"Happy Anniversary"

Based on the Buffy the Vampire Slayer Episode "Blood Ties" Written by Steven S. DeKnight and the Angel Episode "Happy Anniversary" Written by Joss Whedon and David Greenwalt

The following story is copyright © 2024 by Mark Moore.


Buffy, Tara, Amy, and Giles were sitting at the table in the Magic Box. Giles was looking through books and papers.

Buffy sighed. "Look, I know Mom wants to gather and make with the merry tomorrow night, but, with everything that's going on-"

Harmony walked up behind Buffy. "This is exactly what you need." She sat next to Buffy. "A twentieth birthday party with - with - with presents and funny hats and - and those candles that don't blow out..." She leaned over to Tara. "Those used to scare me."

Tara smiled. "Me, too."

Buffy looked at Harmony. "I just don't think this is the best time to break out the party piñata. We need to stay focused, if we're gonna find a way to stop Glory."

Amy frowned. "We're going up against a god. An actual fucking god."

Harmony smiled. "Well, you know what they say: the bigger they are-"

"The faster they stomp you into nothing." Amy dropped a book on the table for emphasis.

Everyone looked at her.

Buffy sighed. "She's right. I've thrown everything I've got at her, and she just shrugs it off."

Harmony tried to be optimistic. "Then we have to find something heavier to throw."

Giles looked at her. "That might pose some difficulty. From what the Council's been able to discover from the Book of Tarnis and - and - and other sources, Glory and two of her fellow hellgods ruled over...one of the more seriously unpleasant demon dimensions."

"There's more than one?" Tara asked him.

"Oh, there are thousands of demon dimensions. All different. All pushing on the edges of our reality, trying to find a way in."

Buffy frowned. "I guess Glory found one. The question is...why?"

"There's nothing to indicate that here. Just...vague references to...chaos and destruction."

His tea kettle whistled. Giles got up to get it.

"Okay, so we know where Glory's from. What do we know about her? You know, she's tough, yeah, but - but no bolts of lightning, no blasts of fire; shouldn't a god be able to do that kind of shit?" Buffy asked.

Giles poured tea. "Uh, usually, yes, but, um, being in human form must be severely limiting her powers. All we have to worry about right now is she's immortal, invulnerable, and insane."

"A crazy hellgod?" Amy asked.

"From what I've been able to gather, her living in this world is...seriously affecting her mental state as well. She's only being able to keep her mind intact by, uh, extracting energy from us. Well, from - from the human brain."

"She-She-She's a brain-sucker?" Tara asked.

Buffy and Tara exchanged a look.

"She, um..." Giles leaned over to read from a book. "...'absorbs the energies that bind the human mind into a cohesive whole.' Once drained, all that's left behind is, uh-"

"Crazy people." Buffy frowned.

Giles poured more tea. "Which is, I'm afraid, why there's been a marked increase in the ranks of the mentally unstable here in Sunnydale."

Tara frowned. "At least, vampires just kill you."

Buffy got up. "We have to find a way to stop her."

Amy looked at her. "Oh, well, Tara and I can work on some tactical spells."

Giles handed Buffy a cup of tea.

Harmony smiled. "I can do some research about demon dimensions."

"This is great long-term-plan stuff, but what about this...key thingy Glory's looking for? I mean...shouldn't we be trying to find it before she does?" Tara asked.

Buffy sipped her tea. "We haven't found any mention of a key. Honestly, I have no idea what the fuck she's talking about."


Outside the Magic Box, Tara and Amy were drawing symbols on the ground with colored sand.

Dawn walked up. "You guys doin' a spell?"

Amy smiled. "Dawn, hey. Yeah, we're doing an early-warning incantation. If anything hellgoddishly powerful comes within a hundred feet of the shop, then screechy siren things will, you know, screech."

Tara smiled. "This should give us a heads-up."

Amy nodded. "We already put one up around your house."

"Cool, can I help?" Dawn asked.

Amy and Tara exchanged a look.

Amy looked at Dawn. "Well, I don't think Buffy would like the, uh, magical arts bumpin' auras with the littlest Summers."

Dawn nodded resignedly. "Yeah, whatever." She walked away.

Amy threw a last handful of dust down; the symbols all flashed brightly and disappeared.

Dawn opened the door and walked into the shop.

Harmony was sitting at the table, reading.

"Hey. We on the case?" Dawn asked.

Harmony nodded. "Yeah. Right on top, perched, ready for action."

Buffy and Giles walked in from the back room. Buffy held a bottle of water.

Giles was writing in a small book. "I'm not sure our regular workout is...challenging you anymore. Perhaps we should make it harder."

"You always think harder is better. Maybe, next time I patrol, I should carry a load of bricks, use a stake made of butter."

"Very amusing."

They walked over to the counter, where Dawn was standing, with a notebook laying open on the counter.

Giles put his book down on the counter also. "I'm sure Dawn feels that way about her schoolwork sometimes."

"That true? How was school today?" Buffy asked her.

"Um, the usual. Big square building filled with boredom and despair."

"Just how I remember it."

Giles closed his book, then slid it off the counter and out of sight.

"So...what's the homework sitch?" Buffy asked Dawn.

"We have to imagine what we'll be like ten years from now and write a letter to our future self. The teacher's clearly so out of ideas. Wanna help?"

"Maybe later. I have some stuff I have to do first."

"Is it about that weird girl that came to the house?"

"Glory. And, no, it's not."

"Like you'd tell me, anyway. Dawn's too young, and Dawn's too delicate."

Buffy smirked. "Right. A young, delicate pain in my ass."

"I just think you're freakin' out, 'cause you have to fight someone prettier than you. That is the case, right?"

Buffy walked closer to her. "Glory is evil. And powerful. And in no way prettier than me."

"I just think you're getting soft in your advanced age. She didn't look that tough to me." Dawn smirked.


In Huntsville, Alabama, Violet was sitting at her desk in her bedroom, playing GemStone on her computer. There was a knock on her door.

"Yeah?" Violet didn't look away from the screen.

The door opened, and her mother walked into the room.

"Hey, Vi."

"Hey."

"Dinner's ready."

"'Kay."

"Mike called. He wants you to come in for training tonight."

"No."

"I already told him you'd be there."

Vi spun around in her chair. "Why'd you do that?"

"Sweetie, it's important that you develop your skills."

Vi gestured at her computer. "I'm developing my skills right here."

Felicia went and sat on her daughter's bed. "I don't mind you gaming, but it won't help you survive."

"That's what my violin playing is for."

"What if you're called as the next Slayer?"

"I'd rather not be."

"It sounds like you don't have a choice in the matter."

"Of course, I have a choice. I simply wouldn't do it. 'If elected, I will not serve.'"

"They won't like that."

Vi shrugged. "I won't tell them."

Felicia stared at her for a moment, then stood up. "I'll call and tell him that you're sick."

"Thanks."

"No problem. Now, come to dinner."


In Los Angeles, in Cordy's at the Hyperion Hotel, at night, Cordelia was mingling about the crowd, and Gunn and Wesley were sitting at a table.

The door opened, and Virginia walked in, carrying a gift basket and a bottle of Champagne.

"Hey! Wow. This place is great. I brought Champagne. You guys must be so excited..." She took in their looks. "...in that really dry, suicidal way."

Wesley got up and greeted her with a quick kiss on the lips. "Sorry, sweetheart. You just caught us in a moment of...well..."

Cordelia took the bottle of Champagne from Virginia. "Reality."

"Oh...that. I avoid that."

"How do you avoid reality?" Gunn asked her.

"Money. It cures everything but boredom." Virginia held up the basket. "And food cures boredom, so there you go. Imported chips and packets of cheese."

Gunn smiled. "Thanks."

Cordelia popped the cork and took a sip from the bottle.

Virginia smiled. "Oh! I found a case for you. A client. A rich one."

"Really?" Wesley asked.

"And this isn't the first thing you say when you come in the room?" Cordelia asked her.

"Well, I got distracted by your waves of desperation. But it's true. My friend Patricia, her family, they've got, like, this big guy that's been harassing them, hanging around the house, getting scary, and they'd be really grateful if someone got rid of him."

Gunn shrugged. "That sounds easy."

"Uh, wait. By 'big guy', do you mean demon?" Cordelia asked Virginia.

"Yeah. And by 'house', I mean palatial estate, and, by 'grateful', I mean they'll give you big tubs of cash. Really rich family. They invented, um, I don't know, like...chairs or something."

Cordelia grinned. "We'll do it! We'll do anything."

"Oh, that's so sad. Anyway, he's a Wainakay demon, and he got the eldest son already."

"So there's been a death?" Cordelia asked.

Virginia nodded.

"You just let these facts kind of dribble out, don't you?" Cordelia asked.

"I'll call Patty and tell her you'll take the job."

Cordelia nodded and looked toward the stage as a nerdy guy with glasses made his way to the karaoke machine.


Cordelia ran into the lobby. "Angel! Get your ass down here!"

Soon, Angel came down the stairs and stopped on the landing, crossing his arms. "What?"

"What's today? Thursday? Tomorrow night...the world's going to end. I thought you might want to know."

"So the world's gonna end." Angel sat down in a chair with his arms crossed.

"Yeah. I was just at the club. So this guy I've never seen before...gets up to sing. Usually, I love it. You know, they sing, I read their futures, their auras, I see into their souls-"

"So this guy..."

"Nerdy as can be. Curly brown hair and glasses. The thing that was remarkable about him was there was absolutely nothing remarkable about him. He gets up and goes up to the mic. Just your average Joe about to mangle a tune and bore me with some bland vision of his bland future. But then he sings 'All By Myself' - not outstanding but not bad either. Man, he knocked me out!"

"He was good?" Angel asked.

Cordelia frowned. "No, dumbass, he knocked me out. When I came to, he was gone."

"He didn't wait to hear what you saw on him?"

"Nope."

"So what knocked you out?"

"I looked into this guy, and I saw...he has no future after ten o'clock tomorrow night - and neither does anybody else."

Angel got up from his chair, arms still crossed. "Let's say I do believe you."

"Oh, honey, let's say a lot more than that. We've got to find this guy. This guy is gonna do something between now and tomorrow night. I don't know what, but it's gonna cancel everybody's summer plans. We got to find him and stop him."

"Why'd you come to me?"

Cordelia looked at him sadly. "Isn't it obvious? You're a champion. A unique force for good in a troubled world." She paused. "Also, Faith's putting in crazy hours at that dive that she works at. Why? You don't want to work with me?" She paused. "Is this because I sent you on a couple of missions that turned out to be a little-"

"Pointless and deadly?"

"As for example. But I sent you on those missions in good faith. And we interrupt this broadcast to inform you: world ending? Kind of an emergency situation here. You might want to get on board."

"So why did this guy leave the club before you had a chance to tell him what you saw?"

"People get scared. They come in for a reading, then they don't wanna know. Especially when the psychic faints and - ugh! - a teeny bit of vomit. Let's...Let's not dwell."

"Maybe he's just a guy who likes to sing karaoke. Maybe he doesn't know anything about you."

"That'd make more sense." Cordelia paused. "So what we should do is to start with the other local karaoke bars, see if we can get a lead on him."

"You're serious."

"I just accepted a lucrative job for your detective agency, and Gunn and Wes are seeing to it. Now, get your ass up and at 'em!" Cordelia demanded.


Cordelia and Angel entered a dingy bar. One of the customers was slumped asleep at a table, hand wrapped around a bottle.

Angel looked around. "Nice."

Cordelia looked around. "Hmm, it's not that bad. Nothing a couple bottles of Lysol can't cure."

They walked over to the bar.

"Is he here?" Angel asked her.

"Nope."

Angel dropped down on a bar stool and rubbed his forehead. "Seventeen karaoke bars. You know, I need to lie down and scrub out the inside of my head."

"Well, maybe we're wrong. Sniffing a cold trail."

"You worked here long?" Angel asked the bartender.

"Eleven years now. It used to be a regular bar. But then they put in one of these karaoke machines. Thought it would bring in the customers. It drove most of them away. We got a few steadies that make up for it."

"Steadies?"

"A lot of students. They're grad students."

Cordelia looked at Angel. "Fits the description."

"We're looking for a guy, early twenties, medium build, maybe one of your steadies, sings sad songs like 'All By Myself'."

"Sounds like the kid."

"Name?"

"I don't know his name, but he comes in every few weeks. Runs with the whole broken-heart songbook. First time, I thought somebody died. But after a couple of weeks, I figured he was just one of those manic-depressants."

"This grad student, which university would that be?" Cordelia asked him.

"Caltech."


The next day, Cordelia and Angel entered the Sherman Fairchild Library of Engineering and Applied Science through a door with a "Basement Access" sign on it.

"Where did you learn how to drive?" Angel asked.

"Stick? I haven't driven your car much. Not bad for a beginner, huh?" Cordelia asked.

"What? You nearly got us killed - four times."

"Someone had to drive. You weren't exactly qualified, huddled under a blanket in back, hiding from the sun."

They walked up to the information desk.

"Excuse me. We're looking for student yearbook and faculty publications going back the past five years."

"Certainly. Just a moment." The guy behind the desk walked away, came back, and handed Angel a stack of books.

"Thank you." Angel handed half of the stack to Cordelia. "Let's see if we can't find your little madman bent on destroying the universe."

"I like to think of him as our little madman." Cordelia followed Angel over to a table.


Katrina walked across campus, awkwardly carrying a large plastic case.

Two young women - one with long red hair held up and the other with short black hair and glasses - were sitting outside on a bench. Katrina recognized them as Denise Stanchfield, a Drama grad student, and Val Kellener, a Physics grad student.

"You all right, girl?" Val asked Denise.

"Huh?" Denise looked at her. "Yeah. Fine. I'm good. You know, I'm...not...perfect. Oh, God."

"Come on, spit it out. You're among friends."

"This has to stay among friends. You can't repeat this to anybody."

"I won't."

"I just...I just don't think that it's gonna work out with me and Gene."

"Oh. And tonight is you guys' one-year anniversary!"

"You think I don't know that?"

"Oh, honey."

"I mean...Gene's a wonderful guy."

"Yeah?"

"But he's just sort of...hollow...or something. When I'm with him. I feel...I feel lonely."

"Maybe that's because he is. You know I love him, but he is an energy sucker."

"I have to break up with him."

"Uh...not to be a massive bitch or anything, but couldn't you figure that out before the big anniversary do?" Val asked her.

"He's got the whole thing planned. He's making me dinner at his place."

"What are you gonna do?"

Denise just looked down.

"Oh, my God. You're gonna give him the sympathy bone, aren't you? It's gonna be dinner; sympathy bone; and adios, Gene. I'm totally right, aren't I?" Val asked.

"Well, we've been together for a year. I can't just...walk out on him! It just wouldn't be right. Not after all we've-"

"No, you're right. The post-sympathy-bone-walk-out is your only escape hatch now."

"It was really sweet there for a while. Really sweet. But it's just...it's just not the kind of love that lasts."


Cordelia and Angel were looking through the yearbooks at a table at the library.

"This him?" Angel asked.

Cordelia looked over at the photo. "It is not."

Angel dropped his book and picked up another one.

"Oh, got him." Cordelia started reading. "He's a physicist - and a pretty good one, according to this."

Angel grabbed the book from her. "Let's find out where the lab is."

Cordelia and Angel stood up and walked over to the information desk.

Angel showed the picture in the book to the guy behind the information desk. "Hi. I'm just trying to get a hold of...Gene Rainy? He's a grad student in physics."

"Oh, yeah. He's our own Stephen Hawking. Uh, what do you want with him?"

Angel closed the book and shook the guy's hand. "I'm sorry. Leonard Taubman from the Taubman Foundation. We just freed up some new grant money. I was hoping to earmark it for Gene."

"Wish I was a genius. He's got his own lab in the Physics department."

Angel dropped onto the desk as a raccoon-eyed demon buried a strangely-shaped ax in his back, then turned to Cordelia. Cordelia dodged his swing. The demon tried to free his ax from the back of a computer monitor. Cordelia stood and watched as it and Angel fought. Angel ducked another hit with the ax, then kicked the demon over the railing of the stairs. The demon picked up a chair, said something to Angel in a demonic language, then threw the chair at him. Angel batted the chair aside and watched the demon run off.

Cordelia looked at Angel. "We might need some help on this one."

Angel looked at her. "But Gunn and Wesley are on a case."

Cordelia smiled.


Cordelia and Angel walked into a classroom, where an engineering seminar was being held. They saw Katrina standing at the front of the room, giving a presentation while using a remote control and three custom-built monorail trains to demonstrate on a set.

"And so, as you can see, magnetic levitation eliminates rolling resistance, making these trains more efficient compared to-" Katrina stopped talking when she noticed Cordelia and Angel. "Uh, when compared to conventional trains with wheels. Thank you."

The professor and the small group of students applauded. Katrina started packing up her models. Cordelia and Angel walked over to her.

Katrina smiled. "Hi, guys."

Cordelia smiled. "Hi, Trina. Listen-"

"Oh, man, you are so awesome!" A young man with short black hair walked up to her. "Those trains, how long did it take you to build them?"

"Uh, including trial and error, about a month. I'm sorry, who are you?" Katrina asked.

"Warren Mears. We went to Sunnydale High together."

Katrina stared at him for a moment. "Doesn't ring a bell."

"Public school about two hours northwest of here? Went boom during graduation? Coastal town?"

Katrina rolled her eyes. "I mean your name, dumbass."

"Uh, Katrina, we could really use your help."

Katrina looked at Angel. "I'm not gonna end up covered in demon guts again, am I?"

Angel paused. "I don't think so."

Katrina snapped her case closed. "Okay." She picked it up and started following Cordelia and Angel.

Warren tagged along. "Anyway, I'd like to take a look at your design schematics, if-"

Katrina turned and looked at him. "Wait. Now, I remember you. You're the wigger that made that lame-ass music video for the school's morning show. You and your two dorky friends."

Warren gave her a hopeful smile. "That's me."

Katrina groaned dramatically, turned, and walked away.


Cordelia, Katrina, and Angel entered Gene's lab, where a guy was examining something.

"Hey, we're looking for Gene Rainy?" Angel stated as a question.

"So am I. Somebody took his equipment."

"What equipment?" Angel asked.

"Particle accelerators, propulsion batteries..."

"Do you know what Gene Rainy was working on?"

"Uh...time paradox. Accelerate specific particles out of our continuum, into their own excised universe."

"Come again?" Angel asked.

Katrina looked at him. "Stopping time."

"Which is impossible, by the way. No one can do the math. Does anybody listen to me?" the guy asked. "No. He gets the grants; I get carpet mold."

"All right. Let's say he could do it. Let's say he could stop time. How would it work?" Angel asked him.

"Well, you know, according to his speculations, you focus the accelerators on a specific point, and, if you can generate the correct velocity, whatever is in that field would just be removed."

"Removed."

"From our reality."

"What happens to it?" Cordelia asked the guy.

"Nothing. In the absolute sense of that word. Whatever is in the field would stand still forever in its own private universe."

Katrina frowned. "Say someone was to crank this into overdrive."

"If the field was improperly contained, it would spill out. Keep growing. Stop everything."

Cordelia, Katrina, and Angel looked at each other.

"Kind of wiggy, huh?" the guy asked.

"Who has the keys to this place?" Angel asked him.

"Only Gene. Even the maintenance guys can only come in when he's here."

Katrina bit her lip. "No forced entry."

"Why would Gene take his own equipment?" the guy asked.

"The question is...where would Gene take his own equipment?" Angel asked.


In Sherman Oaks, Chloe got off the school bus and walked up the walkway of her house. She opened the front door and walked into the house.

The living room was empty.

"Mom? Dad?" Chloe called.

"In the kitchen!" Maria called.

Chloe dropped her bookbag on the couch, went through the dining room, and entered the kitchen.

Her mother Maria, her father Crisanto, and a mysterious man were sitting at the kitchen table, which was set for four, and each plate was full.

"Who's this?" Chloe asked.

Crisanto nodded at her chair. "Have a seat."

Wary, Chloe went and sat at the table, between her parents and across from the mystery man.

"How was school?" Maria asked.

"Fine." Chloe eyed the man, then picked up her spoon and scooped up some mashed potatoes and gravy.

"Any homework?" Maria asked.

"Some Algebra and some English." Chloe stuck the spoon in her mouth.

Crisanto nodded at the man. "This is William Smith. He's here to see you."

Chloe looked at him. "About what?"

William looked her in the eyes. "Chloe, you are a special young woman. You are a member of a...quite exclusive group of young women worldwide."

"Oh?" Chloe asked. "What kind of group?"

"What I am about to tell you cannot leave this room. Vampires are real. Opposing them is the Slayer. Into each generation, a Slayer is born, one girl in all the world, a Chosen One, one born with the strength and skill to hunt the vampires, to stop the spread of their evil."

Chloe stared at him in disbelief. "Uh-huh, yeah, okay." She looked at her mother. "Do you believe this guy?"

"Actually, yeah. He showed us a video tape of a vampire being burned to ash by being exposed to direct sunlight."

"That could've been from any horror movie."

"I assure you that it is real, young lady."

Chloe looked at William. "And you're saying I'm one of these...Slayers?"

"No, not yet. Not until the current active Slayer dies, and, even then, it might not happen."

"So...what are you to the Slayer?" Chloe asked him.

"I'm part of an organization that watches girls such as yourself."

Chloe frowned. "Creepy."

"My apologies. I didn't mean to be."

Chloe stuck a piece of roast pork in her mouth. "And you think I've got the potential to be a Slayer?"

"Of that, I am certain."


That evening, in the Summers' living room, Joyce and Dawn sat on one couch, Buffy and Tara on the other, on either side of the coffee table laden with a huge pile of brightly-wrapped gifts. Amy, Giles, Jenny, Harmony, and Sandy stood around. Tara held a gift.

"Prezzies!" Buffy exclaimed, grinning.

Harmony smiled. "See? Just what you needed."

"You are very, very wise. Now, gimme, gimme, gimme!" Buffy demanded.

Tara handed Buffy her gift. Buffy began ripping off the paper. She opened the box.

Buffy pulled out a denim shirt and a pair of blue jeans. "Oh...they're beautiful. Thank you, babe."

Tara smiled. "Well, I thought you'd get lots of crossbows, other killy stuff, so I figured: less killy, more frilly."

Dawn got up. "Here. Open mine." She picked up a gift and gave it to Buffy.

"It's not gonna explode, is it?" Buffy asked.

She opened it and removed a photo of herself and Dawn in a frame covered with seashells.

"It's when you visited us last summer. Um, I put the shells on it myself. We picked them off the beach."

Buffy smiled. "I remember."

Joyce smiled.

"Thank you." Buffy got up and hugged Dawn, then kissed her on the forehead.


Cordelia was driving down the street in Angel's convertible. Angel sat in the passenger seat. Katrina sat in the back seat.

"So there is another gear after that number two thingy?" Cordelia asked.

Angel gave her a look.

"Oh, relax. I'll pay for a tune-up. Unless the world ends; then I'm off the hook."

"Well, if it saves you some money, then I guess it's a good thing."

"Oh, this whole sour-pussy mode of yours, it's starting to grate. You know what your problem is?" Cordelia waited. "Are you listening?"

"Do I have a choice?"

"Your heart isn't in it anymore. If the world was to end tonight, would it really, in your heart of hearts, be such a terrible thing?" Cordelia asked.

Angel didn't answer.

"Now - Now, sweetie, is that a fun place to be?" Cordelia asked.

"I think you should shut up now."

Katrina opened her mouth in shock but didn't say anything.

Cordelia frowned. "Have you met me? I never shut up. You pulled away from your friends. You went from helping the helpless to moping in your room. You're a fucking champion, Angel. I mean...you were, at least."

"What do you want me to tell you?"

"Everything. What's in your heart, so I can help you get back on your path. No need to rush; we got time." Cordelia paused. "You know...not a lot."

"You want to know what my problem is? I'm fucked. That's my problem. I can't win. I'm trying to atone for a hundred years of unthinkable evil. News flash! I never can! Never going to be enough. Now, I got Wolfram & Hart dogging me; it's too much! Two-hundred highly-intelligent law-school graduates working full-time, driving me crazy. Why the hell is everyone so surprised that it's working? But no, it's 'Angel, why're you so cranky?' 'Angel, you should lighten up. You should smile. You should wear a nice plaid.'"

"Oh. Not this season, honey."

"Redemption. Darla had a shot at redemption. Or so I thought. She didn't live long enough for that."

Cordelia sighed. "Look, I understand you...loved Darla, and you're upset by this...cruel fucking twist of fate that Wolfram & Hart set in motion, but...you're kind of leaving us in the cold."

"It's a lot colder in here."

"It's not always gonna be this way." Cordelia paused. "Unless, of course, we don't get there on time, in which case...you'll be frozen in this shitty mood forever. I shudder to think."

Angel looked over at her. "We'll get there."

Cordelia looked at him.

"Look out!" Katrina yelled.

Cordelia looked to see a figure standing in the middle of the road. The car hit it and sent it flying over the car as Cordelia hit the brakes, bringing the car to a stop. Cordelia, Angel, and Katrina got out to check on who they'd just hit, but, when Angel turned the body over, it turned out to have been a raccoon-eyed demon. Angel, Cordelia, and Katrina straightened up to see more demons converge on them from all sides, carrying more of their strangely-shaped axes.


Gunn pulled his ax out of the back of a horned demon laying on the floor in Patty's house.

Patty's dad patted him on the back. "Good job, man. We're very grateful."

Wesley examined one of the demon's legs. "Oh, yes. We found the killer..." He let the leg drop. "...just not the murderer." He got up.

The whole family was sitting on a couch and chairs.

"What's he talking about?" the aunt asked Wesley.

"This demon was a puppet. Acting under the control of someone else. Someone in this room. What do we know? We know that, when we arrived yesterday, there was a noticeable scent of foxglove and hellebore. Not to keep this demon out, as one might suspect, but rather to keep him in, so he could carry out the murderer's clever plan." Wesley turned to look at the father. "Such a plan would require the skills of a master wizard."

"I don't do that stuff anymore."

"Then we have the footprints in the soft soil under the window outside the solarium - far too small and not-webbed to belong to this demon."

The aunt looked at him. "But Kevin told you: those were his."

The dad nodded. "He snuck in late last night."

"Loudly, so we all could hear. Supposedly from seeing that shop girl in town. But we all know that Kevin is impotent, so why put on the show?" Wesley asked.

Everyone turned to look at Kevin.

"Perhaps to cover for the real killer - unless Kevin, in fact, is the real killer. With Derek gone, the family inheritance falls to you, the younger brother and black sheep of the family. Unfortunately, you had neither the opportunity nor the intelligence to perpetrate this crime. Sorry about the impotent remark. So, if Kevin was to have control of the money, who would have control of Kevin? His sister? His mother? Both powerful forces in his life, both with their own agendas. But only one person knew the secret that would allow them to blackmail Kevin for the rest of his life. Only one person took pains to hide their muddy shoes. Only one person reeked of foxglove and hellebore. Only one person was responsible for the death of Derek Bointon - his own sweet, doting Aunt Helen!"

All of the Bointons gasped.

"Helen!" the dad yelled.

Aunt Helen jumped up from her chair and ran for the door only to have Gunn block her way.

"Not so fast, sister." Gunn looked at Wesley. "That was cool."

"It wasn't that difficult. You just...have to keep sifting the evidence until the truth finally hits you."


Angel fought the demons fast and furious while Cordelia and Katrina stood on the sidelines, watching. Two of the demons decided to go for them. Cordelia kicked one between the legs, and Katrina hit the other across the chin, dropping them both.

Angel knocked down another demon.

Cordelia hopped in the passenger seat. "Hurry!"

Katrina hopped in the back seat. Angel ran over to his car, jumped into the driver's seat, started the engine, and sped down the road.


Angel's car pulled up in front of Gene's building, and he, Cordelia, and Katrina got out.

"Okay. If I had a machine to stop time, where would I put it?" Angel asked.

"Probably where the demons can guard it." Katrina pointed at a demon.

Angel rushed at the demon and shoved it toward the basement window. It crashed down through the window, followed by Angel, Cordelia, and Katrina. Cordelia and Angel fought the two demons. Cordelia knocked one of them down, then smashed its head in the open door of a dryer sitting there, knocking it out. The other demon hit Angel from behind, then hit him hard enough to send Angel flying to the top of the basement stairs. The demon charged up the stairs after him. Angel rolled onto his back and used his feet to catapult the demon into the wall, then jumped down to the basement floor. The demon launched himself into the air to stop Angel before he could reach the machinery, but the time bubble spreading down through the ceiling froze it in mid air. Ducking low, Katrina scrambled over to the machine and pulled out some wires. The bubble shrunk, and the demon landed on the hard ground instead of on Angel. Angel picked up its dropped ax and buried it in its back. Cordelia, Katrina, and Angel, breathing hard, looked around the basement.


Gene, fully dressed, was sitting at his table with Angel, Cordelia, and Katrina.

"I can't believe this. Listen, I am...really, really sorry. I had no idea I was putting the whole world in jeopardy, or - or there were all these demons. Although, the idea of aliens among us is consistent with Murdoch's multiverse. I just - I just didn't want her to leave."

Cordelia sighed. "Gene, the wheel keeps turning. You can't stop it. Sometimes, things get worse; sometimes, they get better."

"I want the wheel to stop...which probably explains the whole time-in-a-box disaster. I can't emphasize enough how sorry I am about that." Gene paused. "You guys like beer?"

Angel smiled. "Beer sounds great."

Gene got up. "I'm glad you guys, uh..." He left the room.

Cordelia looked at Angel. "You're connecting to a human. That's a start."

"Well, the guy is a disaster at love and nearly destroyed the world. I can relate." Angel paused. "Yeah, I guess I did kind of leave you in the cold."

Cordelia put her hand on Angel's hand.

Katrina was confused. "So...are you guys back together again or what? Because you bicker like an old married couple."

Cordelia and Angel laughed in amusement.