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Chapter 73- Couplet
"Let's watch this", Buffy sighed as she turned on the recording.
Angel looked down on Connor in the crib as Lorne arrived, Angel saying he remembered Groosalug being taller, as Lorne helped him out of his tux jacket, saying the guy shrank, and Cordelia will pop him into a small drawer once they got home. Angel felt weird she'd taken him home and Lorne wondered if Angel didn't have a problem with it, sniffing his jacket as he smelt Cordelia's perfume. Angel said there had been some magic, literally, they'd been under a spell, so there was nothing between him and Cordelia.
"And what about when you were about to confess? Were you under a spell then too?" Dawn asked Angel.
"Groo showing up the way he did, I think Angel's too hurt and embarrassed now to admit his feelings", Willow told Dawn, sympathy for Angel in her voice.
"I liked him last time, really don't like him now", Dawn said about Groo.
Lorne said there was magic as Angel hung his jacket. Angel said it was good Groo had arrived as Cordelia deserved a champion and now had one. Lorne asked about him and Angel said he'd been a solo act for most of his un-life and when he wasn't, it didn't turn out well so he didn't like being alone. Angel hung up the jacket inside the closet as Lorne told him to have it his own way. Angel closed the closet door before opening it again a moment later. Angel reached in, took out the jacket on its hanger and sniffed at it for just a moment before hanging it back up and closing the door as he turned away.
"Is there any way he can be with someone and it turns out well?" Xander asked.
"Well, I've been trying to look for ways to remove that happiness clause", Willow told Xander, surprising everyone. "I mean, he's our friend, and he deserves happiness, and we don't want another incident, do we?"
"Yeah, you're right, what did you find?" Buffy asked Willow.
"So far, nothing concrete, but I'll keep looking", Willow told them all.
"Well, you have me now too", Tara reminded her and she nodded with a smile.
Cordelia changed out of her evening dress, noting Groo had been deposed as Groo said it had ended with a charismatic leader doing the Dance of Revolution.
"Must be that Numfar guy", Buffy said, and then all laughed as they remembered his dancing.
"So dancing makes you a leader in Pylea now, I am so glad I do not live there", Giles commented.
Cordelia came out of her bedroom wearing a red sweater and jeans, asking Groo if he missed it, but his heart wasn't in it as it had left with Cordelia. The two then kissed before Groo suddenly turned into an ugly, spiny, black monster, surprising Cordelia who pulled back.
"Did this Dimension unleash a monster inside of him now?" Xander asked randomly.
"No, it doesn't look like that", Buffy said.
"I think a vision got mixed up in real life", Willow told them all, and they realized that was true.
Angel arrived at the lobby, carrying Connor as he and Wesley greeted each other. They talked about Cordelia a little before Angel went to put Connor down in the bassinet, Wesley behind him, and he was suspicious of his sudden arrival. Angel asked if he was evil, surprising Wesley as Angel said he seemed shorter. Wesley though was talking about Connor, not Groo, since there were still many questions about Connor, and with the Nyazian Prophecies gone, they needed to look elsewhere, and Angel suggested to take on Wolfram and Hart once more.
"Yeah, Wesley is right, Connor's birth still does raise a lot of questions", Tara agreed. "And we don't know the answers to all of them. We didn't know about him."
"Time to find out then", Buffy sighed.
Wesley said there could be other sources, and wanted Angel to know, who wanted to be involved completely, and then Cordelia arrived, putting stuff down on the reception counter. Groo was there too, trying a sword as Angel asked Cordelia to tell Groo to not handle his weapons, but Cordelia said he knew how to do it, and that seemed to be the only thing he'd handle for a while, making Angel realize what she meant as she revealed they couldn't go through with it last night.
"After that? No can do", Xander told the rest.
"Well, good news for Angel, right?" Dawn quipped.
"Yeah, but he can't behave immaturely now", Buffy told her. "Because then she'd be annoyed, and he hates annoying her."
Cordelia then revealed what she'd seen, revealing her visions were life like now without any pain, and this one was a mood killer. Wesley said she should have called one of them, not over the lack of sex but the vision, though she revealed it was rising up later in the day. Wesley asked why they couldn't have sex and she didn't want to lose her 'visionity'. Angel and Wesley first heard it as 'virginity' before Cordelia pronounced more clearly- 'Vision-ity'.
"Now that's a new one", Willow commented.
"Does make sense though, as a word for her", Tara told her.
Cordelia said after her vision, she remembered the com-shuk in Pylea was supposed to transfer her visions to Groo, so it could still happen, Angel agreeing, though Wesley pointed out her recent transformation could have changed that. Angel then kicked the side of Wesley's desk as he moved his foot, saying it was better to be safe than sorry and that Cordelia was doing the right thing.
Angel's behavior brought some chuckles as Buffy said. "Well, she does have a point there. And since they don't pain her anymore, I don't see the point in giving them up."
"I don't think we need to talk about this", Giles groaned and everyone else was amused by his behavior again.
Cordelia walked off, saying she couldn't risk it, then saw Groo swinging his sword and was smitten still, saying they could do other things to relieve the tension, and Angel suggested jogging while Cordelia said they could do the 'com' without the 'shucking'. Angel found it a slippery slope as Cordelia said at least she wouldn't be upsetting the average because no one in this office was getting any.
That made everyone laugh as Dawn said. "They have really sad lives, don't they?"
"They do", Buffy nodded. "And I know it's not Groo's fault but he is not endearing himself to me in any way right now, outside of his muscles."
"Oh yeah, those are great", Dawn said as the two shot each other looks.
"Here we go again", Tara rolled her eyes.
Gunn was watching Fred eat as he said until their kiss last night, he thought she and Wesley had a thing for each other, but she assured him they were just good friends. They talked and rambled a little more, Fred being nervous due to being in a relationship after 5 years in a cave, and Gunn said it was so bright his eyes hurt. They looked into each other's eyes as the waitress dropped the tab on the table. They wondered how to split it when their beepers went off and it was Wesley.
"I think that's him having his revenge", Xander quipped and the rest rolled their eyes.
"Now I'm wondering if Angel will also have any revenge or not", Willow wondered.
Wesley told the rest the Demon had been identified as a Senih'd, and it'd rise in the mid-city area before nightfall. They looked at the illustrations as Wesley said it had to feed so they must take it down before it got a victim. Angel came next to Groo and lifted his toes for a moment before dropping down as Wesley suggested the ways they could all use, and then Groo revealed he knew the creature and had slain many. Wesley asked Groo to go with Angel now.
"Yeah, that is a really bad idea", Buffy said, cringing.
"If only Wesley knew what we know", Willow told her.
"Let's just hope no one does anything immature", Tara suggested.
Angel said it was a bad idea as he was a loner and Groo was bulky so he could slow him down but Wesley said he was an experienced warrior so there wasn't a problem. Cordelia handed a Groo a sword, which was Angel's favorite, and then handed Angel an ax while still looking at Groo. The ax head was small as Angel saw Cordelia kiss Groo's cheek, and then he and Groo went together, Groo saying he'll present the beast's head to his princess as a token, Angel sarcastically saying she'd love that.
"I think there's gonna be no com-shucking after that", Dawn quipped.
"They will have to kill it first", Giles pointed out.
Angel and Groo walked along some dark tunnels as Groo said his princess was unhappy and he feared he was the cause, though Angel assured she was thrilled. Groo wondered what kept her from him as Angel said she was afraid she'd lose something if she got too close. Groo assured he'd give himself to her. Then there was a low growl as Angel found some liquid on the ground, the two realizing it was wounded.
"Well, at least that prevented an awkward conversation", Buffy told the rest.
"This thing has better timing than Groo", Dawn quipped.
Angel and Groo entered what looked like the water treatment plant Wes was talking about. The Senih'd dropped off of some pipes behind them. Angel and Groo turned and attacked the demon together. The Senih'd managed to disarm them both in a bit but they fought, Angel spin kicking it and Groo also fighting till it pushed Angel back. Then it let out a scream and broke through the wall to escape into the sunny park outside. Angel scrambled back out of the sunlight streaming in through the opening.
"Now that is really bad", Willow sighed.
"Sunlight, where he can't go out", Tara muttered. "But Groo can."
"His self-confidence is gonna go down after that", Xander told the rest.
Groo picked up his dropped sword, then held out a hand to help Angel up but he didn't move as screams sounded from outside, and Groo turned to run after the Senih'd. Angel slowly got up and watched as Groo went to rescue the young woman the Senih'd had grabbed. The demon tried to use the woman as a shield against Groo's sword, but Groo managed to knock them apart. Cordelia, Wesley, Fred and Gunn came running over a rise in the park, just in time to see Groo catch the woman in one arm, while knocking the Senih'd down and stabbing it deep into the back of its neck. The demon dissolved into an oily puddle. Wesley complimented Groo as Cordelia hugged him and the people in the park gathered around them, applauding. Wesley reached out to pat Groo on the shoulder, then turned and looked towards the hole in the side of the building. He saw Angel standing in the shadows of it, watching them.
"You were right", Buffy sadly said to Xander. She was happy the woman had been saved, but sad for Angel, since Groo had taken the woman he loved, and was now being praised like this. It was almost like when she'd been jealous of Faith at first.
"Well, his relationship with Cordy aside, he is not bad", Willow told the rest. "I mean, yeah, we're all annoyed he came in between them, but he seems like a nice guy so far."
"Yes, we're being unfair to him by only judging him based on his relationship with Cordelia", Tara agreed with her girlfriend.
"Maybe we should give him a chance, if only for those muscles", Dawn said.
"Now that is not a good reason!" Buffy spoke up as the two glared at each other.
"This sucks", Xander muttered.
At Hyperion- Cordelia, Fred and Gunn watched Groo reenact his fight with the Demon as a woman called Frakes mentioned her plight to Angel, as she believed the woman her husband was cheating on her with was a witch, because they'd been engaged for 8 years. Wesley was talking on the phone while looking outside, and slowly moved backwards till the wall beside him hid Gunn from his view, leaving only Cordelia and Fred in his sights as Angel decided to check the woman out, and so she gave him an online name she'd gotten from the e-mails. She asked them to follow Jerry as it'd lead to her, and Wesley then called Gunn.
"Having your revenge again, aren't you?" Xander asked Wesley.
"Well, at least this is not the most immature kind of it", Willow pointed out to him.
"Still, he's hurting, so behaving a little badly is fine, just as long as he doesn't go out of line", Tara told the rest.
Wesley then asked Gunn to follow Jerry and handed him the e-mails. Then Fred arrived, assuring they won't let him down.
"I think his revenge plan got screwed", Dawn now told the rest.
"Well, the more the merrier", Buffy told her.
Angel and Wesley arrived at the rare books shop, Angel saying Cordy and Groo should just get it done with, then the proprietor arrived, deciding to bring what Wesley had asked as Angel rambled about Cordy and Groo, though Wesley said office romance complicated things. Angel said no one else was having a romance and they fought each other at some point, to which Wesley said it risked the visions and Angel said they could pass to him which wasn't a big deal. Wesley asked if Angel was suggesting Groo replace Cordelia, before realizing he meant Groo was replacing him.
"I get the feeling", Buffy told Angel, really relating now, though unlike her at least Angel was talking about it.
"Don't worry, no one can replace you, you're the Vampire with a soul", Dawn reminded before cringing. "And so was Spike."
"Still, they're different people", Willow pointed out. "He is unique."
Angel turned to face Wesley, saying Groo could do all he could and some things he couldn't, reminding of what had happened in the afternoon, but Wesley assured that Angel was why they were all together as his mission animated them. All contributed but he was unique, and he was like a rare volume, one of a kind. Angel smiled slightly till the proprietor arrived with 3 books, saying he'd 3 of them, and the smile was gone.
"He had to ruin it", Xander muttered.
"Still, not a bad comparison", Tara told the rest.
Cordelia and Groo kissed as she decided to give him a haircut and also remove the animal skins so they could have a new him, and he wondered if the new one would please her more than the old one, and so she put the scissors down, saying she'd never met anyone like him, and he realized with him she'd feel less than what she was.
"That's because you two aren't for each other", Willow said. "She and Angel are."
"If only everyone realizes it sooner", Dawn sighed.
"So, he's gonna get a haircut and remove the animal skins, how will he look?" Buffy wondered.
"Better than this I'm sure", Giles told her.
A tree with roots visible was shown as a car arrived and a man walked out to stand beneath the tree, then Gunn's truck arrived as Fred set up the video camera, and they started talking and laughing before kissing but Fred pulled away due to the work, and they turned to see Jerry waiting under the tree with a red rose. They kissed again before Fred said they shouldn't be having a rendezvous, though Gunn argued they had a right, but she reminded they had to work, and they turned to the tree to see no Jerry.
"Do not let things like these come in the way of work, children", Giles rolled his eyes. He knew for a fact that if Wesley and Fred were a thing, this wouldn't have happened.
There was attraction between Fred and Gunn but they didn't seem compatible really.
"They're gonna be so screwed if they don't find the guy", Xander told the rest.
Wesley decided to translate right away as Angel thanked Wesley for his earlier words, and he assured that another warrior would be a good asset but he and Groosalug were totally different people, but then they saw Groo, his hair short, and now he was dressed in Angel's clothes as Wesley finished they looked exactly alike. Angel muttered Groo was wearing his clothes as Wesley said those were a good fit. Angel then asked where Cordelia was.
Everyone groaned as Buffy said. "Can this guy dial it down a little now?"
"Again, he didn't mean it", Tara reminded Buffy.
"Doesn't mean I have to like what's going on", Buffy sighed.
Cordelia got up from Wesley's chair as Angel arrived, and she didn't think Angel would mind Groo wearing his clothes as they were a perfect fit though Groo was a little taller. Cordelia then asked for Angel's help in something personal, as she could only trust him with it. He led her over to a chair as she finally asked him to help her have sex with Groo. Angel slowly turned his head to look out into the lobby where Groo was standing talking to Wesley. Cordelia grinned at Groo behind Angel's back and waved. Groo waved and smiled back. Angel lifted a hand, wiggled his fingers a little and raised his eyebrows, while trying to smile back.
Everyone now exchanged weird looks.
"What did she even mean by that?" Dawn asked.
"Let's hear her explain before jumping to conclusions", Tara immediately suggested, and no one disagreed.
Cordelia said the visions were just an excuse, and revealed there was a protective potion she could use to prevent losing her visions and then bang, and a woman called Anita was in the business, having the address and money required. Angel asked why she couldn't send him but she said he didn't know this world and she couldn't send him into a Demon brothel alone. She trusted him but wasn't stupid, while no woman would tempt Angel.
"Again, it's not about the sex!" Buffy snapped. "And do you even know what you're doing to him?"
"If she did, would she ask?" Willow pointed out and Buffy conceded, realizing she was overreacting there.
"Why doesn't he just tell her at this point?" Dawn wondered.
"It's just going to mess her up right now, and he doesn't want to be the reason for it", Tara told her.
"Sucks to be him right now", Xander sighed.
Groo arrived at the office, thanking Angel for his help and calling him a true friend as Cordelia laughed.
"I bet he feels like Spike just praised him", Buffy said, and now all could imagine how he was feeling.
Fred and Gunn walked around the tree, wondering where Jerry was and how to explain it to Wesley. His car and rose were still there, and Gunn reminded they had him on camera. So Fred looked at the footage and it had roots come out of the ground, wrap Jerry and pull him to the ground. They realized that couldn't be good when roots shot out of the ground, wrapped around them, and pulled them down as well.
"Bloody hell!" Giles said as all were shocked now.
"Uh-oh, they're in trouble", Willow said.
"Is that tree related to Groo? Both have bad timing", Dawn scoffed.
"Who's gonna save them now?" Xander wondered.
At a mansion, a man was being led away by a 'woman' who had 3 breasts and an oversized smile.
No one made a comment, though they tried their best to erase the 3 breasts from their minds.
Anita then came around a corner with Angel and Groo, liking their outfits as she noted they were together and Groo agreed he and Angel were 2 champions together but Angel corrected they were only here together to get the potion so Groo may 'com-shuck' his princess which wasn't Angel.
"I think awkward and weird aren't the right words to describe this", Buffy said lamely.
"I don't think there are words to describe this", Willow told her.
Anita said the room was enchanted so everything was enhanced there. Anita then led Groo somewhere as Angel followed, and Groo saw a man in dress pants and a shirt manacled to the walls as he greeted them, and Groo tried to free him, but Angel stopped him while the man protested, confusing Groo who thought the man was happy as a slave. Angel then apologized to Anita.
"Great job embarrassing yourself and your 'true friend'", Dawn quipped sarcastically.
"Well, he doesn't understand the customs here", Tara pointed out to Dawn about Groo.
"Again, no words for this", Willow spoke up.
Angel gave Anita the money and her hand was enveloped in a deep blue light as the potion appeared, and she told Groo to have his princess drink it all at once, so he took the bottle while she asked Angel why he was here, when Groo noted that Angel's coat was 'singing', and so he pulled out his phone, talking to Gunn, who was trapped with Fred in a net of roots in some cave. Gunn then explained the situation and Fred also noted that the tree Demon had a DSL connection. There were computer screens and keyboards wrapped in roots as Gunn said it lured lonely people and sucked them for food, and was sucking the life out of Jerry. The gnarly face of the trunk was shown as it growled.
"A tree chatting people online and killing them", Xander commented. "Okay, that is so weird, and something teenage me would have fallen for."
"Don't forget me and Moloch", Willow reminded.
"Yeah, you told me about that", Tara cringed on remembering what Willow had told her about that incident.
"Really hoping this gets over with soon", Buffy sighed.
Angel asked if they'd called Wesley but they didn't want to, so Angel held out the phone for Groo, and later they walked down the sewers, Groo feeling honored they needed his help but Angel said they just included him. Angel then told Groo to be careful as he gave Angel the potion bottle for safekeeping. Angel put it in his pocket but Groo charged with a roar, ignoring Angel's warning about patience as he slashed at the roots, Fred and Gunn calling out to him. Groo let out another battle cry. The face in the trunk roared back. A root shot out and buried itself in the middle of Groo's chest. Groo dropped the sword as he was pulled up beside the now released Jerry, who was lying motionless on the ground.
"This is why patience is required for every battle", Giles said, clearly annoyed by Groo's lack of strategy here.
"Good fighter, terrible tactician", Willow summed up.
"Well, I'm better than him at something", Xander smirked.
Angel arrived, annoyed that his shirt was now ruined. Fred then revealed the thing was made of flesh but there were no vital organs and drew power from its victims. Angel noted Groo straining against the root buried in his chest as Gunn revealed it was getting stronger after tapping into Groo. Angel was annoyed, saying Groo couldn't be that great, so Angel dropped his sword and walked to the face, asking if Groo was better than other men, and was told he was magnificent.
"You shouldn't have said that", Buffy said.
"Now he's pissed", Dawn realized.
"At who though?" Tara wondered. "I think both the tree and Groo."
"Really? - I'd say more like magnificently stupid." Fred and Gunn exchanged another look. "Because him with the beer tap in his chest and me with the, you know, just walking around", Angel walked up to Groo. "And I'm really getting tired of the 'Groosa-worship' thing." He slugged Groo in the face. The root-demon lets out a roar. "Nothing personal, champ. Oh! Everyone makes such a big deal about the Groosalug." He slugged Groo. The root-demon roared. "He's such a champion." Another slug and roar. "He's so rugged." Slug and roar. "He's so emotionally available." Slug, then roar. "Look at him in the daylight." Slug, roar. "But you know what? I'm smarter, and I'm stronger, and I pick out my own clothes!" Angel kicked Groo. The demon roared, withdrawing its tap-root from Groo and buried it in Angel's chest instead.
"Okay, that's not good", Dawn said.
"He is a Vampire", Giles reminded, and now it hit everyone.
"Not the kind of energy that can be drawn", Buffy smirked.
Angel dropped to his knees, saying he wasn't using his heart and was already dead, the Demon realizing he was a Vampire as he moaned about the cold. The root bindings around Fred and Gunn shriveled and dropped away as Gunn grabbed Groo's sword and killed the Demon. Angel asked how Groo was Fred said he was beat up but alive thanks to Angel.
"Well, I think that was the best way to take out his frustration without going too far", Willow shrugged.
"He hit him", Xander pointed out.
"And saved his life too", Tara reminded.
"No idea how to feel about this, he came between Angel and Cordelia, but he's not bad", Buffy told them.
"No good options really", Giles told them all.
"Yup", Dawn nodded. "And his confidence should be back now."
Wesley later talked to Frakes in his office and hung up the phone, telling them she was happy her fiancé had been saved, and then told them to get cleaned up. Fred got up but Wesley wanted a word with Gunn, and then finally talked about him and Fred. Gunn pointed out his wasn't his business as Wesley agreed but he hoped she wouldn't be hurt. Gunn wondered if he was like her brother and Wesley rolled with it, and then told Gunn she'd chosen but had to be taken care of. Gunn assured him she'd be so he was satisfied. Wesley picked up his pen and went back to working on translating the open book in front of him. Gunn watched him for a moment then turns to go. Halfway to the door he turned back and opened his mouth, but closed it again without speaking and left. Wesley looked up.
"Well, that could have gone worse", Xander pointed out the bright side.
"Yeah, this was the most mature way they could have handled it given the circumstances", Tara sighed. "No good way to handle it really."
"This was the least bad way", Willow agreed.
Buttons rained on the floor as the shirt on Groo was ripped open, Cordelia saying she planned to rip it off him later anyway, and when Cordelia asked, Angel held up the slightly dented potion flask. Cordelia noted Groo healed almost as fast as Angel, and then Groo wanted to confess. Cordelia thought something had happened at the brothel but Angel said Groo had been brave and saved the day, but Groo revealed he'd been reckless and Angel had saved them all. Cordelia found it noble that Groo gave away all credit, and then got the flask from Angel before pulling Groo up.
"Angel is the one who gave away the credit, he's your noble guy!" Dawn said to Cordelia.
"She is smitten right now, once that is over, she shall see things more clearly", Giles told the rest.
"How can you tell?" Buffy asked.
"I used to be young once", Giles shrugged. "So these are not alien concepts."
"We get that", Willow assured, remembering his attempts to romance Jenny back in their 2nd year together. She had turned him from the staunch but soft-hearted mentor/librarian into a bumbling romantic boy in love.
God, she still missed Jenny a lot. But she was gone, sadly.
Cordelia hurried with Groo to the Hyperion's doors when Angel stopped her and gave her some money, saying he'd done something for her, and now she had to do something for him- not come around for a while, and go on a vacation with Groo to someplace with sun, and he made her promise, so she agreed finally. She turned to leave before touching the hole in Angel's t-shirt where the tentacle had gone, asking if he needed patching up, but he assured it didn't hurt a bit, so she turned and walked out with Groo while Wesley came out of the office and Angel looked at him before turning to the stairs.
"Why did he send them away?" Dawn asked, confused.
"He couldn't bear to see them together, and he knows Groo isn't a bad guy, so he isn't gonna do any fighting", Buffy told Dawn. "So he did this instead."
"Guess not seeing it will reduce the pain a little", Xander sighed.
"Not by much though", Willow told him.
Lorne lay Connor down in his crib as Angel arrived, thanking him for looking after his son. Lorne asked if he was okay and Angel looked down at Connor, a smile spreading across his face as he said he was. Lorne left as Angel watched Connor while Wesley wrote down 'The Son' in his notepad, and then Angel arrived, noting Wesley was working late who said he'd been startled. Wesley had thought he was alone, and Angel looked at Connor, saying he thought the same. Wesley watched as Angel kissed Connor's cheek and walked back out of the office. Wesley let out a sigh and looked back down at his notepad where he'd written- 'The Father - will kill - The Son.' The screen went black.
Now everyone's jaws dropped as they were horrified once more.
"Did I read that right?" Buffy asked.
"The Father will kill The Son?" Willow asked as now Buffy was horrified, realizing she had read it right.
"I thought I was the only one who read that", Xander said.
"Does that mean- Angel and Connor?" Dawn shuddered. "But he wouldn't!"
"Angelus would, but from what I've been told, he doesn't come around until after one year", Tara noted.
"I think the best way to find out is watch the next recording", Giles suggested.
"Yeah, less panicking, more watching, though future us said they'd watch it with us", Buffy remembered as she forwarded to the next recording. "Now I know why."
Not gonna lie, Groo became likable in this episode, but I'm still angry he messed up Cangel, though I guess it should be directed at Joss, but Groo is the character who came in the way.
Now this is about to become a total clusterfuck *sighs*
Also, this episode becomes much, much sadder when you realize this is the last time Cordelia and Wesley are gonna meet up until 'You're Welcome'.
Hope all enjoyed and see you all next time with another chapter.