Numb and Number: Chapter Seven
Nov. 4th, 2008 10:58 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
jesterladyficWarning: MAJOR CHARACTER DEATH!
Chapter Seven
Angel was walking down the street. It wasn’t an unusual thing for him to be doing. He walked quite a lot and, if it was at night, he much preferred the street to the sewers. On the other hand, he wasn’t feeling quite like himself. Brooding was an understatement for what he was doing.
Wesley was right to be angry with him. It took a lot for Angel to admit that. He wasn’t used to Wesley being
right about anything and being the only one who knew about Wesley’s biggest mistake galled the self-righteousness
that Angel carried around with him. He knew that it was his fault Wesley didn’t remember that, and he knew he’d
long since forgiven him, but, at the same time, secret keeping was hard.
He was on his way to check up on Connor. He had a feeling that the only good thing about helping Connor
come to Rome was that when the inevitable attack on his son came, he would be there to help.
Hearing the sounds of a scuffle, Angel wondered if the time had come. Coming around the corner, he dodged
as a large form flew through the air toward him. It was a vampire. After dusting it, he leaned against the wall to
watch his son fight.
Connor obviously didn’t know what he was doing though his natural instincts, strength and reflexes were
keeping him alive. But only just, for though he could keep the vampires away, he did not know how to kill them and
he didn't have even close to a stake.
Moving into action, Angel entered the fight and offered his own experience to help Connor out. He pulled out an
extra stake and called to the young man.
“They don’t like this in the heart!”
Connor caught the thrown stake in surprise and, out of reflex jammed it into the heart of the nearest vamp. The
dust exploded over the rest of the fight as Angel fought, blocked and staked routinely while really watching his son.
Ducking under a forward punch, Angel grabbed his last vampire by the neck and staked him through the back.
Turning around he spied Connor sliding his own stake into the final vampire.
“Well done,” said a voice from the shadows.
Angel groaned when he saw who it was.
“I don’t have time for this.”
“Well, thanks to you really I have all the time in the world, so indulge me.”
“Go away, Lilah.”
“Got my orders,” she refused gaily. “You really shook things up, didn’t you? Just had to ruin the opportunity we
gave you, had to bring back an Old One, and had to ruin life for us all. Or death in our case.” She gestured between
Angel and herself.
“What do you want? Not that I don’t wish I could snap your neck instead.”
“Afraid Wes got there before you,” she pointed out. “But we’re all marching for a different drummer these days.
She kind of looks familiar actually and she wants him.”
“Not him,” Angel said, moving protectively in front of Connor.
“Who are you?” the young man asked.
“Not right now, it’s not safe.”
“She’s definitely not safe, but are you?”
Lilah’s laugh echoed through the alley.
“How’s it feel, Angel?”
“Probably the same as when your mother doesn’t recognize you,” he snapped back at her. Her face hardened.
“Illyria wants Connor. Better give him up.”
“Over your dead body,” Angel replied.
“Wouldn’t be too hard.” She smiled. “But I’m not who you have to worry about. This is even bigger than it used
to be. Wolfram & Hart may not always like it, but they’re not in charge anymore and now it’s a part of what will be
your end. She doesn’t care about prophecies, Angel.”
“Neither do I.”
“Well, they have been rather strenuous for you so far,” she agreed. “Now let Connor come with me.”
“No.”
“Then I suggest you run,” she said and melted back into the shadows. “Better not tell Wesley I said hi.”
“What is going on?” Connor asked in frustration. “These things just jumped me, who the hell are you, and what
does whoever it is want with me? I want some answers.”
Angel sighed. This was not the time to reveal all and the boy probably wouldn’t believe him anyway. But
something would have to be said.
“Can we get some coffee or something?” he asked. “You need to learn fast and then we need to make you
safe.”
“We’ll see,” Connor said warily, following Angel out of the alley.
***
Willow heard the sound of pages being flipped rapidly and raised her head to see Giles copying things down and working out what looked like calculations. She sighed, set her own book down and went to get a glass of water.
Her initial rage against Illyria for humiliating her had subsided and she was no longer researching with the mad
frenzy that had possessed her at first. The embers were still there though and she could feel them burning with a
dull resentment.
She was bored and she wanted to be with people. Buffy and Spike were out patrolling and Oz, for some
reason, was avoiding her. At least she thought he was, but it wasn’t like it was any of her business anyway. And
that was what she wanted, to stay away from him, to forget the mixed up feelings he provoked in her. Or to just give
in to the comfort and stability he provided. When he wasn’t avoiding her, that is.
Leaving Giles to his manic writing, she went in to check on Wesley. He was sleeping and she picked up the
room quietly, refilling his water pitcher and checking to make sure he had enough blankets.
His scruffy face was so different from the one she’d first known all those years ago in Sunnydale. His soul had
changed, so had hers. But then she laughed quietly when she remembered his telling her about locking a woman in
a closet after she’d revealed her desperate attempt to destroy the world. Changes did not change the inherent self
that each person carried with them. That realization gave her hope and she decided to go back and help Giles to
save her friends rather than prove herself.
***
Buffy and Spike came in the door squabbling. Giles and Willow had grown used to the scene and so ignored them, though Willow went to inquire after their success. Giles, however, grew even more engrossed in what he was reading and tiny sounds of realization began to escape him and eventually when he gasped a loud, “Oh!” Spike noticed what was going on and investigated.
“Watcha got there, Watcher?” he asked genially enough. Giles grabbed his book and started reading out some
gibberish to them before he remembered that they didn’t speak the language he was reading from.
“This is it! This is the spell, the weakness, this is what will keep Illyria from destroying the world. It was in the
Old World Codex after all. Just like that.”
Smiles rose on everyone’s faces.
“Giles, are you sure?” Buffy moved to his side to look at the pages but then sat down with a pout as she
realized she couldn’t read them. “Why do all the ultimate spells have to be written in some musty, old, demony
language? Don’t demons know about English?”
“Well, some of us,” Spike muttered under his breath. Buffy shot him a glare.
“Tell us what’s what, Giles,” she requested. “I’ve got a yen to kill right about now.”
“Well, it doesn’t really involve much killing on your part, actually,” Giles said rather apologetically. “It’s more of
a spell that would just require your guarding skills to make sure nothing interrupts it.”
“I’ll take what I can get,” Buffy grumbled.
Spike moved over and started to rub her shoulders whereupon her mood improved tremendously.
“What else, Giles?” Willow asked as she quickly checked the magical wards she’d placed around the
apartment to make sure no one could overhear them. At that point they all noticed Oz had appeared in the room,
heavily supporting a walking-on-his-own-feet Wesley. After Wesley was settled on the couch Giles explained.
“This is a spell that Willow and I could perform. It appears, like Willow said, that Illyria’s physical form is her
weakest point and this is because the body was never meant to hold all the power it now contains. The power will be
trying to burst out and Illyria is probably having quite a time keeping it all within her body. Apparently there was a
spell that some Old Ones performed when she was defeated that tapped into the power that was trying to escape
and harnessed it against her. We can do the same. Without her power, she should retain only normal demon-like
attributes and could be killed like any other.”
“So there is killing?” Spike and Buffy asked together.
“Well, yes, but not for the actual spell part.”
“Spell, whatever,” Buffy said. “Give me my Scythe and let’s go.”
“We need to plan this out, Buffy,” Giles told her. “Willow and I will have to study this spell to get it perfect.
Illyria will be well practiced in resisting spells and it will require a lot of effort on the part of our fighters to keep us
protected while we perform the spell.”
“That we can do,” Buffy assured him. “I’m all about can-doing that.”
Just then, a rather harried-looking Angel came in the door followed closely by a young man about eighteen with
longish, brown hair and a lanky build. Spike was instantly struck by how the boy resembled someone he’d once
known. If only he could remember who. Wesley also looked hit by recognition, but Spike figured he must be
mistaken when confused crossed Wesley's face and he didn't say anything.
“Angel, what’s going on?” Buffy asked curiously. “Who’s this?”
“His name is-“ Angel hesitated.
“My name is Connor,” the young man said, putting his hand toward Buffy. She shook it and gestured for him to
take a seat.
“Hi, Connor. I’m Buffy and this is Spike, Giles, Wesley, Willow and Oz.”
“Nice to meet you all,” Connor said, but Spike noticed he sat down warily and kept a watchful eye on all in the
room.
“So where do you know Angel from?” Willow asked. Curiosity was really getting to everyone.
“He rescued me from some vampires tonight,” Connor replied steadily, looking for everyone’s reaction.
“He’s got a habit of doing that,” Spike told him. “Don’t let the broody heroics get you down.”
Connor flashed a small smile but didn’t say anything.
“Not that we mind having you,” Buffy assured Connor before turning to Angel, “but why did you bring him here?”
“Okay.” Angel braced himself. “I can’t explain it. It’s actually really complicated. But I saw Lilah tonight.” It
seemed only Wesley recognized the name and the sound of it looked like it tore a hole through his gut, but he sat
quietly. Angel sent an apologetic look in his direction before continuing.
“She sent the vampires after Connor, or rather Illyria did, because Lilah has to work for Wolfram & Hart and they
have to work for Illyria. I don’t know why she wants him exactly, but I’ve been keeping a close watch on him for
awhile now due to work-related things that happened before our little schism with the Senior Partners.”
“Keep going and maybe I’ll follow you,” Buffy told him.
Angel shook his head.
“I can’t say anymore than that. Except…well, I have to go. Connor is in danger here and I have to take him
somewhere Illyria can’t get at him. I’m sorry, Buffy. Wes, I’m really sorry. But another innocent life is at stake and I
have to make sure what happened to Fred doesn’t happen to him.”
“What about our bloody innocent lives?” Spike inquired sharply.
“Your life is anything but innocent, Spike!” Angel snapped.
“And thank you, Mr. Pot,” Buffy interrupted. “Can we not do the whole ‘whose past sins are worst’ game right
now?”
Angel and Spike looked away from each other, but anger had clearly risen in both. Spike looked at the rest to see if they would say anything.
Giles and Oz obviously felt like it wasn’t their place to say anything, so they just looked on. Willow and
Wesley probably felt differently, but they each would have their own personal reasons for not wanting to get involved in this particular blow up. Wesley would be trying to save his strength and Willow would want to avoid a need to control the situation.
“I have to go. But I will be back just as soon as I know he’s safe,” Angel promised. “I said I would fight this fight and I will. Illyria is my problem too and I won’t forget that.”
“You’d better hurry then,” Wesley said quietly.
Angel gave him a swift searching look and Wesley nodded ever so slightly. Mollified, Angel turned to Connor.
“Let’s go, so-“ he stopped. “So we can get away before anyone knows you were here.”
“You told me after the coffeehouse that I would get some real answers,” Connor reminded him. “That will
happen or I will be going right back to school.”
“I know,” Angel said quietly. “I want you to feel free here.”
“Thank you for your hospitality,” Connor told Buffy. “It was nice to meet you.”
“And you,” she answered quietly.
They all watched quietly as Angel and Connor left and it wasn’t until they had gone that Spike remembered
nobody had even told Angel that they knew how to defeat Illyria now.
***
Days passed slowly. Wesley regained his strength and worked his mind as well by studying the spell with Giles and helping Willow learn it. He was walking entirely on his own now and while wielding a sword was not in the picture, his trigger finger worked just fine.
Spike didn’t miss Angel at all. Neither did Giles. But Wesley found himself missing his friend and pondering
the reason why Angel would have left with the imminent battle ahead. His memory didn’t allow him to stay focused
on the question for long. Every time he thought he had an answer, his mind started thinking about something else.
Wesley found it frustrating, but he knew that his main concern was getting well and then the spell.
Willow spent her time learning the spell, getting close again with Giles and Buffy and wondering why Oz was
ignoring her, even though she was glad he was. She’d figure it out after Illyria, the self-righteous god king was
defeated.
Oz focused on helping Wesley regain his strength and ignoring Willow. Whether or not that was a wise thing,
he didn’t know, but that’s all he could do with the wolf howling inside him day and night.
Spike and Buffy were preoccupied with each other. They went out every night patrolling, trying to find anything
of Illyria’s forces. Apparently, she wasn’t letting them out much. So they spent the time making out, talking or
arguing, whichever happened first. Buffy had never been so happy or so frustrated in her whole life. Spike was
definitely a challenge that she’d never understood before. Spike still didn’t understand her, but he would be dust
before he gave up trying.
***
Angel had this niggling feeling that something was wrong. He couldn’t put his finger on it. He kept coming back to Lilah and what she’d said to him. She knew about him and Connor and now Illyria knew. What did that mean? Why would Illyria want Connor? Why would Lilah tell him to run? Why would he take Lilah’s advice for that matter?
Sighing, Angel took another sip of blood, carefully out of Connor’s sight. Lilah, Lilah was the key. Lilah was
smart and shifty and moral-less, especially now she was dead and controlled by Illyria. What could Lilah’s
knowledge of Connor have to do with Illyria’s plans? Or was it just about getting him out of the way? Angel couldn’t
shake it any longer. Something was really wrong. He went to find Connor.
***
Oz woke up suddenly, his heart pounding. His instincts told him he wasn’t alone and he slid off the couch and crouched beside it, listening. Footsteps moved toward him and he waited. Just as they bent over the couch where he’d been sleeping, he leapt up and knocked the person to the floor. He pinned the arms down as a light rose from their fingers and illuminated the face of Willow whom, Oz suddenly realized uncomfortably, he was almost lying on top of.
“Hi,” he said, moving off.
“Breakfast is ready,” Willow said awkwardly. “But if I’d have known you felt that way I wouldn’t have bothered.”
“Sorry. I didn’t know it was you.” Oz grabbed his t-shirt and pulled it over his head as Willow babbled on about
how it was okay. His wolf growled in delight, his heart throbbed in longing. But in the split two seconds that his
head was in the shirt, Oz erased both feelings from his face and emerged stoic.
“What’s for breakfast?”
***
Giles made an announcement at breakfast that morning.
“We are ready to face Illyria. Wesley is recovered enough to go into combat and Willow is proficient with the
spell. We have enough backup and supernatural strength, though we could have more,” he added with a pointed look
at Buffy. She simply smiled at him and so he continued, “I believe we are as ready as we shall ever be.”
“Thank goodness!” Buffy said, biting into her toast with gusto. “I was about to die of boredom.”
“I wouldn’t have let you,” Spike told her, taking a sip from her orange juice.
“Get your own, Spike!” she snapped at him and reached across the table for the waffles. Spike just shrugged
and grabbed two waffles off the plate as her arm brought it past him. Buffy glared, but to no avail.
“So when we going?” he asked Giles.
“Tonight if at all possible. I don’t think we can wait for Angel since he never said when he would return.”
“Sounds fair,” Willow said, anxious to do the spell for real. Giles looked hard at her, but refrained from speaking.
“Then everyone prepare and we shall leave around sunset. You all know what to do.”
“Bloody well bet we do,” Spike muttered. Buffy jabbed him sharply in the ribs. Spike grinned and nabbed a
kiss on the elbow as it returned to its proper place. Buffy hid her pleased smile and started gathering the breakfast
things. Willow and Wesley rose to help her and they quickly cleaned up the kitchen.
***
When they left that evening it was with the usual pre-apocalypse jitters. This was definitely up there on the apocalypse list; however, and Buffy shivered uncontrollably, feeling for Spike at her side. Spike never left her side, swaggering slightly more than normal as if to celebrate the fact.
Willow found herself going over and over the spell in her mind, lest she do something wrong, yet knowing at the
same time that she was the only one who could do the spell. With Giles and Wesley supporting her, Illyria was
going down.
Willow did a locater spell, using the leftover essence Illyria had left in the apartment. It was very difficult to
trace and for a second, Willow was worried that Illyria wasn’t even in the same dimension.
“She’s not far,” Willow was finally able to say. A cool hand handed her a handkerchief and she gladly thanked
Oz as she wiped the sweat off her brow.
“Let’s go.” Buffy led the way. “Please remember everyone that Spike and I will be fighting Illyria. Wesley, you
are guarding Willow and Giles as they do the spell and Oz is to fight off everyone else.”
“Sounds fun,” he replied, tucking his stake in his pocket and hefting an axe.
“Here,” Willow said and handed him back the handkerchief.
“Thanks,” he said and stuffed it in his pocket as well. She blushed as he held it to his nose before doing so,
like he was inhaling her scent.
“Good luck,” she said quietly.
“And you,” he said, just as quiet.
***
Illyria was located in a palatial suite on top of an old hotel. At least, that’s what it looked like, but Spike and Wesley soon recognized the interior of a Wolfram & Hart corporate office when they reached the inside.
“Black mojo all right,” Spike whistled. “Creepy how they all look alike.”
“Unsettling indeed,” Wesley agreed.
“Illyria’s in the next room,” Willow whispered. “Be very quiet, but I am sure she knows we’re here.”
Willow had control over her magic and she used it to veil their approach even as she did the mental preparation
and set up for the main spell she would be doing that evening.
“Underlings at the entrance,” came a voice from up ahead of them and then vampires and demons, lawyers and
a few bankers poured out of the doors toward them.
Spike and Buffy met them with glee and were soon cutting a pathway through the melee for the others. Their
job was to reach Illyria soon before she unleashed more than they could handle.
At the doorway, they could see her standing in the middle of the room, just looking at them.
Vampires exploded into dust, demon’s heads fell to the floor. Willow’s power grew with each step.
“A binding!” she yelled as they got within fifty feet of Illyria. A band of white light encircled Illyria and she did not
move outside of its circle.
“That will hold her from what’s outside it,” Willow called to Buffy and Spike. “You have to go in to fight her.”
“We’re on it, Will,” Buffy assured her and tossed a demon onto the point of Spike’s sword which he held out
casually for her with one hand while staking a vampire sneaking up on him with the other. They moved steadily
toward the god king, slaughtering as they went.
Wesley emptied his guns into the onslaught. Many vampires were beheaded via shotgun that day. Oz wielded
a crossbow, stake and axe and where he’d learned to use three weapons at once, Willow did not know, but he was
proficient enough that she could concentrate on the spell and the spell only.
Giles stood beside her holding the book and offering her energy, strength and experience. She drew on it
heavily because the power she now targeted in Illyria was wilder and more uncontrollable than she’d thought.
Giles spoke words in the demon tongue that Willow didn’t understand. She slowly began to chant under her
tongue and wind her words around his, fashioning them into a tube in her mind. Her eyes were fixed on Illyria and
two blonde blurs leapt into her vision. Buffy and Spike had reached the enemy.
Illyria watched them impassively.
“Jump into a portal out of this one, Queenie,” Buffy told her and launched an attack. Illyria effectively blocked
each move Buffy and Spike made.
“The binding does not permit that I should use my time or space power. But do not worry that I shall be
defeated, that is not my purpose.”
“I don’t care what your bloody purpose is!” Spike yelled as he ducked under her arm and aimed at her head with
his sword.
“You will,” was all the comment that came back when she bent over backwards, parallel to the floor, to avoid the
swing and stuck out her leg to kick Spike back thirty feet in the process. Buffy pressed in the attack. Illyria’s mind
seemed to be in two places at once as she listened to Willow and fought Buffy at the same time. Spike leapt to his
feet and started to run back to their side.
Willow finished molding her mind tube, using the power of her own magic along with Giles’ specific words, and
prodded the tube mentally to the big gaping hole in Illyria’s side she could see with her magically enhanced vision.
The tube entered the hole and Illyria stumbled while Buffy spin kicked her in the head. Willow began a sucking
motion and power began to flood the tube that stretched from Illyria’s body to Willow on the other side of the room,
unbroken by the fighting occurring along the way.
Illyria straightened up as Willow sucked the power right out of her. Willow sensed Illyria’s recognition of too
much power leaving her and felt her make a sharp pull with her mind. Willow saw her connection snap, even though
the power she’d drained remained in her tube, then began to dissipate in the air without a physical vessel to contain
it. The broken connection made her drop to her knees in shock and she couldn’t move as she watched Illyria.
Spike was ten feet away from the still battling Illyria and Buffy, but Illyria had obviously had enough. Moving
with such speed Buffy could hardly see what she was doing, Illyria grabbed Buffy’s sword hand and squeezed the
hand until it dropped the sword reflexively. It fell onto Illyria’s foot which she kicked up into her other hand.
Releasing Buffy’s hand, Illyria grabbed her throat and squeezed again, while the sword hand brought the sword, point
first, deep in and out the back of the Slayer. Buffy jerked and her eyes rolled back as blood trickled out of her
mouth. Illyria twisted the sword and then left it as she turned and walked away. Buffy fell into Spike’s arms who had
just come rushing up behind her.
“Come!” Illyria’s voice rolled over the tumult in the room. “We are finished.” Each vampire and demon and
lawyer and banker stopped what they were doing and exited in the fastest way available to them. Wesley and Oz
were fighting stragglers and didn’t see what had happened. Willow could vaguely feel Giles trying to help her up, but
she just sat there, silently screaming and his attempts stopepd when he saw what she saw.
***
Spike gazed for two seconds into Buffy’s blood streaked face before a red fury rose over his eyes and he got up looking for Illyria. But she had gone, using neither portal nor time powers, only her supernatural speed. For a minute he was going to follow, but his heart would not let him leave and he dropped again to Buffy as quickly as he’d risen from her.
“Love,” he whispered gently, “love, where is your heaven?”
Buffy struggled to open her eyes, but her lips moved almost soundlessly.
“With you, stupid.”
“Then don’t leave,” he said, voice breaking. “Don’t go where they won’t let me find you.”
“You’ve, you’ve proven yourself,” Buffy coughed out.
Wesley and Oz noticed the pair of them on the floor and gathered with Willow and Giles in shock.
“They need you,” Spike said adamantly. “I bloody need you.”
“They’ve got you,” she said. “That’s what I can leave them, a-and Dawnie. Y-you have...” Her breath grew so
faint he would have sworn it wasn’t there. “...my, my love.”
“Need more than your love, yeah,” he said, desperately to keep her talking. “Need your body, need your voice,
your insults, your touch, you.” Buffy chuckled raggedly, her eyes closed and her body limp.
“You’re, you’re such a…p-pig, Spi…” And her words died away as her body did. Willow sank to the floor again
and Giles shook his head violently. Oz’s and Wesley’s faces were stone, but Spike’s composure broke as he
cradled her in his arms and howled his heart cry of rage and brokenness to the silent room.
Chapter Seven
Angel was walking down the street. It wasn’t an unusual thing for him to be doing. He walked quite a lot and, if it was at night, he much preferred the street to the sewers. On the other hand, he wasn’t feeling quite like himself. Brooding was an understatement for what he was doing.
Wesley was right to be angry with him. It took a lot for Angel to admit that. He wasn’t used to Wesley being
right about anything and being the only one who knew about Wesley’s biggest mistake galled the self-righteousness
that Angel carried around with him. He knew that it was his fault Wesley didn’t remember that, and he knew he’d
long since forgiven him, but, at the same time, secret keeping was hard.
He was on his way to check up on Connor. He had a feeling that the only good thing about helping Connor
come to Rome was that when the inevitable attack on his son came, he would be there to help.
Hearing the sounds of a scuffle, Angel wondered if the time had come. Coming around the corner, he dodged
as a large form flew through the air toward him. It was a vampire. After dusting it, he leaned against the wall to
watch his son fight.
Connor obviously didn’t know what he was doing though his natural instincts, strength and reflexes were
keeping him alive. But only just, for though he could keep the vampires away, he did not know how to kill them and
he didn't have even close to a stake.
Moving into action, Angel entered the fight and offered his own experience to help Connor out. He pulled out an
extra stake and called to the young man.
“They don’t like this in the heart!”
Connor caught the thrown stake in surprise and, out of reflex jammed it into the heart of the nearest vamp. The
dust exploded over the rest of the fight as Angel fought, blocked and staked routinely while really watching his son.
Ducking under a forward punch, Angel grabbed his last vampire by the neck and staked him through the back.
Turning around he spied Connor sliding his own stake into the final vampire.
“Well done,” said a voice from the shadows.
Angel groaned when he saw who it was.
“I don’t have time for this.”
“Well, thanks to you really I have all the time in the world, so indulge me.”
“Go away, Lilah.”
“Got my orders,” she refused gaily. “You really shook things up, didn’t you? Just had to ruin the opportunity we
gave you, had to bring back an Old One, and had to ruin life for us all. Or death in our case.” She gestured between
Angel and herself.
“What do you want? Not that I don’t wish I could snap your neck instead.”
“Afraid Wes got there before you,” she pointed out. “But we’re all marching for a different drummer these days.
She kind of looks familiar actually and she wants him.”
“Not him,” Angel said, moving protectively in front of Connor.
“Who are you?” the young man asked.
“Not right now, it’s not safe.”
“She’s definitely not safe, but are you?”
Lilah’s laugh echoed through the alley.
“How’s it feel, Angel?”
“Probably the same as when your mother doesn’t recognize you,” he snapped back at her. Her face hardened.
“Illyria wants Connor. Better give him up.”
“Over your dead body,” Angel replied.
“Wouldn’t be too hard.” She smiled. “But I’m not who you have to worry about. This is even bigger than it used
to be. Wolfram & Hart may not always like it, but they’re not in charge anymore and now it’s a part of what will be
your end. She doesn’t care about prophecies, Angel.”
“Neither do I.”
“Well, they have been rather strenuous for you so far,” she agreed. “Now let Connor come with me.”
“No.”
“Then I suggest you run,” she said and melted back into the shadows. “Better not tell Wesley I said hi.”
“What is going on?” Connor asked in frustration. “These things just jumped me, who the hell are you, and what
does whoever it is want with me? I want some answers.”
Angel sighed. This was not the time to reveal all and the boy probably wouldn’t believe him anyway. But
something would have to be said.
“Can we get some coffee or something?” he asked. “You need to learn fast and then we need to make you
safe.”
“We’ll see,” Connor said warily, following Angel out of the alley.
***
Willow heard the sound of pages being flipped rapidly and raised her head to see Giles copying things down and working out what looked like calculations. She sighed, set her own book down and went to get a glass of water.
Her initial rage against Illyria for humiliating her had subsided and she was no longer researching with the mad
frenzy that had possessed her at first. The embers were still there though and she could feel them burning with a
dull resentment.
She was bored and she wanted to be with people. Buffy and Spike were out patrolling and Oz, for some
reason, was avoiding her. At least she thought he was, but it wasn’t like it was any of her business anyway. And
that was what she wanted, to stay away from him, to forget the mixed up feelings he provoked in her. Or to just give
in to the comfort and stability he provided. When he wasn’t avoiding her, that is.
Leaving Giles to his manic writing, she went in to check on Wesley. He was sleeping and she picked up the
room quietly, refilling his water pitcher and checking to make sure he had enough blankets.
His scruffy face was so different from the one she’d first known all those years ago in Sunnydale. His soul had
changed, so had hers. But then she laughed quietly when she remembered his telling her about locking a woman in
a closet after she’d revealed her desperate attempt to destroy the world. Changes did not change the inherent self
that each person carried with them. That realization gave her hope and she decided to go back and help Giles to
save her friends rather than prove herself.
***
Buffy and Spike came in the door squabbling. Giles and Willow had grown used to the scene and so ignored them, though Willow went to inquire after their success. Giles, however, grew even more engrossed in what he was reading and tiny sounds of realization began to escape him and eventually when he gasped a loud, “Oh!” Spike noticed what was going on and investigated.
“Watcha got there, Watcher?” he asked genially enough. Giles grabbed his book and started reading out some
gibberish to them before he remembered that they didn’t speak the language he was reading from.
“This is it! This is the spell, the weakness, this is what will keep Illyria from destroying the world. It was in the
Old World Codex after all. Just like that.”
Smiles rose on everyone’s faces.
“Giles, are you sure?” Buffy moved to his side to look at the pages but then sat down with a pout as she
realized she couldn’t read them. “Why do all the ultimate spells have to be written in some musty, old, demony
language? Don’t demons know about English?”
“Well, some of us,” Spike muttered under his breath. Buffy shot him a glare.
“Tell us what’s what, Giles,” she requested. “I’ve got a yen to kill right about now.”
“Well, it doesn’t really involve much killing on your part, actually,” Giles said rather apologetically. “It’s more of
a spell that would just require your guarding skills to make sure nothing interrupts it.”
“I’ll take what I can get,” Buffy grumbled.
Spike moved over and started to rub her shoulders whereupon her mood improved tremendously.
“What else, Giles?” Willow asked as she quickly checked the magical wards she’d placed around the
apartment to make sure no one could overhear them. At that point they all noticed Oz had appeared in the room,
heavily supporting a walking-on-his-own-feet Wesley. After Wesley was settled on the couch Giles explained.
“This is a spell that Willow and I could perform. It appears, like Willow said, that Illyria’s physical form is her
weakest point and this is because the body was never meant to hold all the power it now contains. The power will be
trying to burst out and Illyria is probably having quite a time keeping it all within her body. Apparently there was a
spell that some Old Ones performed when she was defeated that tapped into the power that was trying to escape
and harnessed it against her. We can do the same. Without her power, she should retain only normal demon-like
attributes and could be killed like any other.”
“So there is killing?” Spike and Buffy asked together.
“Well, yes, but not for the actual spell part.”
“Spell, whatever,” Buffy said. “Give me my Scythe and let’s go.”
“We need to plan this out, Buffy,” Giles told her. “Willow and I will have to study this spell to get it perfect.
Illyria will be well practiced in resisting spells and it will require a lot of effort on the part of our fighters to keep us
protected while we perform the spell.”
“That we can do,” Buffy assured him. “I’m all about can-doing that.”
Just then, a rather harried-looking Angel came in the door followed closely by a young man about eighteen with
longish, brown hair and a lanky build. Spike was instantly struck by how the boy resembled someone he’d once
known. If only he could remember who. Wesley also looked hit by recognition, but Spike figured he must be
mistaken when confused crossed Wesley's face and he didn't say anything.
“Angel, what’s going on?” Buffy asked curiously. “Who’s this?”
“His name is-“ Angel hesitated.
“My name is Connor,” the young man said, putting his hand toward Buffy. She shook it and gestured for him to
take a seat.
“Hi, Connor. I’m Buffy and this is Spike, Giles, Wesley, Willow and Oz.”
“Nice to meet you all,” Connor said, but Spike noticed he sat down warily and kept a watchful eye on all in the
room.
“So where do you know Angel from?” Willow asked. Curiosity was really getting to everyone.
“He rescued me from some vampires tonight,” Connor replied steadily, looking for everyone’s reaction.
“He’s got a habit of doing that,” Spike told him. “Don’t let the broody heroics get you down.”
Connor flashed a small smile but didn’t say anything.
“Not that we mind having you,” Buffy assured Connor before turning to Angel, “but why did you bring him here?”
“Okay.” Angel braced himself. “I can’t explain it. It’s actually really complicated. But I saw Lilah tonight.” It
seemed only Wesley recognized the name and the sound of it looked like it tore a hole through his gut, but he sat
quietly. Angel sent an apologetic look in his direction before continuing.
“She sent the vampires after Connor, or rather Illyria did, because Lilah has to work for Wolfram & Hart and they
have to work for Illyria. I don’t know why she wants him exactly, but I’ve been keeping a close watch on him for
awhile now due to work-related things that happened before our little schism with the Senior Partners.”
“Keep going and maybe I’ll follow you,” Buffy told him.
Angel shook his head.
“I can’t say anymore than that. Except…well, I have to go. Connor is in danger here and I have to take him
somewhere Illyria can’t get at him. I’m sorry, Buffy. Wes, I’m really sorry. But another innocent life is at stake and I
have to make sure what happened to Fred doesn’t happen to him.”
“What about our bloody innocent lives?” Spike inquired sharply.
“Your life is anything but innocent, Spike!” Angel snapped.
“And thank you, Mr. Pot,” Buffy interrupted. “Can we not do the whole ‘whose past sins are worst’ game right
now?”
Angel and Spike looked away from each other, but anger had clearly risen in both. Spike looked at the rest to see if they would say anything.
Giles and Oz obviously felt like it wasn’t their place to say anything, so they just looked on. Willow and
Wesley probably felt differently, but they each would have their own personal reasons for not wanting to get involved in this particular blow up. Wesley would be trying to save his strength and Willow would want to avoid a need to control the situation.
“I have to go. But I will be back just as soon as I know he’s safe,” Angel promised. “I said I would fight this fight and I will. Illyria is my problem too and I won’t forget that.”
“You’d better hurry then,” Wesley said quietly.
Angel gave him a swift searching look and Wesley nodded ever so slightly. Mollified, Angel turned to Connor.
“Let’s go, so-“ he stopped. “So we can get away before anyone knows you were here.”
“You told me after the coffeehouse that I would get some real answers,” Connor reminded him. “That will
happen or I will be going right back to school.”
“I know,” Angel said quietly. “I want you to feel free here.”
“Thank you for your hospitality,” Connor told Buffy. “It was nice to meet you.”
“And you,” she answered quietly.
They all watched quietly as Angel and Connor left and it wasn’t until they had gone that Spike remembered
nobody had even told Angel that they knew how to defeat Illyria now.
***
Days passed slowly. Wesley regained his strength and worked his mind as well by studying the spell with Giles and helping Willow learn it. He was walking entirely on his own now and while wielding a sword was not in the picture, his trigger finger worked just fine.
Spike didn’t miss Angel at all. Neither did Giles. But Wesley found himself missing his friend and pondering
the reason why Angel would have left with the imminent battle ahead. His memory didn’t allow him to stay focused
on the question for long. Every time he thought he had an answer, his mind started thinking about something else.
Wesley found it frustrating, but he knew that his main concern was getting well and then the spell.
Willow spent her time learning the spell, getting close again with Giles and Buffy and wondering why Oz was
ignoring her, even though she was glad he was. She’d figure it out after Illyria, the self-righteous god king was
defeated.
Oz focused on helping Wesley regain his strength and ignoring Willow. Whether or not that was a wise thing,
he didn’t know, but that’s all he could do with the wolf howling inside him day and night.
Spike and Buffy were preoccupied with each other. They went out every night patrolling, trying to find anything
of Illyria’s forces. Apparently, she wasn’t letting them out much. So they spent the time making out, talking or
arguing, whichever happened first. Buffy had never been so happy or so frustrated in her whole life. Spike was
definitely a challenge that she’d never understood before. Spike still didn’t understand her, but he would be dust
before he gave up trying.
***
Angel had this niggling feeling that something was wrong. He couldn’t put his finger on it. He kept coming back to Lilah and what she’d said to him. She knew about him and Connor and now Illyria knew. What did that mean? Why would Illyria want Connor? Why would Lilah tell him to run? Why would he take Lilah’s advice for that matter?
Sighing, Angel took another sip of blood, carefully out of Connor’s sight. Lilah, Lilah was the key. Lilah was
smart and shifty and moral-less, especially now she was dead and controlled by Illyria. What could Lilah’s
knowledge of Connor have to do with Illyria’s plans? Or was it just about getting him out of the way? Angel couldn’t
shake it any longer. Something was really wrong. He went to find Connor.
***
Oz woke up suddenly, his heart pounding. His instincts told him he wasn’t alone and he slid off the couch and crouched beside it, listening. Footsteps moved toward him and he waited. Just as they bent over the couch where he’d been sleeping, he leapt up and knocked the person to the floor. He pinned the arms down as a light rose from their fingers and illuminated the face of Willow whom, Oz suddenly realized uncomfortably, he was almost lying on top of.
“Hi,” he said, moving off.
“Breakfast is ready,” Willow said awkwardly. “But if I’d have known you felt that way I wouldn’t have bothered.”
“Sorry. I didn’t know it was you.” Oz grabbed his t-shirt and pulled it over his head as Willow babbled on about
how it was okay. His wolf growled in delight, his heart throbbed in longing. But in the split two seconds that his
head was in the shirt, Oz erased both feelings from his face and emerged stoic.
“What’s for breakfast?”
***
Giles made an announcement at breakfast that morning.
“We are ready to face Illyria. Wesley is recovered enough to go into combat and Willow is proficient with the
spell. We have enough backup and supernatural strength, though we could have more,” he added with a pointed look
at Buffy. She simply smiled at him and so he continued, “I believe we are as ready as we shall ever be.”
“Thank goodness!” Buffy said, biting into her toast with gusto. “I was about to die of boredom.”
“I wouldn’t have let you,” Spike told her, taking a sip from her orange juice.
“Get your own, Spike!” she snapped at him and reached across the table for the waffles. Spike just shrugged
and grabbed two waffles off the plate as her arm brought it past him. Buffy glared, but to no avail.
“So when we going?” he asked Giles.
“Tonight if at all possible. I don’t think we can wait for Angel since he never said when he would return.”
“Sounds fair,” Willow said, anxious to do the spell for real. Giles looked hard at her, but refrained from speaking.
“Then everyone prepare and we shall leave around sunset. You all know what to do.”
“Bloody well bet we do,” Spike muttered. Buffy jabbed him sharply in the ribs. Spike grinned and nabbed a
kiss on the elbow as it returned to its proper place. Buffy hid her pleased smile and started gathering the breakfast
things. Willow and Wesley rose to help her and they quickly cleaned up the kitchen.
***
When they left that evening it was with the usual pre-apocalypse jitters. This was definitely up there on the apocalypse list; however, and Buffy shivered uncontrollably, feeling for Spike at her side. Spike never left her side, swaggering slightly more than normal as if to celebrate the fact.
Willow found herself going over and over the spell in her mind, lest she do something wrong, yet knowing at the
same time that she was the only one who could do the spell. With Giles and Wesley supporting her, Illyria was
going down.
Willow did a locater spell, using the leftover essence Illyria had left in the apartment. It was very difficult to
trace and for a second, Willow was worried that Illyria wasn’t even in the same dimension.
“She’s not far,” Willow was finally able to say. A cool hand handed her a handkerchief and she gladly thanked
Oz as she wiped the sweat off her brow.
“Let’s go.” Buffy led the way. “Please remember everyone that Spike and I will be fighting Illyria. Wesley, you
are guarding Willow and Giles as they do the spell and Oz is to fight off everyone else.”
“Sounds fun,” he replied, tucking his stake in his pocket and hefting an axe.
“Here,” Willow said and handed him back the handkerchief.
“Thanks,” he said and stuffed it in his pocket as well. She blushed as he held it to his nose before doing so,
like he was inhaling her scent.
“Good luck,” she said quietly.
“And you,” he said, just as quiet.
***
Illyria was located in a palatial suite on top of an old hotel. At least, that’s what it looked like, but Spike and Wesley soon recognized the interior of a Wolfram & Hart corporate office when they reached the inside.
“Black mojo all right,” Spike whistled. “Creepy how they all look alike.”
“Unsettling indeed,” Wesley agreed.
“Illyria’s in the next room,” Willow whispered. “Be very quiet, but I am sure she knows we’re here.”
Willow had control over her magic and she used it to veil their approach even as she did the mental preparation
and set up for the main spell she would be doing that evening.
“Underlings at the entrance,” came a voice from up ahead of them and then vampires and demons, lawyers and
a few bankers poured out of the doors toward them.
Spike and Buffy met them with glee and were soon cutting a pathway through the melee for the others. Their
job was to reach Illyria soon before she unleashed more than they could handle.
At the doorway, they could see her standing in the middle of the room, just looking at them.
Vampires exploded into dust, demon’s heads fell to the floor. Willow’s power grew with each step.
“A binding!” she yelled as they got within fifty feet of Illyria. A band of white light encircled Illyria and she did not
move outside of its circle.
“That will hold her from what’s outside it,” Willow called to Buffy and Spike. “You have to go in to fight her.”
“We’re on it, Will,” Buffy assured her and tossed a demon onto the point of Spike’s sword which he held out
casually for her with one hand while staking a vampire sneaking up on him with the other. They moved steadily
toward the god king, slaughtering as they went.
Wesley emptied his guns into the onslaught. Many vampires were beheaded via shotgun that day. Oz wielded
a crossbow, stake and axe and where he’d learned to use three weapons at once, Willow did not know, but he was
proficient enough that she could concentrate on the spell and the spell only.
Giles stood beside her holding the book and offering her energy, strength and experience. She drew on it
heavily because the power she now targeted in Illyria was wilder and more uncontrollable than she’d thought.
Giles spoke words in the demon tongue that Willow didn’t understand. She slowly began to chant under her
tongue and wind her words around his, fashioning them into a tube in her mind. Her eyes were fixed on Illyria and
two blonde blurs leapt into her vision. Buffy and Spike had reached the enemy.
Illyria watched them impassively.
“Jump into a portal out of this one, Queenie,” Buffy told her and launched an attack. Illyria effectively blocked
each move Buffy and Spike made.
“The binding does not permit that I should use my time or space power. But do not worry that I shall be
defeated, that is not my purpose.”
“I don’t care what your bloody purpose is!” Spike yelled as he ducked under her arm and aimed at her head with
his sword.
“You will,” was all the comment that came back when she bent over backwards, parallel to the floor, to avoid the
swing and stuck out her leg to kick Spike back thirty feet in the process. Buffy pressed in the attack. Illyria’s mind
seemed to be in two places at once as she listened to Willow and fought Buffy at the same time. Spike leapt to his
feet and started to run back to their side.
Willow finished molding her mind tube, using the power of her own magic along with Giles’ specific words, and
prodded the tube mentally to the big gaping hole in Illyria’s side she could see with her magically enhanced vision.
The tube entered the hole and Illyria stumbled while Buffy spin kicked her in the head. Willow began a sucking
motion and power began to flood the tube that stretched from Illyria’s body to Willow on the other side of the room,
unbroken by the fighting occurring along the way.
Illyria straightened up as Willow sucked the power right out of her. Willow sensed Illyria’s recognition of too
much power leaving her and felt her make a sharp pull with her mind. Willow saw her connection snap, even though
the power she’d drained remained in her tube, then began to dissipate in the air without a physical vessel to contain
it. The broken connection made her drop to her knees in shock and she couldn’t move as she watched Illyria.
Spike was ten feet away from the still battling Illyria and Buffy, but Illyria had obviously had enough. Moving
with such speed Buffy could hardly see what she was doing, Illyria grabbed Buffy’s sword hand and squeezed the
hand until it dropped the sword reflexively. It fell onto Illyria’s foot which she kicked up into her other hand.
Releasing Buffy’s hand, Illyria grabbed her throat and squeezed again, while the sword hand brought the sword, point
first, deep in and out the back of the Slayer. Buffy jerked and her eyes rolled back as blood trickled out of her
mouth. Illyria twisted the sword and then left it as she turned and walked away. Buffy fell into Spike’s arms who had
just come rushing up behind her.
“Come!” Illyria’s voice rolled over the tumult in the room. “We are finished.” Each vampire and demon and
lawyer and banker stopped what they were doing and exited in the fastest way available to them. Wesley and Oz
were fighting stragglers and didn’t see what had happened. Willow could vaguely feel Giles trying to help her up, but
she just sat there, silently screaming and his attempts stopepd when he saw what she saw.
***
Spike gazed for two seconds into Buffy’s blood streaked face before a red fury rose over his eyes and he got up looking for Illyria. But she had gone, using neither portal nor time powers, only her supernatural speed. For a minute he was going to follow, but his heart would not let him leave and he dropped again to Buffy as quickly as he’d risen from her.
“Love,” he whispered gently, “love, where is your heaven?”
Buffy struggled to open her eyes, but her lips moved almost soundlessly.
“With you, stupid.”
“Then don’t leave,” he said, voice breaking. “Don’t go where they won’t let me find you.”
“You’ve, you’ve proven yourself,” Buffy coughed out.
Wesley and Oz noticed the pair of them on the floor and gathered with Willow and Giles in shock.
“They need you,” Spike said adamantly. “I bloody need you.”
“They’ve got you,” she said. “That’s what I can leave them, a-and Dawnie. Y-you have...” Her breath grew so
faint he would have sworn it wasn’t there. “...my, my love.”
“Need more than your love, yeah,” he said, desperately to keep her talking. “Need your body, need your voice,
your insults, your touch, you.” Buffy chuckled raggedly, her eyes closed and her body limp.
“You’re, you’re such a…p-pig, Spi…” And her words died away as her body did. Willow sank to the floor again
and Giles shook his head violently. Oz’s and Wesley’s faces were stone, but Spike’s composure broke as he
cradled her in his arms and howled his heart cry of rage and brokenness to the silent room.
