RATING: PG
DISCLAIMER: I don't own 'em. I do own Grace.
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"You were doing this?" Lindsey asked, leaning over Holland's desk. "You had Darla do this to me? What's wrong with you?"
Holland smiled. "Lindsey, calm down. You know we were just doing it for your own good."
Lindsey spun away from the desk and threw his arms up in the air. "Great Holland! That's just great. You have Darla get into my head for my own good. Great line!"
"We knew you'd go after Angel. Possibly kill him."
"If I had killed anyone, it would have been Grace!" Lindsey yelled.
Holland leaned back in his chair. "That's almost as good."
Lindsey just shook his head. "We don't want her dead. That was so dangerous. It's Angel we want, not Grace. She's just been caught in the cross fire."
Holland frowned. "You're not developing a soft spot for the demon girl now, are you?"
Lindsey glared at him for a long moment, then turned away. "I could have gotten myself killed. It was just so stupid Holland!"
He just smiled. "Lindsey, try not to think of the things you could have done and think of the things you did do."
"Okay," Lindsey replied, "let's see. I did make a fool out of myself. I did nearly get myself killed and I did make sure Angel now thinks Wolfram and Hart is a bunch of psychos." He looked at Holland. "The impression I left with them is not one of terror at all. I'm sorry sir, but that was the dumbest plan I've ever been involved with." He then turned and walked toward the door.
"Lindsey." Holland called after him. "Don't worry, Darla will make it up to you. We all will."
Lindsey glanced back. "Don't bother." Then he left the office and shut the door behind him. Once he was out in the hall, Lindsey took a few steps until he was around the corner, then collapsed against a wall.
"I just told off Holland." He murmured, his eyes wide. "I can't believe I just told of Holland . . . and I got away with it." It took a minute for Lindsey to realize what had happened, but when he did a broad smile made its way across his face.
"Your plan was a terrible one Holland," he grinned, "but I have something in mind that will make up for everything you did."
Angel laughed as Grace and Wesley glared at each other over the coffee table in Angel's apartment. "You guys are crazy. This is going way too far, I think we should stop."
Grace glanced up at him. "Going way too far in what way?"
He pointed to the game board on the table. "It's going way too far in that you and Wes are actually arguing his accusation."
"It was Miss. Scarlet in the kitchen with the revolver!" Wesley exclaimed. "I know it was."
Cordelia rolled as eyes as at him as Grace shook his head
"You're wrong Wesley." Grace held up her little playing figure of Miss. Scarlet. "She killed no one."
"Angel check the cards." Wesley demanded.
The vampire shook his head in exasperation, then reached for the secret cards and glanced at them. "Sorry Wes, but Grace is right. Miss. Scarlet killed no one."
Grace shot a cocky smile in Wesley's direction, while Cordelia waited.
"My turn." She said. "I accuse Mrs. White, in the kitchen with the revolver."
Angel nodded. "Cordelia's right."
Wesley groaned. "I was so close. I just wanted to convict that hussy."
"Miss. Scarlet is not a hussy." Grace exclaimed.
Wesley rolled his eyes and pointed to the game box that usually held Clue. "Look at her. Staring out at us with those lustful eyes. I'll bet she can't wait to get hand hands on Professor Plum." He said, referring to the character he was using to play the game."
"Right! Like Miss. Scarlet would ever touch Professor Plum." Grace told him. "She probably has some dark and sexy movie star waiting for her outside." She stuck her tongue out at him.
Angel took the playing pieces from their hands and put them away in the box with the game board. "I can't believe you two."
Cordelia laughed. "You're like children. It's great to watch."
Grace leaned back on the couch. "I think we're just so grateful to have time like this that we really get into it." Suddenly she sat upright. "I can't believe it!"
Angel looked at her in concern. "Can't believe what?"
"That's the first time in my entire life that I haven't won Clue!" Grace gaped at Cordelia across the table. "I can't believe you! You beat me at Clue. You're the new Clue queen."
Cordelia's eyes widened. "I don't want to be the queen of anything."
Angel raised an eyebrow at her. "What happened to the infamous Queen C?"
"Well, okay, so I'm still Queen C at heart, but that's not Queen Clue. That's Queen Cordelia." She nodded to punctuate her decision. "Grace, you can still be the queen of Clue, I don't want the title."
"But you won it." Grace said. "You're the new queen. Nothing you can say will change my mind."
Cordelia opened her mouth to respond, when her smile quickly melted into fear and she collapsed onto the couch holding her head.
"Cordelia?" Grace asked, getting up.
Wesley held up her hand. "She's having a vision. Just give her some room."
Cordelia grabbed her head in her heads, leaning forward and clenching her teeth. Over the course of the months she'd almost leaned to tolerate the pain of the visions, no longer yelling or screaming when they came on. After a moment she released her head and sat up. "I need aspirin and Angel, you're in big trouble."
As Wesley reached for the pain killers, he frowned. "Angel's in trouble how?"
"Spike and Drusilla are here." She said. "In Los Angeles."
"I know who Drusilla is, but I don't know Spike." Grace said. "Who's he?"
"Spike as in William the Bloody?" Wesley asked.
Angel nodded. "Yeah, that Spike." He looked at Grace. "I used to be great buddies with Spike. He, Dru and I were inseparable. He's just as brutal as Angelus was, he's killed two slayers in his time." He looked back at Cordelia. "What are they doing here?"
She shook her head. "I don't know. I just saw them wandering Los Angeles. They're alone, they haven't found each other yet. But I'm pretty sure they're looking for you and Darla."
Angel leaned forward. "Why would they be looking for us? Could you tell anything else from the vision?"
Cordelia shook her head. "Sorry, nothing else. Spike was wandering around the Wolfram and Hart building, I could feel that he thinks he's close to getting to Darla. But he doesn't know she's in the building, not yet at least. And Drusilla was just wandering around by the coast. I can't tell much other than that, but she was carrying something. It looked like a doll of some sort."
Angel closed his eyes and sighed. "A doll in a blue dress?"
"I think so. Why?"
"That's Miss Edith." Angel told them. "She was always Drusilla's favourite doll. And if that's the only thing Dru was carrying . . . then she must have left wherever she was in a hurry. If they're this eager to be in Los Angeles, something has to be going on."
Grace frowned. "Why are they here? Are you sure there's something happening? Couldn't they just be in Los Angeles for some other reason?"
Angel shook his head. "It's unlikely. When those two show up in town at the same time, there's something going on. This can't just be a coincidence."
"Do you want to go out and look for them?" Wesley asked.
"I don't think that would be a good idea Angel." Cordelia said quickly. "They were looking for you and Darla. Something's going to happen when the four of you get together, I know it."
He nodded. "You're probably right. For now, I think our safest bet would be to just wait it out. If either Spike or Drusilla show up here, with our without Darla, we know there's something dangerous about it."
"And what happens if they do show up?" Grace asked. "Do you disappear into the sewers until they're gone?"
Angel sighed. "Honestly, I don't know."
Drusilla hunched her shoulders against the driving rain that she was walking through and pulled her overcoat around her tighter. Her hair was dripping with water and falling into her eyes. She repeatedly pushed it away angrily, then wiped at the dark make-up she knew was running down her face.
Her arms were held tightly against her body, pushing Miss Edith into her stomach and squishing the tiny doll. Drusilla glanced down suddenly and her eyes grew wide.
"Oh," she squealed, lifting the doll up, "I'm so sorry Miss Edith, I didn't know I was hurting you." She paused for a moment, cocking her head, then a smile broke out on her face. "Silly girl, mummy still loves you as much as she ever did. I'd never abandon you." Her face grew dark. "Not like Angelus abandoned me and Spike." She grinned again. "But we'll make him pay, won't we Miss Edith?"
"Hey psycho, shut the hell up!" A man shouted at her as he walked by.
Drusilla whirled toward him and glared at him for a moment. She cocked her head, then took a few steps in his direction.
"Get away from me, you wacko." He said, sneering at her and taking a step away.
She advanced on him again, this time grabbing him around the throat and forcing him up against the brick wall behind him.
"What did you call me?" She hissed, letting her face change and baring her fangs at him.
"Uh, n-nothing." He stammered. "I swear, I was talking to someone else."
Drusilla shoved the doll into his face. "Miss Edith is a child and I don't want her to hear you say naughty things about her mummy. I think I should teach you a lesson."
The man struggled in her grasp. "Please, just please let me go. I never said a thing."
Suddenly Drusilla dropped away from the man, her face melting back to normal. He gasped for breath, then turned and sprinted away from her, holding his throat. She shook her head, then paused and listened for a moment longer.
"My Angel needs me." She whispered into the night, waiting again for the call that only she heard. "And Spike, he needs me too." She smiled slightly, her lips curling upward with a secret that only she knew. "They all need me. And I'll join them." A giggle escaped her lips. "And when I do, everything will be okay again. Everything in the world will be ours."
Lindsey sat upright in his bed, sweat dripping into his eyes and his heart pounding against his rib cage. He fumbled for the light and switched it on, then jumped up and looked around the room. It was empty, as he had expected it to be. Despite his better judgement, Lindsey reached for the baseball bat that lay on a chair near his bed, then stepped back and slowly lifted the bed sheets with the end of the bat. He crouched slowly, expecting Angel to jump out at him at any moment. The space under the bed was also empty.
Lindsey muttered curses under his breath as he tossed the bat against the wall. A grunt came from the apartment next to his and Lindsey turned toward the wall, prepared to ward off the stream of cursing that could be coming.
When they was no sound other than the grunt, Lindsey's shoulders sagged and he left his bedroom in favour of the large kitchen he had in his apartment. He'd always wondered why he'd bought an apartment that had such a large kitchen, he never did any cooking. Mostly Lindsey ate at the cafeteria in the Wolfram and Hart building or he ordered take out when he was at home. But now he knew. The kitchen was his refuge from his life. In that enormous room he felt like there really wasn't anything wrong with him.
Pulling out a chair at the white formica topped counter, Lindsey dropped his head onto his arms and squeezed his eyes shut. He tried his hardest to think of nothing at all, but the only thing that kept crossing his mind was his desire to bring Holland down. It was crazy, but things had started to make sense in his head, things that never looked clear before. And everything Holland and Darla had done was the cause behind his sudden burst of clarity.
After dreaming about his family like he had and going after Grace and Angel, everything had begun to make sense. It wasn't the vampire's fault or the demon's fault that his family was gone. The only person he could blame for their horrible murder was Holland. His boss. Even though that made sense, there were still a few things that were murky and hard to see. Like what he was going to do now. Lindsey had no idea what his next move could be.
Even though he knew Angel and Grace weren't at fault, he knew they were still his enemies. As long as he worked for Wolfram and Hart, they were his mortal enemies and he would do anything he could to kill them. Lindsey also knew he couldn't leave the firm, not now. They'd kill him less than an hour after he sent in his two weeks notice. There weren't many options for him at the moment, but Lindsey had a vague idea of what he could do.
If he tried to kill Holland, Lilah, Lee or Darla, his life would be over minutes after he committed the crime. But there was one thing he could do. He could make sure that, when it came down to the brutal fight that would end things between he and Angel, they all died in the cross fire.
Lindsey smiled. Things had begun to look up. And even though he still worked for Wolfram and Hart, he felt a lot better knowing the death of four of it's most powerful players would be coming up in the near future.
"Bloody hell!" Spike growled, shaking his foot in an attempt to get the gum off the bottom of his boot. "What kind of wanker drops his gum in the middle of the bloody sidewalk?" He glanced up to watch the crowd of people bustling around him in the middle of the Los Angeles night and rolled his eyes. "Right. The kind of wanker that goes to the city of bloody angels by his own free will."
Spike continued walking down the sidewalk, at the same time as he rubbed his heel against the pavement, trying to scrape off the gum. A woman bumped against his shoulder and Spike stumbled backward, then hit a man behind him.
"Watch it." The man grumbled and kept walking.
Spike shook his head and sighed as he watched everyone move around him. "For God's sake, it's midnight in LA and these people still don't go home!" He watched as they walked around him, their eyes straight ahead, ignoring every other person on the street.
Spike took another step forward, then paused, his foot still in the air. He placed it gently on the ground as he sniffed the air. He paused again, turned and sniffed again. A grin made its way to his mouth and he looked excitedly at the building that loomed over him. He had found her. He could smell her inside that building. Now that he found her, all he had to do was get Drusilla and Angel.
Darla was the last piece in his puzzle and he just had to go inside that building to get her.
The phone shrilled beside Cordelia and she finished what she was typing before she reached over and said, "Angel Investigations, we help the hopeless."
"Yes, um . . . hello."
Cordelia raised her eyebrows. The man on the other end of the line was taking great pains to disguise his voice.
"Hi." She replied. "What can I do for you?"
"I, uh, I have some information on Wolfram and Hart for you." He said.
She sat up straighter. "Really. And what would that be?"
"Well, they're planning something. With the vampires, Darla and Angel. Two others, I don't know their names. But there's going to be a big ceremony performed by the three to get your boss. Tomorrow at sundown, that's when. Make sure you hold onto him. I've heard how much you want to keep Angelus from ever escaping again, so make sure they don't get him." Then he hung up.
Cordelia frowned, then returned the phone to its place. "That was weird." She murmured. "The only people that have information on Wolfram and Hart are people that work there." She paused, her eyes wide. "There's no way it was him . . ."
Lindsey hung up the phone in his living room, his hand shaking slightly with the knowledge of what he had just done. He knew about the ceremony and he knew what the vampires wanted with Angel.
But if Holland ever found out what he had done, he'd be dead. If anyone ever found out that Lindsey McDonald had given an anonymous tip to Angel, his life would be over within minutes.
Lindsey swallowed hard, then stood up and walked toward his bedroom to get dressed and begin his day.
"Hello." Wesley said, stepping up behind Cordelia and lightly kissing her on the cheek. She smiled momentarily, then turned toward him.
"Something weird happened."
He took a seat across from her on a couch. "What?"
She sighed. "Okay, I got a phone call about half an hour ago from someone that said he knew what Wolfram and Hart was planning."
Wesley nodded. "And that would be what?"
"Darla, Spike and Drusilla are going to do some sort of ritual to bring Angel to them. They're going to turn him back into Angelus." She bit her lip and glanced up at him. "I'm really worried. How are we going to keep him from going to them? I don't want to see Angelus ever again."
Wesley frowned. "Could we tie him up some how? Like we did last time he changed. Tie him to his bed and not let him go until the ritual is over."
"That's the thing," Cordelia said, "whoever this phone call was from, I'm sure he had a pretty good source for the information. And I also have a feeling that this is something big for Wolfram and Hart. If the ceremony doesn't work the first time, they're going to do it again and again and again. I don't think they'll give up that easily."
Grace entered the office, looking first at Wesley's worried face, then at Cordelia's. "What's wrong?" She asked, dropping her bag on the floor and sitting beside Wesley on the couch.
Cordelia sighed. "Wolfram and Hart are planning something which will turn Angel back into Angelus."
Grace raised her eyebrows. "So? We've seen Angel possessed before."
Wesley nodded. "You're right. We have seen Angel possessed with a demon, but not that demon. You haven't seen Angelus before Grace, and trust me when I say you don't want to."
"Is he that bad?"
Cordelia forced out a small laugh. "Oh yeah. He's that bad."
Grace turned her eyes toward the door that led to Angel's apartment. He was probably still asleep and would stay that way until nightfall.
"So what do we do?" She asked.
Cordelia shook her head. "We really don't know."
Spike walked down the empty halls of the law firm, pausing on occasion to regain the scent of Darla and sometimes to change directions. He finally came to the office of someone named Lindsey McDonald, and when he did, Spike pounded on the door before turning the door knob and letting himself in.
He surveyed the room, both surprised and overjoyed at what he saw.
Drusilla was perched on the edge of a chair beside Lindsey's desk. In her lap, Miss Edith sat much the same way, her hands were folded gently over the doll and a dark smile played over her lips when she saw Spike enter the room.
Darla was standing behind the brown haired vampire, her hands on her shoulders, her fingers toying with the occasional dark curl. She too wore a smile on her face that spoke of the dark secrets within Wolfram and Hart.
One man stood off to the side, wearing a dark blue cloak, his eyes on the floor. A man with light brown hair sat behind the desk and he rose when Spike entered the room.
"I assume you're William the bloody." He said, sticking out his hand.
Spike raised an eyebrow at the gesture, then turned and walked toward Drusilla and Darla.
Darla smiled at him. "It's been a long time William."
"It has." He replied, his eyes straying to Drusilla's smiling face. He knelt in front of her, gently taking her hands in his. "Hey baby. How's my princess?"
"She's wonderful." Drusilla whispered. "And do you know why?"
Spike shook his head. "Why?"
Drusilla leaned down, her lips near his ear. "She's wonderful because she can't smell the slayer on you anymore." A quiet giggle escaped. "She's gone Spike, she's not all over you anymore."
Spike stood up, taking Drusilla's hands and pulling her up with him. He gently nuzzled her neck, smiling into the curve from her shoulder and he nodded. "No more ducks, I promise you, no more."
"Isn't this a sick little family reunion?" Lindsey muttered, stepping in front of his desk and pushing Drusilla and Spike apart. "We don't have time for the cuddling and the fondling. We need to get down to business."
"You know about the Order of Jagra?" Spike asked.
Lindsey glanced at him, then gestured to the man in the cloak. "We have a few members of it's cult working for us, yes. We know all about the ritual set for this evening."
"So a few men in cloaks work for a law firm and suddenly everyone wants a piece?" Spike sneered at Lindsey. "This isn't a bloody bachelor party. We're raising a creature that could rip your head off with one hand, a creature that doesn't take lightly to human interference."
"Darla's told us." Lindsey replied. "Seems with her help, he won't care too much that we're there. And yes, a few men in cloaks work for us and we all want a piece. Isn't that the way it always goes?" He glanced at the man. "Are these the vampires? All of them?"
The man shook his head and raised his hand, holding out one finger.
"One more?" Lindsey asked, then turned to glare at Spike. "Who is it?"
Spike returned the look Lindsey was giving him for a moment, then glanced at Darla. "Are you sure about this? Don't you think he's gonna mind having humans there when he wakes up?"
Darla shook her head. "I know him William. I know all the parts inside him and how his mind works. Everything will be fine."
Spike sighed and glanced at Lindsey again. "You're lucky she's in charge of this. Because if it were up to me, I'd be wearing your skin as a cape."
"I'd like to see that." Lindsey replied. "Maybe put the head of my boss on a stick? Y'know, all that sort of stuff that barbarians love to do."
"Exactly." Spike agreed, ignoring the sarcasm in his voice.
Drusilla giggled and smiled at Lindsey. "You two boys are wonderful. Fighting over the man like you are. So silly sometimes, but wonderful all the same."
Spike smiled at her and leaned down again. "You're loving every minute of this, aren't you ducks?"
Drusilla turned to him with a dangerous glint in her eyes. "I'll love it even more when our Angelus has come home."
Angel paced his basement apartment slowly, his feet dragging on the floor and his hands clasped behind his back. After Cordelia had told him about the mysterious phone call about three hours ago, he had come into his apartment and begun to pace. What had been said really worried him. It worried him a lot. He knew that Spike and Drusilla were now in Los Angeles and then they received a phone call telling them that the vampires wanted to turn him back to Angelus.
Angel was especially worried that they would succeed. He had an idea of what they were planning on doing and he was unsure if he wanted to tell the others. He had a feeling they wouldn't be very happy to hear what he had to say.
He knew they wanted Angelus back. He knew and he was terrified. The thought of his soul being taken away again and sent to limbo to wait until his body finally died, was his worst nightmare come to life. He didn't want to have that happen and he didn't want the others to have to go through killing Angelus. A task he knew they were completely capable of.
Angel glanced up sharply when Cordelia bounded down the stairs. She placed her hands on her hips and stared at him expectantly while Grace and Wesley joined her.
"What?" He asked.
"You know why they're here." Cordelia said bluntly. "Tell us.
"I don't know exactly why." Angel began, attempting to cover up what he did know.
Grace stared at him, her eyes pleading. "Angel, you know something. And that something might be enough to stop them." She paused. "Or at least enough to protect you."
"I don't need protection." He replied. "They can't do anything to me."
"So, you do know why they're here." Grace stated. "If they can't do anything to you, then why are you so scared?" She took a step toward him. "Why can't you just tell me what's going on Angel? Why can't you let me in?"
Angel opened his mouth to reply, but found that he couldn't. He couldn't deny what Grace was saying to him because it was true. He was scared to let her in.
"They're going to change me." He whispered finally. "Darla, Drusilla and Spike will turn me back into Angelus and together they will help him to rise again." He swallowed hard. "There's no way to stop them from getting to me."
"Him?" Grace asked.
"Him." Angel confirmed.
"The Master." Cordelia said. "Why can't you say it?"
"Rules." Angel said. "There's no way to stop it."
Wesley shook his head. "There has to be some way. Some kind of protection spell."
"No, there's nothing. I knew this would come. The scroll said so."
"You've been reading the scroll?" Grace asked.
Angel nodded. "There are a few passages written in a language you've probably never heard of." A grim smile made its way to his lips. "I speak it fluently. They said this time would come."
"But the scroll also said you'd become human." Cordelia pointed out.
"That's only if I survive this." He replied.
"And how can you survive this?" Grace asked. "You said there was no way, but there has to be. Angel, you can't just tell us that there's no way to stop you from becoming Angelus again."
"There's one way." He said. "I need you to promise you'll do it."
"I promise."
"You have to take this seriously." Angel said. "You have to do this. It's the only way."
Grace looked at him. "What is it?"
Angel reached into his duster and pulled out a stake, then handed it to Grace. She looked at it in confusion, then her eyes met Angel's as she finally understood what he wanted.
"Kill me." He said.
Grace shook her head, her eyes wide. "No."
"Grace, do it." Angel pushed.
"No, Angel, I'm not going to do it. You can't make me." She shook her head again, her eyes filling with tears.
Cordelia and Wesley watched in shock as Angel advanced on Grace.
"Do it!" He growled at her, grabbing her shoulders and shaking her.
Tears slipped down her cheeks as she closed her eyes. "I won't." She whispered.
"You promised." He growled in her face.
Grace's eyes flew open and she pushed Angel away from her violently. She hurled the stake across the room and it hit a lamp, causing it to crash to the floor. "No!" She yelled. "I will not do this for you." Grace glared at Angel, tears still falling down her cheeks. "I do not care what I promised to you Angel, killing you is one thing you can not make me do. Ever."
She stared at him for a moment longer, then turned and walked up the stairs, leaving Angel staring after her. When she was gone from sight, Angel's head dropped and he sighed. Finally he looked back up at Cordelia and Wesley.
"There's no other way." He said.
"Angel, there has to be." Cordelia replied, then sighed and left the basement apartment in search of Grace.