Part Fifty-Six
UC Sunnydale, Sunnydale, California. November 15, 2001
Over a week had passed since Xander and company had gotten back from Russia. And despite its best efforts, the organization known as Siberian Trip Wire still had not learned anything beyond what the Watchers had on Elizabeth Bathory and Baron Roja.
Granted, Xander had recalled the demon they had tangled with about a month earlier, and suggested he might know something about Bathory's current activities. The Ahluc demon was still being held at Gitmo, and so had become the focus of questioning on the subject.
Regrettably though the Ahluc demon, or 'Todd' as Xander had nicknamed him, was able to withstand anything short of ugly torture to make him talk. He had confirmed rumors of Bathory and Ivan Roja being very active in the 19th century Europe, but that was all. The Watchers Council had originally provided that gossip, as well as what little they knew about Roja's penchant for hunting demon hunters.
For his part, Xander had chafed under the new travel restrictions imposed by STW until they knew more, but he had spent his time with Fred and Oz as productively as he could. As far as the female physicist was concerned, that meant Harris practicing with the big, honking hot-air rifle she'd developed. With his werewolf buddy, it was listening to Oz's comments as Harris did some carpentry and tried his luck again with his old eighth grade nemesis...
The flugelhorn.
There was also Anna, the new Russian liaison, to deal with of course. Whilst not a swallow - a female agent trained in the art of seduction - in the strictest sense, the Russian woman was nonetheless a military officer with an agenda, and everyone knew it. But the redhead obeyed the rules, both the written and the unwritten ones, and did not force her company on Xander if he did not desire it.
Anna and Smithers weren't alone in being a liaison from a foreign power to start hanging around the Siberians, actually. One of the results of that conference in Iceland months ago was that there was more international cooperation in dealing with supernatural events. Of course, access to Xander was still being carefully controlled by Cleburne, who after that meeting with Baba Yaga was overcompensating a little thanks to how easily she'd dealt with him.
Esther Marcum was fielding complaints from various international agencies over the Marine general's actions, but so far Joshua wasn't budging on the matter and there was almost nothing she could do to get him to loosen up a little.
That was the great thing about being a general - you get to be able to do almost anything you want.
In any case, life had gone on for all those associated with Xander's past in Sunnydale and elsewhere. In Los Angeles, Cordelia was moving ahead with her life - preparing for university classes at USC starting in January, since it was too late to enroll in for the autumn term. She was also attending auditions and taking acting classes, wondering where to go from here.
Gwen and Gunn had started hanging out again, as the black man finally started to get over killing that guy named Gio. Wesley had constantly researched, hearing vague rumors concerning a remnant of the ancient sacred text known as the Nyazian prophecies. Angel and Darla had spent their time trying to anticipate every problem that might come up after the birth of their son, including how to best baby-proof the hotel.
The undead woman was 8 1/2 months gone, after all, and the big day was looming closer and closer. The Fang Gang was anxious, for obvious reasons, as they were in totally uncharted territory with a female vampire giving birth. So were Lilah and Gavin over at Wolfram & Hart, as Linwood Murrow was growing more and more irrational after the liaison to the Senior Partners had stopped by to 'have a private word' with him.
Life had also continued in Sunnydale, the way it always did.
Dawn was reveling in her freedom, after her mother had finally stopped grounding her for that Halloween joyride she'd planned to undertake.
Giles and Joyce were discussing how to put a lid on all the ever-increasing bills within the Summers household, including one rather radical suggestion; that the Englishman move into 1630 Revello Drive full-time and combine his income with that of Joyce's.
Buffy and Dawn hadn't been told of this possible solution yet. The two adults simply weren't sure how they'd take it. Besides, Giles hadn't forgotten what had happened on the day Buffy and Dawn had first found out about him and Joyce swapping spit on the couch - and the Slayer's angry demands to know what sort of intentions he had towards her mother had been forever burned into Rupert's memory, as if by a branding iron.
It would be quite amusing, actually, albeit in a rather terrifying sort of way, if it was the daughter instead of the father figure who pulled out the old shotgun in response to that sort of shenanigans.
Buffy herself was doing well in college, even going on a few dates - however, she hadn't revealed her night job to any of those guys yet. After all these years, she was justifiably wary of the whole Slayer thing frightening them off straightaway.
Oh, and curious historical sidebar - the demon named Sweet had never been summoned, as Anya had sold that amulet which would call upon the lord of the dance to manifest to a valued Magic Box customer. Someone from the Sunnydale PD who knew what the pretty bauble was for, and who had subsequently weighted it and sent the amulet to the bottom of the ocean - upon receiving his orders from Xander and Siberian Trip Wire.
Andrew was preparing to attend a gaming conference in Los Angeles towards the end of the month, not that anyone cared much.
As for Willow, Tara and Jonathan - they had been dealing with the issue of what to do when the group finally found Xander. Willow had found something that she thought might help, and the three of them had been debating about what to do with her idea. The magical trio had not been able to reach a consensus on the issue, even after much discussion on the subject.
"I don't know, Willow; are you sure about this?" Jonathan asked in his nasal and reedy voice.
"Yeah. Well, that is - kinda sorta," Willow temporized. She turned and looked at Tara. "I mean from what I've read, Lethe's Bramble has been used for forgetting and mind control spells in the past, right?"
"Yes, but...you, you think using something like that c-c-can make your friend be able to tolerate y-your presence again?" Tara stuttered, for the first time in quite a while.
"Sure - well, maybe - I mean, uh, I-I don't know. All I do know is, Hecate definitely isn't listening to my pleas to change that memory spell I did all those years ago - so we need to pursue, um, other channels," Miss Rosenberg said hesitantly.
"Yeah, but *this*?" Jonathan asked. "Willow, I gotta say it. What if the spell doesn't work as intended, and-and you wipe out Xander's memories completely? Or turn him into your mind- controlled slave? Those government people he's with, they'd guess right away who was most likely responsible! They might - well, those secret agent types might not react well, y'know."
"He's right," Tara touched Willow's arm gently. "We need to discuss this with the others, be-before we go any further."
Willow hesitated for a second, and then nodded. "Okay."
The Magic Box, Sunnydale, California. Later that evening
After the Magic Box was closed for the night, a full meeting of the Scooby Gang was held within the store. The two witches and the warlock shared the news with the others, and there was a - well, a full and frank exchange of views afterwards.
"Willow, are you *crazy*?!" Buffy semi-yelled at her best friend.
"Can you really bring the tongue here to Sunnydale safely?" That was Anya.
"Anya, that whole 'tongue' thing? Seriously, you need to get psychiatric help about that!" Jonathan told the ex-demon.
"No, she doesn't!" Andrew defended his girlfriend valiantly.
"It's tamer than the stuff I hear at school, anyway," Dawn added in her two cents to the conversation.
"We really need to talk to her principal about that, don't we?" Joyce asked Giles hopelessly, who just nodded in reply.
"GUYS!" Willow shouted, briefly silencing the bickering crowd. "I'm not suggesting doing anything that'll hurt Xander or put anyone's life in danger, okay? I'm just outlining the options we've come up with so far."
"Which come down to investigating the Bramble's usefulness, or-or abandoning this whole line of inquiry," Tara added tersely.
"It's been over two months since we learned Xander was still alive," Joyce said, starting to regret the fact that she had yet to tell anyone she'd met Harris and his friends in Washington. "What if someone's told him that we know that by now? Maybe we should just hold off for a while longer."
"How long, mom? A day? A week? A month? A year?" Buffy asked pessimistically. "We go down that road, then we may as well just wait for May 2003 to roll around. It's not all that far away, right?" She folded her arms. "Well, I'm sorry, but I can't do that. Because Xander is gonna get himself killed associating with those people, long before that happens!"
"You don't know that for certain," Giles told his Slayer calmly. "For all we know, the boy could be following an agenda."
"Doing what? I mean, you think there could be *another* 9/11 just around the corner?" Andrew asked, his eyes wide.
Willow started to speak but was interrupted by Jonathan. "That's something we can't be sure of."
Joyce jumped on that point. "That's right, I-I read about that anthrax thing in the newspaper recently. Maybe there are more things like that coming. His future knowledge could save lives."
"We need to focus here," Willow cut in, trying to redirect the discussion before anyone went further down that line of thought. "Look, I've done the research, and I think I can use Lethe's Bramble to magically modify someone's memory. Finally fix that humongous mistake I made, way back when. I think it's worth testing what I've come up with so far. And we should at least give it a try, right?"
"I don't know. Willow, it is a valid concern that Xander may have additional knowledge that could impact upon the world, and this spell may interfere with that," Giles said carefully.
"Yeah, but after all this time? The odds are he must have told those government people everything," Willow protested.
"Perhaps, still - what if he hasn't? Are we here willing to take that risk?" Giles replied reasonably.
"Also, have we considered if now is the right time to find Xander?" Joyce asked.
"Mom, what are you saying?" Buffy looked at her mother in shock.
"Well, dear, think about it; I suspect he has...issues to address. What with everything that's happened to him over the past three years - I'd say the odds are Xander's no longer the person we remember, he'd have a different outlook and opinion on just about everything. And - well, please don't take this the wrong way, honey, but you also have issues to be addressed."
"Mother!" Buffy almost yelped.
Joyce was thinking quickly on her feet now, trying to avoid revealing that she had actually met Xander recently. "I'm sorry, Buffy, but I think you - all of us - have gone through a lot since high school. We've changed, and no doubt Xander's changed as well."
Giles nodded. "Well, yes, that's true enough...take everything Xander's done where Angel's concerned, for example. I mean - apart from those 'conversations' with Dawn, perhaps - Xander's mental state is something we, we know nothing about, how he feels about any of us nowadays."
"I *wish* I could-" Dawn started to say wistfully.
"DON'T say it!" Anya yelped; she knew just how dangerous a Wish could be. Halfrek had been complaining about not meeting her monthly quota recently, and D'hoffryn only knew what kind of Wish world the demoness would create if she overheard this conversation.
"Fine," Dawn said sulkily, hating to be talked down to this way.
"Giles has a point, I guess. But that's all the more reason why we need to be able to talk to Xander, so we can address those issues," Willow spoke up, wanting to redirect the conversation back to the original topic.
"Yes, sweetie. I'm not arguing about that," Joyce answered in a motherly tone, as over the years she had been in Sunnydale she had come to view Willow as almost one of her own children. "However, even if this spell works, we're not in a position to take full advantage of it yet. We'll most likely only get one shot at this, so we can't afford to have anything go wrong. Be honest; can you guarantee me that nothing bad will happen, if Xander happens to be in the middle of a gun battle or something when you do this spell?"
{ No, I guess I can't.} Willow thought to herself, feeling conflicted, she knew that Joyce was right, but she didn't have to be happy about it.
Giles spoke up, "We should continue researching the spell, so as to make sure it will, um, c-confer the results we want. Trying to incant it now, though, without even knowing where the boy is or what he's doing. Joyce is right, it would be equivalent of undertaking brain surgery, without even having attended medical school."
Willow looked annoyed, taking that a personal slight. "I can do the spell, Giles."
"Your ability is not in doubt, Willow, not after all the spells you've done over the years. However, we must be sure the spell is done at the most beneficial moment, you must admit," Giles answered.
"But Xander's out there," Buffy said in a pleading tone. "We can't just leave him out there all alone!"
"We're not, honey. We know he's not alone, or living in some dumpster like a homeless person. He's clearly well protected and being taken care of." Joyce leaned over and put her hand over Buffy's hands.
Giles nodded his head. "Yes, quite right - it would behoove the American government's interests to keep him safe and somewhat satisfied, after all."
Joyce didn't say anything to that, not wanting to hint she knew more than she did. But she thought to herself, {If only you knew how true that was, dear.}
Buffy and Willow exchanged a look. After a few seconds, Buffy reluctantly nodded. Willow likewise nodded and exhaled slowly.
"Alright, but we keep researching and preparing," Miss Rosenberg said stubbornly.
Joyce smiled at Willow, "Of course, dear."
Next door in his book store, Josef Lemke heaved a sigh of relief after ceasing to eavesdrop on the Scooby Gang. One because they had seen reason, and two, if Willow did that spell with Lethe's Bramble and it went wrong.
That mass amnesia Xander had told him about didn't sound like fun, and neither did that army of rabbits Anya had apparently summoned in the original history.
Houston, Texas. November 24, 2001
"Baron, I hope the accommodations meet with your approval?"
Baron Ivan Roja, otherwise known as the Red Baron of old, sniffed disdainfully as he entered the penthouse suite. The minion from Wolfram & Hart hurried along behind him, knowing the aristocratic vampire expected him to keep up.
"Not really, as it is not exactly what I have grown used to. However, I generally stay in places that are civilized. And since I am currently mired in a place of barbarians, I suppose I must make allowances." Ivan looked out at the night skyline of Houston. "The windows - they are coated so that when the sun rises, it will not harm me?"
"That is correct, sir. Necro-tempered glass, straight out of the R&D labs of the Los Angeles branch of the firm. No matter what the time of day, after they pass through the glass the rays of sunlight will not be able to harm you in any way."
"Good, then at least I don't have to worry about that." Roja walked into the kitchen. "Did you obtain the information I requested?"
"Yes, sir." The minion hurried after Roja, and handed over a manila folder. "It was difficult, but all the information you requested is contained herein."
Baron Roja looked at the material within the folder labeled "Anthony and Jessica Harris". "Excellent, then hopefully I can conclude my business here quickly and retire to more congenial surroundings."
Hyperion Hotel, Los Angeles, California. November 27, 2001
Wes was sitting at his desk, reading the ancient Nyazian scrolls and scribbling away madly as he attempted to translate the contents. He had been doing that for almost the entire day, ever since Gunn and Gwen had returned from their little fun-filled B&E activity not long after dawn.
Gwen had wanted to see just how well Gunn could handle himself, so she'd taken him with her last night. Granted, the job had gone a little off the tracks when the previous owner of the scrolls had walked in on them, shortly after they had broken into the guy's house. He had been most upset, but once Gwen had mentioned the magic word IRS, the exotic items collector had been willing to do almost anything to make the two of them get out and stay out of his home.
Being affiliated with the United States government did have some advantages, to be sure.
Cordy was at her own desk working on her laptop, busy with the minutia that came with running the detective agency. For their part, Gunn and Gwen were throwing darts at a board on the wall within the Hyperion.
"Ha! One hundred and eighty points, pal. Beat that," Gwen said victoriously, as Gunn's expression turned sour.
"Damn. To think I used to be cool, before I started hanging out with the white folks all the time," Gunn complained. "So, Wes, how are you doing?"
"Uh, I'm getting there. The math's rather complicated, and I..." Wes trailed off as Darla came waddling into the room. "Oh. That can't be right. Not unless the world ended last March, anyway."
Cordelia rolled her eyes, finally looking away from her computer. "Wesley, are you talking 'bout Armageddon happening early this year or what? What are you looking for, anyway? Is it a bad event - or a bad guy?"
Wesley shook his head. "The text, it's not clear on that. As best as I can tell, it predicts the arrival or arising of the Tro-clon. The, uh, person or being, or the confluence of events that brings about the ruination of mankind."
Gwen snorted. "So it's a two for one special. Well, isn't that nice?"
Wesley added, "And I'm not sure about the translation, unfortunately. Ruination may in fact mean purification."
Gunn didn't get what the ex-Watcher was trying to say. "Purification? So, you sayin' this Tro-clon is a good thing?"
"I rather doubt it myself, but I can't be certain. All I know is that the word means purification in Aramaic, ruination in ancient Greek and in the lost Ga-shundi language, it means both," Wesley said with a sigh, leaning back in his chair.
Cordy smirked. "Better watch it, Wes. You don't want to make the same mistake twice."
"What mistake?" Darla spoke up, as everyone turned to look at her.
"There was another unclear prophecy, quite a while ago. Right about the time Wolfram & Hart brought you back as a human, actually. It was about the vampire with a soul and contained the word 'shanshu', which I thought meant to die and I - sort of told Angel..." Wesley trailed off, looking embarrassed.
Cordy said it for him, "...that he was going to die."
"Well, as mistakes go, that's not a minor one," Darla said with a small laugh, rubbing her belly before deciding to sit down.
Wesley went on, "The thing is, I then found out it also meant to live. To 'shanshu' meant to die and to live."
"What?" Darla turned around to face the former Watcher. "How can it possibly mean both?"
Wesley shrugged. "It means that someday the vampire in him might die, but the man in him might live. That Angel will become human."
"WHAT?" Darla screamed, looking livid as she jumped up off the couch.
"Oh, lemme guess. You didn't know?" Cordelia rolled her eyes. {Typical dumbass brooding vampire, he always forgets to mention that sort of thing.}
"No, I didn't! So when is all this supposed to happen?" Darla then demanded of Wesley.
"I don't know. As I said the prophecy was rather vague about the timing, it didn't even mention Angel by name." Then Wesley's eyes went wide. "Good Lord! Darla, you have a soul now as well, I...for all we know, the shanshu prophecy could have been referring to *you* all along, instead of Angel."
"What?" Cordelia demanded, as Angel came into the room.
"What's all the yelling about?" the Champion demanded, as he joined the others near the hotel counter.
Darla started screaming at the father of her baby, wanting to know when the hell he'd been planning to tell her that either he or she was going to become human one day. Angel had to continually duck to avoid the pregnant woman's slaps to the head as Darla chased her childe around the hotel lobby, ignoring his pleas for her to calm down for Connor's sake, if nothing else.
"Hello?"
Everyone in the hotel lobby stopped for a second and turned to the front entrance to see who had interrupted this particular comedy scene. There standing in front of them was a young man, dressed like an elf straight out of Middle Earth. "Hi, I'm Andrew Wells; I think Buffy and Willow told you I was coming?"
Apartment B, 523 Oak Park Street, Sunnydale. Two hours later
Rupert Giles picked up the phone on the third ring as he put down the book he had been reading. "Rupert Giles speaking."
"Rupert, it's Wesley Wyndham-Pryce here."
"Oh yes, Wesley, did Andrew arrive there alright?" Giles had a slight smirk on his face as he said that.
"He arrived safely, however - I must say that I would not care to hazard a guess about how long that would continue to be the case, given his current behaviour."
"Yes, well, um, Mr. Wells does admittedly lack in some social airs and graces." Giles had to fight to keep the laughter out of his voice, as he thought of how Angel must be feeling right now. Cordelia, too, given that Andrew had been a big fan of hers for quite a while.
"Some? Good God, man, it's only been a couple of hours and I already know far more about The Lord of the Rings trilogy than I ever wanted to. And to think, I 'liked' those books when I read them in my youth!"
Again, Giles suppressed a chuckle. "I share your anguish, old chap. Look, when it gets too much, I subtly try to shift Andrew onto another obsession of his; the Star Trek universe, actually. It's painful, but at least it spares Tolkien's ghost that particular humiliation."
"Well, at least this gaming convention will only last a couple of days. Ah, by the way, did Willow pass on those scrolls I sent to Sunnydale?" Wesley asked.
"She did, and thank you for those. I'm rather hopeful they will help with my concerns regarding Angel's situation."
"Good, if I can do anything else, let me know." There was an audible 'click' as Wesley quickly hung up.
Somewhere below Los Angeles, California. Later that evening
When the midnight hour was about to strike, at his desk within the Hyperion Wes finally completed his preliminary analysis of the Nyazian texts. {Good heavens. Whatever this Tro-clon really is, if my calculations are correct - it's happening somewhere in Los Angeles right now.}
Wesley's speculations were more accurate than he knew. Somewhere underneath the streets of the city there was a hidden chamber, lit by fires in the alcoves along the wall. The ceiling was supported by a circle of pillars, and a stone statue and two bowls holding more flames formed an equilateral triangle inside the circle of pillars.
A demon walked into the sacred chamber and stopped in front of the statue. He was the timeshifter demon known as Sahjhan, who had been keeping an incorporeal eye on Angel and Darla and Connor for months now. He started to chant:
"The weight of time is heavy on the world. And all men born must die. But there are worlds unknown, where dreamers dream and sleepers sleep, and patiently await. As pledged in Caladan by Cod-she..." Sahjhan stepped back and made a complicated gesture with his hands at the statue, "...one shall awaken in the first year of the new century. That one, who lived before and joined Cod-she in the great sleep, shall now arise. Arise, as was promised and foretold in the Nyazian sacred texts. Arise. Arise!"
Initially, nothing happened. The demon stared at the statue impatiently, {Come on, come on, I haven't got all day.}
Suddenly the room began to shake, and blue lightning exploded out of the statue. The eyes of the statue suddenly turned into two open, human-looking eyes. Eventually, the marble of the statue crumbled to the ground in a cloud of dust as the earthquake finally ceased.
The demon walked over to the crouching figure huddled in the middle of what was left of the statue. Sahjhan said, "Welcome to the twenty-first century."
He crouched down himself and put an incorporeal hand on the back of the figure, "Angelus and Darla are here. You'll see them again soon. But you haven't used your muscles in a very long time. It'll be a while before you're strong enough to..."
The figure suddenly straightened up, as Sahjhan removed his hand. The previously crouching figure was a man - middle-aged, yet still spry and capable-looking. He had a goatee like Alan Smithers, but unlike that Englishman this son of the British Isles had an expression on his face that was full of rage and barely controlled hatred.
Daniel Holtz. A vampire hunter from the 18th century, who had agreed to be frozen in time by Sahjhan for the opportunity to finally gain revenge on Angelus and Darla, for their murder of his wife and two children.
"Just tell me where they are," Holtz hissed at the demon, staring Sahjhan directly in the eye. "For *no one* shall deny me justice!"
Wolfram & Hart building, Los Angeles, California. The same time
Lilah Morgan rolled her eyes in frustration. Despite the incredibly late hour, the building was still in full swing and she was quite busy. The expert that had been brought in to decipher Wolfram & Hart's prophetic scrolls, after the failure of the previous attempts to translate them, was going on about how helpful the previous work had been.
Of course, Lilah knew that such praise wouldn't help the person responsible for the previous work, as the price of failure around here was not a pleasant one.
"Yes, fine, he was very helpful. Now tell me what you found out, before you get to meet him in person!" Lilah snapped.
The guy named Harvey blanched for a second. "Err, well, I was able to finish up to this part about the son of two vampires. It was quite difficult to interpret correctly - Ga-shundi tenses, they're tricky little buggers."
"I know all about that bit concerning a human child being born to those two members of the undead club. What else have you got?" Lilah demanded impatiently, looking at the Post-It notes on the scroll.
"Well, that's just it. According to my translation, uh, there will be no birth."
Lilah immediately looked confused. "What? No birth, but the prophecies?"
"I know, Ms. Morgan, the other prophecies all talk about the coming of a human child with vampire parents. However, if you look here," Harvey used a magnifying glass to point out the section in question. "It says, and I quote: 'For surely in that time, when the sky opens and the heavens weep, the mother shall not give birth'. And like other immutable prophecies in works such as the Pergamum Codex, there is no way this divination can fail to come to pass."
"So, what's that mean - Angel's kid dies after Darla goes into labor?" Lilah asked, wondering how she could use this to her advantage - especially against her more-than-half-crazy boss, Linwood.
"No, ah, apparently not - as this scroll talks about the child later on in the present tense, living," Harvey proffered a different sacred text.
"Well how is that possible, if Darla doesn't give birth to her and Angel's damned hellspawn?" Lilah simply didn't get it.
"I don't know, Ms. Morgan. But that's the thing about prophecies - they don't tell you everything. Most times, these things only become clear after the fact," Harvey shrugged helplessly, which made Lilah want to punch him right between in the eyes.
A private airfield outside of Los Angeles. November 28, 2001
Early the next morning a small jet taxied into a hangar; as the jet slowed down, the ground crew hurried to open the door. As the door was lowered, Michael "Red" Byrne stepped down while he was talking on his cell phone. Exiting the plane a few seconds after him was Alan Smithers, followed by a trio of secret agents.
"Yeah, we just got here. Uh-huh, the trip was fine. Well, I'm supposed to meet the doctors that Chalmers recommended later on today. These guys, they're with the program right? They understand the special nature of their patient?"
Red listened carefully for a few moments. "Okay, still if they start freaking out over their malpractice insurance, I'm the one they're going to complain to!" He suppressed a chuckle to the response from Cleburne.
"Yeah, General, I'll take them to the hotel where the vampires are." Red again listened for a few seconds. "I know, I'll make sure they get there alright. Any other instructions? Fine, I'll call you later." He and Smithers then arrived at and got into the car that had pulled up next to the hanger.
Alan spoke up out of mild curiosity, "Is he always like that?"
"You should have seen what General Cleburne was like before Harris came along!" Red shook his head as the Lincoln Town Car sped off towards the city.
Houston, Texas. Later that morning
The Deputy United States Marshal ducked under the police tape that surrounded this ordinary-looking house in the suburbs. Police cars surrounded the house and officers wandered around here and there, doing what they did at crime scenes. The Marshal walked to the front door where a pair of detectives was waiting for him.
"Morning, you from the U.S. Marshals?" one of the cops asked, looking at the badge that was hanging from around the man's neck.
"I am, Deputy Marshal Al Hixon. You called me?"
"Yeah, I'm Detective Larson and this is my partner, Detective Stengel. A red flag came up on this address to contact your office if we had a call here."
"Okay. I assume you got a call, then?" Al Hixon, who had a relative in the Air Force named Major Arthur 'Dragonslayer' Hixon, asked.
"Neighbors called last night. Said they heard strange noises over here. A patrol unit responded and found this," Detective Larson motioned towards the doorway.
Hixon stepped through into the house. He looked around and stopped cold in the living room as he looked at the wall. "Okay, this is worrisome. Bodies?"
"Nope, didn't find any - but still..." Stengel said as the two detectives came up behind Hixon. "That kinda makes a statement all its own, wouldn't you say?"
There on the wall in red paint - or at least Hixon *hoped* it was red paint, even if deep down he very much doubted it - was one word, scrawled in huge letters.
"TIMETRIPPER".
Private medical practice, Los Angeles, California. Later that afternoon
"Dr. Haldane?"
The balding, middle-aged ob-gyn looked up in response to the question. He saw a red-haired man in a business suit was standing in the doorway. So the doctor replied, "Yes, and you are?"
"Mike Byrne, Dr. Chalmers sent me."
"Oh, yes, the pregnancy with severe complications," the M.D. nodded to himself, he remembered being asked to consult on this matter.
"To say the least. I've come to help coordinate everything," Red said with a small smirk
Haldane reached over and picked up his day book. "Let me see what I can schedule."
"Well, there is another guy's schedule to consider, actually."
"Another doctor?" Haldane raised his eyebrows.
"Uh, not exactly." Red abruptly lost the smirk, as he considered that shaman that had arrived from the Yoro Mountains in Honduras. Given the guy's reputation, it didn't pay to be amused about him at all.
The sacred chamber underneath Los Angeles, California. Later that night
Sahjhan looked at the middle-aged vampire hunter he had brought forth into this time and place. Holtz had recovered from the timeshifter's dark magicks over the past few days, and sick and tired of watching the 230 years' worth of history he had missed out on those damned TV monitors, the hunter was now examining a sword and various other arms on a table in front of him.
"Is everything to your satisfaction?" Sahjhan abruptly asked.
"The weapons, yes, but I'll need men, those two vampires are hard enough to deal with even under the best of circumstances, and I am no longer the young man I was when I first encountered Angelus and Darla," Holtz replied stoically.
"It's Angel now, actually," Sahjhan said with a small shrug.
Holtz looked up at Sahjhan's correction. "What?"
"Angel, he goes by Angel now."
"Why would Angelus do that?" Holtz demanded suspiciously.
"I dunno for sure, but I guess times change, and names change with them. Hell, even in your day , who referred to France as 'Gaul' anymore?" Sahjhan briefly smirked as he said that.
"It doesn't matter, whatever Angelus wants to call himself - I shall have my revenge against both him and that demon bitch of his. Now, what about some men at arms?" Holtz reiterated his demand.
"Well, not all of them are men, but I think they'll do the trick quite nicely," the timeshifter demon smirked arrogantly, as he considered the Grapplar demon mercenaries he had hired. "Come with me."
Wolfram & Hart garage, Los Angeles, California. A little later that night
"Come on, get a move on!"
The group of commandos boarded the unmarked vans while their leader stood behind them. Next to one of the vans was a similarly unmarked ambulance. A couple of paramedics and a doctor were getting into that ambulance. Lilah was standing behind them.
"You know what to do?" the evil female attorney demanded of the strike team leader.
"Yes, Ms. Morgan; grab the baby and bring it here, no matter what it takes." Agent Hauser looked down at the gurney being put into the ambulance, there were restraints attached to it. "No matter what it takes."
"Good," Lilah nodded, even if deep down she had the terrible feeling that all this was going to blow up in her - and Linwood's - face. This wasn't the first time the Senior Partners had authorized this sort of snatch and grab operation, after all; and it seemed that apart from the extra manpower, there was no difference from the last attempt that had led Angel to promise that he'd kill Lilah first, if there were any more such kidnapping attempts.
{No wonder Lindsey decided to get out while the going was good.} Lilah thought to herself as the vans and the ambulance departed. {Good thing I updated my will recently, as well.}
Elsewhere, at roughly the same time, Holtz looked up as he heard thunder in the distance. He held out his hand and felt a drop of rain hit. He shook his head and, following Sahjhan closely, the vampire hunter continued walking towards his destination.
Even though once he got there and met the Grapplar demons Sahjhan had recruited, Holtz was less than pleased about the composition of his so-called 'men at arms'.
Hyperion Hotel, Los Angeles, California. The same time
Darla stood smoldering, so to speak, as she listened to the approaching storm. She folded her arms and shifted from foot to foot. She was still mad over what she had learned earlier about Angel and that damned prophecy of his. She wasn't quite sure *why* she was mad, but she was. Maybe it was due to Angel not confiding to her about something that was as important as the shanshu prophecy.
Or maybe she was mad that one day, there was a 50-50 chance that the father of her child would no longer be as immortal as she was - that Angel would become human, and grow old, and eventually die, leaving her alone for the rest of eternity.
Looking out the window, Darla suddenly noticed a van pull up in front of the hotel and a couple of men get out. She frowned as they hurried towards the front doors of the Hyperion.
"Better see what that's all about," the heavily pregnant blonde muttered as she started to walk to the door leading back out into the hotel corridor. She made her waddling way to the lobby, where the Fang Gang and the newcomers were congregated.
Wesley looked up. "Ah, Darla, there you are. The doctors, well - a doctor and a witch doctor - who will be attending you during the birth, have arrived."
{Really. And here I don't recall making arrangements for any such thing.} Two men were standing near the front door; Darla quickly pegged them as soldiers. Near the Fang Gang was a red-headed man, one whom the nine-month-pregnant blonde had never seen before.
"Ma'am, this is Dr. Scott Haldane and this is Shaman Limele Juan," Red motioned to the two men standing next him.
"Okay, and you are?" Darla asked suspiciously.
"Someone sent here to make sure this birth doesn't have any more complications than it has to."
"That's too long a name, give us something shorter to call you," Cordelia said acerbically as Darla waddled down the stairs.
Michael Byrne cracked a smile, his advance information on Ms. Chase had indeed been accurate. "Red."
"Fine, Mr. Red," Cordy seemed to size him up pretty quickly.
"It's just Red, Ms. Chase. My real name is kinda classified where you people are concerned."
Ignoring the banter Angel moved to help Darla down the stairs, but quickly stopped when she glared at him. {Okay, she's still mad as hell. Note to self; buy her lots of presents tomorrow!}
The female vampire turned to the new arrivals once she was standing in the lobby. "Why do you think there should there be complications?" Darla demanded.
"This pregnancy is unnatural," Juan said simply, the shaman gazing at that huge, distorted belly of hers.
"You said that the last time we met; anything new to add?" Darla commented acidly.
He didn't answer; it was Dr. Haldane who answered. "We understand that there are unique circumstances here, ma'am. Just *how* unique I wasn't informed until a short while ago." He sent a glare in Red's direction, who simply shrugged and mouthed 'Security'.
The ob-gyn went on, "It's my hope to be able to deal with the situation in a manner that ensures both the health and safety of both you and your unborn child." He was distracted for a second by a rumble of thunder from outside.
Darla suddenly gasped, "I hope so too. Because my water just broke!" as a puddle of liquid began to form at her feet.
Another part of the Hyperion Hotel. A short while later
Darla had been moved upstairs to one of the rooms. Outside in the corridor, Dr. Haldane was arguing with Juan and Red. "We need to get her to a hospital. I can call ahead and have them ready a delivery room! This birth is complicated enough already."
"I fail to see the point of such actions, as a human hospital and its equipment can't help this particular woman. She is something beyond what they are prepared for," Juan replied.
"This whole thing is beyond what anyone is prepared for! We need to move her to a controlled, sterile environment!"
Red shook his head. "No, maintaining security at a place like that would be a nightmare, and besides everyone here is better prepared for this situation than conventional medical staff. Why else do you think hospital arrangements weren't made months ago? You know damn well that the doctors and nurses there would ask pointless questions. Questions whose answers they could never believe, anyway, and simply waste everyone's time."
"But in an old hotel room?"
"Women have been giving birth in worse places since the start of recorded history," the Navy SEAL rejoined Haldane's observation. "And even though it might make you feel better being in a familiar environment."
Cordelia came over to interrupt, looking worried. "Something's wrong."
Both Haldane and Juan instantly hurried inside the room to Darla, with Red bringing up the rear. Angel hovered in the doorway, looking on with apprehension. After awhile he spoke up, "What is it? What's going on, why hasn't Connor been born yet?" The undead father had definitely started to panic by now.
Wesley walked down the hallway to the door, Andrew following behind him. "Angel, I think you should take a look at this."
The ex-Watcher showed his undead boss part of the translated text of the Nyazian prophecies. "I finally translated it properly from the original Ga-shundi. It says here, 'when the skies open and the heavens weep, the mother will fail to deliver her offspring'. The prophecy, it's saying..."
"...that Darla can't actually give birth?" Angel finished, giving voice to his fears.
"Her vampire body. It's not a life-giving vessel," Wesley said slowly, turning to stare at the undead blonde - who was trying not to grimace from the agonizing pain. "And if we don't do something soon we might lose your son completely, Connor will be still-born...after all, we can't exactly do a C-section..."
"Damn it! How could we not have learned this until the very last minute?!" Angel wanted to scream against the unfairness of it all. "I mean, this whole thing doesn't make sense! First Darla gets pregnant, our son is protected from any and all harm by mystical forces we still don't understand, and now when it's time for Connor to be born - something like *this* happens?!"
"It's odd, but all this kinda reminds me of one of my favorite Star Trek: DS9 episodes," Andrew started to babble geekily. "Y'know the one, where Keiko O'Brien was about to lose her unborn son Kirayoshi on that shuttle? But then Dr. Bashir had the bright idea of using the transporter to teleport the fetus into Major Kira's body, in order to safely carry the child to term , which was a bit of a dumb plot device if you ask me, but since the actress playing Kira Nerys had gotten pregnant and they didn't want to kill off the character or anything..."
Andrew trailed off as he saw both Angel and Wes staring at him. "What?"
"Out of the mouths of babes." the ex-Watcher said in sheer wonder, before turning to face the male vampire. "Angel, are you thinking what I'm thinking?"
Angel nodded, turning to stare at his Vision Girls one after the other. "It's gonna have to be Cordelia. There's no way we can risk Connor's life asking Gwen to do it!"
"Mr. Wells, thank you for your suggestion," Wesley told the nerd rapidly, before he and Angel moved away to talk to the others.
"Cordelia, can we have a word?" Wesley said with obvious hesitation, and gestured to Angel to take over.
"ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR FREAKING MIND?!" Cordelia exclaimed loudly a few seconds later, unable to believe what the Champion was asking of her now.
"Cordy. Please. It's my son's life we're talking about," Angel literally begged her to do it. "We can't risk Gwen doing it; she has a mystical power that might kill Connor, if she tries to give birth to him."
"Hey! I am standing right here, y'know," Ms. Raiden said from the doorway, looking insulted with Gunn looking on from behind her.
"Do you even know what it is you're asking me to do?" Cordelia ran her hands through her hair.
Angel stepped back and was silent for a few seconds. "I'm asking to you to save my son's life."
Cordy's eyes widened for a second and she placed her hand on her heart. {Oh, God - he just *had* to put it like that, didn't he?}
"AGGGHHHHH!" Darla screamed by way of interruption, as another contraction ripped through her tortured pregnant body.
"The baby's heartbeat - it's growing weaker," the ob-gyn reported, listening with his stethoscope.
Darla looked up at Cordy. "Please." she begged softly.
"There is no more time left," the shaman concurred. "If you would do this thing, it must be done now,- or never."
"Fine!" Cordelia abruptly made her decision. She then glared daggers at Angel while Darla was attended to by the doctor and the shaman. "Fine, I'll do it. And just so you know - I'm going to do it, not for you or her, but because your son can't help who his parents are. And because I don't want Connor to die if I can possibly save his life."
Haldane hurried up to Cordelia. "You'll need to lay down, and get changed out of your street clothes. Plus I'm going to have to give you an injection of hormones, in order to fool your body into thinking it's ready to give birth," the doctor said, reaching into his black bag and selecting a number of vials.
"And I must prepare the transference spell," the shaman added. "To that end, I will need a sample of the new mother's blood, as well as the old."
"Just *hurry*!" Darla screamed, honestly not sure how much more of this she could take.
Wolfram & Hart building, Los Angeles, California. The same time
Lilah paced her office floor as Gavin Park sat in a chair next to her desk. Every a few seconds, the radio set up on her desk crackled with a report from the commando team sent to the Hyperion Hotel.
"We have a situation occurring," a male voice suddenly spoke over the radio.
Lilah reached down and spoke into the microphone transmitter. "What's going on?"
"Man on foot approaching."
"It's a public street, a man walking along isn't that uncommon!" the female lawyer said in exasperation.
"No, ma'am we closed off Hyperion Boulevard entirely, he would have had to get past at least three of our people to have reached this far. They would have - they should have - stopped him," was the answer. "Sir, I need to you to...what the hell-?!"
Nothing but static then came over the radio.
"Report, report, what's going on?" Lilah almost yelled into the radio.
The static cleared for a second. Lilah and Gavin could hear screaming and gunfire.
"Damn it, someone talk to me, what's going on over there!" Ms. Morgan tried not to scream in anger.
All that came over the radio was more static, though. And just then, Linwood Murrow came charging into the room, demanding to know what was going on, before threatening to crucify both of his subordinates.
Meanwhile, barely a couple of blocks from the Hyperion Hotel, Holtz placed his sword back in its scabbard, after wiping all the human blood off of it.
Hyperion Hotel, Los Angeles, California. Not long before midnight
The shaman knelt between the two couches that had been moved close to each other. Darla and Cordelia were each laying on the couches. Juan took a breath and placed one hand on Darla's bloated belly and the other on Cordelia's flat, smooth one. Angel hovered near Darla while Andrew tried to make himself useful by being near Cordelia.
The shaman's chant began: "Nur hat kahla'esh. Nin hat kahla'shin. Vahla'mahar, timar et kun'un. Let the child pass from the old vessel to the new."
At once Cordelia started screaming her lungs out, the noise almost deafening everyone nearby.
The torment the young woman was experiencing was far worse than that time years ago, when Cordy had been about to give birth to seven baby demons - thanks to her one night stand with the scumbag known as Wilson Christopher. There was pain; not just the pain of the baby's mystical transference from Darla's womb into her own, but also the pain of actual childbirth - for, as said, Connor had been ready to be born for some time now, and so he had started travelling down the birth canal almost immediately.
"OH SWEET JESUS!" Cordelia yelled, as she instinctively grabbed and squeezed Andrew's hand. Wells whimpered, his face contorting in agony as it felt like the Chase woman was breaking every single bone in his hand. Still, Cordy had had less than fifteen minutes to be prepared for what was assaulting her, and it felt like she was dying right now.
"That's it, push!" Gwen called out encouragingly.
"The baby's crowning, I can see the head!" the doctor exclaimed a few moments later. "Bring me the towels and the hot water, now!"
Right on cue, though, gunshots rang out from somewhere nearby.
Red instinctively drew his sidearm. "What the hell is - report! Somebody, tell me what's going on down there!" he shouted into the radio he had hidden in his jacket pocket. Byrne then ran to the door and headed into the hallway, leaving Andrew, the two medics and the Fang Gang to look after the situation concerning Darla.
"There's some kind of fight going on outside. Commandos seem to be under attack from some kind of demons. People with swords are running around as well," was the answer to Red's question.
"Backup?"
"On the way. I figure we're going to need it soon."
"Understood, I'm on my way down." He hurried down the hallway.
"What the hell's going on?" Gunn asked as he and Wesley ran to catch up to Red.
"Demons, commandos, a battle with swords and guns outside on the street, you know, I should think that's unusual, but somehow it's not."
"Tell me about it," Gunn quipped. "What do you need us to do?"
"Hold on. Samuelson, report!"
"Things are gettin' hairy, sir. Denham is down, a stray round that came outta nowhere. The demons and the commandos are taking each other out for now, but sooner or later they're going to make trouble for us."
Red turned to Wesley and Gunn. "Okay, looks like the winner of the rumble out on the street is probably going to come knocking. I think it's clear that they want to crash the party upstairs. That would be bad."
"Any help coming?" Gunn asked.
"Yeah, but I don't know their ETA, so we're on our own for the time being. Get back up there, and see when they'll be ready to evac the hot zone."
Meanwhile, back up in the makeshift delivery room, the miracle child's entrance into the world finally occurred as the clock struck midnight, despite Jasmine's fuming about how Connor's birth had failed to cause Darla to kill herself, as part of the original scenario she'd had in mind.
A loud slap was heard and the birth cries of the male infant filled the room as Andrew and Gwen watched in befuddled wonder. The doctor and the shaman took turns handling the baby, cleaning him up as Angel fidgeted nearby - an overprotective vibe exuding out of him already.
"Oh dear God, I am never doing that again," Cordelia lay panting and gasping as Darla finally got up from her couch and stumbled over to where Haldane and Juan were.
"Hello, Connor. Welcome to the world," the boy's father said in sheer awe, gazing at the baby Darla now held in her arms.
"No," Darla shook her head.
"What?"
Darla looked over at Cordelia, who winced as she nodded. So the undead bio-mom smiled before she replied, "Our son's name is Connor Alexander."
Angel smiled as he looked up at Darla. {Okay, why not? After all, it's a different world now and if it hadn't been for Xander's warnings, my kid might have died tonight.}
At that moment, Gunn and Wesley flung open the door. "We got visitors coming!" Gunn blurted out.
"What? What's going on?" Angel demanded.
"Demons and what I'm guessin' is a Wolfram & Hart SWAT team are fighting it out outside, and the fight's about to spill over into the hotel," Gunn explained.
"I suspect they knew about Connor's impending birth tonight, the Nyazian scrolls couldn't have been the only prophecy available regarding the miracle child - and both sides are trying to abduct him," Wesley added helpfully.
"My son!" Angel vamped out in anger. "They want to kidnap my son?!"
"Our son," Darla corrected Angel. "Let's go downstairs and take care of them."
"No, there's no need to risk yourselves that way; we just need to get to a place of temporary safety until help gets here, it's on the way," Wesley explained.
"Is there some place we can retreat to, like your version of Hoth base or something?" Andrew spoke up in concern, even as most people looked confused at the Star Wars reference.
"She can't be moved quickly, or too far," Dr. Haldane said, motioning at Cordelia. "This young lady barely had any time to prepare for the birth; surely you can't expect her to run a marathon right now! By rights, I ought to be giving her a thorough physical examination in the closest hospital at this point."
"That's not an option at the moment, I'm afraid," Wesley replied as he went to help Cordelia up. "Angel, Darla - do either of you have any preference on where we can safely ride out the situation until help gets here?"
"Up."
"What?" Gunn said in response to Andrew's comment.
"People don't think to look up during a crisis. That should buy us some time," Wells explained. "In the DC universe, during the Crisis on Infinite Earths crossover, see, both Superman and Supergirl,"
"Yeah, I think we got the gist," Angel rapidly cut off the geek's comic-related babble. "All right, let's head for the roof. That may give us enough time for the reinforcements to arrive."
Gunn nodded. "Up we go."
Wolfram & Hart building, Los Angeles, California. November 29, 2001
"Someone talk to me!" Lilah yelled into the transmitter, not long after midnight. She slammed her fists on the desk in frustration when there was no answer.
Gavin looked up from the cell phone he had been talking into. "The LAPD is on its way to Angel's hotel."
"I thought we had made sure they wouldn't interfere?" Linwood growled menacingly.
"Apparently someone made sure they would, someone with more juice than us," Gavin replied to his boss politely.
"Harris and his friends," Lilah guessed.
"Should I tell the lobby to expect another tank to crash through the front doors?" Gavin asked with a hint of sarcasm.
"Shut up!" Lilah turned backed to the transmitter. "Someone out there, tell me what's going on!"
Hyperion Hotel, Los Angeles, California. A short while later
"God damn. Did anyone think to check if it was raining before we came up here?" Gunn asked, already soaked through to the skin.
"I didn't, otherwise I would have gotten an umbrella," Cordelia grumbled, her pride and joy - namely, her hair - now a ruined, wet mess. "A big one."
"Err, actually the weather is not entirely unexpected, but hopefully it will act to further mask our presence," Wesley said as he wiped away some rain drops from his face. Rain came down steadily as the Fang Gang huddled under what cover they could find.
"After I come down with a cold, Wes, I'll remember you saying that," Cordy snarked back.
"Achoo!" Andrew sneezed, causing Cordelia to give him a glare.
Darla cradled Connor in her arms as the group listened to sounds of combat from below. The doctor and the witch doctor hovered nearby, their job theoretically done; but nonetheless, they were concerned over how all the current activity would affect the baby. The M.D. had barely had time to give Connor his Vitamin K shot, never mind the PKU test.
"How long until this so-called backup arrives?" Angel asked impatiently.
"I don't know. Hopefully soon," Wesley replied.
"Anyone think we oughta go ask that Red guy?" Gunn wondered if it would be a good idea to look over the edge of the roof to get an idea of what was going on below.
"Well, *I* certainly have quite a few questions for Mr. Red," Cordy said grumpily. She suspected that the secret agent might have information on Xander's whereabouts; something the young woman was still very keen to determine. {I just bet that the dorkhead arranged for all our guests to show up earlier on, somehow. And I hate to admit it, but what I went through tonight might actually have been bearable - if it was his hand I'd been holding! Not to mention if there'd been a boatload of drugs, plus nine months' worth of Lamaze classes.}
Cordelia then spotted movement out of the corner of her eye. "Hey!"
The others turned to look at the new arrival. "Yo, man, how'd you get up here?" Gunn said as he and Wesley assumed fighting positions.
The new arrival was standing in an overcoat with rain drops splashing off him, a sword in his right hand and a broad hat covering his head. Angel and Darla both felt a cold chill in their stomachs when they recognized the new arrival's face.
"Holtz?" they said almost at the exact same moment.
"You recognize me, even after all these centuries," the 18th century vampire hunter said sarcastically.
"How the hell did you get here?" Angel asked, before his eyes narrowed. "You still smell human to me - Holtz, what kind of dark magicks have you dabbled in to get here?"
"You know this dude?" Gunn asked, looking around in confusion.
"Angel, is this Daniel Holtz? *The* Daniel Holtz?" Wesley's eyes were suddenly huge. "The vampire hunter from the 18th century."
"You've heard of me," Holtz narrowed his eyes, staring at his compatriot. "I detect an Oxford accent."
"I am Wesley Wyndham-Pryce, sir," Wes stood up proudly, despite the pouring rain.
"I know that family name. I met Steven Wyndham-Pryce when I was a captain in the Yorkshire militia, many years ago," Holtz replied guardedly.
"My ancestor roughly nine generations back, if memory serves - at one time, the deputy head of the Watchers Council," Wes nodded.
"I must confess to finding myself both puzzled and intrigued, Mr. Wyndham-Pryce. Why would a man from a family such as yours stand alongside two vampires, demons who, even in my time, were infamous for slaughtering helpless women and children?" Holtz demanded.
"Hey!" Andrew yelped in indignation, before wilting as everyone turned to face him. "I mean, uh."
Darla vamped out as fear for what might happen to Connor kicked in. "Look, Holtz - what Angelus and I did to you was unforgiveable, especially with regard to your wife and children. But come what may, I will NOT let you harm our child as retribution for that!"
"Your child?" Holtz said in confusion.
"The miracle child, sir," Wesley told him, gesturing towards Connor; who was safely protected from the rain within his mother's arms. "The human baby destined to be born to the only two vampires in this world that stand on the side of Light, due to the presence of their human souls."
"Souls? Light? Two vampires creating a human child? What madness is this you speak of?" the middle-aged hunter looked like he couldn't believe his ears, as he brought his sword up.
"Put that down," Angel said, vamping out like Darla. "I mean it, Holtz! Whatever issues you have with Darla and me, you will not risk our son's life over them!"
A stunned look of disbelief then came across Holtz's face. "You're actually serious. Mr. Wyndham-Pryce spoke truly, then? Vampires with a child and - souls?"
"Well, duh! It only took you like forever to finally get it!" Cordelia said, now thoroughly soaked and annoyed.
"And who are you?" Holtz looked down his nose at her.
"The name's Cordelia Chase! Look, buddy, I've just had one of the most painful evenings of my entire life, okay? So why don't you just go away, before someone around here makes you take a hike?!"
"Really and who might do that, exactly, you?" Holtz replied, his 18th century mentality not very accepting of a woman who dared to threaten him in such a way.
Gunn stepped forward, lifting up his hubcap-derived axe. "You heard what my home girl just said, dog. So hit the road, already."
"And by that he means, leave while you still can," Gwen finally spoke up, stripping off one of her gloves and throwing a lightning bolt over Holtz's head, causing the vampire hunter to duck and stare at her with undisguised hostility. "'Cause just in case you haven't figured it out yet? You're definitely outnumbered here, and I personally could have killed you at any time - from the first moment I laid eyes on you."
The silence on the rooftop was broken only by the rain falling. The silence lasted for a time that seemed far longer than it actually was, as Holtz considered his options. It was obvious Sahjhan had not been fully truthful with him regarding the company his undead targets kept, which was an issue he intended to take up with the timeshifter demon at the first opportunity.
Suddenly a flash of lightning lit up the sky, and everyone was distracted when Gwen was hit by a lightning bolt coming down from the heavens.
"Son of a BITCH!" the seer cursed, spasming on the ground as electrical sparks erupted from various parts of her body. The others all gathered around her, especially Dr. Haldane; and then the M.D. had to be warned not to touch the Electra Girl, if he didn't want to be electrocuted to death.
When the spasming and the electrical discharges had subsided, only then did everyone realize Holtz was gone.
"Where did he go? And what the hell's going on with that Holtz guy?" Cordelia asked. She then looked over at the two ensouled vampires. "I'm thinking, you two are probably the best ones to answer that?"
Wolfram & Hart building, Los Angeles, California. A while later
"So, let me get this straight. This operation failed to acquire its primary target, namely the baby, as well as eliminate its secondary targets, such as its parents, plus the enemy has managed to secure its base of operations. Not only with a number of armed forces, but also with an anti-violence spell surrounding the entire hotel. Thanks to Siberian Trip Wire, and those three *bitches* known as the Transuding Furies. Did I miss anything?" Linwood demanded of his subordinates.
"There is the issue of that prophecy concerning the miracle child, sir," Gavin spoke up, the Asian man's face having a carefully neutral expression on it. "According to our highly esteemed and I can't help thinking, somewhat overpaid translator, the child was supposed never to be born, or to die during labor, or something. And yet, he's still there in that hotel according to the psychics, alive and kicking?"
"According to my source, it was just an issue of interpretation. The prophecy said that the mother would not give birth to her child; there was nothing there about another woman being able to do the job for Darla," Lilah informed her colleagues.
"Ah. Let me guess - that shaman who was observed entering the hotel earlier on, he did some sort of spell to transfer the baby into a surrogate mother when it was time for him to be born? Ms. Chase, perhaps?" Gavin's brilliant legal mind did not take long to figure it all out.
"Bingo," Lilah raised an eyebrow as she stared at her male colleague. {Maybe you *do* have some brainpower to go with the job. Not too much, of course, but still.}
"What about the group that took out one of our best strike teams?" Linwood growled.
"A collection of human mercenaries and Grapplar demons, sir. Most of them were slaughtered. Their leader, however," Lilah handed over a photograph of Holtz that had been taken by a camera with a long distance lens. "He got away, and we've got no idea who he is. Gavin and I ran this through the best face and voice recognition software available, and came up with nada. Whoever he is, he's not in the system."
"We're still working on identifying him, but so far that's all we know," Gavin finished up.
Linwood shook his head. "Actually, that's all 'you' know. I, on the other hand, know nothing about any of this."
"Sir?" Gavin tried to play dumb, even though both he and Lilah were smart enough to sense which way the wind was blowing now.
Linwood stared at him. "It's patently obvious that I could never have been involved in such an ill-conceived and, in the end, thoroughly botched operation."
Gavin nodded dutifully, "Because you were never here."
"That is correct," Linwood agreed with him.
Lilah sighed, "But we were."
Linwood stared at her as he said, "You were. I'll expect a full report at tomorrow's staff meeting, and be advised, when I hear about all this for the very first time, I will be both shocked and appalled at what you two have done.
"Good night, Lilah. Gavin," the semi-insane head of the Special Projects division smiled at his minions, before calmly departing out of Lilah's office.
TBC...