A
Altoz
Guest
As they watched the evening news, Buffy turned away and closed her eyes. Lindsey noticed her moment of aversion:
"I know. I don't want to face what has to be done either."
Buffy snuggled into him and looked up:
"But it has to be done. I'm surprised that Angelus isn't being as bloodthirsty either, but something must be restraining him from going on a full-fledged rampage. I'd say one prime suspect would be the new darkmage that's joined up with Drusilla and We- Price. Damn. It's still difficult to accept that a former Watcher has joined the dark side."
Lindsey sighed: "I've been dreading this, hoping that Willow or someone else would manage to turn him back into Angel. I don't relish facing him as Angelus, particularly as that sadistic bastard won't react well to the fact that we're together."
"Yes, well, Angel doesn't play well with my current boyfriends either. You should have seen him and Riley Finn together- fire, meet petrol."
"There's the other aspect too. It's only been a month since Doug got shot and now we're pitching him back into the heat of battle. I don't know if Doug or Oz are ready yet, or whether we have a right to ask either of them. The problem is, can we hold it off much longer?"
"Sorry, you two. The answer is yes. Sorry to barge in and break up the smoochies, but I got a clean bill of health from Alessandra Norton yesterday. But Danny... I don't know if I can speak for him."
"Thank you, loverman, but my answer is yes, too. I don't like having to do this to an old friend, but we know what Angelus is like, Buffy. And he could do a lot of damage in a city the size of LA. Whatever's restraining him may not last forever. My question is why it's doing that?"
Willow joined them: "Oh, you two look comfortable."
"Well, we were, but this is turning into a Scoobies debate over intervention within LA. Willow? Do you have any idea what's restraining Angelus from being Liam the Ripper?:" Buffy asked.
"I was wondering the same thing. Tara took a WatcherSat image of LA and I recognised the thaumaturgic imprint at once. It's Hekate, all right. Which means you'll need me. No prizes for guessing who's holding Angelus' leash. Which, at least, means that we won't be expecting him in Sunnydale at any point and Dawnie will be safe here. Which raises the question of motivation." Willow said, helping herself to Buffy's chocolate assortment.
"Not really. She's doing it out of ...love... for Dru. Those two have got a darkside mother-daughter thing going on and Dru's changed considerably since she's been with We-Price -and the kid. She recognises that Angelus raped her before turning her and deliberately killed her family and she wants revenge. I can't really say that I blame her. And given the kid's background, she decided to assist Dru in that objective. And possibly ...Price... as well. Wes was at death's door before Dru turned him. So they're keeping Angelus inhibited and weak." Doug replied
"Which raises the question, do we need to intervene? When they arrive, they might take care of the problem for us." Buffy interjected.
"I wish it were that simple. When WRH turned Darla, they brought in Drusilla to do it. There's a relationship there, and WRH might exploit it. Or they might want revenge for the Great Lawyer Slaughter that only Lilah Morgan and I survived. Or Price, Dru and the kid might start a turf war against them within Los Angeles and there could be thousands of fatalities." Lindsey observed.
"Oz, if it's too soon after Jordy..."
Oz shook his head: "Nope. If you think this big lug is going anywhere without me, wrong. Added to which, you'll need someone to take on Dru."
"Okay, let's talk strategy. Lindsey and I take on Angelus. What about the rest of you?"
"I think we need to think contingencies too. Tara said she'll stay here and Dawn will be with her. There's something else we need to account for. Watchersat tracked Hekate's thaumaturgic emission sequence. Dru, Price and Hekate are headed back from Canada and toward LA. Which means confrontation and complication."
"I can hold Dru, as I said. Willow, you're the logical choice for Hekate. Loverman?"
"It's okay, Danny. Wesley Wyndham-Price is dead. Price... may look like him, may have been him before he turned, but now he's an unensouled vampire and my duty is to protect baseline humans from their kind. And given his status as a former Watcher and employee of Angel Investigations, next to Drusilla he's our major threat."
SEATTLE:
On the boundary of the city, the aforementioned vampires and darkmage sat around a bar heater:
"It's settled, then. The problem is, Sunnydale's proximity to Los Angeles. Drusilla?"
"We know they've got the werewolf back, and Douglas Mercer and Willow Rosenberg are powerful wiccans. The slayer and McDonald may try to take out Angelus themselves, or restore his soul. Yes, darkheart?"
Hekate sipped some chartreuse: "I sensed that we were being orbitally scanned and tracked. I guess it's probably the Watchers, which means that they've probably passed the information on to the slayer. I would have tried to knock it out but it's too securely warded and up too high. They will have worked out that we're heading back to Los Angeles. Which means that it's me against Red. She'll probably accompany the slayer there and so will lawyer stud."
"Which means that they'll be in the vanguard of any attack against Angelus, given McDonald's capabilities now as an Immortal. And I suspect they'll field Doug against me, given our respective Watcher backgrounds and combat experience. Which means that Oz will be with them, so he'll be assigned against you, Dru. Hekate, can you do a locator spell?"
"I tried that earlier, Price. Blondie is too good at tracking and warding spells. But I got a telepathic surge from Red- they've worked out that I've been hemming Angelus in, that he's weakened, and that they may have a chance against him. I think they'll move soon. Perhaps even as soon as tomorrow."
"Darkheart, are you sure you wouldn't rather stay here?" Drusilla asked, taking Hekate's hands in hers:
"Dru, momma... you and Price rescued me from a very private and self-destructive corner of hell and from that point on, I swore I'd use my mojo to protect both of you. I won't let either of you go into battle without me. What would my life be like if one or both of you fell? I know you want to protect me. Yeah, well, I want to protect you too. My place is by your side."
"I love you so much, my daughter..." But Hekate didn't tell either of them that she'd been shuffling Tarot cards to foresee what might happen next and that the Day of Judgement, Death and High Priestess cards were what she had been dealt. Inwardly, she know that one or more of them would not survive the next day. She was determined that if it came to that, it would be Drusilla who would stay in existence- and Price too, if possible. She didn't love him as much as she did Drusilla, but she respected him for his knowledge and bond with his sire and she knew that the respect and solidarity was mutual.
TO BE CONTINUED
"I know. I don't want to face what has to be done either."
Buffy snuggled into him and looked up:
"But it has to be done. I'm surprised that Angelus isn't being as bloodthirsty either, but something must be restraining him from going on a full-fledged rampage. I'd say one prime suspect would be the new darkmage that's joined up with Drusilla and We- Price. Damn. It's still difficult to accept that a former Watcher has joined the dark side."
Lindsey sighed: "I've been dreading this, hoping that Willow or someone else would manage to turn him back into Angel. I don't relish facing him as Angelus, particularly as that sadistic bastard won't react well to the fact that we're together."
"Yes, well, Angel doesn't play well with my current boyfriends either. You should have seen him and Riley Finn together- fire, meet petrol."
"There's the other aspect too. It's only been a month since Doug got shot and now we're pitching him back into the heat of battle. I don't know if Doug or Oz are ready yet, or whether we have a right to ask either of them. The problem is, can we hold it off much longer?"
"Sorry, you two. The answer is yes. Sorry to barge in and break up the smoochies, but I got a clean bill of health from Alessandra Norton yesterday. But Danny... I don't know if I can speak for him."
"Thank you, loverman, but my answer is yes, too. I don't like having to do this to an old friend, but we know what Angelus is like, Buffy. And he could do a lot of damage in a city the size of LA. Whatever's restraining him may not last forever. My question is why it's doing that?"
Willow joined them: "Oh, you two look comfortable."
"Well, we were, but this is turning into a Scoobies debate over intervention within LA. Willow? Do you have any idea what's restraining Angelus from being Liam the Ripper?:" Buffy asked.
"I was wondering the same thing. Tara took a WatcherSat image of LA and I recognised the thaumaturgic imprint at once. It's Hekate, all right. Which means you'll need me. No prizes for guessing who's holding Angelus' leash. Which, at least, means that we won't be expecting him in Sunnydale at any point and Dawnie will be safe here. Which raises the question of motivation." Willow said, helping herself to Buffy's chocolate assortment.
"Not really. She's doing it out of ...love... for Dru. Those two have got a darkside mother-daughter thing going on and Dru's changed considerably since she's been with We-Price -and the kid. She recognises that Angelus raped her before turning her and deliberately killed her family and she wants revenge. I can't really say that I blame her. And given the kid's background, she decided to assist Dru in that objective. And possibly ...Price... as well. Wes was at death's door before Dru turned him. So they're keeping Angelus inhibited and weak." Doug replied
"Which raises the question, do we need to intervene? When they arrive, they might take care of the problem for us." Buffy interjected.
"I wish it were that simple. When WRH turned Darla, they brought in Drusilla to do it. There's a relationship there, and WRH might exploit it. Or they might want revenge for the Great Lawyer Slaughter that only Lilah Morgan and I survived. Or Price, Dru and the kid might start a turf war against them within Los Angeles and there could be thousands of fatalities." Lindsey observed.
"Oz, if it's too soon after Jordy..."
Oz shook his head: "Nope. If you think this big lug is going anywhere without me, wrong. Added to which, you'll need someone to take on Dru."
"Okay, let's talk strategy. Lindsey and I take on Angelus. What about the rest of you?"
"I think we need to think contingencies too. Tara said she'll stay here and Dawn will be with her. There's something else we need to account for. Watchersat tracked Hekate's thaumaturgic emission sequence. Dru, Price and Hekate are headed back from Canada and toward LA. Which means confrontation and complication."
"I can hold Dru, as I said. Willow, you're the logical choice for Hekate. Loverman?"
"It's okay, Danny. Wesley Wyndham-Price is dead. Price... may look like him, may have been him before he turned, but now he's an unensouled vampire and my duty is to protect baseline humans from their kind. And given his status as a former Watcher and employee of Angel Investigations, next to Drusilla he's our major threat."
SEATTLE:
On the boundary of the city, the aforementioned vampires and darkmage sat around a bar heater:
"It's settled, then. The problem is, Sunnydale's proximity to Los Angeles. Drusilla?"
"We know they've got the werewolf back, and Douglas Mercer and Willow Rosenberg are powerful wiccans. The slayer and McDonald may try to take out Angelus themselves, or restore his soul. Yes, darkheart?"
Hekate sipped some chartreuse: "I sensed that we were being orbitally scanned and tracked. I guess it's probably the Watchers, which means that they've probably passed the information on to the slayer. I would have tried to knock it out but it's too securely warded and up too high. They will have worked out that we're heading back to Los Angeles. Which means that it's me against Red. She'll probably accompany the slayer there and so will lawyer stud."
"Which means that they'll be in the vanguard of any attack against Angelus, given McDonald's capabilities now as an Immortal. And I suspect they'll field Doug against me, given our respective Watcher backgrounds and combat experience. Which means that Oz will be with them, so he'll be assigned against you, Dru. Hekate, can you do a locator spell?"
"I tried that earlier, Price. Blondie is too good at tracking and warding spells. But I got a telepathic surge from Red- they've worked out that I've been hemming Angelus in, that he's weakened, and that they may have a chance against him. I think they'll move soon. Perhaps even as soon as tomorrow."
"Darkheart, are you sure you wouldn't rather stay here?" Drusilla asked, taking Hekate's hands in hers:
"Dru, momma... you and Price rescued me from a very private and self-destructive corner of hell and from that point on, I swore I'd use my mojo to protect both of you. I won't let either of you go into battle without me. What would my life be like if one or both of you fell? I know you want to protect me. Yeah, well, I want to protect you too. My place is by your side."
"I love you so much, my daughter..." But Hekate didn't tell either of them that she'd been shuffling Tarot cards to foresee what might happen next and that the Day of Judgement, Death and High Priestess cards were what she had been dealt. Inwardly, she know that one or more of them would not survive the next day. She was determined that if it came to that, it would be Drusilla who would stay in existence- and Price too, if possible. She didn't love him as much as she did Drusilla, but she respected him for his knowledge and bond with his sire and she knew that the respect and solidarity was mutual.
TO BE CONTINUED