It's over a month late. *repeatedly bangs head on table* Really sorry about that.

Chapter 12

"So, how's it going in Sunnydale?" 'Cordelia' asked as she handed Dawn an extra toothbrush.

"Good," Dawn replied. "Well, pretty good. Sunnydale High School got reopened."

"Have you made any friends?"

Dawn nodded. "Yeah. First day of school, I got trapped in the basement with Kit and Carlos." The two girls started walking toward Dawn's room in the hotel as they continued talking.

"How's LA?" Dawn asked.

"It's been good," 'Cordelia' responded.

"Good."

"Hey, Dawn?" she asked.

"What?"

"You remember how two years ago you told us about what happened with Glory?"

"What about it?"

"What does it mean that you're the Key?"

BtVS - A:tS - Sw9

When Buffy heard the lobby door open, she quickly found something to work as a bookmark and looked up.

"Hey, Wesley," she said when she saw the ex-Watcher.

"Buffy."

"Do you have more books?" asked Willow. Buffy rolled her eyes.

Wesley nodded, taking off a backpack.

"I'm warning you now, though," he said, "If there's a spell we have to do, I'm leaving."

"Thanks, Wesley," Buffy responded.

BtVS - A:tS - Sw9

"The Key?" Dawn repeated. 'Cordelia' nodded.

Dawn shrugged. "Nothing, I guess."

'Cordelia' raised an eyebrow.

"Well, I mean, my blood could be used in a ritual to open dimensional walls, but that has to be at a certain time, which already past."

"You're sure that's it?"

"Well…" Dawn hesitated. "I've never really thought about it, but I'm pretty sure I don't open anything anymore."

"How positive?"

Dawn squirmed a little under her pressure. "Um… 75?"

"Wait, how exactly are you human if you're also the Key?"

"Um… There were these monks, the Order of Dagon, I think, um, and they had a ritual thing-y using Buffy's blood? Why do you want to know?" Dawn asked.

'Cordelia' backed off before changing the subject. "Sorry, it's just interesting. So, how was your night?"

"Good," Dawn said, grateful for the subject change. "Connor's pretty nice."

"Really?" 'Cordelia' asked, with a teasing smile on her face.

"No, not like that," Dawn said, smiling. "He's just nice." She opened the door to her room. "I'm gonna go brush my teeth now."

'Cordelia' smiled. "See you later!"

As she heard Dawn turn on the faucet, her smile changed. Now this, she could work with.

BtVS - A:tS - Sw9

It took Fred a minute to register the books in the lobby when she first walked by.

"What're we researching?" she asked.

"Demon," Buffy answered, casually flicking through a thick volume.

"It's not much to worry about," Angel said, noticing Fred's frown.

"You sure?" she asked.

The group nodded, quite clearly having reached the point where an exploding milkshake singing "I'm A Believer" wouldn't have cured their boredom.

"You sure?" she asked. She really wanted something distracting after her talk with Gunn.

"We're sure," Angel said. Fred was immediately distracted as she saw Wesley walk out of the office.

"Wesley?" she asked.

"Fred," he said, looking up.

"What are you doing here?"

"Helping."

"Oh. Well, that's… cool." The room seemed to get bigger and smaller at the same time.

"I think I'm gonna go," Fred said, heading towards the stairs. "Let me know if you need any help?"

The gang nodded as Fred headed up the stairs. It certainly had been a weird day.

BtVS - A:tS - Sw9

When 'Cordelia' came back downstairs a couple hours later, they were still researching.

"Hey, guys," she said. There were some tired responses as she casually headed towards the office.

"Are you still researching?" she asked. The others nodded.

"Cool," she said. She glanced around before she froze. "Wesley?" she asked, facing the ex-Watcher.

"Hello, Cordelia," he said.

"What are you doing here?"

"Helping research." This set off mental alarms in her mind. Wesley didn't just come and help anymore.

"Cool," she said, pretending not to think about it."Think I could borrow a book?" she asked, walking down the steps.

"For what?" Buffy asked.

"Some independent research."

"What do you need?" Angel asked.

"I think it's in the office." The group seemed to look at each other as Angel nodded. Something was definitely going on.

"Great," she said. Honestly, it probably didn't matter. She could even finish her new plan without manipulation if she wanted to. Though she'd prefer not to fight a Slayer if she could help it.

"If you need any help with your stuff, you know where I am," she said.

'Cordelia' slipped into the office before she dropped the fake smile. She quickly scanned the book titles.

Perfect.

She swung around and kept the book behind her back as Angel entered the office.

"Hey," he said.

"Hey," 'Cordelia' responded. "What are you doing in here?"

"Grabbing another book," he said.

'Cordelia' nodded. With her empty hand, she grabbed a larger book (some sort of demon encyclopedia) to hide her actual one.

"Angel?" she asked.

"What?"

"Why don't you want me researching with you?" As much as she wanted to say it accusingly, she kept her voice questioning, with just a hint of vulnerability, even if it was completely fake.

"It's not…"Angel paused. "It's just… It's complicated."

"So explain it."

"I…"

"It's fine," 'Cordelia' said, letting annoyance into her voice. "I get it. Buffy comes to town and all the sudden, it's…" she cut off. "Never mind," she said.

"Cordy…"

"I get it, Angel," she said with an angry edge to her voice. "It's fine." With that, she left and quickly went back to her room. 'Cordelia' tossed the encyclopedia off to the side and turned her attention to the important book.

The History of the Order of Dagon.

It didn't matter what they were researching. Even if they suspected something was up, by the time they figured it out, it would be far too late.

Quick, friendly reminder: 'Cordelia' is actually a good actor at this point in the show. She only becomes super obvious after the reveal is given to the audience.