Quickened
by P.H. Wise
A Buffy crossover fanfic
Interlude: Angel
Disclaimer: This interlude assumes that the reader is familiar with the the Angel season four episodes ‘Peace Out’ and ‘Home.’ The episodes are the framework for this interlude, and it may be confusing to anyone who’s never seen them. This particular interlude includes scenes and dialogue from the episodes in question. ‘Peace Out’ was written by David Fury. ‘Home’ was written by Tim Minear. I don’t own Buffy. I don’t own Angel. I don’t own Highlander. Please don’t sue me.
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Sometimes I feel
Like I don't have a partner
Sometimes I feel
Like my only friend
Is the city I live in
The city of Angels
Lonely as I am
Together we cry
I drive on her streets
'Cause she's my companion
I walk through her hills
'Cause she knows who I am
She sees my good deeds
And she kisses me windy
I never worry
Now that is a lie
I don't ever want to feel
Like I did that day
Take me to the place I love
Take me all the way
‘Under the Bridge’ – Red Hot Chili Peppers
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Angel made his way alone through the moonlit streets of Los Angeles. The sky was clear, and the moon and the stars shone brightly, but it was a fell night nonetheless. In the wake of Jasmine’s unveiling on international television, people had been rioting in the streets. The crowds had already passed through this area, but the noise of it lingered faintly, like the distant buzz of an angry swarm of bees. Fires burned uncontrolled, and the wrecks of vehicles lay scattered across the streets. The Police? The Firefighters? Emergency services? Swept up in the panic with all the rest.
It was worse here in Los Angeles than elsewhere – Jasmine had been based here; physically present here. Angel didn’t blame them. Even within his own heart, the ache of separation from the love of the ebony Goddess was almost more than he could bear. As he walked, he recalled his final conversation with her.
“No. No, Angel,” Jasmine had said. “There are no absolutes. No right and wrong. Haven't you learned anything working for the Powers? There are only choices. I offered paradise. You chose this!”
“Hey, I didn't say we were smart. I said it's our right. It's what makes us human.”
The Goddess had burst into tears, and even with his eyes opened to her true appearance, Angel’s heart clinched at the sight.
“Why do you hate me so much?” she asked.
Angel glared, doing the best he could to ignore the yawning sense of emptiness within. “Let's run down the list, huh? Rain of fire, blotting out the sun, putting Cordy in a coma, enslaving mankind, and, yeah, oh, yeah, hey, you eat people!”
“Like you never have?”
“Thousands of people are dead because of what you've done.”
She’d approached him, then. “And how many will die because of you? I could've stopped it, Angel. All of it. War, disease, poverty. How many precious, beautiful lives would've been saved in a handful of years? Yes, I murdered thousands to save billions. This world is doomed to drown in its own blood now.”
“The price was too high, Jasmine. Our fate has to be our own, or we're nothing.”
She’d laughed bitterly, tears yet streaming down her cheeks. “You don’t understand anything. This was the world’s last chance, don’t you see? Thanks to your girlfriend and her witch, the old treaties are broken. The Senior Partners don’t have to keep things quiet anymore, Angel. The armies of Hell will be let loose, the world is gonna burn, and there’s nothing you can do to stop it. You wanted to know what part you were going to play in the Apocalypse? Well, congratulations, Angel. Now you know. You’re the man who doomed the world.”
Angel clenched his fist. The price had been too high: the price of Jasmine’s peace, but also the price of ending it: the price of giving back to humanity the ability to choose its own path.
At length, he stood before the entrance to the Hyperion hotel. Jasmine’s words echoed in Angel’s head. ‘...the man who doomed the world.’ He steeled himself, and then walked into the building.
Lilah Morgan was there waiting for him, ready to offer him the Keys to the Kingdom.
As Lilah made her offer, Jasmine’s words washed over Angel once more. “I could've stopped it, Angel. All of it. War, disease, poverty.”
And now, here was a representative of everything he fought against, offering to put him and his in charge of the very evil that he had fought for so long.
“You’ve earned it,” Lilah said. “Think of it as a reward.”
“Reward for what?” asked Gunn.
“Ending world peace. We were really on the precipice there. I mean, a bona fide goddess incarnates, is inches from eliminating all violence, hate and litigation from the planet, and you five — with an assist from sonny boy — manage to undo it all.” Her smile widened. “Way to go!”
“That’s not what happened!” Fred exclaimed.
“No?”
Wesley came to Fred’s defense. “Jasmine was creating a slave state.”
Lilah nodded. “Right. Where the slaves are full of giggly joy and love. Ugh. What a nightmare. Anyway, I’m dead and running late. Think about our proposal. If anyone’s interested and wants the grand tour, there’ll be a limo waiting outside just before dawn. And hey... good job.”
She gave them a thumbs-up before walking out the door.
Silence fell over the team at Angel Investigations.
After a long moment, Fred spoke. “We ended a nefarious global domination scheme, not world peace, right?”
She wished that her voice didn’t sound so uncertain.
“Right?”
...
For a final time, Angel heard Jasmine’s voice, far off and distant now, but still very clear. “The Senior Partners don’t have to keep things quiet anymore, Angel. The armies of Hell will be let loose, the world is gonna burn, and there’s nothing you can do to stop it. You wanted to know what part you were going to play in the Apocalypse? Well, congratulations, Angel. Now you know.”
Angel looked up, his face filled with fresh resolve. He couldn’t believe that he had doomed the world. Not so long as he had something to say on the matter. He’d wanted to know what part he was going to play in the Apocalypse, and Jasmine was right about one thing.
Now he knew.
END
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Author’s notes:
This is the second in a series of interludes dealing with the time between the first and second story arcs of Quickened.
Finally, note that these are not going to be posted in chronological order. The actual chronological order of them would be Faith, Methos, Duncan, Angel, Buffy.
