Instant Rewind: Chapter 9
Angel took off from in front of the post office and headed in the direction of the nearest payphone. He picked up the receiver, listened for a dial tone, and then hung up when he heard nothing. Four phones later, Angel knew that he needed to find a different way to get a hold of the Slayer. As Angel tested phone after phone, the gang followed behind. As he tested the last phone, rage over took him, and he ripped the phone out of the ground and threw it across the street.
"No phones work. Why didn't you just ask?" Connor said. Spike walked in front of him and raised a single eyebrow.
"That is unless he didn't know." Angel turned to face the blonde vampire and glared at him.
"Look, I don't have to explain anything to you people. I need a working way of communication to the outside world." Angel began to walk away from them when Spike called his name.
"Angel! Do you even know where Buffy is right now?" He asked. Angel stopped and curled his hands to make fists. Spike had a point. Angel had no idea where in Scotland Buffy was. Despite the fact that his friends in his world hated him, he needed them right now. Angel turned slowly and in his face, showed Spike that he had no idea where she was.
"Your not even Angel are you?" Spike questioned. Angel sighed and released his hands.
"No." Angel replied at length. Connor crossed his arms and Gunn's face began to change with a snarl, "No, I mean, I am Angel, just not your Angel. I'm from a different reality." His friends looked at him with vacant eyes.
"Bullshit. Do you think we are stupid?" Spike demanded as he walked up to him and shoved him forward.
"No! I don't think you are stupid, you are just going to have to believe me."
"You are going to have to explain things a lot better than that." Connor said.
"Allow me." The group turned to find Wesley walking towards them. Gunn growled and lunged for him; falling through Wesley, Gunn hit the ground, "You all forget that I'm dead." Gunn stood, dusted his jacket, and turned back to his human features.
"Thank god you're here. Can you please tell them I'm not who they think I am." Angel asked him. Wesley spent the next few moments explaining to them that Angel really wasn't their Angel. After he was done, it seemed that the team was finally turning around to the idea that maybe something was wrong.
"Don't you all want this to end?" Angel asked them, "Honestly, do you want this all to end? I mean come on; do you really want to keep going on with your lives like this? Wondering if you are ever going to make it through the next day? The Powers are giving me the opportunity to change your world for the better, I'm not sure how well it will go but I'm pretty good at what I do."
"What if we are happy the way we are? We are fighting to destroy the worst evil in the world and you want all the sacrifices we've made to be for nothing?" Spike demanded, "Think about all the people who have died for this cause?"
"I understand, but I might be able to fix that." Gunn moved towards him.
"Might?"
"The Senior Partners have a lot of power. They don't like to advertise it, but if necessary they can bring people back from the dead. Look at what they did with Darla, a dusted vampire brought back to life. If the negotiations go well enough, I might be able to convince them to bring back Wesley, Cordelia, and whoever else we've lost…maybe even reverse what happened to Fred. I can't make any promises, but it's a possibility."
"You can fix what happened to me?" Gunn asked, his voice quiet and low.
"Possibly." Angel replied honestly. Gunn walked up to Angel and stood behind him.
"I'm in."
"Gunn…" Connor began.
"Look," Gunn interrupted him, "If Angel says that there is even a chance I don't have to live this life, then I'm taking it."
"Well, that's one." Wesley commented. Slowly Gwen and Nina moved towards Angel.
"If you can't beat him." Gwen commented. Nina remained silent. Spike wasn't sure what to think. There was no way to reverse his vampirism, there was really nothing he would get out of helping Angel in his insane quest, but if it meant he could get the hell of L.A. then he would take it. He turned to see Connor wrestling with his own decision finally he nodded. Spike shrugged his shoulders and lifted an eyebrow.
"All right. Where do we start?" Angel smiled at his centuries old friend.
"First we need a truce, but it won't be achieved in the lets call them and say 'hey, we need to talk.' We need more hands. We need to surround them and take them out in large numbers. That will get their attention. Sure you guys are doing well killing a few demons and monsters here and there, but what I'm talking about is a large-scale slaughter. The more men they lose, the more likely they will be to stopping all fighting." Angel said standing.
"How do we do that?"
"The Slayers," Angel turned to Wesley, "I need to get a hold of Buffy."
"Last I checked she wasn't talking to you." Spike offered.
"I'll just have to make her listen." Angel turned back to Wesley and waited.
"I might be able to get you through. We will need to go to the Wolfram & Hart building. I believe there is still a working communication line there. There is enough energy from that building that even if we aren't lucky, we might be able to get a landline hooked up."
"Then lets go." Angel walked in the direction of Wolfram & Hart for a second time that day with the team following behind.
--
It took them what felt like hours to get a working line to call out. The first call Angel placed was to someone he never thought he would call. Thanks to Buffy, Angel knew how to get in touch with her commando ex-boyfriend Riley. Angel knew that when he dialed the number that no one would answer, but if he waited seven seconds he would hear a quiet beeping noise. Once the noise started Angel talked.
"Look, this message is for Special Agent Riley Finn. I know you don't want to hear from me and I know you hate me, but I need all the help I can get. L.A. is in chaos and its time to fix it. I can do that, but I need your help. All I need from you is your men. Come if you want, I won't hold it against you if you don't. You know where we are." Angel hung up the phone.
"I hate that guy." Spike said. Angel laughed.
"We both do, but he can help. Like I said, large-scale slaughter." Angel looked at Wesley and lowered his head, "Do you know how I can get in touch with Buffy?"
"I do." Wesley took the phone from Angel to Gunn's surprise.
"I thought you said you were dead?" He asked. Wesley dialed the number as he smiled.
"I can do many things." He handed the phone back to Angel. Angel listened to the ringing on the other end. If he had a beating heart it would have been racing right now. What Cordelia had said to him was true. He hadn't been faithful to his wife. Things had gotten cold between him and Buffy with the birth of their daughter. She was always tired and never up to join him on any business dinners or outings. Harmony had hired someone for him to keep track of his schedule and appointment. It didn't help that she was attractive and young and willing to make him happy. With two children and a crazy work schedule Buffy and Angel had drifted apart. Sara was there…Angel shook his head as guilt filled him. That was no excuse for what he was doing to his wife. He remembered the night she found out…
The plate flew through the air and connected with the cupboard behind him. Another came right after crashing to the floor into a thousand pieces. Angel stared at his wife: tears stained her face, her eyes cried out in pain and hatred, her body was tight and anger was visibly coursing through her body. Angel dodged the plates as they flew at him. Finally one connected with his head and cut his head. Angel raised his hand to his forehead and pulled away with blood on his fingers. Buffy stopped throwing plates and was breathing heavily. Fresh tears sprung to her eyes as she brought her hand to her mouth. Her other arm held her stomach as she bent forward. Slowly her tears brought her to the ground. She sat in a heap on the floor, broken plates and dishes surrounded her. She held her stomach as she sobbed silently to herself. Angel leaned against the counter and looked at his wife. He had done this to her. He had reduced to her to this pain and agony. She raised her head slowly, heavy with pain.
"How could you do this to me?" She asked. She couldn't look at him. Couldn't look at his beautiful face and see the man he had become, not the man she remembered. Angel remained silent. He had no real reasoning; he had what any other husband had, a cheap excuse and lies. Angel moved away from the counter and sank to the ground in front of her. He stayed several feet away knowing that she wouldn't want him near her.
"I don't know." Was all he could say. Her head fell again and she allowed more tears to fall down her face. Liam and Bella were with Lindsey, thank god, that way they couldn't see their parents fighting.
"You don't know. How can you NOT know!" She demanded. As she spoke she left her head down and continued to hold her belly. She felt ill; all she wanted to do was throw up. The man she married was not the man before her now. Her Angel would never do this to her; this man she didn't even know him. She knew that things were hard between them but how could he do this?
"I just don't know. It happened…I have no reasoning or excuse that won't be a lie." Angel said to her. Buffy laughed slightly through her sobs.
"Lies. That is something I NEVER thought you would do to me." Her adrenaline was slowing, her body was growing tired from being so angry, slowly she allowed herself to fall completely to the floor resting her head on the cool hardwood. Angel looked at her and slowly inched forward. He stopped when her body shifted back slightly.
"Don't come near me." She stated firmly. Angel didn't move any closer.
"Buffy…what do you want from m?"
"Lie to me." She said quietly. Angel knew what she wanted; he also knew that it wouldn't make much of a difference at the moment.
"It didn't mean anything. I don't love her I love you. It just happened one night in the office and I…couldn't stop. I knew it was wrong but…I swear it will never happen again. It's over. Please, it didn't mean anything." Angel pleaded with her knowing this was what she wanted to hear. She laughed as he spoke. She hated him. It had been a long time since she'd hated Angel, but at this moment she hated him. He had said what she had wanted to hear, but now it was time to find out the truth.
"Now, tell me the truth." She said flatly. Angel sighed; he had no idea what the truth was but he would try.
"It didn't mean anything. It was just sex. One night, late, we were talking about the next day and what was coming up…she had wine…by the time midnight came around we had polished off at least four bottles. She came on to me, but I didn't resist, I caved. I suppose I was lonely and felt like I just needed to feel some kind of physical contact…one thing led to another." Angel waited for the next question.
"How long?"
"Six months." At his answer Buffy did throw up; Angel crossed the distance between them and held her convulsing body as she threw up on the floor. He held her hair away from her face and cradled her fragile frame until she finished. She didn't have the strength to fight him, that didn't stop her from trying.
"GET AWAY FROM ME!!" She cried as her body resisted against her mind falling into Angel's lap. She tried to twist away from him but her sobs and her weak body wasn't strong enough to get away from Angel's strong grip. Angel held her firm as she cried into his chest.
"GET AWAY-Y-Y-Y FROM ME-E-E-E!" She sobbed into him.
"No." Angel said firmly. Buffy took her fists and hit him over and over.
"How could YOU do this to me!" She continued to beat at Angel's chest as he tried to keep hold of her.
"I'm sorry." Angel said. Anger surged through her and she hit him harder sending him backwards.
"You're SORRY! You're SORRY!!! Do you know what I gave up for you?" She demanded, "I gave up everything to come here and be with you! To support you with your crazy idea of running this god-forsaken company. I gave up being the Slayer for you, I had your children, became a stay at home mom for you! And all you can say is 'you're sorry?'" Angel sat against the cupboards looking into his wife's eyes. Anger seethed out at him from her beautiful green eyes.
"What more do you want me to say! I told you what happened; I said I was sorry I have nothing more. It's over between us I swear it. It's been over for weeks…I love you Buffy."
"You have a FUNNY way of showing it!" She yelled at him.
"My love for you has never changed. You pulled away from me; I just needed to feel." Buffy stayed quiet when she heard that phrase. Had she not done the same thing to Spike all those years ago? Used him to feel; but was that an excuse for what Angel had done to her? He had broken her heart before but this, this was pure torture. Buffy's body began to slowly move forward and back; she shook her head and despite the amount of tears she had shed, more fell.
"What about me? Was I not good enough for you?" She asked him weakly. Angel moved towards her and took hold of her body. She pulled away from him but he took hold of her shoulders again.
"That is not why this happened. Don't you understand I don't deserve you. You are so pure, I never deserved you not from the day I met you. But for some reason, you chose me. I've tried but I'm just as weak if not weaker. I told you a long time ago it wasn't the demon in me that needed killing it was the man. That is still the truth. I was weak, in that single moment and all the moments after it. All I can ask of you is to forgive me and allow me to try and make it up to you." Angel stared into her eyes as she listened to him. She brought up her hands and Angel braced himself for her to hit him. Instead she rested them on both sides of his face and stared deeply into his eyes.
"I will NEVER trust you again." She said to him. Her cold eyes told him that what she said was the truth. She let got of his face and stood slowly; her body swayed slightly as she turned her back on him. Angel sat on the floor and watched her walk towards their bedroom.
"Buffy, please" Angel begged, "Don't leave me." Buffy turned to look at her husband, her lover, and her life and for the first time saw him cry.
"I won't leave. But you are not welcome in this room." Angel lowered his head and listened to the door close behind her.
Coming back to reality, the line on the other end finally picked up. The soft voice of his wife rang in his ears and all he wanted to do was tell her how much he loved her. But he knew that this Buffy was no his Buffy and that he had to control his emotions.
"I never thought I would here from you." She said. He detected annoyance in her tone.
"I know, but I'm calling now." He could hear her exhale on the other end when his voice came through.
"What do you want?" She asked.
"I understand that I have no right to ask you for help, but that is what I'm about to do. I need your help."
"What can't handle the chaos that you unleashed by taking on Evil Incorporated?" She asked him sarcastically.
"I deserve that. And no, we can't handle it. It needs to end and you are the only one who can help me do that." He stated simply.
"Give me one good reason I should help you." She demanded. Angel didn't have a reason; he had no idea what was going on between the two of them here, but he had the only answer that he knew to be true.
"I love you; I need you. Buffy, please help me." Angel waited, as the other end remained silent. He could see her on the other end taking in what he had just said and weighing her options. Angel ignored the look on Spike's face as he said those three words and held his breath; at least that is what he would do if he were human. He heard her exhale and knew that he had won her over.
"What do you need from me?" She asked.
"Thank you." Angel told her what he needed and waited for him to call her crazy.
"That actually just might work. You know, you're kind of smart when you want to be." She said to him. Angel smiled.
"I keep trying to tell you that." He heard her laugh and then fidget. She always did that when she was nervous.
"Okay, we'll be there in a couple of hours. Just be ready."
"I will." Angel hung up the phone and turned back to his friends, "We're ready. Now all we have to do is figure out the hot zones. That is where you come in." Angel pointed to Connor.
"Me?"
"You know all the hot zones here, you are the ones on the streets. We need to figure out the best places to hit. The Slayers and hopefully the Initiative will be here within a couple of hours and we need to tell them where to go." Connor nodded.
"We have been slowly mapping out the city. The papers are at the 'office.' Just let me get them and we can get started. Where are we supposed to meet everyone?" Connor asked.
"In the heart of downtown. I have no idea how they are getting here but that is where we need to be." Angel then turned to Wesley, "You need to keep the Senior Partners distracted, that way they don't know what's going on."
"Shouldn't be too hard, but we should leave the Wolfram & Hart grounds so they don't overhear us."
"Good call." Angel and the team left the ruined building and walked back towards the Paramount lot. Wesley stopped and Angel turned.
"You are on your own. I'll see you when negotiations start." Wesley turned back and disappeared.
"That must be really annoying." Spike said sarcastically. Angel laughed at the comment and shook his head. They only had a few hours to prepare for the biggest demonic slaughter ever seen.
--
A couple of hours later, Angel was waiting in what was left of downtown Los Angeles for the cavalry. They heard the helicopters before they saw the lights. They hovered above the group's heads for several moments before ropes tumbled to the ground. About a dozen armed men fell from the copters and hit the ground. Once the men disengaged their ropes the copters flew away. One of the men moved towards Angel and took off his mask. Angel walked towards him and extended his hand.
"Thanks for coming, Agent Finn." Angel said. Riley took his hand and shook it.
"You call, we come. That is what we do. Besides, we've been dying to get some action down here since this started. Bosses wouldn't let us, not until you called." The other men took their masks off as well, one of which was a woman. She walked up to them and smiled. Riley put his arm around her shoulders and smiled.
"Angel, this is my wife Sam." He said. Shock register on his face as he shook her extended hand.
"Nice to meet you."
"You too. I've been dying to meet you. Angelus in the flesh, you have no idea how many men are jealous of this right now." She said. Angel smiled and chuckled.
"Well I'll make sure you have something to tell them." Riley dropped his arm and took hold of his gun.
"Well lets get started." Angel held up a hand and cleared his throat.
"We're just waiting for a few more reinforcements."
"Buffy." Riley said simply.
"Buffy." Angel replied.
"This is going to be huge." Sam said with a huge smile on her face. Angel told Riley where he needed him and his team to be. Riley nodded and told his men to move out. Six went in one direction; the others the opposite. Angel wasn't sure how many Slayers were coming but twelve of Riley's soldiers was a start. Angel had no idea when they would show but he couldn't wait much longer.
"Look, you guys should get into position. I'll continue to wait and direct the Slayers where they need to go. Remember wait for the signal and then start. Not before. We need this to go off like clockwork." Connor nodded and pushed the group back. He stopped short as he stared into Illyria's face. She cocked her head to the side and widened her eyes.
"I heard you were going to war, again. I wish to join you." She said. Connor turned to his father and shrugged his shoulders.
"We could use all the help we can get." Angel said. Connor smiled and shook his head.
"Come with us." Connor said. Illyria didn't question, simply followed. Spike held back and stared at Angel. Angel nodded and Spike didn't move. Angel knew that Spike wasn't about to let Buffy come into town and him not be there. Connor and Gunn left with the three girls to their positions to wait for the slaughter to begin. Angel and Spike waited in silence for the arrival of the Slayers. The wind picked up and the fires in the garbage cans moved to the silent assault of the gusting air. Slowly a figure emerged from the shadows, several figures in fact, holding weapons of their own. The leader was a slight, blonde figure with a wide smile on her face.
"So the most powerful vampire in the world needs our help. Do you understand the irony in that?" She asked him. The six girls stopped in front of them as Buffy hugged her old lover. She moved away from him then hugged Spike next, "It's good to see you. How was hell?"
"Not so fun." He replied. She laughed and let go.
"I hate to sound ungrateful, but six? That is all you brought with you?" Angel asked. Buffy gave him a crocked smile and scoffed.
"Of course not. They are scattered throughout the city. I made sure to tell them to wait for a signal that I assumed would be rather large, then they were to attack. These five other Slayers are the best ones. Figured they would be needed closer to home." She said.
"You would be right." Angel replied. Buffy and Angel stood in silence for several moments when she let her breath go. She let her fists hit against her thighs as she waited for one of the vampires to say something. Angel crossed his arms and smiled.
"Awkward." He said at length.
"You and me? Awkward? Never." Buffy said sarcastically. Spike cleared his throat and Angel turned to look at him.
"Don't you think we ought to get this party started?" He asked. Angel nodded.
"Okay, here we go." Angel, Spike and Buffy's team walked away from where they were standing and headed towards the Wolfram & Hart building once more. In Angel's eyes, it was sad to see such a powerful corporation in ruin albeit physical ruin. Wolfram & Hart was stronger than the natural world. They controlled more than anyone could every imagined. When he had taken control of Wolfram & Hart and then finally become a member of the Circle of the Blackthron, Angel had been given insight into the fundamental architecture of how the company ran. Angel knew almost all of the best-kept secrets of Wolfram & Hart including their weaknesses. Before coming to this reality, Angel had given thought to giving the company to Lindsey. As they walked Angel finally began to understand why the Powers did what they did, sometimes fresh eyes were better than old. Angel signaled for the group to stop and waited.
"What are we waiting for?" Spike asked. Angel pointed at the figure that was walking towards them. Wesley stopped and smiled at the group.
"Everything ready?" He asked. Buffy arched her eyebrows at Spike who shrugged in return.
"We are." Angel replied.
"Ready for what?" Buffy asked. Angel turned from Wesley and stood before her. She was so beautiful. Looking at her and gazing into her green eyes, in that moment Angel really missed his wife. He only hoped that he would be able to fix things with her when he got back, if he got back.
"Ready for the end of this stupid war." Angel ran from the group towards a large oil truck that had been turned onto its side. Stopping short, Angel took the lighter out of his pocket. Buffy and Spike stopped behind him.
"THIS is your plan?" She asked him. Angel smiled and lit the lighter throwing it towards the truck. Within seconds, the truck exploded and a new battle began.
--
When the truck went up, every member of Angel's team attacked. Within several hours the team had achieved their goals unfortunately the Senior Partners hadn't showed yet. Angel was growing concerned. Beaten and broken, Angel finally sat down next to Buffy and the corpse of the demon she had just slayed. She leaned back ran her hands through her hair.
"So, is this the plan? Continue to fight until we all die?"
"I…no. Not the plan. I was half expecting the Senior Partners to show up by now." Angel replied honestly.
"I thought Wesley was the…"
"No, he is just the middle man. I need him to start the negotiations."
"Negotiations?" Buffy asked, "I thought we were bringing them down?"
"Buffy, look, you can't bring this company down. No matter how hard you try. That is what this Angel's problem was…taking on to big a fish." Angel stood and started to walk. Buffy jumped up and went after him.
"This Angel? What are you going on about?" She asked him. When he didn't stop walking she sprinted towards him grabbing his shoulder and spinning him around, "Angel stop! What are you talking about?" For a moment Angel wrestled with the repercussions of telling her that he wasn't who she thought he was. Angel decided that it wouldn't benefit anyone to tell her what was really going on. As usual, he was using her to finish a job; he'd used her before, why would now be any different?
"Never mind. I just want this all to be over! I'm done playing the hero. I don't want to be the hero anymore, I just want…" He stopped.
"Want what? I don't understand, you've always believed in what you do, what's changed?" She asked him.
"Everything has changed. Haven't you ever wanted something real? To escape this unreal world of demons and death? I understand the irony in that statement, I do, but…so what if I'm a vampire! Don't I deserve to be happy too? Don't I deserve an attempt at something more normal? I'm done with all of this. I'm going to finish things with Wolfram & Hart by negotiating my way out of it. All I needed was…"
"Was what?" Buffy interrupted, "A distraction? Is that all we are, a distraction? Tell me the truth, Angel. Why did you ask me here?" Angel lowered his head and put his hands on his hips. He wasn't helping this Angel's prospects with Buffy, but maybe it would give her the fire to fight back enough to realize that she needed to fight for him.
"Yes. I needed them to get distracted and annoyed enough to talk. I need them to think there is no other way out. I'm sorry if that bothers you…but I'm trying to stop this." Buffy crossed her arms over her chest and shook her head.
"For someone who was so sure of what he was doing, you sure backpedaling."
"Maybe I was wrong." Angel stated.
"Maybe you were wrong? Do you really think this is the best time to second guess your decision?" She asked him.
"What does it matter now? I just want it finished." Buffy walked towards Angel as she looked past his shoulder.
"I think you're about to get your wish." She said to him. Angel turned to see a group of people walking towards them. They weren't demons by the way they walked and were carrying briefcases. She walked away from him and moved to stand near Spike. Wesley appeared beside Angel and smiled.
"This is what you wanted, are you ready?"
"This isn't what I wanted." Angel told him, "All I want is to be at home with my wife and kids; unfortunately I'm here dealing with this mess. I just want it finished." Wesley smiled and motioned for Angel to follow him. The Wolfram & Hart team stopped in front of him with stone faces and hard eyes.
"We are ready to talk. The Senior Partners are very anxious to speak with you." They said in unison.
"I'm interested in speaking to them too."
"You are the only one who can come. But you must stop your attacks. We will pull back and you must do the same." Their voices resounded in everyone's ears. Angel nodded and Spike pulled out a flare gun from his coat. Buffy scoffed and elbowed him.
"You couldn't have used that instead of igniting a tanker truck?" She asked him. Spike only smiled and sent the flare into the air. Moment later, the fighting and the carnage stopped. The Wolfram & Hart team turned away from Angel and Wesley and moved towards the abandoned and disintegrated building. Angel took the lead moving towards them with Wesley behind him. Buffy started to move but Angel held up his hand.
"No. I will go alone. It's what I'm good at, being alone." Hurt crossed her face as she watched him walk away from her again. Spike held her arm and pulled her back. Shaking her head she watched as Angel and Wesley disappeared.