Renewal and Restoration
Author: buffy1
Spoilers: All of Buffy and Angel including season 5, to be safe.
Rating: PG (slightly graphic in parts)
Disclaimer: Just borrowing them. When I'm done they'll be better than ever.
Distribution: You're welcome to it; just tell me where it's going first.
Summary: Set two years after 'Chosen' and the year after 'Not Fade Away'. Angel is back to running Wolfram and Hart with the rest of AI when they receive devastating news.
Pairings: A/Nina to start with, W/F, and others.
Author's note: This is my take on what happens next. In this version Fred was saved and she doesn't stay as Illyria. Also Wesley and Gunn didn't die!
Chapter 5
Angel stared at Wesley, not fully understanding what Wesley had told him. "Slaughtered?" Wesley nodded,
"Yes, slaughtered. These colonies are watched regularly in case they try to attack humans, but on a routine check they were all found dead. Every last one. They were all hostile breeds." During Wesley's report both Fred and Spike had wandered inside.
"Do we know who, or what, is behind it?" Fred asked. Wesley looked at her,
"No. Whatever is massacring these demons knows what they are doing. There were no clues left behind to identify it." Angel looked thoughtfully at Spike,
"That's strange. Most demons like to leave behind a signature mark to identify themselves. Boosts their reputation."
"So whatever is doing it isn't doing it just for show," Spike realised. There was silence for a while, and everyone in the room thought about the situation trying to figure it out. Finally, Fred broke the silence,
"Was there any motive behind the killings? I mean did the demons do anything to provoke an attack?"
"As far as we know, no. They were hostile, so it could have easily been a matter of destroying the competition," Wes answered.
"Or maybe…the bastards made themselves an enemy" Spike supplied. The others stopped to think of the possibility. Fred voiced the question on everyone's minds,
"Who could be responsible for it? Who could be capable of that much destruction?" Nobody had an answer.
"Who do you think it is?" Spike asked. Angel sighed,
"I don't know."
"Could be another demon tribe" Spike speculated.
"I really don't have time for this, Spike. First we find out about the council and…and then we find that some…thing is decimating demonic colonies in South America!" Spike was silent for a while, thinking. Then something clicked,
"Weren't the Scoobies murdered in South America?" Angel looked up at him,
"They were. You don't think…"
"That whatever killed them is killing all of those demons? Damn right I do."
"I don't know. It doesn't make sense. If these demons are into killing the good guys, why are they killing other demons all of a sudden?"
"Like Wes said. Maybe they were feeling threatened," Spike supplied.
"I've got a strange feeling about this. Like I should know what's going on. I think we're forgetting something important…I just don't know what."
Wesley sat in his office poring over his books, when a knock sounded at his door,
"Yes?" a man who worked in his department walked into the office, clutching a file.
"Sir, we have discovered the demons behind the destruction of the Watcher's Council. It's all in the file." Wesley took the file from the man and he left the office. Wesley hurriedly opened the file and skimmed the contents. Upon finding what he was looking for, he shut the file and immediately left the office. He quickly made his way to Angel's office and burst through the doors,
"Angel. I know who destroyed the council."
Angel and the gang stepped off the company jet in South America, loaded with weapons.
"Fera demons. I can't believe we didn't see this before. It makes sense," Angel reproached.
"Why did they have to destroy the council?" Gunn asked.
"The council was a threat. It was becoming too powerful, especially with all of the new slayers. They had no choice but to take them out," Wes explained.
"Just like we're about to take them out," Spike finished. When they reached the supposed den of the Fera demons, they stopped.
"Are you sure this is the right place?" Angel asked. They were outside a large compound in the middle of nowhere. It was completely silent. There were no guards, nothing but a chain link fence to stop them from getting inside.
"Yes. Wolfram and Hart were very thorough. This is their headquarters," Wesley insisted. Angel hit the gate of the fence and it gave way. Still nobody came. Angel entered the compound first, followed by Spike and Gunn. Angel looked around, seeing nothing. He walked to the main building, which looked like it at one time had been a warehouse. He pushed the door gently, expecting it to be locked. Surprisingly, it creaked open easily, the sound echoing through the inside of the building. Angel walked inside, followed by Spike. It was pitch black. Angel and Spike were able to make out outlines on the ground and Angel lit a torch to get a better view. The outlines he saw were Fera demons. They were dead. Angel lifted the torch and he saw the whole room. The entire room was a shambles with the corpses of Fera demons. The rest of the gang walked in and gasped. 'What happened?'
'I don't understand. If the Fera demons weren't behind the colony killings, then what was? What killed the Fera demons? Was it the same thing that destroyed the colonies? And why?' Angel thought. All of the questions were starting to give him a headache. 'None of this makes sense! Was it really the Fera demons who tried to kill Buffy? And just where is Buffy? She was in South America and then she just disappeared and then all of these killings start happening and…wait a minute. The killings…it couldn't be. Could it?'
To be Continued…
I'm so relieved I got that chapter over with! I think it's one of the most boring in the whole story. Sorry, it took so long. This is the result of too much time to myself on a boring holiday afternoon. Hopefully I can get the next chapters out soon. Notice the plural? Chapter 7 is all ready to post.
Thanks to all who reviewed.