Title: 30 Days of Dante Rating: PG-13 Genre: Oh, so dark and angsty. Thought I'd give it a whirl. Reviews: I'm all for that. Disclaimer: I own nothing, absolutely nothing, in Angel-verse. Note: I wrote this in a rush, hope it makes sense! Let me know if it doesn't!

*CHAPTER TWO* The Long Road

Angel sat shocked. Was she being serious? Had she really been to hell, because even though she looked as if she'd been there, he couldn't think of any reason why she would have to go. A few seconds went by until he spoke again. "Cordy-I, are you-" He stopped, knowing that she wasn't in any condition to answer questions. "Let's get you upstairs." He finally said, trying to guide her. "I-I can't." She choked out. Angel looked at her and noticed how weak she was. He bent down and went to lift her, "I've got you." He cradled her in his arms and moved past the bystanders. "Gunn, Fred, get some things from Cordy's place. Anything you think she'll need. Lorne-find out what she's talking about." Cordelia buried her head in Angel's soft shoulder as he glided up the stairway. He left the group downstairs looking at each other with horror in their faces. ~*~*~*~

"Ok, Cordy. You're all right. Do you-do you want to sleep? Or take a shower-or." He fumbled with things he could do for her. "I, I guess I'll have a shower." She spit out and she looked up to him, "But I can't do it by myself." She said innocently. His heart broke, knowing how independent Cordelia had once been. What happened to her? He swore he would find out after he helped her though this. "Ok, ok. Let's just, go in here. And." He recited instructions to himself as he started to undress Cordelia. He left her undergarments on and she moaned a little when he lifted her into the basin. He turned the water on, "Cold, make it really cold." She mumbled to him, so he turned the knob all the way to the right and let the frigid water pour onto her. Her eyes were half-shut, not really comprehending what was happening. Angel used a sponge to clean her and he was trying to be strong and not breakdown in front of Cordy, but just seeing her so helpless made it hard for him. Fred and Gunn had returned and put some clothes out on the bed, so when Angel carried a now dry Cordelia to his bedroom, he had something to dress her in. He placed her on the bed and she was nearly asleep as he pulled a chair to the side of her bed. He remembered being in this very same position only months before. A few hours went by, and Cordelia had passed out and was sleeping restlessly. Angel propped his head in his hand and watched her intently. Lorne came in quietly. "How she doing there?" He decided against using a pastry as a nickname for the aching Angel. "I-I don't know. What'd you find?" "Nothing. I've got nothing, Angel." He looked defeated. "Woah!" Lorne exclaimed. "What, what is it?" Angel asked hopeful. "Major magic mojo going on in here. Something's about to-" And with that there was a flash of light and Skip suddenly appeared. "Skip?" Angel questioned. "That's my name-" "What are you doing here?" "Don't wear it out." Skip looked at Angel, but then he saw Cordelia in the bed. "Is she-when did she get here?" "I don't know, we were away, found her when we got back." "She going to be okay?" "Skip. What do you know?" Angel was ready to pounce on him. "She was sentenced to Hell." "What?!" Both Angel and Lorne cried out. "She summoned dark magics and that's strictly forbidden. There was nothing I could do." "Skip, we don't know where she's been for three months. Don't just tell me she was in Hell." Skip looked to Angel and shut his eyes. "She was only in Hell for thirty days. The rest of the time she was in another dimension. She was on her way to tell you she loved you when I had to pick her up. She was a higher being. But now-" "Now what? What is she? Is she human? Is she demon? What?" Angel was furious with what the Powers had put his Cordelia through. "She's still part-demon, but they took most of it out of her. Her visions won't exactly be the Candy land she was expecting." "She's not going to-die, is she?" "No. No! I should have said that part first. Cordelia had no choice in the matter of leaving. She didn't want to leave you all behind." "Damn straight I didn't." Cordelia had emerged from the bed and she went unnoticed until she spoke. "You better get out of here, Skip. Because if I ever see you again, I will rip you apart piece by piece. I will make you suffer so much, it will be worse than any Hell you could possibly imagine." Angel looked at Cordelia horrified, what had gotten into her? She would never even think of saying something like that. "Cordelia-I need you to know-" "I don't need to know anything. You sent me to Hell, and unless you want a one-way ticket there, I suggest you leave. Right. Now." "It wasn't my decision, Cordelia. Nor was it the Powers. It wasn't up to us. You were forbidden to use any sort of magic where you were-you disobeyed that rule, and it was the Underworld that took you. Not us." "Do you think I *care* who sent me there, Skip? The fact of the matter is that I was there. I was in Hell! And I would never have had to go through something like that if it weren't for the Powers That Be and their tests! I should have been here, in LA, helping my friends. I should have gone to Angel and told him I loved him. But since my little trip, I've forgotten what love is. I forgot how to act. How to live. How to breath. I don't *care* who sent me there. And I don't care who brought me back. I can never be the same again." Tears streaked down her face as she expressed everything that she hadn't told her friends. "Now you have to leave Skip. And even though you're not allowed to take messages, make sure that the Powers know that I'm pissed. Make sure they know that I will never forgive them for what they let happen to me. But also let them know that I will keep fighting. I will keep helping the hopeless. Not even they can change my mind on that. No one can." "I'm sorry, Cordelia." With a flash of light and thunderous boom, Skip was gone, and Cordelia fell to her knees sobbing. Angel went quickly to hold her, Gunn and Fred rushed into the room hearing the monstrous noise. "What-what happened?" Fred asked Lorne quietly. "We just got a reminder that we have a long road ahead."

*END CHAPTER TWO*