After Angels Fall (PG: Coarse Language)

[Altoz]

As the convoy headed out from Sunnydale, Willow looked back longingly. Buffy clasped her by the shoulder:
"Tara and Dawnie will be okay, Will."
"Okay, I know that. But I'm allowed to worry that we're leaving them behind again this time."
"My sister and your wife have grown considerably over the last few months. How close is it to Tara's full term?"
"Two or three months. At least, that's what it would be in a normal pregnancy. I don't know about Wishverse-caused fmalepreg type pregnancies."
"But hey, you're co-mum to be. That's an achievement."
"Buffy, have you ever thought...?"
"I look at what happened to Nicky Wood and the consequences for her. No, Wills. I take precautions. And if I slipped up, I'd have an abortion rather than expose any potential child to this anarchy. Damn, amiga, Tara and you are so lucky. You'll make perfect parents."
"Wonder how the boys are getting on?"

In the red truck of doom, Lindsey managed a well-pitched whistle and was matched by Oz, seated alongside him in the front seat. From the back seat, Doug sighed:
"Okay, so, remind me why I'm not driving this time, guys?"
"Uh, because, loverman, I've almost lost you once this year. I'm not in the mood for repeated attempts. Nice rhythm, Linz."
"What say we have another jam session when we hit the Hyperion, Oz?"
"Remember, we have a stop to make before this. Doug buddy, you seem pensive."
"True. It's about your significant other, Linz. And Faith."
"I only met her once in my evil lawyer persona. She was visibly struggling with her turn toward darkness when she took on Angel that time. I wish she'd talked to me."
"And crystallised your own doubts? Redemption's a solo road, my friend. "
"She's like us, good buddy. Came up hardscrabble from a dysfunctional poor family of origin, suddenly gained power, wasn't ready for it and didn't have Giles wisdom to guide her back. to the ground. Only she realised it in time and took her punishment like a woman."
"Which brings us back to Buffy, mate. She thinks that Faith has guts that she didn'r have for doin' time, because she took responsibility for killing that 'Dale city councillor and Buffy still thinks that she should done so too for what she did to Meers and Wells. Who weren't exactly innocent parties, and were manipulated into it by Madison and their own greed. And Buffy was under a darkmagick spell thrall during that whole time. She still carries the blame for what happened,"
"Sounds like a fairly good summary. I kept reminding her that she had parental responsibility for Dawn and that wasn't a factor for Faith. But she thinks Faith was punished unfairly."
"Willow too." Oz remarked.
"What, for that crappy remark she made about Faith growin' up dirt poor? Which she regrets now she's grown up somewhat?"
Abruptly, there were knocking sounds from the engine: "Damn. The rustbucket's misbehaving. I think it'll last until the prison, but I'll need to have a look at it.:
"Hey, I can do magic with vintage truck engines, y'know?" Doug grinned.
Oz rolled his eyes: "Doug loverman, I'm wild for you, but at times you seem to need to be reminded that you're gay."
"What, there are no gay mechanics? Man, I used to love autoshop back in high school..."

STOCKTON:

"Wow, this place is fancier than I remember it." Lindsey said as they drove into the three hundred thousand person city.
Doug nodded: "Yeah, there's a massive real estate bubble here, though. Eventually, it'll all blow up in their faces, especially if there's another recession. Property market's too exposed and they're carryin' too much risk from subprime mortgages."
"Okay, so we're nearly there."
"So green." Oz observed at the adjacent pastureland.


TO BE CONTINUED

 

[Altoz]

PART TWO:

As Faith walked from the gates of the North Californian Women's Facility, Buffy hugged her. After a startled moment, Faith responded:
"Hey, B. So, I hear that something serious is happenin' up in LA?"
"Faith, I've got something to say. You served time and waited for parole for what you did. I... killed two people last year."
"Uh, yeah, under the control of darkmagick and so were you."
"That doesn't change what I did, Willow."
Faith nodded: "B, there's a difference here. Like Willow said, I didn't have that context. I accept you were acting under the influence, so stop beating yourself up. We both know this is a hard, serious gig, so cut yourself some slack."
"All that time, I thought I was the golden girl. Well, no. After what happened, not any more."
"Good to know. Oz? Has Red gone back to the stick?"
Willow shook her head: "No, still a woman's woman. Long story involving a parallel universe, same sex fertilisation and parthenogenesis. Tara and Dawn are keeping hte home fires burning back home."
"Hot damn. Are you free then, small and perfefctly formed?"
"Damn!" Lindsey's Oklahoma cadence echoed.
"Hey, is that MacDonald?" Faith ventured to the truckstop, where Lindsey and Doug had both doffed their t-shirts in the heat and were bent over the ailing engine of Lindsey's truck.
"Hoochacha! Hot asses!" Faith wolfwhistled. Buffy cleared her throat:
"Ahem. Step away from my guy's hot butt, Lehane..."
"I mean, damn, I didn't realise MacDonald looked so hawt in a pair of jeans. And who's your sexy friend?"
Oz had made his way to Doug and proprietorarily patted his partner's rear:
"His ass is mine, Faith."
"And his is mine. We have a time-share arrangement. G'day, Faith. Doug Mercer, Buffy's Watcher. And Oz's partner."
"Huh? Oh man, just my luck. All the smokin' guys are either already claimed by B, or into each other. Will I ever get a clean break?"
Willow grinned: "I don't have that problem."
"Yeah yeah. I've known enough lady lovin' ladies to know the story. First date, movin' truck, movin' in."
"So did much happen to you while you were inside, Faith?"
"Not much. WRH hired some muscle to off me. I fought her off without killing her. They gave up after that."
"You know about Angel and the others?" Buffy asked, a catch in her voice.
"Enough to know that I'm not the only one here who's suffered, B. Shit. You lost Angel, we lost Wes, Xander, Spike, an' Giles. C'mere, blondie..." Impulsively, Faith embraced Buffy again. And as they did so, clinging to one another for a long moment, the two of them felt the solidarity and respect that sister vampire slayers should feel for one another.
Oz noticed the tear in Doug's eye when Faith had mentioned Giles and squeezed his partner's hand. Despite the fact that Doug now knew that Rupert Giles was his father, the revelation had still had its emotional costs, knowing that Rupert had concealed the truth to shield his son from possible reprisals if the knowledge became commonplace.
"Okay, so who's ridin' with whom?"
"The boys are in the truck, we're in the Ozmobile." Willow pointed to the trusty white van with her thumb.
"And our destination?"
"The Hyperion, over in Hollywood. And yeah, it's still in operation. Under new management, though."

TO BE CONTINUED

 

[Altoz]

PART THREE:

As the group neared the Hyperion, looking out over West Hollywood, Buffy's hand clasped Lindsays:
"It's Angel, isn't it?"
"I wasn't going to say anything, but... it's going to be the first time I set foot in there and he won't be there to greet me."
"Yeah, part of me isn't looking forward to this for a similar reason."
"Darla?"
"Gave birth to Connor there and ended her own existence for the second time. In that alleyway"

In the Ozmobile, Doug was also in tears:
"Damn it. I told myself I wouldn't do this."
"Your former best friend ended his existence there. It's only natural."
"Danny, I keep telling myself there had to be a better way..."
"The problem was, Angelus mortally injured him and Drusilla turned him, extending his existence. If he'd managed to get to Angelus first, with his knowledge he would have become a deadly threat."
"It's not just him, Dan. Damn it. I'm feeling the same way." Faith said from the backseat.
"You weren't there when they departed, honey." Willow said softly.
"Thank you all for believing in me. I miss Angel and Wes too So much." Faith sobbed.
"We've got to face it sooner or later. Drusilla is the new Kalderash vampire and she's doing a good job from the intel we've received."

HYPERION:

Oddly enough, the other figure that met them wasn't crying:
"Hi there."
"Fred!" Willow embraced her spontaneously.
"The CSC subpoenaed me as well. I accepted gladly, after what they did to Angel and Wes." There was a catch in her voice when she mentioned the late Watcher's name and Doug didn't miss it.
"It's a shame Gunn- Illyria, I mean - can't be here."
"Yeah, well, he's not bound to this world anymore. It may be millennia before he's even back in this part of the galaxy." Doug commented.
"So, are you here on your own, Fred, or have you come back to An- Huntress Investigations full time?"
Fred nodded: "Yes, Buffy. Thanks to Alessandra Norton's counselling over the last few months, I pulled myself together after we lost our boys.

 

[Altoz]

PART FOUR:

They had hardly noticed Drusilla's arrival. She looked as if she was as exhausted as they were.
"Hey, lady." Doug embraced the ensouled vampire, who closed her eyes in gratitude.
"Hello, Douglas. Slayer. It's good to see all of you."
"We're here for a reason, Dru. Finally, we get to take down Wolfram and Hart for what they did to the people we lost."
"And there have been so many this year, haven't there?" Buffy said softly.
"And the end of the last one. And so many changes. I have my soul now and sanity. Briefly, I had a family. I still miss Price and Hekate."
Willow nodded: "We've been through our own brand of hell. Xander, Giles, Spike, Cordy, Jordy Osborne."
"Angel." Drusilla nodded gravely.
"Wes." Fred choked as she said the name.
"And the question is, too, are Wolfram and Hart and Amy Madison working in tandem?" Buffy brought the conversation back to the present.
Fred replied: "Drusilla and I have been carrying out our own inquiries. Believe or not, the two aren't related. The First Evil and Wolfram and Hart are at loggerheads and as Amy Madison is the First's local subsidiary, she is responsible for what happened in Sunnydale, while Wolfram and Hart's activities seem restricted largely to areas outside the Hellmouth area, particularly Los Angeles."
Doug added: "According to Lessa, the Watchers Institute has been carrying out field agent inquiries throughout the rest of the world. WRH has ended their corporate tenures in virtually all of the other cities they're based in. It looks like a major strategic withdrawal from this particular universe."
"Leaving one to ask, are they planning anything as a result of Angel's end?" Willow asked.
"Apparently not. It looks like there's some sort of rivalry going on between the two agencies. And Lindsay and Doug are not going to like this and nor will the rest of you. It's Madison. She's testifying for the prosecution as well." Fred concluded.
"What?!" Doug exclaimed.
"It looks like the First has turned on Wolfram and Hart, if the two were ever aligned."
"I don't know if I can face her in the courtroom without wolfsiding and tearing out her throat." Oz said darkly.
"The problem is, her darkmagick is on a par with Willow's whitewicca, which means she'd probably kill you, Danny." Doug clasped his partner's shoulder.
"From what we know, Wolfram and Hart were responsible for the death of Connor, which led to the return of Angelus, mortal injury inflicted on Wesley as a result, the attempt on Lindsey's life as his immortality quickened into existence, and the sequence of events that led to the showdown at the Hyperion and the final ending of Angel's existence. They were also responsible for the delivery of the Illyria sarcophagus to Westchester, although it was originally planned for me. We know Amy Madison's ventures were independently organised, probably with the assistance of other First Evil subsidiaries."
"After all this, I feel like a good stiff drink."
"So do I, buddy." Lindsey said.
Buffy and Oz exchanged glances: "Oh no you don't, loverman. After what happened in Sunnydale with that bastard Cain, I am not letting you out of my sight." And with that, the dimunitive werewolf hefted his partner over his shoulder.
"And that goes double for you, Mr MacDonald." Buffy grabbed Lindsay and repeated the manoveur.
"If you're going to lock us in our rooms, we'll get out eventually and tie one on." Doug commented.
"You can't if you're naked." Oz grinned.
"That's an excellent idea. Same applies to you, buster."
"Why would we be naked?" Lindsey queried.
"Why do you think?" Buffy laughed.
Lindsey and Doug fistbumped:
"I'm not sure I like the looks in their eyes."
"I don't think either of us will get much sleep, buddy." Lindsey said, as Buffy proprietarily patted his ass.

TO BE CONTINUED

 

[Altoz]

PART FIVE:
Elsewhere, Lilah Morgan scowled as the image of Amy Madison appeared in front of her:
"Why are you doing this, Madison? We both want the same thing- the destruction of the Watchers Council and Institute and an end to the slayers as well as the Kalderash vampires."
"Because that worked out so well for you, didn't it, Morgan? How's the neck?"
Lilah Morgan fingered the seamless bone join and microcapillary surgical mark that had reversed the outcome after Angelus had broken her neck while brutalising Wesley Wyndham-Price: "Stop interfering. I know you want an end to the slayer, Rosenberg and Mercer, but why can't we work together?"
Amy Madison sat on Morgan's desk: "Because, Morgan, Wolfram and Hart is too damned soft. You let Drusilla intrude onto the scene of Wesley Wyndham Price's death, you didn't foresee that she'd turn him, you neglected to keep surveillance on Lindsay MacDonald and let him manifest his latent immortality genes, and worse still, you let the slayer move in and out of LA with her entourage, all because of your vendetta against Angel. Instead of which, you now have a new, equally adept elder Kalderash vampire in place and you even left a paper trail for Mercer and MacDonald to follow. Sorry. Multiple incompetencies. And you wonder why the First Evil wants you out of the way so that you can't blunder into anything else?"
"Right. Because your machinations in Sunnydale have been so constructive, haven't they?"
"Excuse me, but yes. Xander Harris, Rupert Giles and Spike are all deceased. I admit I shouldn't have hired that loose cannon Gib Cain, but at least he dispatched one of Sunnydale's werewolves."
"Just not the right one. His younger cousin, not Daniel Osborne himself."
"Although I almost got rid of that meddling whitewicca Mercer in the process."
"Almost doesn't mean a clear achievement." Lilah retorted angrily.
"Look who's talking! At least I'm blooded. I admit engineering the end of Angel had a certain panache, but any strategic advantage was nullified when Rosenberg's tweaked Kalderash spell ensouled Drusilla to replace him." Madison boasted
"This is about the sarcophagus, isn't it?"
"Oh yes. You were supposed to get Winifred Burkle's scientific expertise out of the way. Instead of which, Charles Gunn became Illyria and isn't even in play here anymore. You couldn't even manage a decent end to "Team Angel"." Madison laughed derisively.
"You know, I'm getting rather tired of this conversation. One more thing, Madison, Have you tried precognition lately?"
Amy Madison threw back her head and laughed: "Ow. Low blow. But amusing. Yes, I admit it. I can't foresee the outcome of the inevitable showdown with Summers, Rosenberg, MacLay, Lehane, Mercer and Osborne. Why is that important?"
"Because if you can't, you little fool, it may be because there's no future left for you."
"Or it may be because I end up destroying this miserable world and it has no future?"
"Oh, I see. The First wants bragging rights. How quaint. Such strategy, such prowess."
"And what if I do?"
As Amy Madison dematerialised and the room still rang with her mocking laughter, Lilah shivered at the implication of Madison's last sentence. Or rather, that of the First Evil. No wonder the First was so mocking and overconfident. It had cored what had previously been Amy Madison, taking over her consciousness, soul and body and leaving nothing but a flesh puppet. And for the first time in her legal career for Wolfram and Hart, Lilah Morgan felt true fear.

How would this all end?

TO BE CONTINUED

 

[Altoz]

PART SIX:

High atop an adjacent skyscraper, Amy Madison concentrated on the distant Hyperion in West Hollywood. She marshalled her energies, exulting in the fact that Wolfram and Hart were now so weak that they could not interdict what she had planned. And why not give Summers and her acolytes punishment for defying her and continually frustrating her efforts. The sky lit up around her as power stabbed toward the Hyperion. But...

But, in distant Sunnydale, Tara looked up and her eyes burnt white;
"Oh no, you don't." And in response, a blinding white dome coruscated around the Hyperion, directing it away from the hotel and toward a graveyard. And furthermore, it twisted the spell's purpose as it arced and plunged into the cemetary, toward a specific grave. In response, far beneath it, formerly scattered and dislocated bones regathered themselves, bodily organs began to reform from cellular residue, muscle and skin layers began to coat the emerging body. After a minute, the skin had firmly covered the resurrected figure and his eyes slammed open. He gasped for breath and began to scramble through the soil, toward the sounds that reverberated from above. In a minute, his hands found air as he hauled himself up, naked, from what had been his grave. He gratefully gulped in the air and rested for another couple of minutes before he remembered where he was and what he had to do next. He had to get back to the Hyperion. Cordy and Angel, they needed him. And Francis Quinn stumbled away, intent only on one thing.

Willow jerked awake, as did Doug:
-What the Hades was that?!
-Madison, at a guess.
-Wills, she can't operate here. She's incapable of defying WRH. Or was.
-It has her darkmagick resonances all over it.
-Hello, sweetheart.
-Tara, baby, what just happened?
-Madison tried a pre-emptive darkmagick strike on you. I diverted it.
-Where to?
Doug got up and pulled on a robe, Oz stirred:
"Trouble?"
"Madison just tried to blitz us. Tara deflected it, but it's gone somewhere. I take it I'm released from nude duty?"
"Did she manage to hurt anyone, loverman?"
Doug shook his head: "Quite the opposite. Instead of killing any of us, it turned into a resurrection spell. Wills?"
Willow turned up in their bedroom:
"Any idea who got resurrected?"

Drusilla, Faith, Buffy, Fred and Lindsey joined them. Dru frowned:
"Wait a minute. The security system just turned on."
"Need help?" Faith withdrew her battle axe.
"Uh, I don't think whoever it is is necessarily hostile." Willow said slowly.
Doug nodded: "Yeah, we're both getting impressions of bewilderment and disorientation. Which implies it's something to do with Angel Investigations."
"I'd like to know who it could be. Angel's gone and dusted, Cordelia died several months ago, Gunn got absorbed into that Illyria entity months ago and Fred's right here. Wesley... well, we know what happened there. So who else does that leave?"
Fred snapped her fingers: "Oh, of course. Quinn. Angel told me about him shortly after I got here from Pylea. He's the one who gave Cordy her precognitive abilities. So what's he doing back?"
"Like me, I guess. For revenge." And with that, Anya stepped into the already crowded room.

TO BE CONTINUED

 

[Altoz]

PART SEVEN:
"There's something else. Alessandra Norton got in touch with me before we set off. There's a reason that Lindsay and I are both involved in this Wolfram and Hart takedown. It has to do with Rupert- with Dad. She managed to do some more detective work. My mother, Sandy Galvin, did try to get in touch with Dad when she became pregnant, but something went wrong with the communication. Wolfram and Hart agents intercepted and destroyed it. Dad never knew until the day I was brought in to the Watchers Institute medical wing, unconscious and on the verge of death."
Oz blinked back a tear: "And I thought Madison's collateral killing of Jordy was dark."
"Buddy, I...," Lindsay gulped.
"I know it isn't only me, Linz. I remember you telling me that bloke in the cryogenic chamber down the WRH basement, the one who started at the same time as you, but who got turned into organ harvest meatrack for rich clients of theirs."
"You mean they kept you apart from your father for seventeen years? Harsh." Faith said quietly.
"Ironically enough, if it hadn't been for Spike almost beating me to a pulp and triggering my latent mage abilities, I'd have died ignorant of who and what I really was."
"Uh, what do we do about Doyle?" Fred cleared her throat, pointing at the bewildered man on the screen.
Anya's brow furrowed: "Although I admit he doesn't look bad that way."
"Anya, honey. I've so missed that.." Willow said, hugging her.
"Yeah, but what are you doing back? I thought the Lethe treatment removed your memory of everything that happened in the 'Dale?" Buffy asked.
"I... thought that world had ended when Xander died. I thought that it was no good carrying on this human facade when all it brought me was heartache and pain. So I left. But... despite your help, I still remembered Xander and what he meant to me. So, I overcame the spell, powered up and came back here."
Fred had hunted for some male clothes: "Nice meeting you, but Doyle is probably scared the hell out of his skin."

When they came down, Doyle swallowed: "Buffy? What are you doing here? Where's Angel? Cordy?"
Fred handed over the clothes and turned her back as Doyle gratefully and hurriedly dressed.
"Doyle, this isn't going to be easy for you and I'm sorry. I'm so, so sorry. It's been several years since you died for the first time. During that time," Buffy swallowed and the tears began to run down her face as she remembered, "Sorry. Just...the memories. Angelus came back and set in place a chain of events that ended with the Kalderash spell that kept him out fatally weakened. Angel... Angel chose to sacrifice himself rather than risk his unsouled alter ego returning full time. Cordelia fell into a coma and never recovered. She died several months ago. I know what you must be going through right now. I've been resurrected twice and it's beyond words. You end up confused and disoriented...anyway. I take it you remember Lindsay MacDonald?"
"You've changed. Casual gear, longer hair and a bloody great broadsword."
"And sides as well. I take it you remember Angel telling you about Willow Rosenberg and Daniel Osborne."
"Only we've lesbianised and gayed up. Long story. Pregnant partner back in Sunnydale. Also, werewolf over there is now a man eater, in a nice way."
"Angel helped me straighten out. Faith. Faith Lehane, ex- renegade slayer."
"Fred Burkle. Angel rescued me from Pylea, another dimension."
"Anya Emerson. Former vengeance demon. Single."
"So why are all of you here?" Doyle managed,
"Wolfram and Hart has some major bad karma building up for quite some time now. Judgement Day is about to descend on them."

TO BE CONTINUED

 

[Altoz]

PART EJGHT:
CALIFORNIA SECURITIES COMMISSION OFFICES (GREY ANNEX)

As they entered, Buffy clutched Lindsay's hand protectively, and Oz' eyes shone read. Around Drusilla, black energies crackled and writhed as she was enabled to walk in the daylight with some assistance from Willow. Sitting on the Defence counsel witness bench was Amy Madison, who looked at them and smiled tightly. Doug and Oz stared darkly at her and Willow's eyes whitened. Lindsay's attention was elsewhere as Lilah barely concealed her own contempt, hatred and rivalry.
"The Commission is convened. Calling the docket Mercer and MacDonald Versus Wolfram and Hart Ltd to the stand..."
Lilah called: "Objection! Plaintiff counsel has a conflict of interest, given his previous employment by defendant."
"If I may respond on behalf of the other plantiff, non-disclosure agreements do not apply when the defendant has been engaged in illegal activities in this context." Doug smiled grimly.
"Objection overruled. Proceed, Mr MacDonald."

And thus began a gruelling five hours in the thaumaturgic affairs section of the regulatory agency. Any supernatural intervention attempts were seen off by Willow, on guard as Doug and Lindsay steadily delivered damning evidence, one item after another, over the two centuries that the Wolf, Ram and Hart insignia had been involved in Los Angeles and the rest of the state. As Lindsay read out the one hundred and third indictment, thunder crashed overhead:
"...And defendants were implicated in the relocation of Zelda, Hilda and Sabrina Spellman to Greendale. The Satanist cult in that town was responsible for several deaths and would have achieved its end objective, a portal for demonic influence on Earth exceeding the Hellmouth in Sunnydale, had Ms Sabrina Spellman not bolted from the Church of Night sect and become a free agent. Even if she gave her life to prevent the incursion in question."
"The Commission calls Ms. Amy Madison to the stand."
"No objection, your honour." Lindsay said icily, reserving his own mind on the matter of her character. Lilah wouldn't let it rest:
"Objection, your honour! The witness is plainly biased and has been implicated in several homicidal criminal acts in the town of Sunnydale!"
"The witness has volunteered information of her own volition. Her guilt or otherwise will be assessed before a relevant court at some future date." Lindsay replied, while Amy smiled and nodded at his intervention.
"Objection overruled under advisement. Ms Madison, you are specifically enjoined under the Aletheia spell to speak nothing but truth in this setting, otherwise your testimony will be rejected by this forum. Do you so agree?"
"I do, your honour. Wolfram and Hart is known to magickal practitioners in the Sunnydale municipality, although it has little real influence within its precincts due to the Hellmouth phenomenon adjacent to it. However, it has attempted to contact me on several prior occasions, as well as other such practitioners."
"Objection, your honour. Plaintiff witness has a conflict of interest due to her own activities within the municipality in question. She is plainly a hostile witness and her objectivity cannot be insured in her testimony."
"Objection overruled, Ms Morgan. Plaintiff witness is under the cloak of the Aletheia spell, which does not permit any untruth to be spoken within the ambit of its influence." Willow and Doug exchanged glances: -Yeah, right. Except that omissions aren't specifically untruths and a darkmage of Amy's calibre can get around that. She'll say what she has to, willingly to incriminate Wolfram and Hart, but won't mention anything that might incriminate her in this context. Damn it.
-Like you said, Doug, her own judgement awaits a different tribunal altogether. Which means us.
-Lilah looks like she's spitting tacks. And your evidence is almost complete. Wonder what happens now?

And as they covered the events of the last months in Los Angeles, and concluded their testimony, Lilah sat impassively as the Commission chair and her tribunal retired for deliberation. Half an hour later, they filed back into the courtroom:
"It is the judgement of the Californian Securities Commission that the entity known as Wolfram and Hart be permanently and henceforth disbarred from operating within the United States. Copies of this decision and the attached affidavits from Messrs MacDonald and Mercer have been emailed to our counterpart agencies in Europe, China, South-East Asia and Australia. Wolfram and Hart will be given a week to end its corporate affairs within the United States and after that date, it must cease operations within the territorial ambit of this country. So ruled."

As they stepped out of the plaintiff box, Lilah came over to them:
"Congratulations. But then both of you are worthy adversaries and the Senior Partners were always aware something like that could happen. I only hope that you're willing to live with the consequences of your actions."
Lindsay growled: "Is that a threat, Lilah? Because if it is..."
"I don't have a death wish, Lindsay dear. I hope you and your slayer doxy over there have a happy couple of months together before the curtain falls."
Willow snapped: "If you have something to tell us, Ms Morgan, then tell us. Otherwise cut out the pompous innuendo."
"All right, I will. Here's a little tidbit, taken under Aletheia and unlike Madison, I choose to omit nothing. Wolfram and Hart offer it gladly to all of you. It's this: Amy Madison is incapable of seeing her own future past the showdown between all of you in two months time. Whatever the implications of that might be, I'll leave to your own interpretation."

As Morgan walked away, Buffy frowned: "What's that supposed to mean?"
"It might mean Amy dies in the final battle. It might mean the end of everything." Doug replied.
"Ambiguous much-" And at that moment, as they left the Grey Annex and stepped out into the Los Angeles winter afternoon, Doug and Willow clutched their heads in pain:
"Loverman? What is it?"
"Buffy, all of you? We'd better get over to London, fast."
"No need, buddy." Lindsay produced a cellphone. On it, instantly recognisable, was a pile of collapsed, smoking masonry.
"The Watchers Council building?!" Buffy exclaimed, not believing what she was seeing on the BBC News link.
-Alessandra? Doug telepathed, suddenly conscious of an aching void where the Council's fellow mages and witches had once been.
-I know, Doug. I'm all right. They tried to hit the Watchers Institute building, but our wards were different. What seems to have happened is this. Ironically enough, Wolfram and Hart were protecting the Watchers Council premises from hostile thaumaturgic attack from Amy Madison or other similar calibre darkmagicks. Now that Wolfram and Hart is enjoined from working on our world, the wards have been negated and the Council weren't ready. Damn it. Travers may have perished through his own negligence and incompetence, but he took some good Council members with him.

Oz motioned to an adjacent alleyway: "Look." Etched on it, in letters of fire, were several ominous words. IT BEGINS HERE. TIME FOR CONSEQUENCES.

TO BE CONTINUED