Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters except for the ones that I created like Audrey.
Author's Note: Thanks to everyone for reading this story, so far it's been fun writing it, as for pairings other than my main ones I'm all ears, Illyria will show up and have a plan of her own as well. Suggestions about when and how to get any pairing together, or someone that I should kill off, are greatly appreciated. As always reviews are appreciated and thanks again for reading this story. Reviews make me want to keep writing.
CHAPTER 4-YOU HAD TO BE THERE
Spike sighed softly as he stepped off of the boat. The sun had gone down hours earlier and then Angel had let Wesley sleep until he was good and ready to order the group off of the boat. Faith had leaned back up against the wall just outside of Wesley's room and stayed there, never daring to actually peek in; until Angel had given the order that they were going to leave the ship. Unloading the supplies had taken longer than any of them had anticipated and so they were forced to use a condemned building as their hotel for the night. They had made sure that no one had seen them enter the building and only Angel and Spike were allowed to leave, though neither Nina nor Faith were in any real hurry to leave. Nina was to busy taking in all of the new sights and sounds while Faith, though she tried to hide it, kept an eye on Wesley most of the day until she couldn't keep her eyes open any longer and slipped into a peaceful sleep. When she awoke she found herself covered with a dirty blanket that she hadn't seen before falling asleep, deciding that one of the others must have covered her with it after she had fallen asleep. She was just about to ask Nina about it when Cordelia materialized out of thin air right in the middle of the room.
"Cordy," Angel gasped with a look of total disbelief on his face as he fought to keep tears out of his eyes.
"Yeah…it's me," Cordelia said with a very sympathetic look on her face, as she looked straight at Angel before turning away sharply to look towards Spike, the one person in the room that she knew that she could look at without tearing up at the sight of him.
"I'm sorry Angel but we don't have time for a happy reunion, the danger is only beginning for you and for the world," Fred said with a sad expression on her face as she materialized next to Cordelia, though she kept her gaze away from Wesley as best she could.
"Alright then, so what's got you two bird's all a giggle so much that you had to come back from the great beyond to give us a ring," Spike asked with a tired but interested look on his face as he pushed over an old couch and plopped down onto the least dirty cushion as Faith pushed the dirty blanket off of herself and stood up.
"If you'd shut up then maybe we could tell you," Cordelia lightly snapped back at Spike with an unhappy scowl on her face as she glared at Spike and he faked a hurt look.
"The battle with the Senior Partners was only the beginning," Fred started to say with a worried look on her face as she glanced down at the ground.
"Of course it was," Angel mumbled out with a very sarcastic tone to his voice as he scowled and crossed his arms before leaning up against a bare support column.
"We kicked a lot of demon derriere's back in LA, but that was easy, we knew who we were fighting and what they wanted, this time is different, we know that the threat is somewhere here in Europe and it's centered around one person, but other than that," Fred replied with a bit of a frustrated frown on her face as she shook her head at Angel's words and looked to Spike.
"Sounds easy enough," Faith said with a well-hidden look of worry on her face as she meagerly shrugged her shoulders and sighed.
"Is there anything to help us go on, a name, a face, some tattoo or symbol that when we see it we'll know that we're on the right track," Wesley asked with an interested and impatient look on his face as he walked up towards Fred and Cordelia.
"We don't know the person's name, though that could be because whoever they are they're not using their real name, as for a tattoo," Fred started to say with a look that seemed to say that she truly wished that she knew more and was angry that she didn't before Cordelia cut in.
"All I got in my vision, yeah I know they almost kill me while I was alive and now that I'm dead you'd think that I'd get a little bit of relief but oh no, the Powers That Be thought that it'd be fun to," Cordelia started to interject with a serious look on her face before her penchant for rambling caught up with her.
"Uh luv, the vision," Spike wondered with a confused look on his face as he sat up in his seat after casting a questioning glance in Angel's general direction.
"Huh, oh right the vision, I didn't see much, it was all so chaotic, the only thing that I can remember is an image…it might be a tattoo, of a small circle with what looked like several odd shaped boxes inside of it," Cordelia replied with a slightly dopey smile on her face before her countenance became much more serious at the end.
"That symbol could mean anything, looks like we're back to looking for a needle in a haystack guys," Faith said with an unhappy frown on her face as she shook her head and briefly turned away from Fred and Cordelia.
"Not entirely Faith, whoever is the big threat that we've sensed will make their presence known soon, however that happens it'll probably be where there's a large amount of people, probably some that would be needed for a sacrifice," Fred said back with a concerned look on her face as she stepped forward in front or Cordelia and towards Faith.
"Though would those people be willing participants in the sacrifice, if they are then this gathering would be almost impossible to locate in time to do anything about it," Wesley said with a deep in thought frown on his face as he let out an uneasy breath and then looked to Angel.
"Isn't there some other way that you can help us find this gathering," Angel asked with a pleading look in his eyes as he looked straight at Cordelia.
"Well…we weren't supposed to give you this until later but," Cordelia started to say with an anxious expression on her face before she pulled a clear stone from her pocket and then tossed it to Spike, who caught it with ease and then held it up to the light as he peered through it.
"What's this," Spike asked with an unconvinced frown on his face as he looked to Cordelia as he stood up and then handed the stone to Angel.
"It's kind of like a compass, it'll glow blue when friends are nearby and red for enemies, when it turns black you'll know that you've found the right spot, it's clear now because it takes a living soul to work it, Cordy and I and you and Spike don't count," Fred answered with a slightly cheesy smile on her face as she seemed very happy to explain how the stone worked.
"So that leaves Nina, Faith, or myself to work the stone," Wesley said with a concerned look on his face as he walked over to Angel and then picked the stone up from out of his palm with it instantly turning blue.
"Looks like it works," Spike observed with a calm look on his face as he seemed satisfied that the stone would work and went back to sit down on the old couch.
"Does this thing ever foul up, give a false reading," Faith asked with a slightly bored expression on her face as she walked over and started to pick up the stone from Wesley's palm but the instant that she touched it the stone started to give off a bright light and feel warm to the touch. Faith instantly snatched her hand back and jumped back a good foot as she whirled around to see if Fred or Cordelia would enlighten her on what had just happened.
"Never, it never makes a mistake, as to that bright light, well I guess that you'll have to figure that out for yourself, we can't give you all the answers now can we," Cordelia answered with an almost amused smirk on her face as she slid her hands back into her pockets and tried not to laugh.
"Oh yeah, Gunn says to watch your backs and stick together," Fred added with a calm smile on her face as she turned away from looking at Faith to look at Angel.
"Gunn," Angel asked with a confused look on his face as he tore his gaze away from Wesley and the stone.
"He's with us now but couldn't come because he's looking for his sister's soul," Fred replied with a sad frown on her face as she wished that Gunn had been able to come with them.
"Oh and Nina, hurt my boy here and I'll haunt your ass for all eternity," Cordelia said with a very stern and serious look on her face and tone to her voice as her gaze bore a hole straight through Nina, who could only swallow hard and nod her head in reply.
"Now I'm afraid that we have to go, we have other stops to make today and they're important to," Fred said with a sad look on her face as she looked around the room at everyone there before she and Cordelia started to dissolve, starting with their feet and working their way up to their heads.
"I'm sorry," Angel blurted out with a hurried and guilty tone to his voice as he hurried forward and lifted a hand up as if to physically keep them from leaving.
"I know Angel, you all tried your best to save me and I will be forever grateful to you for that, but don't carry my death around on your conscience, any of you, I'm in a better place and I…we're happy, so live your lives and don't despair, the five of you still have a lot of work to do," Fred said back with a sad smile on her face as tears trickled down her cheeks before she and Cordelia finally fully dissolved, with Cordelia's last act being to wink and blow a kiss towards Angel.
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"Any idea what the little light show earlier meant," Spike asked with a calm and almost bored tone to his voice as he walked over towards the window on the second floor and sat down on the opposite end of the bench than the one that Angel was sitting on.
"They would have said something if it was something important right," Angel asked with a confused and slightly nervous look on his face as he shrugged his shoulders and turned to Spike.
"Got me, you're supposed to be the brains of this outfit remember," Spike shot back with at first a completely serious look on his face before he couldn't help but smirk a bit at the angry look on Angel's face.
"Why do you always have to do that, turn everything that I say around into a joke, do you think I'm funny, that I'm here to amuse you," Angel grumbled with an unhappy and combative scowl on his face as he fully turned to stare straight at Spike, who chose his words carefully before opening his mouth.
"Not particularly no, it's just that you're usually right about things, I hate people like that, because that's not me, that's not who I am, I'm the bloke that's lucky if he can get more than a sniff before someone…or something tries to lop my head off, or certain other vital parts of my anatomy, I've never been the thinker of the group, I just like to get a word in edgewise so everyone doesn't think that I'm completely useless," Spike finally said back with a soft and heartfelt tone to his voice as he kept himself from looking Angel in the eye.
"Why Spike, I believe that's the nicest thing that you've ever said to me, now was that really that hard," Angel declared with an overly comforting tone of voice that one only takes when they're trying not to sound like they're making fun of someone but they are.
"Bloody soul, we should write a book about this, once you get your soul you turn into the grandest smeg-head of all time," Spike grumbled back sharply with an unhappy and embarrassed scowl on his face as he kicked a board away with his boot.
"Don't worry William, I won't tell the other's that you're just a big softy inside, that how you got Buffy, played the old wounded," Angel started to say with a slight smile on his face before Spike cut him off.
"Sod off Peaches, I didn't play wounded anything, I was there when she needed me, the reason didn't matter, whether it was my strength to hack and slash with some big bad or a willing ear, she used to go on and on about everything, nearly caught myself napping a few times there, luckily she didn't notice, in the end I didn't let her build up any of her walls to protect herself, turned the light of truth on her, made her see the truth about herself and the others even if she wasn't ready to see it, course my helping to protect the little Bit probably didn't hurt my case either," Spike answered slowly with at first a bristling tone to his voice before he calmed down and spoke calmly and plainly, though with a great amount of emotion in his voice.
"Do you love her Spike, I mean really love her," Angel asked directly with a very serious look on his face and tone to his voice as he wrung his hands and then nervously played with one of the buttons on his coat.
"Yes," Spike replied plainly without the slightest hint of his usual joking or flare as Angel stayed mostly still but ever so slightly nodded his head.
"Me to," Angel replied with a solemn expression on his face as he stopped playing with the button and began to nervously scratch the back of his neck.
"Let's not go over this again," Spike grumbled with a frustrated frown on his face as he closed his eyes and leaned back in his seat.
"We're not believe me, I'll always love Buffy, nothing that anyone or anything does or says will ever change that, but Andrew was right, she's obviously moved on to The Immortal and so have I, Nina's a great woman, I'm lucky that she doesn't find me," Angel said with a very been there done that expression on his face as he leaned over and picked up and old bolt, absentmindedly spinning the loose nut on it around and around.
"Annoying, stuck up, pompous, vain, ooh I almost forgot incontinent," Spike said with an amused half smirk on his face as he began to casually check off his list on his fingers before Angel cut in.
"Spike," Angel growled with a frustrated scowl on his face as his fists were clenched tightly together around the bolt as he did his best to keep calm.
"Sorry, couldn't help myself, you know me when I get on a roll," Spike replied with a bored shrug of his shoulders before silence overtook the two and Spike busied himself with looking around the room and then off into the night sky.
"All to well," Angel thought with a sad and somber expression on his face as inwardly he wondered if he could go through with any facet of the plan that was beginning to form in his mind.
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"You should get some sleep," Wesley said softly with a weary look on his face as he approached a nervous looking Nina, who stood by one of the boarded up windows but hid in the shadows to lessen the chance of her being spotted by anyone that might be watching.
"I tried, ever since that night in LA for some reason I can't get to sleep unless he's lying beside me, I don't know what it is," Nina replied with a tired yawn as she turned away from the window and tried to rub the sleep out of her eyes.
"I've never had that problem, I don't have any trouble getting to sleep, it's the staying asleep that's the problem, to many nightmares," Wesley replied with a soft tone of voice as he tried to make it sound like the nightmares were no big deal. At her seat by the front door Faith was supposed to be watching the streets outside but couldn't help but glance back at Wesley every few seconds, almost as if she expected something to happen suddenly.
"Really, care to share," Nina asked with a worried look on her face but genuinely interested intent as she and Wesley sat down in two old chairs that had a few springs sticking up through the seats.
"Not particularly, my nightmare's are a little to vivid, I try my best to keep from thinking about them," Wesley replied with a slightly awkward and anxious tone to his voice as he pushed back the sleeve of his coat and checked the time on his watch.
"Does it do any good," Faith asked with a calm tone to her voice as she briefly glanced away from the streets outside to Wesley's face.
"I wish that I could say yes, but I'm afraid that they're to deeply rooted into my psyche for them to just be wished away, oh well it's not like I really need to sleep anyway," Wesley replied with a sad expression on his face as he somberly shook his head before he added a bit of dark humor to his answer at the end.
"Tried that excuse, trust me…it doesn't work," Faith glumly interjected with an unhappy pout on her face as she slid off of her seat and walked towards Wesley and Nina.
"So you're the expert on nightmares now," Wesley asked with a slightly pointed scowl on his face, more because he was beginning to get a fairly powerful migraine than because he wanted to hurt Faith.
"When I was in prison it was to protect society and keep me from doing anything, but no amount of guard towers or concrete could keep out the nightmares about that night," Faith started to reply back with a forced look of calm on her face, as she fished around in her pocket for a cigarette, before Nina spoke up.
"Uh, what night," Nina asked with a confused and uninformed look on her face as she looked back and forth between Wesley and Faith, who locked gazes and the color and expression drained instantly from both of their faces at a shared realization.
"Nothing," Faith mumbled out rather gruffly through her hair as she turned sharply and quickly enough that some of if flipped around across her face.
"It's not important right now, it was my fault and," Wesley started to add with a nervous look on his face and passive wave of his hand before Faith stopped in her tracks and rolled her gaze up to the ceiling while clenching her hands into tight fists.
"Shut up…just shut up," Faith exclaimed with a frustrated and angry tone to her voice while she wore a guilty look on her face as she kept her back turned to Wesley and Nina.
"Did I say something wrong," Nina asked with a worried look on her face as she frantically hoped that either Wesley or Faith would let her in on the secret.
"Definitely, but we don't have time for a trip down memory lane, we've got company," Spike stated with a very solemn and serious tone to his voice and emotionless look on his face as he came striding into the room, with Angel walking in behind him, both carrying swords.
"How, I didn't see any," Faith started to say with a surprised and angry scowl on her face as she quickly ran everything that she had seen while on watch back through her mind to see if she had perhaps missed something. But coming up empty on what she could have missed she turned to Angel and started to open her mouth to ask a more detailed question when he sensed it and shook his head.
"A little birdie told me," Angel said with an almost darkly sarcastic expression on his face as he pulled the small stone that Fred and Cordelia had given him out of his pocket, it was glowing a very bright red.
END OF CHAPTER 4