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Chapter 104- Inside Out
"Deception's over", Buffy muttered, turning the next recording on.
Cordelia realized her deception was over and dropped the pretense. She faced off with Wesley and Fred who held her at gunpoint, and Lorne, who completed the circle around her. Then she turned her attention to Angel, who looked at her with disdain. "All this time, it was you… wasn't it?" Cordelia sneered. "Took you long enough to figure it out but nice turn with the Lorne-bait. You know, there was a time I would have seen that one coming eons before it ever crossed your tiny little mind." Angel commented. "Because you're so clever." Cordelia boasted. "On a scale of you to me? Pretty damn." Angel pointed out. "Until now." Cordelia asked. "All good things… So what finally tipped off the great detective?" Angel revealed. "Tongue. Slip of." A flashback was shown. As Cordelia told the team of her baby, she called it 'my sweet'.
"Right!" Giles realized. "The Beastmaster used that phrase too when talking to Angelus."
"Ah!" Willow nodded. "So that's what tipped him off."
"Yep, and since then they've been onto her", Summers revealed with a smirk.
"So the fake translations were all lies", Buddy realized.
"Just like Lorne's ritual", Rosenberg added.
Angel told her. ""My sweet." Same phrase the Beastmaster kept using when he was whispering in Angelus's head. Thought it was a bit femme for the booming macho act." Cordelia was in some disbelief. "That's it? I get away with bringing the world down around you and two eentsy words tingle your spider sense?" Wesley pointed out. "What we already knew. What he found out as Angelus. All the circumstantial led to you." Angel shrugged. "Just needed to be sure." Cordelia snarled. "Little late to the table, but I might have a few scraps left." Fred asked. "Why are you doing this, Cordy?" Angel declared. "This thing isn't Cordelia."
"It's not", Dawnster nodded in approval.
"He knows her too well, he knows she'll never do this", Dawn smiled.
"This thing has done enough damage", Tara snarled, still angry at how it was using Cordelia.
Cordelia smiled and shook her head. "Is that what you think, hero?" Angel told her. "She would never hurt her friends like this." Cordelia shrugged. "Or maybe you just don't know me very well."
"He knows Cordy, not you", Buffy sneered.
Angel walked up to Cordelia. "I don't want to know you." Cordelia tried to pull a knife on Angel, but he grabbed her wrist, averting her. With his other hand, he grabbed her neck, choking her. "Where's Cordelia?" Just then, Connor jumped through the glass roof, landing near Angel and Cordelia. In spite of Angel's protests, Connor pushed him into Wesley. Lorne tried to shoot Connor with the tranquilizer gun, but missed. Connor kicked Lorne to the ground. Fred aims her trank gun at Connor, but Connor grabbed her hand, redirecting the dart toward Angel as he tried to stand while he knocked Fred out. He ran off with Cordelia, hand-in-hand as Angel struggled while Cordelia gave him a wicked smirk. "What…are….you…..?" He was knocked out as the Magic 8 Ball rolled to the side, the triangle reading "Ask Again Later".
"What a timing", Xander groaned about the Magic 8 Ball.
"Well, we wanna know now", Buffy said.
"You will by this recording's end", Summers assured, not looking forward to it though, and her face said it.
"That bad?" Willow asked.
"That bad", Maclay confirmed.
Gunn arrived at the lobby, quipping that being near Gwen messed up the equipment which is why he hadn't gotten the message earlier.
"Which equipment is he talking about?" Xander asked out of curiosity.
"Not that one, don't worry", Harris assured as he sighed in relief, and so did Giles, for obvious reasons.
Fred then told him Cordelia was evil, though Angel said it wasn't her, while Wesley wasn't certain. Lorne also revealed Connor's involvement, and Fred said Cordelia was the Beastmaster. Gunn was puzzled as Angel said Connor was confused and that's why he was part of this. Fred and Wesley concluded that Cordelia had been grooming Connor to be her champion.
"Grooming", Tara said, the word making her uncomfortable, and Maclay had the same reaction.
"Your blood kin?" Rosenberg asked both of them.
"They groomed us to believe we were Demons", Maclay reminded sadly.
"And now this thing groomed Connor", Willow snarled, the comparison only making her hate it even more than before.
The team now tried to put the pieces together, starting from the amnesia as Wesley suggested traveling to a lower Dimension was disorienting but Angel said. "Or maybe this thing was curled deep inside for the trip on some kind of, you know, autopilot. Look, all we know for sure is that the real damage didn't start until after Lorne's spell." A flashback of Lorne giving Cordelia a drop of magical memory potion was shown as she looked terrified.
"They woke it up without meaning to", Buffy sighed sadly.
"Yes, in trying to get back Cordy, they got this thing instead", Summers snarled.
"So this is where it began its master plan", Dawnster scoffed.
"Yup, this is where it begins", Dawn confirmed.
Fred was horrified. "Oh, my God. We woke it up." Lorne realized. "That's what I read. That's what Wolfram and Hart sucked out of my noodle. It wasn't Cordelia's future. It was the smacker-jack surprise." Gunn sighed. "Damn thing's been playing us right from the start." Angel summed up. "From the inside... where it could do the most damage. Everything the Beast couldn't have done, it was this thing." A flashback was shown of Manny reading a magazine in the secret room of Gwen's place when Cordelia snuck up behind him with an ax, and swung. "Spiked my blood at Gwen's. Snuck into the vault, killed Manny."
"And tried to put the blame on you", Xander said, sounding pissed off.
"Yeah, all part of the plan to let Angelus out", Harris sighed.
Gunn asked. "Wait a minute. When Gwen and I came in, faux Cordy didn't have any blood on its clothes. How'd it abracadabra that?" Wesley explained. "Lizzie Borden. It wasn't wearing any." The flashback of Manny was shown again and this time, a naked Cordelia snuck up behind him and killed him with the ax. "Stripped down, then gave Manny forty whacks." Gunn said. "Quick sponge down in the sink, and—" Lorne finished. "Voila. Shower-fresh murder."
"Thought even that much", Dawnster sighed.
"Trying to be 10 steps ahead", Willow muttered.
Angel said. "Taking out the Svear priestess was a lot easier. Slip out while the heroes are chasing their tails..." There was a flashback of Cordelia killing the Svear family with an ax. "...and slaughter the only hope of banishing her pet Beast. There was another flashback of Cordelia taking the Muo-Ping from the safe. "While everyone was reeling from that failure, it was making sure my soul was off the market." Fred asked. "And the vision of the spell to re-ensoul you?" "Misdirection." There was a flashback of Cordelia doing the fake spell to return Angel's soul and while the smoke lifted up Angelus, Lorne's eyes glowed red momentarily. "Getting everyone to look over here while the real action was happening over there." Lorne realized. "That explains why my mojo's been gunked up. Queen Bee-atch put the whammy on me."
"So that is why he was unable to detect it", Giles realized and got nods.
"Yeah, that was one of biggest things to think about", Rosenberg pointed out.
Angel said. "And it let the monster out of the box." A flashback of Angelus being let out by Cordelia was shown as he took Vamp face and pulled her to him violently. Then the flashback of Lilah being grabbed by Cordelia and murdered was shown. "More misdirection, more blood, all designed to keep us off balance." Wesley now realized. "It was Cordelia. She murdered Lilah." Angel pointed out. "We don't know if it's really Cordy." Fred added. "Or what she's got baking in her oven." Gunn said. "Evil and pregnant? I'm guessing it ain't cookies."
"Oh no, it'll make you wish it was the Beast", Harris said grimly, only horrifying the past people even more.
"Everything, just to let itself out into the world", Buffy snarled, shaking with rage.
"Cordelia, Connor, Lilah, Manny, Svear, Team Angel, and everyone else, just pawns to play with", Tara said, shaking her head sadly at how many lives it had ruined and destroyed.
Connor closed the door of a warehouse he'd led Cordelia to, assuring he was careful and asking why the others were trying to hurt her, to which she said they were afraid of their baby so they were trying to kill it, as well as her if not for Connor. Connor was angry at Angel and the rest as Cordelia told him that Angel hated that Connor had gotten her instead of him, and now he was an animal who'd turned the rest against them. Connor assured he'd kill the rest before they hurt her, and she called him her 'sweet boy' again.
"Being manipulated again", Dawnster sighed.
"Well, he was raised that way, he doesn't have the common sense to not buy bullshit", Summers told her.
"Doesn't mean it's not annoying", Xander said.
"Won't disagree there", Rosenberg nodded. "Still, can't really hate him either, just be annoyed at the circumstances."
Angel returned to the office, telling Wesley he'd been unable to get Cordelia and Connor. He sighed, saying it had been right in front of him but he was thinking of losing Cordelia to Connor. Wesley said it had played at his emotions as Angel stood up. "Wes, Lilah and I weren't exactly friends—" Wesley accused. "You were mortal enemies. Why should you care what happened to her?" Angel revealed. "Because you did." Wesley turned to look at Angel for a moment in appreciation, then turned his attention to his research.
"He said the same thing to me after Spike was gone", Buffy said, remembering their encounter in the Hyperion after Sunnydale's destruction.
"He cares about people he hates if those he cares about care about them", Tara smiled.
"If that's not a hero, I don't know what is", Dawnster said with a smile.
"Yes, that's a true hero", Dawn agreed with a nod.
"And here I was getting him all wrong", Xander sighed.
"So was I, but we can make it better", Giles assured him and he nodded.
"Yup, from now on", Harris agreed.
Wesley then said this thing had obliterated all references to the Beast so it'd do the same regarding itself, and after some discussion Wesley brought up the Powers, but Angel said they'd know what's going on and not interfere due to not wanting to get their hands dirty. "What we need is somebody who does. Somebody right in the middle of all this."
"Who's that?" Willow asked.
"You're about to see very soon, that person is going to get what they deserve", Rosenberg smirked.
Cordelia and Connor arrived at another warehouse as Connor suggested perhaps Angelus was still here instead of Angel, but Cordelia insisted it was Angel. Connor remembered his speech about being a champion to which she said those were lies to control him. Connor still didn't believe that Wesley, Lorne, Fred and Gunn would be bad, but Cordelia said 'good' and 'bad' were just words, and with her, he didn't have to live by their rules anymore, since they were special, and their baby would be extraordinary.
"Well, at least he tried to see common sense this time", Tara pointed out.
"But again, the thing's hold is just too strong", Summers sighed sadly.
"Yes, especially considering Connor has been manipulated his whole life", Giles muttered.
Fred and Gunn went through Cordelia's stuff while Angel flipped a metal disk in the air which made a pinging sound, assuring his team he'd done this before. "Walk in the park." Angel later knocked down a Demon in the other Dimension. "I really hate the park." He picked up the Demon's sword and snuck up behind another Demon in a room, and he turned around to reveal he was Skip.
"Oh, you", Buffy snarled, now realizing who Angel had been talking about earlier.
"He played a huge part in it, pretended to be Cordy's guide, had her ascend", Dawnster listed.
"He will tell them everything", Willow smirked.
"Everything, and some lies too", Rosenberg warned.
"How will we know the lies from the truth?" Tara asked.
"Lies were just to mess with them", Maclay said.
Skip was startled. "Oh! Angel, geez. Don't they knock in your dimension?" Angel replied. "Sorry. Wasn't sure it was you." Skip tried to be friendly. "Powerful demon Skip at your service. Hey, I—I got some more buffalo wings and, uh, the game's on at five if you want to just..." Angel told him. "I'm a little pressed right now. When was the last time you saw Cordelia?" Skip feigned ignorance. "Who?" Angel revealed. "She told me you were her guide when she decided to become half-demon." "She did, huh?" Skip shrugged. "Okay, look, I wanted to give you the heads up but you know how the Powers are—always making with the big hush hush." "What do you know?" Angel paced. Skip told Angel. "This is going to be really hard for you to accept but Cordelia has ascended to a higher plane." Angel replied. "Oh, I know. She's back."
"Trying to be friendly and feign ignorance", Giles shook his head angrily.
"Oh yeah, he's stalling", Summers snarled.
"Not for long though", Harris assured.
"Good, start with him", Buffy sneered, since both he and the being were responsible for what Cordy was now going through.
Skip asked. "Back?" Angel told him. "Or at least something that looks like her." Skip acted confused. "Well, wait. Nobody comes back from paradise. Okay, a Slayer once, but that—"
"Me", Buffy and Summers said simultaneously.
"Yeah", Willow and Rosenberg nodded lamely, also simultaneous.
"She wasn't alone in that though", Xander started.
"Relax, I'm over it now", Buffy assured. "Besides, it's not like I haven't done bad stuff to you guys either."
"Yeah, all of us have done messed up things", Summers agreed.
"Except Tara", Dawn spoke up as both Taras smiled, and so did the rest.
"Except Tara", Summers corrected.
Angel noted. "So you haven't heard anything." Skip lied. "Uh, not since her ascension. Oh, it was beautiful. Should've been there." Angel asked. "You were a part of that?" Skip nodded. "It's in the job description. As Cordelia's guide I'm there for all the important events." "Except her welcome back party." Angel was suspicious. "So why didn't the Powers invite you to that one?" Skip shrugged. "Mysterious ways. They can really drive a guy nuts." Angel replied. "Or maybe if you had known something you might've warned us. No, about the only one not keen on that slipping out is the one pulling her strings." Skip was still acting innocent. "Not following you there, champ." "You said it yourself, you were there." Angel walked up to Skip. "Guiding Cordelia to her ascension, seeing her off to a higher plane which is exactly where this thing needed her to be to make its move. So, I'm thinking either you've been played for a dupe like the rest of us or you've been in on this from the start, Skippy."
"Oh yeah, since the start", Harris said with anger in his voice. "He has been helping in the playing."
"And now time for him to get his", Dawnster smirked.
Skip laughed nervously. Angel joined in the laughter, sarcastically. "Angel, buddy, whatever's going on, I'm telling you true..." He raised his forearm in front of him, triggering a dagger to be released from his armor. "Not a dupe."
"Here we go", Buffy said as all watched grimly.
Angel dodged and blocked some swings by Skip, rolling away and tried to strike, but Skip's body armor wasn't penetrated. Skip knocked Angel's sword away and grabbed Angel by the neck. "Not like last time, is it, monkey boy?" Skip threw Angel across the room and walked to him. "You know, the worst part about signing on for this gig", he punched Angel, "was having to take a dive when you rescued that runt Billy from his box of fire." He kicked Angel across the room. "I mean, come on! You really think a guy built like this would be so easy to drop?" He walked up to Angel again. "This time we do it for real, champion. This time..." Skip grinned, "you lose."
"You won't hold back, but he won't either", Buffy said. "Last time he was trying not to kill you."
"He knows the truth about Skip's role in what happened to Cordy, so he won't show any mercy either", Maclay assured them.
"Good, he needs to pay", Xander snarled.
"Oh he will", Rosenberg assured.
In the warehouse, Cordelia made Connor touch her belly, and he noted the baby moved as she said it was because the baby was happy. She then said seeing their baby's beauty could change the others' minds, and it'd be born in a week or two, so they needed to bring the baby now, and she'd need some special things.
"What special things?" Willow asked with wide eyes.
"Innocents", Summers said sadly, and they all tensed.
Skip threw Angel to the ground. "Well, now, this is just embarrassing." Angel staggered up. "Tell me... what happened to Cordelia." Skip taunted. "Or, what? You'll bleed on me some more?" Angel tried to kick and punch but Skip was unaffected as he beat Angel down. "You know, I've always wondered. How many chunks you gotta hack off a vampire before he goes all dust bunny?" Angel stood up. "Tell me what happened..." Skip scoffed. "Yeah. Heard that part." Angel punched Skip in the torso several times, and this time ducked when Skip punched back. Then Angel jumped up to grab onto a chain hanging from the ceiling and swung over Skip's head, landing across the room. Skip punched him to the ground when Angel landed. "What are you, Tarzan? See, this is the nefarious meat of it, pal. You die never knowing what really happened to the woman you love. Gotta respect the classics."
"Or, he beats the crap out of you and you tell him what happened to the woman he loves", Buffy retorted to Skip. "That's an even better classic."
"Yep, and he's about to learn it", Maclay smirked.
"Just what he deserves", Xander said.
Angel grabbed a section of chain from the wall and stood. Angel swung the chain at Skip, catching on a spur on Skip's hand. Angel pulled and ripped the spur off. Angel swung the chain repeatedly at Skip's face, finally catching on a large spur on Skip's head and ripping it off while kneeing him. Skip screamed in pain, holding his hand to his head. He went for Angel again, but Angel punches him repeatedly in the face. Skip staggered. "You really think that's gonna—" Angel reared back and punches Skip, powerfully this time. Skip fell to the ground, unconscious. He had the chain wrapped around his hand during that punch. "Yeah, I do."
"Don't underestimate the power of love", Tara warned Skip.
"Please tell me he's getting more?" Dawnster begged.
"Oh yeah, he'll get his", Dawn assured them.
"And it's quite the scene", Rosenberg smirked.
"So far, so good", Buffy said about his spurs being ripped off.
"Now he will tell", Giles realized.
Wesley, Lorne, Fred and Gunn were researching in Hyperion when a portal opened up as Angel arrived with the unconscious Skip, saying he'd been part of what was happening to Cordelia. They had to bind him to this Dimension before he woke up.
"Yeah, because otherwise he'd start wailing on you all", Willow sighed.
"You know the drill", Summers said and the rest nodded.
In an alley, a teenage schoolgirl dropped her books as a Vamp stalked her, calling her a virgin, and was about to bite her before Connor dusted him. The girl thanked him but Connor knocked her out instead.
"What the hell?" Xander asked. "What's he doing now?"
"Girl's a virgin", Dawnster said, remembering the time Buffy had found she'd lost it, and how that reveal had come about.
"Used for sacrifices", Buffy realized.
"They're planning to sacrifice this girl?" Willow asked the future people.
"Unfortunately, yes", Maclay nodded grimly as the past people tensed.
"Oh dear!" Giles exclaimed.
Later, the unconscious girl lay in a warehouse as Cordelia assured Connor that he could feel bad for the girl, but she was an average human like the rest, and doing this would elevate her, it was her blood for their baby.
"How dare you?" Tara was angry now. This being had hijacked and violated Cordelia, using her body to do these horrible things, manipulated Connor, tricked the whole of Team Angel, unleashed a Beast that had caused a lot of destruction, killed Lilah (she wasn't a good person but she was a victim in this case) and now was going to kill another innocent.
Tara's anger was more than enough for the others to hate that thing, since only the worst of people could make her that angry.
"Don't blame you for that reaction", Summers told Tara.
At Hyperion, Skip was in a cylinder of red light with a circle of red sand at his feet. Angel asked Fred to whip up the 'Sphere of Infinite Agonies' if Skip didn't talk. Angel asked about Cordelia. "Cordelia. Where is she?" Skip lied. "I don't know. This is your dimension, man, you tell me." Angel told him. "The real Cordelia. Not this thing that's been posing as her." "How'd I ever get spanked by such a chump nut?" He sighed at Angel. "That thing which has turned your life into a burning ring of fire? She is the real Cordelia." After a beat he said. "Or at least she's in there somewhere. This whole thing…." Gunn asked. "Is it Cordy or not?" Skip revealed. "Oh, it's her. She just ain't driving."
"Truth is finally out", Dawn said with her hands raised at the TV.
"Now they know it was never Cordy", Buffy said, finding very little solace in that.
"No, just a thing inside her", Willow snarled, as angry as Tara for good reason.
"Bastard", Xander scoffed.
Angel asked. "Something took control of her on the higher plane?" Skip pointed out. "Drill a little deeper, Hoss. How you think she got there in the first place?" Wesley realized. "You're saying her ascension was all part of this thing's plan?" "No, Cordelia was chosen to become a higher being because she's such a pure, radiant saint." Skip scoffed. "Puh-lease."
"All this….." Buffy trailed off. "You ruined Cordy's life!"
"And they are too egotistical, high and mighty to feel sorry about it", Rosenberg scoffed in anger.
"Well, dying a painful death is still an option for them", Dawnster shrugged.
In the warehouse, Cordelia chanted while Connor gave water to the girl, who cried and begged to be let go. "Listen." Connor stood. "Somebody there?" "I've always been here... close to your heart. After all..." The woman stepped out of the shadows to reveal it was Darla, who was wearing a simple dress and a white cardigan sweater. Her voice was soft and sweet, and she smiled sweetly. "...isn't that where a mother belongs?"
The past Scoobies were jaw-dropped again.
"Darla?" Willow finally managed to let out.
"Is that a hallucination?" Giles asked.
"No", Summers shook her head.
"The First?" Buffy asked.
"No", Maclay shook her head too.
"So it's the real Darla?" Tara finally asked.
"Yes", Dawn nodded.
"How did she get here?" Dawnster asked.
"Powers finally got off their asses", Harris shrugged.
"So they sent her?" Xander asked.
"Yes, to get through to Connor, since it can foil the being's plan", Rosenberg explained.
"Finally, something good", Buffy sighed in relief. If anyone could get Connor to listen to reason, it was Darla.
She didn't notice the grim looks on the future people's faces.
Darla revealed. "The Powers have sent me to give you a message." Connor retorted. "You can't be my mother." Darla softly said. "I have her memories, her feelings. Isn't that what makes a person who they are?" The virgin girl sobbed as Darla walked to her. "I know that sound, the look in her eyes, the smell of fear." She kneeled beside the girl. "I've nurtured it a thousand times", she looked at Connor, "in all the people that I've murdered." "My mother's dead." The girl looked up at Connor.
"Just because she's dead doesn't mean she'd stop loving you", Dawnster told Connor. Joyce was gone, and Tara had been too for a while, but deep down she'd known that both had never stopped loving her even in the afterlife.
"He just needs to listen to that", Tara assured her.
Darla stood up. "And I'll always be a part of you. You shared your soul with me once when you were growing inside of me when I'd lost my own. You brought light to my shadow, filled my heart with joy and love. I'd never felt so close to any living thing as I did to my beautiful boy." "Why'd you leave me?" Connor scoffed. "Did you hate me that much?"
"No, she loved you that much", Willow assured him.
Darla assured him. "Baby, no. I wanted to be with you more than anything." Connor started. "You killed yourself. I wasn't even born yet. And you—" "—did what I had to. My life for yours. I did so many terrible things, Connor, so much destruction, so much pain. You were the one good thing I ever did. The only good thing. I'd die every day for the rest of eternity for you. And this..." Darla gestured to the virgin girl, "is how you repay me?"
"Reconsider your current course, don't do this", Giles said to Connor.
Connor walked away. "You don't understand." He turned toward Darla. "We need her for our baby to keep it safe." Darla asked. "By anointing it in the blood of an innocent? You really think that safety can be plucked from the arms of an evil deed?" Connor repeated Cordelia's words. "Good, evil. They're just words." Darla shook her head. "Don't let this happen, Connor. Don't let my death mean nothing."
"Listen to your mother, Connor!" Buffy exclaimed. "She loves you, she means well! She wants what's best for you!"
"If only it was her instead of the 'sugar mama' he had in his life", Summers sighed sadly as the rest groaned.
"Yeah, that really messed it up", Harris shook his head.
At Hyperion, the gang was trying to interrogate Skip as Wesley realized the being had manipulated Cordelia into getting the visions in the first place. It wasn't just her ascension. Angel snarled. "Everything that's happened to Cordy in the past few years—all of it—was planned." Skip asked. "You really think it stops with her, amigo? You have any concept of how many lines have to intersect in order for a thing like this to play out? How many events have to be nudged in just the right direction?" He looked at Lorne. "Leaving Pylea." He looked at Gunn. "Your sister." He looked at Fred. "Opening the wrong book." He looked at Wesley. "Sleeping with the enemy. Gosh", he chuckled. "I love a story with scope."
"How stupid do we look to you?" Willow immediately asked Skip, this revelation just not sitting well with either of them.
"Very much, apparently", Rosenberg shook her head with a scoff.
"Manipulating everything? That doesn't make any sense at all!" Buffy snapped.
"I know right? And it makes their sacrifices look worthless!" Dawnster shook her head.
"You're right, this is not true", Summers confirmed to them as they all looked at her. "We will explain more during the break, but don't believe Skip."
"Wasn't planning to", Tara shook her head, finding Skip's words about this whole thing being a manipulation ridiculous. [1]
Gunn denied. "No way. We make our own choices." Skip quipped. "Yeah, sure. Cheese sandwich here, uh, when to floss. But the big stuff, like two vampires squeezing out a kid?" Angel realized. "Connor." Wesley summed up. "An impossible birth to make one possible." Skip agreed, "That's what the kid was designed for." Lorne chuckled. "To sleep with mother love?" Angel realized. "To create a vessel." Skip quipped. "Look out. The monkey's thinking again."
"Bullshit! That thing couldn't have been behind Connor!" Xander snapped.
"It wasn't, it just used it to its advantage", Dawn told him.
Angel asked. "Being inside a human makes it vulnerable, doesn't it? That's why it had to stay hidden. Why it needed to create something stronger to pour itself into." Gunn was disgusted. "Wait. So the big nasty inside of Cordy is going to give birth... to itself?" Skip told him. "Circle of life. It's a beautiful thing."
"No, this is perverse, a violation!" Tara snapped.
"How could you do that to her?" Willow snarled at Skip and the being over Cordelia. "How could you do that?!"
"No shame in them", Harris scoffed.
Angel asked. "How do we stop it?" Skip shrugged. "That's the easy part, slick. All you gotta do is find Cordelia and chop her head off." Angel retorted. "Has to be another way." "Sure. Stab her in the heart, kidney, couple pokes in the lung-" Angel said. "A way that won't kill Cordy in the process." Skip told him. "Takes a whole lot of cramming to get that much sweetness into a human. It's in every hair, every cell, every molecule of Cordelia's body and it ain't letting go 'til it got a brand new bag." Fred asked. "What happens to Cordy then?" Skip shrugged. "Drained of her life force during labor. Those contractions are a real bitch." Angel asked. "It'll kill her?" Skip told him. "Or she'll end up a head of cabbage."
"Oh my God!" Buffy realized. "That's why Cordy is in a coma, isn't she?"
"So…..she gave birth?" Dawnster asked, and got grim nods from the future people. "Damn it!"
"It couldn't be stopped, unfortunately", Maclay sighed.
Wesley asked Angel. "What do you wanna do?" Skip taunted. The only thing you can do. Kill the woman he loves to save the world. Times like this? Really gotta suck being you." "How do I find her?" Skip didn't answer; Angel walked forward intimidatingly. "How?" Skip replied. "Well, I'd go with the Bu'shundi ritual but, uh, you're gonna need a sacred Hutamin paw for that—" "Got it." Lorne stood, going behind the desk. Skip was shocked. "What?" Lorne revealed. "Cordy—the real Cordy—kept one in her desk drawer." Skip said. "Probably a knock-off. It's not some trinket you'd throw in a desk drawer—" Lorne pulled the item out of Cordelia's desk. "She thought it was a back scratcher." Angel commanded. "Get started." Skip tried to stall. "Wait, wait. Uh, did I say "Bu'shundi "? I meant "Ru'shundi ". It's—it—whole different—" He turned around in disgust. "Crap."
"Shut the hell up!" Xander snapped at Skip.
"Lying about the manipulation, then this", Summers shook her head.
"Really not gonna trust a word he says, considering he's inside the cage", Willow snarled.
"They hate us... because we're special", Connor said to Darla. The girl cried. "I don't hate you. Please." Darla assured him. "They're scared because of what you've done not because of what you are." Connor reminded. "They wanted to kill me when I was still inside of you." Darla stood up. "But that changed when they saw you, held you in their arms, felt the warmth of your skin, the goodness in your heart." "And it will happen again when they hold my child." Connor looked at the girl. "It's the only way."
"No it's not", Buffy said.
"And it is not even your child", Giles shook his head.
"Try telling that to his face", Harris muttered.
"I will, if I could", Giles told him.
Darla assured. "You have a choice, Connor. That is something more precious then you'll ever know." Connor asked. "What choice? They're hunting us like animals!" Darla walked up to Connor. "Because you're acting like one. As a vampire I killed without mercy or remorse because I didn't have a soul. What's your excuse?" Connor shook his head. "You think I wanna do this?" Darla advised. "Then don't." Connor was nearly in tears. "I have to." "Why?" Darla gestured to Cordelia in the next room. "Because she told you? There are things happening, Connor, things that I can't—" she sighed. "It has to be your choice. You can stop this." Connor asked. "Her blood for our baby's. It's fair, isn't it?" The girl wept. "Please, I wanna go home." Connor yelled. "Shut up!"
"She is right, she was soulless, you don't have that excuse", Dawnster said.
"Well, to be fair, he has been manipulated his whole life", Tara pointed out. "But I don't think Holtz would have advocated this either."
"Yeah, he wouldn't raise Connor to take a human life, that much is clear", Buffy sighed, hating to give that guy any credit.
Darla tried to reach out to him. "This isn't you, Connor." Connor sneered. "You've been gone a long time, Mom. How would you know?" "Because we shared a soul. I feel the pain, the anger, the hurt, like it were my own" Darla walked up to Connor, looking him in the eyes. "But most of all, I feel the good in you and no matter how much you're beaten or twisted or lied to, it's still there in your heart. I know it, and deep down, you know it, too." Connor's face was tear-streaked now as he contemplated the girl.
"Do the right thing, please", Willow was begging Connor now. "Listen to your mom!"
"He should", Buffy nodded. "Come on, listen to her!"
At Hyperion, Fred and Gunn were wondering if they were just pawns when Gunn said. "Then we'll kick it over and start a new game. Look, monochrome can yap all he wants about no-name's cosmic plan, but here's a little something I picked up rubbing mojos these past couple of years. The final score can't be rigged. I don't care how many players you grease, that last shot always comes up a question mark. But here's the thing—you never know when you're taking it. It could be when you're duking it out with the Legion of Doom, or just crossing the street deciding where to have brunch. So you just treat it all like it was up to you—the world in the balance—'cause you never know when it is." Fred asked if he'd been practicing this and he said he was.
"I don't think either of it was rigged", Dawnster said. "Because it's ridiculous."
"It is, it is not rigged, especially not the final score", Maclay agreed there.
"I'm not believing a word Skip says either way", Buffy told them.
Wesley and Lorne came out of the office, revealing they'd found Cordelia and Connor. Gunn asked the rest to load up but Angel said. "No, you're not coming, any of you. Whatever's taken over Cordy, it's still her inside. She's still our friend. She's still the woman I... I won't let you carry that. I can't." Skip mockingly asked for a hanky as Fred realized Angel was going to do it, Wesley telling her he'd no choice. Fred ran after him to stop him but he was already gone as Skip quipped that'd go well.
"He is going to…kill her?" Xander asked in shock.
"As much as I hate to say it, right now, it's the only way", Rosenberg told them all.
"They are low on time, or they could have contacted Will to help out again, but we were dealing with the First at the time", Summers explained. "And without a powerful magician like Will on their side, the only way to stop the entity is to kill Cordy. The alternative is to let the entity give birth to itself, then take it down, while Cordy will have to recover from her coma."
"And you know how powerful this entity is, so as unfair as it is to Cordy, right now, it is the only option", Rosenberg finished sadly.
"It's…..not right, but it's all they have right now", Buffy agreed, hating how the words sounded on her tongue, but they were right. She had also taken down Angel to save the world, even if she'd realized she needed to do it only after Jenny was killed. And now Angel was in the exact same situation.
"So he will have to carry that burden now", Tara said, feeling sad for both Angel and Cordelia.
"Well, he could", Harris said, since he had been a second too late.
"It does seem like the only way now, unfortunately", Giles sighed.
Connor knelt down to untie the bound hands of the virgin girl. "Shhhhh. Shhh. It's okay." Darla assured. "You're all right now. Everything's going to be all right." Cordelia arrived. "What are you doing?" Connor froze. "Nothing. I, uh—" He stood up. Cordelia ordered. "It's time. Take her in the other room." Darla urged. "Listen to your heart." Connor told Cordelia. "She didn't do anything. We should let her go." Cordelia countered. "No we shouldn't. We need her, Connor. Our baby—" Connor cut her off. "Shouldn't be anointed with innocent blood."
"There you go, now you're saying it right", Willow said with a smile.
"Yeah, he's listening to sense now", Dawnster nodded.
The future people knew it was temporary, sadly.
Cordelia was angry. "Anointed? Who's been filling your head with big, confusing words?" Connor turned away, pacing. "Just been thinking about it." Cordelia snarled. "Or, maybe... a little birdie's been pecking at you behind my back." Darla told Connor. "She'll lie to you." Cordelia lied to Connor. "You know how much they love to use the magic, Connor. A spell for this, a spell for that." Darla said. "Close her out, baby." Cordelia countered. "Whatever you're hearing, whatever you think you're seeing—it's a trick." Darla argued. "Don't let her in." Cordelia sneered. "It's Angel." "No." "Trying to turn you against me with a cheap vision of—" Cordelia looked to where Darla was standing, "Darla."
"She can see that?" Buffy asked in shock.
"She is a powerful being, she used to be a Higher Being, she can see that", Dawn confirmed.
"Well, crap!" Xander snapped.
"So now, he is torn between two sides", Willow realized, everyone groaning.
"Darla's now like the Angel, the being possessing Cordy is the Devil", Dawnster commented.
"Yeah, and you know how persuasive they can be", Maclay sighed, knowing what was about to happen.
Connor asked Cordelia. "You can see her?" Cordelia confirmed. "I see the lies." Darla begged. "Connor, listen to me." Cordelia lied. "It's not her." Darla urged. "You have to let her go." Cordelia sneered. "It's your father. This is how much he hates you." Darla begged. "I love you. Please." Cordelia said. "Torturing you with this sad imitation of your dead mother." Darla was crying. "Don't let her do this." Cordelia pushed. "Are you going to let them do this to us? Are you going to let them kill our baby?" Darla was desperate. "Connor, listen to me..." Connor cried and yelled at Darla. "You are not my mother!" Connor grabbed the virgin girl by her bound hands and dragged her into the other room as both Cordelia and Darla watched, the former in satisfaction, and the latter in stunned shock. Cordelia followed with a huge butcher knife.
Dawnster was angry now. "What the...? I hate this! I hate this all!"
"The girl…" Tara trailed off.
"Dead", Summers confirmed, as they tensed up even more.
"You…..didn't even listen to your mother….." Buffy trailed off. "The Powers sent her, not Angel! And she was real!"
"You can't fix lack of common sense", Harris groaned, shaking his head. "Or a lifetime of manipulation."
"Instead of learning from his mistakes, he sinks even deeper", Willow sighed. At least she had managed to see the error of her ways after hitting rock-bottom, twice! Connor kept hitting new and new lows, and instead of climbing up, dug even lower ones.
And there was no way to undo anything.
Connor put virgin girl on the ground in the center of the circle where Cordelia was chanting before. The girl looked up to see Cordelia swinging a huge butcher's knife at her head. When the girl looked up at Connor, she had Darla's face now. "Please, don't do this Connor. Don't—" Connor just stood there, watching Cordelia murder this girl, listening to the sounds of blood spattering on his face as Cordelia made the killing blow. The girl collapsed in the middle of the circle as Cordelia said remorselessly. "There. That wasn't so hard, was it?"
"You evil bastard…." Xander snarled, and right now he wasn't sure if it was directed at the being or Connor or both. Inside, he knew that Connor was manipulated and brainwashed, but his actions now made it hard to feel sympathy for him in Xander's mind.
"The poor girl…" Buffy muttered, as the others just stared sadly, Dawnster having a hand on her mouth, and Giles and the future people looked grim.
The dead girl lay on the floor outside the circle, covered in blood, still looking Darla to Connor. Cordelia lay on the bedding inside the circle. "Connor, we have to do this", she writhed, "while it's fresh." She rolled and grunted. Connor stared at the girl's body; it stared back at him, now not Darla. Connor knelt down, placing the palm of his hand in the blood pooling around the girl. He then stood and walked up to Cordelia who writhed and chanted weakly. Connor stood over Cordelia, staring at her. She pulled up her shirt to reveal the bare skin of her swollen belly as she panted. "Do it, Connor. Do it now. Do it now." Connor pressed his bloody palm to Cordelia's belly. She screamed. The building started to shake around them.
"They're gonna do it, aren't they?" Willow asked.
"Yes, it is about to happen now", Maclay said sadly.
"The being is coming, it's plan is fulfilled", Dawn sighed.
The building was shaking back at the Hyperion Hotel as well. Fred was in the lobby next to Skip. Lorne and Gunn were standing toward the edge of the room. Wesley peeked out of the office. "Fred!" Gunn screamed as Fred lost her balance and fell to the floor. Everyone else fell down as well. Fred asked. "What's happening?" Debris fell on the circle of red sand surrounding Skip, breaking the circle. Skip stepped out of the circle. "End of the world, cupcake—" he walked toward Fred, "for you."
"Damn it!" Buffy snapped. "Now he's out too!"
"Fred….." Tara said, concerned for her, just like Willow and the rest.
"She was threatening infinite agony earlier", Giles reminded grimly, as they realized Skip was clearly not pleased with Fred.
"Yes, and he doesn't let that slide", Summers sighed.
Cordelia was screaming in pain as Connor attended to her. The building was still shaking. Connor told her. "Cordy! Something's wrong. We have to stop it. "No, it's coming." Cordelia laughed. "It's coming. The beginning of a new world." "Or not." Connor turned to see Angel standing behind him with a sword in hand. Connor stood to face him.
"Daddy is here to spank you for being a bad boy", Dawnster snarled at Connor.
"Not like he doesn't deserve it", Xander sighed.
Skip threw Gunn across the room, Lorne already down. Skip laughed. "What a bunch of pantywaists." Fred scooted across the floor. Wesley tried hitting Skip across the back with the battle-axe, but Skip's armor deflected the blow as he tossed Wesley away. "If you can't stop little old Skipper, you really think you got a chance against that?" The building continued to fall down around them.
"Stop him!" Buffy said.
"Just wait", Rosenberg advised.
Angel confronted Connor as Cordelia lay in the circle, writhing. "She lied to you, Connor." Cordelia screamed. "Don't listen!" Angel revealed. "To all of us. That's not Cordelia." "Leave us alone!" Connor charged at Angel, kicking his sword away as Cordelia ordered. "Kill him! Kill him, Connor!" Angel ducked a blow from Connor, decked him, then tossed him to a corner.
"Stop her!" Willow said.
"And fast!" Buffy added.
Skip sauntered up to Fred, and lifted her by the neck. "What was that you were saying before? Something about infinite agony? Hmm?" Gunn stuck Skip across the back with his sword, but to no avail because the armor protected him. Skip let go of Fred and pushed Gunn down. "You mind? I'm trying to work here." Wesley came out shooting Skip with a pistol. Skip didn't try to dodge the bullets, but instead made a show of deflecting them with his chest. Wesley fired a dozen rounds at Skip, but to no avail. Wesley threw the gun to the ground. Skip taunted. "Do those things ever work? I mean, really."
"Only once", Willow said sadly, sharing a look with Tara as all knew what she was talking about.
And it was pretty horrible. The only time they'd seen a gun kill a person up till then was a saint like Tara, and not horrible people like Skip.
When Skip turned his head, Wesley noticed a break in the armor where Angel had ripped some of it off of his head earlier. Wesley made a rolling dive for the gun, aimed, and shot at Skip's head. The bullet went right into the vulnerable spot, entering Skip's head. Skip mumbled. "Well, that ain't right." He collapsed as Fred sighed in relief.
"Twice now", Rosenberg said, raising two fingers as the past people watched with wide and awed eyes.
"Wow", Willow muttered, not having expected that.
"He did it", Tara sighed.
"Damn!" Xander said in awe.
"He has good aim", Giles commented.
"And Skip got his", Dawnster sneered.
"Guess I like guns a little more now", Buffy told the future people. [2]
"Yeah, Wesley redeemed guns for us", Summers told her.
Connor kicked Angel back but he blocked the next blow, decked his abdomen and punched him back. "You think I wanna do this? I don't have a choice!" Angel tossed Connor to a corner, knocking him out, then took his sword and walked up to Cordelia, who didn't move. She grunted in pain, glaring at Angel. Angel reared back the sword. "I'm so sorry." Connor got up and tried to go after Angel again, but instead Cordelia screamed and a bright green-white column of light shot up from her body in a blast of energy. Angel and Connor were both knocked back to the walls. The column of light turned into a prismatic sunburst display as the entity within Cordelia left her body. In the bright light, something octopus-like with tentacles was moving. Angel sat up and looked at it. As the light retracted, the form of the entity became more and more human-shaped. Finally, the light was absorbed completely into the entity—it looked like a beautiful, dark-skinned human woman. Cordelia passed out. Angel stood and charged toward the creature, screaming, but then stopped in his tracks. "Oh, my God." He dropped to his knees and so did Connor. "You're beautiful." The woman smiled. "Angel." The screen went black.
Everyone was jaw dropped and silent for a full minute.
Then Buffy let out. "What…what just happened here?"
"The being is born", Maclay told her in a grim tone.
"I meant…..Angel…." Buffy trailed off.
"Hive mind hypnosis", Rosenberg revealed to them. "Anyone who sees her falls under her spell."
"And how many did?" Xander asked.
"Too many", Summers told them with a shake of her head. "It's here, its plan has been fulfilled."
"Cordy….." Willow muttered.
"In a coma", Harris sighed.
"This thing did that to her", Tara snarled.
"All to rise here", Dawn scoffed.
"What now?" Dawnster asked.
"So, Angel and Connor are under a spell from seeing her, correct?" Giles asked and got nods from the future people. "And anyone else who sees her will also fall under it?"
He got nods again and muttered. "This is bad."
"We have one more to go before this day ends", Buffy muttered as she lifted up the remote to go to the next recording.
As much sympathy as I feel for Connor, him not getting any growth throughout the Season other than the last 2 episodes really turns me off on the character, and so after a certain point, even his tragic upbringing (which I wouldn't wish on anyone) isn't enough for me to excuse his actions.
[1] Honestly, all the big events in the show being part of Jasmine's plan is something I really hated. Her manipulating Cordelia from Season 3 onwards, I can accept, but being behind everything big? Angel moving to LA, Lorne coming from Pylea, Fred going to Pylea, Gunn's sister dying, Doyle dying and giving his visions to Cordelia, Darla coming back and conceiving Connor with Angel, and Wesley sleeping with Lilah, seriously, at this point it's ridiculous. It just makes all the struggles and sacrifices of Angel, Cordelia, Wesley, Lorne, Fred, Gunn, Connor and even Doyle and Darla near worthless! This is not the kind of retcon I like, so my headcanon is Skip was messing with them all to make them feel inferior in front of Jasmine, and I will give some sort of explanation in the break chapter.
[2] This episode made me love Wesley even more for this reason- Up until now, the only time a gun has killed anyone in the Buffyverse to my memory is Tara. A gun was stained by being used to murder a pure and innocent and kind-hearted saint like her, whom I love and adore (which would be obvious since I resurrected her in this fic). But Wesley here used a gun to off Skip, and later also used it to off Knox. So Wesley redeemed guns in the Buffyverse with his badass use of them. Go Wes!
Also, I hated they turned Skip evil. I liked him before, he was fun. Plus, there was just something sweet and funny about his interaction with Angel in 3x2. A Vampire and Demon interacting like normal people with lives, but forced to fight because of W&H torturing Cordelia.
Him being evil ruined that IMO.
Anyway, hope all enjoyed and see you all next time with another chapter. Stay safe from the coronavirus ya all!