 |
 A/N – I’m baaaaaaack… and I’m trying to cut down on my A/N! I’ve
read through all my chapters and the A/N I’ve left… I ramble on so much that I
bore myself! Why hasn’t anyone told me to shut up!! Anyways, sorry
for the long delay, I’ll try to be better, but with my new job I may only get
to write at sporadic moments. So… here be the warning… :) P.S – This is dedicated to all my loyal reviewers. Thank you for
being such wonderful people and sticking by the story, even with the very
infrequent updates!!! ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ Part XIV ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ The group arrived at the area that Spike had seen in the vision.
Rather, it was a park outside a library on what seemed to be a small college
campus. There were people coming and going from the old brick building…
most looked like students. As they approached, Angel headed the pack with
Spike and Cordelia flanking him on each side. The rest of the gang
followed behind, as usual, weapons concealed the best they could so as not to
frighten the blissfully unawares passers-by. “Okay, Spike… where do we go from here?” Angel asked impatiently as he
searched the area for any sign of his son. Spike looked around as well
and didn’t spot the object of his vision either. “Bollocks…” he muttered. “Am I supposed to bloody well know
everything?!” Angel didn’t spare the ghost a glare, but a soft growl was
heard. Gunn leaned closer to Wes and Fred. “I think I like the visions with Cordy the best,” he muttered softly,
causing Fred to smile. Both Angel and Cordelia looked over their
shoulders at the man with glares. Gunn straightened and gave them both
apologetic looks. When the two focused on something else, Gunn bent down
closer to Fred again. “Side note…” he said to her. “I meant to say that I liked the non-lethal
visions with Cordy the best…” Fred pat the black man on the arm in
understanding. “You did forget to mention the ‘non-lethal’ part, Charles,” she said,
catching the smile that Cordelia threw back to her. Gunn, knowing full
well the pain the non-demonized version of Cordelia had gone through first
hand, stayed silent. After a second, he piped up. “Good to have you back, Barbie,” he called up to her. Cordelia didn’t
turn to face him, but she smiled at the acknowledgement from her friend.
Finally. “Glad to hear it Gunn. It’s good to be back,” she said and then turned
her attention to Spike. “Okay, I’m not seeing Conner. If he’s not
here, where is he?” Spike looked around the grounds and immediately
zeroed in on an alley between the library and another building. He
pointed. “That seems a bit familiar…” he said. As the group started in that
direction, Fred’s voice broke out. “Ummm… guys…” she said. When Angel and Cordelia turned to her, she
pointed. Line of sight brought the group’s attention to a half a dozen of
robed figures slipping into the alley. “I don’t think we’re going to get
there before them…” Cordelia’s eyes widened. “Well, that’s an ‘oh shit’…” she commented before she took off after a
now-sprinting Angel, everyone else following closely behind her. Everyone
skidded to a halt after entering the alleyway to see Angel taking on the robed
figures… Conner himself was being held by three others. Cordelia had to
suck in a breath at all the memories of her pseudo-self hit her when Conner’s
panicked blue eyes met hers. Gunn, Fred and Wes all darted ahead of her
to lend their assistance, but Cordelia was still rooted in place. Lorne
stepped up to her side and placed an understanding hand on her shoulder. “I’m sorry sugarplum,” he said as he observed along with her. Cordelia
took a calming breath and looked over at the green demon. “I wasn’t singing, Lorne,” she told him. He gave her a sardonic smile. “No singing needed, sweetums… you’re broadcasting loud and clear as a bell…”
he said. Cordelia gave him a quick look before she turned back to the
fight. “No time for aura pleasantries,” she said as she lifted her sword.
Lorne held up his hands and backed away from her slightly. “I know you’re not mad at me, peach cheeks,” he said. Cordelia just
semi-grunted in response to him before she ran into the ensuing battle.
Lorne shook his head. “Effective way to cut off a conversation…” he noted, taking a mental memo to
rehash the conversation at a better time. Taking full advantage of the slight
pathway opened to him, Lorne ambled his suited form the excruciatingly bright
color of sea-foam towards the cowering object of the entire fray. The
demon cleared his throat while straightening the lapel of his expensive (when
was he going to learn to stop buying them only to have them ruined in
expeditions such as these?) suit, causing the frightened boy to look up at
him. Lorne smiled. “Come, mes ami… my friend… let’s leave this rough stuff far behind us…” he
said, extending a hand out for the kid to take. The fear in Conner’s eyes
magnified as he stared at the green hand. “Who… what… are you?” he asked, scrambling back on the hard pavement.
Lorne rolled his eyes. “I’m a leprechaun from the Ice Capades…” he said. The kid looked
perplexed so Lorne let out a sigh. “Kid… the fact that I just said the
words ‘ice’ and ‘capades’ together in the same sentence and that am
wearing fluorescent silk proves that I’m not some evil-doer intent on using you
for nefarious purposes such as, oh say, ending the world… Have some
faith…” Conner looked around the now-dwindling group of robed
people. The wary look didn’t leave his eyes, but he stood up slowly,
watching Lorne as well as the rest of the AI gang finish off the rest of his
attackers. The robed figure that was battling Wes and Fred stepped back
and raised his arms in front of him. There was a sudden flash of green
light and Lorne watched in a morbid fascination as the AI crew, with the
exception of Cordelia and a ghostly Spike, dropped to the ground. The
same with the kid. Each was clutching their head, trapped in their own
personal agony, as the three remaining robed figures escaped out of the
alleyway. Lorne looked up into the wide eyes of Cordelia. With a
small, clueless shrug, she ran over to Angel. Spike himself managed to
look fairly concerned. “Angel! Angel!” Cordelia cried, trying to penetrate the pain-filled
fog that clouded his dark eyes. When she reached out to touch him, his
hand whipped up and gripped her wrist, his eyes went tawny with the ridges of
his inner demon taking over his features. Lorne, seeing the unaware,
predatory look in the vampire’s face rushed forward and pulled Cordelia from
the potentially deadly situation. Cordelia looked around to see all of
her friends struggling with the same unseen attacker. “What’s happening to them, Lorne?” she asked softly. Lorne shook his
head. “I don’t know, Princess. What sort of mystical sort of sock ‘em would
leave you and me out of the fun?” he asked back. Cordelia’s gaze wandered
worriedly over her friends. “I don’t know, Lorne… I don’t understand,” she said as the invisible hold
over her friends continued. Spike huffed. “What’s to understand? You lot are trouble magnets… that’s what…” he
said as he stepped over a fallen bad guy to hunch down next to the kid.
“And this poor fop has been dragged into it kickin’ and screamin’ by the looks
of it.” Cordelia tore her gaze from the boy and looked around with an
appraising eye. “They’re all kicking and screaming…” she commented softly. ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ There was an ache in his head as he watched. He watched himself
scurry out of the Hyperion with a blue bundle in his arms. He watched as
he stealthily made his way to the rendezvous point and waited. And he
watched as the gleaming metal of a razor sharp knife slid silently over the
soft, vulnerable skin of his exposed neck. There was blood everywhere as
he watched himself struggle for life. And then, it was as if he couldn’t
breathe. It was then that Wes let himself scream. It was a scream
of rage, pain, fear and betrayal… and why wouldn’t it stop? ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ Why was she back here again? What person in their right mind would
want to come back here again? Wasn’t being a ‘cow’ for seemingly
countless years enough in this lifetime? Wasn’t being treated like a
slave, beaten like a slave and almost being beheaded numerous times a once in a
lifetime experience? Yet she still felt the whip marks. And she
still felt the bruises covering her thin, frail body. And she could feel
every kick and every shock from that ungodly collar. Fred closed her eyes
hoping to make the horror go away and never come back. But it didn’t -
the fear and the panic becoming a living, breathing entity inside her.
She couldn’t make it stop, and she didn’t know how to… ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ Gunn couldn’t stop it… it was like a movie stuck in one long, continuous,
horrible, miserable loop. Once it ended, it started all over again.
And each time he felt the pain… each time he felt his heart explode into a
storm of dust that rivaled the one he’d caused his sister to become… Alana… ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ There were too many moments skipping through his mind. He couldn’t
focus on any of them. He didn’t know what he was looking at… but the one
thing he did know was the agonizing amount of pain it was causing him.
Images flashed for no more than a second each until it finally stopped on one.
It was the face of a beautiful baby smiling up at him… and then it turned into
the fierce, hate-filled face of a teenager. The pain Angel felt was
almost too much to bear. The lost baby… the child no longer a
child. And the pain that rooted in Angel’s head only grew further as that
same man-child entwined his form with another well-know, beautiful form – a
figure that wasn’t who he thought it was, but memory knew no different.
The anger and the anguish coalesced together and ate away at his insides.
All Angel wanted to do was to lash out or curl himself into a ball of apathetic
demon. But as the images continued to reel through his head, he knew that
neither would be an option… ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ It was almost like a near-death experience… or what he would think of as
one, anyway. A life was flashing in front of his eyes… but it wasn’t
necessarily his. There was a boy that looked amazingly like him – except
not. His hair was long, his face was dirty, and he wore rags. And
he was angry… Then came the flash of a man and the warmth of love felt
for him. And then the darkness came as that same man bled onto the
indifferent, uncaring cement… two holes in his neck allowing the life to slip
from him. There was no word to describe the torment that overtook Conner’s
frame. It was a tornado of love, hate, pain, guilt and vengeance.
The tears slipped out as the pain of an unknown life tore at his mind… ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ As quickly as it had all started, it stopped. Cordelia, Spike and
Lorne watched, stunned, as their friends simply stopped moving. Fear
crowded Cordelia’s throat as she rushed over and panickingly shook the vampire
that lay beneath her hands. “Angel?” she asked hoarsely, her mind telling her that he would be
okay. He was already dead. But her heart, skipping a mile a minute,
was having a harder time following her head’s lead. “Lorne! Check
on Wes! And Gunn! See if they’re alright!” Cordelia calmed
slightly and immediately ran to Fred without waiting to see if Lorne had
followed her hysterical demands. Using her fingers, Cordelia located a
weak pulse on the girl. A little sob of relief escaped Cordelia as she
laid Fred’s head in her lap. A distinctly male groan caught her attention
and she turned her gaze to where Lorne was helping a weary Gunn sit up. “Did anyone get the license plate number of that semi that just ran me
over?” he asked. Cordelia let out a small laugh as she watched a
similarly worn Wes and Angel come to. “What the bloody blazes was that?” Wes asked as he straightened his glasses
and attempted to stand up. Angel’s eyes went immediately to
Cordelia. She shook her head in a non-verbal communication that she was
alright and hadn’t been affected. “That, kiddies, was a sign to get the hell outta here,” Lorne said as he
helped a staggering, confused, wary Conner over to where the group was
reconvening. “I ain’t gonna argue about the splitting. Let’s get out of here,” Gunn
said as he helped a newly conscious Fred to her feet and let her lean into
him. When everyone started to walk away, Conner held back, jerking his
arm from Lorne’s guiding hand. “I’m not going anywhere with you! I was just attacked by psycho monks…
and if you think I’m going with you people, you’re all nuts,” he said holding
his hands up and backing away from them. “Then what do you suggest, Conner? Those things may come back for
you,” Wes said. The boy’s eyes widened. “How do you know who I am?” he asked in a shaky voice. “Because we’re bloody psychics, mate,” Spike scoffed before turning to Angel.
“Just clock the nipper. He’ll be easier to handle when his lights are
out…” Conner took another frightened step back as Spike’s words
registered. As he contemplated turning and running, Gunn stepped up to
him and gripped the kid’s upper arm. “I wouldn’t do that if I were you. Kid, you just don’t know what’s
good for you, do you?” the black man asked as he started walking to where
they’d parked the car. Wes fell into step next to them. “We’re here to help you. Those people that were after you… they aren’t
in the least bit pleasant,” the ex-Watcher told Conner. The teenager
relaxed slightly and started to walk with Gunn rather than against him. “Where are you taking me?” he asked. Angel met Cordelia’s eyes as they
followed the trio. He wanted to say ‘home’ so badly. But… that
would have to wait… for a lot of things. ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ Wolfram & Hart complex… Conner’s eyes were wide in awe as they stepped through the doors into the lobby.
The gang watched him as he spun around to take it all in. If it weren’t
the inner circle of Hell itself, it would certainly be an impressive example of
modern architecture. “Well, here we are,” Cordelia said as she crossed her arms. “Home
sweet Hell…” Angel gave her a look before crossing the large room to
where his son stood. “You’re bleeding,” Angel told him. Conner frowned. “No I’m…” Angel gripped the boy’s wrist and pushed his shirt sleeve up to
reveal a large scraped that was sluggishly bleeding. Conner’s eyes
widened as he pulled his arm from the vampire’s grasp. Fred, seeing the
usual broody look on her boss’ face, went up to Conner. “Let’s… let’s go get this cleaned up for you, okay?” she asked, starting to
lead the teen away. Conner, slightly panicked, looked for the only other
slightly friendly face in the room. Cordelia gave him a small smile. “If she comes at you with a needle, I think you can take her,” she commented
with a wink. The joke relaxed the boy and he smiled back. After the
two had left the room, Cordelia spun around to face Angel, hands on her hips. “Well, you’re just flinging out those fluffy ‘Daddy’ vibes, aren’t you?” she
asked him. Angel’s brow furrowed more that it already was. “What are you talking about?” he asked. Cordelia shook her head as she
stepped up to him. Raising a hand, she used her fingers to physically
smooth out the skin between his brows. “Stop the frowning, Broody,” she said fiercely before she took his chin in
her hand to make him look at her. “That… was… your… son… And
I believe I’m correct in saying that your permanent scowl is frightening
him.” Wes raised a hand from where he’d sat himself. “I think…” he started, but Cordelia held up a hand to cut him off. “See, Wesley agrees with me,” she said. Wes frowned, but there was a
slight smirk on his face. Gunn and Lorne exchanged amused glances.
Angel just scowled again and crossed his arms. “I doubt Wes was going to agree with you Cordy,” he said. Wes sat back
in his seat. “Actually, I was going to agree… but I was going to add that the fact that
it’s probably a little worse considering he obviously has no clue as to who we
are and why those things were after him,” the Englishman noted. Angel
rolled his eyes as Cordelia grinned her stellar grin when she turned back to
look at him. “See?” she asked. Angel stopped frowning, but a tired look crossed his
face. “Cor, I really don’t care whether or not I’m frightening Conner right
now. We have other things to worry about… like keeping him safe… and
figuring out what the hell just happened back in that alleyway,” he said.
Wes cleared his throat. “Yes… I’ve come up with a theory…” the man started. Gunn smirked. “You always have one of those,” he said. The look on Wes’ face
remained serious. “Yes, well… taking from what happened to me… I think we were outmatched by
our own pain,” he said. Cordelia let out a snort. “By the way all of you were playing the landed trout with all the flopping
around, I’d say ‘duh’,” she said, crossing her arms impatiently. Wes
turned to her. “What do you mean by ‘all of you’? You weren’t affected?” he
asked. Cordelia shrugged her shoulders. “Nope… The Chartreuse Sinatra and I were boogie-woogie-free,” she
said. Wes then turned to look at Lorne. “You weren’t affected either?” he asked for confirmation. The green
demon shook his head. “First of all, I’m not chartreuse… I’m a lively spring green… and second of
all, you heard the Princess. We were completely untouched… us and, for
obvious reasons, Blondie over there,” he answered, pointing to Spike. Wes
thought for a second before he stood and started to pace. “That changes my theory slightly… Lorne not being affected, and Spike
as well, can be easily explained. But Cordelia?” he muttered.
Cordelia put her hands on her hips again. “‘But Cordelia’ what, buddy?” she asked with a frown. Wes approached
her and put his hands on her shoulders. “Lorne is a direct link to the Powers That Be. His mystical ties could
have prevented the magic from overtaking him. And Spike is non-corporeal…
whatever spell was cast couldn’t possibly affect him. But you… you’re
completely…” he explained, only staggering at describing her, unsure of how his
words would affect her. “Human…” Angel finished for him. Wes gave the vampire a look before
focusing on Cordelia again. “Precisely. You no longer have any mystical ties to the Powers or any
of the demon traits you had before. There would have been nothing barring
you from the magic,” he explained. Cordelia was silent for a second as
she processed Wes’ words. “So…” she said finally. “Where does that leave your theory?” Wes
dropped his hands from her shoulders and began to pace again. “I still believe we were incapacitated by pain… what I saw was almost like a
vision,” he said, looking to Angel. The vampire nodded to convey that he
was in agreement. Wes then looked to Gunn. “A vision? I didn’t get no vision, Wes-man. It was a
memory. It was living a horrible memory over and over again,” he
said. Wes looked to the ground uncomfortably as he reached up and rubbed
his neck. To his surprise, the once smooth skin contained a raised
blemish. Closing his eyes, he let his hand drop. “Mine was as well,” he said. “And I’m almost positive that Fred’s was
as well.” “I heard my name… what’s going on down here?” Fred’s voice asked as she
entered the room. Angel’s eyes widened in concern when he realized that
she was unaccompanied. “Where’s Conner?” he asked. Fred looked to the vampire. “I figured he probably shouldn’t be a part of whatever conversation you are
having – for now at least. So, I left him up in your apartment until I
figure out what’s going on down here,” she told him. “You left him up there… alone? With all of my books and blood
and everything else not even remotely normal?” Angel asked, irritation evident
in his voice. Cordelia stepped closer to him and laid a reassuring hand
on his arm. “Relax, Angel… Conner’ll be fine. What he could possibly learn won’t
hurt him…” she paused as she remembered how well she’d taken the whole
introduction to the world of ghosts, ghoulies and everything grisly. “…
much. Anyways, whatever he learns could only help him with what’s
coming up. In fact, we may need to hook him up to our darling Gunn’s
Speed-Learn-O-Matic so the next time he sees those robed weirdos, he’ll know
what to do.” Gunn gave a glare in Cordelia’s direction, but she was
oblivious as she turned to Wes. “Heard about that, did we, Barbie?” the black man asked. Cordelia just
rolled her eyes. “But first we need to figure out what they were, right Wes?” she asked her
friend. The man nodded at the question directed to him. “Yes, we do. And if you don’t mind me prying… it would help to know
what each of you saw in your attack,” he started. After a moment, he
continued. “I saw… myself… taking Conner. My throat was slit and I
was dying…” The group was silent as they realized that Wes had been shown
a moment of the repressed reality involving Conner. “I saw myself staking Alana,” Gunn said softly, his eyes downcast as he
relived the memory again. “I was back in Pylea. My owner was punishing me… it was when my mind
started to break,” Fred added after a moment of letting Gunn’s words be
absorbed. “I saw when Conner was taken and when he came back fro Quor’toth,” Angel
supplied, leaving the other half of his painful memory out, knowing that it
would only upset Cordelia. Wesley nodded at the explanations. “It seems they were our most painful memories brought back to incapacitate
us. I still don’t understand why Cordel…” Wes started. “I do…” Cordelia interrupted softly. The gang turned to her, awaiting
her explanation. “... when those monks flashed their mojo, I had the
misfortune – or fortune, depending on how you look at it - to be already
thinking of my most painful memory. So, I’m going out on a limb here to
say that I probably debilitated their power against me.” Wes sat back
down in his vacated seat and looked to think this explanation over as Lorne
appraised the woman giving it. “It was the kid, wasn’t it?” he asked. Cordelia’s dark eyes snapped up
to his. “What?” she asked. Lorne smiled gently. “When you saw the kid again… I saw the change in your aura. It brought
everything back… all your *ahem* dealings *ahem* with him, didn’t it, sugar
pie?” he asked. Cordelia just crossed her arms. “If that’s the way you see it,” she granted. Lorne just chuckled. “Oh, I see it,” he commented before sobering. “For what it’s worth,
I’m sorry.” Cordelia smiled warmly at him. “It’s okay, Lorne. It isn’t your fault. Hell, it really isn’t my
fault… well, it is in the grand scheme of things… but it isn’t that I saw it
all flash in my head when I saw him. I’ll be the first to admit that I
attribute bad memories to the familiarity of a face…” Cordelia said, the last
part directed solely to the now-frowning Angel. “I don’t…” he started. Cordelia, a master in the art of interruption,
only held up her hand. “Just save it, Angel. You forget that I know you, okay? I may
have been gone a while, and you may have regressed some, but I still know you,”
she said. He opened his mouth to say something else, but was suitably
silenced as an echoing ‘plop’ sounded through the spacious lobby. All
eyes went to the object that had been dropped – a simple duffle bag. Then
all eyes went to who had dropped it. “Well, well, well… imagine my surprise when I went to the hotel and found it
empty. Imagine my bigger surprise when I found out you were all here…”
Buffy’s voice rang out to where the group stood. Spike stood up from the
side couch where he and Wes sat and gaped at Buffy. Angel could only
stare at the newly-arrived woman. Silence ensued as Cordelia looked
between the two men who’s lives seemed to revolve around the petite
blond. Spike looked back to Angel. “Oh bollocks…” he said, causing everyone to look at him. “I forgot to
mention something…” “Geez…” Cordelia with an undignified snort. “… ya think?” ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ It’s a little short, but at least it’s somethin’, right?? :P |
