CHAPTER TWENTY SEVEN
Abigail stayed in the cage overnight. In the morning Jasmine and Connor came downstairs to visit her.
" So what are we going to do about her?" Connor asked crossing his arms.
" There's nothing I can do. I will wait until you find the others," Jasmine decided.
" Why wait? Why not kill me now?" Abigail challenged and looked at Connor. " C'mon Connor, you've always wanted to."
" Don't be goaded Connor," Jasmine said to Connor as she felt his hackles raise, " Just ignore her."
" She's always had it in for me," Connor whined, " If I can't kill her, then why don't you eat her?"
" I cannot. She's protected." Jasmine said, " Even from me."
" What does that mean?" Connor asked her.
Yes, what does that mean? Abigail wanted to ask also but remained silent.
" Never mind her for now. I have a job for you to do." Jasmine said when one of her followers ran down the stairs.
" Excuse me…great one?" a woman interrupted timidly.
Oh Spare Me, Abigail thought rolling her eyes.
" Yes, what is Claire?"
" They've found them." Claire answered, " The others."
Jasmine smiled, " Wonderful."
* * *
Angel wasn't with the gang when they were marched in. They looked battered and bruised as they were lead to the basement after getting interrogated by Jasmine about Angel's whereabouts.
" Where's Abigail?" Lorne demanded Jasmine.
" She's fine." Jasmine replied, " You'll be seeing her a moment." She nodded to her followers, " Take them downstairs."
Abigail looked up from her corner of the cage to see Gunn, Fred, Wesley and Lorne being lead downstairs.
" Lorne!" she exclaimed, jumping up.
His eyes lit up when he saw her. He had cut on his lip and a few bruises. " Oh thank God. I was so worried." He said. Apart from a shiner she looked fine.
The followers locked the gang in the cage and disappeared upstairs. Lorne hugged Abigail tight, " What happened?" he asked her as Gunn started kicking at the cage door, trying to open it.
Abigail told the group what happened. She had tried to escape through the bathroom window but the woman punched her in the head knocking her out cold. She woke up in the cage.
" Oh here," Lorne handed Abigail her necklace, " I found this."
" Thought I'd lost it forever. Put it on for me?" she handed it back and he clasped it around her neck before kissing her.
" We're glad you're ok." Fred told Abigail.
* * *
Fred, Lorne, Wesley and Gunn and Abigail are still locked inside the cage in the basement. It was late at night and Gunn was still kicking at the door.
Lorne was sitting down on the ground, leaning against a wall. Abigail was next to him with her head on his shoulder, eyes closed. She had a throbbing headache. She was tired and hungry and wished it was all over.
" You can stop that anytime now," Lorne told Gunn irritability.
" I will," Gunn replied and kept kicking.
Lorne sighed. " You know what we should do?" he asked Abigail.
" What?" she asked sleepily.
" If Angel saves the day we should go away. On vacation."
" Really? Where?"
" Anywhere. Maybe go on a cruise."
" On a cruise?" Abigail raised an eyebrow at him.
Lorne knew what she was thinking," I'll have to go incognito." He said smiling.
" It's a great idea. Anywhere will do…just as long as its not Vegas." Abigail decided.
They stopped talking when they heard screaming upstairs.
" What was that?" Fred asked nervously.
" Doesn't sound good," Abigail replied looking up at the ceiling.
" I'll tell you what it was. The devourer chowing down, and I bet you we're dessert." Gunn said.
" Gunn, will you stop wasting your—" Wesley began when Gunn kicked at the door, and this time it swung open; Gunn sighs proudly. " Never give up, never surrender."
" Let's go," Wesley said and walked out with the others following.
" That's it? No thank you?"
* * *
Wesley and Lorne walked through the empty lobby. Gunn and Abigail walked downstairs and Fred enters the lobby from the garden.
" Anyone?" Wesley asked them.
" We got ourselves a ghost hotel," Gunn said.
" Garden's empty. This is incredibly creepy," Fred added.
" Only in a post-apocalyptic "Night of the Comet" kind of way," Lorne said.
" Do you think they're all—" Fred started.
" Dead." Lorne finished for her. " Dead air. TV stations going off line. Something big went down."
Gunn picked up the keepers head. " Yeah. And here's its head."
" You sure?" Fred asked.
Wesley headed toward the door, and the others follow.
" Where we goin'?" Gunn asked.
" We have to find him and Cordelia before Jasmine does" Wesley told him.
Wesley opened the door and stopped still in his tracks. Everyone stared out the front door at the same thing.
" Oh My God," Fred said.
* * *
Weakly, Angel stumbled in through the front door. The rest of the gang is in the office. When they hear him come in, they went back to the lobby.
" Angel", Fred said.
" Oh, my God. You're alive." Angel said looking around at the group.
" Angel." Wesley said.
" Jasmine's dead. I brought back her name and her powers were destroyed. Connor killed her."
" Connor?" Fred said.
" Um, there's something-" Wesley started to say.
" I've never seen him like this. He wasn't hurt or angry, he just... killed her. And his face, it—it was just blank, like he had nothing left." Angel went on.
" Angel, you really—" Wesley tried again.
" I've got a bad feeling. He's just...given up. I think he's gonna do something. You know, he might—"
" End world peace?" a voice broke in. Angel looked over to see Lilah standing in the office doorway. " Well, you already took care of that. Congratulations."
