Guardian Angel

Chapter 8

Part 1

Buffy paid a visit to Lilah's mother, Lilian, who was now in charge of 'Special Projects' for Wolfram and Hart. The slayer wanted to see how Lilian would respond with so much power at her disposal, plus she wanted to make sure that Lilian was not involved in any plots against Connor.

Lilian's reactions both surprised and pleased her. When Buffy showed up in her office and identified herself, Lilian recognized the name.

"You're the slayer, right? I've heard talk around the office about you. It is a pleasure to finally meet you," Lilian said with a smile as she extended her hand to Buffy.

"I also heard about all of the threats against baby Connor and I want you to know that if you need help in protecting him, I would be happy to send a W&H security team to support you; after all, they report to me."

Buffy was really surprised now. "You would do that?"

"Wolfram and Hart may be Angel's enemy, but I'm not; and I'm certainly am not the enemy of an innocent child.

"Besides, I never signed a contract with this company; that was my daughter. I warned her when she was hired not to do it, but she was so ambitious she wouldn't listen to me. I took the job working as her assistant to keep an eye on her, to try to keep her safe.

"When she got sick three years ago, they offered me her position; I took it so that I could afford to provide the necessary care for her. I would never commit my life to this company, or any company for that matter, I don't care how much they paid me. In the end it would not be worth it."

Apparently Lilian didn't know that Lilah had done more than commit her life to Wolfram and Hart; Lilah had in fact sold her soul to them; now her only way out was through Buffy, who owned her contract.

Buffy and Lilian talked for a few minutes more. In the short time that she was there, she learned a lot about Lilian and Lilah that she did not know before. She learned, for instance, that Lilian was not aware of the evil that was Wolfram and Hart, that she simply (or naively) thought this was a very successful law firm with clients all over the world and, for some reason, they did not like Angel; she also learned that Lilah really was in love with Wesley.

She declined Lilian's offer to use a W&H security team to help protect Connor with the excuse that she did not want to get Lilian in trouble with her bosses. Buffy reasoned that even though she felt she could trust Lilian, she knew she could not trust the W&H security teams, who were the same people who worked with Lilah in her failed attempt to capture Connor once before.

With that concern out of the way, she could now concentrate on the current threat against the baby.

Part 2

Buffy had been right about things being too easy for them in protecting Angel's son and about an all-out assault against them from the demon community. Apparently some very powerful shaman with whom Master Ness had crossed swords centuries earlier was hellbent on revenge and since this was the first human child born from vampires, particularly vampires that were both direct descendants of Aurelius himself, he knew the power that such a human would possess and he wanted to harness that power for himself.

The fact that the ritual required to harness such power would kill the subject was a plus in his mind. To him if he was successful, this would make him the most powerful human being on earth and once again allow him to extend his lifeline. 'I shouldn't need to perform this ritual again for centuries, plus it would more than compensate for my humiliating defeat by Ness. I told him I would never forget; too bad the old rat-faced bastard isn't around to see my revenge.'

Two demon clans and a hoard of vampires joined together with the shaman in a planned attack on the Hyperion to get the baby. Fortunately though, Lorne read the plans for the attack when one of the demons got drunk at Caritas and decided to sing. Lorne knew that it was breaking the rules when he told Angel what he had read from the demon, but after all, this involved the life of one of the Powers' future warriors.

According to the information supplied by Lorne, the demon that he read and his family were long time servants of the shaman and, other than the shaman himself, only they were aware of the Longevity Spell that the shaman had perfected and had been using for many centuries to keep himself alive and youthful.

Giles had heard of such a spell but he had been assured by the Watchers' Council that it was a myth, that no such Longevity Spell actually existed that did not turn the human into a demon. An example of such a spell is the one that D'Hoffryn used to turn humans into vengeance demons.

The more information they were able to gather about this threat, the more concerned Buffy and Angel became. They knew that they would need help and a lot of it if they were going to be successful against this shaman.

Even with her angelic powers, Buffy knew that she could not kill a human being. The guilt she felt over Lilah was bad enough. 'I'm still not finished with her, but right now I just have to concentrate on eliminating this current threat against Connor'.

Angel had Spike contact Drusilla and Penn knowing that Spike was not on good terms with either of them; he just hoped that clan loyalty still had meaning to his childer.

He was right – not only did Dru and Penn answer his call for help, but each brought a full cadre of minions and other loyal followers that were more than willing to fight along side Angelus and the slayer. To the demon community Angel was Angelus whether or not he had a soul. Perhaps they thought this would garner them some points at a later date.

The Scoobies, including Faith, also joined them and since Wesley still was not one hundred percent, Angel insisted that he stay at Caritas with Lorne and Fred to protect Connor. After they delivered the baby to Lorne, the first thing Buffy did was to mask the sound of Connor's voice so that the sound of a baby crying could not be heard from the outside. She then put wards around the club that prevented anyone other than herself and Angel from entering and reinforced the current protection spells supplied by the Furies that prevented violence within the club.

Lorne posted a 'Closed for Renovation' sign on the club and since they were the only ones that knew that Connor was not in the hotel, they were not concerned about his safety once the wards were in place. The club had already been stocked with enough food and supplies to last several weeks.

Part 3

Giles, Willow and Tara worked to counter the Longevity Spell, but so far they had been unsuccessful in finding any details about the spell that would help them. "I don't know what it is, but if I can get close enough to him, I might be able to feel what he is doing in the spell," Willow told Buffy.

"That is too dangerous, Will; we can't risk letting you get that close to him. From what we have learned about this guy, he will stop at nothing to accomplish what he sets out to do. We already know that over his lifetime he has murdered countless human beings by draining their life essence in order to keep himself young. That tells me that he would not hesitate to kill you if he perceived you to be a threat."

Giles and Tara agreed.

Angel spoke up. "Besides, we can't afford to wait that long. We need to stop this guy before he starts the ritual; we don't know at what point it will start to impact Connor or even if he needs to be near the baby for his spell to work. He might have something that will work without being in Connor's immediate vicinity."

The others looked up, startled at Angel's words; however, they knew that he was right. They did not have near enough information about this shaman.

"Too bad we don't know of anyone who might've been around when the ritual was actually performed," Angel continued.

Buffy, Giles, Willow and Tara all spoke at once. "ANYA."

"Of course," Giles berated himself for not thinking of her before. "An eleven hundred year old ex-vengeance demon could actually be a wealth of information."

"I'll call her at the Magic Shop," Willow volunteered as she left the room. When she returned, she said, "Xander is driving up here after he gets off work this evening; Anya will come with him."

After much discussion, they decided on a contingency plan in case Anya could not supply sufficient information about the shaman. The plan involved capturing the shaman's demon servant, drilling him for information about the shaman and then removing the encounter from the demon's memory.

Xander and Anya arrived at the Hyperion Hotel just before seven pm, just as the combined teams were concluding their plans for the shaman's servant. When the newcomers heard about the plan, Anya's first words were, "We just have to hope that his master cannot detect the magic that we use on the demon."

They all agreed; they had to be extremely careful.

Part 4

As it turned out Anya did indeed know of the shaman, in fact she knew him personally. "Before he became this powerful shaman, he was simply Eero, a loser, a person that no one wanted to be around. Do you believe he actually thought I was interested in him? Pffft. The next thing anyone knew he had left our village swearing he would get revenge on everyone that had rebuffed him.

"It was hundreds of years later when I saw him again. A female had wished to have her husband, Tove, cursed for deserting her and their children, leaving them without a word. Tove had been missing for weeks when I was summoned and I discovered that he had not willingly left his family; he had been taken against his will, by Eero, who was using him to fuel a ritual to extend his own life.

"I was too late; the ritual was almost over. Tove's body was literally being torn apart, shredded, before my eyes and it was obvious that this process had been going on for the weeks that he had been missing. As Eero finished his chanting, he was transformed back into the young man that I remembered. He looked exactly the same.

"When he saw me, he recognized me and knew immediately what I was. He pointed this weird looking talisman at me and started mumbling in some language that I did not understand, but I knew what he was trying to do. He was trying to use me to fuel the ritual again. I just laughed at him. Did he really think he could use a vengeance demon to extend the life of a human?

"Once he saw that it wouldn't work, his only comment was, "It was worth a try." According to him he had spent the prior centuries perfecting the secret of living forever, but he had to perform the ritual over and over again because of inherent human weaknesses.

"The fact that he wants to use Connor in his ritual tells me that he is desperate. A normal human would only extend his life a few decades, but considering Connor's heritage, using him to fuel the ritual, Eero could extend his lifeline for centuries.

"I suggest you find Eero before he starts the ritual. It must start and end on successive full moons. I suggest that you find him before he starts or Connor will die a slow agonizing death."

By the time Anya finished speaking the only sounds heard in the room were sobbing from various ones in the group.

Giles spoke up and asked, "Anya, is there any way to reverse the effects of the ritual? Any way to take away the stolen life essences that Eero has within himself?"

"I think there is, but you would have to get that talisman away from him. Let me contact a friend of mine who would know. I'll let you know what I find out tomorrow."

Xander spoke up. "I know this is stating the obvious, but it is less than two weeks before the next full moon. In that time we have to ensure Connor's safety, get the talisman from Eero and figure out how to use it against him.

"When we capture his demon servant, why don't we have him make the switch?"

"I'll take care of getting the talisman and replacing it with a fake," Buffy told them. "I just need to know where he keeps it so I can limit my time in his presence. If he is as powerful as we think he is, he might be able to sense that I am there."

In the midst of concern over protecting Connor, Cordelia and Groo decided to postpone their wedding until the current threat had been eradicated.

When Anya and Xander returned the next evening, she had the information they needed. According to another one of her vengeance demon friends, once the talisman was destroyed, the stolen life essences would be freed. Of course that would not help all of the people Eero had killed over the years, but it would prevent him from killing anyone else and it would destroy him as well. His own life essence ceased to exist centuries ago; it is the stolen life essences of others that keep him alive. Without those essences he would immediately die.

Part 5

Capturing the shaman's demon servant was easy. It seems that he was hooked on Caritas, so when he showed up and saw Lorne's 'Closed for Renovation' sign on the door, he was so disappointed he was not paying attention to himself and walked right into a trap. When he came to, he found himself bound to a chair in the middle of a small room surrounded by people, most of whom he did not recognize.

"I know you're telepathic," Buffy told him, "so don't even think about trying to contact your master; you'll be dead before you complete the first thought."

The demon nodded. "I am Cibor. What do you want from me?"

"I want you to tell us anything you know about your master that will help us stop him."

Cibor shook his head. "I cannot. I have sworn an oath; if I break my oath he will destroy my entire clan, starting with our youngest. We are powerless against him."

"Why is that?"

"He holds our young captive away from us until they have reached an age when they will be useful to him. If we go against him in any way, he will destroy them first, then us. Centuries ago, our elders made a deal with Master Ness to help him destroy Eero in return for our freedom. Ness betrayed us. He was satisfied with humiliating Eero by defeating him in front of everyone. He then left us at Eero's mercy."

His face contorted in hatred and anger. "Mercy indeed. He made the rest of the clan watch as he killed every infant and every elder in front of them, just to prove that he could. No one has betrayed him since."

"He's a monster," Buffy said; "he must be stopped. If you will help us, I give you my word, we will destroy him and free your people."

"I..."

"Look at me," she demanded; "See Me." She allowed the demon to see her angelic side.

"YOU," he said in alarm; "you're the one who imprisoned the time traveler."

"Yes."

"I know that I can trust you," he said simply; "I will help you, but you must be very careful; Eero can always sense the presence of good."

"I know. Tell us what we need to do."

Cibor laid the whole thing out for them. Eero's power comes from the talisman that he carries. If he is separated from it for more than a day he will begin to age. The talisman will kill any living being that touches it.

"That means that Spike will have to get it away from him," Angel said.

"No. That applies to vampires as well. The body that a vampire inhabits may be dead, but the demon inside is not. Only a holy being can touch it without being injured."

He looked at Buffy.

"If you have maintained your angelic powers, that will be enough to destroy the talisman, but because you are now human, your human side will suffer harm if you touch it. I don't know to what extent.

"Eero has it spelled to kill if anyone other than himself touches it; he never encountered this problem before because he never expected to find an angel on earth. He is aware of an extraordinary power protecting the child, but he doesn't know what it is. He knows that you are a slayer; he does not suspect other than that."

As it turned out, Eero had a history of tracking Ness' childer; he came to the US as soon as he heard that Darla was pregnant, fully expecting her to seek out Angelus. He simply moved into the home of one of Hollywood's movie stars that he knew to be out of the country.

Cibor gave them the details of Eero's daily schedules. It seemed that he never followed the same routine on consecutive days or weeks.

"He's paranoid," Giles said.

"And very clever," Cibor added.

"He's not clever," Anya scoffed; "he's still the loser he always was. He's just living off stolen life essences and we're going to put a stop to it."

Part 6

After Cibor had told the group all the useful information he knew regarding Eero, he was returned to the same location where he had been captured and Willow performed a spell that caused him to forget his encounter with them and removed all trace of the magic used.

She, Tara and Giles had worked long on the spell and were confident that it would work. Cibor continued on his way back to the shaman's house thinking, 'Caritas was great fun tonight; I'll have to visit again once the renovation is complete.'

Using the information they got from Cibor, the group put the finishing pieces of their plan into place. They still did not know when to expect the attack by Eero's army on the Hyperion, so they had to be ready. Connor's nursery was spelled so that, to anyone using magic to search for him, he would seem to be there.

Two nights after their encounter with Cibor, Drusilla surprised them all when she went into one of her trances and started to whine.

"Dru, what is it? What do you see?" Spike asked her.

Dru continued to whine. "The mean man is coming...he is coming tomorrow night. He wants to harm my little brother. Don't let him, Daddy," she pleaded with Angel; "don't let him take my little brother from us."

"Don't worry, Dru. We won't let him get near Connor," Angel assured her.

Then, with Buffy by his side, he addressed the group gathered in the hotel.

"Eero's attack on this hotel in an effort to capture Connor, my son, starts tomorrow tonight. The child must be protected at all costs."

He looked at each group assembled, particularly the vampires and demons that had come with Drusilla and Penn. He then took Buffy's hand and said solemnly, "We wish to thank you for your support; we will not forget."

The plan was for Buffy to retrieve the talisman, Giles and the witches would spell another to look and feel like the original and Buffy would return the fake. They waited until they knew Eero would be asleep before acting. The entire process took less than ten minutes.

The hotel had three major entrances and several balconies to suites which had been spelled to prevent entry. From inside Giles, Willow and Tara guarded the three doors, ready to stop anyone who sought to use magic to get in.

As soon as the sun set vampires and demons surrounded the hotel expecting to attack all entrances at once. Eero stepped forward. "Do not let anyone escape alive, especially Angelus and the slayer," he told them and then disappeared.

Before they could act, the demons found themselves fighting for their lives as they were attacked from behind by a determined group lead by Angel, Spike, Faith, Drusilla and Penn.

After Eero disappeared he reappeared in the hall outside Connor's nursery.

As he reached for the doorknob, he heard, "What took you so long? I've been waiting for you."

He spun around and came face to face with ?an angel?

"Who are you?" He demanded as he reached for his talisman, only to have it disappear from his hand and reappear in the angel's hand.

"Give that back. It's mine."

"No. It's not." Buffy said as she pulled out the real talisman by its chain. "This one is yours. Now call off your dogs before I destroy it."

"All right. All right," he said nervously. Then more boldly he yelled, "Cease."

His voice echoed throughout the building and outside. The offending demons immediately stopped what they were doing. They looked confused as one of them called to his brother, "What is going on? What are we doing here?"

He then saw Spike and asked, "Spike, you want to tell me what is going on here?"

"Well, mate, you and your friends were attacking this hotel trying to get at Angelus' kid."

"No we weren't. My clan came to LA because we heard about the child. We came to pay homage, then we ran into this shaman or whatever he was and … I don't remember anything else."

"It's true, Spike," a nearby vampire spoke up.

Spike was surprised to see that he recognized the vamp. "Claud, is that you? It's been ages."

They embraced each other as Claud said, "Half a century, at least. That Eero did something to us. I would never attack Angelus' kid. You think I have a death wish?"

By this time it was obvious to the defenders that their attackers were all in a similar state of confusion. "Let's get inside," Angel called out and inside Giles and the witches removed the wards on the doors.

They found Eero suspended in midair in the middle of the Hyperion's lobby with Buffy glaring at him. Anya found this so amusing. "Well Eero," she said trying not to laugh, "we meet again."

"Y-You," he stammered; "you turned against me?"

"Dumb Eero," Anya laughed, "I was never with you."

By now Eero had been without his real talisman for nearly twenty-four hours and he was beginning to feel the loss. "Return my property to me," he demanded.

Ignoring his demand, Buffy said, "First tell me where Cibor's kinsmen are being held."

"Why? What are they to you?"

"Innocents."

She called Cibor forward and touched his temple and Eero's temple at the same time. Cibor gasped, then exclaimed, "I know where they are! I will contact the elders at once."

"So what? I can always get more servants. Now return my property to me," he demanded again; "you promised."

"Pffft. No, I didn't. What I said was, "Call off your dogs before I destroy it." I never said I would return it. You'll never get this back."

Eero started to panic. "You must give it to me, I need it for my health. Please. Return it now."

It was obvious to all that he was beginning to weaken.

Angel stepped forward. "I'll take care of that for you," he told Buffy as he took the chained talisman and with one swing of the blunt end of his battle axe, the talisman shattered into dust.

Eero let out a scream as he, too, crumbled into dust.

"I have to say," Anya told Xander, "I've never seen a human being do that."

"Neither have I," he replied, "and I hope I never see it again."

Part 7

The Hyperion was overflowing with vampires and other demons. Those that had been under Eero's power were relieved to be free again. "We were bringing gifts for baby Connor," one of the clan leaders told Angel, "but I don't know what happened to them once Eero took control of our minds."

Cibor stepped forward. "I think I know where they are. If some of you will come with me, I will show you where your property is."

Two hours later the ballroom of the hotel was filled with gifts of all sorts, including jewels and precious metals. Some of the gifts were promises of protection and servitude for Connor's lifetime.

"May we see the child before we depart?" one of the clan leaders asked.

Angel gave Buffy a nod and in no time at all she was back with Connor, Lorne, Wesley and Fred.

Oos and aahs and "He looks just like you, Angelus" and other words of praise were heard around the room. No one had ever seen Angel smile as much as he did that day.

Connor smiled and gurgled through all of the attention. He fussed very little; he knew that his father and his guardian angel were close by.

End of Chapter 8