Chapter 22

 

 

Angel stood on the other side of the closed door hand hovering over the knob wondering if he was in fact insane. It could quite possibly be the only rational explanation.

 

He was stalling he knew, he had been ‘requested’ by Wesley to join him and the others in his office about thirty minutes prior. It had been 24 short hours since the Warriors had declared Colin dead and the anxiety level within the compound only continued to grow.

 

Because how much longer would it be before Buffy faced the same fate.

 

But still he stood there, listening to the raised level of voices within the room he strained but couldn’t make out any actual words and he realized that the room was soundproofed.

 

And the witches had obviously cast some sort of shielding spell.

 

He couldn’t sense anything on the other side of the door. Normally he could extend his senses and determine species.

 

Human, demon… sometimes even the type of demon.

 

But he was sensing nothing at all. He couldn’t even tell how many bodies were in the room, let alone if they were human or not.

 

A part of him wanted to know what was happening within the room, to prepare himself before he actually walked into the hornets nest.

 

Drawing a deep, totally unneeded breath he turned the knob and entered the room slowly. He wasn’t even shocked to see it filled with the Scooby’s as well as the Indaran’s.

 

He’d known they wouldn’t be kept out of any decision made about Buffy.

 

Connor and Dawn sat side by side on a small couch in the back of the room. Spike sitting on the arm of the couch next to Dawn eyes narrowed as he listened to Damon ranting at Wesley. Obviously Damon’s voice had been the one that had carried volume wise out of the room.

 

Gunn paced the back of the room hands crossed over his chest.

 

Cordy and Willow sat on either side of a still very pale, very thin Xander and Angel was only slightly surprised to see the young man out of bed. Even less at the concern he felt for him. If Xander was in as bad a shape as he was and he was only the bait to lure Buffy and the others to the Prison, what would they do to the former Slayer now that they actually had their hands on her?

 

Angel banished that thought from his mind. Those thoughts led to grief and despair and they didn’t have time for that, besides which Buffy was counting on him to be strong. So instead he focused on sending positive thoughts through the weakening link between them and concentrated on the two females on either side of the new Hunter.

 

Cordy managed to look happy and worried at the same time. Willow… Angel frowned as he studied the former Witch. From the redness of her cheeks, her swollen eyes she appeared to have been crying.

 

A lot.

 

“Angel,” Wesley nodded a small smile crossing his face. “It’s good of you to join us.”

 

Standing beside the seated Watcher Giles shook his head as he walked around the desk.

 

“I still think it’s a lousy idea… not to mention that there’s no way in hell we’re actually going to be able to pull it off,” Damon growled dragging a trembling hand through his hair.

 

“Damon’s right,” Jade murmured quietly from her chair in front of the desk.

 

“It’s already been taken care of…” Wes started only to be cut off by Damon.

 

“How?! We can’t bind another member to our team without all live members of that team in the circle when we do it. Without Buffy we can’t replace Colin, without Colin we don’t have a full fifty and we’re going to weaken every day…”

 

Wesley sighed before shoving aside the papers in front of him. “Buffy and I already had this discussion; Colin entered his input as well before they left…”

 

“What you all did like a living will? That’s sick,” Cordy stated her hand clenching Xander’s tightly.

 

“But necessary. Indaran’s lead dangerous lives and this is a very dangerous time. Especially for Warriors of the light. Most of them already know that they won’t survive to fight in the End of Days, many have chosen their replacements already, as well as the means to call those replacements in case the unthinkable happens.” Wesley glanced over at where Jade had her head bowed. Both his Warriors felt the loss of their comrades deeply and he wished he had the time to let them grieve for Colin but he didn’t.

 

They didn’t have time for grief.

 

“So is that why you haven’t even attempted to rescue Buffy yet?” Connor asked hotly from where he was sitting. Dawn gripped his hand tightly, offering comfort even though she felt his anger as rage over hr.

 

“There are circumstances happening that are outside of our control… Once the numbers come up…”

 

“Numbers? Numbers?! She could be dead by then; they could all be dead…” Connor stated angrily.

 

“All?” Angel glanced at Connor who was to busy glaring at the Watcher to answer him so he turned his attention to the Watcher himself.

 

“Those rescued have supplied us with some information.”

 

“What information?” Angel asked turning a questioning look at Xander, when no response came forth, in fact Xander only paled further he turned to Wesley in confusion.

 

He’d obviously missed some important news while he’d been stalling.

 

“Those rescued were not the only prisoners being held within the compound,” Jade said softly. “They might have had their hands on some shape shifters that our sources didn’t know about.”

 

“Shape shifters?” the vampire asked quietly, a feeling of dread creeping up on him. He studiously avoided glancing back at Willow. He thought he knew now why she looked so upset, why she looked as if she’d been crying.

 

“Werewolves,” the former witch said softly. “Oz.”

 

“What?”

 

“If those rescued are to be believed …”

 

“I know what I saw,” Xander said angrily. “I know Oz, while I might not have been the best of friends with him I think I do know what he looked like. Hair color not withstanding. Oz was there, along with another wolf, kept on the floor below ours.”

 

“Our sources have not indicated that there were any wolves, or shifters of any sort within the compound.”

 

“They kept it hush hush, I only know because…” Xander rubbed at his chest closing his eyes as memories assailed him.

 

“Xander you don’t need to talk about it,” Cordy said softly leaning into his shoulder. Pressing a kiss to his shoulder she stared up at him intently. “They’ve already heard it once they don’t need you to tell them again.”

 

“If it helps Buffy…”

 

“Talking about what those animals did to you is not going to help Buffy,” she murmured before turning her attention back to the Indaran’s. “It’s not… and he’s not talking about it again… not until he wants to,” she said sharply at Wesley.

 

“That’s fine Ms. Chase… Mr. Harris we don’t mean to question what you saw, it’s just if our operatives within the Prison didn’t know about them… well there’s the chance they could have been compromised. Because none of them have mentioned, even in passing, that shifters are being held.”

 

“They were testing them, like they did us at the beginning,” Xander whispered absently his hand still rubbing at his chest. “They’ve only had them a few weeks but…”

 

“It’s fine Mr. Harris, we’re going to do everything within our power to make sure that the Prison is destroyed and those captive within its walls are freed. Shifters included… Which brings us to you Angel…” Wesley turned hooded eyes on the vampire standing before him.

“Me? What do I have to do with this?”

 

“I still say this is a bad idea,” Damon muttered, Wesley frowned at him before returning his attention to Angel.

 

“Buffy and Colin both came to see me before they left, both ironically with the same request…”

 

“It’s not going to work,” Jade said softly. “There’s no way it can,” her eyes met Angel’s before she once more bowed her head staring at the hands she was wringing within her lap. “He’s not human.”

 

“Jade…”

 

“She’s right Wesley,” Damon moved to stand beside the sole remaining member of his team within the room. “We have daytime battles, is he supposed to wear a full set of armor while we’re fighting? Or will he just be left out of those fights… he’ll be a weakness, a liability.”

 

“If you two would let me finish, I could explain how this is going to work,” Wesley said stiffly his voice filled with anger that caused his charges to exchange a look of confusion. 

 

One that Angel could identify with. Because he while he was following the gist of the conversation, while he thought he understood what exactly Buffy and Colin had asked for… he didn’t see how it could be pulled off.

 

He was still a vampire. He was not human. Not yet anyway, a small voice whispered in his head. A small voice that reminded him of the dream he’d had.

 

The one in which he’d been human and a very alive Xander Harris had been standing next to him.

 

Angel faced Wesley, eyes narrowed but curious as he watched the Watcher pull a chain from around his neck, a key dangling from the end of it. Slowly he unlocked a drawer to his right. Replacing the chain around his neck, tucking it back beneath his shirt they all watched as he pulled a small jar full of green fluid from it.

 

Familiar green fluid.

 

“Mohra blood,” he said softly his eyes fastened to that small jar. “How…?”

 

“Whistler gave me this jar a few days after we were called,” Wesley started. “He told me that I would need it someday, wouldn’t tell me anything else. And until just recently I had no idea what I was supposed to do with it but when Buffy and Colin came to me with their requests… well it all fell into place.”

 

“Only human Warriors were called as Indaran, if you had passed your original tests we would have utilized the Mohra blood then in order to place you within our ranks, you didn’t so it became a moot point then. But now…”

 

“Wesley it doesn’t make any difference if he’s human or not… without Buffy here…” Damon said his eyes flickering between the small bottle in his Watcher’s hands and the vampire who was staring at it with something akin to shock.

 

“Wait a minute,” Gunn began moving up beside his still friend. “When exactly was Angel tested for Indaran and why didn’t he pass? I don’t remember…”

 

“All Warriors for the light were tested. Human and otherwise. Angel did not pass his tests therefore the slot that had been put aside for him was filled by someone else. If one of our Warriors fell he would have been tested again to see if he had overcome that which caused him to fail originally but until then…”

 

“But why didn’t he pass, I mean what…” Cordy paled as the answer to her question became abundantly clear to her. Glancing at Xander and then over at Angel she fidgeted slightly. “It was the spell… the one that was cast on Angel and I.”

 

“Yes… if Angel had managed to break the spell he would have been called. As it was the spell was not broken until it was too late, by then all 50 had been called and life went on.”

 

“All if this doesn’t matter,” Damon growled. “Without Buffy here even if Angel becomes human we can’t bind him to our circle, you know that Wesley.”

 

“Buffy and Colin thought of that as well, one or both of them had discussed this in length with Whistler. If the unthinkable happened and both were indeed taken, if Colin was the one to perish as we thought we can use a blood relative to fill Buffy’s place until such time as she can reassume her position.”

 

“A blood relative?” Gunn turned to face the back of the room, where Dawn had paled even further than she had been, clutching Connor’s hand in hers, a visibly angry Spike’s hand on her shoulder.

 

“You can just take the niblet right off your list mate,” the younger vampire said hotly. “She’s not the Slayer, she’s not even the key anymore, she’s human and…”

 

“Actually Dawn’s name was never even tossed into the hat,” Wesley stated his eyes focused intently on Connor’s. “She’s chosen, and Whistler concurred… that if he accepts her son will take her place until she can be rescued.”

 

Cordy and Gunn exchanged confused looks, obviously the only two people in the room that were unaware of the fact that Buffy had a child.

 

“Her son?” Cordy asked in confusion. “What son?” she asked even as her eyes widened in realization. She turned to face Xander in shock remnants of the dream she’d had about him flooding her.

 

“Well apart from me… a lot of stuff is about to go down… but things have to happen in a certain order. She won’t know you, might not show any signs of recognition… except for maybe Angel, Dawn… Connor…”

 

“Connor?”

 

“Yeah… funny story that… remind me to tell you ‘bout it sometime Cor.”

 

“Connor,” she murmured Xander nodding slowly his eyes turning away slowly to focus on the boy in question, Cordy’s following suit. “Connor is Buffy’s son… with Angel.”

 

“Yes,” the Watcher nodded.

 

All eyes focused on the young man at the back of the room; slowly he rose, releasing his aunts’ hand his eyes never straying from his fathers.

 

“What do you need me to do?”

 

 

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She stood in the nursery alone. Bright colors adorning the walls, stuffed animals lining every available surface. It was at times like this, when she stood within this room, hand pressed to the still flat surface of her stomach that it truly hit her that she was pregnant.

 

Sometimes she forgot.

 

Most often than not late at night. When she was asleep, when her past, her nightmares had a firm grip on her she sometimes could not remember that she was alive. She was safe, she was loved and happy.

 

“You and Angel did good work in here,” a quiet voice commented from behind her.

 

She didn’t turn. Just stroked the fairly life size monkey that he had gifted her with when they had announced her pregnancy to their family and friends.

 

“When did he call you?” she murmured as she cradled the plush animal in her arms. She had no clue where he’d gotten it from. Had no idea where he’d found a pair of pants that would fit it.

 

“First thing this morning,” Oz moved casually into the room as Buffy turned to face him. She was always surprised by the innate grace that he seemed to move with, for some reason she didn’t remember his moving like that when she’d known him originally. He’d told her once that it was because he and the wolf were finally at peace with each other.

 

“He worries too much,” Buffy muttered as Oz touched the head of the monkey in her arms. Patting it slightly he grinned.

 

“You’re his wife; you’re carrying his child I think he’s entitled. Besides if you told him what happened…”

 

“Have you ever told Will? Have you ever told her what those monsters tortured us with, the things they did?”

 

Oz closed his eyes, drawing a deep breath as he felt a shudder race down his spine.

 

Sometimes he thought the survivors’ guilt would crush him. He was the only wolf to make it out of the Prison in one piece, other times he thought he would go mad with his memories.

 

More than once he’d had to stop himself from asking, begging one of the witches to do a forgetting spell.

 

He would give almost anything to not have the memories in his head.

 

“No… Will doesn’t need to know, she can’t know, ever.”

 

“I’m sorry Oz,” she turned away setting the monkey back in his place of honor sighing.

 

“For what?”

 

“I have no clue,” she laughed bitterly, a harsh noise that caused him to flinch. “We’re a screwed up pair aren’t we? God only knows why they stay with us.”

 

“They love us, they want us to be happy, to heal.”

”Do you think that’ll ever happen? Do you think there’ll ever be a day when we don’t wake up screaming, remembering?”

 

“One can hope,” he touched her shoulder softly. “Sometimes I think it would have been better for them if they had let us die there and then other times… I’m glad they didn’t wait much longer than they did to rescue us.”

 

“Neither of us would have survived if they had.”

 

“No,” he shook his head, remembered pain flaring through his body suddenly. “No we wouldn’t have.”

 

 

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Daniel Osborne came awake with a scream on his lips that he did not let loose. Harnessing what little control he had managed to salvage in these last couple of trying days he squelched it so that his captors would not have the satisfaction of his pain.

 

Around him he could hear voices murmuring, although the drugs they continuously pumped him full of managed to hinder what he could actually make out.

 

Taking immediate stock of his surroundings, he turned his foggy head to the side and realized that he was once more in the bright white, sterile lab that had come to seem like his second home. He woke more often within the labs bright walls then he did his cold, dark cell.

 

His arms and legs ached, as they were restrained pretty much to their limits away from his body. Thick metal chains that he knew from previous experiences that he could not free himself from, they automatically adjusted whenever they managed to force him into wolf form. Thankfully he had enough control now over the wolf that it took a lot to force the change on him.

 

Blinking slowly as his vision once more came into focus he swept the room with his eyes.

 

The Warrior that had been strapped into the table next to him was gone, dead most likely if he had lost all the blood that was currently being mopped up from the floor. Two tables down he saw a new crew working on the small body of another prisoner.

 

Squinting he tried to force his vision, which was once more becoming hazy, to cooperate and identify the female.

 

His eyes widened as her head slowly turned towards his. Pain filled eyes meeting pain filled eyes, she was gnawing on her bottom lip to keep from crying out, blood on her abdomen.

 

His own back arched as he felt the hot flame of a torch on the bare soles of his feet, inwardly he screamed in pain, in fear.

 

Outwardly one name escaped his tightly sealed lips, so softly that he doubted anyone even heard him utter it.

 

“Buffy.”

 

 

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