Title: Timeline
Author: Liam
Posted: 05-10-2002
Rating: PG-13.
Disclaimer: Joss Whedon and Mutant Enemy own Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel.
Summary: In 2003, a time shifter fails to kill Cordelia, who is pregnant with Angel’s child. When the shifter escapes to 1998 Sunnydale, Angel must follow to ensure Cordelia’s survival.

Teaser:

Everything had gone to hell. It wasn’t supposed to be a difficult mission. She had spent years training for situations like this. This mission was to be the biggest of her career. And what happened when the time had finally arrived?

It had all gone to hell.

Allison Beasley had fucked up royally. But she had a chance to make everything right. A chance to fix her mistake. A chance to change the course of history. A chance to remove the threat of the future.

But she couldn’t do it here.

In the darkened Los Angeles alleyway, the dark haired, fair skinned assassin went to make her escape. Coming to a screeching halt, the woman took deep ragged breaths to get some oxygen into her tired body. The vampire gave a hell of a chase. That didn’t leave her with much time.

Pulling her backpack from her shoulders, Allison removed a palm pilot looking device from it. She began to furiously punch buttons on the device, trying to get the thing to work faster. Her head snapped back as she heard the vampire’s shouts of anger.

“Come on, you piece of shit!” She wished she had more time for the device to fire up. She needed to go back to the 1980’s, but she wouldn’t be able to do that. She had to settle for this.

Allison pressed hard on the ‘Enter’ button. The coordinates registered into the computer. The device activated.

Sharp crackles of electrical energy began to flow in the atmosphere. A cold wind ripped through the alley as the electricity centered at a spot a couple feet above the ground. A sharp crack sounded as a vortex was ripped in the fabric of time. In moments, a hole about six feet in diameter had formed.

“Hey you!”

Allison’s head whipped around to see the vampire and his son racing towards her. Allison tried to stuff the palm pilot into her backpack, but she didn’t notice she missed. The pilot dropped to the concrete street.

“Stop!” the vampire yelled angrily.

Allison ignored the demon. Instead, she plunged headfirst into the vortex. Another crack resounded in the alley, and with a snap much like a rubber band, the vortex was sealed. The electricity died, the wind all but ceased.

“What the hell was that?” Connor asked.

“I don’t know,” a very pissed off Angel answered. The vampire spotted the palm pilot on the ground. Picking it up, he read the screen.

VORTEX COMPLETE
TARGET DATE:
SEPTEMBER 19, 1998
ACQUIRED

TARGET DESTINATION:
SUNNYDALE, CA
ACQUIRED

“Dad!” Connor said, trying to get Angel’s attention. “What’s wrong? What is it?”

Angel stared at the spot where the vortex had been. “Trouble,” he answered.

TBC...