Characters: Lorne & Xander
Time: 10 pm
Location: Cleveland Caritas
Rating: TBD
Thread Status: Open to Xander

"...so imagine my surprise when I went back to find Angelwings and the Peroxide King just as undead as I had left them. Give or take a few cuts and bruises of course."

Xander and I had been sharing 'End of the World' stories all night long. (Although I do believe he had a lot more to tell then I did.) It was Wednesday and Cartias was as dead as it ever was on hump day nights. Apparently Cleveland was full of the "working class" demon variety and Wednesday nights were clearly stay at home with the wife and little hatchlings night. Not that I was complaining. Ever since we'd made this little move to another big city, Caritas had been hopin' with the local scourge of the underworld types. Which was great for business, bad for the noggin. They all wanted their fortunes told, futures read, and no one was ever grateful for the work I did. I thought maybe different types would yield different results, but no such luck. People, and demons, were the same everywhere you went....selfish and disappointing.

"Angelcakes did say he got to slay a dragon though, so I guess that's a plus."

I sighed and moved my glass behind the bar to pour out my drink. I'd allowed it to sit so long on the bar it had gone stale. It was certainly time for a refill if you ask me. I held the new bottle up to once again offer Xander some, and once again he declined. I felt bad for the human race. So limited to the amount of alcoholic beverage they could consume. I didn't envy them a smidgen.

I shrugged, finished filling my glass and returned to my position of holding up the bar. Xander still sat across from me looking just as bored as I felt. Not that sharing our life stories should have been boring but I think the pair of us had gotten used to the steady flow of entertainment that strolled in here every other night. So, when a night like this comes along, and it always does, boredom becomes inevitable.

"What about you? Ever have to face a dragon before?"

Good heavens I wish we had a pinball machine.

Characters: Lorne, Groo & Fred
Time: 6:00 p.m.
Location: Caritas, L.A.
Rating: None
Thread Status: Opened to Groo & Fred

( Somewhere, over the rainbow.... )

Call it dumb luck, but some how I had convinced my new, and very lovely, business partner to stay and have dinner with me. Which was a relief let me tell you. What on earth would I have done with all that food if she had actually left. Feed it to Fred? I don't think even our little Fredikins would have been able to pack it all away and I'd be up to my ears in left over Chinese for at least a week. Have you ever tasted Chinese food after a week? Trust me, it's not something you want to experience first hand. I wouldn't be surprised if it came back to life and tried to escape the confines of the refrigerator after a week.

Yeeesh, I thought with a shudder.

But, she had stayed, we had eaten and now we were sitting in what can only be called an extremely awkward silence. Angelina had promised me that if I died from being close to her, she'd bring me back and kill me herself. Something told me she'd find a way to do it too. But, being close to her was exactly where I wanted to be. Because, when she wasn't acting all noble, need to save everyone even if it makes me miserable, slayer and just being Angie...there was nothing but warmth there. The ice burgs had melted and calm water had settled in. And, lord help me, I was about to take the plunge.

Before the food, before the resurrection followed by death promise, there had been a kiss and even though I though she meant it, I had to be sure. So, I poured myself a drink (no surprise there) and sat down on the arm of the chair she was sitting in. without looking in her eyes I brushed a stray piece of hair out of her eyes and smiled. It was soft, I couldn't remember if I had noticed that before or not, but I did now and I was loving every minute of it.

"Was the food ok?"

My voice came out in a shocking, warm, milky, almost pornographic tone. She didn't seem to notice, only nod. I nodded too, without thinking about what I was doing next and ran my hand down her cheek and under her chin to tilt her lips up in my direction and then...I leaned forward and kissed them. Any second now I would know if that first kiss had meant everything it seemed to me, or, I would end up a green splatter on the wall in front of us. Either way, at least I'd know.

[[Open to Angie]]

Well now. It's no secret this demon had just about given up all hope of salvation. Even the sanctuary spell on my, not so up to par, corner of the world had started to fade. The only way to tell was that constant humming noise in my ears as the spell began to peter out. Anyone else might have thought it was florescent lighting but come on people, would I honestly look good in florescent? In fact, I believe I even pointed this fact out once upon or time. Or, maybe I had just dreamed it. It was so hard to tell fact from fiction now a days. Especially when most of my time was spent day dreaming about better days. Some real, some not. It didn't matter as long as it was better.

So, with all hope gone, or almost all, you can imagine my skepticism when Wes and the gang came to pull me from the ruins of my broken existence. Heck, I had begun to think I'd never see any of them again. At times I actually prayed I wouldn't. But here they were with the most wonderful news my music loving ears had ever heard. It seems Angel's ex bird had flown the coup. A free bird -forgive the pun-. It seems little sis had pulled through and saved the slayer from hell. Not literally hell, but damn near close was my assumption.

The plan was to leave L.A. and I couldn't be happier except for the fact they wanted to relocate to the Hellmouth itself. Angelus central. Home of the place this nightmare world had sprang from. Needless to say I was a little hesitant about that part of the plan. Sure, I'd stood beside the big guy back in the day, fighting for good and all that noise. But, I was a born lover, not a fighter and to consciously uproot myself and move to a place of badness gallor, was just insane!

Unfortunately insane wasn't something I was unaccustomed to now a days, so I agreed to come along for the ride. Which, would probably be my last no doubt.

I packed a few things, even though packing somehow seemed unimportant, more like a reflex then anything, and joined the others who waited patiently among the dust and destruction of my tragically misplaced life. Caritas was no longer home, not really. It hadn't been for a while now and as we left I found it wasn't hard to say good bye. At least, not like I thought it would be.

"I hate to be the are we there yet kid, but how long do you think it will take to reach Sunnydale?" Gunn and Gwen looked at me and I faked a weak smile. "Hey, can't blame a guy for wanting to know how long it was before he, I don't know, died."

A look from Wes in the rear view mirror, an all to familiar smile of understanding from Fred, a shrug from Gunn and a roll of the eye from Gwen. Good to know some things never change.

[Open to Wes, Fred, Gunn & Gwen]

Color me crazy and tell me I'm a glutton for punishment but until Angel cakes and his crew started coming around, Caritas was all I had. I mean hell, what's a few destroyed bar stools, tables, chairs, etc etc, compared to the absolute joy this place brings me. If anything I could use a little joy in my never ending glass of mayhem and destruction. And boy oh boy did I mean never ending. Pregnant vampire, mystical birth, kidnapping, a serious acceleration through Connor's pimply face years in some hell dimension. Honestly, would it be to much to ask for the good guys to catch a break now and then? I didn't think so. So, who could blame me for spending our well dissevered down time replacing those previously mention chairs and tables. This was my home, not the hotel. Don't get me wrong, I loved being part of the team, but a demon gotta do what a demons gotta do. I was a doer, doing my way right into the poor house, "Yeowzers." That was my first impression of the bill for the new Karaoke machine. You don't even wanna know what my second one was.

"Teddy, baby. Eight hundred dollars for a karaoke machine? Your pullin' an old demons leg and honestly, you can stop pulling at any time."

"No sir, I got exactly the one you asked for."

"Yikes. Any more invoices like this one and I'll have to sell my soul just to pay the employees."

Teddy laughed. "That's funny. 'Cause ya know, demon and all."

"Everyone's a comedian. Get back to work would ya."

"Yes sir.

I strutted back behind the new bar and poured myself a drink. No more freebee's for this demon after tonight. At least not for a few months. To be honest I wasn't even sure a few months worth of drinks and good advice would do it. After the last two party crashing gangs tore up the place I'd be lucky if I didn't have to pay the customers to even step foot in here. It was a risk. One I'd be in debt with Angelwings with for a good long time too. Funny how that worked out huh? It was because of him I lost everything in the first place and now here I was, forced to be eternally grateful for his generous donations. It's a topsy tervy world people. You really have to be careful not to find yourself hanging upside down by your toes. If you had toes that is. Most of my former customers didn't.

Tomorrow my three favorite spell gals, besides our little cherry dumpling Willow of course, would come and make sure the sanctuary shield was in place. A lot of good it would do if someone decided to throw a grenade through the front door again but I mean, how many times can that happen before it gets old right? Then Monday would be the big Grande Opening....again. Maybe this time I might actually get to cut that red tape with my over sized pair of scissors before Angel decides to bring any more of his not-so-likable nemesis in here to peal the wall paper and scuff up the floors. Wouldn't that be nice.

[Open]

I starred blindly into my glass, the drink inside moving ever so slightly from side to side, but I didn't notice or more to the point, care. There was no comfort here anymore. I could pour drink after miserable drink into my veins and it wouldn't make one bit of difference. I was already numb from the butt cheek up. My little ol' heart had become just as empty as the chairs and tables at Caritas. Ever since Angel cakes...ever since the drinkable sun tan lotion...ever since the world had gone to hell and everything good fell into darkness, there had been nothing left to sing about. The songs were gone, the notes were dead and we were all just puppets with our strings wrapped tightly between the fingers of each and every vampire from here to Timbuktu.

We should have seen it coming.

That sweet little cupcake of Angel's had been the key ingredient in Dr. Crazy Cat's little day-walker surem. That UV 4 billion surem that allowed vampires to avoid one hell of a sunburn. The surem that turned life as we knew it into our worst nightmares. The surem our very own Angel cakes probably mixed with his morning blood now a days. Angelus, it was Angelus now. Angel wings was gone and had been for nine whole years now. Things had been so well planned and carried out in perfect order, like some satanic musical without words. And all the time we never knew. Never saw it coming. Hundreds of vampires had come into Caritas, half of them singing their shriveled little hearts out and never once did notice anything...out of order.

They took Angel and then they took the one person would could bring him back. Without that sweet little cherry blossom what else could we do? Besides the Gypsies, Willow was the only one to ever plug Angel's soul back into the proper sockets. Without her we were left with nothing but books and more books, most of which told us nothing. Wesley tried, was probably still trying, to find a way to bring our fearless leader back to us but after nine years of dead ends, one tends to give up any hope of that actually happening. Wesley, Fredikins, Gunn and Gwenith still fought the good fight but this lean-green-singing-machine was out. Last I heard one of Angel's friends, a magical whosit to the PTB, had come back from the dead but you can't really believe everything you hear now a days now can you? If Doyle really did come back from the dead he sure as heck picked a God awful time to do it. And Cordelia. Our dear sweet sleeping beauty herself taken right out from under our noses and turned into a vampire. I want to say things just can't get any worse but of course we all know that's not true. Things can always get worse.

Now here I sit on my dusty bar stool wallowing in the sorrow I've come to recognize as life and imagining the blue skies of Pylea and wondering if leaving there had been the best choice after all. Of course it had been, back then. I knew it from one horn to the other and back again but that still didn't change the way things were now. Bleak, dark, hopeless....Welcome to L.A! Come on in enjoy the sights and oh by the way, only those with fangs and a bumpy foreheads make it big in this grand ol' city. Everyone else was snack food, or slave material.

L.A. wasn't the only suffering city. In fact we had it good compared to those trapped inside the city limit of Sunnydale. Home of the Hellmouth itself. You can't miss it, it's right next door to that big eye sore of a compound. You know the one, with all the human slaves and vampires-a-plenty. Buffy's friends didn't stand a chance down there, if any of them were still alive that is. There had been word, before I left, that the slayers little sister and our now one and only soulful vampire, Spike, were still alive and well and trying to find a way to save the Chosen one, but that had been months ago and like I said, things can always get worse.

Boy could we use that little spit fire Faith. She might have been hell on wheels...a ticking time bomb waiting to explode...but she was one hell of a fighter. For all we knew, she was dead too.

I sighed, letting my hand slowly fall to the counter and set my untouched drink down. The day Buffy was captured was the day the music died and as far as I was concerned there was nothing left in this world to bring it back to life. Vampires ruled and all the rest of us could do was fight, or wait to die. Either way....we were already dead.

[[Closed]]