1 Past, Present, & Future
By – Colleen "Coll", Forker18@aol.com
Teaser: X-over with BtVS. Cordy gets a vision that sends the gang packing to Sunnydale, knowing that ShaJhan fits into it all but not sure how. Also, they get shocked when each member of the Angel Investigations gang realizes they have to deal with their past.
Genre: Angel: The Series/Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Romance/Suspense/Action
Pairing: Gunn/Fred, Angel/Cordelia
Rating: PG-13 - R
Distribution: Sure, why not, just ask!
Spoilers: Up to Sleep Tight, and makes references to some rumors floating around on the net.
Special Thanks to: All the Forkers (Especially those @ the fanforum board! Love you guys!) and everyone @ FF.net for reviewing my fics!
1.1 Part 8
"ShaJhan?" Angel echoed through gritted teeth. "You ran into ShaJhan?"
Cordelia nodded as she looked down over everyone in the magic store. They kept going down there, trying their hardest not to look at Angel, see his pain. "We took care of his buddies that came in through the portal he opened," she informed him. "He said it's not over Angel. He's coming back, and he said he'll be able to hurt us."
"Maybe it has something to do with Pylea," Angel said calmly. "Maybe there's something there that can make him…solid in other worlds, then he'll come here."
She could practically see the anxiousness in his eyes. The wanting for ShaJhan to come so he can get revenge. "I wouldn't go planning your attack yet, Angel," she cautioned him. "He was really confident, said we wouldn't have the chance to hurt him."
"There's always a way." He said as he pushed himself up and away from her. The group down stairs paused as he came down. Angel looked at them all before stopping at Buffy.
"I want to go check out your sources," he told her. "See if there's been any word around here about ShaJhan." Buffy nodded, "I'll go with you." Cordy watched the scene from above, waiting for him to tell her no need.
It never came.
They walked out of the Magic Box silently. Why was she feeling jealous? "You feel it to, then?"
Cordelia whipped around and found Spike emerging from one of the shadows. "I thought you left as soon as the sun went down." She told him. He smiled back at her. It kinda creeped her out, actually.
"Well, I didn't," he shot back. "And you're not answering my question." "What do I see, Spike?" Cordy asked impatiently. "Buffy and Angel," he answered right away. "It bugs you. They say that they can never be together, that they have to stay away from each other, but there they go.
"Gallivanting into the night. Fighting evil, or maybe that's what they want us to think." "Angel is thinking about nothing else like that, got it? Nothing but getting his son back." Cordelia interrupted.
Mainly because everything he was saying she had thought about. "Doesn't matter what Angel's thinking, Seer," Spike shot back. "It matters what you think is happening between the star-crossed lovers."
"And how do you know so much about what I'm feeling?" Cordelia asked. Spike gave her a pointed look. She could see it in his eyes. The love, the pain, the scar. "Oh, my God." She whispered.
"Maybe you shouldn't say anything," he told her quietly. "Tara's the only one that knows…only cause Buffy told her."
She wouldn't have believed it in the old days, before she became the Seer and half demon; but his eyes told their story: Buffy broke his heart, used him to make her feel alive. Deep down, Cordelia thought a lot about the information she just got.
Did Buffy really feel something for Spike?
"I won't," she told him quietly. "But we gotta focus more on ShaJhan, and Connor." Spike nodded as he licked his lips. "I'm here to help," Spike whispered. "I promised her that."
Cordelia swallowed the lump in her throat and pushed herself up from where she sat. Spike was right behind her as she descended the stairs. Wesley offered her a small smile as he held a small book out for her.
Cordelia took it. Connor, she repeated to herself. Think of Connor.
~*~
"What exactly are we looking for?"
Wesley looked up at Fred. They had gone into the back where Giles left all of his books. They were searching for any books that had anything to do with dimensional travel, time shifting demons, anything.
He shrugged, however, removed his glasses, and polished them with his un- tucked shirt. "I'm not sure," he responded. "Perhaps you remember something about Pylea that may make ShaJhan solid again."
"Why would it be in Pylea?" she asked him, her voice cracking a bit when she called the hell dimension by it's name. "Cordelia's vision," he reminded her. "She said it had to do with Pylea and ShaJhan."
Fred just returned to reading. He felt bad for her. All the thinking about Pylea must have been hard for her, but she and Lorne may be their best shot at figuring this out. They're the ones that know Pylea the most, whether their time there was good or bad.
Wesley imagined how frightening all of this must be. Lorne's cryptic message about all of them facing their pasts and Cordy's vision and thoughts about Pylea and ShaJhan…he wished he could be the one that would comfort her.
But Wesley knew that was not how it was going to work out. Fred looked into his eyes. It was then he realized that he had been string at her and got lost in his thoughts. "Wesley, are you OK?" she asked softly.
He should tell her, instead of bottling it up, but he knew how she would react. While they may have…not really forgiven him, but are now dealing with his actions, they can never forget that it was his fault.
"A little pain." He said throatily as he gestured to his neck. It wasn't an entirely untrue statement. The wound did hurt a little, but really only when he thought about what he had done.
"Is there anything I can do to help?" she offered. "I mean, we're not really getting anywhere in the research department. If you want-" "I'm fine, really," he interrupted. "We have to keep researching and figure this out…for Angel."
He felt her eyes on him. He took a moment to wonder if she ever felt his eyes on her when he watched form a distance. "What?" he asked quietly. "You promised me," She simply said. "Now, you're breaking it." "Breaking what?" he questioned.
"You promised me you wouldn't let all this consume you," she reminded him. "You're working yourself senseless, Wesley."
"What am I supposed to do?" he shot back harsher than he meant. "Sit here, do nothing?" "No." Fred managed to get in before he continued. "I have a lot to make up for, and I'm not going to stop trying."
She glared at him again before gathering up a few big books and clutching them close to her. "Just don't hurt yourself." She said quietly before exiting the room. Wesley sighed. Now she was mad at him, great.
He grabbed some of the books she left behind and went to return to the store. Something made him stop though, a noise of some sorts. He placed the books down on a nearby chair and walked forward, using his ears to guide him.
The sound, it was like whirling. The wind was picking up, somewhere. He walked to the back of the back room and the door suddenly flew open. Wind burst into the room and knocked Wesley back.
A swirling, bright light accompanied the wind. Wesley managed to look up as a figure suddenly appeared before his eyes. Wesley looked at the figure with wide eyes and hung his mouth open.
"Oh, my God." He whispered.
~*~
"Aw, crap."
Buffy walked straight up to Willy, not pausing as she grabbed him by the shirt collar and shoved him up against the wall. "Hey, Willy," She said sweetly with a bright smile. "What's up?"
He glared back at her, panting and sweating, as he said, "Well, my business was until you showed up again. The you scare the crap out of my patrons Buffy." "Well, we can be quick if you don't give me any shit."
Willy looked at her with wide eyes as he nodded. "OK then…demon named ShaJhan, time and dimensional traveling type, what do you know?" "Nothing." Willy answered quickly. Too quickly.
"I don't believe that, Willy."
The snitch's eyes grew wider as Angel came into the bar. A bunch of vampires left right then and there. "Angel? What are you doing back in town?"
"Looking for that demon," he answered. "And I know you know something."
Willy looked back and forth between them. "OK, all I know is your boy's been checkin out Sunnydale for a while now." "Why?" Angel asked as soon as Willy stopped talking.
"Don't know why," he answered honestly. "But I will tell you lot of my customers are scheduling their vacations for the coming weeks. Not a lot of people wanna be around."
Buffy watched Angel, waiting to see what he wanted to do. With one last glare at Willy, he nodded his head to the door then turned and left. Buffy looked back at Willy, let him go, and straightened his shirt.
"What's with all the niceness?" he asked curiously.
Buffy half smiled, "Wanted to do something nice. You helped as best you can. Sorry about the roughness, too. This whole thing is just a little urgent."
"No problem," he responded. "A little niceness can get you pretty far, you know." Buffy nodded before turning and leaving the bar.
~*~
Gunn observed Fred as she came back to the front of the store. She was pissed, which was pretty obvious to everyone the way she slammed her big heavy books on to the table.
She grabbed the top one and walked over to him with it in front of her chest. "Find anything in that one?" she asked, referring to the current book in his hand. Gunn shook his head. "Same stuff that's been in all the others."
"Try this one." She offered. Gunn grabbed the book, touching her hand as he did so, and pulled her to him. "We'll try this one." He whispered. Fred sighed, looking back at the other books, then back to him.
"We'll get more done if we look in separate books, Charles." She told him. Gunn pulled her against him anyway, and opened the book in front of them. "Something tells me," he whispered. "That you're mad. I'm just trying to calm you down. Just take a break, baby."
She relaxed in his arms as she pushed her glasses up her nose. "Why do I always feel relaxed with you?" she asked after they looked through the book a bit.
A loud crashing sound coming from the backroom caused Fred to jump a bit. "What the hell is that?" Xander asked. Gunn got up and grabbed a near by axe. "Stay here," he told everyone, but was talking more to Fred. "I'll check it out."
"You shouldn't go alone." Fred said as she held on to his arm. "The girl's right, mate," Spike said as he stepped forward. "Let's go." Gunn held his hand out and connected with Spike's chest, shoving him back a bit.
"If I don't trust Angel completely, what the hell makes you think that I'm gonna trust you?" Gunn asked through gritted teeth. The group stood, feeling the tension, before Fred spoke. "Cause I'm telling you too," she said firmly. "Wesley's back there, he may need help so stop arguing and go."
Gunn left without another word. He knew Spike was behind him, but he tried not to think about that. As soon as they were in the back room, Gunn took it slow. "Why are you walking so slow?" Spike asked loudly as he pushed passed Gunn and out of his site. "We're investigating a noise not tracking a-"
Spike was thrown back into Gunn's view. He held his ax up as he walked forward, but the ax fell from his hands after seeing what was before him.
By – Colleen "Coll", Forker18@aol.com
Teaser: X-over with BtVS. Cordy gets a vision that sends the gang packing to Sunnydale, knowing that ShaJhan fits into it all but not sure how. Also, they get shocked when each member of the Angel Investigations gang realizes they have to deal with their past.
Genre: Angel: The Series/Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Romance/Suspense/Action
Pairing: Gunn/Fred, Angel/Cordelia
Rating: PG-13 - R
Distribution: Sure, why not, just ask!
Spoilers: Up to Sleep Tight, and makes references to some rumors floating around on the net.
Special Thanks to: All the Forkers (Especially those @ the fanforum board! Love you guys!) and everyone @ FF.net for reviewing my fics!
1.1 Part 8
"ShaJhan?" Angel echoed through gritted teeth. "You ran into ShaJhan?"
Cordelia nodded as she looked down over everyone in the magic store. They kept going down there, trying their hardest not to look at Angel, see his pain. "We took care of his buddies that came in through the portal he opened," she informed him. "He said it's not over Angel. He's coming back, and he said he'll be able to hurt us."
"Maybe it has something to do with Pylea," Angel said calmly. "Maybe there's something there that can make him…solid in other worlds, then he'll come here."
She could practically see the anxiousness in his eyes. The wanting for ShaJhan to come so he can get revenge. "I wouldn't go planning your attack yet, Angel," she cautioned him. "He was really confident, said we wouldn't have the chance to hurt him."
"There's always a way." He said as he pushed himself up and away from her. The group down stairs paused as he came down. Angel looked at them all before stopping at Buffy.
"I want to go check out your sources," he told her. "See if there's been any word around here about ShaJhan." Buffy nodded, "I'll go with you." Cordy watched the scene from above, waiting for him to tell her no need.
It never came.
They walked out of the Magic Box silently. Why was she feeling jealous? "You feel it to, then?"
Cordelia whipped around and found Spike emerging from one of the shadows. "I thought you left as soon as the sun went down." She told him. He smiled back at her. It kinda creeped her out, actually.
"Well, I didn't," he shot back. "And you're not answering my question." "What do I see, Spike?" Cordy asked impatiently. "Buffy and Angel," he answered right away. "It bugs you. They say that they can never be together, that they have to stay away from each other, but there they go.
"Gallivanting into the night. Fighting evil, or maybe that's what they want us to think." "Angel is thinking about nothing else like that, got it? Nothing but getting his son back." Cordelia interrupted.
Mainly because everything he was saying she had thought about. "Doesn't matter what Angel's thinking, Seer," Spike shot back. "It matters what you think is happening between the star-crossed lovers."
"And how do you know so much about what I'm feeling?" Cordelia asked. Spike gave her a pointed look. She could see it in his eyes. The love, the pain, the scar. "Oh, my God." She whispered.
"Maybe you shouldn't say anything," he told her quietly. "Tara's the only one that knows…only cause Buffy told her."
She wouldn't have believed it in the old days, before she became the Seer and half demon; but his eyes told their story: Buffy broke his heart, used him to make her feel alive. Deep down, Cordelia thought a lot about the information she just got.
Did Buffy really feel something for Spike?
"I won't," she told him quietly. "But we gotta focus more on ShaJhan, and Connor." Spike nodded as he licked his lips. "I'm here to help," Spike whispered. "I promised her that."
Cordelia swallowed the lump in her throat and pushed herself up from where she sat. Spike was right behind her as she descended the stairs. Wesley offered her a small smile as he held a small book out for her.
Cordelia took it. Connor, she repeated to herself. Think of Connor.
~*~
"What exactly are we looking for?"
Wesley looked up at Fred. They had gone into the back where Giles left all of his books. They were searching for any books that had anything to do with dimensional travel, time shifting demons, anything.
He shrugged, however, removed his glasses, and polished them with his un- tucked shirt. "I'm not sure," he responded. "Perhaps you remember something about Pylea that may make ShaJhan solid again."
"Why would it be in Pylea?" she asked him, her voice cracking a bit when she called the hell dimension by it's name. "Cordelia's vision," he reminded her. "She said it had to do with Pylea and ShaJhan."
Fred just returned to reading. He felt bad for her. All the thinking about Pylea must have been hard for her, but she and Lorne may be their best shot at figuring this out. They're the ones that know Pylea the most, whether their time there was good or bad.
Wesley imagined how frightening all of this must be. Lorne's cryptic message about all of them facing their pasts and Cordy's vision and thoughts about Pylea and ShaJhan…he wished he could be the one that would comfort her.
But Wesley knew that was not how it was going to work out. Fred looked into his eyes. It was then he realized that he had been string at her and got lost in his thoughts. "Wesley, are you OK?" she asked softly.
He should tell her, instead of bottling it up, but he knew how she would react. While they may have…not really forgiven him, but are now dealing with his actions, they can never forget that it was his fault.
"A little pain." He said throatily as he gestured to his neck. It wasn't an entirely untrue statement. The wound did hurt a little, but really only when he thought about what he had done.
"Is there anything I can do to help?" she offered. "I mean, we're not really getting anywhere in the research department. If you want-" "I'm fine, really," he interrupted. "We have to keep researching and figure this out…for Angel."
He felt her eyes on him. He took a moment to wonder if she ever felt his eyes on her when he watched form a distance. "What?" he asked quietly. "You promised me," She simply said. "Now, you're breaking it." "Breaking what?" he questioned.
"You promised me you wouldn't let all this consume you," she reminded him. "You're working yourself senseless, Wesley."
"What am I supposed to do?" he shot back harsher than he meant. "Sit here, do nothing?" "No." Fred managed to get in before he continued. "I have a lot to make up for, and I'm not going to stop trying."
She glared at him again before gathering up a few big books and clutching them close to her. "Just don't hurt yourself." She said quietly before exiting the room. Wesley sighed. Now she was mad at him, great.
He grabbed some of the books she left behind and went to return to the store. Something made him stop though, a noise of some sorts. He placed the books down on a nearby chair and walked forward, using his ears to guide him.
The sound, it was like whirling. The wind was picking up, somewhere. He walked to the back of the back room and the door suddenly flew open. Wind burst into the room and knocked Wesley back.
A swirling, bright light accompanied the wind. Wesley managed to look up as a figure suddenly appeared before his eyes. Wesley looked at the figure with wide eyes and hung his mouth open.
"Oh, my God." He whispered.
~*~
"Aw, crap."
Buffy walked straight up to Willy, not pausing as she grabbed him by the shirt collar and shoved him up against the wall. "Hey, Willy," She said sweetly with a bright smile. "What's up?"
He glared back at her, panting and sweating, as he said, "Well, my business was until you showed up again. The you scare the crap out of my patrons Buffy." "Well, we can be quick if you don't give me any shit."
Willy looked at her with wide eyes as he nodded. "OK then…demon named ShaJhan, time and dimensional traveling type, what do you know?" "Nothing." Willy answered quickly. Too quickly.
"I don't believe that, Willy."
The snitch's eyes grew wider as Angel came into the bar. A bunch of vampires left right then and there. "Angel? What are you doing back in town?"
"Looking for that demon," he answered. "And I know you know something."
Willy looked back and forth between them. "OK, all I know is your boy's been checkin out Sunnydale for a while now." "Why?" Angel asked as soon as Willy stopped talking.
"Don't know why," he answered honestly. "But I will tell you lot of my customers are scheduling their vacations for the coming weeks. Not a lot of people wanna be around."
Buffy watched Angel, waiting to see what he wanted to do. With one last glare at Willy, he nodded his head to the door then turned and left. Buffy looked back at Willy, let him go, and straightened his shirt.
"What's with all the niceness?" he asked curiously.
Buffy half smiled, "Wanted to do something nice. You helped as best you can. Sorry about the roughness, too. This whole thing is just a little urgent."
"No problem," he responded. "A little niceness can get you pretty far, you know." Buffy nodded before turning and leaving the bar.
~*~
Gunn observed Fred as she came back to the front of the store. She was pissed, which was pretty obvious to everyone the way she slammed her big heavy books on to the table.
She grabbed the top one and walked over to him with it in front of her chest. "Find anything in that one?" she asked, referring to the current book in his hand. Gunn shook his head. "Same stuff that's been in all the others."
"Try this one." She offered. Gunn grabbed the book, touching her hand as he did so, and pulled her to him. "We'll try this one." He whispered. Fred sighed, looking back at the other books, then back to him.
"We'll get more done if we look in separate books, Charles." She told him. Gunn pulled her against him anyway, and opened the book in front of them. "Something tells me," he whispered. "That you're mad. I'm just trying to calm you down. Just take a break, baby."
She relaxed in his arms as she pushed her glasses up her nose. "Why do I always feel relaxed with you?" she asked after they looked through the book a bit.
A loud crashing sound coming from the backroom caused Fred to jump a bit. "What the hell is that?" Xander asked. Gunn got up and grabbed a near by axe. "Stay here," he told everyone, but was talking more to Fred. "I'll check it out."
"You shouldn't go alone." Fred said as she held on to his arm. "The girl's right, mate," Spike said as he stepped forward. "Let's go." Gunn held his hand out and connected with Spike's chest, shoving him back a bit.
"If I don't trust Angel completely, what the hell makes you think that I'm gonna trust you?" Gunn asked through gritted teeth. The group stood, feeling the tension, before Fred spoke. "Cause I'm telling you too," she said firmly. "Wesley's back there, he may need help so stop arguing and go."
Gunn left without another word. He knew Spike was behind him, but he tried not to think about that. As soon as they were in the back room, Gunn took it slow. "Why are you walking so slow?" Spike asked loudly as he pushed passed Gunn and out of his site. "We're investigating a noise not tracking a-"
Spike was thrown back into Gunn's view. He held his ax up as he walked forward, but the ax fell from his hands after seeing what was before him.