Chapter Ten



Caritas

"You'd better sit down and explain" Lorne patted Groo on the shoulder as he steered him from the stage towards the booth. Angel stood exactly where he was on the stage facing away from the group.

"I brought messages from the Princess, visions, she sent me." Groo started reaching into an animal hide bag slung over his shoulder. Angel grabbed them from him before any of them even realised that he had moved from his position on the stage. "She said the notes explained everything to you all"

"Notes? What notes ya talking bout bro?" Gunn looked puzzled.

"The princess she wrote you all notes before we left, she left them in her old apartment, and she delivered the banished ones"

"The banished one." Xander realised first who he meant "Wesley, Cordelia wrote to Wesley." he stopped suddenly when he realised the almost murderous look in Angels eyes "How come I always make the revelations which lead to dirty look'o'rama?"

"It's a well honed talent" Willow looked at him and smiled a little remembering the singing episode he had caused.

"Is that it?" Angel suddenly erupted "When is she coming back?"

"She isn't" Groo stood up his attempt at protecting his princesses honour, and a vain attempt to convince himself that she loved him and not the Angel beast. Angel roughly pushed him back down. Buffy put herself in between them.

"Angel, this isn't going to get her back," she put a hand on his chest "you know that"

"Yea, but it'll make me feel better"

"Yea, but it'll push her further away, you know that," she said softly looking into his eyes. "You know that" she turned to Groo "Show us where the other notes are"

"Buffy, we saw one, the one Dennis tried to get us to open," Willow said realising "It was to Fred and Gunn" Angel turned and headed to the door.

"Lets go then" Buffy said following Angel.

Cordelia's Apartment

The door slammed into the wall, "Way to go big guy, if she does come back she's going to love you for bashing up her pad" Angel glared at Xander.

"How can you tell?" Gunn said looking around.

"Tell what?" Xander looked around the apartment

"That Angel bashed the place up"

"I meant the door and the wall" Xander gestured towards a small dent that had been made.

Angel looked around the place was tidy, not how he had left it in his rage. "Dennis" he said simply.

"The benefit of having a roomy with a lot of time on his hands" Willow grinned. Two pieces of paper floated in the air one hovered in front of Gunn for a minute, he reached out and took it, the other floated past Angel who went to grasp it but the paper flew past him and into the corridor towards Cordelia's bedroom.

"What the!?" Gunn looked at Angel who shrugged.

"A ghost with a grudge" Buffy looked at Willow and Xander.

"Maybe the whole tidying thing pissed him off." Xander grinned.

"Dennis, give me the letter." Angel said calmly. The note flew from the bedroom took a pass over the groups heads and headed away from them again"

"I think he wants an apology dude" Gunn smiled, this could be interesting.

"I'm not apologising to a Ghost" Angel said stubbornly

"Come on bro, you know what Cordy would say"

"Well no I don't because he won't give me her letter" Angel said a little childishly.

"Come on ya big baby," Lorne looked at Angel a meaningful look in his eyes "Apologise"

"Ok," Angel mumbled under his breath, "I'm sorry" nothing happened.

"I don't think he heard you" Buffy looked at him.

"Hell, I hardly heard him lil' lady" Lorne chuckled.

"Maybe you should say it a bit louder" Xander loved making him squirm.

Angel tensed, he knew they were right "I'm sorry!" he said loudly and it had the right affect the letter floated slowly towards Angel who held out his palm the letter hovered a little then landed lightly in his hand. He grasped it and immediately headed out of the apartment. Buffy and the gang went to follow him but Lorne put his arm out in front of the Slayer.

"I think the big lug needs some alone time, we'll meet him back at the hotel" Lorne looked at the slayer.

"It's not like we won't know the basic content." Gunn said waving the letter addressed to him and Fred. The gang headed back to the hotel.

The Hyperion

As they came through the door Fred and Dawn rose to greet them, "How did it go?" Fred looked at Lorne and smiled a hello. Gunn went over to her and gave her a kiss and smiled down on her.

"We got mail" he held the letter out in front of her.

"Who from?" She grinned at him.

"Cordy"

"Oh" her face fell a little as she looked at the envelope.

"Well should we stop beating around the bush and open it" Xander said sitting on the couch, Gunn opened the envelope scanned down the page.

"Nothing we don't already know" he passed it to Fred.

"It doesn't tell us anything," She whispered, "just not to worry she had to go to Pylea and that Groo would fit in better there."

"My Princess is happy in Pylea." Groo lied, inside he knew that she wasn't happy but why would she go there unless it was for the best, he would stand by her decision.

"Maybe Angel's note has more detail." Buffy sat next to Xander and yawned "and then there's the visions"

"She sent visions?" Fred frowned; she knew that last time Cordelia had been in Pylea the visions she had received were of Pylea and not L.A. why was she getting these visions. It could be a sign, she mused.

"Yea Angel's got them too." Gunn said

"Are they of L.A. Groo?" Fred asked to make sure "I mean why send them if they're not"

"Yes, the visions are of L.A." Groo knew he had to get back to Pylea, to Cordelia, and seeing as Angel wasn't around this was probably the best time to do it. "I must get some bath products for my princess" he turned to leave, he didn't expect them to let him go and they didn't disappoint.

"Whoa there big guy" Xander stood up. "You're just gonna run off and go back to Pylea, and I don't think Angel is gonna like that."

"I cannot return to my princess for another two days." Groo said with a smile.

"How come bro?" Gunn looked at him suspiciously, he had never known Groo to lie but anything was possible.

"The portal needs time to recharge, a journey through it depletes the power." Groo said the smile still on his face.

"True, True" Lorne shook his head as he brought a tray through from the kitchen.

"Yea we had to wait when Barbie got sucked in" Gunn hugged Fred to him remembering that it was that trip that brought her from there to be with him.

"And Angel cakes wasn't to thrilled for her to be gone then." Lorne said pouring the coffee into the mugs on the bench.

"Not thrilled is probably the understatement of the year" Gunn picked up a mug, and sipped the steaming liquid.

"But that time she didn't go voluntarily" Willow commented.

"Hey Groo, you might as well wait until the proper shops open in the morning. Then you can get the stuff she likes, if you want I'll show you." Fred grinned at the chance of a shopping trip and perhaps a chance to find out how he was planning to get back to Pylea.

"Ooh can I come?" Dawn jumped at the chance of shopping in L.A. even though the Queen of shopping wasn't there, she had some memories of Cordelia planted by the monks who had made her, not all happy ones but she remembered that the girl knew how to shop, and considering that she wasn't really welcome in most of the shops in Sunnydale due to her 'shopping trips' to get attention. Dawn had always admired Cordelia's fashion sense.

"You should be in bed!" Buffy said realising it was 3am and Dawn was still up.

"Awww but." Dawn protested Buffy had made her go to bed during the day after travelling to L.A. at night and then going to the drive in with Xander, Gunn and Fred so early in the morning. She had to admit her whole body clock was out a few hours. She looked at her sister, oh no resolve face; she'd better just go. "Ok.ok I'm on my way."

"We've all had a long night, maybe we should all get some sleep. There's nothing we can do until Angel gets back." Willow said sleepily.

"Good idea, you guys go up, I'll go in a couple of hours." Buffy re-filled her coffee mug "I'm gonna wait and see if he comes back"

"Ok, Buff see you in the morning" Xander said making his way up the stairs yawning as he went.