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 84
Wesley and Lorne ran around the lobby of the Hyperion Hotel frantically, trying to gather all the ingredients the spell to close up the huge hole to hell required while Freed rushed to get Erin dressed into warmer clothes considering it was still dark and raining out on the streets of L.A. Neither Fred or Lorne or Wesley had a plan as to what they were going to do once they gathered all the ingredients and got out onto the dark streets of Los Angeles, they just all knew they had to try and save the day.
"I think this is the last thing we need." Lorne said, holding up a bottle of cloves.
Wesley nodded; taking the bottle from Lorne and tossing it into the bag he had filled with the rest of the things the spell called for. "That should do it."
Fred scooped Erin up, placing the five month old in her own little rain jacket, and then moving Erin so the baby could rest her head on Fred's shoulder. "So now what?"
"We need a plan." Wesley said.
"Yes we do. Does anyone have one?" Lorne looked between Wesley and Fred, hoping one of them had an idea because he sure didn't.
Fred shook her head, looking toward Wesley. She didn't have a plan of attack either, she just knew they had to close the hole up and stop the demons from pouring out onto the streets of L.A.
Wesley took a deep breath, contemplating every plan they could use in order to close up the opening to hell. "Well, I just need to be close enough to that crack so that I can recite this spell and throw the mixture of ingredients into the hole itself. That should seal is up and stop the demons from using it to gain access to this world."
"Yeah, except how are you going to get close enough?" Fred asked, as she bounced Erin in her arms. "Isn't the army huge?"
Wesley nodded. "But I have to figure out a way to get past them and to the hole. If I don't, we can't close it." Wesley grabbed his jacket, throwing it over his shoulders.
"What are we going to do while you do that?" Lorne asked nervously. He was still not ready to go anywhere near where the battle was taking place if he didn't have to. He had never been a fighter and he wasn't truly ready to go and possibly lose his life.
"I want you and Fred to take Erin and wait on top of the hill overlooking the battle. You can see everything from there, and more importantly you can see if I fail and the battle gets out of control. If that happens you need to take Erin and get as far away from here as possible because the city will probably fall within minutes of that." Wesley told them.
"No." Fred told him. She had just been reunited with Wesley; she did not want to lose him again. "We should stick together now."
Wesley shook his head. "We can't. Angel was right when he told Cordelia that Erin needed to survive this. If none of us make it out of here she is the Power's only champion. The world will need her when she grows up. She needs to be kept safe."
"But Cordelia…" Fred started.
"Might be dead already." Wesley said, sadly. He had never wanted to say the words, but the truth was he couldn't be sure if any of the members of Angel Investigation that were anywhere near the battle site were alive anymore. "I hope she isn't. But it's a reality we might have to face so I need you two to promise you will keep Erin safe."
Fred and Lorne looked at each other sadly, and then nodded back at Wesley.
Wesley nodded in return. "Good. Now let's go." And with that Wesley grabbed the bag of supplies for the spell he was going to perform and made his way out of the Hyperion Hotel with Lorne and Fred a few steps behind him. Lorne was holding a crossbow, hoping he would not have to use it, and Fred was holding Erin, hoping she and Lorne would not be the only family the five-month-old ever got the chance to really know.
Angel made his way over to Cordelia, wrapping his arms around his wife, and holding her close to him. He couldn't believe she was right there in front of him. He thought he would never see her again. He kissed her gently on the forehead, and felt her warm body collapse against his. He could tell she was exhausted.
"What are you doing here, Cordelia?" Angel asked, looking down at her.
"I had to come back." Cordelia told him as she held onto his arm. "I had a vision. I saw you and Jess and everyone fighting and…."
"And what?" Angel searched Cordelia's face. "You had a vision about the battle?"
Cordelia nodded, swallowing hard. "And you were losing in it. And then…you died. I saw you die."
"What?" Angel was taken back for a moment. Why would the Powers let Cordelia have a vision of him dieing? Didn't they want their champion to win?
"You turned into a big pile of dust. You were trying to help Jessica in my vision and you were staked." Cordelia told him. "I had to come back, I had to warn you."
"Too bad it was a useless warning." Eve said as she gathered herself up from the floor.
"Don't move." Jess growled at Eve through a clenched jaw. The young immortal was standing between Eve and her mother and father, and wanting nothing more then to rip Eve's throat out.
"Why?" Eve asked. "Are you going to kill me like you killed Lindsey?"
Angel turned to face Eve, never taking his hands off of Cordelia. He didn't want to let her go. "Lindsey killed himself with the choices he made. I thought you would have been smart enough to not do the same thing. I thought you would have walked away when I gave you the chance, but you didn't."
"I have nothing to walk away to. You took everything that mattered to me." Eve said with no emotion in her voice.
"Well then maybe you should join Lindsey." Jess took a step toward the ex-lawyer in front of her.
"Jess, no." Cordelia told her daughter as she slowly stood. "She isn't worth it."
Jess turned back to her mother, confused. "Mom, she tried to kill you."
Cordelia looked over at Eve, her Queen C glare on full blast. "She is already dead inside."
"You would know what it feels like to have something dead inside of you." Eve shot back at Cordelia. "After all, you are the one sleeping with a vampire." Eve looked over at Angel.
"You're disgusting." Cordelia stepped toward Eve. "And that's why I am going to let you walk away. So you have to live with what you've done and the decisions you've made."
"Don't bother giving me the option." Eve said, and with that the ex-lawyer simply stepped backwards, off of the balcony, and down the eighteen stories until her body connected with the concrete below, crashing next to Lindsey's.
Jess, Angel, and Cordelia all stood in shock for a moment at what Eve had just done.
"What just happened?" Jess stared blankly at the spot Eve had just been standing in.
"It doesn't matter." Angel told his daughter. "What matters is getting back to the battle."
"What matters is my vision." Cordelia said. "We don't have a lot of time, it's supposed to happen soon."
"Well then you need to get out of here." Angel told her.
"What?" Cordelia searched Angel's face.
"You need to get out of here, get to Erin. I told you to keep Erin safe." Angel told her.
"She is. She is with Fred." Cordelia told him.
"She needs her mother. She needs her real family." Angel said back. "One of us needs to make it through this for her."
"Angel…" Cordelia touched his face softly, but was cut off by the building shaking.
"We don't have a lot of time left up here." Jess said. "This building is going to fall."
"And you are going to die unless you listen to me about this vision." Cordelia stressed.
"Cordy, your vision can't prevent what is going to happen here today." Angel told her. "You warned us, now you need to get out of here."
"I'm not leaving you." Cordelia told him, tears of frustration starting to rise in her eyes. Why wasn't Angel listening to her?
"Mom, he's right." Jess said. "You need to get to Erin and we need to get back to the fight."
"But…" Cordelia started.
"We don't have time to argue, Cordelia." Angel said sharply. "Now go back to Erin. Keep her safe and make sure she knows how much we all love her."
"Angel…" Cordelia started.
Angel ignored Cordelia, not wanting to hear the pain in her voice. She meant too much to him, he hated to see her upset, but he couldn't risk her life to keep her content right now, so he turned his attention to Jessica. "Jess, get your mother out of here safely, and then meet me down below." He then pulled Cordelia close to him, kissing her passionately. "I love you." He whispered in her ear. "I always will." And with that, he leapt off the balcony, landing on the roof of the building across the alley, leaving Jessica on the balcony with her mother.
Spike, Gunn, and Connor sat on the roof of the building across from Wolfram and Hart, still throwing the flaming crates over the side onto the mass army that belonged to the Senior Partners. They had taken quite a few demons out, and all three of them could not help but smile. They knew their flaming crate trick wouldn't win them the battle but it was sure helping.
"Here come two more." Gunn said, tossing two crates in the direction of Spike and Connor.
Connor grabbed both crates, midair, handing one to Spike who light it on fire and threw it over the side of the building, watching it land on three demons.
"This is damn fun." Spike said. "If it wasn't an apocalypse, I think I would enjoy this much more."
Connor just shook his head at the vampire as he handed him another crate. "That's good."
Suddenly, and without warning, Angel came flying over the side of the building, landing right in front of Gunn.
"Angel?" Gunn was surprised to see the dark-haired vampire.
Angel nodded, standing straight up. "What are you guys doing up here?"
"Fighting. What the hell are you doing swinging onto the roof like that?" Spike asked.
"I was saving Cordelia." Angel said, glancing over Spike, Connor, and Gunn. "How the hell are you fighting from up here?"
"Connor's plan. We are lighting crates on fire and dropping them like bombs onto the demons." Gunn said, holding up a crate.
"In the rain?" Angel asked, as he watched the rain continue to fall down all around him.
"It's working, don't jinx it." Gunn said, tossing another crate to Spike.
"How's mom?" Connor asked his father.
Angel nodded. "She's safe."
"Where is she?" Connor asked, and then looked around, noticing someone else was missing. "And where is Jessica?"
"Jess is taking your mother back to the hotel and back to Erin, Fred, and Lorne. She is going to meet us back here afterwards." Angel explained, and then raised an eyebrow. "Where is Wesley?"
"He went to find Fred." Gunn said, almost sadly. "We haven't heard from him since."
Angel nodded, realizing that Gunn was trying to indicate the fact that they were no longer sure if Wesley was even alive.
"While we wait for Jess, we could use some help." Connor told Angel, chucking a crate toward his father.
Angel caught the crate and nodded, moving toward the side of the roof, next to Spike and taking the blonde vampire's lighter. Angel light his crate on fire and watched it fall onto a group of demons from Wolfram and Harts army. Angel was impressed to see the flaming wood connect with the demons and actually stop a few of them. He was proud Connor had thought of a plan to keep the demons at bay, but he could not take his mind off of Cordelia, Jess, or Erin. He hoped his girls were safe, wherever they were.
Wesley led Fred, who was holding Erin, and Lorne down the dark, wet streets of L.A. until they made there way to the hill he had spoken of back in the hotel. It was true; Lorne and Fred would be able to see the entire battle from that hill.
"Now, you two stay here." Wesley said, turning to Lorne and Fred.
"And you're just going to run down into that?" Lorne pointing down to the battle, making a face at just how bad Wesley's plan was.
Wesley nodded, realizing that the more his plan was repeated out loud by anyone, the stupider it sounded. "I'll be alright."
"We will wait for you." Fred said, moving Erin in her arms to try and keep the rain out of the baby's face.
Wesley nodded again. "I'll be back soon." He pulled Fred close to him, kissing her gently on the forehead. "I promise."
"I'm holding you to that." Fred gave a warm smile to Wesley, trying to mask her own tears as she watched him turn away from her and Lorne, quickly taking off down the street and toward the battle that he was supposed to try and stop.
Jess stood for a moment, gazing in the direction of the roof her father had jumped onto. She was stunned. Stunned that Eve had just let go like that, stunned to see her mother again, and stunned that her father had just left her to make sure her mother made it out alive. She was even more stunned that her father expected her to be able to make it back into the battle alive. Jess had seen the battle, fought in it, she knew how big it was, and she knew she had very little chance of finding her father in it after she got her mother back to the hotel safe.
"Jess?" Cordelia's voice broke Jessica's thoughts.
Jess turned to her mother. "Come on. We've gotta get you outta here."
"I'm not going." Cordelia said. "I'm not leaving. You and your father need to listen to me for two seconds instead of trying to plan out your next battle plan, because if you don't your next strategic battle move won't matter because you won't be alive to carry it out anyway!"
"There is no strategy in this!" Jess snapped. "We have no plan! We've got nothing! The only plan we've had all night is to get you out of here safe!"
"Jess…" Cordelia started, tracing a line with her finger over the line of blood dripping from the gash on Jessica's forehead, and trying to change the subject so her daughter would calm down. "You're hurt."
Jess winced in pain as Cordelia's finger connected with her wound. "I'm fine."
"You don't have to be a savior right now, Jessica. It's okay to not have a plan. Just trust me in that you need to listen to me. My visions don't lie."
"Mom, we've got to go." Jess said, not wanting to hear anything else her mother had to say, as she grabbed Cordelia by the wrist and pulled her into the penthouse and down the hall of Wolfram and Hart. She knew her grasp on her mother was probably too tight and that Cordelia would probably have a bruise in a few days from it, but Jess didn't care. All that mattered was that Cordelia lived to see the bruise form on her wrist.
Wesley made his way down the street that ran behind the Wolfram and Hart building. He knew that the hole the demons were crawling out of was a few hundred feet from the opposite side of the building then he was on, he just needed to figure out how he was going to get close enough to recite the spell and use the mixture to close the hole without getting killed.
"Come on now, Wesley. You can do this." Wesley cheered himself on.
Wesley took a deep breath, and then darted across the back of the building, rounding the corner to see the huge hole just where he suspected it to be, a few hundred feet ahead of him. He could see that demons were still crawling out of the hole, but none were coming in his direction. They all had their backs turned to him.
Wesley smiled, still talking to himself. "This might be easier then I thought." And with that Wesley slowly began moving toward the hole, hugging the side of the building, and hoping the darkness that had engulfed L.A. would be enough to keep him hidden from any demons that might turn around toward him.
Angel, Spike, Gunn, and Connor all sat on the roof, watching the army below them. They were almost out of crates, and it seemed like the demons just kept coming. They needed a new plan to buy time until Jess came back, hopefully with a brilliant plan of her own.
"Alright, so what do we do now?" Gunn asked. "We're almost outta wood to burn."
All heads turned to Connor who shrugged.
"I thought of the last plan." Connor said. "It's someone else's turn this time."
"Well, I've got bloody nothing." Spike said, lighting one of the last crates on fire and throwing it over the side of the building. "When is Jess due back?"
Angel shook his head, keeping an eye on the army below, but also keeping an eye out for Jessica. The darkness and the rain made it difficult to see, even with his vampire sight. "I'm not sure."
"Well, we better figure something out until Jess gets here. I mean, she might not even have a plan and it could take her a while to get to us." Gunn said.
Angel nodded in agreement, looking around the roof. There was nothing he could use, nothing he could think of to slow the demons down, once they were out of crates they were done. "Well, until someone gets an idea we better just ration out these crates." Angel pointed to the eight remaining crates that were stacked up behind Gunn.
Jess and Cordelia moved silently and swiftly around the back of Wolfram and Hart, avoiding the alleyway, the battle, and the army of demons. Jessica knew she had to get her mother out of there fast so she could get back to her father. She hoped he had found the rest of their family and they were all waiting for her.
"Jess, this is wasting time." Cordelia said, trying to loosen the grip Jessica still had on her arm. "Let me come with you, I can fight, and I know my vision. I can try and prevent it."
"Just because you had a vision doesn't mean it is meant to be stopped." Jess said suddenly. "Maybe it was a warning for you. So you knew there would be nothing for you to come back to."
Cordelia was silent for a minute, contemplating Jessica's view on her vision. "What do you mean?"
"I mean maybe the Powers That Be wanted to let you know that your family wasn't going to live through this. Maybe it was their way of warning you to stay away and keep Erin safe until she can fight for them." Jess said.
"The Powers wouldn't do that." Cordelia said. "You and your father are their champions. They wouldn't let you die."
"Champions die all the time, Mom." Jess looked away from her mother as she continued pulling the seer away from the battleground. "It's part of the job."
"I don't believe that." Cordelia said, yanking Jessica back so her daughter had to look at her. "And neither do you. You know my vision was to warn you so you could all stay alive."
Jess looked down at the ground and was quiet for a moment before looking back up at her mother. She knew in her heart Cordelia's words were true. "Let me get you out of here like Dad asked me too. I'll go back and make sure your vision doesn't come true. If the Powers sent you it I am sure there is a way we can prevent it."
Cordelia nodded. If she couldn't be there to save Angel or her family she was glad that Jess at least acknowledge the fact that there was still hope, still a chance that Angel Investigations would win; That the Powers That Be were still on their side.
Wesley approached the hole the demons continued to crawl out of with caution. So far, he had not been spotted, but as he inched closer he couldn't help the feeling that he would get caught.
Wesley inched toward the edge of the last building before the hole began. He stopped, hiding himself for the last time in the security of the building's shadow.
"Alright, Wesley. You can do this." He cheered himself on as he swallowed hard. He then took two steps away from the building, toward the hole, and dug his shaking hands deep into his pockets. He pulled out the potion he had mixed earlier with his left hand and the spell Fred had copied onto a piece of paper in his right.
Wesley cleared his throat as he stood a few feet away from the huge hole. Demons were still crawling out of it, but they seemed to be oblivious to him, as if they knew exactly where the rest of Angel Investigations was, and that was all that mattered.
Wesley was glad the demons had not noticed him though. It would make his job so much easier. Slowly he lifted the paper in his right hand and began repeating the spell written on it. He hoped his plan would work before any demon decided to take a quick glance over their shoulder and see him standing there. He knew if that happened he would be dead within seconds.
Fred, with Erin in her arms, and Lorne stood at the top of the hill where Wesley had left them. The rain was still coming down, though it appeared to be slowing up somewhat. From their position, Fred and Lorne could see everything going on below them in the alley, which gave them hope. The demons were still fighting, so they had to be fighting someone, which meant that there was a good chance that at least some of the members of Angel Investigation.
Suddenly, Erin began squirming around in Fred's arms, reaching her hands out. It was clear the child wanted to be lifted up to see something, and Erin began crying hysterically when Fred did not lift her immediately.
"What's wrong, Erin?" Fred was confused. The baby in her arms had been so good, so quiet, all night, as if the five-month-old knew everything that was going on. Fred was convinced Erin did understand everything, and was at a loss for words as to why the baby would start having a tantrum now.
When Erin did not stop crying, Fred looked up at Lorne, hoping he would be able to help, but instead she found that the green demon's eyes were looking somewhere else, somewhere over her shoulder.
"Lorne? What is it?" Fred asked.
"Well jumping jellybeans…" Lorne said in amazement, a small smile creeping over his lips.
"What?" Fred asked, turning to see what Lorne was looking at, and what she saw seemed to amaze her too.
Cordelia and Jess made their way up the hill toward Fred and Lorne as fast as their wounded bodies would allow them to. Both mother and daughter could see the look of astonishment on Lorne and Fred's faces and neither could help but give a small smile of relief. They had made it out of the battle zone alive, and Fred, Lorne, and most importantly Erin were all safe.
"Erin?" Cordelia called out when she heard her daughter's cries. "Erin, Mommy is on her way, don't cry baby."
Erin's cries seemed to settle out as Cordelia and Jess approached Fred and Lorne, and the cries stopped all together as Fred gently handed Erin over to Cordelia.
"You guys are okay." Fred said.
Jess nodded. "We're alright. What are you doing out here?"
"Wesley told us to stay here." Fred said. "He found a spell to close up the hole the demons are crawling out of. He went down there to see if he could use it."
"Really?" Jess was both shocked and relieved. If Wesley could close the hole there was a chance they could win the battle.
Fred nodded, but said nothing else.
"How did you get out of there?" Lorne pointed down to the battle, and then turned to Cordelia. "And how did you find Jess in that mess down there?"
"I didn't." Cordelia said as she felt Erin's small hand tighten around her finger. It was clear that the five-month-old was happy to be back in her mother's arms. "Jess and Angel found me."
"Where is everyone else then?" Lorne asked.
"Fighting." Jess said simply, turning to Cordelia. "And I need to get back to them."
"What?" Lorne was confused. "Why would you go back down there?" He motioned over to the battle still taking place in the alley below.
"Because I have to." Jess said, wiping the blood up that was dripping from her head onto her shoulder. She then turned to Cordelia and Erin, gently laying her hand on Erin's head, as if to ensure her baby sister was still there, and looking up at Cordelia with a glimmer in her eyes Cordelia had never seen before. "I gotta to go, mom."
It took a minute to register in Cordelia's mind what the glimmer in her daughter's eyes was; it was tears. Jess never cried, but now the immortal teenager was trying her best to fight back tears. Jessica's tears made it all to clear to Cordelia that the battle the rest of their family was fighting was no place for children, and that's exactly what Jessica was, a child. Jessica was immortal, she had all the super vampire powers in the world, she had run a law firm, grown up in a hell dimension and killed the man who had brought her there in the first place, but she was still just a child to Cordelia; her child. Jessica would always be Cordelia's baby, no matter how old she grew.
"Mom, I gotta go." Jess repeated herself.
Cordelia looked back at her oldest daughter to see that Jessica had fought back her tears and the glimmer in her eyes was long gone. Cordelia was sure it was something she would never see again, after all, Jessica didn't cry. "I know, baby."
Jess nodded, turning back to the alleyway, and back to the fight.
"Jess, wait!" Cordelia yelled.
Jess turned around to find herself wrapped in her mother's arms, with Erin gently pressed in between them.
"I love you." Cordelia whispered into Jessica's ear. "And I expect to see you soon."
Jess nodded, slightly grinning at Cordelia. "You will." And with that Jessica turned back toward the alleyway, making her way swiftly down the hill in front of her. She had to make it back to the battle and find her father and the rest of Angel Investigations as fast as her two legs could possible allow her to.