Disclaimer: Not mine.

Author's note: HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE!

Thanks to: Darklight, MysticWolf1, Wesfan1234, Tess LaCalme, Gigi13, Kinzie, and Nookyfiction for reviewing!

Again, thanks to Little Illy for your really helpful and long review! In response to a few things: I am gonna start giving brief explanations for the contrast in Gunn/Charlies behaviour, the same for Lorne/Krev, in case you were wondering. lol. And the time thingy - I'm gonna really start messing around with some of the events. lol. So I'd love some tips if you've got any, on how to stop people getting confused. Also, in my last chapter, when it cut from the Hyperion to Cordy and Connor, a few hours were meant to have passed between the change of settings. I guess it wasn't that obvious. lol. Thanks for your review!

Krev sank down into the corner, creasing his new silk suit in a way that Lorne would have cringed at, however, the five year old demon had other things to worry about, as more and more birds continued exploding against the glass of the door, and windows.

Charlie flopped down beside him, the little boy's cry of "Birdies" still ringing in the air. Gunn's younger self had spent his first few years being shielded from images of a disturbing nature, and was unnaturally innocent compared to the man that Angel Investigations had grown to know and love.

Of course, when Krev had his stomach "cut open" or "scratched" to anyone who wasn't five, Charlie had been naturally curious and intreged by the blood, but somehow that wasn't the same as watching bloodied carcuses bounce from the glass panes.

Not everyone shared his opinion however, Cordelia, despite not wanting to spend too much time with Mini Fred - She had popular friends back home, just ask Harmony Kendall - the small brunette had joined the tiny physicist for a front row seat. Meaning, they sat and looked out the window, ignoring Angel's protest.

"Maybe," Fred whispered to the intimidating girl next to her. "They might let me have a dead birdy to experiment on." Her eyes lit up at the thought. This was yet another opportunity for the child to practise the thing she loved best, and she was obviously excited. Now, if only she could get her hands on some tacos ...

Cordelia interupted her thoughts, responding to the comment by screwing up her nose in disgust and letting out an "Eww!" which surprised even herself with it's strength.

Little Wesley looked over ather with a puzzled expression: he'd never understand girls. Not that he'd want to, of course, Father said a Watcher in Training should never get tied down, and Father was always right.

He turned back to his lengthy explanation of radios to Liam, who was starting to get bored. Compared to Wesley, the child had a low attention span, but then again, compared to Wesley, so did most people.

"Don't you know what this means?" Cordy asked Fred, in her most grown-up voice, knowing that she didn't. "There's going to be an apocanipse," she explained, pronouncing it wrong. "I'm from Sunnydale, and there's always an apocanipse there."

Fred nodded, taking in every word, and not commenting on the pronounciation, although she longed to.

Angel looked over at Cordelia in surprise; he'd been certain she'd only just descovered demons when he first met her in Sunnydale. The vampire didn't spend long on the thought though, it was perfectly natural for young children to grow up and begin to blame things on their imagination.

He suspected that Cordy had once started to do the very same thing, at least until she met Buffy.

The Beast, as everyone would soon begin to know him as, towered above Cordelia and Connor, casting a terrifying horned shadow on the pavement, glaring menicingly down at the pair.

Connor pulled out a sword mere seconds before he felt the sensation of being flung across the alley. His body crashed into a steel dumpster and slid to the floor.

"Connor!" Cordelia cried, concerned for him, but wary for her own safety. She risked a worried glance towards the dumpster, letting her guard down long enough for the Beast to grab her by the throat.

Connor hauled himself up, oblivious to any injuries he may have obtained, and pulled his sword out again.

The Beast let go of Cordy's throat and she fell several feet through the air, landing on her back, desperately trying to crawl away.

Two enormous hoofed feet turned slowly, and Connor found himself being painfully reunited with the dumpster.

With a single effort, the Beast leapt into the air, and was gone, a cruel laugh echoing behind it.

Cordelia crawled over to Connor and put a thumb gently on his bleeding lip.

"I think it's time we went to Angel."

"Oh, you think?" Lilah demanded, giving no doubt that whatever the person on the other end of the phone had thought, was either wrong, or not what she wanted to hear. "Well, don't. Just shut up, and get me an incident report, cross-referenced by ..."

The lawyer slammed the phone shut mid-sentence as she heard familiar footsteps.

Wesley had left the Hyperion as soon as it was safe to venture out without fear of being attacked by thousands of birds. He'd been sure there were books at his apartment which could help with the research.

"Lilah," he said, his voice a mixture of surprise, annoyance, and relief, if such a tone was possible. "You're alright," he observed, unsure what had been happening in other parts of the area. Dead sparrows for them, God-knows-what for everyone else.

"Wolfram and Hart," she explained. "FYI - Safest place in case of an apocalypse." She leant in to kiss him. He stepped back.

"I can't do this any more," he said, echoing the words that Gunn had said earlier that very day.

Lilah smiled, confident in her power to make him retract that statement. "I've heard that a million times, and we both know how it ends," she said sweetly, her face close to his.

"It's over," he repeated, not moving away, but his expression staying the same.

She stepped back. "You're serious?"

Wesley's face softened as he saw a pained look appear in her eyes. "I don't know what's coming," he said gently but firmly. "I'm choosing a side."

"Sure it's the right one?" She hissed, determined to demolish any signs of hurt or disappointment. "You've made mistakes before, and you're making a big one now."

Wesley sighed. "There is a line, Lilah. Good and evil. Black and white."

Fury danced noticeably in her eyes as she said calmly, in her usual sarcastic voice, "Funny thing about black and white. You mix it together and get grey."

Wes narrowed his eyes in confusion, trying to see her point. She turned away from him and took a few steps towards to the edge of the room.

"And it doesn't matter how much white you try and put back in, you only get grey."

Lilah opened the door, her voice not wavering even slightly as an uncharacteristic tear escaped from one of her hate filled eyes. She blinked it back and no more came. How dare Wesley make her, Lilah Morgan, feel like this?!

"And I don't see your Texan-Gal-Pal wearing that colour. Come to think of it, she prefers black."

Lilah slammed the door behind her.

Gunn came into the lobby, a crossbow swinging naturally from his arm, just as Angel turned to yell for him.

Connor looked at Cordy, his cut lip now swollen. "Ready?" he asked.

Angel replied for her. "What about Fred?"

Gunn's face flickered for a moment, their relationship was over, maybe not officially, but he knew it was, just as well as Fred did. There was no point denying it to himself, although his feelings were still as strong towards her.

"She's not coming," he said, leaving no room for argument.

Angel nodded. "Lorne?"

"The Munchkins'll be fine with me," the demon assured him.

"Let's go then."

The four left the hotel, Connor in front, following the trail of the Beast. After just one encounter, the scent was easy to pick up.

Easy to pick up, and close.

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