"These are some serious injuries, Mr. Gunn," came the voice of a short, balding man. He wore a white lab coat, khakis and a powder blue button up beneath. His name tag identified him as Doctor O'Connell.
"Tell me something I don't know," Gunn said between winces.
"Well, for starters, you're lucky you even survived the teleportation." Dr. O'Connell picked up a small talisman and waved it across the hole in Gunns side. "Nasty flesh wound like this, bleeding badly—I've seen people had chunks of them left behind."
"Huh. Fun stuff."
"You can only imagine." The doctor put down his talisman and whispered something under his breath.
Gunn felt a sudden burning sensation at his side and leapt from the table.
"Ah! Damn!"
Instinctively, he reached down to grasp the wound, but find nothing but a small bump in his flesh, where the blade of a knife had once left its mark.
"All done," Dr. O'Connell said with a smile.
"Thanks," Gunn said, still rubbing the spot where the wound once was.
"Well then, we should get going. See what the fellow do-gooders are up to," Spike said, as he lit up a cigarette. "Lets go."
Gunn followed Spike out of the medical lab and into one of the duplicated hallways. They followed the Italian signs with predetermination, and after a couple of minutes, they had reached the CEO's office. Just as they entered, Angel was picking up the phone on Ilona's desk. He motioned for them to sit.
"Look at him, being all boss man, even on foreign turf."
Spike pulled up a chair, and sat beside Jaye. On her other side, Gunn was taking his seat.
"Hello," Angel said suddenly, his voice cracking. "Buffy? Oh… Hi Kennedy. Is Giles there? No? Oh… Willow? Oh… alright. Can you tell her to give me a call when she gets in, its urgent. Alright. Thanks. Bye."
Angel put the receiver down, and let out an unnecessary sigh.
"No luck with the reinforcements then," Spike observed.
"They'll get back to us," Angel told them as he made his way back around the desk. Ilona regained her position, and slid the phone back into place.
"You really think they will," Gunn stated more than he did ask.
"Why wouldn't they."
"Well, last time I heard, Buffy and co. weren't too keen on us. Something about working for the big bad that got them."
"Well Gunn… you may be right… but this is different. It's Buffy, she won't care, at least not now. Not with things like this."
"If you say so."
"Good. Cause I do… say so."
Kennedy put down the receiver, and cocked her head to the left. She was curled up on the couch, but she could see Willow in the kitchen just down the hall. Their eyes met and Willow walked towards her, a bowl of fresh popcorn held between her arms.
"Who was that," Willow asked as she placed popcorn down on the coffee table. Then she snuggled up next to Kennedy.
"It was Angel," Kennedy replied, turning a remote over in her hands. Then she looked at Willow, her brown eyes showing some uncertainty.
Willow leaned forward and kissed her lips. The feeling was gone.
"It's ok. I mean, it doesn't exactly feel ideal ignoring him. But I think Giles is right. I mean, he's working for an evil law firm in LA—"
"He's in Rome."
Kennedy cut Willow off, when she realized she hadn't mentioned Angel's location. Willows brow wrinkled, and her lips pouted in an inquisitive expression.
"Rome."
"Yes. Rome."
Willow slid her legs off the couch, and sat straight up. She looked at, her face suddenly serious.
"What exactly did he want?"
"Um... Just to talk to Buffy. Or you or Giles. He said it was urgent."
Willow pushed her hair back, the red locks falling between her fingers. Kennedy reached out and touched her hand, pulling it out to hold. Willow forced a smile.
"You think something wrong?"
Kennedy titled her head and stared into Willows eyes. Willow shook her head in response. Then, behind them, the apartment door was practically knocked off. Andrew came stumbling into the room.
"Willow. Kennedy. Hi."
Andrews face was wet with sweat, his blond hair matted across his forehead. As he hastily shut the door behind him, he pulled at his tie, loosening it with his free hand. Then Willow and Kennedy watched as he made his way towards them, snatching the remote from the table and began to wildly press buttons. The DVD they had been watching started to skip scenes, and speed up.
"Andrew, what are you doing," Willow said, placing a hand on his arm. She took the remote and pressed the ' TV / Video ' button. The DVD blinked off and a news channel came on. A reporter was in mid sentence:
"…only a half hour ago, when a giant explosion ripped through downtown Los Angeles. In the following shot from a local traffic cam, you can get a glimpse of the event."
The news room switched to a fuzzy view of a street at night. Suddenly lightning struck down, and parked cars on either side of the street slid all the way against the curb, and in some places onto the sidewalk. Suddenly the lightning hit again, and the street ripped open. Then a giant explosion took out the street, and traffic cam.
"Did you see that," Kennedy exclaimed. She took the remote and pressed a button. The image began to replay, just before the second lighting strike. The street ripped open once again, and then Kennedy paused the image. From the open ground, an impossibly large, clawed hand could be seen stretching out of the ground.
"How did you see that," Willow asked as she stood up, staring at the TV.
"Barely," Kennedy said. "Gotta love TiVo."
"That.. that's not all," Andrew said, shaking with fear. "They're not saying it on the news… but people are saying, that, umm.. there are, creatures—"
"Creatures? Andrew, what kind of creatures?"
"…Big ones."
Willow's gaze fell to the paused image on the TV. She stared at the monstrous claw that was stretching just above the ruined pavement.
Willow shook her head, and turned to Kennedy, who now sat with her arms wrapped around her own waist. Willow held out her hand, and her lover immediately took it, squeezing it for a moment. They gave each other reassuring smiles, before Willow let out a deep breath.
"Guess we picked the right time to get back from Brazil."
"Or the wrong time, depending on your view of the situation," Kennedy said with a small grin. Willow returned it.
"Ok, here's the deal. I'm going to Wolfram and Hart, see where I can help. Kennedy, you head to the Immortal's palazzo. Tell Buffy that Angel's here—and make sure you tell her it's an apocalypse, because I know she's not too keen on him at the moment… None of us are."
"What about me, Willow? What can I do? Should, I maybe perform ancient protection magics… I know some exceptional barrier spells that were used by the ancient Mexicans."
"No, Andrew, that's ok… I need you to just stay here and find out what you can… Also, call Giles, let him know what's up, if he doesn't already."
"Will do…Will."
Willow smiled, then nodded towards Kennedy. The young girl stood up and headed for the door, Willow followed. They were about to exit, when Andrew called out behind them.
"Oh, and say hi to Spike for me," Andrew screamed. Kennedy and Willow both stopped in their tracks, looking at Andrew in confusion.
"Oh." Andrew smacked his forehead. "I knew I forgot to mention something."
"Spike… He's alive," Kennedy said, barely believing the words as they came out of her mouth.
"Yea-huh."
"Wow…"
"Yea," Willow said, her voice small. Then she came back to her senses. "We, um, have to go."
"Right."
"Kennedy, don't—"
"Buffy won't know."
Willow shook her head, then exhaled deeply. Kennedy kissed her cheek, before heading off down the hallway. Willow looked at Andrew one last time, and grimaced. "I'll call."
"Sidekick!"
Together, a group of at least one hundred girls all shifted to one foot, twisted their torso, and kicked their free leg straight out.
"Again!"
The girls repeated the move.
"They're getting better," came the voice of a man. He stepped outside, onto the curved patio. In front of him, a small hill led to an open area of grass, where the girls, Slayers, were practicing.
"They're ok."
"They're new." He took a few steps forward, and reached out, putting his hands on her shoulders. He gave them a small squeeze, then gradually began to rub and massage them. "Give them time."
"I guess there's no rush."
"None. You saved the world, Buffy. What more do you want?"
Buffy closed her eyes, letting his hands work their way around her shoulders and down her arms. As they fell around her waist, she let him pull her body against his. Her head came to rest on his chest, his chin against her temple. In his arms, she felt completely safe.
Of course, that was always the case whenever she was with the Immortal.
"Buffy," the Immortal began. "the seers have picked up on something. A group of people teleporting into the country, not an hour ago."
"So?"
"I believe you know him. Angel?"
Buffy's muscles tensed. She pulled her arms around herself, and stepped out of the Immortals grasp.
Angel, she thought. His name weighed heavy in her mind. She hadn't spoken to him since he'd shown up that fateful day a little under a year ago. The day he gave her the amulet that Spike used to save the world.
Spike. Oh god, Spike.
"Buffy…" the Immortal called out to her. And despite being a few feet away, it felt like miles separated them.
Something's wrong.
"Did they say anything else?" Buffy was facing the Immortal again, her arms crossed.
"No… Just that he was here."
"Where? Exactly, where is he?"
"The offices of Wolfram and Hart."
Angel, what have you gotten yourself into? I don't even… know you.
Buffy took a deep breath. A cool breeze came over the hills and patio, bringing with it the smell of fresh flowers from the palazzo's several gardens. The sun was warm on Buffy's face. She blinked, and suddenly the world got colder.
"I should go."
"Buffy, are you certain?"
"If he's…up to something. It's important I know what's going on."
"Buffy, he can't be trusted. He's in allegiance with one of the greatest evils this world has seen."
"Exactly why I should go and make nice."
"I don't agree."
Buffy frowned, pushing a few strands of loose hair behind her ear before she spoke. "Fortunately… this isn't up to you."
Buffy stepped around the Immortal and headed towards the doors of the palazzo. The white, linen curtains of the hallway were spilling out through the open doors. She pushed them out of her way, and stepped inside.
It wasn't until Buffy had disappeared down the hallway, that a small, grayish man in a light green robe was seen. The man did appear human, but something about him that screamed otherworldly. He approached the Immortal, and since there were no other doors leading to the patio, one was led to believe he had been there all along.
"Sir," came the small mans voice. "How shall we proceed?"
The Immortal put his hand in his pocket, and removed a timepiece. He flipped open the brass door, and looked inside. However, instead of the usual twelve numbers and a marker, there were a series of dots and marks, with a sole '100' at the top. There were two equally long markers, one stopped at the center of the clocks face, and the other hastily making its way towards a red slash.
"Prepare an enchantment."
Buffy had just descended the front stairs and was standing at the edge of the circular drive, awaiting a car. Before it had arrived, she noticed Kennedy running up the drive. Buffy began to walk towards the girl, meeting her a few yards from the front door.
"Buffy," Kennedy said, panting lightly. "We need to talk."
"Is something the matter? Is it Willow?"
"No! It's… Angel. He's here."
Old news.
Buffy took a small breath, and ran her fingers through her hair. "I know."
"You do?"
She shook her head, before noticing the limo that was approaching.
"Kennedy, I have to go… I need to make sure he's not up to something."
Buffy walked past Kennedy and towards the limo. The chauffeur had opened the door, and she was just about to get in, when Kennedy's hand was on her wrist. Buffy turned to face her, and Kennedy's face was a mix of anger and disbelief.
"Up to something? Buffy—the world is ending!"
"...Oh"