Moving- Chapter Four
Disclaimer- I own nothing, just kindly use. Joss Whedon is a genius.
Summary: Cordelia and Phantom Dennis move into the Hyperion, problems occur- and, oh, yeah, Cordy starts to find out just what it means to be part demon! C/A- sort of, and some non-sexual bondage.
Angel heard the apartment door shut behind him for the final time. After at least two dozen trips up and down the stairs, all of Cordy's things were in the back of a U-haul on the street out front. The sole remaining box held the supplies he needed to move Dennis to the Hyperion- a spell written out on parchment, an Orb of Light, a protective herb mixture, a catalyst powder, and some candles. Cordy, Wes, and the others were to head back to the hotel and start unloading Cordelia's things while he finished up here. He wouldn't be needed to unload anything with Cordelia's new-found strength. She had moved the majority of her stuff herself while the rest of the Fang Gang stood around and felt useless.
Angel removed his duster and kneeled down. Settling comfortably on the floor, he began to unpack the box. He placed the Orb of Light into the center of his working area. The Orb was quickly joined by the parchment, laid out in front of him so that he could easily read from it, the catalyst powder, and the candles. He sprinkled the protective herbs on the floor in almost a full circle and lit the candles before he spoke to the ghost. "Dennis? Are you ready to move?"
He took the parchment floating up in the air and being placed in his hand as a yes. "Okay, stay in the circle; I am going to complete it and seal it. Once it's sealed, nothing can get in or out except us. It's to protect us." As he finished the circle, Angel wondered how much of this he had to explain; other than his truly demonic-but-human mother, Dennis had lived a fairly normal life. Not much magik-use there. Cordelia had explained the spell to Dennis several times after asking him if he wanted to move with her, but Angel wasn't sure how much detail he had given Dennis. She had done an excellent job from what little Angel had overheard, but Angel still didn't know if Dennis really *got* it.
Of course, the fact that Cordelia wasn't here would probably make Dennis nervous, too. Angel and Cordelia had fought over who would complete the spell. Angel argued that, as a more experienced spellcaster, that he should do it; Cordelia argued that she wanted to do this, because Dennis was her friend. "How would you feel if some almost-stranger tossed some smelly herbs on you and imprisoned you in a glass orb?" was the way she put it.
But Angel had won out in the end, with Wesley's aid. Given Cordelia's new demoness and unpredictability, they weren't sure what effect using Magik would have on her. Once Wesley had joined in to the "discussion" (at the top of their lungs, in Angel's former office), Cordelia had grudgingly given in.
Angel was more than comfortable doing this spell; it seemed relatively easy, and Wesley had given it his stamp of approval as well. An incantation to seal Dennis in the Orb of Light; an incantation, spoken by the same person, as the Orb was smashed to free Phantom Dennis into the new location. The witch who had come up with the spell was a reliable source, according to both Angel's instincts and Lorne's "reading" of her. The spell didn't seem like much of a challenge to the centuries old vampire.
As Angel began the incantation, he started to feel a little uncomfortable; his ears rang, and his skin started to crawl. Tossing the catalyst herbs into the area of the circle he thought Dennis was in, he stumbled over a word in the spell. This made him feel uneasy. Spells had to be perfect; changing the words would change the magik's effect. His uneasiness continued to grow as he ended the spell. The physical discomfort had gotten stronger when he finished the spell. Something was not right, after all.
One shining, blue light appeared in the Orb. Angel tried to stand to dismiss the circle, but collapsed on his hands and knees before he could do so. Pain was tearing at his chest; it felt like something was pulling him apart from inside. His slumped to the ground, and did not see a dancing red light burst forth from his chest and insert itself into the Orb as well. The orb pulsed momentarily as red and blue swirled together into a deep, dark purple.
Cordelia took one final box into her arms and carried it up the wide staircase. All her things were waiting in her very own room, freshly decorated in a cool shade of moss green, with large, trailing plants hanging in front of her very own French doors, and a dark cherry poster bed dripping with gauzy curtains. Very expensive, and just what Cordelia had wanted.
Now she just needed to unpack- and, once Angel got back, "unpack" Dennis. Then she would be truly content for the first time in several weeks. Still not entirely happy to have to give up her pre-demon days' apartment, fixing up the room and Dennis' imminent arrival did help her mood.
At least, her mood stayed light as she unpacked and set up her new, walk-in closet, until almost two hours had passed and still no Angel with the Dennis Orb. Cordelia was becoming worried; the spell was supposed to be simple. Even with an unexpected Dennis-related problem, Angel should have taken no more than a half-hour to complete the spell and a half-hour to get back to the hotel. Wes and Gunn had become uncharacteristically edgy after the first hour passed; as the second neared, AI had begun to congregate silently in the lobby. No one spoke of the reason they all looked to the door.
When the door finally swung open, and Angel appeared, there was a collective sigh of relief.
Angel lifted an eyebrow at the group's reaction. "Were you worried about me?"
Cordelia hugged him quickly. "Just a little. How did it go?"
"Fine," Angel said with a shrug. "Dennis was a little agitated, stirred up some wind. I need to go see that witch for another copy of the exit spell."
"Why?" Cordelia's voice immediately became tense.
"Dennis knocked over a candle and burned the spell. I need to go see the witch before we can let him out."
Wes, clearing his throat, looked concerned. He knew that Cordelia would hold him partially responsible for this, given the glare he felt without looking at her. "That is a problem."
Cordelia rolled her eyes before focusing back on Angel. "And losing the second part of the spell is `fine'? I'd hate to hear your definition of `I fucked up.' Oh, wait- yeah, I have heard that. That's usually when you torture and eat people." She turned on her heel and headed back up to the room she had been so happy to move into just an hour ago. Phantom Dennis was presently stuck in an Orb, and Angel didn't seem the least troubled by it. She knew she should have completed the spell.
Fred and Gunn chose that moment to decide it was time to go home. "See y'all tomorrow!" Fred called as the door whooshed shut behind them. Angel and Wesley looked at each other. Both started at the same time. "I think I'll-"
Wesley nodded his head for Angel to continue first. Angel looked bothered as he spoke. "I'll go see that witch and get this straightened out."
Wesley nodded again. "Good idea. I think that I'll" he shrugged, "go home, as well." He certainly didn't want to be left alone with an agitated Cordelia, and there were no active cases requiring his immediate attention. As he gathered his things to go, he turned to Angel. "Good luck."
Angel looked confused for a moment. "I won't have any problems with the witch."
Wesley chuckled lowly. "I meant, good luck dealing with Cordelia."
Angel gave him a dark look as Wes headed out.
The chime over the door tinkled gently as Angel walked in to the magik shop. The witch who had sold him the spell was behind the counter reading a thick tome, the rest of the shop completely empty. Her head popped up at the sound. "Well, hello. I hope there wasn't a problem with the spell?"
Angel shook his head. "No, no problem with the spell itself- but a small problem with the ghost for whom it was intended. The second part accidentally ended up--" Angel played with some candles on the counter before looking up at her, "burned. Lost, gone, adios!"
The witch's long hair hid her initial reaction to his statement. As she brushed it back and stood, asking "What do you mean?" he picked up some incense sticks and sniffed gently at them.
"There's a trapped ghost in an orb, and someone is very upset with me." Angel continued toying with small items around the shop as the witch made her way from behind the counter.
"That's not really a problem. I keep copies of all my spells; I'll just make you another one." She walked purposefully to a computer at the back of the shop, settling down on a desk chair. With a few quick keystrokes and the whir of the printer, she was handing Angel another copy.
Angel eyed it as if it were a poisonous snake, and placed it down on the counter next to jars of some dried animal parts. "So what if there might have been a problem with the first part of the spell?"
The witch nervously chewed on the ends of her hair. "You said there wasn't a problem! What happened?"
Angel's fingers played with the edges of the printout. "What if something else got into the circle and sucked into the orb? Would it get out with the same exit spell?" He turned away from her, glancing out the windows of the shop.
"Of course," she turned to face his back. "But there should only have been the spellcaster and the ghost within the circle. What else got in there?"
Angel shrugged his broad shoulders dramatically. "I don't know that something else got in there. I was just wondering. And I was just wondering- what happens if the second part of this spell just disappears? Is that ghost getting out of the Orb any other way?"
She was disconcerted by the direction of these questions, as well as by speaking to Angel's back. She tried to make her way in front of him to see his face while she spoke. "Most probably if the Orb was broken, but without the spell, it would be very rough for him. He might not be the same as when he went in there, if you know what I mean." Angel was carefully moving so that she could not, despite her best efforts, get him face-to-face. "There's no way of telling."
Angel stopped moving for a second and held a large, ceremonial dagger in his grasp. "But for all intents and purposes, he's caught in there without this spell?"
"Yes," the witch intoned as Angel whirled around. His face was vamped out, yellow eyes glowing. He allowed the dagger to fall free of his grasp, to be replaced by the witch herself, before she knew what was happening. He sank his fangs in before she could even scream.
Disclaimer- I own nothing, just kindly use. Joss Whedon is a genius.
Summary: Cordelia and Phantom Dennis move into the Hyperion, problems occur- and, oh, yeah, Cordy starts to find out just what it means to be part demon! C/A- sort of, and some non-sexual bondage.
Angel heard the apartment door shut behind him for the final time. After at least two dozen trips up and down the stairs, all of Cordy's things were in the back of a U-haul on the street out front. The sole remaining box held the supplies he needed to move Dennis to the Hyperion- a spell written out on parchment, an Orb of Light, a protective herb mixture, a catalyst powder, and some candles. Cordy, Wes, and the others were to head back to the hotel and start unloading Cordelia's things while he finished up here. He wouldn't be needed to unload anything with Cordelia's new-found strength. She had moved the majority of her stuff herself while the rest of the Fang Gang stood around and felt useless.
Angel removed his duster and kneeled down. Settling comfortably on the floor, he began to unpack the box. He placed the Orb of Light into the center of his working area. The Orb was quickly joined by the parchment, laid out in front of him so that he could easily read from it, the catalyst powder, and the candles. He sprinkled the protective herbs on the floor in almost a full circle and lit the candles before he spoke to the ghost. "Dennis? Are you ready to move?"
He took the parchment floating up in the air and being placed in his hand as a yes. "Okay, stay in the circle; I am going to complete it and seal it. Once it's sealed, nothing can get in or out except us. It's to protect us." As he finished the circle, Angel wondered how much of this he had to explain; other than his truly demonic-but-human mother, Dennis had lived a fairly normal life. Not much magik-use there. Cordelia had explained the spell to Dennis several times after asking him if he wanted to move with her, but Angel wasn't sure how much detail he had given Dennis. She had done an excellent job from what little Angel had overheard, but Angel still didn't know if Dennis really *got* it.
Of course, the fact that Cordelia wasn't here would probably make Dennis nervous, too. Angel and Cordelia had fought over who would complete the spell. Angel argued that, as a more experienced spellcaster, that he should do it; Cordelia argued that she wanted to do this, because Dennis was her friend. "How would you feel if some almost-stranger tossed some smelly herbs on you and imprisoned you in a glass orb?" was the way she put it.
But Angel had won out in the end, with Wesley's aid. Given Cordelia's new demoness and unpredictability, they weren't sure what effect using Magik would have on her. Once Wesley had joined in to the "discussion" (at the top of their lungs, in Angel's former office), Cordelia had grudgingly given in.
Angel was more than comfortable doing this spell; it seemed relatively easy, and Wesley had given it his stamp of approval as well. An incantation to seal Dennis in the Orb of Light; an incantation, spoken by the same person, as the Orb was smashed to free Phantom Dennis into the new location. The witch who had come up with the spell was a reliable source, according to both Angel's instincts and Lorne's "reading" of her. The spell didn't seem like much of a challenge to the centuries old vampire.
As Angel began the incantation, he started to feel a little uncomfortable; his ears rang, and his skin started to crawl. Tossing the catalyst herbs into the area of the circle he thought Dennis was in, he stumbled over a word in the spell. This made him feel uneasy. Spells had to be perfect; changing the words would change the magik's effect. His uneasiness continued to grow as he ended the spell. The physical discomfort had gotten stronger when he finished the spell. Something was not right, after all.
One shining, blue light appeared in the Orb. Angel tried to stand to dismiss the circle, but collapsed on his hands and knees before he could do so. Pain was tearing at his chest; it felt like something was pulling him apart from inside. His slumped to the ground, and did not see a dancing red light burst forth from his chest and insert itself into the Orb as well. The orb pulsed momentarily as red and blue swirled together into a deep, dark purple.
Cordelia took one final box into her arms and carried it up the wide staircase. All her things were waiting in her very own room, freshly decorated in a cool shade of moss green, with large, trailing plants hanging in front of her very own French doors, and a dark cherry poster bed dripping with gauzy curtains. Very expensive, and just what Cordelia had wanted.
Now she just needed to unpack- and, once Angel got back, "unpack" Dennis. Then she would be truly content for the first time in several weeks. Still not entirely happy to have to give up her pre-demon days' apartment, fixing up the room and Dennis' imminent arrival did help her mood.
At least, her mood stayed light as she unpacked and set up her new, walk-in closet, until almost two hours had passed and still no Angel with the Dennis Orb. Cordelia was becoming worried; the spell was supposed to be simple. Even with an unexpected Dennis-related problem, Angel should have taken no more than a half-hour to complete the spell and a half-hour to get back to the hotel. Wes and Gunn had become uncharacteristically edgy after the first hour passed; as the second neared, AI had begun to congregate silently in the lobby. No one spoke of the reason they all looked to the door.
When the door finally swung open, and Angel appeared, there was a collective sigh of relief.
Angel lifted an eyebrow at the group's reaction. "Were you worried about me?"
Cordelia hugged him quickly. "Just a little. How did it go?"
"Fine," Angel said with a shrug. "Dennis was a little agitated, stirred up some wind. I need to go see that witch for another copy of the exit spell."
"Why?" Cordelia's voice immediately became tense.
"Dennis knocked over a candle and burned the spell. I need to go see the witch before we can let him out."
Wes, clearing his throat, looked concerned. He knew that Cordelia would hold him partially responsible for this, given the glare he felt without looking at her. "That is a problem."
Cordelia rolled her eyes before focusing back on Angel. "And losing the second part of the spell is `fine'? I'd hate to hear your definition of `I fucked up.' Oh, wait- yeah, I have heard that. That's usually when you torture and eat people." She turned on her heel and headed back up to the room she had been so happy to move into just an hour ago. Phantom Dennis was presently stuck in an Orb, and Angel didn't seem the least troubled by it. She knew she should have completed the spell.
Fred and Gunn chose that moment to decide it was time to go home. "See y'all tomorrow!" Fred called as the door whooshed shut behind them. Angel and Wesley looked at each other. Both started at the same time. "I think I'll-"
Wesley nodded his head for Angel to continue first. Angel looked bothered as he spoke. "I'll go see that witch and get this straightened out."
Wesley nodded again. "Good idea. I think that I'll" he shrugged, "go home, as well." He certainly didn't want to be left alone with an agitated Cordelia, and there were no active cases requiring his immediate attention. As he gathered his things to go, he turned to Angel. "Good luck."
Angel looked confused for a moment. "I won't have any problems with the witch."
Wesley chuckled lowly. "I meant, good luck dealing with Cordelia."
Angel gave him a dark look as Wes headed out.
The chime over the door tinkled gently as Angel walked in to the magik shop. The witch who had sold him the spell was behind the counter reading a thick tome, the rest of the shop completely empty. Her head popped up at the sound. "Well, hello. I hope there wasn't a problem with the spell?"
Angel shook his head. "No, no problem with the spell itself- but a small problem with the ghost for whom it was intended. The second part accidentally ended up--" Angel played with some candles on the counter before looking up at her, "burned. Lost, gone, adios!"
The witch's long hair hid her initial reaction to his statement. As she brushed it back and stood, asking "What do you mean?" he picked up some incense sticks and sniffed gently at them.
"There's a trapped ghost in an orb, and someone is very upset with me." Angel continued toying with small items around the shop as the witch made her way from behind the counter.
"That's not really a problem. I keep copies of all my spells; I'll just make you another one." She walked purposefully to a computer at the back of the shop, settling down on a desk chair. With a few quick keystrokes and the whir of the printer, she was handing Angel another copy.
Angel eyed it as if it were a poisonous snake, and placed it down on the counter next to jars of some dried animal parts. "So what if there might have been a problem with the first part of the spell?"
The witch nervously chewed on the ends of her hair. "You said there wasn't a problem! What happened?"
Angel's fingers played with the edges of the printout. "What if something else got into the circle and sucked into the orb? Would it get out with the same exit spell?" He turned away from her, glancing out the windows of the shop.
"Of course," she turned to face his back. "But there should only have been the spellcaster and the ghost within the circle. What else got in there?"
Angel shrugged his broad shoulders dramatically. "I don't know that something else got in there. I was just wondering. And I was just wondering- what happens if the second part of this spell just disappears? Is that ghost getting out of the Orb any other way?"
She was disconcerted by the direction of these questions, as well as by speaking to Angel's back. She tried to make her way in front of him to see his face while she spoke. "Most probably if the Orb was broken, but without the spell, it would be very rough for him. He might not be the same as when he went in there, if you know what I mean." Angel was carefully moving so that she could not, despite her best efforts, get him face-to-face. "There's no way of telling."
Angel stopped moving for a second and held a large, ceremonial dagger in his grasp. "But for all intents and purposes, he's caught in there without this spell?"
"Yes," the witch intoned as Angel whirled around. His face was vamped out, yellow eyes glowing. He allowed the dagger to fall free of his grasp, to be replaced by the witch herself, before she knew what was happening. He sank his fangs in before she could even scream.