(Untitled)

[iwouldnt_fear]

I'm not the sortof person to make plans, so saying I never planned to be here now is more or less pointless. I didn't plan to be anywhere, but I didn't think It'd be LA. I have nothing against LA, per se. If I have to be anywhere in this country it might as well be where the best shopping is and the prettiest people are. But everything here has

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[a_darkness_more]

The last thing I was looking for in my life was another Slayer. Buffy had died, and Faith, well...Faith was Faith. I needed time, and more importantly, I needed to mourn. You'd think centuries had passed, I'd learn to deal with death a little better, but I guess losing Buffy was just the blow that I wasn't ready for.

I mean, I always knew it would happen. Every Slayer has an expiration date. That's the bad hand fate has dealt these girls, but the problem is when you fall in love, well...you want to believe fate isn't paying attention.

So I went to Asia, figured some good old meditation would get my mind off of things. No such luck. Demons. Like always.

On top of that, I ran into her. Samantha. A Slayer. My first reaction was that she was the new one, the one called forth when Buffy died. I was floored that the Watchers hadn't got to her yet, hadn't started training her. So I took her in, well, as much as she'd allow. She was fiesty. We had fought alongside each other in Tibet. She was good, a natural. She had a lot to learn yet, and I was willing to help her get started. She was pretty too, her own person.

My mind wanted to compare her to Buffy, but that's not fair to her. Or fair to me.

I figured I'd teach her some stuff, and once we returned to the continent, I'd get her to some Watchers. I figured they'd want their chosen one...that's when things went south. Sometime during a layover in London, we discovered she wasn't THE Slayer, but A Slayer. It suddenly made some sense. I mean, not the part that there were suddenly lots of Slayers. I must've missed something big while I was gone...but why had it never occurred to me? Buffy's death wouldn't have brought a new Slayer anyway...it would have been Faith. That was passed on to her. What the hell was going on?

Well, with the new news, there was no way I was going to turn her over to the Watchers. I assume they were up to their cravats in powerful girls, and there's no telling what they'd use her for. I figured she was safer with me. So what'd I do? I brought her back to LA. I'm still not sure why. Maybe cause the Hyperion has become a place for wayward and lost souls over the last few years...maybe cause it was always nice to have someone around who just...understood.

So we arrive back. I was eager to introduce her to Fred or Cordelia. She probably needed some female interaction after being stuck with me the last few months, but no one was around.

Even Wes and Gunn were gone. Where the hell was everyone.

That's when Sam mentions the note and I walk over and snatch it from her hand.

Tight little hand-writing. Fred.

My eyes scan the page.

"No," I whisper.

Not Cordelia too.

I crumple the paper and throw it on the ground.

"We have to go," I say, turning and walking toward the door.

I sigh.

Go to the one place I didn't want to be. The last place on Earth that was going to make me feel better...

"We have to get to Sunnydale."

[iwouldnt_fear]

He grabs the paper from where I'm holding it in the air and as soon as he reads it I wish I'd read it first, since it gets crumpled and tossed on the ground. Not good news, I'd wager. Hmm. There goes the good mood...

I don't move till I hear where he's planning to go.

"Why would we want to go to Sunnydale?"

As soon as the question leaves my mouth I know exactly why we wouldn't want to go to Sunnydale. This is Buffy territory. I would have to be stupid not to have picked up on this. Angel's slayer.

Words can't describe how much I don't want to go there. I sigh and run my fingers through my hair. It probably just comes down to me not wanting to be alone...and maybe a little bit of responsibilty toward the big girl who's eyebrows seemed to get heavier and heavier as he stood there.

[a_darkness_more]

"Why would we want to go to Sunnydale?"

"We don't really have a choice. There was an incident while I was away. My associate...my friend...she is in a coma. She was our link to the powers that be, so if something was that big that put her down, we're in trouble. So it seems as though Fred...another woman that lives her, panicked and took her to Sunnydale."

I glance around.

"...and I have NO idea where Wes and Gunn are."

I start pacing around. I didn't like this.

"Trust me, the last place I want to go is Sunnydale, but Fred did the right thing. When Cordelia went down, I bet Wolfram & Hart was scrambling to get their hands on her, and without me here, they wouldn't have to work too hard. In terms of good protection, Sunnydale would be the place to be. At least Willow can watch over her with the magicks."

I sigh.

"I'm sorry about this, I am."

[iwouldnt_fear]

To much information to absorb all in one shot. I don't even try to keep up. The main idea here is that we've got to go to Sunnydale and I don't get a long bath inbettween trips. I'm dissapointed, to say the least. Stiff, dirty, restless, tired, cranky...but I catch that this is important, and the idea of going to Sunnydale upsets Angel even more than it does me. So for once, I bite my tongue.

I pick my stuff up from where I set it on the counter and shrug a little, heading toward the door.

"whatever. You owe me a mattress when we get there."

If I have to be in this country, I'm not going to sleep on the floor.

[a_darkness_more]

"Considering the mortality rate of the people in that town, I think it's safe to assume that we can get you a free bed."

While that came out sounding like an attempt at humor (which it wasn't), I wince after saying it, with the full knowledge how true it is.

Images of Buffy flash through my mind.

I shake them off and look at Sam.

"Although I am less than pleased about this trip, one thing I will say about Sunnydale. It's full of nasties. Remember our 'therapy'?"

Of course she did. It was a little joke Sam and I had between us that we came up with in Sri Lanka. We both carried around a lot of anger, and sometimes it just felt good to kick some ass. One night we jokingly mentioned that beating on the bad guys was as good as "therapy", and it just stuck. It was funny, though you'd have to have been there.

"...well, just consider Sunnydale...very therapeutic."

With the Hellmouth there, of course it was.

[a_darkness_more]

((That was totally Angel))

[iwouldnt_fear]

I meander toward the doorway, fidgeting with my small bag of essentials I carry everywhere, slinging it over my shoulder. I don't feel any need to discuss this before we get going, we're going whether or not I give my stamp of approval, so I shift from one foot to the other. The idea of being cooped up in a car again made me picture myself clawing at doors and banging on windows.

I perk up a little at the at the mention of 'therapy' which brings a little smirk to my face, I can't help but be a little excited at the prospect of action, it seems like it's been forever, like I've been rolled up in a box for days now, waiting and watching.

"oh thank god!"