Disclaimer, Summary, ect.: See first chapter.
Author's Note: Sorry to everyone who has been waiting for this, I got really wrapped up in family things over Easter and haven't had time to write until now. This will probably be kind of short, but Kat and I kind of had this all planned out, so bear with us. Oh, and there won't be any Scoobies in this story, at least not yet. They've got their own stuff to deal with. Sorry to anyone who's disappointed.
This chapter authored by: Angel-4-ever (aka Tigerwolf)
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Chapter 8
Post Traumatic Hell Disorder
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As we entered the mansion, I started feeling a little nervous. There were a lot of memories in these old walls, and almost none of them were good. I walked over to the room that used to hold my bed, the bed where Buffy and I had shared our "post-slayage naps". Dammit, I can't believe this is still getting to me.
I thought I was finally over it.
Oh, well.
Some things leave marks on your heart that fade with time, I guess Buffy is more of a scar.
Cordy came up behind me and gave me a little hug. I wonder if it's because she thinks that I'm upset, or because she's upset. Or, it could be what I'd said in the car. I still can't believe I blurted that out, I mean, I meant it, but that wasn't exactly the right time. Huh, I guess there really is no time like the present, especially when you're a dork who says things at the most inappropriate times. Can't take it back now, though. And she said she loved me, back in the hotel room. Of course, that just could have been the emotions of the moment talking.
Anyway.
I slipped my arm around her. I was about to tell her that I'd meant what I'd said, when Wes called us from the other room. Once again, the gods of timing have decided to play with me. We headed back into the main foyer of the mansion where the others were waiting.
"Ah, Angel. There you are," Wes said. I can always count on him to state the obvious. "We were just wondering where exactly Acathla is?"
If it had been possible, I would have gotten even paler. "Um, well, there was a lot going on, and I wasn't exactly in the best of health, and..."
"You forgot what you did with a seven hundred pound statue!?"
"Not forgot, just never remembered," I said sheepishly. "I wasn't exactly normal when I got back."
"And when have you ever been normal?" Cordy asked playfully.
"Very funny."
"You don't remember anything at all?" Wes asked.
"Well, I remember that Acathla was freaking me out, so I decided to get rid of it. I remember several failed attempts to drag it up the stairs, one of which that almost flattened me. And I remember finally figuring out that I had to roll it up the stairs one at a time. It took all day. Then I left it in a room up there."
"Oh, very good. So, all we have to do is go upstairs and look in every room until we find it."
"Uh, Wes?" I ventured. "It's not going to be that easy. I don't remember what floor I left it on."
"So we'll search them all," Lorne said. "I mean, how many floors could there be?"
"Six, I think. Oh, and there are hidden passageways that lead into the sewer system, and some trapdoors that will drop you into the basement, if you aren't careful. And some of the passageways lead to other areas in the house."
"Oh, bloody wonderful!" Wes said, throwing his hands up. "We're stuck in a funhouse!"
"It would seem," Groo said. "That the only way of finding what we are looking for is to search the entire house."
"I vote we split up," Gunn said. "I'll stay with Fred."
"Big surprise," Cordy whispered.
"Ok," Wesley said. "How about Gunn goes with Fred, I go with Lorne, and Groo goes with Cordelia and Angel?"
"Fine with me," Lorne said.
"Us too," said Fred.
"Me too," Cordy said. "Right, Angel?"
I was a little surprised that she didn't ask Groo if it was alright with him. "Uh, yeah. Fine."
We separated and began the search. There was no point in looking on the ground floor, since I knew that it was upstairs. So we each picked a floor and got started. It wasn't long before we were all hopelessly lost. I'd never actually explored the higher floors, so even I didn't know what to expect. Groo split off from us in one of the passages, but Cordy wouldn't even let go of me, let alone wander off. I was flattered that she trusted me, however I didn't know where we were any more than she did.
We came out of the passage in a hallway, who knew what floor it was, and encountered one of the funniest scenes that I'd ever witnessed.
It looked like something out of a Scooby-Doo movie. A door would open on one side of the hall, and Wes and Lorne would come out, then go in another door at the other end of the hall. Then Groo would come out of the door that Wes had just gone in. Then a moment later, that same door would open and Gunn and Fred would come out, cross the hall and enter another door on the other side. Cordy started giggling uncontrollably after the third repeat performance of the hall crossing. After Wes and Lorne nearly ran into Gunn and Fred, who had been coming out of the door that they had been heading for, and Groo had come up out of a passage in the middle of the floor, I started laughing as well.
But I was nearly pushed over the edge when Wes came out of one door, alone, stood in the middle of the hall and shouted, "Where the bloody hell is everybody!" I had to grab the wall to keep from collapsing from laughter.
After Cordy and I recovered from our laughing fit, she decided that since all the passageways seemed to meet in the same hall, we could split up and cover more ground. I agreed. Cordy headed off into one of the passages that Groo had come out of a moment earlier. I started looking for the stairs. Something told me that I needed to be higher.
I found the stairs in a rather unorthodox fashion. I nearly fell down them. The passageway that I had been in ended in the wall halfway between the fourth and fifth floors, so when I opened the door and stepped through, I wound up on a slant and had to grab the rail to keep from falling. For once, I was actually glad that I was a vampire. Catlike reflexes and all that.
I headed up the stairs and opened a door to find myself on the roof. Oops. Too far. I turned around and went back down one flight of stairs and started searching the uppermost floor. I avoided the passages this time, I didn't want to wind up outside again. It was almost sunup anyway.
As I walked the halls, I became aware of something. I was feeling a little nervous. Check that. I was very nervous. But, that might be a good thing. I used to get this same feeling when I was near Acathla, maybe this meant that I was on the right floor. However, the feeling was getting worse.
Much worse.
I did my best to ignore it.
*FLASH!* Chains, bars of a cage. Screams and whips cracking.
I shook my head. "Ok," I muttered. "That was weird."
I continued opening doors and peeking inside. Now I was actually feeling scared, I was even a bit nauseated. I knew I had to be close.
*FLASH!* A demon, nearly nine feet tall. It had four arms and in each hand was a different torture implement. In one hand, a cat-of-nine-tails whip, in another hand, a branding iron, in another hand, a cattle prod-like device, and in the final hand, an old fashioned dagger with a dragon emblazoned on the handle.
I slipped and fell on my ass. "What the Hell was that!" I yelped. Then I caught sight of what was behind the door that I had just opened. I had found Acathla. I pushed myself up and walked into the room, calling to the others over my shoulder. Now all I had to do was wait for them to figure out where I was.
I walked over to a folding chair and stood it up, then I sat down. I felt as if the stupid statue was looking at me, so I got up and moved the chair around behind it. Now I couldn't see the door, so I moved again. Once again, I felt as if Acathla was watching me, so I gave up and took my chair outside the door to wait for the others. I probably should have done that to begin with.
A few moments later, they all emerged from various passages and came over to me. I led them into the room, feeling a little better now that I wasn't alone.
"Yuck," Fred commented. "It's even uglier than I expected."
"Aw, Fred," Cordy said. "If it bothers you, just close your eyes."
*FLASH!* "Close your eyes." A searing pain through my stomach, and a loud sucking sound. Cage, I'm in a cage. What's that? No! Get away from me! NNNNOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!
The memories seemed to go on forever, pain, all over, radiating from every part of my body. Heat, searing heat, burning me all over at once. It was too much, far too much. I was vaguely aware of the voices of my friends, calling to me. Someone tried to grab me and I slugged them without thinking.
I had to escape!
I had to get away from the pain.
I must have run out of the room and into the hallway, cause when I started to come back to my senses, I was slumped against the wall. Cordy was sitting next to me and holding me tightly, whispering that I was safe, that it was over. It took me a moment to recover completely. And, when I did, I noticed Groo leaning against the wall, rubbing his jaw. Oops, I guess that's who I hit. Heh, well, at least I had an excuse.
"Are you okay?" Cordy asked after I'd finally stopped shaking. Well, I'd stopped shaking constantly, anyway.
"Uh, yeah. I think so," even as I said that, I felt another uncontrollable shiver pass through my body. Cordy hugged me tighter.
"Groo," she said. "Would you go tell Wes that we're gonna stay out here 'till he gets the portal open? I don't think Angel needs to go back in there until he has to."
"Yes, princess."
Groo turned and reentered the room, leaving me sitting in Cordy's arms.
TBC...
Author's Note: Thanks again for reviewing, especially to Insane1 and Melohdramatic. Oh, and Tequila Sunrise? I'm flattered that you like our story even though you don't watch Angel. And please E-mail me when the next chap of Convoluted is up.
Don't worry everybody. MissKitie's chap will be up soon, so keep watching for us!
BTW, I'm still working on Night of the Living Dinosaurs, and I plan to continue Playtime as so many requested. Thanks for the reviews, all!
Author's Note: Sorry to everyone who has been waiting for this, I got really wrapped up in family things over Easter and haven't had time to write until now. This will probably be kind of short, but Kat and I kind of had this all planned out, so bear with us. Oh, and there won't be any Scoobies in this story, at least not yet. They've got their own stuff to deal with. Sorry to anyone who's disappointed.
This chapter authored by: Angel-4-ever (aka Tigerwolf)
==++==++==++==++==++==
Chapter 8
Post Traumatic Hell Disorder
==++==++==++==++==++==
As we entered the mansion, I started feeling a little nervous. There were a lot of memories in these old walls, and almost none of them were good. I walked over to the room that used to hold my bed, the bed where Buffy and I had shared our "post-slayage naps". Dammit, I can't believe this is still getting to me.
I thought I was finally over it.
Oh, well.
Some things leave marks on your heart that fade with time, I guess Buffy is more of a scar.
Cordy came up behind me and gave me a little hug. I wonder if it's because she thinks that I'm upset, or because she's upset. Or, it could be what I'd said in the car. I still can't believe I blurted that out, I mean, I meant it, but that wasn't exactly the right time. Huh, I guess there really is no time like the present, especially when you're a dork who says things at the most inappropriate times. Can't take it back now, though. And she said she loved me, back in the hotel room. Of course, that just could have been the emotions of the moment talking.
Anyway.
I slipped my arm around her. I was about to tell her that I'd meant what I'd said, when Wes called us from the other room. Once again, the gods of timing have decided to play with me. We headed back into the main foyer of the mansion where the others were waiting.
"Ah, Angel. There you are," Wes said. I can always count on him to state the obvious. "We were just wondering where exactly Acathla is?"
If it had been possible, I would have gotten even paler. "Um, well, there was a lot going on, and I wasn't exactly in the best of health, and..."
"You forgot what you did with a seven hundred pound statue!?"
"Not forgot, just never remembered," I said sheepishly. "I wasn't exactly normal when I got back."
"And when have you ever been normal?" Cordy asked playfully.
"Very funny."
"You don't remember anything at all?" Wes asked.
"Well, I remember that Acathla was freaking me out, so I decided to get rid of it. I remember several failed attempts to drag it up the stairs, one of which that almost flattened me. And I remember finally figuring out that I had to roll it up the stairs one at a time. It took all day. Then I left it in a room up there."
"Oh, very good. So, all we have to do is go upstairs and look in every room until we find it."
"Uh, Wes?" I ventured. "It's not going to be that easy. I don't remember what floor I left it on."
"So we'll search them all," Lorne said. "I mean, how many floors could there be?"
"Six, I think. Oh, and there are hidden passageways that lead into the sewer system, and some trapdoors that will drop you into the basement, if you aren't careful. And some of the passageways lead to other areas in the house."
"Oh, bloody wonderful!" Wes said, throwing his hands up. "We're stuck in a funhouse!"
"It would seem," Groo said. "That the only way of finding what we are looking for is to search the entire house."
"I vote we split up," Gunn said. "I'll stay with Fred."
"Big surprise," Cordy whispered.
"Ok," Wesley said. "How about Gunn goes with Fred, I go with Lorne, and Groo goes with Cordelia and Angel?"
"Fine with me," Lorne said.
"Us too," said Fred.
"Me too," Cordy said. "Right, Angel?"
I was a little surprised that she didn't ask Groo if it was alright with him. "Uh, yeah. Fine."
We separated and began the search. There was no point in looking on the ground floor, since I knew that it was upstairs. So we each picked a floor and got started. It wasn't long before we were all hopelessly lost. I'd never actually explored the higher floors, so even I didn't know what to expect. Groo split off from us in one of the passages, but Cordy wouldn't even let go of me, let alone wander off. I was flattered that she trusted me, however I didn't know where we were any more than she did.
We came out of the passage in a hallway, who knew what floor it was, and encountered one of the funniest scenes that I'd ever witnessed.
It looked like something out of a Scooby-Doo movie. A door would open on one side of the hall, and Wes and Lorne would come out, then go in another door at the other end of the hall. Then Groo would come out of the door that Wes had just gone in. Then a moment later, that same door would open and Gunn and Fred would come out, cross the hall and enter another door on the other side. Cordy started giggling uncontrollably after the third repeat performance of the hall crossing. After Wes and Lorne nearly ran into Gunn and Fred, who had been coming out of the door that they had been heading for, and Groo had come up out of a passage in the middle of the floor, I started laughing as well.
But I was nearly pushed over the edge when Wes came out of one door, alone, stood in the middle of the hall and shouted, "Where the bloody hell is everybody!" I had to grab the wall to keep from collapsing from laughter.
After Cordy and I recovered from our laughing fit, she decided that since all the passageways seemed to meet in the same hall, we could split up and cover more ground. I agreed. Cordy headed off into one of the passages that Groo had come out of a moment earlier. I started looking for the stairs. Something told me that I needed to be higher.
I found the stairs in a rather unorthodox fashion. I nearly fell down them. The passageway that I had been in ended in the wall halfway between the fourth and fifth floors, so when I opened the door and stepped through, I wound up on a slant and had to grab the rail to keep from falling. For once, I was actually glad that I was a vampire. Catlike reflexes and all that.
I headed up the stairs and opened a door to find myself on the roof. Oops. Too far. I turned around and went back down one flight of stairs and started searching the uppermost floor. I avoided the passages this time, I didn't want to wind up outside again. It was almost sunup anyway.
As I walked the halls, I became aware of something. I was feeling a little nervous. Check that. I was very nervous. But, that might be a good thing. I used to get this same feeling when I was near Acathla, maybe this meant that I was on the right floor. However, the feeling was getting worse.
Much worse.
I did my best to ignore it.
*FLASH!* Chains, bars of a cage. Screams and whips cracking.
I shook my head. "Ok," I muttered. "That was weird."
I continued opening doors and peeking inside. Now I was actually feeling scared, I was even a bit nauseated. I knew I had to be close.
*FLASH!* A demon, nearly nine feet tall. It had four arms and in each hand was a different torture implement. In one hand, a cat-of-nine-tails whip, in another hand, a branding iron, in another hand, a cattle prod-like device, and in the final hand, an old fashioned dagger with a dragon emblazoned on the handle.
I slipped and fell on my ass. "What the Hell was that!" I yelped. Then I caught sight of what was behind the door that I had just opened. I had found Acathla. I pushed myself up and walked into the room, calling to the others over my shoulder. Now all I had to do was wait for them to figure out where I was.
I walked over to a folding chair and stood it up, then I sat down. I felt as if the stupid statue was looking at me, so I got up and moved the chair around behind it. Now I couldn't see the door, so I moved again. Once again, I felt as if Acathla was watching me, so I gave up and took my chair outside the door to wait for the others. I probably should have done that to begin with.
A few moments later, they all emerged from various passages and came over to me. I led them into the room, feeling a little better now that I wasn't alone.
"Yuck," Fred commented. "It's even uglier than I expected."
"Aw, Fred," Cordy said. "If it bothers you, just close your eyes."
*FLASH!* "Close your eyes." A searing pain through my stomach, and a loud sucking sound. Cage, I'm in a cage. What's that? No! Get away from me! NNNNOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!
The memories seemed to go on forever, pain, all over, radiating from every part of my body. Heat, searing heat, burning me all over at once. It was too much, far too much. I was vaguely aware of the voices of my friends, calling to me. Someone tried to grab me and I slugged them without thinking.
I had to escape!
I had to get away from the pain.
I must have run out of the room and into the hallway, cause when I started to come back to my senses, I was slumped against the wall. Cordy was sitting next to me and holding me tightly, whispering that I was safe, that it was over. It took me a moment to recover completely. And, when I did, I noticed Groo leaning against the wall, rubbing his jaw. Oops, I guess that's who I hit. Heh, well, at least I had an excuse.
"Are you okay?" Cordy asked after I'd finally stopped shaking. Well, I'd stopped shaking constantly, anyway.
"Uh, yeah. I think so," even as I said that, I felt another uncontrollable shiver pass through my body. Cordy hugged me tighter.
"Groo," she said. "Would you go tell Wes that we're gonna stay out here 'till he gets the portal open? I don't think Angel needs to go back in there until he has to."
"Yes, princess."
Groo turned and reentered the room, leaving me sitting in Cordy's arms.
TBC...
Author's Note: Thanks again for reviewing, especially to Insane1 and Melohdramatic. Oh, and Tequila Sunrise? I'm flattered that you like our story even though you don't watch Angel. And please E-mail me when the next chap of Convoluted is up.
Don't worry everybody. MissKitie's chap will be up soon, so keep watching for us!
BTW, I'm still working on Night of the Living Dinosaurs, and I plan to continue Playtime as so many requested. Thanks for the reviews, all!