"Angel Investigations, we help the helpless." Faith says as she picks up the phone. Cordelia and Angel watch her through the window in his office, unable to hear the other end of the conversation.
"Are you sure this is a good idea?" Cordy whispers, looking at the brunette Slayer distrustfully. Angel sighs at her.
"I'm sure Cordelia. I know Faith hasn't made the best choices, but she's willing to help us and work on her own redemption. If I denied her that, I would be a hypocrite." Angel reminds his friend.
"Whatever. It's your back she's going to be stabbing, not mine." She reminds the vampire as she leaves his office.
"Yo, Cordy, we got a case, seems like it's right up your alley." Faith calls out to the other brunette. Cordy pauses on her way to the mini fridge and turns to look at her with her eyebrows raised. "This guy, David Nabbit, has this black mail deal. But, get this, he's some rich programming dude. I said you'd give him a call back with details." Faith tells her, holding out a slip of paper with a number written on it. Cordelia scrambles to grab it and looks at it for a moment before scooting Faith out of her chair and dialing the phone. Faith laughs as she grabs an apple and enters Angel's office.
"Hey boss." She greets him. Angel looks up from his desk and smiles at her. "Cordy's working on getting an actual paying case for us." She tells the vampire with a soul.
"You know I don't do this for money." Angel reminds her. Faith shrugs and collapses into the chair opposite him.
"Yeah, but the rest of us need to eat." She tells him, hefting her apple into the air and catching it before taking a big bit from it. Cordy squeals in the other room and the two warriors look up at her in confusion and worry.
"We got a case!" She tells them, dancing in place.
"What I tell ya?" Faith asks as she stands and descends the stairs into Angel's apartment, where she's been staying until she can find an apartment. Angel sighs and shakes his head, an amused smile tugging at the corners of his lips.
Wesley and Doyle enter the offices, arguing as usual.
"No, no. The Oracles were talking about a battle to end all battles. It is only logical to believe it will take place on the hellmouth." Wesley insists, carrying on from whatever discussion they were having before entering the building.
"And I'm tellin' ya that this big battle is goin' to take place in LA. It'll be a much larger battle field, which means the forces of darkness will have a higher chance of causin' destruction." The Irish demon argues. "'sides, I'm the one gettin' the visions, not you, English."
"You must stop spending time with Faith, she's begun to rub off on you." Wesley complains.
"But not in the literal way, I'd like to make that very clear." Doyle adds, noticing Cordelia staring at them with her hands on her hips.
"Both of you shut it, we've got a case!" Cordelia tells them once they stop talking.
"A case-case? As in, an actual paying case?" Doyle asks, incredulous. Cordelia nods and squeals, jumping up and down, Doyle joining her. Angel watches this happen from his doorway and shakes his head at his team.
Later that night they go to Nabbit's party and pick up the case.
"Ugh, I don't know why I let Cordelia dress me for this." Faith complains, looking down at the dress she was wearing. "Last person to put me in a dress was the Mayor."
"You think that's bad? I look like a miniature Angel." Doyle counters, plucking at the deep red dress shirt he's wearing. "No offense." He adds, looking to their boss.
"None taken." He replies, a frown creasing his forehead. Faith and Doyle exchange a knowing glance.
"Don't worry, you'll be back in time to give B a call." Faith assures him, resting a hand on his shoulder. He looks over at her and smiles.
"Thank you Faith." He tells her. They continue to mingle for a few minutes before Angel insists they leave. They pile into the Plymouth, Angel, Faith, and Cordelia crowding into the front seat while Doyle and Wesley share the back. Angel stops outside of their building and lets them out, only Faith stubbornly remaining. The two warriors drive away and stop again outside of Madam Dorion's, the demon brothel. Angel fidgets, checking his watch, and Faith sighs.
"Oh, go ahead and call her, we've got time." She tells him, handing him his cell phone and getting out of the car. He quickly dials Buffy's number.
"Angel."
"Buffy."
"You're a bit early, aren't you? Is everything okay?"
"Everything's fine. I'm out on a case and I wanted to make sure I called you to check in."
"Oh. Well, everything's hunky dory down here. I don't want to keep you from 'Helping the helpless'."
"That's good. I'll call you tomorrow. I love you Buffy."
"I love you too, Angel. Go save people."
Angel closed the phone after hanging up and exited his car.
"You two are ridiculous." Faith comments as they enter the brothel.
"We don't do vampires. Sorry." A woman, most likely Madam Dorian herself, tells them, intercepting them.
"We just came to talk." Angel tells the woman.
"We don't do that either." She tells them curtly. Angel pulls out the picture of the blackmailer from his pocket.
"His name is Lenny Edwards. You know him?" He asks, showing her the picture. Faith scans the crowd of demon girls and twitches. Madam Dorian grabs their arms and begins leading them to the exit.
"Even if I did, I wouldn't tell you." She tells them. Faith breaks away from her grip and turns back around.
"You're discreet. That's good." Faith starts.
"Essential in my line of work." Dorian interrupts.
"How discreet is it for one of your clients to be photographed here, then blackmailed?" Faith continues. Dorian looks at them in shock.
"What?" She asks them.
"Bad for business, I guess. You tell us where we can find Lenny Edwards and maybe we just might stop this before word hits the street." Angel says, thinly hiding a threat at the end.
"Who is the girl?" Dorian asks, coming to the conclusion that she should help them.
"We don't know. But the clients name is David Nabbit." He tells her, hoping that she'll know someone they could talk to.
"Lina!" Dorian calls. A girl with quills for hair comes over and Dorian lays a hand on her shoulder. "Talk to Lina." Lina runs a hand over Angel's chest and looks up at him.
"Oh, he's a pretty one." She murmurs. Faith grabs her hand before it does any more rubbing.
"He's a vampire, Lina." Dorian warns the demon prostitute.
"Really? Well, we can make an exception. Just don't do, that face thing, and we'll get along great. Might even let your girl watch." She winks at Faith, who blanches, and turns around to face Madam Dorian holding up her hands. "Look, ma, no hands!" Angel looks down, lets out a breath, and catches the girls tail in one hand. Faith laughs.
"That's not why he's here, Lina." Dorian tells the demon.
"Damn, Angel!" Faith laughs. Angel scowls at her and holds out the picture to Lina.
"I'm looking for him?" Lina sighs. "I think your boss here would like you to co-operate." Lina looks at her boss then back at Angel.
"Vampires." She complains.
"You're telling me." Faith agrees, earning another scowl from Angel. Lina tells them everything she knows and they leave, heading to the neighborhood she told them about.
Lenny is about to get in his car when Angel comes up behind him. Faith stays in the shadows, letting Angel handle this one, knowing that she's not quite ready to deal with violence yet.
"What do you want?" Lenny demands when he sees Angel.
"Big question. What do I want?" He pretends to think for a moment. "Love, family, a place on this planet I can call my own. But you know what?"
"What?" Lenny asks, playing along.
"I've already got all those things. But unless these next few minutes go exactly the way I want them to, you won't. Where are the pictures of David Nabbit?" Angel growls.
"Never heard of him." Lenny lies instantly. Angel shakes his head.
"Oh-ho, you only get one lie. I probably should have mentioned that first." Angel tells him. Lenny pats Angel on the shoulder.
"Look, pal, you obviously not from around here. But trust me, you do not want to see my bad side." Faith snickers from her vantage point. Out of the corner of her eye she sees a group of guys, most of them still teenagers, crouch behind some metal pipes. She stiffens and watches them instead of Angel.
"You show me yours I show you mine." He vamps out and grabs Lenny and pushes him up against the car. "Okay, so now I'm from around here. In fact, I'm moving in. Taking over, you understand me? I will dog you every night for the rest of your very short life until you bring me what I want. Are we clear?" Lenny nods frantically. "Yeah. See you tomorrow." Angel gives Lenny a last shove. Lenny turns to unlock his car door, then looks back. Angel is gone. Lenny gets in the car and drives off.
"Yo, Angel." Faith calls, coming out of her hide-out. Angel drops down from the roof of the building he jumped onto and lands beside her, his face back to normal. "We got a bit of trouble. Group of kids, behind those pipes over there." Faith nods over to the pipes discretely. "They don't look like good news, but they ain't vamps either." She tells him.
"Keep an eye out for them." Angel tells her, walking to his car and getting in. They drive back to the apartment and collapse onto their separate sleeping arrangements, Faith on the bed, Angel on the couch.
Angel cracks his neck as he sits up on the couch and stretches. While the couch might be comfortable to sit on, sleeping on it wasn't as fun as it seemed at first. He continues stretching as he walked to the kitchen to start breakfast for Faith, and whichever team members want it. He's finishing the eggs when Faith walks out of his bedroom, already showered and dressed. He lays out a plate for her on the table and puts the rest of the eggs on a bigger plate, waiting for the others the find their way downstairs.
"How'd you sleep?" He asks the Slayer when she sits down.
"Better than you, I'd say. Damn Angel, you look bad." Faith tells him, looking him up and down. Angel shrugs.
"It's not like I really need to sleep." He reminds her. Faith just gives him a look while she takes a bit of her eggs.
"How is it that someone who doesn't eat knows how to make such delicious eggs?" She asks him after she's finished half of the plate. Angel chuckles and leaves the kitchen area to get dressed. When he returns, the entire team is eating the eggs, crowded around the small table.
"I'm going out to meet Lenny." He tells them before leaving. He drives with the top down, enjoying the California sun, something he's only done twice before. He meets Lenny in the same alley as before. He stays in the darkness until he sees Lenny drive up.
He sits on the hood of his car, holding a brown manila envelope in his hands, looking around. Angel steps out of the darkness and Lenny turns his head back to face him, jumping slightly.
"You're a sneaky son of a bitch, aren't you?" Lenny questions.
"You brought the photographs?" Angel asks him, straight to business. Lenny holds up the envelope.
"Of course I brought them." He tells Angel, smirking. "And a little something extra." A gray skinned demon appears next to Angel and hits him hard enough that he flies a few feet backwards through the air. Lenny laughs and watches his demon fight the vampire.
"Love that." He says as Angel and the demon fight. The demon is at least as strong as Angel, but Angel knows something the demon doesn't. He knows he's immortal.
"What ever he's paying you isn't enough, is it, big fellow?" Lenny asks the vampire. The demon tosses him at Lenny and causes him to drop the envelope. Angel picks it up and puts it inside his coat, then swings around a lamp post and continues to fight the demon. Angel manages to break the demon's neck and drops to the ground, watching as Lenny runs off. He would go after him, but he doesn't think he's worth it. A stake impales Angel through his heart, poking out the front.
"So that's what happens." He mutters, grabbing the stake and pulling it out of his chest. "Kinda tickles." He looks back and sees a group of kids with a decked out truck and stake guns. Angel gets up and shows them the slightly bloody stake.
"Guessing none have you seen a vampire do that?" He asks the kids. They stare at him in shock, their weapons lowering unconsciously.
"You're still not human." The apparent leader growls, hefting his weapon up higher.
"You Charles Gunn?" Angel asks the kid, going off a hunch. The kid looks up at him and narrows his eyes.
"Yeah." He answers after a brief pause.
"I'm Angel." He introduces himself. "Got a message for you, from the Powers That Be." Angel throws the stake and it impales itself in Gunn's chest. The other kids in the group raise their weapons again, but pause once they realize Gunn isn't falling.
"What the fuck?" Gunn gasps, looking at the stake sticking out of his chest, right where his heart is.
"I'd suggest you not try to kill me again if you want to know how that's possible." Angel advises the new member of their group.
"Who the fuck are you?" Gunn demands, pulling out the stake and watching as the wound closes itself.
"I told you. I'm Angel. You can find me here. I'd suggest coming alone." He tells him, leaving one of the cards Cordelia had printed up. He still thinks the 'angel' looks like a lobster. Angel walks away from them and climbs back into his car, driving back to the office.
"Yo, Angel!" Faith calls as soon as he steps into the office. "Nesbit stopped by while we were out last night. We got a shitload of cash." She tells him, gesturing to the check on his office. Angel looks at it and his eyes bug out of his head.
"Holy…" He breaths, slipping the manila folder out of his jacket and letting it fall onto his desk. "Oh, I met Gunn today. He might stop by at some point. He's one of the kids you saw when we confronted Lenny." Angel informs her.
"Cool. You got the pictures?" Faith asks, walking into his office and leaning against the desk. Angel taps the folder and Faith picks it up, opening it.
"Woah, what are you doing?" Angel asks her, stopping her from pulling out the pictures.
"Checking to make sure they're real?" Faith answers, like it's the most obvious thing in the world.
"Shouldn't we wait…"
"For the rest of the team?" Faith finishes with a grin.
"Here. What are we doing?" Cordelia calls, entering the office trailed by Wesley and Doyle.
"Looking at Nesbit's blackmail photos." Faith answers bluntly.
"Oh, nice. I wonder what our Mr Nesbit got himself up to." Doyle says, taking the envelope and pulling out the pictures. He sees the first one and blanches. "Oh, that's not right."
"Let me see!" Cordelia demands, reaching for the pictures.
"I don't think this is suitable for such delicate eyes." Doyle protests, frowning at the pictures. He turns them so the rest of the team can see.
"Oh my." Wesley breathes, taking off his glasses and cleaning them.
"How is that even possible?" Faith asks. Angel reaches over and turns the picture so it's the right way up.
"That's even worse!" Doyle exclaims. Angel grabs the photos and puts them back in the envelope.
"We'll call Nesbit tonight so he can pick them up." Angel tells them, locking the folder in his desk drawer. The door opens and Cordelia, Faith, Wesley, and Doyle go to see to the customer.
"Angel? It's for you." Cordelia calls. Angel gets up and enters the front room. Gunn is standing in the middle of it looking uncomfortable. Angel stops, the light from the open blinds hitting his skin.
"Thought you were a vamp." Gunn says, raising an eyebrow.
"I am. It's a long story." Angel says, trying to dismiss the subject.
"Powers That Be intervened, he's invincible, we're all immortal." Cordelia cuts in.
"Apparently not that long." Angel mutters.
"So what, I'm immortal now?" Gunn asks.
"Along with us and a few other people." Faith confirms.
"It's a whole big thing. I got brought back from the dead." Doyle adds.
"Yes, I think he could've gone without that information." Wesley interrupted, giving Doyle a stern look.
"Oh shut it English." Doyle tells him with a sneer.
"Guys!" Angel yells, getting the bickering men to look at him and shut up. They look back to Gunn and wait for him to speak.
"Why me?" Gunn asks.
"There's a prophecy. The Powers That Be decided we needed to be together for it and thought this was the best way to do that." Angel explains. "We don't really understand it either."
"Well, I guess if these Powers That Be think I should help, I've got no other choice." Gunn says. "I'm in."
"Welcome to Angel Investigations."
Buffy enters the Bronze and takes off her long leather jacket. It's the one Angel gave her, she still wears it, even after he left her. 'But he came back. That's what counts.' Buffy reminds herself. She sets herself up at a table and waits for her friends to join her. She doesn't have to wait long, a few minutes later Willow and Tara enter, soon followed by Xander and Anya. Onstage, Oz and the rest of the Dingoes are playing.
"It's nice to hear them playing in the Bronze again, isn't it?" Willow asks the group.
"Reminds me of high school. Not sure if that's a good thing." Buffy answers.
"Depends on which year in high school. There was the year you died. The year Angel went evil and tried to kill us all. Or, better yet, the year we had to fight the Mayor in demon form at our graduation." Xander says. "Okay, I guess it's a bad thing." He concedes with a nod of his head.
"It wasn't all bad." Buffy insists. Willow and Xander give her twin sympathetic looks. "Right?"
"The point is, you believe that." Xander says, patting her on the back.
"I w-wish I went t-to your high school." Tara murmurs.
"No you don't." Buffy insists, shaking her head.
"Trust me, it was pretty boring. All we did was learn things that will have no impact on our lives as adults." Anya adds. "I often found myself daydreaming about he good old days when I could eviscerate a man in a matter of seconds."
"Ahn, remember that talk we had, about mentioning your time as a vengeance demon in public? We're in public." Xander admonishes. Anya sighs, but consents. Suddenly the music cuts off, as if someone's turned off the speakers. The members of Dingoes all start looking at their instruments in confusion. Then a tall, well-built man walks onstage.
"Hey man, what's the big idea? We were in the middle of a set!" Devon complains. The man turns to him and grabs his hand, squeezing until something snaps.
"I am not a man. I haven't been one for a long time." He turns back to the audience. "Humans of Sunnydale, greetings! I am Cronos, general of the Army of the Beast. I am here to recruit new members. You shall be bestowed the highest honor if you join with us tonight. If not, you will be drained and left on pikes so that you may be an example for others in your puny town." Cronos announces to the crowd. Most gasp in fear and a few run to the exits. They are, of course, blocked. Oz takes control of his band and ushers them off the stage. Buffy turns to her friends, a plan already forming.
"Don't do anything stupid that might draw attention to yourselves. I'm going up. Willow, I'm going to need you and Tara ready with a containment spell, think you can handle it?" Buffy asks, formulating a plan.
"Easy." Willow confirms. Buffy nods and turns to the others.
"Xander, you and Anya are in charge of getting everyone out. Once they're out, Anya I need you to stay with them, make sure they're okay, and make up a story about Cronos. Say he's on drugs, or in a gang or something. Xander, I'll need you inside to give me some back up. I'll give the signal when I'm ready." Buffy explains before heading off. She faintly hears Tara ask what the signal was. Xander explains that she'll know it when she sees it.
Buffy slowly makes her way to the stage. When she gets there she stops and looks up at Cronos.
"What, no volunteers? Pity. If someone doesn't join me on this stage in the next minute, my soldiers will start feeding. And trust me, it will not be pretty. You have one minute until we will feed." Cronos threatens. Buffy edges along the edge of the stage until she reaches the stairs. She walks up and crosses to where Cronos is standing.
"Hold up there, big boy. Not so fast with the feeding." Buffy quips.
"And who are you?" Cronos asks her. Buffy fakes shock and puts a hand to her chest.
"You mean you don't know? Really? Well geez, I thought everyone knew!" She exclaims. Cronos growls at her.
"You will explain yourself tiny one! If you do not, I will feed off your blood personally!" He threatens, taking a step closer. Buffy smiles up at him.
"Hi! I'm Buffy, the Vampire Slayer. And I really don't appreciate you vamps coming to my town and threatening my friends. It's just not nice." Buffy says, her voice taking on a fake chipper sound. Cronos growls and morphs into his 'game face'. "Oo, scary. You know what's scarier?" She pulls out a stake and shows it to him. "This." Cronos growls and lunges, but Buffy spins away, causing him to crash to the ground. He twists to face her.
"That all you got? I thought you were some big general or something." Buffy taunts. The vampire stands and lunges again, this time Buffy kicks out her foot, sending him stumbling back. "Now Will!" She shouts, giving her friends the signal. Immediately all the vampires except the one she's facing freeze where they are. Xander and Anya start herding people out, Oz following their lead.
"Do you realize who you are fighting little girl?" Cronos growls at her.
"Um, Cronos, general of the Army of the Beast?" Buffy answers sarcastically. He stands and growls. Buffy just smiles at him. "Do you know who you're fighting?" She asks him, throwing his question back at him.
"A little girl, tired and afraid, hiding behind a little piece of wood to keep her safe from the monsters." Cronos answers.
"Wrong. You're facing a Slayer. In fact, you're facing one of the most accomplished Slayers in history. Have you heard of Lothos? I killed him. One of my first vamps too. And do you remember the Master? Killed him too. I sent Angelus to hell, and staked William the Bloody just a few days ago. Every single threat I've come up against, I've defeated. Heck, I even survived the Watcher's Council. Do you really think a bunch of puny vamps like you will stop me? I've already died once, I'd like to see you try and kill me again." Buffy taunts him, gloating a bit. Cronos gives her a fang-filled smile.
"The Beast and his Army will rise from the pit to rage war against the Slayer. We are the legion of the Beast. The legion shall be many; and the legion shall be free. He has woven himself into the fabric of human life since the demons were chased from this world. He shall rise, and you shall be consumed. We must feed." Cronos intones. Buffy slams her stake into his heart.
"Yeah, well there are hungry kids in Africa. You'll have to wait." She says as he turns to dust. She turns around and sees that all of the other vamps are already dust.
"Great job guys!" She compliments as she jumps off the stage.
"Um, Buffy? Aren't you a little worried about what he said? I mean, a Beast? That sounds pretty dangerous." Willow asks. Buffy shrugs at her friend.
"Why? I mean come on, we can survive anything, right? What's there to be afraid of?" Buffy reasons.
"Buffy! We don't say that! You should know by know that it just brings more trouble!" Xander shrieks, causing Buffy to cover her ears.
"Bit loud Xand." She tells him as she walks away. As she walks away, Willow turns to Xander.
"We need to do something. She's been getting more and more distant. I'm worried." Willow tells him.
"What can we do, Will? It's not like there's a spell for this." He says before walking after Buffy, Tara following him. Willow gets an idea as she watches them go and she smiles to herself.
"But what if there is?" She asks the empty club.