Authors Note: I just realized when I first posted this to from my website, I somehow missed quite a few chapters in the middle. This is because the chapters on my website are much longer than the ones on , and also because apparently I'm an idiot. Thank you to V.L. Crawford for pointing this out to me, so I could fix it. Sorry to everyone for the chapter spam today – there's no new chapter yet – just fixing the old ones on this site. This chapter has spoilers for the episode "Awakening"
How it Should Have Been Chapter 21The sun had disappeared early in the morning. By the afternoon Wesley and Fred had found nothing new on the ritual that the Beast had done, and were of the opinion that the only way to get the sun back was to kill the Beast. But since they had been trying to figure out how to do that for the past week, they weren't very hopeful. Finally Wesley said he was going to go home and gather some of his books.
Connor started the morning studying, but soon fell asleep due to the pain medication. He woke up groggy when he felt his bed dip. He looked to see Julie sitting next to him. He smiled at her. She reached out and brushed the hair out of his eyes and mumbled, "Hey, how's the ankle?"
Connor looked down at his ankle and moved it a little. He said, "Still hurts, but not as bad."
"Good."
"Did you bring over some stuff?"
Julie nodded. "My bag's in the room next door."
"Did you stop by school?"
"Classes are canceled until the sun comes back."
Connor sat up and winced slightly. Julie saw it and said, "Maybe you should take another pain killer for your ankle."
Connor just shook his head no, not wanting to bring up the real reason he was wincing. He put his hands on her face and pulled her into a kiss. When he let her go he said softly, "I'm glad you're staying here with me."
She leaned in to kiss him again. They heard someone clearing his throat. Connor had heard Gunn coming for a while and didn't stop. But Julie jumped at the sound and pulled away from Connor. Gunn said, "Sorry to break up the party, but I'm here to do some tutoring with Connor."
Julie said, "Can I stay? I might be able to help."
Connor didn't really like the idea of his girlfriend trying to tutor him. He wasn't sure why. He knew she had more schooling then him, but it just seemed wrong. Gunn saw Connor thinking, and was pretty sure he knew what was going through his head. Gunn looked at Julie and said, "Actually Fred was hoping you could help her with the research. Wes went to go get some other books, so she could use the help."
Julie looked slightly disappointed but nodded and said, "Okay. See you two later then."
Once Julie was gone Connor lay back down and said, "Thanks."
Gunn put a few books down on Connor's bed and pulled Connor's desk chair over. Gunn sat down next to the bed and said, "Why didn't you want her here?"
Connor thought about it for a minute. He said, "I guess because I don't want her to know how much smarter she is then me."
Gunn shook his head and thought for a minute. He finally said, "Fred is like a gazillion times smarter then me when it comes to books. But there are different ways to be smart Connor. Julie may know more about things they teach in school, but you know so much more about fighting and demon hunting, that it would take her a lifetime to learn it all. So don't sell yourself short."
Connor shrugged, "I guess, but I still don't want her to know."
Gunn rolled his eyes and said, "Stubborn."
Connor gave him a lop sided grin and said, "Yep."
Lorne had spent the morning taking a few calls, but mostly watching the news coverage for any new developments. Angel spent the morning cleaning up Manny from his basement and getting updates from Lorne every time he went through the lobby with another full garbage bag to take out to the dumpster.
When the basement was almost clean, Gunn and Julie came back. Angel noticed that Julie had a bag with her and said, "You can have the room next to Connor's."
Julie nodded. Angel turned to Gunn and said, "Could you do some tutoring with Connor?"
"Sure."
Angel watched both of them go up the stairs. He finished up in the basement, and then couldn't help himself any longer. He went out and took a walk. It felt so strange to be out in the middle of the day. He hadn't done that since he was wearing the ring of Amarra. He shook his head at that thought. Really the last time he had walked in the sun was with Buffy on the beach. He had been made human and was able to spend a whole day with her. But he preferred to think of that day as a dream, because remembering it was real hurt too much. Especially when he knew Buffy didn't have the same memories. Angel decided he had had enough walking during the day, as a dark mood settled over him, and he headed back to the hotel. He ruefully thought that he didn't even have Cordelia back at the hotel to improve his mood. Then he saw a vampire. It was lurking next to a manhole, and looking around up at the sun.
Angel called out to him, "Hey buddy! It's all right, come on out. The humans can't stop us now."
The vampire smiled and nodded. He walked over to Angel and said, "Do you know how…."
Angel staked him and walked back over to the manhole. He saw three more pairs of eyes looking up at him. He jumped down and staked two of them before they had time to react. Angel grabbed the last vampire by the shirt and pulled him close so they were nose to nose. Angel said, "Tell all your little friends, that the sun will be back to it's full burning brightness by this evening, so unless you want a tan, I'd stay under ground."
Angel shoved the vampire away, and jumped out of the manhole. He put the cover back on the hole and walked quickly back to the hotel. He hoped his threat would work for a day or so, but it might not work at all. If they didn't get the sun back soon, they would have to take turns at patrolling, and even that wouldn't do much when it came to the big picture.
It was mid afternoon when Angel got back to the hotel. When he opened the hotel door he saw that Julie and Fred were both in the lobby looking at books. He asked Lorne, "Any bad calls yet?"
"Just the one trying to consolidate our debt."
"I saw a vampire out on the street."
Fred said, "They've started coming out?"
"I staked him along with two others, and then I warned the last one that the sun would be back by tonight."
Lorne asked, "You know something we don't big guy?"
"I was improvising."
Fred said, "It might work for today, but they'll be out tonight, and I doubt they'll go home in the morning."
Julie said, "So what are we going to do?"
Angel sighed. "We need to set up patrols to keep the number of vampires down."
Lorne said, "You want me to go get Connor and Gunn?"
Before Angel could answer, Julie asked Lorne, "What about you? Do you patrol?"
"I'm more of a hold down the fort kind of demon."
Angel gave Lorne an intense look, which caused Lorne to say, "What? Is the tie too much with this suit?"
Angel shook his head at his own stupidity. "No, you're not just a hold down the fort kind of demon, you're the kind of demon who might have the answers to this whole thing."
Lorne shook his head, "No way am I reading Broody Jr. again. Do you remember what happened last time?"
"Not Connor, me."
Lorne thought about that for a second. Angel continued, "Don't you see? Maybe when I'm singing you can read me and see what we need to do to kill the Beast. If the answer is in me, but I can't remember it, then maybe you can get it out of me."
Lorne slowly nodded and said, "I guess it's worth a try."
Angel said, "Great. My office?"
Lorne got up and walked towards the office. Before the door closed, Lorne said, "Just please, no Manilow."
Angel pouted as he closed the door. Once they were gone Julie turned to Fred and asked, "What does Lorne mean about reading Connor?"
Fred went into an explanation. Ten minutes later Lorne and Angel came out of his office with long faces. Fred asked, "No luck?"
Lorne shook his head. Angel said, "I'm gonna go get Connor and Gunn. We need to come up with a plan for damage control if nothing else."
A few minutes later Angel and Gunn brought Connor downstairs. Connor had an arm around both men, and was being supported between them so that he didn't have to use his ankle. Soon Connor and Julie were sitting together on the round couch, while Fred, Gunn, and Lorne all stood by the counter. Angel paced around the lobby and started.
"I've already seen one vampire, and by tonight I think things are going to be pretty crazy out there with demons running amok….."
Julie said, "Just the way you like it."
Angel crossed his arms and walked right up to Julie. He said, "What was that Julie? You have something to say?"
Julie glared back and said, "Yeah I do. I don't know what's wrong with all of you. Why are you listening to him, when you know he could be in league with the Beast? Connor has felt guilty this whole time thinking he was the reason the world was going to hell when in reality it's been Angel all along."
Connor shook his head and said, "Julie…."
Angel said, "It's okay Connor. Let her say what she's thinking."
Julie said, "Angel's the reason the sun is gone. Angel's the reason your lives are in danger every other day. Angel's the reason all those people out there are going to die. How can you all trust someone who beats his child?"
Connor got bright red at that comment and looked at the ground. Angel glared at her and said the first thing that came to his mind, "If you aren't careful I'll show you the difference between a beating and a spanking."
Then Connor was between them, facing off with his father in a fighting stance. Connor was deadly serious. "You don't touch her. Ever."
Angel sighed and shook his head. He said, "Get off your ankle Connor, I'm just tired and irritated. I wasn't serious."
Connor didn't sit down and said, "I was."
Angel glared and said, "You really want to do this right now? You can't win even when you're up to full health, so what exactly are you planning to accomplish? Or did you just want to get spanked in front of everyone."
Julie stood up and put a hand on Connor's arm. She said, "Connor."
Connor took a step back and sat down on the couch, and Julie followed suit. Angel ran a hand through his hair. He said, "How can I convince you that I'm not working for the Beast? I'm out of ideas."
Wesley walked through the front door at that point. Right behind him was an oriental man dressed all in red robes with nothing showing except his eyes and hands. Wesley said, "I have a plan."
Everyone looked up at him. Wesley said, "I'd like to introduce you all to Wo Pang. He's a shaman in the order of the Kun-Sun-Dai. He says he can bring us Angelus."
Angel gave a big fake smile and said, "Wes, can I talk to you in the office for a moment?"
Wesley started that way and asked Fred, "Could you get our guest some tea while he waits?"
Fred nodded and led Wo Pang to the kitchen. Angel waited for Wesley to get in the office and then shut the door behind them. Angel was obviously upset when he said, "You brought a dark mystic into my house?"
Wesley sighed. "Desperate times call for desperate measures."
"Just having him here is dangerous Wesley."
"We need Angelus."
"No we don't."
"We can take precautions. Contain you. He assures me that he can remove your soul. And he claims he can contain it in a vessel until we are ready for him to put it back."
"Even if this guy could do what he claims he can do, it doesn't matter. Unleashing Angelus in the middle of this huge mess is the worst possible thing we could do."
"I know that Angelus is…."
Angel interrupted, "NO. You don't know Angelus. You've never had the pleasure of his company. The part I don't think you understand is that if he's here, then I'm not, and that means I can't protect any of you from him."
"Are you sure you aren't letting your fear get the better of you?"
"Hell yes I am. You should too."
"Manjet said, 'The answer is among you', but really the answer is in you Angel. In Angelus. We need him to find out how to kill this thing, and the sooner the better."
"You seem to think that Angelus will help you. Do you think he's just gonna give up information? He would rather see the world end then help any of you."
Wesley got angry. "Do you have a better idea Angel? Do you have any new ideas? Because I have to tell you I don't. Between Fred and myself you have two of the most knowledgeable people in the field, and we're at a loss as to do what to do next. Time is of the essence with the sun blocked. If there's even a ten percent chance that this will help, shouldn't we give it a go?"
Angel looked away from Wesley. He looked out his window at the people in the lobby. The people he loved. The people Angelus would happily eat. Angel looked back at Wesley and gave a barley perceptible nod. He opened his office door and said to everyone, "We're gonna need a cage. Eight by eight by ten with re-enforced steel bars set at three-inch intervals. We need to build it in the basement, and we need to build it tonight."
Angel walked past everyone and out the hotel door.
Gunn said, "I don't think that will hold the Beast."
Wesley said, "It's not for the Beast. It's for him."
Everyone in the room was quiet for a few seconds, and then Connor stood up. He started towards the front door. Gunn caught up to him and said, "Hey, you're staying off the ankle right?"
Connor opened his mouth to protest, and then Gunn smiled and leaned down a little. Connor nodded sheepishly and put his arm around Gunn's shoulders. Gunn put an arm around Connor's waist and helped him hop out the door. Gunn got him to the bench where Angel was sitting, and then turned around to go back into the hotel. Connor and Angel sat there in silence for a few seconds. Then Connor said, "Hey Dad?"
"Yeah?"
"I'm sorry."
Angel looked over at Connor. "What for?"
Connor sighed and though about it while looking at the ground in front of him. "I meant what I said. I'll fight you if you try to hurt her, even if all I can accomplish is giving her time to run. But I'm sorry that I thought you really would hurt her."
Angel put his arm around Connor's shoulders and kissed the top of his head. Connor gave Angel a questioning look, and asked, "What was that for?"
Angel shrugged. "For realizing that I wouldn't hurt her? For trying to protect the woman you're involved with? For coming out here to talk to me? Maybe it was just for me. Of all the things I've seen during my time on this earth, in a lot of ways Angelus scares me the most."
Angel surprised Connor by pulling him into a tight hug. So tight it hurt. After a few seconds Angel whispered, "Remember he's not me."
Angel let go abruptly and stood up. He said, "Let's go back and get started on a cage."
Connor nodded and let Angel help him hop back into the lobby.
By midnight it was done. Everyone had worked hard on it, and people were tired. Wo Pang had gone home after finding out it was going to take hours to get preparations ready, and agreed to come back when they called him. Angel walked around the cage and examined it for any weak spots. When he was satisfied that it would actually hold him he nodded and said, "Good. I think we're ready."
Wesley said, "I'll call Wo Pang."
Angel shook his head. "We're all tired. Let's get some rest, and do it first thing in the morning."
Wesley shook his head. "We need to do it now. The longer the sun is gone, the more people die."
Angel looked at the cage for a few seconds. Then he said, "I guess it's selfish of me, but I need to be sure that the people I love are safe first. If you are going to meet Angelus, I want you all well rested and at the top of your game. You're gonna need to be. So we wait for morning."
It was obvious that Wesley didn't agree, but before he could say anything Gunn turned towards the stars and pulled Fred with him as he said, "I'm ready for some sleep. Night everyone."
Fred gave Wesley an apologetic look and waved at everyone else while saying, "Sleep good."
Wesley got out his cell phone and asked Wo Pang to arrive at the hotel the next morning at nine.
Everyone headed towards the stairs and to bed. Angel helped Connor get upstairs and settled, and then brought him another painkiller. An hour after everyone had gone to bed; Julie came in and climbed in bed with Connor. He opened his eyes long enough to see who it was, put an arm around her, and then fell back to sleep.
The next morning at breakfast Angel checked Connor's ankle, and they both thought it should be healed by the end of the day if Connor stayed off it. After breakfast Angel pulled Gunn aside and said, "When I'm Angelus, especially if something goes wrong with our plan, I….. I want you to look after Connor."
Gunn nodded and said, "You got it."
"And if something really goes wrong I want you to make sure he gets that GED."
"You don't even have to ask man. I'm down with the whole Connor plan, and I think he's mature enough now to let me be there for him if you're not."
Angel smiled and said, "Let's find out."
Angel walked over to where Connor and Julie were sitting at the table. Angel said, "Can I talk to you for a minute?"
Connor nodded and got up. He used the makeshift crutch that Wesley had made for him to follow Angel out to the lobby. Once they were alone Angel said, "I don't want you to be there. I don't want you to watch, and have the chance to talk with Angelus. But at the same time I need you to be there in case something goes wrong, you're the only one who even has a chance at fighting me. You can't trust him, and most things he tells you will be lies, but he hides his lies in just enough truth that they seem real."
Connor put a hand on Angel's shoulder and said seriously, "I understand."
Angel didn't think Connor actually did, but he appreciated that he was trying. Angel said, "And one more thing."
Connor nodded. Angel said, "If things go wrong…. I'm going to need you to kill me."
Connor let go of Angel and his mind raced. He had been raised to kill Angelus. It had been the highest attainable goal for most of his life. He looked at Angel and slowly nodded. Angel said, "I know it's a hard thing to ask, but maybe it will be easier since you know it's what I would want."
Connor shook his head. "Didn't make it easier to cut off Father's head."
"What?"
Connor thought about it and realized he hadn't told Angel about that. He looked off into the distance said, "When I thought you had killed Holtz, I wasn't sure if you had changed him or not. He taught me what to do, and I knew it was what he wanted me to do in that situation. But….. That didn't make it easy….. And as it turned out it was unnecessary…."
Angel gave Connor a hug and whispered, "I'm sorry."
Connor said, "Holtz knew what I would do. It was expected. I know that sometimes I…. Well I don't listen to you like you want me to, and sometimes I do things that might be reckless. But I can and will do what needs to be done if Angelus is on the loose and hurting people. You can count on me for that."
Angel let him go and looked into his eyes when he said, "I know I can Connor. Thank you."
Angel looked around and saw Gunn across the lobby. He called him, and Gunn came over. Angel said, "I want both of you to know that if something happens to me, I expect Connor to still get his GED."
Angel looked at Connor and said, "When I'm out of commission Wesley will be in charge of what goes on with the business, but Gunn is in charge of you."
Connor glared and said, "What! You just said you could count on me, and that you wanted me to be responsible for killing you if you got loose. What the hell do you mean Gunn is in charge of me?"
Angel said, "I mean I expect you to listen to him and do what he tells you to do, especially when it comes to studying, until your year is up. And if you do something wrong while I'm not myself, it will be up to Gunn to decide on an appropriate punishment."
Connor gave his dad a familiar look of hate. "Whatever Dad. Either you can count on me, which makes me an adult, or you can't and I'm a child. Which way is it?"
Angel said, "It's both. I expect to be able to count on you, but at the same time I know you're still relatively new to this place, and you don't always know what the right thing to do is. I promised you a year, and that's what it will be whether I'm here or not. I know you're stronger then Gunn and that it would be very difficult for him to make you do something that you didn't want to do. In fact you could be completely out of control without me around, but I'm telling you now that you're not going to be."
Connor glared daggers at his father and Gunn put a hand on Connor's shoulder to get his attention. Gunn said, "What's the problem? It's not going to be that much different from the way things are now. This whole thing should be over by the end of the day, so let's not even worry about it right now. Unless you're planning on going off to do something stupid the second Angel is in the cage, we shouldn't have any issues."
Connor thought about it for a second and slowly nodded. He said, "I guess you're right."
Gunn teased, "That's right I am. Now you just keep saying that for the rest of the day."
Connor rolled his eyes. Then everyone in the room turned to look at the front door of the hotel because Wo Pang had arrived.
Fifteen minutes later everyone was down in the basement, and Angel had been strapped to a table inside the cage. Angel was on his back with his arms and legs strapped to the table, along with two straps around his chest. Wo Pang went in and closed the cage door behind him. Wesley put on the lock, and everyone watched while Wo Pang started his ritual.
Wo Pang went to stand by Angel's head. He put a hand over Angel's forehead with his thumb and index finger touching both of Angel's temples. Wo Pang started chanting and Angel closed his eyes. When Angel's eyes were closed, Wo Pang's eyes turned red, and his chanting got louder. Then Wo Pang leaned down to Angel's ear and said, "Say good night."
Angel opened his eyes in time to see Wo Pang reach under his cloak to grab a decorative dagger. Wo Pang raised the dagger up over his head and started to plunge it down towards Angel's neck. Angel used every ounce of strength he had to break the strap that was holding down his right arm. He grabbed Wo Pang's wrist and halted the knife just as it touched his skin. Angel called out, "A little help here!"
Wesley was working on the lock and yelled, "What are you doing?"
Wo Pang kept trying to push the dagger down and said, "Did you really think I would go against The Awakened One to help you? Fools!"
Wesley soon had the lock undone and ran in. He pushed Wo Pang as hard as he could, and Wo Pang stumbled back into the bars. Wesley went after him punching and kicking while trying to avoid the dagger. Angel used his free arm to unstrap his other arm, and Connor had arrived to undo his legs. Wo Pang had maneuvered himself out of the cage and was now being surrounded by everyone else in the room. Angel walked over to Wo Pang and said, "Tell me what The Beast's plan is, and I might let you go."
Wo Pang raised his dagger, and stabbed himself in the heart. Everyone looked on as Wo Pang fell and died. Angel said, "Or not."
Connor said, "What a waste of time! We took all that time to build this cage for nothing, and I'm sure the vampires are out on the streets by now."
Angel sighed and nodded. "You're right."
Wesley sighed also and said, "I'm sorry Angel. I suppose it wasn't the best thought out plan I've ever had."
Angel patted Wesley's shoulder and said, "It's okay Wes. I agreed with you on this one too. Let's see if he has anything on him that will give us some information on the Beast or what his plan is."
Gunn started to search Wo Pang, and as soon as he pulled the cloak away from Wo Pang's head Gunn said, "I found a lot of something on him."
Gunn continued to unwrap Wo Pang and found that the man's entire body was covered with tattoos in some writing he couldn't read. Wesley got down to look too. After a few seconds Angel said, "Can you read it?"
Wesley nodded and said, "It's Chinese. Let's get him up on the table, and get some more light in here, and I'll see what it says."
It took close to half an hour to get all of the body read. When Wesley had read it all and taken some notes about it he turned to the waiting group. He said, "Well Wo Pang was definitely an acolyte of the Beast. Most of the writings on him are about the history of the Kun-Sun-Dai."
Fred said, "No wonder we couldn't find anything about the Beast. These people are walking around with it on their skin."
Wesley nodded in agreement. Angel said, "Anything that will help us?"
Wesley got his notes and said, "Yes there is a long passage about an opposing group from the third century called the Bosh M'ad. They apparently created something called the 'Tooth of Light'."
Gunn looked confused and said, "Why a tooth?"
"I doubt it's a literal tooth. My guess would be that it is some kind of dagger or weapon."
Connor said, "Does it say where it is, or how we can get it?"
Wesley shook his head. "Unfortunately no."
Angel said, "Well it's a start. Now that we know more of what we're looking for, Wes and Fred can try to find information about the Bosh M'ad. Maybe that will lead us to the location of this weapon."
Fred was about to ask Wesley which books he wanted to start with, but she heard a noise on the stairs. Everyone in the room turned to look towards the top of the stairs. They all saw a pair of female shoes coming down the stairs. Then a familiar voice said, "Hello? Anyone home?"
Angel felt his emotions kick into high gear and he whispered, "Cordelia?"
Cordelia came into full view and stopped half way down the stairs. She looked around at everyone and asked, "What are you all doing in the basement?"
No one answered for a few seconds. Then Angel quickly walked half way up the stairs to meet her and said, "Cordelia? Is it really you?"
"Well, Duh. Who else would it be?"
"But you were in a higher plane. I saw you there. How did you get back?"
"I did everything I needed to do there, and asked to come home."
Angel felt a large smile spreading across his face. He said, "Just like that?"
Cordelia smiled back and said, "Well that and the whole 'watching you get your ass kicked by the Beast' made me think it was the right time."
Angel laughed and pulled Cordelia into a hug. Cordelia hugged him back for a few seconds and then pulled away. She said, "I missed you. I missed all of you."
Fred went up the stairs and gave Cordelia a hug too while Angel stepped aside. Fred said, "I'm so happy you're back."
"Thanks Fred. Me too."
Wesley went next and as he hugged her he asked, "How do you know about the Beast?"
"I saw everything you guys did while I was up there."
Wesley said, "Fascinating. Were you able to see anyone you wanted, or just those you had relationships with when you were on Earth?"
"Just the people I already knew."
Gunn came next to give her a hug and said, "You're a site for sore eyes Cordy. We missed you."
"Thanks Gunn. Trust me I can say the same."
Lorne came up to her and said, "Hi sweetie."
She gave him a tight hug and said, "You're looking fab as usual."
She let him go and looked at the only two people left in the basement. Cordelia walked down the stairs and put her hand out to shake with Julie. She said, "Hi there, I'm Cordelia. It's nice to meet you."
Julie seemed confused but put out her hand too as she said, "You're the Cordelia that Connor told me about? The one who disappeared the same night he sunk Angel in the ocean?"
Cordelia nodded and said, "That's right."
Cordelia let go of Julie's hand and turned to Connor. Connor had turned a little red remembering that night, but before he could say much Cordelia pulled him into a big hug. He was surprised and a little caught off guard. A few seconds later he awkwardly hugged her back for a fast second and then let go. Cordelia let go and gave him a scrutinizing look. She said, "I've been watching you too."
Connor wasn't sure what to think of that, but found his face was getting even redder. Cordelia said, "You've made life pretty hard on your dad over the past few months, but I can see improvement in you every day. And now that I'm back, I have a feeling things can only get better."
Connor didn't know what to say and just stared at the floor. Cordelia turned to the group on the stairs and said, "So are we going to hang out here with the dead guy, or do you want me to show you where the Tooth of Light is?"
Angel said, "You know where it is?"
"Yeah, the visions Doyle was so sweet to give me seem to be permanent. I had them up there too."
Wesley said, "Well today is just full of remarkable surprises. Please lead the way."
Cordelia went up the stairs and everyone followed her to the lobby. Cordelia looked to Fred and said, "Could you find me some kind of blue prints of the sewer system under downtown LA on the internet?"
Angel said, "I can do better than that. Since I use them so much, I had copies made from the library a long time ago. Hold on, and I'll go get them."
Cordelia nodded and Angel went to his office. Gunn said, "What are the chances that this tooth would be in LA?"
Cordelia said, "It's not."
Wesley asked, "Then why the blue prints?"
"The tooth is actually a sword, and it's between dimensions. We can reach it from LA, but we could reach it from at least one hundred other places on the globe too."
"I see. That is a clever way to hide it from the Beast, but also have it accessible when he was around to create havoc."
Angel came out of his office with the blueprints. Cordelia spread them out on the counter and looked through them until she found the one she was looking for. She pointed to it and said, "Here. In this area there is crack in one of the tunnel walls. If you make it just a little bigger so that you can get through it, you'll find a pathway to the sword."
Angel said, "Great. I can be there in half an hour, and with all the demons probably topside, it should be hassle free. Gunn, Wes, let's go."
Connor said, "Hey! What about me?"
Angel said, "You stay off your ankle, take another painkiller, and study with Fred and Lorne."
Connor pouted but didn't argue. Angel, Wesley, and Gunn started for the sewer entrance, and Cordelia followed. Once they got to the hatch Angel said, "What are you doing?"
Cordelia gave him a look and said, "Coming with you."
Angel shook his head. "You just got back. You should rest."
Cordelia shook her head. "I spent the past few months resting. I'm ready for some action."
"But you….. you just got back and,….. I don't want you to get hurt, or go away again."
Cordelia put a hand on his face and said, "Angel, don't worry so much. It's gonna be fine."
She kissed his cheek and went through the hatch as she said, "And you can't stop me anyway."
Gunn smirked and followed Cordelia. Wesley gave Angel's shoulder a companionable squeeze and followed also. Angel shook his head and muttered, "It's Cordy all right."
Soon they were all walking and talking. Cordelia talked most of the way about the things she had done during her stay in the higher plane, and answered Wesley's multitude of questions.
They arrived at the hole in the tunnel wall half an hour later, and Angel inspected it. He said, "The tunnel walls are made of thick metal, but it's been rusted around the hole so it's weak."
He told everyone to stand back and used his hands to pull on the metal. He didn't have much trouble bending it enough to let all of them through. Once they were on the other side of the tunnel, Wesley got out a couple of flashlights and handed one to Angel. They all started down the new tunnel and Angel took the lead. They walked for a little ways, and then came to an area where the tunnel got a bit wider. It opened up into a small room, with the tunnel continuing at the far end of the room. Angel suddenly stopped. Cordelia looked around and asked, "What?"
"Something doesn't feel right."
He looked around some more but didn't see anything amiss. He took a cautious step forward and got three small wooden arrows stuck in his abdomen. He looked down and said, "It would be wood wouldn't it."
Wesley said, "It's booby trapped."
Angel pulled the arrows out and tossed them on the floor. Gunn said, "What tripped it? I don't see any wires or anything."
Angel looked and knelt down. He felt the floor where he had stepped. He said, "The floor is rigged. Kind of like land minds I would assume, except things shoot at you instead of blowing you up."
Cordelia said sarcastically, "Nice."
Angel said, "You and Gunn should head back."
"Yeah, nice try. You go first, but cover up your heart with your hand, just in case, and the rest of us will follow in your foot steps… literally."
Angel looked over at Wesley and Gunn. Both of them gave him a nod. He sighed, covered up his heart with his hand, and took a step forward. It was slow going, and once Cordelia almost fell over, but Wesley steadied her in time. They got to the other side of the room with only six other arrows in Angel's legs and arms.
Angel pulled the last of the arrows out and said, "Damn arrows." as he headed further into the tunnel. A few feet later the cave split into two directions.
Gunn asked, "Which way?"
Angel looked to Cordelia who shrugged not knowing the answer. Angel said, "We'll split up. You and Wes go that way, Cordy and I will go this way."
Wesley nodded and headed to the left with Gunn following. Cordelia followed Angel. Soon they came to a second chamber in the tunnel. This one was full of strings with little bells on them going from the ceiling all the way to the floor. Angel reached inside and tapped one of the strings and then pulled his hand back. The walls of the chamber moved in towards each other about a foot. Cordelia said, "Trip the strings and become a pancake."
Angel nodded in agreement and said, "You first. I'll follow, and if it gets close, I'll try to push you far enough to get out of the way of the walls."
Cordelia nodded and headed into the chamber trying to avoid all of the many strings hanging down. She hit one accidentally with the back of her head, and then became very still as the walls moved another foot towards her. By the time they were half way across the room Cordelia had hit the strings two more times, and Angel had hit them once. The walls were getting close, and Angel said, "My guess is two more chances to screw up, and then it's pancake time."
Cordelia didn't nod, but she did agree. She took a few more very careful steps and hit another string. They both stood still while the walls moved towards them. Angel looked at the distance they had left to go, and noticed how slowly the walls were moving. He made a decision, and moved so fast that Cordelia didn't know exactly what was going on until it was over. She found herself flat on top of Angel who was lying on the ground just outside of the chamber. She looked back to see the walls squash together and then slowly open all the way back up.
Cordelia looked down at Angel and said, "Didn't trust me?"
Angel smiled and said, "I thought this would be more fun."
"Hmm…. I think you may be right."
Angel got serious and said; "I really missed you Cordy."
She leaned down and kissed him on the mouth. He kissed her back eagerly. She paused and said, "I missed you too Angel."
He knew there was chaos outside. He knew the Beast was on the loose and it was up to his team to stop it. But he couldn't stop himself from asking. "What were you coming to tell me that night?"
Cordelia said, "I was going to tell you that I loved you."
Angel almost couldn't believe she was saying it. He said, "And now?"
Cordelia smiled at him. She said, "We'll talk about that after you kill the Beast."
She kissed him briefly on the mouth and got herself up. He was somewhat satisfied with that answer and got up himself. He took the lead again, and soon came to another chamber that was different then the others. This one was bigger, and there were no tunnels leading out of it, except for the way they had just come. In the center of the room was a large round stone structure that looked somewhat like a large tree stump. Above that was a large ball of swirling light. Cordelia said, "That's it."
Angel nodded and went up to it. "Do you know how I get it?"
She shook her head no. Angel reached his hand into the ball of light, and after a few seconds of feeling around, he felt something metal that fit nicely in his hand. He grabbed it and pulled it out. He was holding a long silver sword with a gold handle. Cordelia said, "It's pretty."
Angel nodded and said, "Okay we have it, so let's go find the…"
Angel stopped talking when he felt the ground start to shake. Cordelia looked around along with him and they could see small pieces of the ceiling starting to fall. He yelled, "Run!"
She followed him back through the tunnel. Angel tried the strings again before going through, but nothing happened to the walls. He said, "It's disabled. Come on."
They ran and soon met up with Gunn and Wesley. They all started running towards the hole in the sewer wall together. They all made it without getting hit by any of the large chunks of tunnel that were falling down around them. Once they were back in the sewer tunnel Gunn pointed to the sword Angel held and said, "Is that it?"
Angel nodded. Cordelia said, "Was there anything in your tunnel?"
Wesley said, "It was a dead end."
Gunn corrected him. "A booby trapped dead end."
Cordelia looked down at Gunn's leg and saw a spreading blood stain on the upper right thigh of his jeans. She said, "Are you gonna be okay to walk back?"
Gunn nodded and then took off his shirt. He tied the long sleeved tee shirt around the leg to put some pressure on the wound. "It was a little metal star shaped thing that got me, but it wasn't very big. I'll be fine till we get back."
Angel nodded and said, "Let's go."