Gen Fic: Turnabout, PG-13

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Turnabout

He was alive. His heart beat, blood flowed in his veins, his lungs drew breath. It had happened. After years of striving towards redemption, long after he had given up hope, even after signing away the prophecy, a miracle had occurred. Angel was human again.

Confused, Angel surveyed the drab surroundings once again. This certainly wasn’t what he had expected. He wasn’t sure how long he’d been in this place; aside from a few vague memories of chanting and a feeling of dread, the last thing he remembered was standing in the alley behind the Hyperion surrounded by demons. Now he was imprisoned in a cell located in what appeared to be a large basement. Why was he here? Angel wondered. This couldn’t be a hell dimension; his living body proved he had achieved the Shanshu, his reward for being a warrior of the light, so why was he in a cage?

Angel shook the bars again. Despite his best efforts, the cell bars would not budge. Defeated, he sat down on the cold floor. Angel wasn’t sure how much time had passed when a door opened and a man entered the room.

“Welcome back to the land of the living, Angel,†the man said. “Its good to see you looking so well.â€

Angel peered at him; recognition dawned. Holland Manners? What are you doing here†he said, his puzzlement growing. “You’re . . . dead, and you’re evil.â€

“Yes, its me, yes, I’m still dead and I still work for Wolfram and Hart,†Holland Manners said.

“But, what are you doing here? You don’t belong in a place like this,†Angel said.

Holland laughed. “A place like this? I understand, you thought your precious Powers That Be resurrected you to live happily ever after in a heavenly dimension. Not exactly. You’re in the sub-basement of the new Wolfram and Hart Los Angeles office. Did you think this was your Shanshu, Angel?†Holland said with a ouch of sarcasm. “Well, I suppose it is, in a way.â€

 

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“I don’t understand. I’m human, I’m alive,†Angel said.

“Yes you are, but it’s through our doing, not the Powers,†Holland said.

“How did you do it?†Angel said.

“Why, the same way we brought back Darla,†Holland said. “Five vampires, ancient mystic ritual, yadda, yadda, yadda.â€

“But the scroll with the ritual, it was destroyed when the Vocah blew up my office,†Angel said.

Yes, I know you took the scroll back from Lindsey, but naturally, our records department had made a copy before the ceremony. By the way, did you really need to chop off his hand? I realize he was about to burn the scroll, but the dismemberment always seemed a tad drastic to me. Given your superhuman speed and strength, or I should say, former speed and strength, I never understood why you didn’t simply snatch it out of his hand. And don’t tell me you couldn’t have, I’ve seen enough videotapes of vampires in action. As I recall, both Darla and Drusilla moved with amazing speed. Speaking of Drusilla, both she and Harmony were a great help to me,†Holland said, gesturing towards the piles of ashes.

“Lindsey deserved what he got,†Angel protested. “What he did, what he was going to do, was unforgivable.â€

“Really, Angel?†Holland said. “By what criteria? Compared to your actions, and I do mean you, not Angelus, Lindsey is a choirboy. You, on the other hand are quite possibly the biggest hypocrite I’ve ever met. “

“Lorne read him,†Angel insisted. “He knew Lindsey would turn evil.â€

“Don’t give me that,†Holland snapped. “Lorne hadn’t heard Lindsey sing in years, and it’s not as if his track record was perfect. How many times was he wrong in the past? If I recall, not only did he fail to notice Cordelia Chase had turned evil, he couldn’t tell you apart from Angelus. So spare me.â€

Holland continued. “Your forgiveness is quite selective. Let’s see,†he said, ticking off the names. “First we have Faith, the crazy vampire slayer who killed several men in Sunnydale, tried to kill you several times, tried to murder your alleged true love, switched bodies with your ‘true love’ and nearly tortured your friend Wesley to death. But that didn’t stop you from visiting her in prison every week for four years, now did it?â€

“Then we have Harmony the evil, soulless vampire who not only tried to kill Cordelia, but she betrayed you all to a cult of vampires. What did you do when you saw her again? Did you stake her on sight? Oh no, I seem to recall you gave her a good job. But of course, Harmony repaid your loyalty, didn’t she? If I recall correctly, she repaid you by betraying you to Hamilton and nearly getting both you and your son killed. But it all worked out, you turned her into a pile of ashes. Wait, no you didn’t, you gave her a glowing job recommendation,†Holland said.

Angel glared at Holland.

“While we’re still on the subject, let’s discuss Miss Summers,†Holland continued. “Didn’t she send you to a hell dimension for five hundred years? Not something I’d forgive, but I understand, after all, she is a petite blond.â€

“Leave Buffy out of this,†Angel snarled.

“And last but not least, Darla. First she goes on a four hundred year killing spree, tries to kill Buffy Summers, gets resurrected, does her best to drive you insane, then causes the death of an innocent actor. What do you do? You literally go through hell to save her. You were ready to sacrifice your own life for her. After she was re-turned by Drusilla she goes on another killing spree, tries to create a demon army and does her best to make you lose your soul. Knowing what she is, and what she will do, do you stake her? No, of course not. You spend the night with her and send her on her merry way. Every death she caused is on your head,†Holland said.

Angel glowered at him.

“H’m, I believe I see a common thread,†Holland said. “If you’re a pretty young girl, or look like a pretty young girl, Angel will extend his compassion and forgiveness no matter what you’ve done, up to and including cold-blooded murder. But, if you’re a young man from an extremely deprived background, a young man who was quite deliberately targeted and tempted by the most cunning forces of evil in this world, it doesn’t matter if you feel genuine remorse and take your life into your hands by defying your periors to save innocent children, Angel won’t want to help you or give you any support or sympathy. Angel will, however, treat you with contempt and abandon you to your enemies,†Holland said.

“It wasn’t like that,†Angel muttered.

 

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“Really? What part did I get wrong?†Holland said. “Did I leave out anything? Perhaps the part where you convinced Lindsey to join your little crusade, then betrayed him? How did you manage that, Angel? Stockholm Syndrome?â€

Angel had had enough. “You done with the ‘Poor Lindsey, Angel was so mean to him’ lecture?†Angel said snidely. “Who did you get to run this place? And what the hell does the late Lindsey McDonald have to do with this?â€

“The late Lindsey McDonald?†Holland chuckled.

Angel felt as if his blood had turned to ice water. He shivered. “No, no, you don’t mean . . . he can’t be alive. Lorne shot him twice in the heart.†His voice trailed off.

“Yes, Lorne did, or I should say, Lorne believed he did. It’s a good thing Lorne isn’t exactly a crack shot, isn’t it,†Holland said with phony good cheer. “Otherwise, Lindsey would have either been killed instantly, or bled to death before the ambulance arrived.â€

“Ambulance?†Angel croaked.

“Yes, there was an ambulance waiting down the street from the demon bar. They were able to get there immediately. And its quite the coincidence that the best magical healer was riding along with the ambulance crew that night. Most fortuitous, wasn’t it?†Holland said. “Why, its almost as if someone were looking out for Lindsey. Someone who didn’t trust you. A guardian angel so to speak. Well, maybe not an angel. Who could that have been? And Angel, if you’re wondering what happened to your friend, don’t worry, we’ve already dealt with him,†Holland said.

“What do you mean?†Angel snapped.

“His head now graces the new boardroom, and his skin made a fine cover for the new CEO’s chair,†Holland said, amused at Angel’s horror.

It was several moments before Angel could speak. “What new CEO . . . who?†he sputtered.

“Are you beginning to see where this is leading? That’s right, you were never that bright. Don’t you remember? You promised Lindsey Wolfram and Hart if he survived the Apocalypse, and he did,†Holland said. “He plans to take you up on your kind offer.â€

“But, but, no, I did say that, but I didn’t mean it,†Angel said. Iâ€ve got to think of a loophole, he thought desperately. He had it. Triumphantly he said “my promise wasn’t valid, Manners, I didn’t put it in writing.â€

 

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“Angel,†Holland said, his voice deceptively soft. “Angel, I’m surprised at you. All that time in a law firm and you didn’t know that a contract doesn’t have to be in writing to be enforceable?â€

Angel’s heart sank. His mind raced, but he couldn’t think of any counter-argument.

“As soon as Lindsey is out of the hospital he’ll return to work. Rest assured, the firm will be in good hands. I spoke to Lindsey this morning and he assured me that he’s more than willing to take the reins. Oh, by the way, Lindsey specifically wanted you to know that you’ve been an inspiration to him. You could say that your treatment of him has made him see the light. We’re about to see a new dawn for Wolfram and Hart,†Holland said.

Angel paced the length of his prison cell, his mind racing. I have to get out of here now, he thought.

Holland watch Angel with amusement. “Another thing,†he continued. “I just thought you should know that the Senior Partners are very pleased with the way everything has turned out. All those years of careful planning have finally come to fruition.â€

“What do you mean? We took out the Circle, we beat you, we won. We put a huge dent in your plans,†Angel shouted.

Holland laughed. “Angel, the Circle Of The Black Thorn was nothing, the members were minor players at best. By destroying them and incurring the Partner’s wrath, you created chaos. After the dust settled, not only was Los Angeles in ruins, the entire nation was at the brink of collapse. There were riots, power outages, terrorist threats. The authorities were incapable of dealing with the situation; as a result, our real players stepped in to ‘help out’. Now we are in control of every branch of the government and the United Nations. I estimate you sped up the timetable by at least fifty years. Congratulations, Angel, you played right into the Senior Partners’ hands,†Holland said cheerfully.

“But . . . Cordelia’s vision,†Angel had spluttered. “She told me what to do, the Powers sent her.â€

“I still can’t believe you thought that girl who called you from the hospital, who gave you that vision, was Cordelia,†Holland said contemptuously. “You gullible fool. It never occurred to you that it could have been a trick? You just accepted that Cordelia simply woke up in perfect health from a brain-dead state in order to give you a vision. Didn’t you wonder how she could have been corporeal in your office and lying dead in the hospital room at the same time? People may astrally project, but they don’t have two bodies at once. That was a sweet trick. Lilah always did have such good ideas.â€

Angel was devastated. Everyone he cared about was dead and it had all been for nothing. “Why, why did you bring me back?†Angel moaned.

“Actually, it was Lindsey’s idea to resurrect you,†Holland said.

“Why?†Angel said, stunned.

“Partly for revenge, partly to make the prophecy come true. Prophecies are tricky things,†Holland said thoughtfully. “They always come to pass, but never in the way you think they will. But of course, you’ve already guessed that.â€

Relishing the moment, Holland couldn’t resist one last jibe. “Do you realize that Lindsey actually intended to join your pathetic little battle in the alley? He was willing to throw his life away, to turn down all that power, all to help you in your fight. I’m afraid your betrayal has caused him to become quite bitter.â€

“Why do good?,†he said to me, “you try to do the right thing and all it gets you is shot down and left to rot like a piece of trash by the so-called ‘good guys’. They say ‘fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice, shame on me. I’m not gonna get fooled again.â€

Holland smiled at Angel. “I predict Lindsey will be the most successful CEO Wolfram and Hart has ever had, and all of it due to your efforts to thwart him. If you’d played fair with Lindsey, kept your word, none of this would have happened. The irony is so delicious, isn’t it?â€

Unable to speak, Angel stared at Holnd.

“Get some rest while you can Angel. Lindsey has, how shall I put it, interesting plans for you,†Holland said, his voice deceptively benign. “Remember the old saying: turnabout is fair play.â€

The end.