Acmolo, Nevada
Nibu got out of the rundown car, walking to the door. Michael stood in the entrance. “What’s going on?”
“We need to get you out of here,” Nibu said shortly. “Come on.” He grabbed Michael by the arm and started pulling. Michael tripped down the steps, following.
“Is this the Angelmobile?” he asked flippantly. Nibu nodded, still pissed. “Get in,” he said peremptorily.
“God, you’re pissy.”
“Fuck you!” shouted Nibu, not really sure if he was yelling at Michael or at the world in general.
The Wordstreamer was gone. She had tried to kill him. She had abandoned him. It kept swirling around in his head. Their love, which was forever, had stopped. The Wordstreamer was gone.
“Just for that, I won’t give you the message,” shot back Michael.
“What message?”
“Maria called, just a few hours ago. She sends her love.”
Nibu turned around and kicked a large trash can, sending it down the street.
“Nibu?”
“Just—get in the car, Michael. I’ll explain it on the way.” Michael climbed in and pulled the door shut. As soon as Nibu heard the ‘click’, he raised his head to the sky, screaming, “Godammit!”
Los Angeles, California
The ride, after Nibu had explained Maria’s defection, had been silent. Michael had been contemplating the new information, and Nibu had been in no mood to talk. Cordelia and Angel elected to leave the two of them alone.
Faith was walking out of the hotel, Gunn at her side, when the car came back. “Hey. We have a lead. Group of abandoned warehouses, down in the crappy part of town? Some demon, desperate for life, said he’d seen some wicked new power down there. We’re gonna go check it out.”
“Can you stay with them?” Angel asked Cordelia in a low voice. She nodded.
“I’m coming,” Nibu said loudly. “Nibu, don’t—” started Michael.
“I have to know if she’s the same. If she’s not, I’m the only one that can take her. You know it,” he pointed out. Then he turned to Angel. “I’m coming with you.”
“You’re kind of scrawny,” Faith observed. “Any good in a fight?”
“Better than him.” He nodded towards Gunn.
“Big talk for a little guy,” Faith noted.
“Are you up to it? Wolfram and Hart wants you for something.”
“I’m going.” His voice was final, and he drew a mace out of the Angelmobile behind him. “Besides. I think that I should give the Wordstreamer her mace back.”
**
Another glass orb shattered in the warehouse, this one coming from right above the door.
“Damn,” Lindsey muttered.
Maria looked up. “What? What’s going on?” She’d been half-asleep. Oz was thinking about convincing her to eat something; he could practically smell the fight approaching. She didn’t eat something soon, she’d faint in the middle of it.
“Angel and his little gang found us. We’ve gotta go.” Lindsey carefully wrapped the last glass orb in cloth.
“How long?” She stood up, pulling the blanket around her thin clothes.
“Oh, about five seconds,” said Nibu casually. He was leaning against the doorway behind Lindsey. “They sent me ahead; thinking that you might have some spells.”
“Nibu.” Maria stretched out, so happy to see him, even after everything else. He was here, and still had that look in his eyes. He still loved her. She loved him, and was so happy that she could maybe this time tell him the truth. She walked forward slowly, taking in everything about him.
“Wordstreamer.” His voice was colder, more icy. He wasn’t happy. She could explain it all, though. He would understand.
“Maria, come on,” Lindsey hissed. “O—our other friend’s already out going. He’s got the van.”
“I’ll be right there.” She glided to Nibu, watching his lack of expression.
“Maria! It’s too dangerous!”
She turned, finally, leaving herself open to attack. “Since when do you care about danger?”
She spun back to Nibu, still going forward. She lifted her arms, wishing she could smile at him.
“I know that you—”
“You know nothing,” he cut her off. From behind his back, he pulled out the mace.
Maria took one harder look at him, then started to back away. He spun it experimentally, following her. He tested the air, swinging it around. It hissed in the air right beside her ears a few times, and she winced. Holding out a hand, she called a sword from a few feet away.
The mace whirled, Nibu looking graceful in the process. “I thought I’d give it back to you. Where do you want it?” It caught every light that it could, before she struck out the sword. She wrapped the mace around the sword, distracting Nibu with the lights, then tossed away the archaic weapons.
She pushed through the friction in the air, back to Nibu. She kissed him hard on the lips, wrapping her hands around his body. He kissed her back, then grabbed her by her throat.
There was a small click from the back of the room. “Don’t do it, man,” Lindsey said, holding a gun.
Reluctantly, Nibu let go of Maria.
“Everything you think you know? You’re so wrong, it’s not even funny.” She kissed him on the hand, stared at him with her sad eyes, then ran to the back of the room. Lindsey kept the gun trained on Nibu until they were out.
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