Fred and Lorne's first stop was a grocery store. Luckily, at first glance, it appeared to be empty of people (they had gone to a store that was in the still living part of L.A.—the thought of going to the other part and encountering all those dead bodies was just horrific). Unluckily, it appeared that a lot of the store had already been ransacked. It made sense; there were other people who needed items too, but Lorne and Fred hoped there'd still be enough for them to take.
Not only had a lot of food and other things been taken, but the store had almost seemed to be trashed. Things were knocked down on the floor. Other items were torn open and lying on the floor. Everything was a mess.
"I guess these few people left aren't taking things too well," Lorne observed.
"I wonder when this happened," Fred shook her head. "We really need to come up with some sort of, I don't know, plan or something to help everyone out there still alive. They've been alone for a long while now, not sure what to do. I feel bad. We've been so wrapped up in all our own drama that we haven't thought of anyone else."
Lorne smiled at Fred. She was absolutely right. "That's great, Fredikins. You're right. With this newfound decision to help all the remaining people, does that mean you're okay? I mean, I know you felt bad about what Angel did and it seemed to affect you, but you did bounce back pretty fast."
She shrugged. "Angel didn't want to lose me, and I know none of you would have wanted to either. Any of you could've made that decision, I think. It was a shock when Angel broke the news to me. It hurt when I found out they all died essentially for me. But everyone was there for me. You all seemed to stick by Angel's decision and appreciate it, even if you didn't necessarily agree with it. Oh, what I'm trying to say is that all of you helped me bounce back as fast as I did. If I were to go to the other part of L.A. or think in depth about all the people that are gone, though, well…it wouldn't be easy. Another part of the reason I've been like this is because of Wesley. Being with him probably makes me the happiest I've been. I'm sorry," she crinkled her nose. "That came out wrong. I feel bad. I still do not necessarily agree with what Angel did. But, if anything, it's taught me to cherish what I'm living. It made me realize who is truly important and who I want to be with. Living life right now is the best possible gift, and you all gave that to me."
Her speech got to Lorne. He couldn't help it; he embraced her in a hug. "I don't know what we'd do without you or how things would be now," he told her.
"Let's not think about what life would be like without me here," Fred joked.
They pulled apart and got back to the task at hand.
It was then when they heard it. A noise coming from the back of the store. And then silence again.
They spun around to the area with the noise. They couldn't see anything from this distance, and they walked slowly toward the area. In the middle of one aisle that had plenty of objects strewn on the floor and a minimal amount of things on the shelves laid a woman. Upon seeing the woman, both Fred and Lorne rushed forward, ready to help. It looked like she had thrown something that was lying on the floor to get Fred and Lorne's attention.
As they neared, they both came to a sudden stop, recognizing the woman on the floor. Her eyes were open and staring upwards. When she saw them, a small smile that didn't look friendly crept on her face.
"Well, look who it is," Gwen spoke. Her voice was hoarse and she seemed very weak to the point where it was hard for her to speak and move.
"Gwen, what happened to you?" Fred asked, kneeling by the woman despite being unsure if she should.
"I've been to Hell and back," she commented sarcastically. "How about you?"
Wes and Gunn pushed the sarcophagus into the Wolfram & Hart offices. Both of them were sweating slightly. When it was inside the building, they immediately stopped and took a breather.
"That thing's heavier than it looks," Gunn said. He looked around the main lobby which happened to be empty. "And of course nobody's here. Guess we gotta bring this thing to the elevator?"
"Well, last time it was left unsupervised it was taken from us," Wes recalled.
Groaning, they began pushing the sarcophagus to the elevator doors.
Oz should've been sleeping. He knew that. He just couldn't. There were too many things on his mind, too many thoughts running around in his head. The first night of the full moon would be tomorrow. He'd transform then and then two days after that as well.
It always stressed him out to think about. Tomorrow morning he knew he'd have to talk to Dawn and Andrew. He had been mistaken when he thought he had a few more days until the change. Coming here and everything around him seeming to change had really thrown off his schedule.
Anyway, tomorrow would be the first night. Just the first.
He wasn't looking forward to it.
On the right floor, Angel and Drogyn helped Gunn and Wes move the sarcophagus into his office. Gunn began to wonder how the hell Drogyn got it here in the first place and how that woman moved it that far in that time, even if it wasn't that far. When they were in Angel's office, Gunn asked how she moved it so far.
"I had it on a large cart-typed thing," Drogyn told them. "You didn't see it there?"
Both Gunn and Wes shrugged.
"Oh well," Drogyn said.
"So what now? Do we get this over with?" Gunn questioned.
Angel looked over at Spike, Lilah, and Connor/Illyria (who was sitting still, silently). "Yeah," Angel stated simply. "We'll do it." Then he remembered something. "Later. Once Lorne and Fred get back. They should be here for it."
"Once Lorne and Fred get back?" Wes echoed in a question, flipping to worried mode. He had no idea Fred was even going anywhere. "What are you talking about? Where'd they go?"
"Just out to get a few supplies," Angel told him. "They should be back soon, though. I hope."
"You hope? Angel, you shouldn't have-"
"Wes, they'll be fine. They'll be back before we know it and everything will work out." His attempt to sound hopeful didn't work too well in convincing Wesley. Instead of sticking around, Wes shook his head and left the office. He wasn't ecstatic about the fact that just Lorne and Fred were out there and now he'd be worrying about them. Like there weren't enough things to worry about already.
Faith woke up and her whole body was sore. At first, she forgot fully about what had happened and she was surprised when she felt that there weren't ropes tied around her. And then it started to come back to her. The guy cutting the ropes. Her fight with Spike. Taking Willow. Connor/Illyria. Then she just dropped to the ground and that was all she remembered.
She moved her head back and forth slowly, looking at her new surroundings. A different office. She was lying on the floor. What was going on?
It took some effort to get herself situated where she was sitting up, leaning back on her hands, looking around the office again. It was just a normal, standard office. Why was she brought in here? Where was everyone else? At that moment, Faith saw the guy who cut her ropes off on the floor sleeping, too. Or maybe knocked out more than sleeping, it looked like. Still, Faith pondered what was going on.
Looking right, she saw them. Buffy and Willow were standing outside the office. They weren't looking in through the window Faith saw them out of, but they were standing in front of it, talking.
Faith stood up. Instinctively, she made her way to the door. With her hand on the handle, she tried to open it…but it wouldn't budge. She tried again, pulling harder, tapping in to some of her Slayer strength. Nothing was opening the door. Was it stuck?
"Hey!" she yelled, slamming her hand on the glass. Buffy and Willow turned, seeing her awake for the first time. "The door won't open," Faith said. "What's going on?"
Buffy and Willow looked at each other nervously.
"Faith, we, we had to lock you in," Willow spoke nervously. Her voice came out muffled but still audible on the other side of the glass.
"So then unlock it," Faith said easily.
"Magically lock you in, Faith," Buffy spoke up. "You're not getting out of there."
Wesley walked by the office just in time to hear Buffy practically yell to Faith: "You're not getting out of there." He stopped behind them and looked at Faith inside the office, trapped, helpless. He felt kind of bad. It wasn't her fault that Illyria had control over her, really. If it was anyone's fault, it was his own. He was the reason that Illyria stabbed her in the Hyperion in the first place.
Wow, Wesley thought, thinking back. That seemed to happen so long ago.
"B, are you kidding?" Faith asked incredulously. "Let me out of here." She looked up and saw Wes.
"I'm sorry, Faith," Wes spoke, stepping forward. "It's true. It's too much of a risk to have you out here where Illyria could get you to hurt anyone."
Faith slammed her fists against the glass. It wasn't going to break. She looked extremely angry. The next thing they knew she was slamming her whole body against the doors and yelling to be let out.
When she was done, she looked at them again.
"Look, I don't want to be locked in here," Faith argued what was going on. "You can't do this, guys. Just let me out."
"You'll be okay, Faith," Buffy told her. She looked at Willow and Wesley. "We should get going. Get some sleep or something, Faith."
With that, Buffy started walking away. Hesitantly, Willow followed. Wesley stayed behind for a few more seconds, looking over at Faith. She looked so helpless. Wes felt bad, like he should do something. But what could he do? As much as he didn't like the idea of Faith having to be trapped in there probably reminding her of her time in prison, they couldn't let her out. All he could do was walk away.
"You'll be let out soon, Faith. I promise."
So that's what he did, walked away after speaking, ignoring Faith behind him, calling out to be let out. It truly pained him, leaving Faith behind. He had no choice, though, or so he looked at it.
He caught up with Buffy and Willow.
"Sorry you had to see that, Wes," Willow said. "It didn't go that bad, though. She could've reacted a lot worse."
"Deep inside, even if she doesn't realize it, she probably knows this is the only way to keep everyone else safe," Wes said. "After a while she'll calm down."
Willow smiled lightly.
''Hey, so you're back," Buffy finally truly realized. "That means the sarcophagus is here?"
"Yes," Wes confirmed. "We should be releasing Illyria and doing the spell soon, once Fred and Lorne get back."
"Where'd they go?" Willow asked, almost seemingly worried.
"Just out to get some supplies—food and other—apparently. I really hope they'll get back soon. I worry about both of them."
"You really love her, don't you?" Buffy asked.
The question seemed to come out of nowhere, so Wes was shocked. "Oh, I-I, well, um, yes. I love her a lot. More than anything. She's…amazing. Astounding. I really wish she were back."
"She'll be fine," Will said to him. "I know Fred can take care of herself."
"I know that too, but I still worry."
They all stood and remained silent for a few moments, unsure of what else to say.
Gunn found Anne still inside his office. She was sitting at the table, not really doing anything but looking out into space. Her long blond hair was facing him, her face turned away.
"Hey," he greeted quietly.
She turned around and gave him a short smile. "Hey, you're back. How'd it go?" Anne wasn't sure how she wanted him to answer. If the sarcophagus was back, then they would need to know what her decision was.
"We got it. Thankfully everythin' went down pretty easily. What about you? Have you thought anymore about…you know?"
"Are you kidding?" Anne chuckled. "It's all I've been thinking about."
"And?"
"I have to do it, Gunn. I don't see another way out of this." The words coming out of her mouth seemed almost revolutionary. She wasn't even positive that was what she was going to say, but when she spoke the words came out and they seemed…right. She was still scared about the possibilities and risks, but she told them she would do it, so she had to try. There was nothing else she could do. There was no other option for her.
"We should probably tell Angel," Gunn said quietly. How did he feel about this? He didn't want her to do it. But then, if it was something she had to do, he wasn't going to stand in her way.
"Yeah," Anne agreed.
Fred and Lorne were bringing Gwen back to Wolfram & Hart after giving her some food and water, giving her more energy. They also collected some to bring back to the offices, but not as much as they had hoped they'd get.
In the offices, they didn't waste any time. They brought her up to Angel's office.
They opened the doors, causing Angel, Spike, Lilah, and even Connor/Illyria to turn their heads that way. Angel stood up immediately.
"Gwen?" he seemed unsure.
"Nice to see me, huh?" she responded.
"What's going on?" Angel asked, confused. Why was Gwen here?
"Apparently she has quite the story to tell us," Lorne answered, informing Angel.