Disclaimer: I own nothing besides the original characters, Joss and Mutant Enemy are the lucky ones.
Summary: Angel and his group took out the Thorn, but they opened up a whole new can of worms.
Pairings: Spuffy, Fresley, D/OC. Others might present themselves.
Warning: There will be cursing, violence and a smidgen of sex in this story.
A/N: Be advised, the format might shift a little as the story goes, I'm still learning how to write in this style, I'm use to doing everything in a screen-play format.
Chapter Four: Time flies when your going through a portal
Hyperion Alley - Time unknown
The alley sat deserted, no traces of the battle the fang gang just fought remaining. A light wind began to blow as lightning hit the ground. A portal opened up, warping the space around it. Fred was the first to come through, smashing into the wall and causing it to buckle considerably. Gunn was next, his unconscious form hurtling towards the same place Fred struck. Using her and Illyria's shared power, she jumped to snatch him from the air.
As she landed softly, holding her friend and one-time lover; Angel with Spike in tow, came hurtling out of the portal and smack dab into the wall. Their bodies crashed through the already weakened structure, their mutual shouts of pain reverberating in the dark space. Illyria set Charles body on the ground, momentarily weeping the loss of not one, but two men she loves.
She struck the wall below where they entered, creating a hole large enough for them to exit. Angel crawled out, dragging Spike by the arm, he bent down and hoisted him up over his shoulder; hissing from the pain it caused. He took a long second to regard Fred; wanting to thank the god's for giving her back, and curse them for taking Wesley.
Vail might have cheated death, but so had Angel; the next time they met, it'd take a hell of a lot more than a fucking portal to stop the champion of the PTB.
"What do we do now Angel?"
Fred's voice pleaded with Angel to take control. She'd worn the cap of commander once; the weight of it had nearly caused her to turn back into Cave-Burkle. Angel surveyed the alley, noticing no corpses; only long dried blood. His nose told him the scent had to be at least 6 weeks old. He couldn't bare to think what that might mean.
"Let's get to the hospital, it might be too late for Gunn, but we need to get Spike back on his feet if were gonna get moving."
Fred hated to hear him talk about losing Charles like that, like he was a sword that had lost it's edge, chips and nicks all along it's blade, ready to be tossed out in favor of a brand spanking shiny new toy. But that's what leaders did, they buried their own emotional needs for the good of the whole. It didn't make her like it any more, but than again, nothing seemed the way she'd like it. Angel darted off towards the hospital, Spike bouncing along with him. Fred fell in step, still able to keep up; while being mindful of Gunn's wounds.
'Pathetic girl, that is why Angel is a general, and you are but a worthless shell'
'Oh hi Illyria, was worried you might have just faded from existence there for a moment. Actually, worried is too wrong a word, more like praying'
'Your prayers would be better spent asking me to take pity on you when I regain control of this body'
'Why what you gonna do, punch me in our face, that'll work, really constructive plan there sister'
'Do not mock me human, it is not advis…'
'Illyria, shut up, we need to get Gunn to the emergency room if he has any hope to live'
'…Very well, let us continue'
Fred redoubled her efforts, her strides carrying her past Angel who was moving at almost break neck speeds. Yet Gunn remained still, Fred's body absorbing all the shock from her running. As Fred flew past, Angel looked at all the surrounding structures, most of the buildings were burning, many had collapsed or caved in partially. Had the area around the hotel looked like this when he arrived?
No, it might have felt like a lifetime ago he came running through the rain, hoping to see all his friends patting each other on the back for a job well done, but it was only a few hours since then. Something else caught his attention; clouds were covering the entire sky, same as before. Yet the ground was dry, hadn't it been raining all night long? A dreaded suspicion began to creep into Angel's heart at recalling Vail's last statement.
"I will take something from you which you have guarded for so long; your precious city of angels."
He sped up, trying to warn Fred; coming around the corner he stopped in his tracks. There were guards surrounding the entrance, more peeked out from second and third story windows, everything from cross bows to shotguns pointed down at Fred. Angel cautiously came and stood next to Fred, glancing towards the men surrounding the entrance. Most of them looked human, one or two demons stood comfortably amongst the group. There was a certain scent Angel always picked up around humans who engaged in battling the darkness that plagued mankind.
Fear.
Most of these men wore it like a cloak, using it to keep their senses sharp, rather than letting it cripple them into inaction. They looked prepared, trained; and ready to dust him if he so much as blinked. He subtlety inched himself in front of Fred and Gunn, hoping to take any fire they might receive.
One of the men guarding the door stepped forward, an assault rifle cradled in his arms.
"State your purpose." The man showed no ambivalence towards Angel, only curiosity.
Angel sized him up in an instant, 6'5, 275, muscular; not from visiting the local gym, but from spending whole days doing back breaking labor for very small pay. In tip top shape, Angel could have knocked him out before he could twitch. But, the nights festivities had drained Angel completely, and he wasn't looking for a fight.
"Me and my friends were attacked, we need to get them patched up."
The man thought for a moment, gripping his rifle cautiously.
"Attacked by what?" The leader asked suspiciously
Angel shrugged, deciding honesty was probably the best policy.
"Well, to be honest, a few thousand demons, vampires; a few trolls, and a really big dragon."
Most of the men snickered, finding the story wholly unbelievable. The man in charge raised his eyebrows at this statement and seemed serious when he asked..
"Was there a wizard involved by any chance?"
Angel nodded his head to the affirmative, hoping these men had found truth in his words. The leader looked back and forth his men and Angel, starting to snicker.
"You guys didn't happen to come across a pair of ruby slippers on your way here did you?"
Angel's jaw tensed slightly, anger coming upon him at his dismissal of all the good his team had done tonight. The leader cocked his rifle on his shoulder, aiming it right at Angel's forehead.
"Listen here vampire, if you think walking up here trying to pass off yourselves as human is gonna work, you guys must be getting really desperate."
Angel nudged almost imperceptibly closer to the man, almost being the keyword. All of them shouldered their weapons and aimed them at the tattered group.
"Listen here human, my friends just spent half the night getting bitten, stabbed, and pulverized on by one of the biggest demonic forces ever. So either you let me in, or I'm gonna show you why people say my name behind locked doors in hushed whispers."
The leader smiled, confident in their ability to take town any aggressor.
"Oh, and what name would that be?"
Angel smiled, hoping that these humans knew more about vamps than just where to put the stakes.
"Angel, formerly Angelus."
A few of the soldier's eyes bugged a little at this statement, even the leader took a step back, almost stumbling over himself.
"That so?" The leader almost squeaked out.
Fred stepped forward, drawing the aim of some of the men's weapons.
"Yes, and the man he's holding is Spike, also known as William the Bloody."
If Angel's name put them on alert, than Spike's signaled immediate doom, which was funny considering that he was unconscious, and resembled a bag of tenderized meat more than a bad ass master vampire.
The leader looked toward a woman hovering in the doorway, questioning her silently.
She spoke confidently, her voice reaching up to the men in the windows effortlessly.
"I sense no deception from them."
The leader lowered his weapon and smiled, walking to stand in front of Angel.
"Sorry about that, but you can never be too sure these days. Come on people; let's get these folks some help."
The man ushered them inside, two healers came up to them after coming over the threshold.
Fred looked desperately at them, hoping it wasn't too late.
"Can you help him?"
She nodded down to Charles, the color had drained from his face, and his eyes were already starting to gray. The healer in front looked at him and nodded.
"Perhaps, but we must hurry."
She ushered Fred down a corridor, moving people out of the way. The other healer looked at Spike and shrugged.
"He ain't pretty, but hell un-live."
She signaled to one of the soldiers, and he cautiously took him from Angel's arms.
The leader, who identified himself as Harold Whitman and Angel were left alone in the reception area.
"She was wondering when you'd show up." Whitman said dryly.
"She who?" Angel seemed puzzled.
Whitman grinned and recited a description.
"Blonde, cute, loves to give orders, deadly with a stake."
Angel smiled faintly, dreading seeing Buffy right now. He had way too much going on to wanna add her into the mix. Angel held out his hand and sighed, knowing that it was inevitable.
"Lead the way."
Whitman nodded and marched to the elevator, punching the button. The door slid open and he stepped inside. Angel made to follow, but Whitman held up his hand.
"One sec, I gotta do this right."
He pulled out a small crystal from his belt and chanted something under his breathe. Angel didn't care enough to try and pick up what he said.
"Good thing I remembered that, otherwise your head would have imploded around the third floor."
Angel grinned humorlessly stepping into the confined space warily.
"Thanks for remembering, neat rick there."
Whitman shrugged, pocketing the crystal.
"All thanks to our resident goddess." He sent up a blessing in worship.
Angel nodded knowingly.
"So Willow's here too, I take it?"
Whitman smiled, seeming like a young child talking about Santa Claus.
"Most of us call her Miss Rosenberg, she keeps on telling us to stop."
Angel ventured a question, knowing the answer already.
"So how long has it been since everything…"
Whitman turned his head like a drunk.
"What, since L.A. took a swan dive into the shit stew?… about 8 weeks."
Two months, Vail had sent them two months into the future. It was actually a brilliant strategy, take them out of the game long enough for things to get really bad, then drop them back in without all that time to recuperate and get their heads back on straight.
The ding signaled the floor, the door opened up and Whitman stepped out, going straight for what was marked the hospital administrator's office.
Angel ran a hand through his hair, smiling sheepishly.
"Wow, two months, Buffy's probably really ticked by now."
Whitman peered at Angel over his shoulder as he knocked on the door.
"Who's Buffy?"
Angel started to question this, but an all too familiar voice sounded from beyond the doorway.
"Come in"
Whitman opened the door and ushered Angel inside. The desk was a beautiful oak, with a red polish, the big leather chair was turned towards the book case as they stepped inside.
"Just one second, can't seem to find this graph on pulmonary embolisms."
Angel gulped and stepped forward.
"Hi Nina."
The chair wobbled a little, than rotated faster than that hell hound's head when Spike snapped his neck in two. Nina smiled slyly at Angel as she stuck her hand under her chin.
"Hey Angel, forget to call?"
A/N: Hehe, I know I'm bad, but everyone does the big Angel and Buffy meet and have angsty talk/smoochies. I figured why not do it with a little more chronologically relevant girlfriend. Read and review if you wouldn't mind.