Chapter 3 - Through The Woodland
The more she pulled on her arms, the tighter they were holding her back. After a few unsuccessful attempts to break free, she stopped and glared at the faceless demon standing in front of her.
"Who the hell are you?" Cordy nearly spit out through her teeth.
"All in good time, my dear.All in good time." The voice sounded strangely familiar to Cordelia.
"Get your goons here to get their dirty paws off of me or." Cordelia began to get agitated once more.
Cordy heard what resembled laughter coming out of her captor's throat.
"My goons?" Now the voice could clearly be identified as an amused woman. "My goons?!" she laughed bitterly. "Oh dear - I merely control them. You conjured them up all on your own. For the most part at least. So, technically, they're [i]your[/i] goons." She informed Cordelia with a very pleased tone.
"You're crazy." Cordy muttered, almost to herself.
"Well," the female demon laughed again. "Considering this is your head, I would say I'm in good company."
Cordelia stared at her, trying an impromptu move to jerk away from the two demons holding her back. Unfortunately, her attempts were in vain once again. She eyed her up and down and noticed the poor taste in which her demon enemy was dressed.
"Well, I surely didn't conjure [b]you[/b] up.I still have [i]some[/i] fashion sense." she concluded, looking at the monk outfit with which the demon hid herself.
Cordelia froze at the bitter sound of the demon's laughter. Her heart almost skipped a beat while the demons holding her back tightened their grip around her and jerked her around a little. Cordy let a little painful noise come out of her mouth as they twisted her arm backward to steady her.
"Aren't you having fun?"
"What?!" Cordy exclaimed.
"Doesn't any of this look familiar to you?" she asked Cordy, looking around emphatically. "Well.admittedly, I may have tempered with the setting and content a bit too much for it to ring a bell, but still." she turned to Cordy again. "Welcome to the freak show that is you my dear!" she then exclaimed with a burst of laughter, throwing her arms in the air. "I get a feeling this will be fun."
Consumed by a sudden burst of energy - probably boosted by fear and annoyance - Cordy snatched her arm away from one of the ugly demons and punched him in the face with as much strength as she could possibly conjure up. She then violently elbowed the other before kicking him in the stomach and finally breaking free from them.
The whole group of demons became agitated and rushed towards her as she ran out the door, the same way she'd gotten in. She kept on running through the corridors, looking over her shoulder once in a while, not really paying attention to which tunnels she took. A group of demons started after her and a chase rapidly ensued.
Out of breath, she stormed her way from tunnel to tunnel, desperately attempting to escape the savage troupes on her tail. Her feet hit the watery floor one by one in a quick rhythm, running for her life.
--
Angel, Fred, Gunn, Wesley and Lorne took a few steps forward, staring into the dark forest.
Trees and trees and only trees.
That's all that seemed to be in sight. A cool breeze made the leaves rustle in the night.
"Are we in the right place?" Gunn raised an eyebrow. "This is Cordy's subconscious??!"
"You bet." Lorne answered in an experienced tone. "What? What did you expect.?"
"I.I don't know. Versace fashion shows, The Hollywood Hall Of Fame.Macy's." Gunn began as a reply, as they started to walk. ".Lots more colors." he added, looking around at the dark atmosphere.
"Okay.so we're inside Cordy's head. The question is where exactly." Angel mumbled, looking around for a sign of anything familiar.
He had to remind himself that this wasn't all Cordy's doing. Her mind had been possessed and tempered with. Emily had said that it was a labyrinth in here. A game.
He game he couldn't afford to lose.
"Maybe she knows." Fred's voice was heard suddenly.
At a fair distance from them, a young little girl of no more than 11 years old stood in the shadow of a tree. Not an inch of her fragile frame moved, except for her long dark hair being softly blown in the wind. She was staring at them with sad eyes. Deep sad eyes. Her arms fell beside her waist gracefully. She didn't reply when Wesley addressed her, nor when Angel asked her name. She was utterly silent.
They began to head towards her, Angel leading the pack, and that's when she finally moved, proving at least that she was real. She took a step back, almost frightened, as Angel approached her. The sad look in her eyes never vanished, even as she stepped behind the tree, out of their sight. Struck with a negative feeling, Angel hurried the pace, running towards the tree, where the little girl had disappeared. When he got to the tree, she was gone. She had disappeared completely from the face of the earth, as if she'd never even existed in the first place. The gang surveyed the darkness for a little while, taken back by the little girl's strange behavior.
"Who was that?" Gunn inquired, leaning against the tree for a second.
"I don't know." Angel couldn't even finish his sentence, for the loud scream of terror that escaped Gunn's throat alerted them all.
The ground moved from under Gunn and he felt something creep up his back, as if the tree suddenly had a mind of his own. Gunn didn't even have time to turn his head around that one of the branches had grabbed him by the throat and began strangling him. Gunn tried to shout out for help once more but nothing came out of his mouth. He couldn't breathe anymore. Angel, Fred and Wesley threw themselves on the botanical attacker, trying to free Gunn. The lively tree seemed to be much too strong for them and Fred was thrown onto the ground violently. Wesley reached into his jacket and pulled out a dagger that angel had given him as a present. He stabbed the demonic tree several times, prompting orange sticky glue to pour out of its insides. Nothing seemed to be weakening it. After a few unsuccessful efforts, he managed to cut the branch completely.
Gunn breathlessly crumbled to his knees, repulsively throwing the branch far away from him. As far away as possible. He gasped for air.
"Are you okay?" Fred quickly asked with concern while she and Lorne helped him up to his feet.
"The girl needs a shrink!" Gunn exclaimed, rubbing his throat and breathing deeply.
"After this.she won't be the only one.believe me." Lorne sighed, shaking his head.
Angel raised both eyebrows as he looked behind Gunn. The shock on his face didn't make its way to his oblivious partners.
"Huh..Guys.?" he worriedly interjected.
"I mean, what's with the." Gunn continued rambling, not hearing Angel's warning tone.
".With the living and moving trees surrounding us?" Angel then finished, pointing at the dozens of lively trees behind them, waiting to attack.
They all turned and got struck by a sudden panic.
"Let's go!" Angel then shouted as they all ran in the opposite direction as fast as they could.
On their way, Angel kicked a few smaller trees out of the road while Wesley slaughtered some more with his gooey dagger so that they could make their escape.
--
Cordelia abruptly stopped running when she got to a doorway. Another dead end.
Another one of a million dead ends she'd run into thus far.
She breathlessly stared at the tall brick wall in front of her. A few strands of hair fell before her eyes and she quickly shot a look over her shoulder, making sure nothing demony had caught up with her.
"Great!" she gritted, irritation bursting out of her.
Her eyes moved down to the water she was still standing on. It was covering the entire floor, and she could have sworn that she saw something move in one of the corners nearby. She held her breath and then threw her arms in the air, obviously embittered by the whole thing.
"So this is it?!? This is my head???!!" she exclaimed in anger and disbelief. "Creepy much.??" she frustratingly berated herself before spinning around and running into another direction.
--
After exhausting themselves running, the gang finally reached the end of the woodland and found themselves at the door of a large castle. Angel was the first one to reach the tall, solid - not to mention locked - door. He had one thing on h is mind: FINDING CORDELIA. She occupied each and every one of his thoughts at that point. Angel clenched his fists in Anger and proceeded in kicking the door of the castle open with one foot. The piece of wood crashed onto the floor with a resounding noise, and Angel was the first one to enter the building.
"We need to find her.she must be in here somewhere." Angel reminded the others as they stepped inside the room behind him.
They unconsciously formed a nearly perfect line in the middle of the entrance.
Not quite perfect.
One of them was missing.
To Angel's right, Gunn and Wesley stared in front of themselves. To his left, Fred and Lorne did the same. Angel shot a confused look over his shoulder and noticed that the door through which they had entered had now vanished, only to be replaced by a white wall.
In front of them, ten different doors patiently waited to be opened. The gang all stayed silent for a very short while, pondering which one to open first. The fear of what might wait on the other side slowly began creeping up inside of them. Then, Gunn stepped forward and picked the first door.
"Here goes nothing." he muttered, turning the doorknob.
He opened the door as Angel and Fred stood by his side. The three of them literally stood still, a little stunned, as they discovered what hid behind the first door of Cordelia's subconscious.
Inside, Cordelia was sitting on a bed, bathed in dimmed light. Her hair gracefully fell on each side of her face and her eyes sparkled in the night. Kneeling in front of her on the floor, admiring every line of her face, a shirtless Angel pushed Cordelia's blouse off of her shoulders. Cordy rid herself of the piece of clothing before her lips pressed against his with hidden passion.
Lost in the depth of their kiss. Skin pressed against skin. Hands slowly discovering.
Gunn quickly shut the door as he and Fred stood, eyes wide and mouth agape. Angel shot them a tiny embarrassing look from the side. The scene had been just as he remembered, and he was actually relieved Gunn had shut the door before any of them saw a little more than they should. Sure, that night had ended with Cordy killing Angelus, but the part prior to that was a very clear and pleasant memory in Angel's mind. One he didn't wish to share with the rest of his friends.
"I [b]so[/b] did not need to see that." Gunn sighed, a little perturbed by the imagery in his head now.
"Yes well." Angel began with his apologetic, boyish glance towards an equally stunned Fred.
They all paused and then Angel regained clearer thoughts.
"We should break up into groups and head into different directions," he began, bringing the focus back on what mattered. "We have better chances of finding Cordy that way."
"He's right. Our search will be much more successful if we search that way." Wesley agreed.
They decided that Angel and Wesley would head off into one direction while Lorne, Fred and Gunn explored another.
"Wait." Fred called out just before they broke up. "How will we know if you find her and how will you know if we do?" she asked a serious angel.
"Emily said the key is Cordy." Angel pointed out, trying to find a solution. "The only way to get back is for Cordy to get out."
"Oh, like the bees!" Fred exclaimed as everyone turned to her curiously. "You get the queen, you get the whole gang. That's kind of like that if you think about it. We get Cordelia out, we're all out. So the key is to get Cordy to find the exit door.if she's free, we automatically all are, right.?" she rambled on, surprisingly making a lot of sense.
"Right." Angel agreed with her strange, but nonetheless true logic. "So, whoever finds her first just tries to get her out of here as quickly as possible..in the meantime." Angel paused and stared at them all. "We just try to stay alive.." He said as they all stayed silent for a bit.
They all shared a pause, a common fear covering their faces. Then, Angel and Wesley headed towards one of the doors, as did Gunn and the others, and they all disappeared into the labyrinth that was Cordelia's mind.
--
As she was running, she tripped and fell hard on the wet ground. Her body splashed into the water.
Cordelia quickly recovered from the fall and jumped back to her feet. Her hair and clothes now soaking wet, she continued to make her way through a long dark corridor that seemed to go on forever. As she was rushing forward, she noticed some windows and doors not so far ahead. Clearly out of breath and in dire need for some hiding place, Cordy stopped in front of a small window on the wall. As she peaked through it, she froze and her eyes grew wide.
The scene displayed in the other room felt very familiar to her.
Much too familiar for her own taste.
There was her mother..her dad.herself and a whole crowd of people she vaguely remembered as being her parents' acquaintances. They were all in a huge ballroom, with chandeliers and garlands hanging from the ceiling. People were dancing, guests were laughing, and as it was often the case, Mr. And Mrs. Chase were busy ignoring the 10-year-old little girl that sat alone in one of the corners of the room. Sad and lonely eyes she had..
Cordelia remembered that scene way too well.
She backed away from the window, swallowing back the sudden overwhelming emotions that burst through her.
"I lived that party..and once was more than enough." she mumbled to herself, choosing not to go into that room.
As she was taking a few steps back, her back hit the wall behind her. She was trying to think clearly but the only thing she could think about was Angel and just how badly she wished he was here right now.
Sure, she hated being overprotected but there were times when she could use his vampire strength and his manly overprotective tendencies..especially when demons seemed to burst out of everywhere to chase her at the moment.
She closed her eyes momentarily and took a long, deep breath, pushing a few strands of wet hair behind her ears.
"Angel, where are you..?" She whispered to herself as her eyes welled up with fear.
Just as the words left her mouth, a loud, agonizing scream filled the corridors. A scream of pain. A scream of terror.
A painful scream like no other she'd ever heard in her life. It made the blood freeze in her veins suddenly. Cordelia's eyes shot wide open, as the heartbreaking sound filled every inch of the cave in which she stood, and grabbed her by surprise.
That voice.
That pain.
That scream.
She knew that voice.
The more she pulled on her arms, the tighter they were holding her back. After a few unsuccessful attempts to break free, she stopped and glared at the faceless demon standing in front of her.
"Who the hell are you?" Cordy nearly spit out through her teeth.
"All in good time, my dear.All in good time." The voice sounded strangely familiar to Cordelia.
"Get your goons here to get their dirty paws off of me or." Cordelia began to get agitated once more.
Cordy heard what resembled laughter coming out of her captor's throat.
"My goons?" Now the voice could clearly be identified as an amused woman. "My goons?!" she laughed bitterly. "Oh dear - I merely control them. You conjured them up all on your own. For the most part at least. So, technically, they're [i]your[/i] goons." She informed Cordelia with a very pleased tone.
"You're crazy." Cordy muttered, almost to herself.
"Well," the female demon laughed again. "Considering this is your head, I would say I'm in good company."
Cordelia stared at her, trying an impromptu move to jerk away from the two demons holding her back. Unfortunately, her attempts were in vain once again. She eyed her up and down and noticed the poor taste in which her demon enemy was dressed.
"Well, I surely didn't conjure [b]you[/b] up.I still have [i]some[/i] fashion sense." she concluded, looking at the monk outfit with which the demon hid herself.
Cordelia froze at the bitter sound of the demon's laughter. Her heart almost skipped a beat while the demons holding her back tightened their grip around her and jerked her around a little. Cordy let a little painful noise come out of her mouth as they twisted her arm backward to steady her.
"Aren't you having fun?"
"What?!" Cordy exclaimed.
"Doesn't any of this look familiar to you?" she asked Cordy, looking around emphatically. "Well.admittedly, I may have tempered with the setting and content a bit too much for it to ring a bell, but still." she turned to Cordy again. "Welcome to the freak show that is you my dear!" she then exclaimed with a burst of laughter, throwing her arms in the air. "I get a feeling this will be fun."
Consumed by a sudden burst of energy - probably boosted by fear and annoyance - Cordy snatched her arm away from one of the ugly demons and punched him in the face with as much strength as she could possibly conjure up. She then violently elbowed the other before kicking him in the stomach and finally breaking free from them.
The whole group of demons became agitated and rushed towards her as she ran out the door, the same way she'd gotten in. She kept on running through the corridors, looking over her shoulder once in a while, not really paying attention to which tunnels she took. A group of demons started after her and a chase rapidly ensued.
Out of breath, she stormed her way from tunnel to tunnel, desperately attempting to escape the savage troupes on her tail. Her feet hit the watery floor one by one in a quick rhythm, running for her life.
--
Angel, Fred, Gunn, Wesley and Lorne took a few steps forward, staring into the dark forest.
Trees and trees and only trees.
That's all that seemed to be in sight. A cool breeze made the leaves rustle in the night.
"Are we in the right place?" Gunn raised an eyebrow. "This is Cordy's subconscious??!"
"You bet." Lorne answered in an experienced tone. "What? What did you expect.?"
"I.I don't know. Versace fashion shows, The Hollywood Hall Of Fame.Macy's." Gunn began as a reply, as they started to walk. ".Lots more colors." he added, looking around at the dark atmosphere.
"Okay.so we're inside Cordy's head. The question is where exactly." Angel mumbled, looking around for a sign of anything familiar.
He had to remind himself that this wasn't all Cordy's doing. Her mind had been possessed and tempered with. Emily had said that it was a labyrinth in here. A game.
He game he couldn't afford to lose.
"Maybe she knows." Fred's voice was heard suddenly.
At a fair distance from them, a young little girl of no more than 11 years old stood in the shadow of a tree. Not an inch of her fragile frame moved, except for her long dark hair being softly blown in the wind. She was staring at them with sad eyes. Deep sad eyes. Her arms fell beside her waist gracefully. She didn't reply when Wesley addressed her, nor when Angel asked her name. She was utterly silent.
They began to head towards her, Angel leading the pack, and that's when she finally moved, proving at least that she was real. She took a step back, almost frightened, as Angel approached her. The sad look in her eyes never vanished, even as she stepped behind the tree, out of their sight. Struck with a negative feeling, Angel hurried the pace, running towards the tree, where the little girl had disappeared. When he got to the tree, she was gone. She had disappeared completely from the face of the earth, as if she'd never even existed in the first place. The gang surveyed the darkness for a little while, taken back by the little girl's strange behavior.
"Who was that?" Gunn inquired, leaning against the tree for a second.
"I don't know." Angel couldn't even finish his sentence, for the loud scream of terror that escaped Gunn's throat alerted them all.
The ground moved from under Gunn and he felt something creep up his back, as if the tree suddenly had a mind of his own. Gunn didn't even have time to turn his head around that one of the branches had grabbed him by the throat and began strangling him. Gunn tried to shout out for help once more but nothing came out of his mouth. He couldn't breathe anymore. Angel, Fred and Wesley threw themselves on the botanical attacker, trying to free Gunn. The lively tree seemed to be much too strong for them and Fred was thrown onto the ground violently. Wesley reached into his jacket and pulled out a dagger that angel had given him as a present. He stabbed the demonic tree several times, prompting orange sticky glue to pour out of its insides. Nothing seemed to be weakening it. After a few unsuccessful efforts, he managed to cut the branch completely.
Gunn breathlessly crumbled to his knees, repulsively throwing the branch far away from him. As far away as possible. He gasped for air.
"Are you okay?" Fred quickly asked with concern while she and Lorne helped him up to his feet.
"The girl needs a shrink!" Gunn exclaimed, rubbing his throat and breathing deeply.
"After this.she won't be the only one.believe me." Lorne sighed, shaking his head.
Angel raised both eyebrows as he looked behind Gunn. The shock on his face didn't make its way to his oblivious partners.
"Huh..Guys.?" he worriedly interjected.
"I mean, what's with the." Gunn continued rambling, not hearing Angel's warning tone.
".With the living and moving trees surrounding us?" Angel then finished, pointing at the dozens of lively trees behind them, waiting to attack.
They all turned and got struck by a sudden panic.
"Let's go!" Angel then shouted as they all ran in the opposite direction as fast as they could.
On their way, Angel kicked a few smaller trees out of the road while Wesley slaughtered some more with his gooey dagger so that they could make their escape.
--
Cordelia abruptly stopped running when she got to a doorway. Another dead end.
Another one of a million dead ends she'd run into thus far.
She breathlessly stared at the tall brick wall in front of her. A few strands of hair fell before her eyes and she quickly shot a look over her shoulder, making sure nothing demony had caught up with her.
"Great!" she gritted, irritation bursting out of her.
Her eyes moved down to the water she was still standing on. It was covering the entire floor, and she could have sworn that she saw something move in one of the corners nearby. She held her breath and then threw her arms in the air, obviously embittered by the whole thing.
"So this is it?!? This is my head???!!" she exclaimed in anger and disbelief. "Creepy much.??" she frustratingly berated herself before spinning around and running into another direction.
--
After exhausting themselves running, the gang finally reached the end of the woodland and found themselves at the door of a large castle. Angel was the first one to reach the tall, solid - not to mention locked - door. He had one thing on h is mind: FINDING CORDELIA. She occupied each and every one of his thoughts at that point. Angel clenched his fists in Anger and proceeded in kicking the door of the castle open with one foot. The piece of wood crashed onto the floor with a resounding noise, and Angel was the first one to enter the building.
"We need to find her.she must be in here somewhere." Angel reminded the others as they stepped inside the room behind him.
They unconsciously formed a nearly perfect line in the middle of the entrance.
Not quite perfect.
One of them was missing.
To Angel's right, Gunn and Wesley stared in front of themselves. To his left, Fred and Lorne did the same. Angel shot a confused look over his shoulder and noticed that the door through which they had entered had now vanished, only to be replaced by a white wall.
In front of them, ten different doors patiently waited to be opened. The gang all stayed silent for a very short while, pondering which one to open first. The fear of what might wait on the other side slowly began creeping up inside of them. Then, Gunn stepped forward and picked the first door.
"Here goes nothing." he muttered, turning the doorknob.
He opened the door as Angel and Fred stood by his side. The three of them literally stood still, a little stunned, as they discovered what hid behind the first door of Cordelia's subconscious.
Inside, Cordelia was sitting on a bed, bathed in dimmed light. Her hair gracefully fell on each side of her face and her eyes sparkled in the night. Kneeling in front of her on the floor, admiring every line of her face, a shirtless Angel pushed Cordelia's blouse off of her shoulders. Cordy rid herself of the piece of clothing before her lips pressed against his with hidden passion.
Lost in the depth of their kiss. Skin pressed against skin. Hands slowly discovering.
Gunn quickly shut the door as he and Fred stood, eyes wide and mouth agape. Angel shot them a tiny embarrassing look from the side. The scene had been just as he remembered, and he was actually relieved Gunn had shut the door before any of them saw a little more than they should. Sure, that night had ended with Cordy killing Angelus, but the part prior to that was a very clear and pleasant memory in Angel's mind. One he didn't wish to share with the rest of his friends.
"I [b]so[/b] did not need to see that." Gunn sighed, a little perturbed by the imagery in his head now.
"Yes well." Angel began with his apologetic, boyish glance towards an equally stunned Fred.
They all paused and then Angel regained clearer thoughts.
"We should break up into groups and head into different directions," he began, bringing the focus back on what mattered. "We have better chances of finding Cordy that way."
"He's right. Our search will be much more successful if we search that way." Wesley agreed.
They decided that Angel and Wesley would head off into one direction while Lorne, Fred and Gunn explored another.
"Wait." Fred called out just before they broke up. "How will we know if you find her and how will you know if we do?" she asked a serious angel.
"Emily said the key is Cordy." Angel pointed out, trying to find a solution. "The only way to get back is for Cordy to get out."
"Oh, like the bees!" Fred exclaimed as everyone turned to her curiously. "You get the queen, you get the whole gang. That's kind of like that if you think about it. We get Cordelia out, we're all out. So the key is to get Cordy to find the exit door.if she's free, we automatically all are, right.?" she rambled on, surprisingly making a lot of sense.
"Right." Angel agreed with her strange, but nonetheless true logic. "So, whoever finds her first just tries to get her out of here as quickly as possible..in the meantime." Angel paused and stared at them all. "We just try to stay alive.." He said as they all stayed silent for a bit.
They all shared a pause, a common fear covering their faces. Then, Angel and Wesley headed towards one of the doors, as did Gunn and the others, and they all disappeared into the labyrinth that was Cordelia's mind.
--
As she was running, she tripped and fell hard on the wet ground. Her body splashed into the water.
Cordelia quickly recovered from the fall and jumped back to her feet. Her hair and clothes now soaking wet, she continued to make her way through a long dark corridor that seemed to go on forever. As she was rushing forward, she noticed some windows and doors not so far ahead. Clearly out of breath and in dire need for some hiding place, Cordy stopped in front of a small window on the wall. As she peaked through it, she froze and her eyes grew wide.
The scene displayed in the other room felt very familiar to her.
Much too familiar for her own taste.
There was her mother..her dad.herself and a whole crowd of people she vaguely remembered as being her parents' acquaintances. They were all in a huge ballroom, with chandeliers and garlands hanging from the ceiling. People were dancing, guests were laughing, and as it was often the case, Mr. And Mrs. Chase were busy ignoring the 10-year-old little girl that sat alone in one of the corners of the room. Sad and lonely eyes she had..
Cordelia remembered that scene way too well.
She backed away from the window, swallowing back the sudden overwhelming emotions that burst through her.
"I lived that party..and once was more than enough." she mumbled to herself, choosing not to go into that room.
As she was taking a few steps back, her back hit the wall behind her. She was trying to think clearly but the only thing she could think about was Angel and just how badly she wished he was here right now.
Sure, she hated being overprotected but there were times when she could use his vampire strength and his manly overprotective tendencies..especially when demons seemed to burst out of everywhere to chase her at the moment.
She closed her eyes momentarily and took a long, deep breath, pushing a few strands of wet hair behind her ears.
"Angel, where are you..?" She whispered to herself as her eyes welled up with fear.
Just as the words left her mouth, a loud, agonizing scream filled the corridors. A scream of pain. A scream of terror.
A painful scream like no other she'd ever heard in her life. It made the blood freeze in her veins suddenly. Cordelia's eyes shot wide open, as the heartbreaking sound filled every inch of the cave in which she stood, and grabbed her by surprise.
That voice.
That pain.
That scream.
She knew that voice.