Subject: [BA_Gutter] FIC: TOGETHER AGAIN 9/21 Date: Wed, 16 Jun 2004 15:02:22 -0000 From: "sunnyd_lite7" Title: Together Again Author: SunnyD_Lite Spoilers: Follows 'Tangled Webs' which has spoilers to Shells, then goes on its merry way. Rating: PG but there is Spike language – you have been warned. Disclaimer: Joss, ME, Sanddollar, and other corporate types own every conceivable copyright and interest in the characters. They stopped playing with them, so I thought I would. No profit, no foul, right guys? A/N: First off, hugs and doughnuts to my betas Pattyanne and Desota_hia_873. They made sure my ideas resembled sense. Shout out to Andrea P. and Jerusha who keep me in feedback! Chapter Note: Gunn and Angel need to talk. Speaking of Feedback: In 'model speak' (from Sex and the City) me likie! Chapter 9 Angel woke up and judged it to be late morning. Funny how the habits of a few centuries could be overturned. He was now diurnal rather than nocturnal. Definitely not the traditional vampire schedule. Fred had mentioned more blood. That sounded good. He took a few moments to really listen, then, as no one was around, he took a deep breathe to catch the team's scents. He knew Gunn and Wesley were in the hotel. He could always sense Spike when he was near, so that meant Spike was somewhere in the building. That meant that Lorne and Fred were out. He sat up quickly, paused, and then realized that the pain from the night before was gone. Once he'd been cursed with his soul he hadn't enjoyed his demon, but he'd always appreciated the healing power that came with it. Heading down stairs, he saw Gunn in the lobby polishing one of the weapons. He tensed. The thoughts he'd been thinking the last few weeks at the firm hadn't been favourable to any of the crew. He wasn't sure how much they realized. He still didn't know what they knew. Maybe it was time to find out. "Hey boss. Catch up on your beauty sleep?" At least that meant Gunn was talking to him. "Much better, thanks." He headed to the little refrigerator and microwave to get a mug of blood. He didn't think he used to go through so much of it. Another thing to worry about later. "Before he stormed out of my room last night, Spike mentioned something about killing things?" They hadn't kept him informed when he was CEO. Guess he'd have to ask for updates now that they were back un-corporate. "Yeah, he and I went out to see if there was trouble on Smith Street. Staked a few vamps and asked around about the Jargik but no cigar. What about you? Any clarification?" "No, and no more visions either." No sooner had he said those words then he was again knocked to the floor. Pain spilt his brain into sections, with each section dancing to a different beat. Things were fuzzy but he saw another group of seniors who were again in an alley. This time a purple demon was attacking them, kind of like Barney...with extra long teeth. All he could do against the pain was to huddle on the floor slowly rocking. A part of him heard the scrape of pen against paper, but the sounds made no sense. Slowly the pain withdrew, leaving merely a horrendous headache rather than the full military tattoo that had been there. He became aware of a cup of blood being held out to him. He reached for it, trying to mutter his thanks. After gulping it down, he was composed enough to ask, "Did I say anything?" "You were out for about five minutes. I copied down what you said. More old fogies. Another alley, this time off Bay. And you said a satanic Barney? Is Barney really a demon, I'd always suspected..." "I watched a bit with Connor before..." Gunn took a breath. Now he remembered 'before' also. And he remembered the 'after'. He'd been to hell dimensions he'd rather return to than that time. "Okay...so a big, purple, lizard-like demon." "With razor sharp teeth and claws." "Can't be forgetting the teeth and claws. I guess that means we're back to the research. Damn. Maybe the two demons have something in common, cross-reference feeding patterns or something. Need more blood?" Angel slowly sat upright. He wasn't shaking, that was good. But blood sounded better. "That would be helpful." He watched Gunn scope up his mug and saunter towards their mini kitchen. "By the way, boss, you really should know better." Angel felt his brow furrow in confusion. Gunn glanced over and clarified, "You tempted the fates or Powers there. Never read up on him, but I'm pretty sure Murphy is one of those vaulted Powers we work for. And we ARE working for the Powers again, aren't we?" "If I'm getting visions we must be. Did Wes come up with any reason WHY I'm getting the visions?" "Not sure. Spike and I sped out of here after a bit of research and English didn't mention anything when we got back." Angel heard the ping of the microwave and could smell the warm pig's blood that was being brought his way. It wasn't satisfying. Not at all. But it was what he had. "Did you get any time sense on this one?" Gunn asked. "Cordy used to be able to tell if it was concurrent or a future vision." It still surprised him when Gunn used what he considered 'lawyer language'. It was also beginning to irritate him how they kept comparing him to Cordy, and that he was coming up short. "No time sense. Wait a second...the way the light was, it was sunset." "See, you're getting the hang of it! What day?" Angel just glared at him over the rim of his mug. Gunn raised his hands, palm up, in a 'I surrender' move. "Just asking, my last question narrowed it down to one hour out of twenty- four. Figured you might know more than you thought you did." Angel sighed. This was NOT how it was supposed to be. He was a champion. He shouldn't be incapacitated AND useless, which is how these visions were making him feel. The worrying part was how familiar the uselessness was. In all the time at the firm, there had only been flashes of accomplishment. How could he be a champion if the malaise had followed him? He remembered the outcome of the last depression he had. The group couldn't survive THAT again. He had to be strong. He needed more blood. "Earth to Angel." He shook himself from his thoughts and looked at Gunn. "I'm thinking we should pow-wow, suss out the situation, both visions and work. Everyone seems a bit discombobulated and uncertain at the moment." The authority in Gunn's voice surprised Angel, reminding him of the street tough who'd held a pack of children together against the vampires. Gunn had been a leader, and it looked like he was planning to be one again. Was he going to make a move against Angel? Wait, what was he thinking? They'd left Wolfram and Hart. There was no benefit to overthrowing Angel. And this was Gunn. He took in a breath that he didn't really need and nodded his agreement. "Lorne and Fred aren't here right now. Maybe when they get back?" "Sure, boss. Sounds good. I'm going to head back to my place. Pull a few things together. If we're off the firm's teat, I'm going to have to downsize my expenditures. I'll probably be moving back to the hotel. Gotta love paperwork." Gunn gave a mock salute and headed out. Angel watched his retreating back. Who was Gunn now? Lawyer or thug? Loyal friend or...betrayer? Too many questions. Since no one else was around, he'd head upstairs for a nap.