Angel: After the Fall #2

Plot

“No matter how long it takes”

Prologue:

Wes and Angel are in the underground car park. Angel wants to go down to Santa Monica to see Connor, because he killed Moron. Wes did not know that yet. Apparently his bosses have not told him yet. Angel explains that if he needs Moron’s remains for his report, he will find them outside. Wes does not respond and asks whether he should go with Angel. Angel really does not want that. Fine, then Wes will stay and haunt a little. On his drive through the destroyed and utterly chaotic city Angel thinks that this is not fair of him; Wes does not deserve all this – he may work at W&H, but does he work for them? Angel does not want to think about that now. He has more important things to do – since he killed Burge’s son, Burge will want revenge. He cannot take revenge on Angel and Wesley. If he is even a little intelligent, and Angel grants him that, he will know whom to look for. Besides, it is nice to see some familiar faces again.

At the Hyperion:

Nina snaps at Angel, asking what he wants with Connor, while all the “guests” have their weapons pointed at Angel. Well, reunions with ex-girlfriends are always awful, Angel thinks, while explaining out loud that Connor has to be warned. Then Angel asks Nina how she has been. She is into bloody meat now, says Nina, sniffing at Angel. Good, he says uncomfortably and then babbles a little, thrown off, before asking about Connor. He is not here but in Westwood, where a lord was killed last night.

Westwood:

Various demons are fighting over the succession to Kr’ph when Angel arrives. And the humans are caught in the crossfire. He cannot spot Connor anywhere. He is even somehow glad about that. Connor has been through so much because of him; he has now, in a way, bought Connor a ticket to hell for the second time, and Angel knows it will take a long time to win back Connor’s trust – before he even deserves it. Angel is fighting the demons when one of the beasts has its head cut off…

Chapter 2:

Connor appears with a sword, says hi and asks where he has been all this time. He has not rescued him in ages, and it was cool watching Angel. Angel shoves Connor aside as a demon attacks. He had completely forgotten about that one, says Connor. Angel knows Connor only wants to impress him (though only half as much as he himself wants to impress Connor). Then the two of them stand back to back facing the demons. Angel tells him he killed a lord’s son. Good for Angel, says Connor, then realises that this has made him a target. Angel apologises for that. Connor accepts and then asks him where the hell he has been. For a few weeks he could not even move, Angel defends himself. And after that? Well, that…, Angel begins. Then Gwen appears and attacks the demons – whatever the two of them can do, she has long been able to do better. She asks whether they are okay and then says they have to come with her. Connor reminds her that they are a teeny-tiny bit busy here. She knows, but she has found the place where the lord was killed, and it looks bad there – she knows they are in hell and “bad” is the order of the day, but even compared to that it is bad. They have to see it for themselves, because a new “player” is in town…

With Gunn:

He is with the fish telepath creature. It lies on a bed with a strange circle drawn around it. Gunn asks the creature whether it is comfortable enough. Not really; the comfort leaves much to be desired and it stinks of dead bodies. Those would be the corpses, says Gunn dryly. Then he bends down to the creature and asks its name. George. Gunn introduces himself and then explains that he is one of the good guys, however strange that may sound. He promises that everything will end well. George is supposed to trust the vampire who kidnapped him? He should not say things like that. Then the vampire who borrowed him against his will. No, says Gunn, George should not call him a vampire. George can certainly recognise a vampire. Fine, but he is not one – he spent most of his life, the best part, hunting them, and then he was stupid enough to trust one of them. He led him into a fight that ended with him being dragged off and turned while the other played dragon whisperer! Gunn sees the whole thing as an illness, because he is still doing the right thing. He sees Angel as someone who pretends to do good and, just because he has a soul, wants to become again who he once was – which must mean that the man he once was was not that good either. Because in the end he gave up – on everything and everyone. But that’s okay, Gunn states angrily. When the fish creature tries to say something, he hits it, changes and declares that he will save them all. That it is not about the soul – he is the living proof of that. Outside, Gunn’s team is listening – formerly living, one of them corrects quietly. Gunn apologises; the creature does not share his views yet, and he can understand that. Gunn leaves the room. He adds that it will understand, they all will – and two seconds after Angel understands too, he will die. Gunn takes Kr’ph’s orb into a kind of treasure room guarded by countless demons.

Westwood:

Angel and Connor look at the battlefield with Gwen. That is bad, they note. Connor knows Kr’ph was a nobody and wonders how he could become a lord. He had the “Eye of Ramras”, Angel explains. “Ahhh,” says Connor, and right after: “What?” Not a real eye. It magnifies power; that is how Kr’ph could rise. That is also why he was a target. If Angel knew Kr’ph had this eye, did he want to do something about it, Connor asks. He did, but someone beat him to it. One or more vampires, Gwen explains. A few ladies told her – through the bite marks on their dead necks. They surely don’t want to look at it, says Gwen. But they do. Connor asks Angel whether he has any idea who could have done this. No, he says – but in truth he is quite sure he knows. Angel tells Connor to go to W&H and fetch his dragon. Angel is getting stranger and stranger, Connor thinks. He should just go – since the dragon is a bit skittish with everyone except Angel, Connor should address it by its name. He whispers the name into Connor’s ear and makes sure Gwen does not hear it. She looks away, annoyed. Connor then says Angel really is getting stranger and stranger.

Angel then drives off, thinking that everything points in one direction. It was bound to happen; their paths simply had to cross again – he should have dealt with it sooner…

Meanwhile, in a huge mansion, someone is telling a crowd of half-naked women, human and demon, grand heroic tales. About a battle, how everyone except him trembled, how he led them and how the demon hordes quaked. And in the end the forces of darkness stood no chance against… Spike. He has made himself comfortable in a red silk lounge suit and slippers à la Hugh Hefner and lets the women pamper and adore him. One of them notes that his story gets better every time he tells it. Well, she knows the rest: as thanks for his selfless courage, L.A. was sent to heaven. He left out one crucial fact… Spike looks around and wonders who is doing voices, because he does not find it… Then he spots Angel. Angel says that after Spike led them to victory they swore eternal friendship and that they always work together, he says theatrically, and then says hi. First Spike says “bloody hell”, then he notices one of “his” women swooning over Angel and snaps at her to look away. But he radiates magic. Oh, and he doesn’t, Spike asks, offended. Angel wants to talk to Spike. One of the women steps between them. Nobody touches Spike, the Lord of Beverly Hills and the great saviour. “Great saviour?” Yes, they are definitely in hell.

Hey, Spike won’t let Angel spoil everything, he makes clear – he has had his time fighting for good, but that is over. Does Spike think Angel wants to be here? He was glad to be able to let Spike go. “Let go?”, Spike fumes – he clean forgot to ask Angel’s permission! Wes and Gunn probably didn’t either before they died or were turned! Angel warns Spike to be quiet, then knocks him down. They all knew what they were getting into and knew the risk, Angel makes clear. About the end of days? Then he must have forgotten to send out that memo, Spike sneers, and lets two of his girls help him up. Angel will leave this place one of two ways: in a teeny-tiny urn or… but Spike can only think of the one option right now. He has changed and tries to attack Angel, but Angel simply hits him again. That is only because he drank too much of that demon brew, Spike says meekly from the floor. Angel snaps at him to be quiet. Then he explains that a lord was killed and something was stolen. People were drained. Spike reminds him, not very kindly, that there are others hanging around “Middle-earth” besides the two of them. Angel simply goes on: there was an inscription on the wall, written in blood. About Kilroy, maybe, Spike speculates; that guy is on everyone’s lips. Angel ignores that and explains that the inscription was in Sanskrit – so where is she? A few girls back away in fright. A hand grabs Angel. Speaking of the devil, er, the she-devil… does Angel still think he is a detective, Spike asks smugly. Then he orders Illyria to take Angel away and question him. Illyria drags Angel off. His presence annoys her pet, she explains. But perhaps his dismemberment will soothe him.