CIRCLES
CHAPTER FOUR: AFTERMATH
Quick Note: There is a slight World Of Darkness crossover here (Vampire: The Masquerade anyone?) but don't panic if you have no idea what that is. If you do know what it is, please don't hurt me for what I did. My brother has already given me the "that's not right!" rant.
Imzadi – thanks for reviewing, but I'm really sorry when I say that I'm not going to be bringing Lindsey back. This fic isn't about him, it's about the other characters.. and that's just the way I'm writing it. I can see you're a very big fan of his though, hope there are some good Lindsey fics out there to satisfy your thirst!
Also, to the people that begged me not to kill Wes.. I'm very.. very sorry. I loved Wes.. he was one of my favourite characters.. but I can't bring everyone back from the dead.
Speaking of Wes, I'm sending out a special thanks to shahid, because I took in some of your suggestions :)
On with the fic!
Nothing in the world is the way it ought to be. It's harsh and cruel. But that's why there's us. Champions. It doesn't matter where we come from, what we've done or suffered, or even if we make a difference. We live as though the world was what it should be, to show it what it can be.
-Angel, Deep Down
A week after the fight and Gunn was out of hospital. He was still very weak and tired, and having some difficultly walking, but on the whole he was recovering well. Angel, Spike, Gunn and Cordelia had caught up on everything over the last two months, and now the four of them had a confused, basic understanding of what had happened.
Cordelia had still not received word from Willow and Kennedy, and Illyria had shut herself up in Fred's old room and was not talking to anyone. The others had managed to clean up the hotel as much as possible, removing the blood stains and debris of the battle. The only souvenir remaining was the gaping hole in the wall where the entrance to the building used to be.
Gunn leaned on the counter for support as Spike, Angel and Cordelia stood next to him, talking. Cordelia had spent most of the week in hospital with Gunn, which aside from one meeting they had had just after Gunn had woken up, had not given them a lot of time to discuss things. Now that they were all back in the hotel they could talk more freely, and Cordelia felt it was time to broach the subject of plans for the future.
"I think we need to talk about what happens now," she said, looking at the three men.
"What do you mean?" Angel asked.
Cordelia looked off at the ceiling, saying almost casually, "Well.. you're not running Wolfram and Hart, and I'm no longer dead, and we're all together.." she sort of trailed off.
Gunn tilted his head forward towards her, a little surprised, "Are you suggesting we.. go back to how things used to be?"
"It's not going to be that easy," said Angel.
"How did what things use to be?" asked Spike, looking around at them.
Cordelia flicked her eyes over to him before looking back at Angel, "Well, there are people out there that need our help. And – now that the position of world's evilest law firm is open, it's only a matter of time before something takes its place! Ok, so maybe not more lawyers, but well, what I'm saying is, there's evil out there.. and we need to fight it."
She looked around at them. Angel said, "Cordy, we never said we would stop fighting just because there was some huge apocalypse.. it's not like it was the first one we've ever faced."
"Oh I know that. I'm just saying that, we're all here in the hotel – maybe we should think about starting up Angel Investigations again," she said.
Angel looked at her, and after a moment said, "Things are different now, I'm not sure if we can just pick things up where we left off.. so much has happened."
There was a short silence, broken after a moment by Cordelia saying softly, "Don't you think that's what they would've wanted?"
She didn't need to say who.
Angel looked down at his hands; Gunn looked up at Cordy. "I'm in," the street-kid turned super-lawyer said, "at least once I'm not hobbling around all day." He sighed in disgust, "God I feel like an old man."
Spike patted him on the arm and said, "Hey - I spent months in a wheelchair one time. I feel your pain," then he turned to Cordelia, "I'm in too, except I think we have to do something about the name. I'm not going around handing out business cards that say 'Angel Investigators' on them."
"Investigations," Cordy corrected.
"Well, whatever," he said "we'll have to change the name."
Angel's eyes flashed up and they looked at each other, "There's nothing wrong with the name, Spike."
"Not from your perspective no!" the other vampire retorted, moving over and sitting down on the pouf. Angel followed him.. and they began to argue.
Gunn looked nervously over at Cordelia, "You sure this is a good idea?"
Cordy smiled, watching the two vampires bicker, "Absolutely."
Cordelia looked over at the gaping hole in the hotel's wall and then turned back to Gunn.
"I think we're going to need to do something about that," she said thoughtfully. "Aside from it letting in the weather, it might be bad for business if people have to walk through our crushed in doorway before they ask for our help. Doesn't really inspire confidence does it?"
Gunn frowned, looking at the wall, "Not really. I've got a couple of friends who might be able to fix it up at a good price for us. I'll give them a call."
Cordelia looked apprehensive, "Are these contacts you had from Wolfram and Hart? Because I think those sorts of people might be hating us for at least.. a.. couple of hundred years.."
Gunn gave a rueful smile, "Oh no, these are some people I knew back before I could even spell legal associates. Construction guys."
Cordelia nodded and said, "Good. Hey, while we're fixing up the doorway.. do you think we should get some new rugs? I mean.. the floor in here is a little bare.. Ooh! We should also think about painting the upstairs rooms, I'm pretty sure that boring decor went out of fashion over fifty years ago.."
Cordelia's audible musing was interrupted by Angel yelling something particularly loud and angry at Spike. Gunn shook his head, "I'm not sure I can go through another year like this," he said.
Cordelia grinned, "Well I missed out on it, so it's still funny."
Gunn sighed, "That'll pass. Trust me."
Around ten minutes later Angel and Spike had stopped arguing and Gunn brought up the subject of their other house resident.
"Um, has anyone checked on Illyria lately?" he asked them.
Angel and Cordy looked at each other, and Spike shook his head, "I was giving her some time."
"Sometimes it helps when you've got someone to talk to," Cordelia suggested.
Angel looked over at her, "You don't know Illyria. She's really unpredictable. It's almost impossible to tell what she's thinking or.. what might help her. She's been even stranger since.." he stopped and looked down at the floor.
There was an uncomfortable silence where everyone thought about Wesley. Cordelia broke it after a moment, saying "I still think someone should.. check on her at least. It's been over a week."
Spike stood up, "I'll go."
"You sure that's a good idea?" Gunn asked him. Spike and Illyria's relationship had mostly consisted of them hitting each other.
Spike shrugged, "I think I'm probably the closest to her. When she wasn't punching my face in I thought we were getting along alright."
Cordelia gave Spike a surprised look which slowly turned compassionate when she saw he was serious in this commitment. She had no idea what to make of Spike with a soul. At first it had been strange accommodating to a person that had been a sworn enemy for so many years, but this world was so stuffed up and confusing that she'd accepted it anyway. She still didn't really like him, and had so not forgiven him for biting her, but she smiled at him regardless and said, "Thanks."
He nodded and started up the stairs.
Illyria stood by her open window, a silent figure blending in to the darkness around her. The world was strange to her.. strange and cruel. She had been wary of it after she had lost her powers, but now she hated it. It was full of so much pain and suffering that she could barely find room to think, let alone breathe. She was overwhelmed by human grief. It consumed her, preventing her from feeling anything else. It drowned her in thoughts and memories and stabbed her with feelings of loss and emptiness.
The door to her room opened, but she did not turn around. She remained facing the window, attempting to hold onto whatever self respect she still had left. They had all seen her grief control her, drive her to thoughtless acts that reflected none of her original glory. They knew how weak she was becoming, she did not need to reinforce their opinions of her.
The intruder stood at the doorway for a few moments, and then asked, "Do you want to talk about it?"
Illyria paused before saying, "No."
"Sometimes it helps," he said, moving into the room.
"Nothing helps," she replied.
Spike closed the door and sat down on her couch. "You can't stay like this forever, blue," he told her.
She considered what to say. She could not stay like this forever.. or could she? Would it matter? Her existence felt so meaningless now, with Wesley gone. Once she had ruled the world, had everything she pleased at her fingertips.. a legion of adoring servants. All had worshiped her.
Now she had nothing. And she was alone. What did it matter what Spike thought of her? She was no more important than the dust that lined this room, or the rats that crawled in the filth of the street below. She turned her head around to look at him, finally giving in.
"I do not know what to do," she said.
Spike nodded, "It's like that."
Illyria looked back at the window, "I do not understand why I am like this. I feel grief and it is beyond anything I can comprehend. It is absolute. I have never felt this way before."
Spike sat in silence, waiting for her to continue.
"Everything I thought I knew has become twisted and broken. Things that should be stable are breaking apart and.. I feel lost. I do not know what's what and what isn't," she said and then turned her head to look up at the sky. "There is a hole inside me that is growing larger the longer he is not here. It's swallowing me up piece by piece.. making me weaker all the time. If.." she closed her eyes for a moment, "If I look at it too long it will burn right through me. It.. I'm in pain.." she said finally.
Spike got up and moved over to her. "Love hurts," he said softly, following her gaze out the window to the stars in the sky.
She turned to look at him, "What do you know of it?" she demanded.
"Too much," he replied.
Illyria sighed and turned back to the window. "Human emotions. Ones I once despised and belittled, never thinking would come to me. Now they control me.. taking away what dignity I used to have. Only I find I don't care. All I want is for the pain to lessen. This.." she didn't finish her sentence, as though there was a word she refused to speak out loud. After another moment of silence she asked, in a much quieter voice, "Does it ever go away?"
Spike continued to look up at the stars, "Not really. Time helps, but no – it's always there. Just under the surface."
Illyria shook her head, her expression haunted, "Then why go on? Why live with so much pain?"
Spike thought about this for a moment. Then he shrugged, "I don't know."
"Wesley endured it," she said, almost jealously, "The pain.. the grief.." she closed her eyes, breaking down some sort of emotional barrier before saying, "..the love..
"He went on even after he knew Fred was gone. Only.." she stopped and then looked down at herself.
Spike turned back to her, "Only what?"
Illyria did not speak further, and simply stood staring at her body until Spike finally left her alone again. She moved over to Fred's old bed and curled herself up in the sheets, all the while knowing she had become pathetic and powerless and nothing would ever free her of her grief, but clinging onto some strange confused feeling that it might help.
Cordelia sat on the steps just outside the gaping hole that was the entrance to the hotel, looking out at the garden. A warm breeze swept through the air and gently fell against her face. It was so strange to be back in such a warm environment after spending so long in Europe and Asia.
Cordelia wished she knew how her friends were doing, and if they were even alive. It had been over a week – surely Kennedy, Willow and Eleanor would have contacted her by now, or at least tried to. So that left the reality that they hadn't survived, or something else had happened to them.
Cordy reached into her shirt and pulled out a necklace. Eleanor's necklace. The English girl had given it to her just before she'd left, and at the time Cordelia had felt really strange accepting it. But now she was glad she had a little piece left of those memories, something tangible she could hold and touch and remind herself that during those months, even when she had felt like it - she hadn't really been alone. She sighed and pulled her knees up to rest under her chin, clutching the necklace in her hands. So much had happened, and she felt strange and different trying to adjust to it all. She heard footsteps and turned to see Angel walking slowly towards her, stepping through the wall and coming to stand beside her.
"Hey," she said, looking up at him.
Angel sat down next to her, "What's wrong?" he asked. Straight to the point.
"Everything," she replied. She tried to smile ironically, but it just caused her more pain so she gave up.
She held her hand out to Angel, showing him the necklace, "Eleanor gave it to me before I left. It was.. the most valued thing she had. It was like the essence of who she was.. and by giving it to me it feels like she knew she wasn't going to make it through. And now-" Cordy looked away, finding it very hard to talk. She took a deep breath, Angel was her closest friend, and she needed to tell somebody..
"I think she's not.. they're not.. coming back. I left them there to die."
Angel reached out with his hand and pushed a piece of hair that was hanging over her eyes back behind her ear. He looked at her and said, "Cordelia, whatever's happened – it's not your fault. You were doing what Willow wanted you to do, to save your friends and to help make a difference. It was brave and noble and you saved us. You did the right thing."
"It might seem that way now," she said and then sniffed loudly, "It's just.. I've been trying for so long to keep myself together and get through all of this. Now I just want to be me again, and I can't because I've changed and.. everything else has changed and as hard as I try and can't get back at what I had. I just want to.."
Cordelia gasped and stopped talking. She stared up at the sky, her eyes white and flickering, her breathing rapid and sharp. Angel leaned over and grabbed her hand, confused and alarmed for a moment until he realised she was having a vision.
Cordelia's head sagged back towards her knees and she struggled to get her breathing back to normal. "Oh," she said softly, "I had almost forgotten what they were like."
Concern lining his face, Angel asked, "What did you see?"
"Vampires," Cordelia said, blinking, "lots.. and lots of vampires."
"Where?" Angel asked.
Cordy shook her head, "I.. I'm not sure. In a big room.. with a really long table down the middle. There were symbols on the table.. and there were.. maybe ten or twelve vampires sitting around it, and a lot more standing around them. One of them was saying something to the others.. he was like.. their leader. I don't know what he said though."
Angel frowned, "Doesn't sound good. Did you see anything else?"
"Uhm.. maybe a clock? An some.. liquid.. and screaming? It was all terribly vague. No shock there.." Cordelia said slowly, and then realised Angel was still holding her hand. They both looked down, and there was a long silence.
Angel looked up at her after a moment, not removing his hand, "I didn't know you still got your visions," he said, "didn't you give them to me?"
Cordelia nodded and then blushed slightly, very aware of the personal contact. Suddenly she felt a lot younger than she was. "Remember.. last week.. during the fight.."
"Yes?" Angel asked.
"When.. I kissed you.."
Angel stopped.
"I.. took my visions back," she said guiltily.
"Oh," Angel said after a while, "I still had them? I only had the one vision."
"You did?" Cordy asked, and then realisation dawned on her. She nodded and said "Of course you did."
"You didn't know?" he asked, surprised.
Cordelia shrugged, "I'm not the PTB's golden child you know. They don't tell me everything," she said.
Angel smiled at her, a rare occurrence for him that always made her smile back. "You seem pretty important to me," he said, "They give you visions, bring you out of a coma, bring you back to life to help save the world.. I'd say.. you were very special.."
"You would?" Cordelia asked, only vaguely noticing the gap between them had somehow vanished.
"I would.." he replied, leaning forward.. they were only an inch apart..
The hotel's front gate opened, and Angel and Cordelia pulled apart so fast that Cordy got a headache. The two looked up and saw Connor walking up to them through the garden.
Angel stood up, "Connor!" he said. They hadn't seen each other since the fight last week, and Angel was beginning to think he'd decided to sever connections with them again.
Connor nodded at him and Cordy, "Hi."
"Is something wrong?" Angel asked him, walking down the remaining steps to stand next to his son.
Connor shook his head, "Not really. I.. just wanted to check and see if everyone was alright," he looked at Cordy, "I got your message about Gunn. My parents heard it on the machine, which added to their suspicion about my injuries and the fact that they haven't seen the car in a week."
"What did you tell them?" Cordelia asked, also standing up.
Connor made a face, "I said I fell down some stairs, and that someone ran up the back of me in the car and it's at the shop getting repaired. I'm not sure they believed me."
"Wouldn't it be easier to come clean? Tell them the truth?" she asked him.
Connor gave her an unbelieving expression and said, "Yeah, that'd go down well. 'Hi mom, dad! Where have I been all night? I've been out fighting demons of course! I got thrown against an elevator by a lawyer, I saw a real live dragon get decapitated, the whole back of my car got ripped off by a thirty foot monster and I fought in an epic battle against the hordes of hell! But it's OK, cause I've got insurance!'"
Cordelia blinked, "Jeez, when did you get so sarcastic?"
Connor sighed, "I'm sorry, just.. there's a lot going on at the moment. I didn't like lying to my parents, but I know they'd just freak out if they knew what really happened. I don't want them to be worrying about me anymore than they already do. It's all.. just a bit complicated. Um.. How are things here?"
Angel said, "We're OK."
Connor looked at him strangely, "..OK.."
Angel nodded, looking down at the floor. Hearing about Connor's family, and even talking to Connor at all, gave him all sorts of mixed emotions he wasn't quite sure he wanted the rest of them to know about.
Cordelia crossed her arms, "Yes, everything's fine and dandy. Oh – wait! Apart from my scary vision of not-five-minutes-ago that involved a whole stack of vampires plotting something that smelled suspiciously like big evil!"
Angel looked at her, then said quietly, "Yeah.. apart from that."
Just then Spike and Gunn came through the dragon-dented wall. "Connor!" Gunn said, limping slowly down the steps.
"Hey, how's the side?" Connor asked, watching the tall black man hobble over to them.
Gunn grinned at him, "Better than it looks. I'm doin' OK, thanks to you," he said and clapped Connor on the shoulder. The younger man smiled back and nodded in appreciation of his gratitude.
Angel looked at Spike, "Get anything out of Illyria?"
Spike shook his head, "She's acting very strange, but not more than I'd expect. She talked to me though, I guess that's a start."
Angel nodded then said, "Cordy just had a vision."
Spike looked at her, an eyebrow cocked, "You're just like an antenna for the higher whatsits aren't you?"
Cordelia gave him a dead pan look, "You know I still haven't forgotten that you bit me, Spike."
Spike glared at her, "I already apologized for that. Deal with it."
Connor looked outraged, "You bit her?"
Spike looked as though he was being put on trial, "Look I thought she was evil, I was being mislead – it wasn't my fault. Anybody can make a mistake!"
Connor was about to retort when Angel coughed and said, "Back on topic. Cordy had a vision.."
Spike, still watching Connor, said "Yeah.. right. What about?"
"Big cult of vampires planning something evil," she said.
"Cult of vampires?" Spike asked, "Which cult?"
"I don't know. There was a leader I think, talking to the rest of them.. and we'll need to look up some symbols, I think Wesley had some books that.." she stopped speaking for a moment, but before another uncomfortable silence could creep into the conversation she continued, "there.. are some books that we'll need to get."
Angel nodded, but Cordelia noticed his cheek was twitching. She hated how painful memories of Wesley were.
Gunn interrupted, "Um.. do we actually have any books?"
Angel sighed, "Everything I had was in Wolfram and Hart. It's not like I had time to move my stuff out. I had planned on dying, so thinking ahead wasn't really in my agenda."
Cordelia gasped, "Oh god! We're broke!" she said.
Angel looked at her and sighed too, "Yeah.. we are."
"Just like old times," Gunn said ironically.
Cordelia punched Angel in the arm and said accusingly, "How could you let this happen?"
Angel took a step back from her, looking offended. "Let this happen?" he said incredulously, "Well I'm sorry I didn't set up a trust fund, but that sort of thought didn't occur to me while I was trying to prevent the apocalypse!"
"You were a millionaire Angel! And.. now you're back to being Joe Poor!" she said desperately.
Angel almost smiled, "I actually kind of like it." He looked at Gunn, "Just like old times."
"Yes! Old times!" Cordelia said wildly, "No money, no rent and no clients! I remember old times Angel, because for me they weren't as long ago as they were for you!"
"We got by. It wasn't so bad," Angel said.
"What are you nuts?" said Spike. "What about the Viper?"
Angel's smile disappeared, "Oh well that's not so fun."
Connor looked back and forth between them. "Damn," he said, "and I was hoping to get you to pay for my car."
Cordelia groaned and said, "We need clients! And all I get is a vision of a bunch of boring old Camarilla sitting around a table talking!"
There was a stunned silence following this statement, but Cordelia hadn't realised she'd said something out of place.
"What?" Angel asked, staring at her.
"We need clients?" Cordelia repeated, confused.
"No the other part. You said the.. Camarilla were the vampire cult in your vision," he said.
"No I didn't," she said stubbornly.
"You did," Angel assured her.
"Who are the Camarilla?" she asked.
Angel and Spike exchanged a brief look before Angel said, "They were this.. strange vampire cult from about a hundred years ago. They were all about upholding laws and having strict requirements about siring and feeding and that sort of thing. They put on a respectable face but they were corrupt from the inside out. Most vampires didn't pay them any attention and they weren't a very big organisation. For those who did follow them it was more like a religion.. but I thought they'd disbanded a long time ago."
"Clearly they haven't," said Cordelia, remembering the vast number of vamps she'd Seen.
"How do you know about them?" Connor asked Angel interestedly.
Angel shrugged, "They made a fair bit of noise around the turn of the century. Last.. century that is. They asked me to join them in.. 1922 I think."
"Even with your soul?" Gunn asked.
"Probably because of it," Angel replied, "They were all about keeping a low profile on human killing as not to bring the human governments down on us. Worked on treaties and things. Pointless if you ask me – most vampires would never adhere to any of that, and the Camarilla didn't have anywhere near enough power to control them. They told me I would be a 'valuable asset'. I suppose me not feeding off humans was a plus to them."
"What did you tell them?" Cordy asked.
Angel shrugged, "I wasn't the sociable type back then and I politely declined."
Gunn raised his eyebrows, "Does that mean you beat them up?"
Angel looked at him strangely and then said, somewhat embarrassedly, "No I.. politely declined."
"Oh," Gunn said.
Spike had been standing thinking deeply for most of this discussion, but he seemed to have come to some sort of conclusion. He let out a short, bitter laugh that quickly turned into an exclamation of ironic anger as he turned to address Angel.
"Oh he's got to be in on this!" the blonde vampire said loudly, "Slimy, dirty little thief! It's just his style to be in with the Camarilla!"
Angel tilted his head, "Let's not jump to conclusions, we never had any proof he had anything to do with them.."
"Sure we did! What about all that choosing crap? And the "Bordering the Line" speech? Oh he was so down with their ways I wouldn't be surprised if he had that stupid little symbol tattooed on his butt!" Spike said vehemently. Then he paused to make a disgusted expression, "Ugh and she would know too!"
"What you think we should ask her?"
"Yeah that'd be a funny phone call! 'Hey Buffy, does your boyfriend have an ankh on his bum?'" Spike groaned in frustration, "Really classy conversation piece!"
Angel rolled his eyes and said, "I think we should ask her anyway."
Spike crossed his arms, "Then he'd be onto us! Plus he's always screwing us around, if he knew we that we knew that he was in the Camarilla.." Spike stopped and shook his head, then said "..I don't want to go through that again! I just want to kill the bastard and get on with my life, but no! He has to keep flaunting his advantages at us.. like he's a better demon or something!"
Cordelia looked at Gunn and Connor, "Does anyone else feel like they're stranded up a river in a boat with only one paddle?"
Connor squinted at her, "Well if you mean am I confused and have no idea what's going on, then yes."
Gunn looked at Angel, trying to grasp onto a conversation that was clearly littered with "you had to be there". He asked tentatively, "The Immortal again?"
"Has to be!" Spike said angrily, sitting down on the garden wall.
"The Who?" Cordelia asked, still lost.
Angel said, "He's a vampire. A really really-"
"Stuck up, pompous, flea-bitten.." Spike interrupted.
"-really evil vampire," Angel finished angrily while Spike continued on,
"Slimy, backstabbing, deceiving.. line toeing.. well respected.. hack!"
"Plus his accent's really lame," Angel added defensively.
Connor looked confused, "Then why would he be part of this Camarilla? I thought you said they were sort of like lawful vampires?"
"Well.. he's not evil evil I guess. He's just.." Angel tried to explain but couldn't manage it, all that came out was a painful cringe. Spike threw his hands up into the air.
"Always stealing our girls!" he yelled.
Angel sighed and sat down on the wall too, only separated from Spike.
"God I hate him," he said in a tired tone of voice.
Cordelia looked at Gunn for an explanation. Gunn shrugged, "There's some history there I think."
"He doesn't even have a soul!" Spike burst out loudly. "I mean - that's evidence enough that he's on their side! No self respecting soulless vampire shows mercy! He's got to be part of the Camarilla! I can't believe I never saw this before!"
"Hang on.. Buffy's dating him?" Cordelia asked incredulously.
Angel made a sort of none committal noise in his throat and continued to look and the pavement while Spike muttered under his breath.
"Another vampire? She really has a thing for the undead doesn't she? I always knew she was morbid but this is just.." she stopped herself as she saw Angel and Spike staring at her with very hurt expressions on their faces.
"Uhhh.. not that there's anything wrong with either of you.. or.. being a vampire and.. I'm sorry I should just stop talking now," she finished lamely and looked away.
Angel rose after a few minutes of listening to Spike's diatribe, and shook his head. He looked around at the others, trying to put The Immortal out of his mind.
"We need to work out this Camarilla thing.. find out what they're up to. I'll get some books, but in the meantime I want you all on your guard. Until we know what they're planning we've got to treat this as something big, so look out for anything unusual. The Powers want us back in the game we'll keep on fighting, but right now we've got limited resources so it's not going to be easy."
"Fat lot of good I'm going to be like this," Gunn said, indicating his injury.
"Better injured than dead," Cordy reminded him. He just grunted.
Angel turned around to look at the other vampire, "Spike – check if there's any word on the street about the Camarilla doing something recently. Local demon haunts and stuff might have some information, find out what you can."
Spike nodded and stood up, his shoulders slumped and his expression resigned. "I'm going home first. I'll go to bars and get pissed.. and.. find stuff out.. tomorrow," he said and walked out the gate.
Angel looked after him, a little peeved. After a short glare he turned to Connor, saying awkwardly, "Do.. you want me to take you home?"
Connor gave him a long look and then shrugged, "Nah, I'll catch a cab. It's fine. You don't need my help for anything?"
Angel looked a bit taken aback, "You want to help?"
Connor shrugged, not looking Angel in the eyes and trying to sound casual, "If you need me. I've got some books on the occult and vampires and stuff at home."
"You do?" Angel asked him, still surprised.
Connor nodded but didn't explain.
Angel floundered a little bit, "Oh. Um.. well.. that'd be a good place to start. If you find anything call.. or.. meet back here tomorrow and we'll go over information."
"Sure," Connor replied.
"OK, well, um.. be careful," Angel said.
"Always," said Connor seriously, and left.
Angel stared after him for a few moments, but the expression on his face was a lot different from the one he had used when Spike had departed. Gunn and Cordy allowed him a few moments to deal with the unexpected reappearance of his son for the third time in the fortnight before suggesting they go back inside and start on the problem.
Walking through the darkness of Los Angeles backstreets towards his apartment, Spike had convinced himself that The Immortal was in on this Camarilla plot thing. He didn't really have a lot to go by, but the amount of hatred and pent up emotions he had for the guy steered him in that direction. It didn't help that a part of Spike respected and admired The Immortal.. not that he would ever admit that to himself.. or to anyone else.
Spike missed Buffy terribly. He still loved her, and deep down he knew that would never stop. His conversation with Illyria had brought his painful feelings about her back to the surface, as well as reminders that she was now dating his arch nemesis. This, coupled with the news that the Camarilla were back and in power, had brought about the conclusion that it all had something to do with The Immoral. So he brooded, not unlike his grandsire, all the way back to his apartment.
Tired, preoccupied and angry as he was, Spike did not sense that he was being followed. Hidden in the shadows of the buildings that he passed, someone was watching him.
And waiting..
The next day Angel managed to get them some topical books, and the research began in earnest. Cordelia had drawn out the symbols she had seen in her vision, which had given them a start on their investigation. There had only been three that she could remember Seeing, and so far they hadn't had much luck identifying two of them. The third they quickly discovered was the Camarilla's main symbol, a sword-like ankh, supporting Cordelia's strange outburst back in the garden, and providing them with the confirmation that they were looking in the right place.
So Angel, Cordy and Gunn congregated in the Hyperion's office, working on the problem. Gunn sat next to the sparsely filled bookshelf, pouring over a book written in an old demonic language; Cordy leant over the table, flicking through a text full of runic characters; and Angel sat in the big chair next to his desk, sketching something. Even in the dull quiet of their seemingly all involving research, all three of them sensed there was something missing. Someone missing. Three someone's in fact.
Wesley, Fred and Lorne.
Wesley's absence was felt the strongest, his loss still lingering freshly in their minds as they worked away in relative silence. Some things took time.
Gunn paused while reading a particularly boring section of demonic law (it went something like "the talons of all that remain in The Valley of Borders and Wings will be rewarded with utmost clarity..") and found his thoughts drifting to the last time he and Wes had been in this office. Their long standing rivalry broken, Gunn had been trying to convince Wes that going to Wolfram and Hart sounded like a good idea. Thinking back on it now, Gunn still wondered if it had been the right thing to do. So much had been gained, sure, and in the end they had defeated the Senior Partners.. but the personal cost still seemed too high. They had lost so much.. and now even though they tried to pick up the shattered pieces of what remained, some things just kept slipping through their grasp.
Gunn sighed and turned back to his book, the boring words of a language he would not have had a hope of comprehending prior to their move to Wolfram & Hart's washing over him.
Cordelia thought about Wesley too, thinking about the very last time she had seen him; remembering how she had known that it had been their final goodbye. At the time, however, she had thought that she was the one leaving, not him. Staying behind and missing the ones you loved often seemed harder than death.
Wesley could no longer feel pain, or loss. It was the rest of them that were scarred.
Cordelia's thoughts were interrupted by Angel leaning across the table and showing her the image he had been drawing. It was the face of an incredibly good looking man, although his expression seemed to display something angrier and darker. Cordelia suspected that this was because Angel had drawn the picture, and his emotions had crept through into the sketch.
"What a dish!" Cordy said, looking up at him and smiling. Angel scowled, but Cordy had just been teasing. She nodded and pursed her lips, again turning serious.
"That's the guy alright, he's the leader," she told him.
Angel needed reassurance, "You're sure?" he asked.
Cordelia nodded, "Positive. That's not a face you can forget."
He looked away, his expression unreadable, but she could feel the vibes of frustration he was sending off. She picked up the sketch and handed it to Gunn.
"The Immortal, leader of the Camarilla," Cordelia introduced him to the image.
Gunn raised his eyebrows, "Fair enough."
Just then Spike entered through the doorway, bringing a strong smell of beer in with him. Cordy wrinkled her nose, but before she could comment, Spike spotted the picture.
His jaw hardened and he glared at it, then looked expectantly around at the other three.
"He's in on it, right?" he asked.
Cordelia paused and then nodded, "Yup. The leader, by the looks of things."
Spike snorted angrily, muttered "I knew it," under his breath and walked over to the table, sitting down on the book Cordy had been studying. Angel looked up at him.
"Find anything out?"
Spike made a face, "No. The city's dead. S'bugger all people about, and the ones I did find all know that something's going on, they're just not sure what." He reached into his duster and pulled out a large bottle, tilting it towards Angel so he could read the label. He grinned, "Managed to get this for free though, so not a complete waste of time."
Angel looked at the bottle for a few seconds, and then back up at Spike. "Nothing else then?"
Spike looked up at the ceiling, as though trying to remember. "Ooh, yes. There are almost no vampires on the streets and in the pubs. Something's either got 'em spooked, and they're all hiding under their beds clutching their knees.. or the Camarilla have grown a lot bigger than we expected - which seems likely, although there was a guy that kept rambling on about an emissary of hell that had come to purge the world.."
The others looked at him, he shrugged. "Yeah, I though he might have been on to something at first.. but that was before he started babbling about the giant winged camel that was sure to take his soul if he didn't brush his fangs on a regular basis." Spike snorted, "Like he had a soul to take!"
Gunn sat back in his chair, sighing, "So we don't really know anything."
Angel frowned, "That's not entirely true. We know that the Camarilla are back in power and they have lots of followers. We know that The Immortal is leading them." He looked around at them. "It's a start," he said.
Cordelia pulled the book out from underneath Spike, who was taking a swig from his bottle at the time and slopped it all over his shirt. Cordy ignored his angry protests, instead looking at Angel, "I'm sure we'll know a lot more once we figure out what those other two symbols mean."
"Which symbols are they?" Spike asked, looking over at Cordy's sketches and wiping his shirt.
Cordelia held up the paper and showed him. He shrugged, "They look pretty specific."
At that moment there was a knock on the door, and the four of them looked over to see Connor standing in the frame, holding a large red book.
"Hey," he said, smiling in greeting. "I think I found something."
"Really?" Angel said, sitting up straighter in his chair as Connor entered the room.
Connor opened the book he was holding and handed it across the room to Angel. "From the third paragraph. I'm not sure if it's helpful.." he said as Angel took the book, "..but it mentions a group of vampires that tried to negotiate with the British royal family back in the 17th century. They made some sort of deal that had the country's nobles and royalty protected for about two months before things fell through. The group was lead by what the book refers to as a 'Prince'. There's a picture."
Connor reached over and turned the book to the next page. The others crowded around to have a look. A black and white ink drawing of the 'Prince' was depicted in the midst of the text. The man had shoulder length hair, dark shadowed eyes and he wore a superior expression on his handsome face. In his arms was the body of a beautiful young maiden, her head tilted back and her neck revealing two puncture wounds. It was The Immortal.
Spike muttered angrily, "'Prince'? Now the bastard's royalty? Oh this never ends!"
"Definitely the Camarilla then?" Connor asked.
Cordelia pointed to The Immortal's chest, where a tattoo could be made out, just over his heart. "That's their symbol," she said.
Angel grunted in affirmation, still reading. "Right after the treaty with the Monarchy crumbled there was a great massacre.. 'the blood of innocents spilled across the plains of Europe'.. that sort of thing. They have pictures." He turned the page to show them but Cordelia held up her hands and sat back down.
"No thanks. I had pasta for dinner and I don't really have a yearning to see it again," she said distastefully.
Angel bypassed the more gruesome depictions and continued to read. "It says here that this group of vampires strongly believed that they were the most superior species around. Listen to this; 'We are the united force that will bring salvation to our kind. Anyone who stands in our way will suffer and perish. Our blood is pure and noble, and our cause will save us all from damnation and.. the fires of the eternal valley. We are the future. We are immortal.'" Angel looked up at them.
"That doesn't really line up with the Camarilla I remember. More the complete opposite. The ones I knew just wanted to ensure the purity of bloodlines and keep the existence of vampires out of public knowledge."
"Bunch of namby pamby prats," Spike chimed in.
Angel nodded, "Pretty much. It was all a façade though.. most of them just wanted to get rich and powerful without all the hard work. They believed in cutting deals and treading a fine line, as most of them were weak and feared the growing numbers in human populations. They believed once given enough power humans could become a serious threat, one that could lead to their destruction. So they made their deals and compromises.. all the while trying to prevent arousing suspicion from the humans." He frowned and gestured down at the text.
"This organisation from the 17th century seem much more patriotic and violent. It's like they're a completely different group."
"Maybe they grew soft over time," Spike said.
"Maybe," Angel said, but he didn't look convinced.
"They've both got one thing in common though," Gunn said, pointing at an image showing The Immortal and three other vampires, this time with their demon faces showing, standing over a pile of dead bodies.
Angel frowned, "As much as I hate The Immortal, he never seemed the type to care about any of this stuff. Damnation and purity. Here it says 'We will use any means necessary to achieve our salvation' – see that just doesn't sound like him."
"He's too noble and independent," Spike said in a tone so sarcastic it almost hurt to listen to.
Angel held up his hands, "None of it makes sense."
Connor crossed his arms, chiming into the conversation for the first time in a while, "Lets assume for a moment that he is this guy in the book, and believes all that stuff about vampire superiority and salvation from the fires of Gehenna."
"Ge-what-a?" Cordy interrupted.
"That's the 'Valley of Eternal Flame'.. hell on earth I think. It's another word for the apocalypse," Connor explained.
"Oh," said Cordelia softly.
Connor continued, "Anyway, the book goes on to say that this sect disappeared just before 1700. The text suggests they were killed by an 'emissary from god' come to bring justice down on them for all their sins, but that's probably just because the people that wrote the book came from a highly superstitious period."
"Wait," Gunn said, standing up. "Emissary from god?" He hobbled over to the bookshelf again and began searching for something.
"Go on," he said as he sat back in his chair and sorted through the books.
Connor nodded, "Ok, well.. we know that the Camarilla came back over two hundred years later, but in a different form. From the sounds of things, that Camarilla wouldn't really pose much of a threat to us – they were small, corrupt and nobody liked them. But this group from the 1600's commanded respect and fear and despite trying to cut deals, did a whole lot of damage. They seem completely different, but when you boil it down they both want the same basic principles. They wanted blood purity, they wanted to survive and they wanted peace."
"Peace?" Spike said in surprise. "The 1600 boys all just wanted to rule the world! Where'd you get peace from?"
"They didn't want to rule the world, they wanted salvation for all vampires. It's a different thing. They believed in an apocalypse coming and they wanted to prevent it from happening. They just were willing to go to any means to achieve that, even if it meant killing people or whatever. Now the Camarilla of the 1900's were a bit different in the regard that they weren't going on about an apocalypse, at least not as far as we know. They still wanted to survive, by using any means, and from the sound of it, 'any means' includes associating with humans and cutting deals with them."
Angel, Cordy and Spike stared at him. Spike blinked, "That's a pretty deep theory."
Connor looked kind of embarrassed, "I had a bit of time to think about it."
"That's actually starting to make sense," Angel said. "But why would they think we were in danger of becoming extinct? Vampires have been around for thousands of years, we're survivors."
"Because of how the first group was wiped out," Gunn said, sitting up with a book in his hands. "I just remembered something when Connor said that an 'emissary of god' killed them, because Spike had said almost the same thing earlier. An 'emissary of hell' had come to kill all the vampires."
"Hey – some crazy guy in a bar said that, I wouldn't put much confidence in it," Spike pointed out.
"I wasn't going to, until I remembered that I'd read the words before." He pointed at the book, and then read out, "'In 1697 a large group of vampires succumbed to the wrath of justice in southern France. An emissary of god was sent to wipe out the demons, allowing the gates of heaven to open for all the victims they had taken.'"
"Sounds like a bunch of religious crap," Spike said.
"I was about to say the same thing," Cordelia agreed.
Gunn tilted his head, "Bare with me. 'The emissary appeared in a blaze of light, and seemed to take the form of a young woman. She had long brown hair and wielded the power of a demon and carried the knowledge and heritage of generations before her.'"
There was a short silence.
"A slayer," Angel said, breaking it.
"Got it in one," Gunn nodded. "I think most of the rest of that is just garbled from accounts of people who didn't know what they were talking about, and naturally assumed that anything out of the ordinary was some sort of sign from the heavens. But it does seem like a slayer was responsible for the downfall of that group. It might explain a lot.."
Cordelia looked puzzled, "Hang on.. The Immortal's little band of nuttos were wiped out by a slayer, but somehow he managed to escape.. and now he's.. dating one?" Cordelia said, putting everything together. "Yes, that explains a tonne!"
Angel said, "Well it's a bit odd, but the guys always been unpredictable. And it would explain their fear of extinction.. and the die-back of the Camarilla. The Immortal runs off after his followers are killed.."
"..and spends 150 years in a Tibetan Monastery!" Spike said suddenly, staring at Angel.
Angel looked at him, his mouth dropping open a little. "I'd almost forgotten that."
Spike nodded slightly, "I can see why you'd want to."
Angel made a face, remembering Darla's praises of The Immortal back in 1894.
"That would also explain why the Camarilla had such a changed attitude when they resurfaced," Connor said. "Spending 150 years meditating might change a person significantly. When he started the organisation up again he'd had time to re-think things. Probably had a whole different view of the world."
"Ok," Cordelia said, "that's all fun and good, but it doesn't explain why I got a vision now? The Camarilla are relatively harmless aren't they? Making treaties and trying to keep killing people to a low? If all they want is to survive..?" she left the question hanging.
"I don't think that makes them harmless at all," Angel said, "People will go to any lengths to survive, demons even more so. But what would they do.. what's changed now.."
Cordelia gasped. They all looked at her.
"You said they feared extinction.. from one slayer? What would they do.. when there are thousands of slayers out there..?"
"Thousands of slayers? What?" Connor asked, "I thought there were only two - Buffy and Faith!"
"Willow did a spell.. made it so that every potential slayer in the world got the destiny they were meant for. They all became slayers. They got the power, the strength, the attitudes.." Spike said, almost numbly.
"An army of slayers," Angel said, "that's gotta be a serious threat to the Camarilla."
"But The Immortal's dating Buffy. Surely he would've gotten over that slayer-phobia or he wouldn't be with her would he?" Cordelia asked.
Spike's eyes widened. "Unless he's using her so that he can find a way to get rid of all the other slayers! Man I knew there had to be some reason.. I swear if he hurts her.."
"We won't let that happen," said Angel softly from the corner of the room.
"You're damn right we wont!"
"Hey, this is all hearsay people," Gunn interjected, "We don't know anything yet, we don't have any substantial evidence that proves any of this. The Camarilla might have cut a deal with the slayers, that seems more their style now doesn't it? Buffy might not be in any danger at all."
"We don't know that either," Angel said. "We have to contact her."
"I'll do it," Spike said.
"I'll do it," Angel replied, looking at him dangerously.
"The hell you will!" Spike said back loudly.
"Um, guys?"
"Spike, we don't have time for this!" Angel retorted.
"Guys?"
"Fine, then let me call her!" Spike returned smugly.
Angel glared at him, "You're still a child, you know that?"
"Hello? Souled vampires?"
"Oh like you're any different!" Spike shouted.
"Enough!" Cordelia yelled, and the two vampires stopped to look at her. "If you two would put your little marital problems aside for one second, you might take the time to listen and use your brains. We have two phones on the same line. You can both call her."
There was a short silence.
"Oh."
"Right."
"Sure, we'll.. um.. do that then."
As they left the room, Cordelia crossed her arms and shook her head. "Not that she'll be able to hear what they're saying through all the bickering.."
Angel dialled the number. Spike stood next to him, leaning forward on the counter, with the second phone in his hand. His expression was troubled and the side of his mouth kept twitching, a gesture that was drawing Angel's eye and starting to annoy him.
"Does she still think you're dead?" Angel asked him as the international call went through.
Spike turned his head to face the other vampire, "Um.. I'm not sure."
"You never told her?" Angel asked him in surprise.
"Of course I did!" Spike said adamantly.
"Then how would she not know?" Angel said.
Spike looked defensive, "Well, er.. right before we did the whole suicide thing, I.. realised I hadn't let her know that I was back.. and well I figured if I was going to die I ought to let her know first hand that I was back.. and that I might die again." He paused, "So I waited until I knew she'd be out so that I could leave a message."
Angel snorted, "You coward."
Spike looked affronted, "Hey! I had my reasons!"
Angel raised an eyebrow in doubt, which Spike returned with a glare and said, "Ok, I'm not proud of it – but I was about to go out and probably die, I wasn't up for a heartfelt difficult conversation."
Angel shook his head. He was on hold and the call was being redirected, it was taking a while. After a moment he sighed, giving in to his curiosity.
"What did you say?" he asked Spike.
"Uh," Spike said, trying to remember, "Not sure.. I was sort of extremely drunk at the time."
Angel snorted again as he pressed his ear into the phone, "Jeez, how long does it take to get a call out to Italy? Oh! It's ringing!"
Spike scrambled to attention.
"I'll go first then," Angel smiled as the phone picked up, leaving Spike no time to rebut before Angel spoke.
"Hey Dawn, it's Angel-"
"-and Spike."
"Right, and Spike. Is Buffy home?"
"Spike? Oh god how are you? Andrew told me you were alive! Why haven't you called before?" came the voice on the other end.
Spike shifted uncomfortably, "Uh, I've been really busy. I'm good.. but I need to talk to Buffy."
"She's not home," Dawn said.
"Where is she?" Angel asked.
"She's.. out. She left about a week ago, I'm not sure where exactly. There was some big slayer emergency-"
Spike and Angel exchanged a worried look.
"-so she had to go and help sort it out."
"Was The Immortal with her?" Spike asked quickly.
"Uh.. no he's out of town too though. Hey how did you know about tha-"
"How long has he been gone?" Angel cut her off.
"Um.. a little over three weeks? There was some thing a little bit before that where.. what did he say.. um.. some old friends of his needed help getting a head in business so he would be busy for a while, helping them out."
Spike and Angel looked at each other again, this time the exchanged expression was one of immense frustration and dislike.
Dawn continued, "But.. I think he finished with that.. Oh – wait.. there was something else that came up and he had to leave.. the Saturday before last. Why?"
"Do you have a number to contact Buffy on?" Spike asked her, ignoring her question.
"Um.. no. She went overseas. She left me with a number of one of the places she was staying, but I tried to call her yesterday and she'd already left there. They said she would be on location a lot so it was nothing to worry about.. what's going on?"
Spike put the hand over his phone, blocking his voice. "She's not telling us everything," he said.
Angel did the same and replied, "Probably been told we were working for Wolfram and Hart.. that really stuffed up our reputations, you know."
Angel pulled his hand away and spoke into the phone, "We're not sure what's up yet Dawn, it's probably nothing. We just wanted to talk to Buffy. Is there someone staying with you? Andrew or somebody?" Angel asked as Cordelia came out of the other room and walked over to the counter, her eyebrows raised in silent question.
"No," Dawn replied, "Andrew went with Buffy when the emergency happened.. but Giles is here – do you want me to go and get him?"
"Giles? Um.." Angel said slowly, remembering the last conversation they'd had.
"Giles?" Cordelia asked, moving over to them and taking the phone from Angel.
"Yes we want to talk to Giles," she said quickly.
"Who's that?" came the other voice.
"It's Cordelia," Spike told her, still holding on to the other phone.
"Cordelia.. um.. oh.. wait isn't she dead?" Dawn asked.
Cordelia sighed, tired of getting that reaction. "Was dead, not anymore. I need to talk to Giles, can you put him on please?"
"Sure, hold on."
Angel looked at Spike, "Do you think this has anything to do with the Camarilla?" he asked.
"I don't know. With The Immortal gone it seems suspicious," Angel replied.
Cordelia shook her head, "Conclusions – jumping to. Stop."
Then she made a face, "Although you're probably right. I guess that means Buffy isn't home?"
Spike sighed. "No, she's not. Again."
Cordelia didn't ask what that meant, but just then Giles' voice came through on the other end.
"Hello?"
"Giles! It's Cordelia-"
"-and Spike."
"Yeah, and Spike."
"Cordelia? Spike?" Giles said, startled.
"Yeah, I know. We're both dead," Spike said.
"Were dead, Spike. You might still be in that unpopular category, but I have returned from beyond and I am now a hundred percent not dead!" Cordy said stubbornly.
"Fine," Spike replied sullenly.
"Yes. OK, now that's clear – Giles!"
"Cordelia?" his reply came back, sounding even more confused than before.
"Have you heard anything from Willow and Kennedy in the last two weeks?" she asked eagerly.
"Willow and Kennedy?" he repeated.
"Yes, Willow and Kennedy! You know who they are right? Witch and Slayer? Lesbian lovers last time I looked. Have you heard from them!" she said, her patience ebbing away.
"Uh, no, no I haven't," Giles replied, and Cordelia felt her heart sink into her shoes, "Why, what's happened?"
Cordelia sighed, "We.. we had to um.. save the world – and I don't know.. I don't know if they made it. They were in Tibet, at that temple you told us about. We were all there, but I had to leave.. and they haven't contacted me yet."
Cordelia heard Giles sharp intake of breath.
"I thought they might've.. talked to you.." she said.
"No, they.. they haven't. Not yet anyway. How long has it been?" he asked.
"Uhmm.. nine days," she said.
"And they were in Tibet?" he double-checked.
"Yeah.." she replied.
"Well, it's a remote area, it might take them a while to get to a phone," he said, as much trying to reassure himself as her.
"I thought of that," Cordelia replied, "but Willow managed to send me across the planet in a few heartbeats, you'd think she'd be able to do the same for her and the others."
"Well.. yes.. or at least get a message out.. but what if they were really tired from.. er.. saving the world. Big magics sometimes are very draining," he said.
"Oh.. well.. yes I guess so. That would make sense.." Cordelia said.
"I'm.. I'm just saying it's probably a bit early to be jumping to conclusions. I'll call you if I hear anything, and in the mean time I'll try some standard locator spells to see if I can contact or find them," Giles said, his voice tired and heavy, but still providing the calming effect it always used to.
"Thanks.. thanks Giles," she said softly.
"You're welcome, Cordelia," he replied.
Cordy pulled away from the phone and handed it back to Angel. She blinked back tears of worry, and sat down on the pouf in the middle of the lobby. She just had to wait a bit longer. She didn't know anything.. she shouldn't jump to conclusions..
"Giles? Hi, it's Angel,"
"Angel."
"Yeah, oh – right. We don't work for Wolfram and Hart anymore," Angel said quickly.
"Yep, we killed the lot of them," Spike agreed happily.
"Really?" Giles said, a little doubtfully.
"Ok, we had help, but yeah – we're free from corporate living again!" Spike said.
"Anyway, we needed to know where Buffy went. We think she might be in trouble," Angel said.
"Look, I can assure you that Buffy is quite capable of taking care of herself. She's not alone anyway-"
"-is she with The Immortal?" Spike asked quickly.
"The Immortal? No, no she's not," Giles replied. "Why?"
"He's up to something. Cordelia had a vision with him in it," Angel said.
"A vision? Oh. Hmm.." Giles said.
"Look, Giles, just promise me that you'll watch him. He's bad news, and I know you all think he's a great guy for Buffy, but-"
"-A great guy? Well, I certainly don't think that. I've never liked him, and I keep telling Buffy to make some better choices with her relationships, no offence-"
"None taken," Spike and Angel said at the same time.
"-but she's not a child, and I can't control her. She's allowed to make her own decisions."
"But it's The Immortal!" Spike said loudly.
"I take it that you know him?" Giles said.
"Yes! Very well, he's an unpredictable, evil, sodding bastard that's always getting the better of us!" Spike said bitterly.
"You're jealous?" Giles asked.
"Hell yes! I.. wait – no of course not! Of that giant prat? I don't think so!" Spike said, his hands clenching.
Giles sighed, "Look, I've got to go – get started on looking for Willow and Kennedy. Trust me though, Buffy will be fine, you don't need to worry about her all the time. I'll look into The Immortal as well though, just in case."
"Thanks Giles," Angel said.
"Yeah, bye," Spike added.
They clicked off their phones and looked at each other.
"So what now?" Spike asked.
"I don't know.. um.. find them?" Angel suggested.
"Sounds good to me," Spike said, "I'll head home and get some supplies and then sweep the city again, find out anything I can."
"Good," Angel said.
Spike made a face, "When we finally find The Immortal, we are going to have a nice long chat about.. his manners."
Angel nodded, "I agree. It should involve knives."
"And forks," Spike said, causing Angel to look at him strangely.
"Nevermind," the younger vampire said, shaking his head and walking out into the lobby, heading through the crumbling doorway.
Gunn and Connor emerged from the office, talking. Angel walked over to Cordelia, who was still sitting on the pouf in the middle of the room.
"Are you alright?" he asked her.
Cordy smiled sadly, "I will be."
Gunn and Connor made their way over to them. "Find anything out?" Gunn asked.
Angel turned to them, "Uh, yeah. Buffy got called away from Rome for some 'slayer emergency' and The Immortal's out of town."
"We knew that anyway. I only have local visions," Cordelia said quietly.
"So he's here?" Gunn verified.
"Guess so," Cordelia sighed.
"So what now?" Gunn asked, looking at Angel.
"Spike's going to see if he can find out anything else. I.. I think we're going to need more resources," Angel said, then he slumped his shoulders, "I think we'll need to get some of Wesley's things."
"Oh," Cordelia said from her chair. Another one of those silences filled the space around them.
"I'll go," Connor said suddenly.
"Me too.." Gunn added.
Angel nodded, "Good. Um.. do you want to ask if Illyria wants to go with you?"
Gunn gave him a look bordering on shock.
"She's grieving. We all are, but.. I just think it might be good for her to get out. Find.. closure.. or something. She's a part of the team too, but she's not going to be any good to us if she's up in her room.. brooding all the time," Angel said.
"Yeah, we know how bad that can be," Cordelia said sarcastically.
Angel ignored her comment. Gunn sighed and nodded, "Yeah.. I'll go ask her. Coming Connor?"
The two men started up the stairs. Angel turned to Cordy, "You sure you're OK?"
"No," Cordy replied sitting back into the chair. She closed her eyes and sighed deeply, "I just.. have to.. deal with some things.."
He sat down next to her, "I'm always here for you Cordy."
She opened her eyes slightly and peered at him through the cracks. She gave a small smile, just taking pleasure in the fact that she could look at him.
"I know."
Spike knew Buffy could take care of herself. He knew she was probably fine.
But that didn't stop him from worrying about her.
What if something happened and he never got the chance to make up for not saying he was back properly? Spike groaned inwardly as he walked down the steps that lead to his basement-apartment. I can't believe I left her that message, he thought bitterly as he reached the last step and stood in front of his door. He reached into his pocket and searched for his keys.
He remembered the last thing she had said to him, before he'd gone up in a towering inferno of light, all those months before.
"I love you."
She had said it. Not that she'd meant it, but she'd cared enough to say it anyway. He slumped his shoulders and pushed the key into the lock.
And now she was with The Immortal. What the hell was she thinking? Spike shook his head and muttered under his un-breath as he pushed open his door and let himself into his apartment.
He headed straight over to the fridge. After all that angst and worry he really needed a beer. He opened the fridge and bypassed the blood packs, reaching into the back and taking out a cold bottle. He straightened his back and closed the fridge door, preparing to open the beer.
Then he froze.
A familiar scent wafted towards him, overpowering all his other senses and for a moment shocking him to the core. Someone was in his apartment. He spun around.
That someone was sitting on his bed, watching him.
Spike stared at her. He couldn't believe it.
Dana.
END CHAPTER
Author Notes:
Everybody remembers Dana right? DAMAGE, Season 5 Angel? The nut job slayer that hacked off Spike's hands?
Yes?
Good.
If not: Go. Watch. Episode.
It's the best ep (imo) of the season. Go! Watch!
References/Quotes
(Illyria talking to Spike)
"If I look at it too long it will burn right through me"
Wesley, "Underneath", Angel, Season 5. He says it to Illyria, the wording's a little different, but he's talking about how she makes him feel – and I really wanted to give Illyria a line that he had previously said to her. I thought that one was appropriate, considering the subject.
(Illyria talking to Spike)
"What do you know of it?"
-Illyria, "Power Play", Angel, Season 5. Very originally, she says it to Spike. I'm so lazy, but I love the line.
(Connor to Angel and Cordy)
"I fell down some stairs"
Angel, "Destiny", Angel, Season 5.
Fred: Omg! Angel what happened?
Angel: I.. er.. fell down some stairs. Big stairs.
:spike comes in looking equally as beaten up:
Fred: Stairs huh?
I loved that. And giving it to Connor.. just.. felt right.
"You had to be there"
I could've not credited this, cuz it's a fairly common saying, it's just I really did quote it from "Sinfest" which is an online comic that often have skits called "You had to be there", which are hilarious and.. er.. well anyway, it's funny.
(Giles on the phone)
"You're welcome, Cordelia"
:smirk: That's not clever at all, but I felt like doing it. So there.
"The Camarilla"
Anyone who's actually a World of Darkness fan and knows who the Camarilla are, will probably be wanting to rip out my insides with a large pointy dagger about now, noting all the things I changed and got "wrong".
Yes, I do realise that I did that. WOD and the Buffyverse are like oil and water and I really shouldn't have mixed them, but I wanted to and I've done it, so there. Many of their rules (like the ways to kill vamps and their appearance, clans and the Masquerade and all that stuff) are totally contradictory to one another, and seeing as this is primarily an Angel (as in Buffyverse) fic, I decided that it was WOD that got it's rules changed. I suppose I could've just called the Camarilla (in my fic) something different, bypassing the whole need for WOD, but it works well with my intended story line, and I'm lazy.
Sue me :wicked grin:
And no, I won't be including any WOD canon characters in this, cuz that would be totally crossing the line. No clans either, cuz it just makes things messy.
Everyone who has no idea what I'm talking about just don't worry about it. There won't be anything the average reader won't understand. Unless you already don't understand stuff, which, if that's the case, I'm apologize profusely.
Am I being too condescending? By the way condescending means "talk down to".
More Author Notes: Cuz the first were just for people lacking Dana knowledge!
Sorry about the enormous gap between episodes – er.. chapters. And the fact that the first half was really crap.. sorry about that too. I rewrote this chap sooooo many times, tried lots of different things.. virtually went mad..
Some things I tried included:
Going back to Connor's house and having his parents reaction to his being beaten and bruised and car ripped to shreds and most importantly coming home at early hours of the morning without a shirt on!
But it didn't work and I scrapped that, although I used the "fell down some stairs" line.
I also had Gunn waking up in the hospital and talking to Cordy about everything..
And I had Angel being all "everything I did was for nothing" boo-hoo! But I decided that was really unpleasant to read and pointless as far as plot and character development are concerned.
I also had a nice little battle with Spike and Angel and a group of Archduke Sebassis' men. And I had another little plot line with some repercussions of the W&H-ass-kicking.. involving blue demons (more sebassis stuff) and blood rights and legions and things..
BUT at the end of the day none of it worked and I didn't like it, it wasn't important and it seemed to drag on.. SO I crammed that whole first week into a paragraph which made me feel a lot better, except for all those fantastic lines (whoops there goes my ego!) I came up with and didn't get to use.
Oh well, at the end of the day I'm moderately happy with this chapter now, because it's finished, and I can get on with the much more exciting chapters! Which reminds me..
Next Chapter: Dana and Spike have a little talk..
Old friends return! Old enemies return! There is much angst and worry! And.. fighting!
And confusion! And conflict of emotions! And.. and pie!
Er.. wait.. no pie..
Umm.. there is yelling! Lots of yelling!
I'm not really telling you anything here am I?
:more wicked grinning:
Please Review! If you took the time to read the thing (it's a long thing now isn't it?) you could please please please take a few seconds to review. I love comments. :)