The Wheel
Disclaimers: See part one.
Part Six
Of all the things that Angel had been through lately, this felt the least real. Walking through Sunnydale, the town he'd thought he's left for good a year ago, with Cordelia on one side and the boy who'd taken his place with his girl on the other…it was as strange as the knowledge that girl was dead. The girl whose life he'd done everything to prevent. The girl whose grave was forever etched into his mind.
Angel was exhausted, physically and emotionally. Lying in bed for a week and a half with very little to eat certainly hadn't done his strength any good. Not a good thing with the end of the world imminent. Still, Angel knew himself. A couple of days at the most, blood, exercise…and he'd be fine.
That took care of his physical well-being. Emotional? Dealing with that would have to wait.
Giles opened the door almost before they could finish knocking. For a moment they all stood there in silence. Not that there was much to say…
"Hey Giles," Angel said softly.
Cordelia and Riley let him go as soon as they were in the door. As everyone watched him, he slowly crossed the room and sank into the couch.
"Looks like visiting the cemetery did Dead Boy some good," Xander said in half-hearted sarcasm.
"It's good to see you, too," Angel replied.
"It's good to see you, Angel," whispered Willow. She was quiet even for her.
Wesley stepped from the other room then. "Giles, the book of…" He glanced up and lost his train of thought. "Angel! You're…"
Angel smiled though it was filled with sadness. "I'm okay, Wes." He looked at Giles. "Do you want to explain what's going on? I'm…a bit behind."
"They're called the Cult of Spikura," Giles said quickly. They did not have much time, after all. "They are dedicated to bringing about-"
"The end of the world," Cordelia finished.
Angel nodded in understanding. "The End of Days."
"Well, yes, exactly…"
Anya yawned loudly. "Is it happening *today*, Giles?"
"Not as far as I can tell."
"Then can we go home and sleep? You can talk all about it tomorrow…no wait, that *is* today. But the rest of us have heard it already," Anya said bluntly.
Giles looked at them all uncertainly. Who knew how long they had?
"It's alright," Angel said. "It's not as if I can do anything else in the daytime. You could come explain everything then."
"Where will you stay?" Giles asked.
"The mansion."
Everyone nodded, except for Riley who looked at them in confusion. "Mansion?"
"You know that big old place on Crawford Street?" At Riley's nod, Cordelia continued smugly, "That's Angel's."
The Scooby Gang dispersed soon afterwards. Finally only Angel, Cordelia, and Wesley were left in the driveway standing next to Angel's car. Angel leaned wearily against the car door. "You drive, Wesley," he said softly.
A hand touched his shoulder. Angel looked up to meet Cordelia's eyes. "Are you okay?" she asked.
Angel's eyes were sad as he looked past her at the familiar town. Every place in it was one more memory of Buffy. If they survived, he was going to leave Sunnydale forever after the battles were over. It was just too hard. "What do you think?"
Cordelia nodded sympathetically. "Yeah."
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