December 16, 2004

Elder Lapp's farm, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania.

1.32pm

It was only the slight elevation of Doyle's heartbeat that alerted Angel that his friend was waking. He couldn't bring himself to look upon the half demons ravaged features, the scar tissue decorating the Irishman's face was just a stark reminder of how wrong things had gone at what was supposed to have been a time of friendship and remembrance. Not for the first time, the brunette vampire wondered just what to tell Doyle about what had happened in the Magic Box after the half demon had been taken, especially when Doyle would ask about his fiancee. Still facing the darkened window, Angel gave a little start as Doyle acknowledged his presence.

"Angel?"

"Yeah Doyle, it's me....how you feeling..I mean..?"

"Not too good actually.....my..my eyes"

Wincing at the resigned tone in the soft voice, Angel turned towards the half demon laying in the narrow single bed. Unneeded breath taken, the vampire hesitantly took a few steps forward, his gaze resting firmly upon Doyle's chest.

"I know"

Silence descended upon the small room, broken only by the sound of a chair scraping across the floor as Angel sat himself next to his friend. The vampire watched quietly as a blue green hand fiddled with one corner of a thick blanket, one of four covering the smaller man. The silence stretched as the two men took in the presence of each other. Finally, it got too heavy for the vampire.

"How did you know it was me?"

"Still got a nose, can smell you. Not as good as vamp or some other demons obviously but better than the normal humans"

"Oh"

Lapsing into silence once again, Doyle ached to ask the questions that were running rampant in his head but he knew that once he started, he wouldn't be able to stop until he knew each and every detail of the last months, and he really wasn't sure if he wanted to know. Angel, however saved him the decision.

"Cordelia...we..we haven't found her yet....I'm sorry Doyle..I wish I could tell you better news but...."

"Cordy...Been thinking about her every day...love her so much it bloody hurts...hurts worse than me eyes. Is she dead...? Are you looking for a body or is she still alive...? Did Wes do that spell that he tried for Xander....? Shit, what happened with him? Willow?"

"Angel, where's Cordy?"

His anger over Wes and Riley put aside for the moment, Angel quietly told his friend just what had happened in the last months. The vampire answered each question truthfully as they came, starting with the one about Cordelia and why they had been unable to find her so far and in fact any of them. Angel spared no details about Wesley and his own mutilation, including Riley and Graham's fingers. He informed the half-demon about Kate Lockley being transferred to another precinct and into child pornography, thus severing one of his major informants and that almost all of his other demon contacts had disappeared or just wouldn't talk to him.

"What about you doing the spell...you've got all ten fingers?"

"Doyle...If I could...if I had just a mere touch of spell casting ability, nothing would have held me back, but I just don't have any talent...not one grain. Wesley is...*was* the magic user"

"Angel, just tell me everything from the start...please?"

With a sigh, Angel began.

"OK...you know what happened to the others..well, Spike and Xander were taken by the same soldiers. Riley and Graham reckon they were freelance mercenaries, apparently the numbering of us was some sort of thing that a few military teams are taught as a method of subduing people. Works *real* well huh? I got both kneecaps shattered, took ages to heal because I hadn't been drinking human. We all got taken to Sunnydale General including Joyce, she went into shock while the rest of us went into immediate surgery - even me until I vamped out. The doctors and nurses took one look at me and then transferred me to a dark room by myself. You wouldn't believe the explanation they gave for my gameface and injuries...Self inflicted!"

"What?"

"Yeah..that's what *I* said as well. Anyway, they just dumped me on the hospital bed, made sure the curtains were closed and left. You know Sunnydale..ignore it and it'll go away. Managed to call Kate and she came down from L.A., claimed some personal time. She managed to clear it all up without too many questions being asked, pretty much threw her weight around which is what got her transferred I think...she hasn't said too much about the reasons behind the transfer. Uh, what next? Oh...Willy ended up being a bigger help than I would ever have thought possible. He was bullied at first by Kate but did a lot on his own as well. He got Giles' lawyer to read the will in hospital once Riley and Graham were out of surgery and the drugs had worn off. Joyce was there as well but she was still in shock. Evan, the lawyer, told us that Giles had left the shop to Xander, Willow and Buffy with the proviso that Anya was to run the shop on their behalf unless it was sold while the house was to be sold and we all got equal portions of the proceeds."

"What did you do?"

"Well with Joyce still out of it and everyone else missing, Evan arranged for the shop to be sold as well. The money for everyone but Wes, Riley and myself is currently invested with David Nabbit's company. Doing well too. Evan is looking after the others' money for them until we can find them, yours as well. Joyce was told to move to L.A. along with Riley and Graham. They ended up all moving into the Hyperion with me"

"Poor woman...she ok now though?"

"Good days...bad days. You wouldn't believe just how much work we had to do. The soldiers had only given us four days to get packed and back to L.A. and we did it as well. Riley and Graham discharged the day after surgery, took me with them. Wes was transferred to a micro surgery ward in L.A. Joyce discharged herself the next day and surprisingly, got into the swing of moving everything. She was the driving force behind it all, with out her, we wouldn't have pulled it off"

At the break in Angel's narration, Doyle found his head spinning at learning of what had happened to everyone after he had been taken.

"Jesus! How much stuff was moved?"

"A lot. Ultimately, we moved everything from Riley, Graham and Buffy's house and Giles' house. We left Willow and Tara's apartment as it was, Joyce just packed all her clothes and toiletries for the move. With everything to be moved and with my knees, not to mention Riley and Graham's fingers and Wes being in L.A., we ended up hiring professional movers. There was about a dozen people in each house. Anyway, we got everything back to the Hyperion and into a few of the spare rooms on the third floor. Most of the rooms are taken up with everybody's stuff"

"Thank the PTB for the hotel, huh?"

"Mmmm. What else? Wes got released another two weeks later while Riley and Graham had to go back into hospital as both their fingers got rejected. They had discharged way too early and the fingers kept on getting banged around. They were both pretty pissed at that"

"I'll bet!"

Angel told Doyle about Wesley's character change and re-hospitalisation due to the cocktail of drugs he had been taking, only briefly acknowledging the flare of jealousy that exploded as he mentioned that Wes had been released into Riley's care. Angel Investigation's new employer was described as well as the vampire could, including the disgusting shows of power with the still missing Spike. The brunette awkwardly patted at the half-demon's shoulder as great shuddering tremors wracked the blue body.

"God...Angel?"

"Yeah?"

"How did everything get so fucked up?"

"I wish I knew, but I do know that there are bigger players than just that Randall asshole. There has to be....He was..*is* a pimp...he has no use for anything that we are told to retrieve. Half the stuff...I don't even know what it is. I've kept descriptions of it before handing it over but with Wesley being so unstable, I haven't had a chance to ask him about it"

Before Doyle could make a comment, Angel exploded in frustration. The last few months of stress and worry tumbling from his lips.

"I mean...FUCK! We get told to do this..do that and we have to do it because if we don't, Spike gets maimed and God only knows what happens to everyone else? Sunnydale is completely barred, we can't step one foot inside the city limits. Why? I don't know. Joyce gets told to sell her house and art gallery, our illustrious employer told her that she was to be the secretary.....she doesn't even know the first thing about being one, but does that matter? No! Riley and Graham must go with me on each retreival..no excuses except when they went to hospital and I've just told you what happened to Spike when I went against the orders with Wes. Fangs..his bloody fingers..."

"H..how did Joyce get her stuff moved if she wasn't allowed back?"

"Willy, of all people. He ended up getting everything organised, and even Kate got a phone call to say she was banned from going back. Joyce was in tears for days, she couldn't bear the thought of anyone else going through Buffy's childhood stuff. It's all up on the third floor. Jesus....I haven't even told you the spooky stuff yet!"

Taking a shaky breath, Doyle felt his stomach grumble with hunger but gestured for Angel to keep talking while he was still in the mood. After not having had a conversation with someone for so long, it was good to hear a friend's voice at last, especially one that wasn't touched with a German accent as well. His body still trembling with the effort of the dry crying, the half-demon took a few more deep breaths as his chest burned with the need to start howling.

"Sorry....I'm so sorry Doyle...I..I shouldn't have go off like that, its not what you need at the moment"

"What I need Angel, is to know what has been happening..please, just keep going"

"Alright then. Drusilla, my second Childe..yes, the insane one, she appeared at the hotel one day. Joyce called us all back and in what can only be described as well...insane, the Oracles spoke through Dru and we got told that this was my war and if I ended up winning this, then I would get my reward. The whole Shanshu thing. Dru also rambled on about everyone who had been at the Magic Box that night...most of it is odd and pretty gibberish but with Dru, there was always some sense to be made when she had one of her future visions. We just can't make sense of it yet, so none of us know what to concentrate on first. But apparently, everyone at the Magic Box has a part in this"

"Hang on Doyle, you haven't heard the weirdest bit yet..no, trust me with this. Joyce has manifested a talent for speaking as Wesley. I mean, the whole accent, tone, speech pattern..it *is* Wes' voice. She speaks as Wes when he says something. She hasn't done it since Wes went to the hospital but now he is out, she should be doing it again. God only knows how this is affecting her...as far as I know, she even does it in her sleep if Wes is speaking. Graham sat with her a few nights, its only when Wes yells that she wakes up. He yells and so does she"

Never in his whole life had Doyle wanted a drink more. Actually, he could go for a whole bottle of whatever was on offer thought the dark haired man. What a bloody mess! All this time he had been sure that Cordelia was safe and sound with Angel, even with Willow and the twins. With another shudder of his weary shoulders, Doyle wished he could cry properly, frustrated that he couldn't even vent his grief, his tear ducts had been damaged when his eyes had been stolen from him.

"I'm tired Angel. I want Cordelia and I want to go home"

"I know. We haven't stopped trying to find her, both her and the others and I'll be taking you home in a few days. You need to rest up for a little bit longer....Can I get you anything?"

"No....well, bit hungry actually. Surprised that Samuel or Rebecca haven't asked if we want lunch yet. God...everything is so confusing. Even the bloody Amish farm isn't Amish..you know what I mean?"

With a slight smile, Angel nodded at his friend, replying a second later when he realised that Doyle would never see him do anything again. Upon arriving at the farm, only two mornings ago, he had been astounded by what Samuel had told him. It was true, Samuel wasn't strictly Amish. Actually, Samuel wasn't even human. Both he and his wife were refugees from another dimension. Angel had sat in the cosy kitchen, stunned into silence at the farmers tale, he had asked how the Amish couple had known that Doyle was a demon.

The Lapps ran a refuge centre for refugees escaping from their home world, a half way house for demons who either stayed on earth or jumped into a further dimension. The ones who stayed were very few and those that did agreed to comply with the Amish ideals, living out their lives in relative peace and quiet. Why Amish was a question the Angel wanted to ask but hadn't for fear of offending their gracious hosts. They had taken both his and Doyle's demon status' in their stride, stating that they had taken care of other species than their own. Even Angel's blood had been served up without a raised eyebrow.

Angel just hoped that they didn't find out about the cow, although he was sure that he had covered his tracks. Even if the carcass was to be found, it would more than likely be blamed on a pack of wild dogs.

"Yeah..I do..Doyle? Get some sleep, I'll go and see if Rebecca can make something up..OK?"

With a nod, Doyle listened as the vampire left the small bedroom, the idea of sleep becoming tempting. He was exhausted and he wanted to be in much better shape than he was before making the trip back to L.A. He just wasn't sure of what help he was going to be to the taller brunette. Doyle hadn't had a real vision since his eyes had been taken and he sure as hell couldn't help the vampire out in a fight anymore. The visions he had experienced while in solitary confinement had been strange, more dream like and wispy than the usual surround sound ones that he normally received. His mind drifting a little, the half-demon wondered how Angel had coped with everything without cracking. Pillow re-arranged to his liking, Doyle suddenly gripped his head and bellowed as a vision hit him full force.

*****
Part 17:

December 17, 2004

Hyperion Hotel, Library,

10.30am

"Are you sure it was Spike in your vision?"

"Yeah Riley, I am"

"Uhh, it's Graham actually...sorry"

Shoulders shrugged, Doyle gave a nod in the direction of the deep voice, hoping he was looking at the right person. He had already had this conversation with Angel the day before when the vision had been only seconds fresh. Like wishing bad luck on himself, he had only been thinking of his visions when one had decided that it was time to re-start the visitations. The vampire had come running it to see what the half-demon had been yelling about and had caught him in mid-throes of a vision, both deciding that it was a sign to return to L.A. on the next convenient flight. Rebecca had been more than happy to help Angel make a temporary Islamic head to toe covering for the half-demon, a thin face covering and sunglasses completing the disguise.

With a sigh, he told the two ex-soldiers, Wesley and Joyce exactly what he had told Angel.

"It wasn't the nicest I've seen, and that's saying something too.

From the looks of it, he was strapped down on a table in a silver room. I..I really didn't get very clear 'scenes', it was more like a few well chosen flashes"

"Why..I mean..What was so unpleasant about this one?"

"Christ...How do I put this? Uhh, I had a few flashes that looked directly down on him and...well, lets just say missing teeth and fingers are the least of his problems. What I'm trying to say is that he looks like he's donated a few organs and other essential bits and pieces"

A soft sob broke through the uncomfortable silence as each person digested the new information, Joyce wishing she could cuddle the bleached blond, no matter how much she knew he would snarl at her. Wesley spoke up next.

"Didth uh sthee anfing elsth?"

"Did you see anything else?"

"I hate to say this but you two are freaking me out...sorry but you are. No, but the thing is, this was the strongest vision I've ever had...it wasn't the most painful but it was a lot clearer and I could smell something as well, it was rotten...almost like a decaying scent. That doesn't make sense does it?"

Doyle answered Wesley's next questions with as much information as he could, trying not to let Joyce's clearly pronounced echo get to him. Yes, he had smelt things before in a vision but never such an identifiable scent and no, he hadn't heard anything either.

"Maybe there was nothing to be heard?"

"Quite the possibility...What do you think, Francis?"

Doyle agreed with Riley and Wesley's idea, surprised about the notion himself. An independent question from Joyce and he reluctantly told the gathered group about seeing Spike weeping.

"Oh God, Drusilla said he was, and I quote, "Crying like a kitten" I was hoping that it was one of her nonsense sentences, not something that was true. Angel told you about what Drusilla said didn't he?"

"Yeah he did and he told me that she sort of combusted...Is that true?"

The half-demon sat quietly, face turned towards Joyce's voice as she told him in more detail of what had happened in the kitchen only days before. As one, the four men and one woman agreed that things were moving fast, almost too fast for them. They were all pleased to be making such progress but with so many things going wrong, they each felt like things were slipping beyond their grasp.

"Something is pushing it to go fast, the PTB want this to happen. I'm not saying that the PTB wanted you to lose your eyes or for me to have Joyce speaking for me but it's just too co-incidental for this to be happening naturally. I mean, you have a major vision almost the instant you see Angel again after months of only having as what you describe as 'soft and fluffy' visions"

"So you think something major is going down and the PTB want things to be ready for when it does?"

"It's only one theory but I really can't think of any other explanation....can you?"

With a shake of his head as Joyce finished speaking for Wesley, Doyle agreed with the ex-watcher. Wes was right. At Joyce's offer of coffee and tea, the half-demon added a black coffee to her list of one Earl Grey, a camomile tea and a decaf coffee. A snicker escaped Doyle's lips as he realised just who the herbal was for, something that he could never imagine a tough soldier would go for. As he heard Joyce leave the library, he felt a tension slam into place, making him shudder slightly.

"Wes is going to train Joyce in spellcasting"

"Really? Is she even a bit talented at it?"

Leaning forward, the Irishman inclined his head towards where he thought Graham was sitting, his attention captured completely. He listened as Wes attempted to strangle out a reply, only to suddenly wish that Joyce was back in the room to make the answer clear for them all. Flinching slightly as the ex-watcher viciously swore, he was surprised when Graham took up what Wes was trying to say. Obviously it had been discussed by the group before and it was something that Angel had no idea about as well, Doyle was sure it would have come up before now if the vampire did know.

"What? You telling me that Joyce may have been an uncalled Slayer? Are you serious, because it's just too easy to yank my chain at the moment"

"Serious, Wes was telling us that the Council kept watch on all the uncalled Slayers for when they had their own children, and usually one of them gave birth to a girl that would become the Slayer. Sometimes they missed it because an unidentified Slayer candidate and occasionally, a normal woman gave birth to the next Slayer instead. Wes is hoping that she was an unidentified candidate, not just normal"

"How...shit! Does Joyce know? How do they identify candidates anyway?"

Leaning back, Graham let Riley take over the story as he watched Wes nod at everything his blond friend was saying. Attention turned from the conversation as he had heard it before, Graham looked closely at the re-united member of the L.A. team. He took in the weird skin colour, noting that it was actually quite a pretty tone. Almost a light teal. How long Doyle was going to be that colour, no-one was really too sure yet. Wesley had put it down to the man's demon side emerging a little more prominently to speed up Doyle's healing. Raising his eyes a touch, the ex-soldier couldn't help but stare at the lumpy uneven scar tissue that glued the younger man's eye lids together. He had already heard the whole horrid story about Doyle's confinement and abuse in the early hours of that morning, the telling leaving the Irishman exhausted and in need of sleep. Something that Angel was still doing. Nine hours and still counting, Graham knew that it was more than likely that the vampire had taken a few tablets or even injected himself for him to be out this long.

Graham had ended up secreting the drugs back into the same hiding place as everyone agreed not to confront Angel just yet. They wanted Doyle to settle in first. Riley, Graham and Joyce decided that Wesley should get a bit more strength for when the time came. They also wanted to know just what type of drugs they were dealing with and until the analysis came back, they had no idea. Graham had scraped one side of each tablet, gently shaving a fine powder into a small ziplock bag until there had been almost a quarter gram, he had been unwilling to send a whole one in case Angel noticed that one was missing from his stash. He had also gone and purchased a kit of five syringes from the pharmacy in order to draw a small amount from one of the vials, again not wanting Angel to know a syringe was missing.

Wes had been worried that the vampire would smell everybody in his room, knowing that only he and Joyce could give a good reason for being in there while Angel had been away. So, Joyce had done her first 'teamie', a deodorant spell. One that mixed peoples aroma's into a pleasant herbal smell. It had taken a few tries and a failure before getting it right. The failure had been in the practice room that Wes had claimed on the fourth floor, the room now stinking of rotten cabbage, a smell that was refusing to dissipate. Overall, Wes had been happy with the outcome.

Snapping back to the present, Graham caught the tail end of the conversation as Riley was explaining to a still bemused Doyle that because it was possible that Joyce had been an uncalled Slayer, it was his theory that she might be more in tune with the nature of magic than possibly even Willow or Tara had been. But as he had said, only time and practice would tell. With a small chuckle, he laughed with the rest when Doyle pondered the thought that maybe Willow was an uncalled Slayer herself given her gift for the art of magic. Graham conceded that it might be possible but from what he knew of the girl, she just didn't have the killer attitude that Buffy had possessed.

"Does Angel know?"

The laughter stopped dead in it's tracks, Doyle's face suddenly serious. He knew that there had to be a reason as to why Angel didn't yet know and he just couldn't convince himself that Wes was going to see how Joyce went before telling the vampire. Wes was always up front about everything, informing them all about all possibilities whether they panned out or not. For the ex-watcher to be keeping something from Angel, meant that there was a problem.

"No, he doesn't yet"

Head turned towards the doorway, he nodded in Joyce's direction as she answered the question before anyone else could. As he felt a warm mug get pressed into his outstretched hand, Doyle listened in shock as Joyce described just what had been happening with his best friend. Forgetting totally about his coffee, he sat with an open mouth as he heard about the frequent naps that had started only a few months ago. Naps that had led to lengthy sleep periods that were almost every second day now. At his stuttered question, Doyle was told of how Riley and Graham were sometimes forced to shake Angel awake if they received a phone call during one of his naps. He snapped his body towards Graham's deeper voice.

"You actually shake a sleeping vampire? Are you mental? Mate, if it was me...I'd be standing bloody twenty foot away and be poking at him with a fucking big stick...no way would I actually risk my neck and *shake* a sleeping vampire!"

"I know, I was like that the first few times as well but when he's in one of his 'sleeps', he is so groggy for the first half hour when woken, it's a wonder he doesn't break his neck coming down the steps. I don't think he would be able to attack us even if he wanted to, I'm pretty sure he would just fall out of bed and go straight back to sleep"

"Huh!"

Finally taking a sip of his cooling coffee, Doyle wondered just how fucked up things could get and if it was possible for the universe to screw everybody's lives just a little more. Snorting to himself, he knew that it was highly likely that a major 'something' would happen in the next few days if the past was anything to go by.

"Why haven't you asked him what was going on after the first few all day sleep sessions...? I mean, why leave it to go on for so long?"

"Uhhh..well, Ri and I looked in a few of Wesley's books about vampires and we thought it might be some sort of hibernation thing that vampires do under stress, you know, like re-charging the batteries. The books were full of goobdleygook, we didn't want to ask Wes because he was still sick and we didn't want to alarm Joyce by jumping to conclusions. It wasn't until we saw the track marks that it clicked"

Head hung just slightly lower than it had been before, Wesley felt the shame flame across his face as he realised that if he had kept a grip on himself, he could have stopped Angel before it had come so far. Another part of him acknowledged that it was quite possible that Angel would have come to this point even with Wesley making his concern known. If only he hadn't been so selfish and had stopped thinking of just himself. He was only just starting to come to terms with his disfigurement but it shouldn't have been any excuse to ignore others who were in just as much pain and inner turmoil as himself.

His reunion with Angel that early morning had been less than ecstatic, the vampire giving him a cold look before ignoring everyone once Doyle had been settled into his old room. Every attempt from Joyce, Riley and Graham to speak with the tall brunette had been rebuffed, Angel letting his feelings be known by slamming his bedroom door. Wesley knew that the vampire was probably feeling betrayed by people he trusted to follow his leadership but the ex-watcher agreed with his co-workers, Angel was not capable of making decisions concerning other people anymore. Not while he was still on drugs, even if they were just sleeping tablets. Wesley hadn't been expecting flowers or chocolates nor had he wanted a few lines of lovesick poetry, but he had been looking forward to a smile and few quiet words from his ex-lover, something that he was now clear-headed enough to appreciate.

He was still feeling slightly musty headed but he knew that it would eventually pass, as would his feelings of inadequacy. Wes wanted nothing more to just sit down and talk with someone about how overwhelmed he felt but with both therapists dead, he had no-one to turn to and he wasn't about to heap more problems onto one of his co-workers, even if they did offer their shoulder in the future. Idly, he wondered if Doyle knew if the therapists were dead, something that he hadn't known himself up and til a few days ago when he had finally caught up with everything after being out of it for so long.

"The thewapiths are dweath. Bwawbwa dieth fwom uh thwellfusth awergy und the wun in Thunnydale culleth himthelth. I cawth hulp buth think thath ith an athempth thoo itholath uth all tho thath we hath no choith buth thoo do wath the phwoncalth thelth uth thoo do. We are beingth itholathed fwom outhideth inflwunthth"

"The therapists are dead. Barbara died from a shellfish allergy and the one in Sunnydale killed himself. I can't help but think its an attempt to isolate us all so that we have no choice but to do what the phone calls tell us to do. We are being isolated from outside influences."

"It's just too convenient for them both to die"

Riley was again thankful for Joyce's input with the conversation, he hadn't understood a thing that Wes had just said. Nodding to what Wes had said, he was pleased to see that Doyle looked like he was thinking along the same lines. He couldn't help but shudder a little as he took in how badly the half-demon had been sewn up, he was sure a field surgeon in the middle of World War Two would have been able to do a better job. Plastic surgery would no doubt be able to fix most of the newly formed scar tissue. Riley wondered just how Cordelia was going to react when she saw Doyle next. Whether the pretty brunette would accept Doyle with his disfigurement or be too horrified at the sight to get over it. The tall blond was hoping that she would stand by her fiancee, he was a good man and from what he had said earlier that morning, the thought of marrying Cordelia was one of the things he had clung to while in isolation.

The ex-soldier sat quietly as it was decided that one of the first spells Joyce would be taught was the location spell, fixating on Spike for the first attempt. As Doyle started agreeing, he suddenly asked just what had happened to the tracker Riley and Graham had implanted into Xander and if they had had any success with it. Riley cursed inwardly as he saw the hope that adorned the Irishman's face fall as Graham explained that the tracker had been unable to focus on the youth, the shorter soldier putting it down to the same jewellery that had made locating Xander via a spell so difficult.

Ultimately it was decided that Joyce would start learning it that afternoon while Doyle rested up some more, with Riley and Graham keeping an eye on Angel once he woke.

*****