A/N This is a season 5 Doyle lives rewrite that foilows on from my seasons 1-4 rewrites. It is now also a 'Cordelia lives' rewrite. As with the show - S5 throws out almost everything that has gone before and starts fresh, going in a completely different direction - so if you haven't read the previous seasons you will probably be able to follow along easily enough. If you want to read them, though, you can access them by clicking on my username and going to my profile page - and I will see you back here in about ten years (there's a lot to read!)

For all the old hats - welcome back and thank you for continuing reading. The drill is the same as always - 22 episodes each split into four parts. I will post the four parts Friday- Monday, as usual - but there won't be updates every week this time, though I will post as often as possible. I will always post an episode in it's entirety, when they are ready, I won't post 2 parts and then leave you dangling for weeks for the second half! This season, as it is the last one, also includes a short prologue (the chapter you're about to read) and an epilogue, taking the total of chapters up to 90.

As always the story follows all the major characters, they all get their big moments and development and Doyle (and now Cordy) is not allowed to steal from them.

The good news is that the main pairing is now unequivocally Doyle/ Cordy - and nothing will be getting in their way this time. We are through the dark times and are on track for our happy ending. The various love triangles over at Wolfram and Hart are also ongoing.

Finally, the date of publishing this story - 30th November 2019 - marks the 20th anniversary of the first airing of 'Hero'. Today is the 20th anniversary of Doyle's official death - and it was important to me that I start this story today, in particular. I didn't see Angel from the very beginning the first time around, i came in a few weeks later - but from the very first episode I saw, Doyle was absolutely the stand out character and my favourite part of the show. i didn't watch the, maybe, last five minutes of the first episode I saw - my parents came home and back in those days the cable channels were only on the downstairs television - but I'd seen enough of Buffy to know how the whole thing would finish up - it wasn't a big deal to miss the very end. Except for one thing. The episode I was watching - my very first episode of Angel - was 'Hero'. I spent the whole of the next week (in blissful ignorance) looking forward to seeing the next episode - and in particular 'that Irish guy' (whose name I kept forgetting - and I had to keep doing that thing where I purposefully didn't think about it so I would remember). Finally the night arrived, Buffy finished ('Hush') and I was so stoked for the start of Angel ... and then I saw the 'previously ons'... YOU F******G WHAT?

I spent the whole of 'Parting Gifts' waiting for it all to turn out not to be real, for there to be a loophole, for Doyle to come back somehow. It's now been 20 years - and I am still waiting for Doyle to come back somehow. But the universe had other ideas for Angel the Series - and tragically, for Glenn - as well. It is a massive testament to his talent and charm and the life he imbued in his character, though, that 20 years later people still remember Doyle, and still care enough to write and read stories about the character. There are 110 episodes of Angel - Doyle was in only 9 of them - and for me, at least, he is still the very best part of the show. I will never be OK with how little of him we got in reality, or how the Doyle/Cordy relationship was never given the chance to properly develop. Thank Goodness for fan fiction - and the internet for letting us share it.

So here - on the 20th Anniversary of the day he died - is the final instalment of Doyle's journey. I hope you enjoy xx


The Big Moments.

Far above the world, on the higher planes, the eternal struggle between good and evil played out. The Powers for Light and Dark, locked in their ongoing battle, moved their chess pieces around the board. Down on earth, their pawns fought - and their pawns died, but The Powers played on. There was nothing but the game - and they were compelled to see it through. Just to see who would win in the end.

The Powers of the Lower Realms - The Senior Partners - had just made their move. Capturing a champion for the PTB and taking him for their own side. They were happy. Pleased with themselves. This was a coup. The vampire with a soul was a fine prize and this must surely sway the prophecy for the final days in their favour. No one knew which side this vampire was to fight on … but now he belonged to the Powers of Dark and they were keeping tight hold of him. And the whole world would have to reshape around this loss of a champion of light.

And reshape it did. The Powers That Be moved next - nudging at the girl, the slayer, manipulating her to do this one service for their cause. And now there were hundreds - thousands just like her. Brand new Warriors of Light, brought onto the earth to fight the good fight. And one girl in particular - chosen to replace the vampire with a soul as the champion of the City of Angels.

So now it was the Senior Partner's move once more… but they were in no hurry. The game was eternal, the chess board ever changing - they had aeons to wait, if they should so choose. Nothing hasty … scanning the board for a weakness, biding their time.

The PTB were happy to bide their time as well. As gifted as they were with their army of slayers - they were not yet finished with the vampire with a soul. In the game of chess, a knight is most effective when he is in a square that cannot be attacked by enemy pawns. And the vampire was now CEO of the Los Angeles branch, where all the pawns of The Senior Partners could not touch him - would not think to. He was in the midst of his enemies - and completely unassailable. He could still be of much use to the Powers of Light, if he wanted to be.

The Senior Partners believed they had him. That they had taken him and he belonged to them now. The Powers that Be were not as sure. The big moment had come - there was nothing the vampire could do about that - but that was not what was important. It was what he would do afterwards that would count. That was when he - and all the Higher Powers - would find out who he really was.

So the game continued - ineffable and eternal. And down on the earth, the little players looked around at the new landscape of their board; coming to terms with the big moments that had come and had changed them, changed their lives … and wondering what they should do next.


A/N Part one of episode one: 'Conviction' will be posted on Friday. See you then : )