Chapter 9
Chapter 9

For the first time in who knows how long, Angel actually slept for an entire day. He climbed out of bed and dressed. Today was the day.

He arrived at Cordelia's apartment shortly after sundown and knocked. The door opened by itself, and Angel stepped inside.

"Cordy?"

"In here!" a voice called from the kitchen. Cordelia rolled out of the kitchen and smiled at Angel.

"Where's Buffy?" Angel asked, noting that his seer was alone.

"Oh, she and Riley went to grab some dinner; I wasn't hungry so I conned my way out. What's up?" Angel knelt beside her and took her hand.

"Cordelia, I want you to come with me."

"Why, is there an emergency?" She looked at him rather confused; Angel was acting very strange.

"I want to heal your legs." His statement shocked her, and she just stared at him like he was out of his mind.

"Angel…how?" It sounded really stupid, but it was all she could think of. The vampire ran his hand down her cheek and actually smiled at her.

"Trust me, Delia."

"Um…okay." She consented with even thinking. His eyes held a warmth in them that she'd only seen once- when he'd held her in the hospital.

"Good, now, let's go."

Angel was glad that he'd found Cordelia alone; he didn't want to have to get everyone else involved in this. He approached his destination and stopped his car. Walking around, he opened the door and pulled Cordy's legs out. Without warning, he picked her up and kicked the door shut.

"Heh, what gives? I need my chair." Angel shook his head.

"No, you won't; you won't need it ever again. I promise." The determination in his voice almost made her believe him.

Angel carried her down the steps and into the waiting room. Just as he'd expected, an older man came out of the door. He was dressed as an English butler and seemed to recognize Angel.

"May I help you?"

"Yes, I want you to heal her legs; she can't walk anymore," Angel answered. The man shook his head.

"I'm sorry, but I can only let you go through the trial once."

"Trial?" Cordelia asked.

"Look!" Angel said sharply. "I passed your stupid trial last time, and you screwed me over. I deserve another chance and so does she." The old man rubbed his chin for a moment and nodded his head.

"Very well, you're request is granted, but you must pass the trial once again."

"What for? I already did!"

"It is required; if you do not, I cannot help you."

"Fine, let's just get it over with." Angel wasn't too happy about having to go through this again. The last time he'd had to go through a hallway full of crosses, grab a key out of bowl of holy water, and survive a room full of stakes. It was not something he was itching to face again.

"You may put her over there," the man stated, gesturing to a couch against the wall.

"Angel, what are you doing?" Cordelia gasped as he set her down.

"I'm going to heal you."

"Yeah but, what is this about a trial?" He cupped her face in his hand.

"Don't worry about it, I'll be fine." Angel knew that he was lying, but the last thing that he needed was Cordy worrying about him.

"It is time." Angel turned towards the old man and walked towards the doorway that he was standing next to. Angel glanced back at Cordelia one last time and walked inside, just as the door closed behind him.

"What is he doing?" Cordelia asked the 'constable'.

"This place is meant for people with terminal illnesses. They are allowed to be healed, but someone must pass three tests to earn it."

"What kind of tests?"

"It is different for each person, but essentially, they must face their worst fears."

"What!" Cordelia nearly screamed. Angel hadn't told her anything about this. Damn him, he was such a prude sometimes.

Angel walked down a dark hallway, looking for anything out of the ordinary. Suddenly, a pathway lit up in front of him. He could see dark gaps on both sides of the wall. On the floor in front of him were various symbols and certain ones had sunlight shining on them.

"Great, I bet the only real ones are the ones with sunlight." Testing his theory, Angel tossed a rock onto one of the dark tiles. A pendulum, bearing a giant axe, swung across the room not more than two inches in front of Angel's face.

"Damn, this is never easy." A picture of Cordelia sitting in her wheelchair flashed through his mind, and his eyes narrowed.

Angel leapt to the first tile, and his flesh began to burn. He rolled forward and landed on the second one. Ignoring the pain, he jumped across the darker tiles and landed on the third one. His arms lit on fire, and Angel growled in pain. He rolled onto the fourth tile, but he clipped one of the wrong ones, and a barrage of stakes just missed his head. Feeling himself ready to explode, Angel lunged forward and out of the room. He rolled around on the floor, trying to put out the fire on his clothes.

Meanwhile, Cordelia was busy waiting for him. She never been a very patient person, and this was driving her nuts.

"Ah, what is he doing?" she groaned.

"Do you wish to know?" the constable asked her. Cordelia looked at him in surprise but nodded her head.

"Yes, I do."

"One person may observe the trial; however, you cannot interfere with it."

"I understand." He passed his hand over Cordelia's face, and she felt a surge through her mind, much like when she saw a vision.

"Angel!" she gasped as she saw in struggling to his feet. She could see that his arms were burn, along with his back and face.

Angel picked himself up off the floor and pressed on. He entered a second room, and the entryway behind him was immediately sealed. His eyes flashed around the room, but he couldn't detect any danger…except from…

Angel turned to his right, and an armored appeared out of the wall. It held a massive broadsword, and a cross was engraved across his breastplate. His faceplate was lowered, and Angel felt that he did not want to see the face that was hidden beneath it.

"Prepare for battle, demon."

"Hey, wait a minute!" Angel ducked just as the warrior took a swipe at him. He rolled away from his opponent and sprung to his feet.

"Fine, you want to fight then so be it." The warrior charged at Angel, and the vampire just barely missed being skewered. The sword did manage to clip his side, and Angel growled in pain.

"What the? Why the hell did that hurt so much?" The warrior laughed at him.

"This is no ordinary sword, vampire; it is made of solid silver!"

"You've to be kidding me!" Angel avoided another thrust and ducked under another swipe. Silver was not something he wanted to mess with. It was not fatal to him at first but prolonged exposure of it to his blood could cause him to have a severe allergic reaction.

"What's wrong, vampire, are you scared of me?" Angel scrambled out of the way just as the warrior brought his sword down in an overhead swing.

"No wonder I never saw anything made of silver at the hotel," Cordelia gasped.

"Silver? Ah yes, it can be deadly to vampires if enough gets into their bloodstream," the constable stated.

Angel knew that he couldn't keep dodging like this. He wasn't tired, but his reflexes were slowed due to the pain coming the burns on his body. He needed a plan, and he needed one now.

Drawing the warrior up against the wall, Angel ducked his attack, and the sword sparked against the wall. Angel grabbed one of the torches from side of the wall and pinned the sword against the stone side. He booted the warrior in the stomach and forced him to relinquish his sword.

"Damn you, vampire, you will die." Angel caught the sword in his hand and gripped it tightly.

"Not today," and he rammed the blade straight into the warrior's heart. The silver went through his armor like a hot knife through butter. The armored figure collapsed to the floor and faded away into nothingness. Upon his death, the front door to the room opened for Angel, and the vampire headed for his final test.

"He did it!" Cordelia said happily. "That's the Angel I know; no one can beat him."

"What about himself?" the constable asked.

"Excuse me?"

"Watch and see what I mean."

Angel reached the lighted end of another stone tunnel and entered the final trial. Like clockwork, the doorways sealed, and every torch on the wall lit up.

"Okay, this is getting old, just bring on the test already." A side gateway opened, and a hooded figure walked into the room. Angel's instincts told him to be on guard, and he felt an unusual feeling of déjà vu.

"So, who are you?" Angel asked.

"Why, don't you recognize me?" the hooded figure said in an evil voice. If Angel's heart had been beating, it would have stopped cold.

"I know that voice!"

"I should hope so; it is your own!" and the figure flung off his cloak.

"Oh dear God!" Cordelia nearly screamed. "It can't be…"

"This is his final test," the constable confirmed.

Angel had fought almost every man and beast known, but he had never expected this.

"Why are you here…Angelus!"

Author's Notes: I know…it's been a long time since I've updated this. Sorry that I didn't add the final trial, but I wanted to let it have it's own chapter. Just imagine… Angel vs. Angelus…who is gonna win?