Standing over him as he lays there unconscious, I can't help but feel a sense of uneasy, for many different reasons.
I haven't seen Pike in years. I never really tried to figure out what happened to him when we split ways after Vegas. He never looked for me either. I didn't hear from him, but I kinda get it. The things we went through together, it was intense. It bonded us together in a way that I hadn't really felt in my life before that. My relationship with Willow, Xander and even my boyfriends weren't like they were with him. Not that what we had was the way it was with Angel, Riley or Spike. It wasn't like that with us.
But he wanted something I couldn't give him when we were together. What happened in LA and then Vegas was pretty traumatizing. There was no way I could get into a relationship with anyone, least of all him, even if that's what he wanted. Which I'm pretty sure it was. It's part of why things ultimately fell apart between us. Or at least I think it was. He might have something else in mind.
First we have to figure out what he's doing here anyway. After all these years, why did he track me down now? What could be so important that he came looking for me? It would have to be pretty massive. Especially with what he seems to have now. I know he didn't have those powers when we were together. He must have picked them up in the years since somehow. I just hope that Angel and his people can figure out how.
Angel comes up next to me, his focus on Pike in the hospital bed. I have to ask.
"How's he doing?"
There's a while before he answers.
That bad?
"We're not entirely sure."
Really?
I look at him and he's looking back for a second then goes back to watching Pike.
"Fred's running some tests. I'm sure she'll have something soon. Wesley's in full research mode over this. He loves a good mystery."
I chuckle at that.
"So glad I could help him out."
"What we do know is that he's giving off some very strange readings. You said he didn't have these powers back when you knew him?"
I shake my head.
"No, he was just a normal guy. He helped me in the early days when I became a slayer."
"Really? I don't remember him."
I look at him curiously.
"Why would you?"
"You remember when I told you that I saw you before you were called?"
Right...
"Yeah..."
"I checked in a few more times until we met in Sunnydale. I don't remember seeing him."
"We weren't together that long. It wasn't long after I left LA that we split. He wanted more than I could give him."
"Any idea why he tracked you down?"
Again I shake my head.
"No idea. Obviously it's important. Maybe it's related to these new powers of his. He might want me to help with that."
Fred comes up.
"Well he's come to the right place. Although I don't know how much help we can be."
She doesn't?
"Why not?"
"We've got some preliminary results back on our readings, and this is pretty big."
"How big?"
"Big enough that when we input the data and started analyzing it, alarms went off."
That's definitely big.
"Is that a usual thing around here?"
Angel jumps in for a second.
"More than you might think."
Fred takes over again.
"Usually, alarms like this are for things the Senior Partners aren't too happy to see. And the Senior Partners aren't physical like you and me. They're a lot like The First Evil. So if they're not happy to see it?"
I get it.
"It's not good."
Angel speaks up again.
"Now the question is, if it's not good for them, is it good for us or bad for us?"
What?
"How's that?"
"One thing we've learned around here is that not all the enemies the Senior Partners have are good guys. Some of them are worse than they are."
"So whatever happened to Pike, could be good or bad."
"There's no way to tell unless he wakes up. Which is its own problem."
It is?
"That sounds cheery."
"We haven't been able to assess the full strength of what he's able to do. What you saw in the alley might only be the tip of the iceberg."
"So if he wakes up and he's bad, then he could break out and hurt a lot of people."
He won't.
"He won't."
Fred gets this concerned look on his face.
"How can you be sure?"
"Because I know him."
Angel is skeptical.
"You said you haven't seen him in years. He might have..."
"He came to me. Why would he do that if he was trying to hurt me? Or anyone?"
Angel can't help but agree.
"You've got a point."
Someone comes over and hands Fred a file folder. She opens it and looks through it.
"Huh..."
Did something happen?
"What is it?"
Fred picks up some kind of machine and turns it on.
What's she doing?
She starts aiming it at his left arm and a light shines on his skin. Eventually she reaches just below his elbow and something comes into view.
It's some kind of writing. Wait, is that...?
The word Willow becomes visible for as long as the light is on it. Fred moves the device to show my best friend's name on his arm. She looks at me, probably seeing a confused look on my face. I turn my attention to Angel.
"I guess we know who to talk to?"
I guess so.
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