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mistymidnight
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Images courtesy of the
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[with Namo Web Editor Six]
Header image © mistymidnight
Images courtesy of the
Freeze Frame Network
UNPOSTED CHAPTER: 'THORNS'
This is chapter one (not to be confused with the prologue) of 'Thorns' in is raw, unposted, unedited form.
As you'll be able to tell if you've read 'Thorns', I kinda wrote myself into a corner in the first chapter and then went on to dig my own grave in this one. It's too bad; looking back, I kind of liked the way it was shaping up. Anyhoo, I couldn't bear to part with it completely, so here it is:
Title: Thorns
Author: mistymidnight
Rating: PG
Disclaimer: Joss’s, not mine.
Spoilers/Timeline: Season four, AU from “Shiny Happy People” or somewhere around there.
Summary: AU-ish from "Shiny Happy People". What if Jasmine was never stopped? Who could save us?
Author’s Notes: I am not deterred by a lack of feedback!!! =)
I actually started writing this chapter a while ago (like, say, a week or so), but I wasn’t happy with the way it was going and it felt as if I’d written myself into a corner. So I’m starting fresh, with a real spellchecker this time, no less!
Chapter One:
"And Cordelia? Will she wake up?"
"If we take hold of the world, strip away the thorns, win the battle, then yes, I think she will."
The first thing she did upon opening her eyes was close them again. You picked the wrong girl for the job, she said in her head, willing with all her might that The Powers were listening. I’m the one who started all this in the first place. And I’m going in blind. At least not literally.
She struggled to remember what was happening, but it was slipping away like a dream. All she knew was: virgin’s blood, big sword, light, poof, and coma. And, of course, the waking up.
Stupid Powers, she thought angrily. You wake me up and send me to fight the big nasty and you don’t even clue me in on what’s happening. Thanks a lot.
She opened her eyes again and swung her legs over the side of the bed. After taking a deep breath, she stood up. Her knees wobbled and she grabbed the nightstand for support. Unfortunately, she missed her mark and ended up knocking a variety of candles and other items off of the nightstand.
“Oh, crap,” she said sharply, just as the door opened.
“What’s all the commotion—” The voice stopped. “Cordy?”
“The one and only,” Cordy grunted, then looked up. “Fred?”
“Oh, Cordy!” Fred exclaimed wrapping Cordelia in a hug. “We’ve been waiting for…well, forever, it seems like.”
“Well, uh, I’m up.” She paused and studied Fred’s face. “So, where is everybody?”
“In the lobby, I guess,” Fred said.
Cordelia tried hard to remember what the big evil the Powers had woken her for was, but couldn’t. “Fighting the big nasty?”
Fred looked confused. “There is no big nasty. Thanks to you.”
“Whoa, hold up. I was Coma-Girl. Not exactly big on the active citizenship.”
“Before you were Coma-Girl. You gave birth—”
“I hope you killed it good for me.”
Fred gasped, then began laughing a forced, too-cheery laugh. “Oh, stop kidding around!”
Cordelia had a bad feeling about this. Play along. “Ah-hah-hah-hah!” she laughed, sounding fake, even to herself. No, that wasn’t obvious at all. “So,” Cordy said. “Now that we’ve had our, uh, good time, why don’t you take me to see my…” Son? Daughter? Demon? “…offspring.”
“You mean Jasmine?”
“Uh, yeah. I’d love to see it—her! I mean ‘her’. I’d love to see her after all this time.”
“Well, let’s go,” Fred said excitedly. “I think she’s in the lobby.”
As Cordelia allowed Fred to tug her down the halls of the Hyperion, she began to get a feeling in the pit of her stomach.
What have I gotten into?
Not my favorite piece of writing by far, but I wrote myself into a corner last time.