Timeline

Chapter 31


Wesley , Angel and Buffy were at the front desk reading through the file that had been printed off .
"So it says there will be a rain of fire ?" Buffy asked Wesley
"Yes, although what that could possibly mean , is somewhat of a mystery. Could be literal fire, could be meteors . we have no way of knowing as of yet"
"I'm guessing umbrella's won't be much use then"
Angel smiled and pulled Buffy to his chest. He had always loved the way she seemed to make light of the worse situation, her sense of humour always there.
"We just need to find out if that puts me out of the game" Angel said
"Yes well " , Wesley continued " It would appear the Senior partners are in fact a trio of gods that were cast out .It doesn't say why but it mentions a dimensional tear at the time , one can only assume that it was the Senior Partners and that is where they are."
"We're talking dimensions and portals again" Angel said , the muscles in his jaw tightening.
"Appears so. It could be the rain of fire will be the portal opening, but we can't be sure. "
Illyria had been listening and she joined them " The wolf ,the ram and the hart were nothing more than mere bugs that crawled , how is it that have become so powerful?"
"You new of them?" Angel asked her.
"Yes . they were insignificant in my time. "
" So what are we dealing with?" Angel turned to face Illyria
"They could have changed , mutated , grown. They have a hold on this world you protect. That gives them power and with power comes abilities."
"So how do we sever the link to this world and take that power back?"
"Seal the dimensional tear or kill them." Illyria tilted her head and watched Angel affectionately stroke Buffy's lower back.
"So we need to get the world a huge dimensional band aid then, you just know the k mart won't have any in stock"
Wesley just looked up . Her humour lost on him . Good job Giles has gained his back.
"I can sense the rift and enter , I will take down the wolf the ram and the hart"
Angel , Wesley and Buffy were stunned and all looked at Illyria.
"But if you do , won't you be trapped there in the dimension ?"
Illyria stood back and waved her hand in front of them . Slowly a ripple appeared and grew. "I can get back , you underestimate my abilities"
Everyone stared at Illyria as she opened a small rift and stepped into it . A few seconds later and she appeared again using another portal.
"Neat" is all Buffy could say.
"So that takes care of the Senior partners and the rift, do we know what else will be coming ?" Angel said still watching Illyria.
"They will have minions " Illyria said " I had minions , scores of them to bend to my will" she looked saddened " They would be here in this world. Find them and power would be severed from them"
"That would be the law offices , got that covered as well " Buffy said .
Willow and Fred shot off their stools and approached Angel and Buffy.
"We found this illustration " Willow said as she passed the paper to Buffy .
Buffy's eyes grew wide and she passed it to Angel.Wesley looked over Angels shoulder.

The picture showed an army of demons at war , stretching to the horizon. A half man half deer , a half man half wolf that towered above him and what could only be described as half man half ram stood at the front of the mass . Wesley got a magnifying glass out and studied the illustration closer . He sat down with a loud humph.
"What is it ?" Angel asked.
Wesley hovered the magnifying glass over a portion of the picture and Angel looked through it . Angel rubbed his forehead. " How can that be possible?"
Buffy , now confused , got up and looked.Angel pulled the paper away and went to his office, slamming the door and mumbled.Buffy went to follow him but Wesley held her arm. "Leave him a while"
"What did you see Wesley , what's got him in brood mode?"
Wesley sighed " It's Angelus "
Buffy sunk onto one of the stools " He's in that hoard isn't he"
"Yes"
"There's more " it was a statement not a question.
"Yes. "
"Tell me" Buffy's voice was quiet , almost as if she knew.
" In the illustration , he's ....... "
"Draining me " she closed her eyes and sighed.
"Yes"
Buffy got up slowly and went into the office.Willow and Fred stared in horror.


"You can't be here , I want you to go , I won't have you or Layton near me , not once this war starts" Angel was trying to look like he was busy , shuffling paperwork around.
" I won't go , I'm in this fight , we don't know if the prophecy has been changed because of what happened with Liam"
Just the mention of his name made Angel tense up.He threw the paperwork back onto the desk and stood up , running his hands through his hair.
" It's not him in that picture Buffy , it's me" he snapped. " I can feel the darkness rising in me and everywhere"
"Your not the only one, hello ! slayer here , spidey senses on overdrive. If I go who will bring you back from that and stop the darkness taking you "
" I don't want to take the risk "
"Well your not making the decision here I am, and I'm not going. I have my people here to do their parts , and they need me , even if you don't. I'm not abandoning them"
Buffy stormed out , feeling the need to pummel the hell out of something .
"Girls , training room , now!"
A group of eight girls plus Faith followed Buffy to the basement.

"B ?"
"Faith , nows really a bad time"
" I hear ya , but maybe A has a point"
"Your joking me right" Buffy started to kick and punch the swing bag hanging from the ceiling.
"If it was just you and Angel , I'd say go for it B , but you got that kid wonder now"
Buffy stopped dead in her tracks , half way through a round house kick. Faith knew it had got to her. Maybe enough to make her see sense.
" I'm not going , wish everyone will get off my back" she completed the round house kick , sending the swing bag across the room and hitting the wall with a loud thud. The girls sat quietly watching the floor .
Faith shrugged her shoulders in defeat .
"Lets get these girls trained up and move on to the next bunch , dunno how long we have to prep for this "


Buffy and Faith spared with each other and went through the steps , showing the girls effective manoeuvre's.
They trained all day and well into the night . Finally exhausted they gave up and went back upstairs to get showered before going back into the research and tactics mode.

Angel had spent the day going over all the data.He had shut himself in the office with Layton. Layton was crying and Angel was trying to calm him down , when Buffy came back into the office.She took Layton and the infant settled .
"Any new developments?" she asked while she stroked her sons head.
"Well , it would appear that events have been changed . The war wasn't actually scheduled for another two years.Also Illyria has said that she can free a few of the other gods from the deeper well , only the ones that were enemies of the Senior Partners. I still haven't agreed with that but it is on the table.Willow has a few spells that will protect us . There is a location spell that she can do to find the tear ."
"So , things have been changed , is that good?"
" I'm not sure . Of course it appeared that Angelus was in the final battle and ......." Angel looked down at the floor, unable to finish the sentence.
Buffy looked at him and could see the fear on his face. Still , she wasn't about to cave in to the pressure he was applying when it came to her leaving.
" You have your soul , and we have more than tested the happiness clause, and your still you. I doubt you'll become 'him' now . So that's changed , what else has changed."
Angel seemed to almost believe in her words and brightened " I'm not evil , Illyria , time and date of war , erm ... and I have you and my son" he smiled at her and sat on the desks edge " I guess everyone's on edge , not just because this is one huge fight to the death, but because they are all unsure of their place and what will happen after. I picked up on that . If we survive , do you know what we'll do ?"
" I didn't give it much thought , I mean we've been here for like forever and things seemed O.K. Merging our teams , being all together felt right, I can't say that we'll all stay together after this is over. I can't think that far ahead Angel."
The fact that she had echoed his own thoughts was in some way , comforting , but he had a nagging feeling in the pit of his stomach. Would she be one of those that didn't stay?He had to get his mind off that subject , " How did training go?"
"The girls are gaining skills rapidly , if they continue , they should be a force to be reckoned with. A few of them are really nervous , they haven't fought against anything, yet alone the types of demons they'll face soon.I thought you and Spike could take them out , and give them a full on training session"
"What do you mean?"
"I'll take them out on the street,you both stalk them , ambush them , unno the drill. Kinda thing you used to do to me , only without the smoochies"
Angel laughed "Obviously. When do you want to do that? There's still a few hours before sunrise"
"I'll round up the girls now " Buffy handed Layton to Angel and went back out to the foyer. Most of the girls were buried deep in books , but looking like they had quit reading hours ago.
Great timing Buffy thought. She called a group of girls " Saddle up and grab weapons , you're all getting some patrol time with me."
The girls looked at each other , their hearts beat rapidly and their nerves showed
" But we aint got no downtime with no demons , how we gonna know we can deal?" Beth said
"Here's your chance." Buffy replied , she felt for her, after all she had been taken to a graveyard and put up against a vampire on her first day as a slayer. At least Buffy was putting them all up against the 'fluffy' kind.
They were ready within five minutes . Buffy signalled to Angel and Spike, the two vampires nodding back.


Buffy took the girls through the alley and out towards the centre of town. The girls were grouped together , at least two steps behind Buffy.
"I would do this alone , there's six of you, spread out and watch the shadows. There's a feeling you get in the pit of your stomach , that will tell you when your enemy is close. Trust it , use it. " She knew he was close , she had that feeling now. She glanced up at the roof tops and spotted Spike . O.K. wrong one . She looked ahead and saw a dark figure retreat into an alley. She smiled.
One of the girls stopped dead in the middle of the road and looked up to where Spike had been.
" I feel kinda sick" she grabbed at her stomach and retched .
" That's gross " one of the other girls said " Hope I aint gonna feel like that"
"It effects us all like that at first , until you get a handle on it" she rubbed the girls back and the girl straightened up " Weapons ready"
They all pulled out their stakes . Beth gripped her stake so tightly , her hand bled . "Shit"
Buffy looked at her " What's up?"
"My hand , it's bleeding. Not what I need when this vamp comes at me is it"
Buffy smiled " kind of not , but you'll do fine"
The other girls could feel them now . All went into a defensive posture.
" It's no good waiting here for them, they could be in an alley having a snack , go find them. Take them by surprise"
" Slayer!"
Buffy whipped round and saw a vamp in game face " Buffy , the , as in " she replied .
The girls gave a nervous chuckle, then retreated .
" And more than one , t'is my lucky night" the unknown vamp said.
" Your not a member of Mensa are you " she said , rolling her eyes.
Spike and Angel watched from their places in the shadows. Smiling to themselves , they almost felt sorry for him.
Buffy looked at her watch , " You gonna make a move cos I kinda have a tight schedule"
The vamp growled and lunged at her.
Buffy threw him to the road and then put her foot on his neck , effectively pinning him down.
"You might wanna try them " she looked at the young girls . She let him up and backed off , holding her hands up.
He licked his lips and advanced on the group.
The girls went into battle stance and drew their stakes up. The vamp grabbed one of them and the others started hitting him . The vamp tackled them all and sent three to the tarmac. Buffy stood back and watched , grimmacing as they all took hits and fell . Finally the vamp got kicked off and one of the girls hit him with a powerful round house kick and slammed her stake in his chest , he exploded into a cloud of dust.
Buffy looked up to heaven and shook her head. "Rule one , don't get thrown onto your back. Rule two , don't get bit. You had chances to stake him and none of you took them .Lets see if you do better next time"
The girls all looked like crap and all of them were looking at the road .
"C'mon , " Buffy carried on walking .
The girls followed and were watching the alleys .
"Split into two's and check the alleys " Buffy said .She paired with Beth.
Spike went into the alley were two had gone , Angel went with Beth and Buffy.

Spike , never one for patience ,dropped down from the rooftop in front of the girls , game face firmly in place.
"Hello cuties"
"Spike, you scared us"
"Kinda the point" he said
The girls stood there confused. Their stakes were by their sides and not ready for action.
They really are asking for it he thought to himself , he smiled and growled at them, running at them , he took the youngest and slammed her into the wall.
The other girl ran to help and Spike caught her throat in his fist. " Two for one surprise "
The one against the wall kneed him in the groin , Spike released them .
" You got balls " he bent over , trying to recover from the pain.
The girls took this time to throw a few punches and kicks at him , none of which seemed to bother him.
" I went to hell for a slight vacation girls , your gonna have to try a little harder than this "
He dropped to the floor and kicked the younger ones legs out from under her. He sat on her chest and then grabbed the other girls hand as she was about to stake him.
"You win " was all he said as he got off the young girl . " Go and regroup with the others."
He shot off and went in the direction of the two that had gone into another alley.


Angel had put his game face on and hid in the alley. Beth could feel him and looked at Buffy , unsure of her next move.
" You 'll do fine" Buffy watched as she went further into the alley.
Angel smiled and stepped out between Buffy and Beth. " Shouldn't you be tucked up in bed , little girl"
Beth spun round, Angel was still in shadow and the vents were spewing up steam .
It bought back memories of the night Angel had turned from her and headed here, after the fight with the mayor.She blinked them away.
Beth still hadn't recognised him. She stood firm , stake raised and ready for action.
" Slayer blood , mmmm, I remember it well. " He stepped forward . " Of course , you will be a sweeter kill"
God this is so cliché he thought .
" You won't get to try "
Angel laughed loudly " You got spunk , I'll give you that"
Buffy smiled .
"We gonna do this , your boring me "
Angel leapt high and landed behind her " You really need to learn about vampires girl " he grabbed her shoulders .
Beth twisted beneath his hands and grabbed him and threw him into a pile of garbage " If my first lesson is how to put a vamp on its ass , I think I aced "
Angel leapt up and shook off the rubbish , brushing down his trousers and arms. " And this was new " he tutted and shook his finger at her " So gonna make you pay"
"This gig don't pay so sue me" She replied .
Buffy thought she reminded her of , well , her. God help Angel.
Beth did a somersault into Angel kicking him back into the dumpster and then punched him repeatedly in the face . His game face stayed put and he grabbed her , forcing her back and he kicked out at her .Beth landed on her ass , Angel punched out and caught her in the ribs. Beth doubled over , Angel grabbed her head and swung her into the garbage.
"Stay down "
"Aint gonna happen . " She jumped up and reigned punches and kicks at him , Angel blocked them all , laughing at her as she did.
"What is your problem " she said anger getting the better of her
" Use that anger , come on, this is too easy" Angel said
Beth caught him in the face , twisting his head back over his shoulder , bringing the stake up and plunging it into his chest, narrowly missing his heart. Angels game face sunk away, revealing his human mask.
"Shit" Beth dropped the stake and stood there staring.
Buffy ran to Angel and pulled his head into her lap.
"I'm O.K. Let's just get home, it's not deep ."
Beth stood still in shock.Buffy helped Angel to his feet .
"Beth , go get the others , nearly sunrise and we need to get Angel home"
Beth nodded still in shock and ran off to get the others .
"This was great , take them training in the field and get you almost killed . Not one of my better idea's huh?"
" It's O.K. She's a powerful one Buffy. "
"Lets just get you home and we can go over the training later."


Spike and the other girls came out of an alley and rejoined them.
"So , you got your ass well and truly kicked then . You getting slack in your old age then ?" Spike teased, earning him a look of disgust from both Buffy and Angel.
Spike huffed and grabbed Angels waist and supported him."Lets get you patched up at home eh"
Angel smiled at Beth " You weren't to know , you hadn't seen me in my predatory mask, plus it was dark and with the steam , it's fine , really "
Beth still looked away from them.
"Next time can you just find a nest and drop the girls in there " Spike said
The girls looked petrified.
Buffy just laughed .