he wasn't useless. His knowledge, his new place at the head of the game made him a new man. No more insecurity, no more doubts, he wouldn't go back for the world.

When he was finished, dressed, clean, he paused during a second front of the mirror and facing himself reviewed his appearance. He winked at himself and took the door to the parking. New apartment, new car and all that just to do what he always had done, fight evil.well like men ways change. He took his car and proudly took the streets to W&H building. Music resounding through the big speakers into the sunny streets of LA, city of illusion, show off and success. Gunn  was easily taken into the game, sometimes just ignoring how he came here but just enjoying the view, high over all those people, looking at him with the respect and the humility they never showed when he had his butt frozen for walking all night long in the streets searching for vampires.

LA was now his domain, nothing had secrets for him. When he pushed that door every morning he remembered the first time he did and that just made him smile some more. Looking around him and walking to his office people in there looked him envy in their eyes. He reached his office and without wasting time he began to work beginning with the different calls and files at hands. His secretary entered bringing the news.

- "Yeah, I see. Is Wesley here yet?"

The employee was impressed by Gunn's use of Mr Windham Price's first name.

- "I guess so, sir. Ill contact his office." Said the secretary posted beside Gunn's desk. After a minute of silence Gunn looked at the guy incredulous.

- "Well not tomorrow! Right now!" he said roughly, the secretary rushed out embarrassed.

Gunn smiled and sat more comfortably in his leather chair.

Player 2: Wes.

- "The fish took them!!!"

            Wesley awoke disturbed by the discomfort of his position. He had slept on his books again and he had lines tattooed on his cheek and his glasses were on the skew. Wesley took his glasses in his hand and rubbing his eyes with his free one put himself back together on this early morning. He stood up remembering last night researches. Everything here was so fast, so much information so easy to find, Wesley couldn't remember how they used to do before. It was so hard for him, despite all his work, all the time he put to it, how much effort he did and how sure he was about his decision he still felt wrong, useless, unappreciated.  

His life had always been empty but at least it had a sense, but right now all that.maybe its just me, Ill never be good enough no matter what I do.Wesley sighed and collected his notes before leaving his office. He walked along those corridors, passing in the lobby, the building was barely empty except for their closest staff, well except for Harmony who would arrive in an hour or so. Wesley took the direction of the common room, where he could find coffee, he could ask to his assistant but he wasn't there so.and Wesley preferred, morning was his favourite moment of the day when he could be alone, without all the noise and people, where he could wandered around or searching for Fred without a dozens of people following them around.

When Wesley saw Angel leaving his office, he didn't move but stayed at the counter re-looking his notes. A little hard it had been between them after all the revelations, but Wes wasn't avoiding Angel, but he really didn't know if something was expected from him, was he supposed to say something to the man he stole the child from or was he supposed to keep his distance the time necessary for everybody to cool down? In the same time Wes had just words, knowing what had happened didn't make it true, the feelings, the thoughts proper to him he didn't remember.but did he really want to remember all those feelings? Did he really want to remember all those thoughts? Did he really want to feel this knife cutting his flesh? He looked Angel leave.Will things ever be right?

Player 3: Fred.

            Clothes. It's always hard to dress, always taking so much time to decide what to wear, how something so futile can be so important. Being trapped five years in a world where she was wearing a piece of cloth made her realize how much she had lost. Pick a colour or another to fit with your mood, or to send a message to other. People are like a mirror, you can see yourself in other's eyes and for some it matters a lot more than what they can see with their own. 

Fred wasn't a person interested in appearances; she never really knew how to decode other's codes. She always thought that stay a spot in the middle of lots other was the best to survive and somewhere she was right, wasn't it like that she stayed alive during those five years? But now she fought for something right and it was the only thing she wanted to see in other's eyes.

In her lab she was like a fish in the ocean. She had met people she could actually talk with without seeing their eyes go shut. She didn't think she could help the world, she never thought that..but she thought she could help those who actually made a difference, like Angel. She met him when she arrived, he was leaving. She approached him and gently whispered a hi.

- "Oh, hi Fred" he said back awkwardly "Im going to the ...hospital"

- "Yeah" awkward "okay, I've got work so Ill see you"

Angel said a bye before getting in his car and leaving Fred alone in the parking. She sighed, she had been so angry at him, well not really angry but she had felt betrayed, and now she knew everything she was so pained for Angel, she felt so stupid. Nobody knew how to react to all this and nobody really wanted to expend on it anyway. Past must stay past Gunn had said, but now that this past was coming back biting them in the ass it was kindda rough to stay quiet.

Fred got in the building and the first person she saw was Wesley drinking his coffee at the counter.

- "Hi!" she waved at him, a big smile on her lips. Wesley smiled and waved back before getting to her.

- "Fred, did you get some sleep?" he asked kindly.

- "Yeah, and you? Did you sleep at all?"

A little smile appeared on Wes' face.

- "I guess." Suddenly a pager rang. Wes searched in his pocket and took his pager when a second, Fred's, rang at its turn.

- "Seems like Gunn's arrived" Wes said rolling his eyes. And now began the day.

7.00 am

Wes and Fred were sitting on the bench in Gunn's office, papers all around them. Gunn was at his desk papers recovering it. They were all reading and to time to time murmuring something.

- "Maybe..I think W&H has a part in this." Said Wes.

- "Yeah, well it's not really a surprise, W&H has a part on everything going on" added Gunn.

- "The spell would be step one" Fred said putting a paper back on a pile. Wesley and Gunn stopped their reading to look at her, after a moment Fred looked at them. Gunn spoke before anyone could.

- "I thought we said we wouldn't! I mean, we're lucky enough that this memory didn't make us vegetables.." Gunn closed his mouth shocked by his own words, it wasn't really smart to say something like that knowing that Cordelia was resting brainless in a hospital bed. "I mean, why would we want our memories back, its not like it was so much important. The spell erased all souvenirs about Connor, things that Angel obviously doesn't want us to remember, and well after hearing what happened it's quite understandable. I say we let the past behind and let a future a chance."

Wesley looked Gunn a little amused.

- "Did you prepare that?" he said teasingly.

- "A bit" Gunn said jokingly "I don't understand why you want to get back those memories, it's just useless"

Wesley looked down. Fred, Gunn they were there, with Angel when that happened, Wesley wasn't. He was alone, he felt like he had to remember, he couldn't let go the burden he was supposed to carry just coz it was easier or because he had the choice.

- "I think we should, we have too. We can't let Angel alone facing all that. Do you realize he must have been so lonely." Fred said sadly and shamefully.

- "Hey! I didn't ask him to play voodoo on my mind! He wanted us to forget his son. Well why the hell did he do that anyway? To preserve us or to preserve himself? Now it's done, and it's not our problem anymore." Gunn affirmed crossing his arms on his chest.

- "Well if you actually remembered the boy it would be your problem" Fred said with a calm hiding a certain angst.

- "Well, I don't and seeing his record I think its better. The kid wasn't really loved around here as I've heard."

- "I wasn't either.." said Wesley looking the floor.

Gunn turned toward him "Yeah, maybe, well you see, I don't want to remember that, it's just making things more complicated for not so much"

Wesley stood up readjusting his vest "Anyway, we have to, because we have to experiment W&H's magic. I think its time for us to dig a little. Use their resources to do good is fine as long as their not plotting in our backs or turning things against us. We made a pact with the devil, and it'll be a time when we'll have to really understand where we got into"

Gunn just looked at his desk. We're controlling.

10.00 am.

- "I hate this place..I hate this place" Spike was whispering while walking in the lobby.

- "What's wrong again negative man?" Harmony asked from behind her counter. Spike stopped to look at her.

- "Don't you have a phone to answer at!?" he said angrily. Harmony just put on a sad look. "I've disappeared again last night, and reappeared in some kind of underground, took me four hours to get back here. I couldn't even pass through the walls!! What's the point in being a phantom if I can't pass through walls!! That place is my doom I tell ya!" he continued. He approached Harmony secretively and asked silently:

- "Where's Angel?" Harmony approached her head of Spike's and whispered as secretively as him "Not here" she then smiled mockingly and started classify her papers. Spike left saying.

- "My doom!! No fun in re-re-death I tell ya!" A little now familiar sound echoed in the corridor where Spike was passing, the elevator's doors opened and Eve walked out as lightly as always. "Eve, what bad winds bring you here?"

She smiled disdainfully "Actually Im here to see Wesley about the memory spell." She went round him and made her way to Wesley's office"

Spike just watched her leave "Actually" he said mimicking Eve "How bitchy she can say that word" Spike shrugged and went after her. When he got in Wes' office he saw Wes and Eve talking while Fred and Gunn were arguing on a corner. Spike rolled his eyes painfully and sighed.

1.00 pm.

Wesley, Fred, Eve and a little behind Gunn were walking down stone stairs, they were in W&H underground and were all really surprised to see how big W&H was. The dark long spiral staircase was frightening so Fred was holding her lamp tight.

- "Boo!!!!!" Spike screamed getting out of the wall right next to Fred, she gasped and jumped t-hen threw him a disappointed look. Eve looked at him indignant. "What? Im a ghost, that's my duty!!!" He defended himself with big puppy eyes. They all ignored him and started to walk again, they finally arrived at some big corridor with plenty of doors and followed Eve into one of them.

- "What's behind those doors?" asked Gunn "I thought we were supposed to know everything little things sleeping in that building?"

- "Actually" Spike rolled his eyes at that "It has been said that nothing would be hidden from you and they aren't, the fact you haven't been told doesn't mean you have been lied to"

They entered the first door on the left and were really surprised to find in this medieval décor a large room as black as a crow. You couldn't tell where began the walls or where ended the floor, it was like so little and yet so huge. All black except for one little display in the middle which was white. There was a little box on it, a box recovered with symbols and gold hieroglyphs. They all approached carefully and placed themselves around it. Gunn approached his hand to it but didn't dare touch it.

- "So our memories are in there?" he asked impressed. Eve smiled.

- "No, no, its not that easy" she went to the box and opened it amused by the little jumps backward they all had made, she took out of it a little bag celled by a gold thread. "You'll have to go through a little trip to get them back, don't worry there's no danger" she asked them to sit down and to close their eyes, she then opened the little bag and searched into it. She approached Wes and delicately threw him a pinch of silver dust. He instantly fainted, she repeated the same thing for all of them before getting out of the room.  

1.24 pm.

- "Ow.." Wesley sighed after putting a hand on his sore head. Fred and Gunn woke up too with a big headache either. They looked at each other before getting up.

Wesley smiled and rubbed his neck "Well that was quite something, memories back yet?" Fred and Gunn sighed then shook their heads "No" they said at unison. Wesley's smile faded away "Yeah, me neither" they shrugged it off and went to the door.

When they opened the door they heard the alarm of the building stifled by the thickness of the ceilings. They looked at the ceiling intrigued and quickly ran up the stairs. When they had reached the lobby Gunn ran to the security offices as Wesley went to Harmony.

- "What happened?" he said watching around for any unusual activities. Harmony was overwhelmed by the phones calls.

- "I don't know" she said on the edge "The alarm went crazy I can't join Angel on the phone and if I don't the prince of Therazéà will end all transactions with us."

- "Where is Eve?"

- "I don't know! She left I guess" she grabbed the phone angrily "What?!!......oh Hi Prince Therazéà, no not yet..."

Wesley moved away meeting Gunn in the security offices. Gunn approached him.

- "Nothing's wrong the alarm just went off, it'll be over in a minute or two."

Wes and Gunn left the security post into the lobby when they spotted Fred.

- "I got back downstairs but the little bag wasn't in the box anymore. I guess Eve took it, I won't be able to analyze it."

- "I told you!" Gunn expressed "How good it feels to say that" he finished smiling.

4.30 pm.

Harmony searched on the shelves for a new pack of coffee. She found some behind some weird green substance in a pot. She made some coffee and waited for it to be ready, she noticed some donuts on the counter, she took one. She couldn't really feel the taste of food but, heck, for the illusion. When the coffee was done she poured herself a cup, she plunged her lips in it and tasted it disappointed by the lack of perfume. She saw an employee approaching her.

- "Want some coffee?" she asked friendly. The other woman positioned herself near her but looked the donut. Harmony looked around slowly before looking her donut then the woman.

- "You want this?" she asked, the other woman seemed weird "What's wrong?" Harmony asked trying to find out. The other woman moved her head and all of a sudden she planted her teeth in Harmony's arm, Harmony gasped and pulled her arm out of the woman's mouth not without letting a big piece of flesh.

- "What the hell is wrong with you?!!!!" Harmony screamed. The other woman fixed her eyes on Harmony and she was clearly a zombie. "Oh" Harmony said disgusted. The other woman approached groaning but Harmony kicked her in the gut then threw her the burning coffee. When the zombie employee wasn't moving anymore Harmony ran in the lobby searching for Wesley, Fred or Gunn for that matter. She didn't find any so she ran to the security offices. She opened the door violently and gasped when she saw the agents all dead and barely eaten lying on the ground. She ran out and bumped in Wesley, she screamed.

- "You scared me!" she said accusingly. Wesley watched her incredulous.

- "Harmony..you're a vampire"

- "I've been attacked, and all the security agents are dead!! It's like a blood bath in there" she said pointing the security offices. Without losing a minute Wesley went into the office. He watched the dead bodies Harmony on his toes. He turned back facing Harmony.

- "Harmony" he said losing patience. She turned and ran out and bumped into Gunn, she screamed again. Wesley rolled his eyes.

- "You're the lamest vampire" he said.

- "I know!" she said firmly.

- "There are zombies in the building!" Gunn said casually "not a good sign if you ask me"

- "We have to find Fred"

They went up the stairs to the lab where they were pretty sure to find Fred. They heard her screams so sped up. Fred was back at the door trying to keep it shut while three zombies were trying to get in. Wes and Gunn rushed at them and with some blows cleared the path. They entered the lab and checked if Fred hadn't injuries.

- "Are you okay?" Wes asked full of concern. Fred nodded.

- "Man! What the hell is that!?" Gunn said "Nobody's been bitten?" They all shook their heads except Harmony. Her eyes went wide.

- "I've been bitten! Oh my god, Im gonna turn into a living dead!!.......wait a minute, Im already a living dead!" she paused an instant "Im gonna turn into a brainless living dead!!"

Wesley and Gunn exchanged a look and smiled.

- "Ill call Angel" Wes said "try to see if that expended to the all building"

Fred nodded and went to her phone...

Down to W&H underground. Spike just appeared in a corner of a long dark corridor.

- "Not again!"

AN: Thanx for the reviews!!! :*