(Note: This story takes place in Season Three of Angel, between the episodes Waiting in the Wings and Couplet.)

Prologue

I guess if I am going to explain everything that's happened, it makes sense to start at the beginning, right? But I'm not sure where it all began. Now everything's over, it all makes sense. Everything has been fitted into place, like a jigsaw puzzle. Or like an equation. I'm better at those than jigsaw puzzles. Equations are great. With equations, you always know exactly what you are getting and what's happening. Everything always adds up and makes perfect sense. But everything that has happened recently hasn't really been like that.

Maybe I should just start where it all began.

Chapter One
The Visitor

I sat with Charles in the hotel lobby. We were sitting on the round sofa, just talking and laughing. Then the door swung open. A man walked in. As he entered the hotel, his eyes surveyed the room, and a smirk crossed his face.

Charles sprang up from his seat. "Jayden? Is that you?" The man's face widened into a smile. "It's me, bro." Charles and Jayden shook hands. "It's been a long time", said Gunn. "Too long." Jayden began to walk around the lobby. "I know, I know. But people needed me up in San Fran. I had to help them. But now I'm back. And I hear you got a pretty sweet existence with a vamp or something?" Charles's face became apprehensive. "It's not like they've told you." Jayden looked straight at Charles. "Who do you think told me what?"

Charles stared at his feet. "The old gang. They don't like that I'm with a vampire now. Even though he has a soul." Jayden laughed. “I got no problem with that, man. It sounds like you're doing good work." Charles smiled. "Yeah, I think we are."

Then, Jayden looked at me. "Well, hello there cutie! What's your name?" I looked at Charles. He nodded. "Fred," I said quietly. "And, who are you, Fred?" Jayden asked me. He was talking to me real polite. "I work here, with Angel. And I'm also Charles's girlfriend."

Jayden turned to Gunn. "Never figured you were that type, bro." Charles's eyebrow raised. "What type?"

Jayden smiled, and said "Nothing, that's all." Jayden walked up to me, and shook my hand. It was cold. "Nice meeting you Fred." He turned back to Charles. "I gotta run. I have some other people I need to see. What are you doing tonight?" Charles looked at me. "Um, well, we were kinda..." Jayden shook his head. "If you're busy, don't bother. I just thought it would be cool if we could go out somewhere together, like in the old days."

Charles looked at me again. "Do you mind?" I did. I minded. But I shook my head. Charles hugged me. Then he turned to Jayden and said, "I'll meet you at the Gatehouse Club at 9." Jayden was ecstatic. "See ya Gunn, Fred," and he left.


After he had gone, Charles told me all about Jayden. He had been one of the founding members of their Vampire-killing street gang, along with Charles, and they had been really good friends. Not long before Gunn met Angel for the first time, Jayden had gone to San Francisco to help fight the growing vampire population there. And now, after two years, he had returned to Los Angeles.

Charles was so pleased that Jayden was back. He described adventures they had had together, and he was so happy and excited, like a little kid, that I couldn't help feeling the same. So at nine o'clock that night, Charles went out to meet him at the Gatehouse Club, their favourite hang-out in the old days.

I stayed at the hotel all night with Angel, Cordy and Connor, trying to get Connor to sleep and watching old movies. I think it's safe to say that Charles had a much more exciting night than I did.

Chapter Two
The Gatehouse Club

Charles arrived at the club at exactly 9. He went in, bought a drink and sat, waiting for Jayden. He had to wait a long time. At 10 o'clock, Charles got fed up, and began to leave, but then a beautiful girl, with smooth skin the color of dark chocolate walked up to him. "Are you Charles Gunn?" When he said that he was, she told him that Jayden was out the back.

She told him to follow her, and Charles did. "I'm Jayden's girlfriend, Salina. We met in San Francisco when he saved me from a vampire. He’s told me a lot about you. I’m so glad to finally meet you." Charles smiled, and asked what Jayden was doing. "He’s playing one of his stupid card games with some friends. He sent me to see if you had arrived."

She led him through a door, and into a small, dimly lit room, in which Jayden and three other people were sitting. They all greeted Gunn, and Jayden jumped up excitedly. "Gunn! You're here. Great." Jayden introduced his friends to Charles, and then he said that they would have to be leaving. "I wanna spend some time with Gunn, okay guys? I'll see you all later."

Jayden held the door open for Salina and Charles. As he walked out, one of the men in the room shouted "What about the game?" Jayden smiled, and replied "You woulda lost anyway."


The phone rang. In the office, I heard Cordy pick it up, and pass it to Angel. I was sitting in the lobby, playing with Connor and his tiny toy truck. I heard Angel talking fast and excitedly. "That's great! That's not so great. Are you sure? If I could help... I don't know if I can leave."

Eventually, Angel told whoever was on the other end of the line that he would call back in the morning, and he hung up. He and Cordy came to sit with me. Angel informed us what the phone call had been about. "There is a group of demons called the Hai-Dalka-Mornal tribe. They come from Africa, and basically they are just pure killers. They don't have grand plans, or even large brains. They are just hunters. And they've been multiplying. That phone call was from a monk who I knew in my days in Africa. The Hai-Dalka-Mornal have been taking over entire towns, in places that are vulnerable. At the moment, they are in Zimbabwe. It's a war-torn, unstable country, and they know it. I've been asked to go and help free the country from these things. I have to go to Bulawayo." Cordelia smirked. "Bulawayo? It sounds like you’re trying to calm down a warthog."

Angel glanced at her disapprovingly. "Bulawayo is Zimbabwe's second biggest city. They need me there, and I should go, but..." Angel looked down at Connor. "I can't leave him, not now, while he's so small." Connor giggled at he ran his toy truck over his daddy's fingers. "We can take care of him," Cordy said to Angel. "I mean, there are no big threats at the moment. And you wouldn’t be gone for long, right?"

Angel considered it. "I don't know how long I would be gone for. But I should go... I'm meant to protect people from these kinds of things." "Then go," I said. "Everything will be fine." Angel smiled at me. "Okay, I'll go. But there are some things I have to do first."

As Charles, Salina and Jayden went out of the Gatehouse Club, Jayden turned to Charles and said "You and Salina wait here while I go and get the car." Charles nodded, but Salina whispered into Jayden's ear "What car? That last one got completely destroyed?" Jayden smiled and replied "I'm sure I'll find one somewhere." He walked off.

Gunn breathed in the air of the cool LA night. He noticed Salina staring at him. It made him uncomfortable. "So, Salina... what are we gonna do tonight?" Salina smiled, showing off her dazzling teeth. "Well, I don't know for sure what I'm gonna do, but you... you're gonna die." Her face morphed into that of a horrifically ugly vampire, and she ran straight up to Charles and sank her fangs into his neck.

Chapter Three
After Death

Angel had booked a flight to Bulawayo and packed a bag with the bare minumums of what he needed. "Are you sure you have enough blood?" Cordy asked.

"I can always get more," Angel replied.

"Why do you have to leave first thing tomorrow morning?" I asked him. "Don't you want to spend some time with Connor?"

Angel looked sad as he said "Of course I do, I wish I could stay, but things are bad there, and the sooner I go, the sooner I will be back here with Connor."

Connor made adorable baby noises as he slept in his crib. Angel stood over his son, just watching him sleep.
*

In shock of what had just happened, Charles did nothing. Then he regained all his senses and with all his might he struck Salina in the face. She flew backwards, her mouth stained with his blood. He put his hand to his neck. Blood seeped out of his wound. Salina lunged towards him again. Charles grabbed her shoulders firmly, and drew his fist back, then let go. His fist flew forwards into her face with a loud smack. Salina screamed and flailed her arms around in agony. Blood poured from her nose.

"You bastard!" she screamed. "I'm gonna kill you." She ran forward, blood all over her face and hands. Salina kicked Charles in the face and he fell to the ground. He couldn't get up. Salina bent down and slowly began to approach Charles's neck. He felt in his pocket, and pulled out a stake. As Salina held down Charles's head and prepared to drink from him, Charles thrust the stake into her heart. Salina exploded and the dust rained down on Charles. Suddenly, he fainted.

Blood from his neck wound continued to flow.

*

Angel left through the sewer tunnels for the airport in the early hours of the morning. I had been awake all night, waiting for Charles to come back. I called his cell phone about three hundred times. I was so worried that he had got hurt or something.

But I convinced myself that he had gone to stay with Jayden. After all, they were very good friends and they had a lot of catching up to do. It would make sense that they would be out all night and end up crashing at wherever Jayden was staying. If I'd have known what was really happening to Charles, I would have called Angel up and told him to come back straight away.

But because I didn't know, I just stayed at the hotel, doing nothing. Because it was a Saturday, Wesley and Cordelia weren't going to come into the hotel until the afternoon, so it was just me and Connor. And Lorne, of course, but he was still in bed. So I just sat there, worrying, wondering if Charles was OK.

He wasn't.

Charles opened his eyes. His vision was blurry, but he could still make out where he was. He tried to move his arms, but found they were tied above his head to a broken light fixture. He looked down at his feet, and vomited. They were nailed down to the dusty wooden floor.

The pain flowed through his body, making him scream in agony. Charles looked around the room. It was small and dull. The walls were gray and bare.

"Why am I here?" Charles thought. Then he remembered the events of the night before. He twisted his head round to try and look at his neck. The wound had been amateurly bandaged up. Gunn was confused. Suddenly, the door creaked open and Jayden walked in.

He smiled and walked up to Charles. "How you doing, buddy?" Charles summoned enough strength to hiss "I'm fine." Jayden laughed, and pulled a knife out of his pocket. "Well, you're about to get a whole lot worse."


Chapter Four
New Land

The plane journey had been boring. Angel had watched a movie about a basketball playing dog which had practically destroyed his will to live. But now he was ready, to do what he did best. Angel would fight the Hai-Dalka-Mornal and free the oppressed people of Bulawayo from fear. He was almost looking forward to getting in some fighting, some heroic action. And as he stepped of the plane into the day, a terrifying realization came over him. He was stepping right into the bright sunlight of the afternoon...

Charles gritted his teeth, not wanting to scream. He felt the knife slowly burrow it's way into his leg. He looked down. Jayden was looking up at him and smiling.

"Do you know why you're here, Gunn?"

Charles managed to choke out, "Because I killed your bitch of a girlfriend."

Jayden furiously tunneled the knife into Charles' leg. Charles shouted out in pain. "That's right, Gunn. You killed Salina. The woman I loved."

"She wasn't a woman, she was a vampire. A disgusting, filthy vampire."

Jayden's face morphed into his vampiric one, and he said "Hey, there's nothing wrong with being a vampire. I have been one ever since I first arrived in San Fran. I remember it so well... I was young, and had such uncomplicated thoughts about the world, about good and evil. It was my first week there, and I met this gorgeous, amazing girl. It was Salina. Remember? The girl you killed!" Jayden shouted furiously. He slashed the knife across Charles' knee.

"She turned me into a vampire. And we were so in love... everything was perfect. So I told her we should come back to LA, we would be able to take the whole city over! We could rule, and make the mortal people tremble and fear us. And you screwed it up." He slashed at Charles' other knee. Jayden erupted into loud sobs. Between tears he said you ...screwed ....everything ...up." After a few moments Charles' head drooped and he was unconscious again.

Angel's arm burst into flames. Other passengers from the plane watched in a mixture of horror and fascination as Angel ran as fast as he could back onto the airplane.

As soon as he got in there, he ran into the toilet and doused his flaming arm with tap water. The fire went out. "That was close," Angel said to himself. Why hadn't he realized that because of the time differences, when he arrived in Bulawayo it would be daytime?

But he was fine, and now all he had to do was wait in the plane until the sun went down, and he could go and find Sayo Wunila, the monk who had asked him to come.

I couldn't stand it any longer. I had to do something. There was a terrible feeling inside of me that Charles needed my help... So I went up to Lorne's room, with Connor under my arm, and I hammered on the door.

"Lorne, wake up!" I opened the door. Lorne was in his bed, blinking.

"What's the hubbub, bub?" he said sleepily. Lorne sat up in the bed. He was wearing purple pajamas with golden speckles. I looked at him and surpressed a giggle. "Oh, I know," he said. "I look like a terrifying mutant who escaped from the Barbie doll warehouse. But the point is, why are you waking me up at this hour? The last time I had such a rude awakening was when the Drachma demon couldn't wait for karaoke night at Caritas and insisted on squawking "Staying Alive" outside my window at 3 a.m. And you thought the Bee Gee’s had squeaky voices, well?..."

"Lorne!" I shouted. "I'm worried about Charles. He hasn't come back yet."

He pulled on his dressing gown. "Oh, ok. Well, I'm ready for business, or whatever we're gonna do. You can always count on me, cupcake." As we descended down the stairs, he began to sing "Anytime you need a friend...."

"I mean, we were friends!" Jayden shouted. "For so long! And what's gonna stop us now? I mean, I have undergone a coupla changes, but, y'know man, seriously, what's standing in the way of us being buddies?"

Charles spat blood at Jayden’s feet. "You are a revolting creature. A piece of dead crap. I hate you." Jayden continued carefully unscrewing the nails that were pinning Charles' feet to the floor.

"You're a bit of a hypocrite, aren't you man? You are holed up with a 'revolting' vamp. You can't call me a piece of dead crap, when you're working for one."

"That's different," Charles responded. "I'm not even gonna try reasoning with you."

Jayden smirked. "Well, you're not gonna be able to talk now. The pain that's about to come to you is gonna be so bad, all you'll be able to do is scream." Jayden violently pulled the nail out of Charles' foot.

Charles screamed.

*

The temple had a peaceful, almost ethereal feel to it. Angel walked into it, slowly, tiptoeing, not wanting to make a loud noise and disturb the peace. He approached the front of the temple, and there was Sayo Wunila, the Buddhist monk he had known during his time there. He had protected the local people from vampires, and now he was here to protect them for a more worrying and fear-inspiring enemy- the Hai-Dalka-Mornal.

He walked up to Sayo and saw that much had changed with him since Angel had last been there, over forty years ago. His face was full of wrinkles, and his back was bent. He was thin and bony, and his face was gaunt and stretched. As he turned and saw Angel, however, his weary face lit up into a smile.

"Aah! He has arrived. The vampire with the soul has come to save us. I know you would." Angel couldn't stop himself grinning. "Of course I came, my job is to help the helpless." Sayo patted his back. "You are truly an angel. Now I must tell you about your mission, why you are here. I must know… are you prepared to die?"

Angel hesitated, thinking of Connor and everything he had left behind in LA. "Of course. A good warrior is always prepared to die." Sayo nodded.

"Very well. The story is short and bloody. The Hai's moved in about two months ago. The country was at war, bodies lay rotting in the streets, and they came, feasted on the bodies, and when they were all gone, they became to kill citizens. They now are spread all over the country, feasting and killing. The people are afraid, they lock their doors and lie huddled together in a bed, the whole family, just waiting for their turn to die. It cannot carry on like this. The only reason I have remained safe is my binding spell."

"Binding spell?" Angel asked.

"Yes," Sayo replied. "There is a wonderful young witch named Rama who lives nearby. She cast a protection spell on the temple. I am safe in here. But the other people are not. She cannot protect them. You must. You must defeat the Hai's."

Angel looked into Sayo's cold, wide eyes, and said "I will. I swear to you, I will."

Chapter Five
Various Pains

Lorne and I were in the lobby. I put Connor down on the floor and told Lorne where Charles had gone the night before. He was thinking of ways to find out where Charles was when Cordelia came in. "Cordy!" I shouted. "Thank god you're here. Bad things are happening." Lorne put his hand on my shoulder. "Nothing has happened yet, pinky. You might be completely over-reacting."

"I might be," I replied. Cordelia looked at us both curiously.

"Um, what's going on?" I began to repeat the story. "Last night Charles went out with his old friend and he promised me he would be back by now and he's not and I don't know if he is..."

"Hanging from a rope with nails in his feet?" Cordy interrupted. "What?" I said. Cordy closed her eyes. "Vision."

Charles fell down and hit the floor. Jayden kicked his head. "How does it feel to be free, Gunn?" Jayden picked him up by the hair. "I took out the nails. And I untied your hands! You're free. What are you gonna do?"

Charles attempted to stand up. Jayden kicked him back down to the floor. "I think that you are going to do exactly what I want you to." Jayden dragged Charles along the floor by his hair. "Do you wanna get wet?"

Jayden pulled Charles across the room until they came to a bath, full of cold water and green mould. He threw Charles into the bath, and held him under until Charles flailed his arms and screamed a silent scream under the water.

*

At nightfall, Angel went out to find some Hai's to kill. He had been told by Sayo that he would not have to look far, as they were everywhere. Angel soon discovered that he was right. As soon as he got into the central area of Bulawayo, he was attacked by a group of Hai's.

They were slimy, hideous creatures, muddy-looking creatures. They had huge, long, silver claws, and yellow, sharp teeth. They surrounded Angel, thinking he was just another helpless citizen. One of them walked straight up to him, and slashed his face with his claws. Angel pulled a small knife from his pocket. "I can do that too." He shoved the knife in to the creatures stomach. Gruesome guts and blood spurted out of it. The creature fell to the ground.

Angel looked around at the group. "Anyone else want some?" They all backed away nervously. Angel moved quickly, and in one furious motion he swiped the knife around the entire group and slit all of their throats. Two died. The other four didn't.

They attacked Angel again. One tried to punch his face, but Angel just grabbed his arm and cut of his hand. The fight continued until there was just one creature left.

The Hai approached Angel menacingly and furiously. It growled and with all its might jumped onto Angel. Angel fell over. The creature was sitting on him. Angel felt as if all his bones were being crushed by this enormous monster.

The creature then let out a shout of triumph, and it plunged its claws deep into Angel's already wounded cheek.

*

"What can you see, Cordy?" I asked.

"Gunn. He's in some room... in this abandoned house. He's with that guy, his friend... and he’s being tortured." I felt my pulse race.

"Is he okay? Is he..alive?" I screamed.

"He is now. But it doesn't feel like he will be for long," Cordy replied. Tears filled my eyes. Suddenly Cordy screamed and fell to the floor.

"He's dying," she choked out. I looked at Lorne. His face was full of shock. I looked down at Cordy, who lay on the floor breathing fast. "We don't have much time..."

Jayden let go of Charles. Charles flew up from under the water, and floated on the surface. He coughed out water, but was too weak to move. Jayden picked Charles up, lifted him into the air and threw him on the floor. Water and blood mixed together on the ground. Charles just lay there, spluttering and coughing.

Jayden laughed. "How you feeling now, Gunn? You want more? Or do you just want everything to end?"

Charles managed to spit out a few words. "I...hate...you"

Jayden giggled. "That's great." Jayden grabbed Charles' arm, and twisted it until Charles screamed in agony.

"Stop…oh, god…please stop…!"

Jayden walked over to a small table nearby. It was covered in torture weapons. He picked a small, sharp knife, and walked over to Charles. "I'm afraid this isn't going to stop until you're dead, Gunn, and sadly for you, that doesn't look like it's going to happen for a long time."

Jayden bent down next to Charles, and in one swift movement, he cut off Charles' left hand...

Chapter Six
First Ending

Angel shouted out loud. One of his hands clamped around the demons scaly claws, and pulled them out of his cheek. He then kicked the demon in the chest, and it roared. Angel stood up. Blood spilled from his cheek. The demon ran at him. Angel quickly grabbed it's hand, twisted around its arm, and then proceeded to cut open the creature's stomach with its own claws. The demon was dead.

Angel stood over the corpse, gasping. He then returned to the temple, to talk to Sayo. As soon as he got in there, he knew something was wrong. The atmosphere was no longer of calm, but of a terrible dread. Angel moved slowly, breathing quietly.

And at the front of the temple, with blood slowly drifting from his chest, was Sayo. Dead.

*

We loaded up with weapons. Connor was being left at the hotel, under the expert care of a Shaman friend of Lorne's who told me that he specialized in chronology manipulation. Cordy knew where to go to find Charles; her vision had given her vivid instructions.

As Lorne, Cordy and I stood in the lobby, looking at our assorted axes, swords and crossbows, Wesley ran in. "I came as soon as I got the message. Are we going now?" I nodded. "We have to, if we want to get him..." Wesley understood.

Lorne looked down at the long sword he was holding apprehensively. "I'm not really sure about this kids. I don't know if I'm really the weapons kinda guy... maybe I could stun this guy with a mean rendition of Dancing Queen."

I looked at him furiously. "This is no time for jokes. Charles is in trouble. We have to go and help him." Lorne looked down at his feet. "Wesley picked up a crossbow and carefully placed a stake in the center of it.

"Then let's go." We walked out into the warm night, and began the journey.

Jayden picked up Charles' hand and laughed. "Oh, man. This is funny! I am holding your hand!" Jayden wiggled the fingers. "Hahaha! Look at them go!" He kicked Charles, who lay on the floor writhing in agony. "Why aren't you laughing? Don't you think it's funny?"

Charles didn't reply.

“Oh, don't tell you you've stopped talking now." Jayden punched Gunn with his own hand. "Isn't that ironic!" Then Jayden noticed the absolutely huge puddle of blood forming next to Charles' arm stump.

"Uh-oh. Do you know what I've just noticed Gunn?" With much pain and effort, Charles managed to shake his head. "You're bleeding so much... You're so badly injured... You're gonna die any second now..."

*

Angel held Sayo's head, and checked for any signs of life. There were none. Angel took Sayo out into the garden behind the temple, and buried him among the beautiful plants. As he was brooding, a disturbance coming from within the temple attracted his attention.

He went in to investigate, and saw a beautiful woman, with glowing, positively electric, blue hair, walking through the temple. She walked so slowly and gracefully, she was practically floating through the air. When she saw Angel, she stopped dead.

"Who are you?" Angel looked her up and down. Her eyes were dark purple circles. They stared at him, and Angel felt as if they were boring into his stomach.

"I'm Angel. Who are you?" She smiled. Angel realized how pretty she was, in spite of her hair and eyes.

"Ah, yes. The famous Angel. Sayo told me all about you. Where is he?" Angel tried to avoid telling her.

"Um, he is... you didn't tell me who you are?" Her smile vanished.

"You mean you really don't know?" Angel shook his head.

"Sorry, no."

She looked at his disapprovingly, and then said, "I am the Sorceress Rama, the Beauty of the Lands, the Fear of the Evil, the Heart of the Kind, the Protector of the Weak. My job is to help those who need me. And Sayo needed me. I am here to cast the protection spell on this temple, as the last one I cast will have worn off by now."

That explains it, Angel thought. The spell wore off. The demons were able to come in, and kill Sayo. "I'm sorry," said Angel. "But there's no need for you to cast another protection spell on this place. Sayo's dead. But I do have an idea how you can help me."

As we ran along the streets, being directed by Cordelia, people gave strange looks at the arsenal of weapons we were carrying. But I didn't care. All I cared about was finding Charles and making sure he was OK.

Eventually, Cordy shouted "It's here! On the right." We looked on the right. There was a large, decrepit, brown, crumbling building. I stared up at it nervously.

"Are you sure this is it?" Cordy nodded. Wesley walked up to the door, and swung it open.

"I'll go in first. Then I will tell you to follow. Stay alert." He went in, had a quick look around, and then popped his head out again. "In we go."

Cordy, Lorne and I entered the building. As soon as we got inside it, we heard a noise coming from above us. It was a scream. "That's Charles," I said. My voice was trembling. Cordy's face was stony resolve. "Then let's go."

We quietly marched up the stairs, and Wesley pushed open the door that the noises were coming out of. We were unprepared for the horrific view we saw. Charles lay on the floor, with blood spurting out of his hand. And then I realized that it wasn't his hand. His hand was gone.

Jayden turned to look at us. "Well hey! If it isn't the little detectives. How you doing sweetie?" he said to me.

"I'll be fine in one minute... when I've killed you." He laughed. Charles looked up at me.

"I'd like to see you try," smirked Jayden. I ran at him, brandishing a stake. He managed to grab my neck, before I could attempt to kill him, and he threw me to the ground.

Wesley punched him. Jayden fell down. Wesley aimed a crossbow at his heart, but Jayden swung himself to his feet, punching Wesley in the face and sending him flying. Jayden turned his attention to Cordy. Stunned with fear, she could do nothing as he picked her up and threw her onto Wesley. Lorne backed away, terrified, as Jayden approached him. "A demon, huh? This'll be fun." Jayden reclaimed his knife from the floor and began to carve into Lorne's face.

Charles, still on the floor, crawled his way over to the stake I had dropped. With all the power he could muster, he crawled behind Jayden and pushed the stake into his heart. Jayden crumbled to dust, with the knife falling to the ground with a clatter. I got up and ran over to Charles. "Oh god," I said.

"I'm okay," he told me.

"No, you're not, we have to get you to a hospital." Charles tried to stand up, but his legs gave way and he fell over again.

"Help!" I shouted to Wesley. He walked over to me. Charles looked into my eyes. "Fred," he said, his voice barely more than a whisper. "I..."

There was silence for a moment. Then I began to cry huge, painful, loud sobs. Wesley bent down beside me and put his arm around me. Behind us, Cordy and Lorne watched as I fell onto Charles' body and continued to cry.

Chapter Seven
Traveler

For a week I did nothing, except sit in my room, not crying, but just sitting silently, thinking of Charles. Everyone had tried to be nice and to help me, but it didn't work. They were all too sad to really be able to help.

And after a week, I decided that I couldn't just let things go on like this. I had to do something; I had to find a way to bring Charles back. And then I remembered.

The night that I had lost him, we had left Connor with a Shaman friend of Lorne's. And that friend had specialized in chronology manipulation. That’s basically time travel! Anyone with a basic knowledge of scientific vocabulary knows that.

I knew it was stupid, but I had to try. So I left my room for the first time in a week and went downstairs. As I entered the lobby, all eyes turned to me. Cordy was sitting on the round sofa, cradling a cup of coffee in her hands. Wesley, looking sleep-deprived, walked out of the office. Lorne's face wound was almost healed.

When I reached the bottom of the stairs, Wes came up to me, and put his arm on my shoulders. "Fred," he said quietly, "we knew you'd come down." I nodded. Cordy tried to smile at me, but her face couldn't. Her eyes were bloodshot, her face unmade-up and weary.

I turned to Lorne. "You have to help me." He looked at me sympathetically. "Of course, peaches, anything we can do." I smiled a little.

"I want to talk to that Shaman. The one who looked after Connor the night I... that night."

He looked confused. "But why would you want to talk to him?" Lorne asked. "Didn't he say he specialized in chronology manip…time travel?"

Lorne's eyes went wide. "Oh no, Fred. Don't even think about asking him to send you back."

"Why not?" I screamed. "Why can't I try to get Charles back? Why shouldn't I be allowed to be happy with him? It's not fair. You have to let me try." I ran up to the weapons cabinet, and pulled out a sword. Then I held it to Lorne's throat.

"You are going to help me."

An hour later. Lorne had sent the message telepathically to the Shaman, and we were waiting for it's arrival. Just in case, I still held the sword up to Lorne's throat. He, Wesley and Cordelia were all looking at me like I had gone crazy. But I felt perfectly sane.

Suddenly, a white cloud formed in the middle of the lobby. A dark, swirling hole appeared in the center of the cloud. And out of that hole stepped the Shaman, wearing a dark brown cloak. His face was light purple, his eyes a flash of yellow.

He turned to look at me. "I understand you have a problem, little one?" His voice was deep and scary. I felt scared. No wonder Connor had cried for hours after he left. I nodded my head timidly. "Then I suggest, if you want my help, you remove that sword from it's currently dangerously close proximity to my friend."

I took the sword away from Lorne's neck. The shaman nodded. "Very well, now tell me what you need." I told him. He looked at me angrily. "You silly girl, I do not turn back time every time a mortal person loses someone."

I began to cry. "But you have to... I loved Charles and I had only just found him. I need him here, with me. He died so painfully, it was horrible. Please! Just send me back far enough to save him." The Shaman looked at Lorne. "Should I?"

Lorne looked at me. I knew the thought of what my sword could have done still scared him. "It's up to you," he said. "Fine, then I shall grant your wish," the Shaman said, "but I need one thing from you." I tentatively nodded. "A human sacrifice."

I grinned, ran over to Cordy and sliced off her head. So maybe I wasn't feeling completely sane.

"It's okay!," I said to Lorne and Wesley, who had screamed out in horror. "If I go back in time and save Charles, none of this will ever happen."

The Shaman smiled. "Clever girl, I was wondering if you'd work that one out." Then he waved his hands at me, and everything dissolved into bright whiteness. The world spun around me, creating a deafening roar. Pain came next. Terrible harsh pain filled my body until I screamed and could take no more and then I fell to the ground.

I was standing inside the office of the hotel. I could see myself, Lorne and Cordy standing outside in the lobby. I recognized the scene as several minutes before Cordy had had the vision of Charles. I had to get out of the hotel quickly and save Charles. I prayed that I had been given enough time to save him. I snuck out of the office, and tiptoed to the weapons cabinet. I grabbed a stake and a crossbow, and as quietly as I could, I padded towards the doors. But, just as I opened them, Lorne and myself-in-the-past saw me about to leave. They gasped in shock, but they were disturbed giving me enough time to sneak out. Cordy was having her vision.

I ran and ran, taking exactly the same course as we had taken that fateful night. I remembered it perfectly. I remembered every last detail of that night perfectly. And then, when I reached the house, I shivered.

Would I be able to save Charles? I knew that if I couldn't, I would just kill myself. Only the distant hope that I would somehow find a way to bring him back had stopped me from committing suicide in the week after he died.

I opened the door of the house, and walked in. I slowly ascended the stairs. As I got near to the top, I heard a noise that sounded like splashing water. I pushed open the door and held out the crossbow in front of me. I saw a soaked Charles, lying on the floor, with Jayden about to slice off his hand.

When he saw me, Jayden smiled. "Well, well, if it ain't the girlfriend. Where are the rest of the detectives? Or do you want to die with Gunn?" I walked up to him. "I don't think you should be trying to threaten me. I am holding this crossbow in perfect shooting range of your heart."

He smiled evilly. "And I am holding this knife dangerously close to slitting your lover’s throat." He moved it to Charles' neck. "And I'm gonnna do it. And then, I'm going to feast on you, and turn you into a vampire, and you are gonna be my bride, and we will rule the city, just like I should have done with Salina. Everything is going to be perfect for us, right sweetie?" The knife inched into Charles' neck.

I pulled the trigger of the crossbow back. "Wrong." I let the trigger go. A stake shot out, and flew through the air. In the split second before he was impaled, Jayden winked at me. Then he was gone.

I ran over to Charles. He looked in pretty bad shape. "Oh god, don't die. You can't. Not after everything I've been through, everything I've done. Stay with me, Charles." Then I heard a noise approaching the room, and I saw Cordy, Lorne, Wesley and me-in-the-past enter. They stared at me and Charles in shock.

"Oh my god," Cordy said. I stood up. "It's okay. I guess I'd better explain to you all..." Then I noticed the expression on Past-Me's face.

"You're from the future," she said.

"How did you..."

She smiled. "I am you. We're the same person. I can feel everything about you." And then I felt it too. Our thoughts and feelings flowed together, and she knew why I was here and how I had saved Charles.

Cordy looked at both of us. "Okay, maybe you two are down with this whole psychic mojo, but I don't have any idea what the hell is going on here."

I giggled. "Well, Charles died." Charles looked up at me.

"Um, I'm alive. In pain, but pretty much alive."

I shook my head. "No, no. In my time, that guy cut off your hand, which I'm guessing killed you. You suddenly lost so much blood, your body couldn't handle it. And I was so sad, it felt like my life was over... so I got Lorne to get his time-travelling Shaman friend to send me back here, so I would be able to save you."

"Really?," Lorne asked. "I really got the Shaman for you? That was pretty dangerous magic for me to work. You must have used some pretty forceful persuasion or something."

I didn't look Lorne in the eye as I said "Um, no, not really." He laughed.

"Sweetie, I know there’s a problem when I can read you and you're not singing. It's coming off you in waves."

"What is?", I asked, my voice shaking.

"You would have killed me. To get me to summon the Shaman, you nearly killed me. Am I not right?" I looked at the floor. Cordy and Wesley were shocked.

Suddenly, Charles' voice floated up from the floor. "Uh, can someone help me?" Wes and Lorne, still looking at me worriedly, lifted Charles up. He stood on shaky legs.

"But that's not the point," I said forcefully. "It doesn't matter that I held a sword to your throat or that I beheaded Cordy. None of that meant anything."

"You what?" Cordy screamed, but Lorne held up a hand to silence her.

"I knew that none of it meant anything, because I knew that I had to save Charles. I loved him so much, and all that mattered to me was getting him back, and I would have done anything. What I did there was bad, and I know it was, but I had to do it." Cordy came up to me. I thought she was going to hit me, but she put her arm around my shoulder. She smiled. "I think I understand."

Wesley interrupted. "Sorry to disrupt your little, 'moment', but I think we should get Gunn to a hospital. The wounds he has obtained look quite serious." I looked at Charles. He was bloody and wet practically all over.

"I was wondering when someone would remember me," he said. I smiled, and put my arm around him. Together, the six of us walked out of the house and into the warm night.

Chapter Eight
Battles

Rama had agreed to cast the spell on Angel. It was a protection spell against the Hai's, and it would last for about twelve hours. Angel figured that this would give him enough time to severely deplete their population.

"You understand," she said in her soft, silky voice, "that this spell requires me to use up quite a lot of my powers. It will be several days before I will have recovered enough to cast the same spell on you." Angel nodded.

"That's okay. I think that I will be able to launch a pretty large attack on them tonight, with the extra help I've got." Angel had been given an army. Twenty young men, furious at the murders of their families, friends, and fellow citizens, had come to help Angel in the upcoming battle.

Angel had asked Rama to cast the spell on them, but she had refused, saying "I am not like a prostitute sorceress, who protects any person who happens to be facing danger. Only those who are special or revered may come under my protection."

Angel’s new 'army' had brought a lot of weapons, which Angel had had a lot of fun examining. And now was the time for Rama to cast the spell on him. He stood in the center of a circle of golden paint that she had made, and she waved her arms.

"Goolay Cheynenmay Raynenlay. May this one stand behind my shield. Solunay Ensalay Pokamay. From them, you are safe." Purple sparks shot out of her hands and flew into Angel's. He felt a strange warmth inside him. The golden circle begin to spin around. Golden steam began to rise around him and flow through him. Then suddenly, the steam disappeared, Rama fell down to the floor, and the circle was gone.

An hour later. Angel had made sure that Rama was okay, and the spell had worked properly. Then he spoke to his army. "I very much doubt that all of you will come out alive," he said, in fluent Ndebele. "It may be that none of you survive. But we will fight, and we will be brave, and those disgusting creatures will pay for what the have done." And the men cheered, and they set out on the dangerous mission.

They headed into the town center. The once bustling, busy street was now a stinking wasteland. Bodies lay rotting alongside litter. Rats feasted on the corpses. Angel held a blanket over his head, as the sun was high above. But they had had to go during the day, while the Hai's were asleep, so at least they would have the element of surprise in their favor.

And there it was; the tall brown building that the Hai's had made their home. Angel's army told him that it had been an office building before, and one of them had worked there. The main entrance had been barricaded up so no-one would be able to get in, but Angel simply smashed a window with his axe.

Angel climbed in, followed by his army. The entrance was deserted and quiet. Dried blood stained the floors and walls. Angel walked over to the silver elevator and pressed the button. The door glided open, to reveal several gutted corpses. Behind Angel, the men wrinkled their noses at the smell. "Going down," Angel said, and pressed the button again. The elevator went down.

"We're taking the stairs," Angel told the men, and they followed him. Halfway up the narrow stairs, an alarm went off. Angel and his men looked around fearfully. He tried to reassure them that they would be okay. At the top of the stairs, they were met with a choice. There were two doors.

"Which do we go into?" one of the men asked in Ndebele. Angel smelt blood coming out of the door on the left. "This one." They went in. It was an enormous space, a former office. Broken desks and computers were on the floor. And suddenly, the alarm stopped.

Hai's rose from the floor, and surrounded Angel and his army. One of them smiled its twisted grin. Angel smiled back, and said "Go." His army flew into action. Weapons swung through the air. Heads of Hai's rolled on the floor. Blood covered everything.

Screams of men and demons filled the ears of everyone. Angel fought hard, killing several Hai's, protected from injury by the spell. For a moment he backed away from the fight to survey the scene, and saw that many of his men had died. The Hai's, however, were still numerous.

He dived back into the fray, and continued to fight. After several minutes, all of his army was dead. The hundreds of remaining Hai's all concentrated their violence onto him. They quickly became frustrated that he suffered no injury from their attacks. Suddenly, a loud buzzing noise filled all of their heads. The Hai's dropped Angel to the floor and stared in horror as all the windows imploded, and Rama floated in.

The Hai’s began to scream, a grating, horrific scream. Rama's purple eyes flashed red. Bolts of lightning shot out of her eyes and struck the Hai's. Several of them fell down dead. She opened her mouth, and flowing silver wind came out. It traveled through the air, and attacked the Hai's. Their skins dissolved, leaving behind only skeletons. Yet still, several survived. They backed away from Rama in terror. Angel watched from the floor in amazement as Rama put her hands into the air, with her fingers spread far apart. She then pointed her fingers towards the remaining Hai's, and a mixture of purple fire and silver smoke shot out and attacked the Hai's. They bled, and screamed, and their skin smoked as if acid had been poured onto it, and they fell to the ground, and their skin melted off, until Angel lay among all that was left of the once powerful Hai's; skeletons.

Angel stood up. "What did you...how did you…?"

She smiled at his confusion. "I decided that I must do what I know I can. I knew I could defeat them, my powers were so formidable, so much stronger than theirs."

"But I thought...I thought that you used up a lot of your power doing that spell on me."

She nodded. "That is true. But then I took all the strongest magical resources I have; books, herbs, all of it. And I consumed them. Now, I have more power than I have ever had." She pointed her arm towards Angel and he saw fire begin to develop at the end of it. "And now, vampire, you must die."


Chapter Nine
Final Stages

We arrived back at the hotel several hours later. Charles' wounds had been bandaged up, and the doctors had told us that they were not too serious. So as we entered the huge doors, I felt happier than I had done since before Jayden had first returned to LA.

But as we left, Past-Me asked me a question. As she said it, the exact same thought appeared in my mind. "Um, Future-Me? Have you thought about what is going to happen with us now? You've done what you came here for, but you can't stay. I mean..."

I completed her sentence. "You mean it's not possible for both of us to exist in the same place. Our molecular stability is breaking down by the same person existing twice in time, and if we don't do something soon, both of us are going to die. Our molecular structures will just fall apart.”

She nodded, and gave a little grin. "Well, it is basic science."

Wesley looked at both of us. "So, what are we going to do?" I looked at Past-Me, and she looked at me, and we knew. I walked up to her, and we held hands, and our minds became one, and wind blew all around me, and our bodies melded to become one, just me, just Fred, and I smiled and said, "I did it."


Angel managed to react quick enough to escape a fiery death. He dived onto the ground, and the fire shot out of Rama's hands and burnt away the door. She turned to look at Angel furiously. She screamed, and shot the purple fire out again. It sparkled with bolts of electricity. Angel rolled over on the floor, avoiding the flames again. They set the floor on fire.

"Why are you doing this?" he shouted.

"I am going to take over this country now, it's mine. And you, Angel pose a problem. Actually, more like an annoyance." He ran out of the room, and began to run down the stairs. Rama teleported herself to appear right in front of Angel. He backed away, and held up a broken desk which lay on the ground. Rama's flames caught it, and it crumbled in Angel's hands.

Suddenly Angel heard a booming noise, flying towards them. Fire was raging on the floor above, and suddenly it spilled down the stairs and into the room that they were standing in. Angel ran out and into the entrance hall. Rama quickly followed. In the exact second that the fire reached the entrance hall, Angel jumped straight through a broken window.

He watched as the fire poured out into the entrance hall and began to devour Rama. She screamed and attempted to teleport herself out, but the fire had confined her powers.

Angel stood away from the building and gaped as the entire building collapsed. He heard the final scream of Rama as the glass walls fell on top of each other, and ash covered the ground. He hoped that the cremated skeletons of the Hai's, and Rama's corpse would be very happy together.

Angel smiled, and looked above him at the beautiful sunset which had started. He watched the sun go down, and then said, "Time to go home."



Epilogue

"Guess who's back?" Angel walked into the lobby.

"Angel!" I shouted, and ran up to him.

We hugged, and he said "Hey Fred! It's great to see you. What's been going on? Where's everyone else? How's Connor?"

I giggled. "Connor’s just fine, he's asleep. Charles is in bed, Lorne is out, and Cordy and Wesley are in the office."

He began to walk up the stairs to Connor's room. "I can't wait to see my little guy again! So, what happened while I was gone? Anything exciting?"

I thought of when Charles was missing, when I cradled his body, when I traveled back in time to save him, when I killed Cordy, when I staked Jayden, and I smiled at Angel, shook my head and said "No, nothing exciting happened."

"It's weird," said Cordy, "to think that in some alternate time thingy, Fred killed me."

Wesley nodded. "Yes, it is a strange thought. But you know why she did it." Cordy understood.

Then they heard a noise in the lobby, and they left the office to see what was going on. They saw me and Angel talking halfway up the stairs. Then Angel saw Cordy. "Cordy!" They smiled and hugged. Wesley and Angel shook hands. They all went up to Connor's room, and Angel held his son in his arms, while he told us the story of everything that had happened in Bulawayo.

I finally felt truly safe again, now Angel was back. Smiling, I left Angel, Cordy and Wes alone, and went to see Charles. He was curled up in bed, sleeping like a baby. I crawled underneath the covers with him, warm and comfortable.

The next day, I woke up to find Angel sitting in a chair next to the bed, watching me. "Angel," I said sleepily, "what are you doing there?"

He looked at me gravely. "Why didn't you tell me what happened?"

"Oh..." I said. "I don't know."

He looked incredulous. "You thought I wouldn't find out?"

I put my hands to my head. "I don't know what I was thinking... who told you?"

"Cordy," he answered.

I lifted my head up and looked into his eyes. "What do you think, about what I did?"

"I think you were very brave. A terrible thing happened to you, and what you did was understandable in the situation. But, I don't know if I would feel the same if I had been here when it all happened."

I looked out of the door, to where I could faintly hear Cordy's voice. "I guess I understand." He gave me a smile, and tapped my shoulder. "But I think that it might take a while for some people to forgive and forget, even though it never really happened, or whatever." I felt the bed move, and I looked over my shoulder. Charles was awake.

"Hey, sleepyhead," I said.

He smiled. "Hi sweetie. How you doing?" I held his hand under the covers.

"Okay. You?" He sat up using much effort. "I think I'm getting better." Then he noticed Angel. "Angel, man, you're back!"

Angel smiled widely. "I am."

He surveyed what was visible of Charles' scarred body. "I hear you've been through a lot."

Charles nodded sadly. "You could say that."

I hugged Charles. "But it's okay now," I said.

Angel got up from the chair. "I think I'll leave you two together." He left the room grinning. Charles and I hugged for several minutes.

"At last," I said, "at last we're together. And we're happy."

Charles wrapped his arms around me, warming every inch of me, showing me the light, and I laughed and smiled, knowing that everything was perfect and wonderful and I was in love. "Together," said Charles. "That's all that really matters."

The End