Gunn is out cold when they wheel him in. "He'll be unconscious for a few hours," Teresa said, "But don't worry. I've cleared it with the staff, so nobody will bother you. You can stay as long as you want."
Xander thanked her, more than happy to have the silence to try to unravel the situation. He'd obviously pulled a Marty McFly, but without the cool car or the strange scientist. Although there was a strange veiny wish-granting demon of some sort. His first urge is to hit the books, which brought to mind Giles again. Reaching for the phone, he dialed 9 and then Giles' phone number.
"Beeeeep. We're sorry; this call cannot be completed as dialed. Please check the number and try again."
Xander redialed twice, and hung up when he received the same error message both times. He squashed the uneasy feelings that began to brew, and tried to rationalize why Giles' number didn't work. Maybe he got a new phone number. Maybe he moved. After all, a lot can happen in six years. He tried Willow's number next, and then Buffy's, and even Cordy's, but they all went to the same error message. The uneasy feeling intensified. He checked to make sure Gunn was still asleep, and headed for the nurse's station to borrow the yellow pages.
Teresa handed it over with a smile, and he's just about to look up Giles' name when he heard her say, "I'm sorry, but visiting hours are over, sir." He looked up and came face-to-face with Angelus.
Panic flooded through him and Xander can't help the knee-jerk reaction to make a joke when he's moments away from death. "Why don't you come back during the day? My bad, I guess you can't."
Angelus' eyes narrow slightly, but he doesn't rise to the bait. He's also missing that menacing aura that Xander was expecting, the tension in the air that made you realize that you're standing barely two feet away from a creature of darkness that wouldn't hesitate to rip your throat out for fun. In fact, Angelus was looking almost... broody, like he'd gotten himself souled again. "Is Gunn all right?"
A lot can happen in six years, he remembers, and then glares at Angelus. It doesn't matter if Angel's somehow managed to get his soul back; he's still a vampire and thus evil by nature. Xander can't reach his friends to make sure they're okay, so he's not really feeling the trust right now. "Why do you care?"
"I care." Angelus replied. He pauses, looking at Xander speculatively. "You are Xander, aren't you?"
Xander blinks. "You are Deadboy, aren't you?" he retorts without thinking, because the rational part of his brain is currently quivering in the corner, waiting for Angelus to reach out and snap his neck like a twig.
"Where did you come from?" Angel asks, and Xander suddenly knows that the soul is there. There's something about the inflections in his voice, the way that he grimaced at the nickname. Angelus could pretend to be Angel, but he wouldn't be able to keep up the charade for long without insulting or trying to get past Xander by now. And why would Angelus bother acting for him? It wasn't like he could really stand in the way of a Master Vampire.
Except, apparently he was, because Angel hadn't made a move to get past him. "Sunnydale, California. Born and raised," he said, deliberately misinterpreting the question.
Angel nodded once, acknowledging Xander's evasion and letting the issue go. "Tell Gunn that we're at the Hyperion." He turned and was down the hall before Xander could blink.
Teresa's voice caught his attention. "You're from Sunnydale?" she asked, obviously having overheard the conversation.
Xander glanced at her and nodded. "Yeah." With one last glance down the empty hall, he went back to the yellow pages. Giles wasn't listed, nor was Mrs. Summer or the Rosenberg residence. He didn't even bother looking for Cordy, he knew her number was unlisted.
"How did you escape the collapse?"
Xander looked up, confused. "Collapse?"
"You didn't hear?" Teresa said. Xander shook his head, his throat too constricted to utter a reply. "Sunnydale doesn't exist anymore. One day it just collapsed in on itself, and now there's nothing but a huge crater. Weirdest thing."
Xander swayed, suddenly light-headed. Teresa hurried around the desk and steadied him, helping him over to a chair to sit down. "I'm so sorry. I thought you knew," she said, sitting next to him and touching his shoulder as he stared into space in shock.
Sunnydale was a crater. They were all dead. Willow. Buffy. Giles. Cordy. Briefly he wondered if maybe they'd gotten out of the town in time, but no. A town collapsing was definitely a hellmouthy thing, and Xander knew that his friends would be right in the middle of it when the apocalypse came. There was no reason to cling to false hopes.
With a heavy heart, he stood and walked back to Gunn's room.
"""
Angel stepped into the hotel and paused, taking in the scene. Spike sat on the edge of the counter, feet swinging off the edge. Illyria perched on the round ottoman in the middle of the lobby. Illyria noticed him first. "Has Charles been wounded beyond repair?"
"I think he's all right." Angel replied, sitting down on a nearby couch with a sigh. "I didn't really see him."
Spike smirked. "Harris stand up to you in the hospital again?" Angel didn't reply, and Spike chuckled. "Figured as much. Kid's got the biggest knackers I've ever seen."
"I don't get it." Angel rested his head in his hand. "He's supposed to be in Africa."
"He's supposed to have one eye, and be a good head taller and a good load heavier." Spike shot back. "Either that was a shapeshifter of some sort, or else-"
"It wasn't a shapeshifter." Angel interrupted. "I would have been able to sense it. That was Xander. A younger version, but definitely Xander." Illyria watched them silently, but whether she was contemplating the arrival of Xander or mourning Wesley's death, Angel couldn't tell.
"So what?" Spike said. "Xander just decided to make an Excellent Adventure trip through time? Why?" Spike shook his head. "You saw him in the alley; he had no idea what was going on. He still thought you were evil and I was paralyzed - that was, what? Six years ago?"
"Give or take." Angel replied.
"So, why is he here now?"
Angel shrugged. "I don't know. Hopefully Gunn will be able to find out more about what's going on."
"""
TBC...