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Thank you to everyone who has favorited, followed or reviewed this fic so far.
Kara-X: Thanks for the review. I might.
Spiritree0513: Thanks for the review. Earth-1 quintuple 9 does roll off the tongue well, though Earth-199999 can roll off my tongue to be honest.
Chapter 8- Catching up
Earth-92, Los Angeles, Hyperion Hotel
Angel groaned as he woke up on the bed, seeing Buffy sitting on a chair in front of him. He sat up as Buffy asked. "You okay?"
"Heal fast, remember?" Angel asked as he gave a dry chuckle and got up.
"Yeah, faster than even Slayers", Buffy said as she stood up too.
He then walked to Buffy. "Buffy I-"
"Don't Angel!" Buffy raised her hand. "I understand why you did what you did. Wolfram and Hart needed to be taken down, but it was just you, Spike, Gunn and a depowered Illyria. You put the entire LA in danger with your actions, people were gonna die."
Angel sighed, looking down, knowing she was right. "I know, I got reckless, and hotheaded."
"And I asked the others about what you did", Buffy said as Angel looked at her. "You gave up a baby to the Fell Brethren, ruined the reputation of an innocent man and had him declared a pedophile for Senator Bitch, and killed your own friend. Didn't pretend, actually killed."
Angel wanted to defend himself, but he just couldn't, because Buffy was right.
"I know you wanted to get into the Circle, but I think you went a bit too far", Buffy said, not in a judgmental tone but a concerned one. "How could you do all this?"
Angel's lip then quivered, as a tear fell out of his eye, to Buffy's shock.
"Because I am lost without her", Angel said, close to breaking down.
"Who?" Buffy asked.
"Cordelia!" Angel said as Buffy looked at him in sympathy, now seeing for herself how he was actually coping with her loss. "She came back for a day, and put me on the right path, but then she was gone, just like that! No warning, no signs, nothing! I just turn around and she isn't there! And then I get a vision, and I think this is what she wanted of me! And so I do what I think should be done! And I go too far, but I am thinking- "The world isn't black and white! It's in shades of grey! Anything for the greater good, right?" I even signed away the Shanshu, my only shot at redemption! Because I think I will die at the end of all this too! But we get saved then, and now all I can do is hate myself for everything I did!"
Angel was almost in tears, which was rare, as Buffy asked in an even and concerned tone. "Angel, what happened?"
Two months ago, Wolfram and Hart
Cordelia walked into Angel's office as he put on his blazer.
"So..." She walked to Angel. "you feel good?"
"I do. I just...I kind of feel bad about it", Angel said.
"My God, you are a piece of work", Cordelia said with a smile.
"I just don't feel like I deserve..." He shrugged. "I mean, all I did was beat up a tiny Texan. It's not like I helped anyone." He sat on the chair arm.
"Sure you did", Cordelia raised her eyebrows.
"Who?" Angel asked.
"Boy, I really do fall for the dumb ones", Cordelia quipped. "You know how you're always trying to save, oh, every single person in the world? Did it ever occur to you, you were one of them?"
"No, it never did", Angel said.
"Well, you made the list, gorgeous", Cordelia assured. "And you needed some help."
"And you were the one that helped me", Angel smiled in realization.
"I did my part", she sat beside Angel as he laughed.
Angel said. "Lindsey wasted a lot of energy trying to make me doubt myself. I know it's not even close to over, but I do feel like I can do this." He looked at her. "Wolfram & Hart, whatever's coming, I feel like we can beat it."
"I know", Cordelia smiled.
"You do?" Angel asked.
"I always did", Cordelia told him. "I…I just needed you to know it too."
"So all that stuff about deals with the Devil-"
"Is God's honest truth", she said as he chuckled and she looked at him. "But you're bigger than that. You'll win this in the end." He looked at her as she smiled.
She then looked down, her expression turning grim, and then she got up, walking a few steps forward. "I….uh…..just wish I could be there to see it."
She chuckled as Angel got up. "What do you mean?" She turned back as he asked. "You're not…"
"I can't stay", Cordelia shook her head. "This isn't me anymore."
Angel was puzzled as Cordelia said. "You can say goodbye to the gang for me, explain everything, once you understand."
Angel walked to her. "That's gonna be never. I…..I need you here."
"Don't make this hard, Angel", she begged. "I'm just on a different road. And this is my off the ramp."
As Angel listened she said. "The Powers That Be owed me one and I didn't waste it. I got my guy back on track."
She gave a bittersweet smile as he said. "Cordy, this is-"
She touched his face. "We take what we can get, champ. And we do our best with it."
Her expression turned grim before she controlled herself and gave him a wink. "I'll be seeing you."
She walked off before stopping. "Oh! What the hell?"
She turned back and walked to Angel whose back was turned now. "One for the road?"
He turned to her as she kissed him passionately and lovingly on the lips, and he kissed back with equal passion and love.
The telephone then rang as they stopped and Angel said. "Um, I don't need to get that."
Cordelia stroked his face, adjusted his collar, and controlling herself said. "That…you have to get."
Their noses touched as she sniffled and Angel turned to the phone, walking to it.
"Oh!" Cordelia smiled and said. "And you're welcome."
Angel picked up the phone. "Hello."
Hearing the person he said. "Yes I know she's-"
He froze, shocked on hearing that. "No, that's impossible she's standing right-"
He turned around and there was no one there. Not a single soul. He was alone in the office.
Angel felt his still heat shatter into a million pieces as he lowered the receiver, the harsh reality hitting him. Cordelia had never woken up from her mystical coma. The Powers That Be had allowed her to send an Astral projection of herself to help him one last time.
He tried to say something but couldn't and with pained chokes, put the receiver to his ear again. "I'm sorry." He listened and said. "Yeah." Swallowing a lump, Angel asked. "So when did she die?"
Angel then asked. "Did she um…." He listened and said sadly. "She never did wake up."
He nodded and said to the person. "I see."
He put the receiver back down and stared at the spot where had Cordelia had stood.
"Thank you."
Now
Angel finished telling Buffy what had happened, and she was in tears herself. She and Cordelia had not been on good terms in the start, but she had seen Cordelia turning into a better person slowly in the second and third years they had known each other, and she and Willow were even phone friends, which said a lot since they hated each other's guts in high school.
And Angel loved her. She was the love of his life. That said something too.
"I'm sorry", Buffy said, choking up as she hugged the teary-eyed Ange to provide some comfort. "I'm sorry."
Angel hugged her, crying a little into her shoulder, glad she was here as a friend to comfort him.
After two minutes, they parted, both wiping their tears as Angel said. "Thank you."
"No problem", Buffy said, her throat a bit sore. "I know you lost your way without her, but you can still come back on it. Make her proud, be the man she loved."
"I know", Angel nodded.
"Now that's a champ", Buffy said with a smile.
"So what do we got?" Angel asked.
"Well, the first wave is gone, though I know the Senior Partners are gonna send more at us, and we lost some Slayers", Buffy said and sighed. "And we have a Dragon who thinks his name is Cordelia now."
Both chuckled as Angel said. "I actually like that."
Outside, the others were all sitting, trying to make conversation.
"I know you and Kennedy broke up, but I'm sorry Will", Xander said to her in comfort. "You gonna be okay?"
"Yeah", Willow nodded with a sigh. "I feel sad yes, but I'll be fine."
Xander nodded at her as they hugged before sitting down.
"So, Buffy and that Angel guy have some history or something?" Alex asked randomly.
"Oh they do, but we don't talk about it here", Spike said with a groan.
"Let me break it down for all of you", Willow said then stepped away from the reception counter and pretended to be Buffy.
"Oh - Angel! I know that I'm a Slayer and you a Vampire - and it would be impossible for us to be together - but!"
Everyone but Illyria laughed at the act as then Xander stood up.
"But!"
Willow turned to look at him. Xander walked to her. "My gypsy curse sometimes prevent me from seeing the truth. Oh, Buffy!"
"Yes, Angel?" Willow asked.
"Oh, I love you so much I almost forgot to brood!" Xander said as all watched wide-eyed and laughed.
Willow said. "And just because I sent you to hell that one time doesn't mean that we can't just be friends."
Xander grabbed a hold of Willow's wrist.
"Oh!" Willow gasped.
"Or possibly more", Xander said.
Willow gasped. "Gasp! No! We mustn't."
Xander pulled Willow close.
"Kiss me", Xander said.
"Bite me!" Willow said.
Xander bended Willow back over his arm and pretended to sink his fangs into her neck as no one in the room could stop their laughter.
"So star-crossed lover huh", Tony rolled his eyes. "So melodramatic."
"That is about accurate", Faith chuckled.
"How about you both bite us both?"
They turned, red-faced to see Buffy and Angel standing there, looking amused and annoyed simultaneously.
Gunn looked traumatized as Daisy asked him. "What's the matter?"
"I thought Wes and Cordy were just messing around", Gunn said as Angel chuckled sadly, remembering the time he had walked in when Wes and Cordy had been mimicking himself and Buffy. Things were simpler and they were happier back then.
Buffy then turned to Giles, and he shrank under her gaze. "Giles, why did you not tell me Angel called for help with Fred?"
Giles opened his mouth to speak a few times but nothing came out as Buffy shook her head sadly and asked. "What's the matter with you? You used to be the best man I knew, I looked up to you, respected you. You were my father, you still are!"
Giles started. "Buffy-"
"First you helped Robin in trying to kill Spike behind my back", Buffy reminded.
"Uggghhh, Robin", Faith groaned. Sure he looked attractive and had some charisma but he had jumped from Buffy to her real fast. He clearly had an unhealthy obsession with Slayers due to his mom being one. What she had seen in him, she still couldn't figure out.
"Well, we all remember who ended up almost dying that day", Spike said with a smirk but a glare from Buffy shut him up too as she turned back to Giles.
"And now this?" Buffy asked, grasping Giles by the shoulders. "What has happened to you, Giles? Why are you doing all this?"
"Buffy, I'm sorry", Giles simply said, because he had no other defense for himself.
"Sorry isn't gonna cut it, old man", Spike said.
"I know", Giles sighed as he looked down. All of them would probably forgive him one day, but due to his actions things were never gonna be the same now.
Buffy then turned to Spike, who gulped too as she said. "You and me are gonna have a talk right now."
"Sure", Spike said as they both walked into a room.
"Why do I feel bad for him?" Barry asked.
"Because he's in trouble", Matt said, sensing how angry Buffy was due to her fast heartbeat.
"Everyone here seems to have unresolved business with each other", Legolas simply commented.
"Right you are, lad", Gimli said.
"Where were all of you when we were up against Jasmine?" Angel muttered, awed by how powerful Buffy's new friends were.
He then turned to Matt. "So you're blind and you can fight?"
"Yeah", Matt said. "Have you seen something like that before?"
"Yes I have", Angel said.
"Did chemicals fall on her eyes when she was young?" Matt asked.
"No, she blinded herself at 21 to be trained by monks in how to see from the heart instead of the eyes", Angel said.
"Sad life", Luke shook his head.
"But she was good", Angel said.
"Matthew is better", Elektra said to Angel as Matt smirked.
"Why?" Buffy asked as Spike paled under her gaze. "Why didn't you tell me?"
"Because you couldn't have a better exit than that", Spike reminded her of his sacrifice. "I wanted you to remember me as that guy."
"A guy who is no more", Buffy added as Spike felt some guilt. "Sure you died a hero, but to me, you were dead. I missed you, you know? A lot."
"You did?" Spike asked hopefully.
"Don't change the topic", Buffy said. "I know you love me, but why didn't you tell me?"
"Because I still couldn't forgive myself for what I did to you", Spike said as Buffy's eyes widened, realizing what he was talking about. "Even Angelus didn't try anything like that."
"Spike", Buffy said. "You were soulless at that point, a soulless Demon who tried to be good, but the Demon in him still won. I don't blame Angel for what Angelus did, I am not going to blame you for what you did without a soul."
Spike simply looked at her with some guilt as well as hope as she said. "But we're gonna need some time."
"Fair enough", Spike nodded as they walked out together.
"Hey", Alex said to Dawn as she turned to look at him. "I heard Xander blurt you did some magic to distract Dracula of all people?"
"Yeah, it was cool", Dawn said.
"And here I thought you were an average Joe in the team", Alex said as she chuckled. "Guess that's only Xander."
"He helps too", Dawn said, remembering his speech to her. "Though I still am kind of an average Joe in the team. I do some research, but Giles and Willow do it much better, I fight decently, but its Buffy's and Faith's thing at the end of the day, I can do some magic, but Willow is the master of it, and even Xander's better at being an average Joe than I am, and when he does something relevant, it's very relevant."
"I am an average Joe in my team too, I am only good for some research and plan making", Alex told her. "The others all have superpowers of different kind, I don't. I just got a gun."
"I hate guns", Dawn said.
"Guess I shouldn't have said that then", Alex said, making them both chuckle.
"Even if you don't have the power, you are important", Dawn said to him. "Sure, they get more and more powerful. You have a Slayer, a witch with a powerful staff, a girl who glows and flies, a girl who has a telepathic connection with a Dinosaur, and a guy who has advanced technological weapons. Sure you have none of that, but you hold them together, I doubt they could do much without you."
Alex nodded in appreciation. "So I'm special too, thanks."
"You're not special", Dawn said to him. "You're extraordinary."
Alex smiled again in appreciation as she smiled back at him.
That was when there was a knock on the door and Angel walked out, opening the door to see Connor standing there, with Gwen Raiden and Nina Ash.
"Connor?" Angel asked, shocked to see his son was still here. "Why are you here?"
"When those Demons attacked, this city went to Hell", Connor said. "Not literally of course."
"What happened?" Angel asked him.
"Some Demon crime bosses here and there are now rising, trying to take over different parts of the city", Connor groaned. "My family left."
"They didn't take you?" Angel asked in surprise.
"No! I forced them to leave without me, pretty much pushed them into the car", Connor said. "I'm not leaving you to fight in this alone."
Angel felt a swell of pride and happiness on hearing that, these were the words he always wanted to hear from Connor.
Connor now knew his father had done and sacrificed a lot for him. He had 3 fathers now, Connor thought to himself. His real father Angel, who would do anything for him and never run from a fight, he would face it head-on. Then there was Holtz, but he was his kidnapper who had raised him and poisoned him against his real father, and while Holtz did love him, he cared more about using him to hurt Angel, and he would not run from a fight either, but he would try to find a way to take down his enemies in a secretive and manipulative manner. Then there was his third father Laurence Reilly, who was a kind and caring person and loved him too, but he would run from a fight, and there was nothing wrong with that. He was a civilian, not everyone was meant to be a brave, sacrificing hero. So Connor was glad he had gotten them out.
Angel then looked at his other two companions. "Gwen."
"Angel", Gwen Raiden nodded at him before looking behind him at Gunn, giving him a wave and wink. "Hey Gunn!"
"Gwen", Gunn said as he stood up and walked to her, about to hug her, then he stopped. "You have L.I.S.A., right?"
"Yeah, I'll take it out for fights", Raiden said, and with that, they hugged.
"Hey, my name is Gwen too", Gwen Stacy called out from where she was standing.
"Can you control electricity?" Raiden asked her.
"Nope, I shoot webs and stick to walls", Gwen said.
"I am the God of Thunder though", Thor popped up.
"Damn!" was all Gwen Raiden could say as all looked at Thor in awe now.
"And I control lightning too", Storm added before asking. "You got your powers from something mystical?"
"No, I was born with them, I'm a mutant", Raiden told them.
"Why weren't you on our world?" Rogue commented.
"I wish I knew", Raiden rolled her eyes.
"I know you", Frank said to Gwen from a corner.
"Really? I don't remember us meeting", Gwen said.
"Because I know the you from my world", Frank said.
"Does she have powers too?" Gwen asked.
"No, she is a single mom with a kid", Frank said.
"Doesn't sound like me", Raiden said.
"But it is", Frank told her.
Angel then greeted the other person with Connor carefully. "Nina."
"Hello Angel", Nina Ash said in an even tone.
"Ex?" Cisco asked Illyria, but she just gave him a look, making him feel creeped out as he walked away from her.
"I think she is", Roy whispered to Cisco, standing next to Oliver, Sara, Nyssa and Slade.
"I miss the island", Slade muttered.
"Me too", Oliver added. "Though not too much."
"So how did you all meet?" Angel asked them.
"We met while trying to protect a bunch of civilians from some Demons", Connor said. "And we met a woman who says she is an old friend of yours. She is parking the car right now."
"Oh!" Angel said before Devil Dinosaur walked to them and Cordelia the Dragon flew down, both sniffing the three newcomers suspiciously.
"Devil, they are friends", Steve told him, making Devil stop as he moved back.
"Feels weird there is another Devil with me around", Matt said, making Elektra chuckle.
"Uhhh, Cordelia, this is my son Connor, and these are my friends Gwen and Nina, you can trust them", Angel assured as Cordelia moved back too.
"So you named your Dragon Cordelia", Connor said, finding it a bit amusing, though hearing her name also made him feel sad and a bit guilty.
That was when a blonde woman came up to them from behind, clearly this friend Connor had mentioned, and Angel immediately recognized her.
"Kate", Angel said as he walked to her.
"Angel", Kate Lockley said as she and Angel hugged like old friends. Sure their relationship had become very strained and she had been a jerk to him, but they had parted on good terms at least.
"When did you come back?" Angel asked her.
"A week ago", Kate said. "And predictably, it all went to Hell."
"I know the feeling", Angel said as he led them all inside, and they looked at all of the Heroes assembled there.
"I am feeling really small and insignificant now", Kate commented.
"Yeah, so many powerful people are here", Raiden agreed. "And we haven't even seen them in action."
"Your name is Connor?" Kara asked him, standing next to Kal as he nodded.
"Yeah, why?" Connor asked her, looking Kara up and down, which she noted.
"We know a Conner too", Kara said.
"He's my brother", Kal told him.
"And did you just check me out?" Kara asked with a mock glare.
"Uhh, sorry", Connor said. "I just have a thing for older women."
"He was lusting for me as well", Illyria said from behind, making Connor blush in embarrassment.
"Oh, he checked me out too", Raiden spoke up, making Connor bury his head in his hands while Gunn gave Connor a look.
"They were supposed to fix that", Angel muttered.
"Oh no issues", Kara assured Connor as he looked back at her. "It wasn't creepy or anything."
"Thanks", Connor said, clearly smitten by her as Kal groaned and walked off to Lois, who chuckled as well.
"Did you lust for me too?" Faith popped up with a smirk, making Connor groan and sigh. "Was it before or after I kicked your ass?"
"If you did, you better be careful, she has a crazy boyfriend now", Xander said to Connor, gesturing to Marc, who really didn't care about the comment Xander made.
"Why don't you zip it, Xan man?" Faith asked with a mock glare, making Xander do the zipper motion.
"Hey, I just noticed, you sound like my cousin", Banner said to Faith.
"Well, your cousin has a nice voice", Faith shrugged to him.
"So I'm guessing these guys you are up against are gonna come again", Connor said, coming back on topic.
"Oh yeah, from what I've heard, the Senior Partners aren't quitters", Steve said to him.
"And you would be right, Captain Rogers."
All looked at the middle of the room, the jaws of Team Angel dropping, while Illyria cocked her head in confusion.
"Wes?" Gunn said in surprise.
Wesley Wyndam-Pryce stood there, looking at all of them.
"Wesley", Buffy muttered, looking him up and down. He looked very, very different from when last she had seen him.
"Not that I am happy to see you, but I heard you died, Wes", Faith said to Wesley as all walked up to him.
"I did", Wesley said. "I have just been sent back for a bit."
"He is not a living person right now", Gandalf noted.
"Yes", Illyria said, tilting her head in curiosity as some emotions appeared in her eyes on seeing Wesley. "You are here, but you are a specter, not a living person."
"Hello Illyria", Wesley said carefully, trying not to startle her. Emotions were new to her, and a wrong move could be disastrous. "It is good to see you again."
"I lied to you", Illyria simply said, as that was the last time they had talked. "It was in vain."
"Thank you very much, Illyria", Wesley said to her. "You did a good thing for me, that's all that matters."
Illyria simply nodded, not knowing what to say.
"Please tell me it was the Powers That Be that sent you back", Angel begged, because the alternative would be much worse, and he didn't want that for his friend.
"No, it was the Senior Partners", Wesley said. "My contract extends beyond my death."
"Oh crap!"
"And they want to make a deal", Wesley told everyone.
"So great Interdimensional powers are the ones who want to make a bargain this time", Strange quipped. "I was waiting for the day."
Same time, unknown location
Amy Madison stood near a spot where the soil was loose, Doctor Victor Von Doom hovering in the air over her, a special kind of jar kept on the loose soil.
Amy looked up at Doom in fear as he snarled. "If you want to survive and have your vengeance from Willow Rosenberg, you shall do as I say."
He then raised his hand as a skinless Warren Mears was pulled telekinetically near him, screaming and crying. "This misogynistic coward whom you love shall suffer much worse than what Dark Willow put him through, and so shall you."
Amy nodded fearfully as Doom looked at Warren in disgust. He had seen many horrible human beings in his life, but Warren was a complete pathetic scumbag, first creating a lovebot because he couldn't get a girlfriend, then ditching it because he got bored by it, without even taking out the batteries, then he tried to be a supervillain with Andrew and Jonathan, and first made a fool of himself until trying to mind-control and rape his ex-girlfriend Katrina, and murdering her when she resisted. It was that act that made him nothing more than a worthless scumbag in Doom's eyes. And he couldn't even end his supposed nemesis' life, he had to kill an innocent woman accidentally instead. He deserved worse than being skinned alive.
What a powerful witch like Amy saw in him, Doom would never know. Seconds after Dark Willow had skinned Warren, Amy had cast a spell to resurrect him, managing to keep him alive and painless even without his skin, which was more than the pathetic scumbag deserved.
He looked down as Amy raised her hands and chanted, the jar shaking as the ground also shook, and Amy screamed, feeling insects crawling within her body as a snake slithered out of her mouth.
Doom then raised his hands too, carelessly dropping Warren down while he chanted something himself and his hands glowed.
Something enchanted flew out of the soil as Doom clapped his hands together while Amy finished her chanting, falling onto her knees, and the enchanted mist became human sized and human shaped.
Doom pointed at the jar and it raised itself right below the mist, now glowing before a barrier was formed around the mist, the jar falling down.
The mist turned into a blonde woman in a black dress, her hair messy as she punched the barrier but it was unaffected. "Who the hell decided to bring me back just to lock me up? Seems like a waste of time, don't you think?"
She then looked at Doom and snarled. "Let me out of this or I will show you what kind of glorious gal you're messing with. Glorious, got it?"
She laughed hysterically as Doom said. "I have separated you from Ben Wilkinson and I shall give you something like you want."
Before she could respond, she and Doom both disappeared, along with the barrier as Amy ran to Warren. "Warren, Warren you okay?"
"Yeah, yeah", Warren nodded with a groan, though they knew they weren't free of Doom yet.
Hell
A giant, dark Demon with tattered wings on either side growled angrily.
Dromos had tried to make Amenadiel's baby son Charlie the new King of Hell, so he could manipulate the boy into being the kind of King he wanted.
But Lucifer Morningstar, Amenadiel, Maze, Chloe Decker and Eve had foiled the plan together and Lucifer had sent him and the other Demons back to Hell using his power. Oh if only he was an Angel or Hell Lord, then he could rule Hell by himself, and have his vengeance. He needed to find a way to end Lucifer before he came back to Hell.
That was when there was a flash of light and Doom appeared there with the blonde woman, still in the barrier.
He then pressed his fist and the barrier was gone as the woman, who was now hovering, lowered herself to the ground.
"This is where I wanted to bring you, Glorificus", Doom told her.
"It's Glory, doofus!" Glory said to him.
"Who the hell are you two?" Dromos asked them with a growl.
"Glory, Dromos", Doom said to them both in a commanding and powerful tone. "I've come to bargain."
So that ends this chapter.
First of all, I'm gonna say, while I understand why Angel did what he did in the final episodes, he still went a bit too far IMO, due to everything Buffy listed in the chapter, and I'm gonna add killing Lindsey too. I do agree Lindsey needed to be offed, but having Lorne do it was unfair to Lorne.
If Oliver had gone this far in Arrow Season 3, then Team Arrow may even have a point, but he didn't so they don't.
Anyway, this was my attempt to explain it. Cordelia is my 4th favorite Buffyverse character and 2nd favorite female Buffyverse character after Willow, and one of my most favorite characters of all time. Her character growth was one of the best on all of TV (other than Angel Season 4), so when she died in 'You're Welcome', I cried, a lot! The scene was a fucking gut punch. Even just thinking of it makes me cry. When I was writing the scene here, I had to stop for a bit and control myself because I cried again. I feel sad whenever anyone dies in Buffyverse, but Cordelia's and Tara's deaths are two I can never get over.
But to me, at the end of the day, Cordelia is just a fictional character. One of my favorite characters of all time, but still, a fictional character. To Angel, she was the woman he loved (not a Bangel shipper, Cangel all the way!), the love of his life. So how would he feel in the same situation? It's got to be infinitely worse than what I feel. Plus, we never really got to see how her death affected him. When Buffy died, he went to a monastery in Sri Lanka, Cordy's death has got to have some effect too.
So I think her death, combined with Fred's later, are what made him go dark again. But now he is back on track. When Buffy had died, Cordelia had advised him to live in her honor. Now that Cordelia has died, Buffy is advising Angel to be the man she loved, so I think it's fitting.
As for Buffy, out of all the partners she had in canon, ensouled Spike is my favorite. I love Angel but he behaved like a creep around her, Riley was quite charming in the beginning but in Season 5 he became too insecure and then he also sexually degraded Buffy before leaving, Emily Dickinson dude was weird, Parker needs to have his nuts be run over by a truck so they are bangers and mash, soulless Spike with her was very toxic obviously, Scott Hope who? But ensouled Spike and Buffy are great IMO, and my 3rd favorite Buffyverse couple behind Tillow and Cangel. Sure there would be baggage, but Buffy and ensouled Spike can work out their issues maturely IMO.
As for 6x19, I'm not gonna say a thing about it because no matter what I say, someone is gonna jump down my throat. All I am gonna say is what Spike did was horrible and disgusting, and there is no defense for it, but since we don't judge Angel for what Angelus did, we shouldn't judge Spike for what soulless Spike did.
I thought Alex Wilder and Dawn could relate a bit, and I am using this to build something up obviously.
And Connor, Gwen Raiden, Nina Ash and Kate Lockley are back. While Angel/Nina was short, I did like it, though they won't get back together here or anything. Gwen Raiden is basically an X-Man existing in the Buffyverse, and as for Connor, I hated him in Season 4 (I felt horrible for him because of his tragic backstory, but I couldn't like him still) but he redeemed himself in Season 5 and 'After The Fall.' And with Kate, I disliked her a lot as well after 1x15 (even though I did feel bad for her, but her blaming Angel for everything got old and annoying way too quick) but I did like her in 'Epiphany' when she and Angel parted on good terms, and she also redeemed herself in 'After The Fall' for me, so I brought her back too.
Raiden mentioning Connor checked her out is a reference to their relationship in 'After The Fall', though it won't happen here because I liked her with Gunn, even if it won't last long, they looked great together.
And Wesley is back because his contract extends beyond his death, just like Lilah Morgan, but he is nothing more than an unwilling servant of the Senior Partners right now.
And yes, Doom is back too, with Amy Madison and Warren Mears, who are working for him out of fear. The follow-up comics confirmed Amy had saved Warren right after Dark Willow murdered him, and they had been in a relationship for quite a bit, so I did the same here. The follow-up comics aren't canon in this series but I will still use some of their plot points for this.
So Doom and Amy have brought Glory back, now separate from Ben so she can be in all her glory (see what I did there?) and Doom is now making a deal with her and Dromos. For Lucifer, this is after they defeated Dromos and saved Charlie but before Lucifer returned to Hell.
Also, Eliza Dushku voiced Jennifer Walters/She-Hulk in some animated Marvel properties, so I gave a reference to that here with Banner's comment.
Plus, a comparison between Daredevil and Vanessa Brewer from Angel 1x21 was warranted.
And come on! We all loved Wesley's and Cordelia's perfect enactment of Bangel, and we needed a repetition for the Multiverse's finest.
Anyway, hope everyone enjoyed and see you all next time with another chapter. Stay safe from the coronavirus ya all!