[OPEN] What’s that you say? Minions from Hell getting you down?

[vampdetective]

Who: Angel & you!
Where: Fourth Floor: Room 010, then the diner.
When: Tuesday, 6/02 & Wednesday, 6/03.
Rating: PG probably. There will at least be discussion of monster guts.
Summary: With Angel’s soul back in place and Cordelia’s visions still painful in their persistence, it’s time to get the gang back together. Grand(-ish) opening of the Wonderland branch of Angel Investigations-- as well as a visit to the diner to find that something important is missing.
The Story:

( Tuesday, 6/02: Fourth Floor, Room 010. )

For the most part, Angel has made a very concentrated effort to keep to himself since regaining his soul. It's been months, now, but he knows that Angelus' actions aren't easily forgiven, if they can be at all-- and yet he knows better than most people that hiding is never the answer, no matter how bad things are, no matter how ashamed a person might be of what they've done. The best thing you can do is to pick yourself up and push forward, and given that select friends from back home have joined him in Wonderland-- some of them more recent than others-- it's time to do what they know best, what he should have done ages ago, although it's Cordelia's presence in particular that's inspired him to pull the operation back together. After all, what are a Champion and his guide to do when trapped together in an alternate dimension?

They go to work, that's what.

He's more of a presence on the fourth floor early in the week than he has been in months, moving between his own room near the stairs to room 010 a little further in, occasionally empty-handed, but more often loaded down with any number of things-- some of it doesn't seem terribly significant, but there are trips where he can be seen lugging a number of sharp weapons down the hallway, most of them looking like they could at least pass for antiques, if Wonderland hadn't provided him with the real deal in the first place.

By the time Tuesday rolls around, he'll be spending most of the morning and early afternoon in room 010, though the door is left open for much of it. At least two hours of that is spent organizing and re-organizing the weapons cabinet set up in one corner, with Angel regularly stepping back to survey it with his arms folded, letting out a series of thoughtful noises before he decides it's not quite right and starting over again.

On at least two occasions, he knocks over a lamp set up by one of the sofas before he gets frustrated with it and leaves its remains in a heap by the door.

By mid-afternoon, the place appears to be finished-- it's been a work in project for awhile, but the room has been altered to resemble the lobby of a certain hotel, although the stairways seem to lead to nowhere other than a short expanse of corridor that ends up serving as a small balcony rather than an actual hallway, and the elevator is non-functioning. Beyond the main room, a replica of the old office is accessible from behind the counter-- it had been his, back in Los Angeles, then Wesley's, then his again, and including it had seemed vital in making the place feel right.

The whole place is an almost perfect replica, even if it's a much smaller scale than the genuine article. It's missing a few bites and pieces, dings and scratches and the remnants of a blood sigil on the floor to really jog the old memory, but even without those details, he's reasonably satisfied. There's only one detail left to be added, and before the afternoon is out, there's a plaque hanging on the door that reads Angel Investigations: Wonderland Offices in bold print.

( Wednesday, 6/03: The Diner. )

It's the first time he's been to the diner since Tohru's disappearance. At first, he's not even aware of the fact that he's gone-- they kept contact just sparsely enough that it wasn't all that unusual for him to go a few days without hearing for her, but once he's been in the diner for ten minutes and she hasn't excused herself from behind the counter to come and sit with him? It clicks that something isn't quite right, and only then does he notice that her scent there is no longer fresh, recent.

He frowns as he pulls his phone out, seated in his usual booth, skimming through the contacts to look for her name-- there's nothing, and he feels his heart sink all the way down to his stomach as the idea of her being gone begins to take hold. Maybe it's just a short trip home, or if she's gone for good, then surely it has to be better than here--

But Tohru had always believed in him, despite everything. Even when things were at their worst, when she had no reason to forgive him, she'd done it anyway. That kind of understanding was hard to come by. He had it in Cordelia, had found it with other members of his created family back home, but it was incredibly rare to find it in someone who hadn't been through hell and high water with him already.

He grimaces, putting his phone away and opting to move to a seat at the counter. It doesn't feel right, sitting in his booth if Tohru's not there to sit across from him, and he folds his hands in front of him once he settles onto one of the empty stools. He's not sure how long he'll stay, but coffee wouldn't be terrible.

(OOC: Prose or action is fine, I'll match you!)

Comments

[disassembles]

[ James glances at the box again, then at Angel. He's well aware of the fact that the man in front of him has gone on a vicious killing spree in the recent past and is, at the moment, loaded down with functional weaponry. He's still a vampire, even with a soul. He's incredibly dangerous, and his abilities are largely unknown. At the back of his mind, James is mapping out exits, potential patterns of movement, and the quickest way to disarm and kill though he has no intention of trying.

Yet, he can't shake the impression that Angel is more or less a life-sized version of that little felt puppet. ]

You fight monsters back home, with this? [ He nods at the box. If anything, he's more intrigued now. ] Other vampires, or more than that?

[vampdetective]

Vampires, demons, zombies-- lawyers.

[That last one is a category all its own, although Angel's resisted swinging an axe at enough lawyers who probably deserved it that he feels like someone should have given him a damn medal by now. He shrugs after a moment.]

We get all kinds. Portals don't help. Stuff pops in from other dimensions from time to time-- mixes things up, but it's mostly demons. Some are friendly, though-- our PR guy is a demon. Nice guy, great singing voice.

[It's all rose-colored, now that Lorne is gone. Angel had always liked him, but he could have done without Lorne's abuse of the hotel's acoustics.]

[disassembles]

[ He almost says, What, no politicians? But the words still stick in his throat. He's never supposed to reference his handlers, even in an oblique sort of way. It shouldn't matter anymore, but he swallows and pushes it all aside.

He can't actually tell if Angel is joking or not, about the lawyers or his PR guy. The only demon he knows is Crowley, and with Crowley almost anything seems likely. ]

You think you could teach me about fighting that kinda thing? There's always a chance something from your world will show up here and decide it's not gonna play well with others.

I'd be willing to help out somehow, in exchange.

[vampdetective]

[Sometimes, Angel wishes he were kidding, but alas. His sense of humor leaves something to be desired.]

You want to learn how to fight demons?

[The logic behind it is sound, anyway.]

It's probably not a bad idea-- except there are so many different kinds that sometimes you don't even know where to start until you get a visual and a chance to research. Though anything that might show up here-- I'd probably remember. Guess we're a step ahead if you consider that.

[disassembles]

Demons, vampires, whatever else. There are a lot of things you can figure out how to fight as you go, but it'd be good to have more of a baseline.

[ He inclines his head. ]

Granted, I could just try to behead anything that goes on a killing spree, but it's not always practical - and it's not always their fault.

[vampdetective]

[He gets that.]

It's nice to not always have to wing it.

[He smiles, grimly.]

Beheading is a good rule of thumb-- until you meet a Deathwok demon. We had a friendly one handling PR, but the rest of his clan? Not quite so cuddly. Beheading doesn't do a thing to them, they just pull themselves back together.

[disassembles]

[ James nods, though he's getting a better idea of just how vast the breadth of information he might be looking at would be. And whatever Angel knows is just a fraction of it, from one world. ]

Well, with a name like Deathwok... [ He shakes his head. He should probably let Angel get on his way but-- ] If you ever want a hand with the monster fighting business, give me a call. I know I don't have much in the way of experience, but I'm a quick study.

[vampdetective]

Quick study counts for a lot.

[He's taken less experienced people on board in the past and had them turn out to be some of his most valuable allies-- Gunn had only ever dealt with vampires before joining Angel Investigations, and much of Wesley's experience had been research-oriented and on paper.]

A lot of these things, you learn by doing. If I need an extra pair of hands, I'll let you know-- seems inevitable, the way this place works. Not every demon that turns up is going to turn people into puppets.

[Some of them eat babies or implant their own offspring into people's skulls.]

[disassembles]

[ He's not sure what's stranger - the demons who turn people into puppets, or the ones that just happen to handle PR for a vampire working on redemption. ]

I'm sure you already noticed this but - buddy, your life is incredibly weird. [ James gives him a wry smile. ] I'll see you around.