Disclaimer: All characters and things from ANGEL and BUFFY belong to Joss Whedon and Mutant Enemy. If they aren't on the show they belong to me.
Summary: A different turn of events after Season 1 Episode 12 "Expecting" A/C pairing
CHAPTER 83Jess stumbled onto the steps of the Wolfram and Hart building, bypassing Lindsey's body that was still sprawled out on the ground. Jess was cut up and beaten badly, but yet, somehow, she had made it through the mass demon army. She turned back to see the demons she had managed through. She had killed a few on her way, not willing to slow down for a minute. Every second counted. She knew her mother was in danger, and Jessica's only priority was getting to Cordelia.
Jess looked up the building in front of her to the balcony she had fallen from earlier. She assumed her mother and Eve were both still up and hoped they would be long enough for her to get up there.
She quickly made her way into the lobby of Wolfram and Hart, ignoring the blatant fact that the building was falling down around her. Jess quickly made her way over a fallen rafter and to the stairs that would lead her to her mother.
Before Jess could start her climb up the eighteen flights of stairs she heard the front door of the building open and close loudly. Jess crouched down behind the fallen rafter she had jumped over, hiding from whoever had just entered the building.
"Just my luck…" Jess mumbled to herself, thinking that a demon had followed her into the lobby.
"Jess! I heard that! Where are you?" Angel's voice bellowed through the damaged lobby.
Jess immediately jumped up from the rafter she was hiding behind to see her father standing in the doorway of the lobby, dripping with a mixture of rain and his own blood. Clearly he had followed her when she had taken off running, and he too had made it through the army of demons. "Dad!"
Angel moved forward, relieved to see Jessica was still alive. He cupped her face in his hands, and looked her over for any major injuries. "You're okay?"
Jess nodded. "I'll be alright. Are you okay?"
Angel nodded back, pulling Jessica in close to him, and kissing her on the forehead, just glad that he was able to see her again. To Angel's surprise, Jessica did not pull away, instead she pulled him closer to her, and Angel felt like he was cradling her in his arms the same way he had when she was first born.
"We've got to get to mom." Jess said, finally pulling away from her father.
Angel nodded. "I know. I saw Eve."
"With the gun." Jess added.
Angel nodded again. "Come on. We've got to get up there."
"Yeah." Jess agreed as she turned back to the stairs and quickly led Angel up them, hoping they would make it to Cordelia before Eve did anything stupid or irrational with the gun she had been waving around earlier.
Cordelia had crawled back to her spot against the wall, holding her stomach in the spot Eve had hit her. She sighed; she would definitely bruise there, that was if she made it off of that balcony alive.
Eve, who had stopped pacing a while ago, sat opposite Cordelia, starring at the seer with a cold look in her eyes as she waved the gun around in her hand.
"Why the sad look, Cordelia?" Eve asked over the sound of the rain falling.
Cordelia looked up at Eve, her Queen C glare on full blast. "Why are you such a bitch?"
"Me?" Eve asked innocently. "I didn't marry the demon who killed Lindsey, or give birth to the little bitch who helped push Lindsey to his death."
"Jess is not a bitch." Cordelia said, turning away from Eve. "And Angel's a good man."
"Good. Evil. They are irrelevant. They are only what you make them. The only thing that matters is what you do when the pressure in on." Eve said.
Cordelia looked back at Eve, contemplating the ex-lawyer's words. After a moment, Cordelia nodded, realizing Eve spoke the truth. All that mattered is what you did, not what you wished you had done, or what you thought you should have done. Actions had always spoken louder then words, especially in Cordelia's life. Cordelia decided right then and there that it was time she took some kind of action if she had any chance of beating Eve and warning her family.
Wesley quickly made his way back into the Hyperion Hotel, with Fred who was holding a shivering Erin, and Lorne close behind him. All three members of Angel Investigations entered the lobby promptly and removed all of their rain-covered jackets. Fred then moved to the laundry room to get Erin into some dry clothes, and Lorne and Wesley immediately made their way over to a stack of books that was lying on the counter.
"What exactly are we looking for?" Lorne asked Wesley as he picked up a book.
"Anything on closing portals." Wesley said, opening one book up.
"Portals?" Fred asked as she returned into the lobby with Erin and a pair of dry jeans and a small pink tee shirt for Erin. Cordelia had picked the outfit out when she was pregnant with Erin, swearing it was the perfect summer outfit for the baby. "When did portals start opening?"
"Well, its not exactly a portal so much as a huge gaping hole in the ground." Wesley explained. "It's what the demons are crawling out of."
"A hole to hell…great." Lorne rolled his eyes.
"If we can figure out a way to close it up, then we can stop the demons from coming out." Wesley said.
Fred nodded as she finished dressing Erin and then placed the child in her carrying seat that Cordelia had left on the table in the lobby. Erin sat very still in her seat, not fussing or whining, instead the baby just watched Fred, Wesley, and Lorne with thoughtful eyes, as if she wanted to let them know she still believed in them. For a five-month old, Erin was smart.
"Maybe I could call someone." Lorne suggested. "I have a few connections that might know how to deal with this."
Wesley nodded. "You do that. Fred and I will look through these books."
"Yeah." Fred moved to take the book Lorne had been reading as the green demon made his way into the office. Fred glanced Wesley over quickly. He was clearly hurt, a few cuts and bumps, but nothing she was sure he couldn't handle. She also noticed how tired he looked. Fred gently placed a hand on Wesley's back, causing the Englishman to jump.
"What?" Wesley asked, looking at Fred.
"Are you okay? You look tired, maybe you should rest a little." Fred said.
Wesley shook his head. "I can't. We have to finish this." And with that Wesley went back to his books. He would rest after the apocalypse was over and everyone he cared about was safe. Right now, all that mattered was protecting the people he loved and saving the world. Both were more important then a powernap.
Spike, Connor, and Gunn sat on the roof of the building on the opposite side of the alley from Wolfram and Hart. They had dragged all the crates they could up to the roof with them, and were relieved when they found even more crates and boxes on top of the roof.
"So?" Spike asked, wiping rain out of his eye; it was still falling, though not as hard as before. "What's your plan, Connor?"
Connor swallowed hard, looking at all the wooden crates and boxes, and then up at the dark sky. "I don't know if it will work in the rain."
"What?" Gunn asked. "You made us drag all that damn wood up here, and now your plan might not even work?"
"I thought maybe the rain would stop." Connor said truthfully as he looked over the side of the building and down onto the huge, advancing army of demons.
"Well, what the bloody hell plan did you have that rain would affect anyway?" Spike asked.
"I thought we could light the crates on fire and drop them, like firebombs." Connor said, sheepishly. He knew it wasn't the best plan, but it was better then no plan at all.
Spike and Gunn looked at each other, and then back at Connor. All three were silent for a moment.
"Well, maybe if we drop the crates fast enough the rain won't put them out." Gunn said finally.
"You think?" Connor looked hopeful.
Spike nodded. "It's worth a shot." He pulled out his lighter. "Bring me a crate."
Connor complied, and quickly made his way over to the stake of crates, and grabbed one, tossing it to Spike who quickly lit the wood on fire in three different spots, and then flung the flaming piece of wood over the side of the building.
Spike, Connor, and Gunn held their breaths as they watched the burning crate fall the six stories to the ground, hoping it would not burn out, and to their amazement it didn't. Instead it fell onto four demons, setting them all on fire.
"Bull's-eye!" Gunn yelled as he slapped high five with Spike and Connor.
"Let's get some more crates." Connor said.
Spike and Gunn nodded, and all three men stood, quickly rushing over to the crates and grabbing more of them to light on fire. They knew they couldn't defeat Wolfram and Hart's army with their flaming crates, but at least they could slow the demons down until they came up with a real plan.
Angel and Jessica quickly made their way up the stairs to the eighteenth floor of Wolfram and Hart. Both were glad they had vampire speed, because it allowed them to get access to the penthouse much faster. As they made there way up to the penthouse door, Jess grabbed Angel's wrist, causing the vampire to stop dead in his tracks.
"What?" Angel asked, hastily. He needed to get inside and save Cordelia.
"We need a plan." Jess told her father. "We rush in there and Eve will shoot her. I'm sure of it."
Angel nodded, realizing Jessica was right. "Okay. Well, what are we going to do?"
Jess looked down the hallway, an idea suddenly popping into her head. "We could sneak onto the balcony."
"How?" Angel asked.
"Go out on a balcony next to it, and swing onto it." Jess explained. "It's dark enough out there so that Eve wouldn't see us, and we can make the jump between the two balconies. The distance isn't that far."
Angel contemplated his daughter's plan and then nodded. "That will work." He then led Jessica down the hall to the door next to their old penthouse, which led to a small office that no one had used because Angel had not liked the idea of any employees working so close to his family.
Angel and Jess entered the small office and made their way over to the balcony of it. Jess opened the doors and stepped out, allowing the rain to wash away the blood that was still pouring out of the cut on the side of her head.
Angel also made his way out onto the balcony; quickly making his way over to the wall that was next to the wall of the balcony Eve was holding Cordelia hostage on.
Both Jess and Angel crouched down behind the wall, listening to what Eve and Cordelia were saying to each other. Jessica and Angel both knew that they would only get one shot in taking Eve down, and they needed to do it at the ideal moment. So they waited to figure out when that was.
Cordelia could not take it anymore. She was sick of watching Eve pace back and forth and sick of hearing Eve cry about Lindsey. Most of all, she was sick of the rain hitting her face, it was wrecking her makeup and Cordelia had always hated when her makeup was a mess, she also hated the fact that Eve was wasting valuable time that Cordelia could have used to warn her family of her vision.
Cordelia looked up at Eve to see that the ex-lawyer had her back turned to the seer and was staring down at the army of demons in the alleyway. Cordelia realized it was her only chance of getting away from Eve alive, so she stood, slowly making her way over to Eve.
Before Cordelia could even lunge at Eve, which was exactly the immortal mother's plan, she felt the barrel of Eve's gun against her stomach again. She looked up to see that Eve had not turned to face Cordelia; it was as if she had sensed the seer's presence near her.
"The army is really advancing." Eve spoke of the demons on the street below her. "It's only a matter of time before they kill your entire family, if they haven't already." Eve then turned to face Cordelia. "Care to take a look?"
Before Cordelia could say anything, Eve grabbed her by the back of her head, and forced Cordelia to look over the edge of the balcony at the demon army below. "My family is not dead." Was all Cordelia could say.
Eve smirked, tossing Cordelia back against the wall, and turning to face the seer, taking a few steps toward her. "You really believe that?"
Cordelia nodded, slowly standing. She would no longer let Eve push her around. "I do."
"That's so pathetic." Eve said, taking a step toward Cordelia. "And I'm getting really sick of your weakness."
"I'm not weak." Cordelia said coldly.
"You're not strong." Eve told her.
"How the hell would you know?" Cordelia snapped, immediately regretting the tone she had used when she remembered that Eve still had a gun in her hand.
Eve thought for a moment. "I guess I really don't. Truth is, I really don't care either. From the looks of the battle below your family is long gone, and I'm sick of sitting up here with you, so…" Eve raised the gun to Cordelia.
Cordelia closed her eyes tight; she couldn't believe she was about to die, especially at the hands of Eve.
"Open your eyes." Eve told her. "I want to see the look on your face when this bullet goes through you."
Cordelia did not open her eyes because Eve commanded her to; she opened them because she couldn't believe Eve had used that tone of voice with her. She didn't care if Eve was waving a gun around; Cordelia Chase still never took orders from anyone, and if that was the last thing she told Eve then so be it.
"Excuse me?" Cordelia asked. "Don't you dare talk to me like that."
"Are you kidding?" Eve asked, motioning to the gun in her hand. "I'm the one in charge here."
"Please." Cordelia snorted, folding her arms over her chest.
"You're going to die." Eve told her. "Just like your family already has."
"My family is not dead." Cordelia screamed out and gave Eve one good shove backwards.
When Eve gained control of her feet, she was furious, the gun shaking in her hand. "Yes they are! And even if they aren't, they are not coming to save you because they don't care about you. Still, I will stand by what I said earlier. They are dead. And you can join them right now."
"Or we could join you!" Jessica's voice broke through as she came flying over the balcony wall, knocking Eve to the ground.
Angel was the next one to make it over the balcony wall, landing right in front of Cordelia. He quickly made his way over to Jessica and Eve who were wrestling on the ground. Jessica had pinned Eve to the ground, and Angel quickly grabbed the gun out of Eve's hand, tossing it over the side of the balcony.
Once the gun was gone, Jess released Eve, and the ex-lawyer stumbled to her feet.
"You're dead." Jess growled at Eve as Angel made his way over to Cordelia.
Wesley and Fred both sat at the counter of the Hyperion Hotel going through every book in Wesley's collection that had even the slightest reference to closing up portals or holes to other worlds. So far they had had no luck, and it seemed Lorne hadn't either. The green demon was now sitting in the lobby, playing with Erin who was still in her carrying seat.
"This doesn't look good for us…" Fred sighed, sticking a stray piece of hair behind her ear.
Wesley looked up from his book. "We will figure something out."
"We always do." Lorne chimed in as he picked Erin up out of her seat, and placed her on his lap.
Wesley nodded, going back to his books. Silence filled the hotel for the next few minutes, until Erin was sick of playing with Lorne and began to cry, trying to squirm away from the green demon.
"Here." Fred got up, moving toward Lorne and Erin. "I'll take her for a little while."
Lorne nodded, handing Erin over to Fred. "She seems to be getting tired of playing with her Uncle Lorne."
"We are all tired." Fred tickled Erin, causing the baby to giggle. "You're not the only one little girl…"
Erin giggled even more as Fred continued to talk to the baby while she made her way back over to the counter Wesley was still sitting at.
"So, Wes…" Lorne made his way over to the counter. "If the books don't have anything, what are we going to do?"
Wesley looked up at the green demon and shrugged. "I'm not really sure. I just know we have to find a way to close up that hole."
"We don't have another plan though, incase there isn't a way to close it up?" Lorne asked.
Wesley shook his head. "Sadly, no. If the hole opened though, there must be a way to close it."
"Not true." Fred sighed. "I mean, remember what Angel and Spike said happened to Sunnydale when they closed the hellmouth?"
"You mean how it disappeared off the map?" Lorne asked rhetorically. "Yeah. I do remember."
"This isn't the same thing." Wesley told them.
"Are you sure?" Fred questioned.
"Yes, I am damn sure!" Wesley was frustrated now. "L.A. is not sitting on a hellmouth. That colossal hole in the middle of L.A. is not the opening of a hellmouth, it's a gateway opened mystically by the Senior Partners. It wasn't from an earthquake or meteor. It's from the Senior Partners, therefore there must be a way to close it because it will be closed by the Senior Partners once this apocalypse is over if they win."
"Wesley…" Fred said softly, trying to calm him down. "We don't know for a fact that the Senior Partners are going to close that hole up if they win this. They could just let hell out on earth."
"It would make sense for the kind of work they are in." Lorne added.
Wesley shook his head. "No. If they win here then they did what they wanted to. They defeated the Power's champions. They would control L.A. just like they did before Angel came here. They have been running things like that for centuries, they wouldn't change it now. That much I am sure of."
"Ok, so even if they don't keep that hole opened, how are you sure they don't have some secret ritual that we will never be able to find to open and shut it?" Fred asked as she let Erin play with some of the open books on the counter.
"I'm not sure." Wesley admitted. "I just have to trust that we will find a way to help Angel and the rest of our family win this."
"Well, we are all on the same page with that one." Lorne said, patting both Fred and Wesley on the back. "We just need to figure out something…" Lorne's voice trailed off as his eyes locked on Erin and what page the baby had opened to in the book in front of her.
Fred and Wesley both looked up at Lorne when his voice faded, and then followed his eyes to see he was starring down at Erin who was giggling, slapping the book in front of her.
"What are you looking at, Lorne?" Fred asked.
"Look…" Lorne said as he motioned to Erin. "Look what Erin found."
Wesley picked up the book that Erin was slapping and drooling on, reading over the page she had turned to. All the color seemed to drain from his face as he looked back up from the passage in front of him.
"What is it?" Fred asked, seeing the surprised look on Wesley's face.
"We can close that hole up. We can win this." Wesley said, shock in his voice.
"What do you mean?" Fred was confused.
Wesley turned the book toward Fred, so she could see the page Erin had found. "Erin found it. It was all right here in front of us. We must have overlooked it."
Fred read the page over, and looked up at Wesley and Lorne, also shocked. "So, this is it? This is the spell to…"
"Close up the hole to hell." Wesley grinned widely, he couldn't help it. He wasn't sure how, but Erin had found the passage he needed to close the hole that the demons were crawling out of. He knew now that someone was watching out for Angel Investigations. Someone wanted the good guys to win in the end, and he could feel it. The end was coming soon.