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I'm having problems with my internet connection again and as a result it's hard to settle to do any writing. Is that weird? Probably.
So here's the next chapter of my Team Angel fic. I'm trying to get more of Fairytale done along with the Dual and Duality thing I started. Sorry it's not really happening at the moment.
Anyway, I promised to pimp for a special friend. If you've a mind, go check out peachesluvsme. And there's a fic he's written too! It's here http://peachesluvsme.livejournal.com/3040.html#cutid1
Title: Another Apocolypse for Angel
Author: mandarin226
Fandom(s): AtS
Genre: (general, hetero or slash) General
Pairings/Characters: AtS ensemble; no pairing
Rating: If you can watch the show you can read this
Season 3
Acknowledgments: Thanks to everyone who made an effort and read this so far
Summary: Team Angel do their best to support their doomed friend
CHAPTER EIGHT
Angel was relieved to find Father Ryan safe. He’d had no visit from any demons. Whoever or whatever was trying to stop Angel from preventing Saurgoth from rising was probably aware of the prophecy, so had sought Angel out. He warned Angel to be cautious in case there were other attempts to thwart him. He also asked how Angel was holding up.
“Okay.” Angel said, though he didn’t sound too convincing. “My friends know now. I tried to keep it from them, but I had to convince the Grimlocs that I wasn’t keen on going to Hell with Saurgoth and my friends didn’t believe me when I told them it had just been a story for the demons’ benefit.”
“Why didn’t you tell them before?” Father Ryan asked.
“Telling them can’t change what’s going to happen to me, so I didn’t see any point.” Angel replied. “They can’t save me.”
“That isn’t the point, Angel.” The priest argued. “They’re your friends, they’re a part of your life, and sharing worries and anxieties is what friends do. What affects you affects them. I know that not telling them wouldn’t have changed anything, but by the same token telling them doesn’t either. But sharing the burden, making your load a little lighter, is not a bad thing. What you face, Angel is something no man should have to face, but at least you have given your friends the chance to make their peace with you.”
“But I’m not a man.” Angel pointed out.
“No, but you are a creature with a soul.” Father Ryan corrected. “I’m sorry you have to go through this, Angel. I would imagine the hardest part is the waiting, knowing what awaits you when Saurgoth does try to enter this world.”
Angel made a kind of affirmative grunt. The truth was it was the waiting that was the worst of it. Once Saurgoth made his attempt to rise Angel knew the wait would be over and he craved for the end in that way. But at the same time he hated that the time with his friends, his family, was growing shorter by the day.
Even over the telephone wire Father Ryan could sense the vampire’s anxiety. “Now, keep in touch. If there’s anything you need, anything I can do to help you, call me.”
“Okay, Father.” Angel terminated the call. He was aware that he was deep in brooding mode, as Cordelia would have called it, but it was difficult not to be. Now that his friends all knew, it somehow made his terrible fate more real. Instead of all this friendship and warmth there would be an eternity of suffering and pain. He knew he would never be brought back from Hell a second time.
This time it was a one way journey.
**
Lorne came over to see Angel as soon as he’d heard the news. Cordelia had insisted they tell him, as she knew Angel counted him a friend. She also argued that it was only fair to tell him what the emptiness he’d seen for Angel meant, so Angel had to face another emotional scene.
Predictably, Lorne had been overcome with the emotion of knowing they were to lose Angel, and had openly cried, become angry, and finally just accepted what was going to happen to Angel, as the others had. He’d left still mopping his cheeks with his oversized flamboyantly pink handkerchief.
It had been a long and emotional day for them all, so Angel suggested they all go home, except Fred, who lived in. They were reluctant at first, but Angel assured them that he was fine, and reminded them that he wanted normal, so they had left after making Angel promise that he’d call them if he needed anything.
Fred retired dejectedly to her room, leaving Angel alone. Hunger drove him to the fridge where he helped himself to a carton of pig’s blood. It satisfied his hunger, but it was not something he enjoyed. Only warm human blood, fresh from a vein, satisfied any sensual hunger he might have as far as food was concerned, but now, more than ever, he hated that desire, despised what he was.
He finally gave in to his exhaustion, and wearily climbed the stairs to his bed.
**
In spite of the fact that they no longer needed to research Saurgoth, Cordelia and Fred still searched through piles of musty books. They wanted to know what this hateful demon looked like, though neither of them could explain why.
Wesley, Gunn and Angel had left an hour or so before, obeying a summons via Angel’s vision. The Big One was still to come.
“Here it is.” Fred finally announced without enthusiasm. “There’s a picture.”
Cordelia put down the book she had been looking through and joined Fred at her desk. She pulled a face. Saurgoth looked more like a dragon than anything else she could draw on to compare him with; only much worse. Bigger. Uglier.
“Not pretty, is he?” Fred asked Cordelia.
“No.” Cordelia agreed. “What makes him even more ugly is thinking about what he’s taking from us.”
Fred bit her lip, nodded. Her eyes started to fill with tears yet again.
Angel and the others returned then, so Fred hurriedly blinked back her tears.
They started again almost immediately.
Wesley and Gunn supported Angel between them, helped him down the stairs to the sofa. Angel bled from a deep wound in his side, the legacy of a deftly wielded sword belonging to the latest demon that the trio had dispatched.
“I’m a little distracted at the moment.” Angel said rather sheepishly.
“Not hard to believe.” Cordelia said, picking up the first aid kit from the office.
With a grimace of pain, Angel tried to shrug off his coat, but Fred and Cordelia insisted on helping him, and with infinite gentleness they removed it for him. They carefully removed his shirt too then set about cleaning and dressing his wound. It was very deep, but Angel healed quickly.
Angel felt a little choked. Fred and Cordy were doing everything they could to make what remained of his earthly existence as easy and as comfortable as possible. Gunn and Wes were also totally considerate, and Angel felt almost overwhelmed by their care and attention.
Cordy pressed the tape of the dressing in place and she and Fred helped Angel put his shirt back on. Fred buttoned it for him. Angel couldn’t help noticing that her eyes were liquid with tears, so he put his arm around her. He had no words of comfort to offer her; there were none.
Cordelia spontaneously hugged him, too, dragging a groan of pain from him as she jarred his wounded side. “Sorry, Angel.” She said in a choked voice. Angel put his other arm around her. “We found a picture of Saurgoth.” Cordelia told him. “Not that it helps.”
“I’d like to see what he looks like. At least then it won’t be such a shock. Then I can get it over with as quickly as…” Angel trailed off, realizing that Cordy and Fred probably didn’t want to hear the rest of it.
“So how do you kill him, Angel?” Gunn asked.
“There is one vulnerable spot on his body that is not protected by scales.” Angel told him. “I have to aim for that with the sword.”
“Where is the sword?” Wesley enquired.
“I’ve got it well hidden.” Angel answered. “It’s probably better that you don’t know where, just in case, you know, the Grimlocs…”
“Right. Sound idea.” Wesley agreed, aware that if he and the others did not know the whereabouts of the sword then they couldn’t tell anyone, even if they were tortured. Wesley shuddered; he fervently hoped it wouldn’t come to that.
Cordelia had fetched the book containing the picture of Saurgoth. Angel took the book onto his knees and saw for the first time the creature that spelled his doom.
“Ugly son of a bitch, isn’t he?” Angel remarked.
No one disagreed.
TBC
So here's the next chapter of my Team Angel fic. I'm trying to get more of Fairytale done along with the Dual and Duality thing I started. Sorry it's not really happening at the moment.
Anyway, I promised to pimp for a special friend. If you've a mind, go check out peachesluvsme. And there's a fic he's written too! It's here http://peachesluvsme.livejournal.com/3040.html#cutid1
Title: Another Apocolypse for Angel
Author: mandarin226
Fandom(s): AtS
Genre: (general, hetero or slash) General
Pairings/Characters: AtS ensemble; no pairing
Rating: If you can watch the show you can read this
Season 3
Acknowledgments: Thanks to everyone who made an effort and read this so far
Summary: Team Angel do their best to support their doomed friend
CHAPTER EIGHT
Angel was relieved to find Father Ryan safe. He’d had no visit from any demons. Whoever or whatever was trying to stop Angel from preventing Saurgoth from rising was probably aware of the prophecy, so had sought Angel out. He warned Angel to be cautious in case there were other attempts to thwart him. He also asked how Angel was holding up.
“Okay.” Angel said, though he didn’t sound too convincing. “My friends know now. I tried to keep it from them, but I had to convince the Grimlocs that I wasn’t keen on going to Hell with Saurgoth and my friends didn’t believe me when I told them it had just been a story for the demons’ benefit.”
“Why didn’t you tell them before?” Father Ryan asked.
“Telling them can’t change what’s going to happen to me, so I didn’t see any point.” Angel replied. “They can’t save me.”
“That isn’t the point, Angel.” The priest argued. “They’re your friends, they’re a part of your life, and sharing worries and anxieties is what friends do. What affects you affects them. I know that not telling them wouldn’t have changed anything, but by the same token telling them doesn’t either. But sharing the burden, making your load a little lighter, is not a bad thing. What you face, Angel is something no man should have to face, but at least you have given your friends the chance to make their peace with you.”
“But I’m not a man.” Angel pointed out.
“No, but you are a creature with a soul.” Father Ryan corrected. “I’m sorry you have to go through this, Angel. I would imagine the hardest part is the waiting, knowing what awaits you when Saurgoth does try to enter this world.”
Angel made a kind of affirmative grunt. The truth was it was the waiting that was the worst of it. Once Saurgoth made his attempt to rise Angel knew the wait would be over and he craved for the end in that way. But at the same time he hated that the time with his friends, his family, was growing shorter by the day.
Even over the telephone wire Father Ryan could sense the vampire’s anxiety. “Now, keep in touch. If there’s anything you need, anything I can do to help you, call me.”
“Okay, Father.” Angel terminated the call. He was aware that he was deep in brooding mode, as Cordelia would have called it, but it was difficult not to be. Now that his friends all knew, it somehow made his terrible fate more real. Instead of all this friendship and warmth there would be an eternity of suffering and pain. He knew he would never be brought back from Hell a second time.
This time it was a one way journey.
**
Lorne came over to see Angel as soon as he’d heard the news. Cordelia had insisted they tell him, as she knew Angel counted him a friend. She also argued that it was only fair to tell him what the emptiness he’d seen for Angel meant, so Angel had to face another emotional scene.
Predictably, Lorne had been overcome with the emotion of knowing they were to lose Angel, and had openly cried, become angry, and finally just accepted what was going to happen to Angel, as the others had. He’d left still mopping his cheeks with his oversized flamboyantly pink handkerchief.
It had been a long and emotional day for them all, so Angel suggested they all go home, except Fred, who lived in. They were reluctant at first, but Angel assured them that he was fine, and reminded them that he wanted normal, so they had left after making Angel promise that he’d call them if he needed anything.
Fred retired dejectedly to her room, leaving Angel alone. Hunger drove him to the fridge where he helped himself to a carton of pig’s blood. It satisfied his hunger, but it was not something he enjoyed. Only warm human blood, fresh from a vein, satisfied any sensual hunger he might have as far as food was concerned, but now, more than ever, he hated that desire, despised what he was.
He finally gave in to his exhaustion, and wearily climbed the stairs to his bed.
**
In spite of the fact that they no longer needed to research Saurgoth, Cordelia and Fred still searched through piles of musty books. They wanted to know what this hateful demon looked like, though neither of them could explain why.
Wesley, Gunn and Angel had left an hour or so before, obeying a summons via Angel’s vision. The Big One was still to come.
“Here it is.” Fred finally announced without enthusiasm. “There’s a picture.”
Cordelia put down the book she had been looking through and joined Fred at her desk. She pulled a face. Saurgoth looked more like a dragon than anything else she could draw on to compare him with; only much worse. Bigger. Uglier.
“Not pretty, is he?” Fred asked Cordelia.
“No.” Cordelia agreed. “What makes him even more ugly is thinking about what he’s taking from us.”
Fred bit her lip, nodded. Her eyes started to fill with tears yet again.
Angel and the others returned then, so Fred hurriedly blinked back her tears.
They started again almost immediately.
Wesley and Gunn supported Angel between them, helped him down the stairs to the sofa. Angel bled from a deep wound in his side, the legacy of a deftly wielded sword belonging to the latest demon that the trio had dispatched.
“I’m a little distracted at the moment.” Angel said rather sheepishly.
“Not hard to believe.” Cordelia said, picking up the first aid kit from the office.
With a grimace of pain, Angel tried to shrug off his coat, but Fred and Cordelia insisted on helping him, and with infinite gentleness they removed it for him. They carefully removed his shirt too then set about cleaning and dressing his wound. It was very deep, but Angel healed quickly.
Angel felt a little choked. Fred and Cordy were doing everything they could to make what remained of his earthly existence as easy and as comfortable as possible. Gunn and Wes were also totally considerate, and Angel felt almost overwhelmed by their care and attention.
Cordy pressed the tape of the dressing in place and she and Fred helped Angel put his shirt back on. Fred buttoned it for him. Angel couldn’t help noticing that her eyes were liquid with tears, so he put his arm around her. He had no words of comfort to offer her; there were none.
Cordelia spontaneously hugged him, too, dragging a groan of pain from him as she jarred his wounded side. “Sorry, Angel.” She said in a choked voice. Angel put his other arm around her. “We found a picture of Saurgoth.” Cordelia told him. “Not that it helps.”
“I’d like to see what he looks like. At least then it won’t be such a shock. Then I can get it over with as quickly as…” Angel trailed off, realizing that Cordy and Fred probably didn’t want to hear the rest of it.
“So how do you kill him, Angel?” Gunn asked.
“There is one vulnerable spot on his body that is not protected by scales.” Angel told him. “I have to aim for that with the sword.”
“Where is the sword?” Wesley enquired.
“I’ve got it well hidden.” Angel answered. “It’s probably better that you don’t know where, just in case, you know, the Grimlocs…”
“Right. Sound idea.” Wesley agreed, aware that if he and the others did not know the whereabouts of the sword then they couldn’t tell anyone, even if they were tortured. Wesley shuddered; he fervently hoped it wouldn’t come to that.
Cordelia had fetched the book containing the picture of Saurgoth. Angel took the book onto his knees and saw for the first time the creature that spelled his doom.
“Ugly son of a bitch, isn’t he?” Angel remarked.
No one disagreed.
TBC