Part 23

When Spike awoke he was startled to find that he was restrained in his bed. He listened closely and could hear nothing in the apartment, no heartbeat, no breathing, nothing. He assumed that meant that his Mate had left and taken Angelus with her, most likely to the torture room. She was always up for a bit of playtime. He couldn't bring himself to care what his Sire's fate might be, his Witch had told him that she was his, and that she loved him. He had longed to hear those words from her, he never figured he would of course, but it hadn't stopped him from wanting to. With nothing else to do until she came back for him Spike went back to sleep.

Rupert Giles had been stuck in the baggage claim area of the airport for half an hour trying to find his luggage. He was having no luck what so ever and was growing more annoyed by the second. By the time Angel arrived to pick him up his was at his wits end. He finally agreed to leave the hotels address with the 'lost luggage' staff at the insistence of the newly human Angel. The two then made their way back to the car and drove toward the hotel.

Cordelia was still reeling from the news that her friends were all gone. Granted they hadn't been that close for the longest time, and maybe they were never that close to begin with, but that was only because she didn't know how to truly be a friend to someone when she lived in Sunnydale. It took moving to LA, befriending a Vampire, falling for a half demon half human Irish man, and getting demon powers of her own to fully understand how it feels to truly be a friend. She regretted the way she had treated Xander after their break-up, she had been beyond cruel to him at times. Willow had always been easy to pick on, and Buffy was so different that it made her an obvious choice. She was ashamed of the person she had been then, she only hoped that they now knew how she felt about them.

Wesley was looking through a large book of teleportation spells in hopes of being able to find one to transport them into Sunnydale without detection. Most likely Willow had wards in place that would notify her of their presence. He watched Cordelia as she struggled to pull herself together, he felt bad for her, he himself was never close to the Sunnydale gang. They kept him at arms length from the beginning. He was slightly apprehensive about Rupert’s arrival. This was his city, these were his friends and co-workers, he desperately needed to stay in control of the situation. He needed to prove to his fellow ex watcher that he was more than he had been a few years ago. Plus he was nervous that he would disappoint the other man somehow. He would never admit it, but he looked up to the man, almost as a mentor.

Connor and Gunn Spent the day hunting down a Vamp nest in East LA. Even with all this going on there were still people who needed saving and Angel wasn't about to stop doing his job. Connor convinced him to let him take over for a while, just until he got used to being human again. Fred helped Connor convince Angel by reminding him that he wasn't as strong as he used to be and he needed to be sure of himself in battle or he would only endanger the rest of the team. Angel grudgingly accepted her reason.

By the time Angel and Giles got back to the hotel the whole group was there. Everyone was in heavy research mode. Books and scrolls littered every surface and only the sounds of pages being turned disturbed the silence. When the door opened and Giles walked through the door everyone looked up. "Hello everyone." Giles was unsure what to say so he figured hello was a start. He was unprepared for what happened next. "Oh Giles! There all gone!" Cordelia threw herself at her old librarian and surrogate father. She hadn't realized how much she missed him until he walked through the door. Giles held her and spoke soothingly to her. "There, there. I know, we'll get through this, don't worry we always do." She pulled back slightly and gave him a small smile. "Sorry, I don't know what came over me. I just..." Giles returned her smile. "It's okay Cordelia, I understand. I miss them too."

At the offices of Wolfram & Hart, Lilah Morgan was one very happy lawyer. She had received high praise for her part in Angelus being brought back. And even though Angel was still in the picture no one figured he could do much to mess with them now that he was just another human being. Plans were already underway to have Angel eliminated. Life was good when things went your way. She had been offered a promotion, a salary increase and had been given a corner office. Her only complaint was that Lindsay was no longer around to see how well she'd done.

Angelus came to in a deep dark room. He tuned all his senses and yet he couldn't hear anything. There was no sound, no light, no smell. The only thing he could feel was cold damp stone under his naked flesh. He recalled the last thing he could remember, fire. The witch had set him on fire and was screaming at him that Spike was hers. And now he was here, where ever here was. He realized that he had gone too far this time. He should have obeyed his instincts and just done as he was told. That girl, no, woman was not the shy quiet Willow Rosenberg that he remembered. She was a creature of infinite power and cruelty. She was in love with his Childe, or at the very least extremely possessive of him, and she was probably at least a little insane. He was fucked. He realized that he would die by her hand, he only hoped she would grant him mercy and make it quick. "What the hell have I done?"





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