A couple days after the Mr Gordo incident, Angel went missing. He had been broodier than usual, not wanting to play, fetch sticks or even mutilate people. The entire gang searched for him all over the office – this was especially tricky since there were always a lot of demons running around here that no one really seemed to know, and it wouldn't do to let everyone know about Angel. Around lunchtime Wesley, Gunn and Spike met up in Wesley's office to assess the situation.
"It's your bloody fault, you know." The vampire glared at Wesley. "If you hadn't taken away his toy, he wouldn't have scampered off."
Wesley bit back on his sarcastic retort and instead tried to scratch his stubble, forgetting that he had actually shaved this morning. He sighed with disappointment and nodded thoughtfully; Angel definitely hadn't been happy about having Mr Gordo taken away from him.
"See?", Spike turned to Gunn. "Even head boy agrees. I say just give him the damn pig back and be done with it."
"Surely you're joking." Wesley stared at him.
"Why would I be joking? And don't call me Shirley."
"Mr Gordo is the symbol of Buffy's childlike innocence. Which is a bit anachronistic, I admit, but can you imagine what she'd do if she found out that Angel had... had..."
Thankfully Wesley didn't have to say out loud what Angel and Mr Gordo had been up to, as they were interrupted. Fred's assistant Knox walked in, looking nervous and toady as always. "Hey guys. Look, you haven't seen Fred anywhere, have you?"
Everyone looked a bit uncomfortable; they all knew about Knox's crush on Fred. "Look, bro", Gunn started, "You had your shot with –"
"Oh, no, it's nothing like that, it's work-related", the science geek quickly covered. "It's... we got a delivery of some... stuff I'd really like her to look at. Like, in person. Like, really soon." He was bouncing on his heels, clearly very excited about something.
"Well, why don't you ask her yourself?" Gunn pointed to Fred who just walked in, carrying a struggling Angel. "There he is! Where did you find him?"
"He was playing on top of some big ol' sarcophagus we just got delivered." Fred looked worried. "At least I think he was playing, he was acting kinda weird, coughing and pawing at his nose like he'd smelt something bad."
No one noticed that Knox suddenly turned very pale. They were all focused on Angel, who did look a little weird. He was still coughing, yet at the same time looking even more arrogant than usual, and his normally black and gray acrylic fiber fur had taken on a tone which shifted in... well...
"Oi, since when are werewolves blue? Is he turning into something again?"
Spike's offhand comment had the others a little too concerned. Fred carefully put Angel down on the thick carpet. "Guys... I'm not sure I like this at all. He really does look kind of blue, and not in a nice mellow Miles Davis way either."
"Research?" Gunn asked.
"That would probably be in order, yes", Wesley mused. "Knox, you take a look at that sarcophagus, see if you can figure anything out. Gunn, talk to the conduit. Fred, you, me and Lorne hit the books, and Spike... just keep an eye on Angel." They walked out of the office, leaving Spike to watch Angel sniffing around the carpet.
Spike got up, closed and locked the door and then kneeled down next to Angel. Shit. He really looked weird, and there was an icy gleam in his eye Spike hadn't seen in a long time. He wondered if this really could be the end for the old guy, if this final transformation, whatever it was, would finally do him in – or at least turn him into something so far removed from Angel or Angelus that they would never be able to get him back again. He reached out and playfully ruffled his tickly fur. Angel snapped at his fingers with his harmless teeth; whatever the change was, it didn't seem to hurt too much for him to play, or fight, or whatever that was supposed to be. Spike tried imagining an unlife without his old grandsire; funny, for all the times they'd fought, he'd never actually thought about what it would mean to go on without him.
"Look, Angel... OK, so I don't rightly know if you even understand what I'm saying, and I should probably have told you this a long time ago. But I s'pose now's a good a time as we will ever get, right? I mean, I'm sure your pals will yank the iron out of the fire, as it were, but just in case they don't there's some things I want to tell you." Spike took a deep breath and a shit-eating grin spread across his face. "So this one time, right, me and Buffy were up on the balcony at the Bronze and she had this really short skirt on, and..."
To be continued.