Chapter 10

"Smell anything?" Fred asked. She, Angel, Buffy, and Gunn were sifting through Cordy's stuff at her apartment. After Fred called Angel and Willow on Friday in Sunnydale to tell him that Gru had called and said that he wanted them to tell Cordy he's sorry and he will always love her, which meant that Cordy was gone, Angel and Willow had gone to the school and told Buffy about it. Buffy had pulled Conner and Dawn out of their classes, told Principal Wood that it was a family emergency because her sister and law had been missing all summer, and they had piled into the van. Then they had rushed up to LA. Conner, Dawn, and Willow had come with them, but they had stayed at the Hyperion.

"Cordelia. Maybe some old incense or candles and strangely enough lemons. Lots and lots of lemons." Angel said.

"I might have gone a little nuts with the floor polish. I wanted the place to look nice when the landlord starts showing it."

"It does look nice." Buffy said.

"Nice and empty." Angel said. Buffy walked over and took his hand.

"You should have seen the size of the dust bunnies under Cordy's bed! More like dust sperm whales." Fred said.

"I can't believe it's been three months and we never knew."

"We paid the rent for the first couple, but then things got sort of tight and, well, big apartment, no one living here.."

"Phantom Dennis! Does he know anything about Cordy? Where she might be?" Buffy asked.

"He's just ticked we haven't brought her home already."

"We will, though. Soon." Angel said.

"Absolutely." Buffy said.

"You said you already tried talking to Lorne in Las Vegas?" Angel asked, following Fred into the living room.

"Yeah. Emphasis on the word 'tried.'" Gunn said. He was working on the TV and sparks flew. He pulled his hand away. "Fancy-ass surround sound. Fred!"

"I already packed the Band-Aids, buddy. From the exactly twice we've able to get a hold of him we know that Lorne is keeping his eyes peeled, but so far all is quiet on the psychic front." Fred said.

"Did you show them the box?"

"See that one? With the pictures? That stuff was on the table the night Cordy disappeared. It's mostly personal stuff. Didn't mean much to us, but you might see something."

Buffy was standing near the box and started to sift through it, Angel coming up next to her. "How about the police?" she asked.

"Uh, lets see, abandoned car, empty apartment.." Gunn said.

"No signs of violence, no plans for travel.." Fred said.

"Please file a missing persons report.."

"And have a nice day."

"But hey, that was only first time. The next seven times they left out the 'nice day' part."

Buffy and Angel looked at two pictures from the box. One was of him, Buffy when she was pregnant, and Cordy. The other showed him, Cordy and Wes.

"Something must have happened to her that night. Something big." Angel said.

"Well, Cordy was supposed to go find Gru if what that note says is true." Gunn said.

"I know why we weren't there."

"Sure. We were off starting a new life and getting attacked by crazy, evil Willow." Buffy said.

"Not that you're bitter."

"I appreciate you guys looking out for LA all summer." Angel said.

"Damn it, Dennis! She is not coming back!" Fred yelled. Everyone stared at her and Buffy lowered her head. "I-I'm sorry Buffy, I didn't.. I meant to the apartment. I know how close you guys had gotten as friends."

"I-It's okay Fred. Anyway, we got tons of room back at the hotel. We can keep everything safe." Buffy said.

"It's just.. you count on stuff, you know? Things being where you left them. What happens if you get back and they're not there?"

"You go find them." Angel said.

Buffy looked up from a picture of her holding little Conner, Wesley, and Cordy, understanding Angel's meaning. "You wanna go talk to him?"

"He did help rescue me."

"It wasn't much. You were only gone a couple of days."

"Yeah, with all my blood mopped up and a severe wound in my side that's still healing."

"You think we should?"

"Yeah. I do. Maybe it's time to tell him we're moving on."

"Yeah." Buffy looked back down at the picture. "Maybe."



Buffy and Angel dropped Gunn and Fred off at the Hyperion and then drove off to find Wesley. After talking to a couple of Angel's sources and then some of Buffy's old sources that had known Merrick and her, they found Wes and two other men fighting some type of monster in a dark sewer tunnel

"Jones, ground sweep, left flank!" Wesley called to one of his men.

The monster knocked one of the men down and the double bladed ax he had been holding slid across the floor. Buffy stopped it with her foot and picked it up.

"Need help?" she asked.

Wesley sliced through the monster's torso from its shoulder with a sweep of his ax. "No. Thanks." He bent and picked up a key from the now dead demon's top half. "So, Mister O'Leary is being kept in a motel. How original." He tossed the key to Jones. "Free him. Report to base, have Diana close out the file. Hawkins, back of my car." The men left.

"Running your own game now, huh?" Angel asked. Wesley was silent.

"I never got the chance to thank you. Finding Angel, helping me save him." Buffy said. Wes turned away. "Must have been hard for you." Wes moved the monster's head and shoulders to the side. "All that following Justine around and being sneaky."

Wesley started to leave and Angel went after him. "Look, what.. what went down between us.. You, Buffy, and me.. I had a lot of time to think this summer. You know about the way things went, the way they could have gone. I just want you to know as far as I'm concerned.. We're okay again."

Wes gave Buffy and Angel a look, then opened a case, took out a scrapbook and handed it to Buffy.

"What's this?" Buffy asked.

"What you came for." Wes said. Buffy opened the file and found a picture of Cordy's car and a map. "That's all I have on Cordelia's disappearance."

"You did your own investigation."

"I don't think she's dead. I can't say for certain of course, but I don't think she's in our dimension any longer. Beyond that is a road I couldn't follow. No living thing can."

"Who's Dinza?" Angel asked, looking a paper from the file.

"One of the Eleusian mysteries, the dark demi-goddess of the lost. Only the dead can enter her presence, and those that do she often traps for eternity."

"Sounds cheery."

"I managed to locate her lair, but obviously couldn't enter myself."

"This Dinza can tell us where Cordy is?" Buffy asked.

"No. The most she'll tell you is where to look." Wesley wound a rope up and put it in his case. "Just beware. Dinza isn't remotely trustworthy."

"What should I do then? Send her a gift? Sacrifice?" Angel looked up from the paper and saw Wesley disappearing through a door a ways away from them.

"Maybe an unholy fruit basket?" Buffy said sarcastically.

Angel rolled his eyes at Wesley and followed Buffy out. They walked to the van and climbed in. Angel started to drive and Buffy sat staring out her window.

"What's the matter?" Angel asked as they got out at the place where Wesley said they could find Dinza.

"Are you really going to do this?" Buffy asked, turning her head to reveal tears falling down her cheeks.

"Buffy.."

"This Dinza could take you away from me! From Conner. You heard what Wesley said. I can't go in there with you because I'm not dead, not anymore, and she could trap you for all eternity. I can't lose you again Angel." Angel pulled her to him and held onto her tightly. "I can't. I've lost you too many times. I almost lost you again not even a week ago. I can't go on without you."

"Buffy, you can." Angel pulled away a little and brought Buffy's face up to look at him. "You did it before and you can do it again. Besides, if she did take me, you'd come in after me. I know you Buffy. I know you better than you know you."

"You don't know that she won't take you. And I couldn't go on without you. Not this time! I need you to help me watch after Conner and Dawn and take care of Willow. I need you with me."

"Hey. Shh. What's the matter with you? You're never this emotional when one of us goes on a possible-death mission."

"I don't know. Maybe it's post-post-modal depression. I never got it after Conner was born. And that was only a few months ago. But I'm right. I can't go on without you. If I didn't have Conner, I might be able to. I need you Angel. I need you like I need air."

"I know." Angel pulled her back to him. "I know. But I promise, this demon's not gonna take me. I won't let her. I won't leave you again. If I have to, I'll pull a Xander and run."

Buffy chuckled and smacked him on the hip. "Don't make fun of Xander." She pulled away from him and leaned against the side of the van. "Now go and see if you can find where Cordy is. I want you back in less than 15 minutes though. Otherwise I'm going to do some assuming and go in after you."

Angel smiled and turned to the manhole that would lead to Dinza's lair. Ten minutes later, Angel returned. Buffy smiled and threw her arms around his neck tightly.

"I told you I wouldn't leave you again." Angel said.

"I knew you wouldn't." Buffy smiled and got in the van. "So, what did you find out?"

Angel shut the door and started the engine. "The axis of Pythia. It's what we need to find to find Cordy."

"Oh." Buffy pulled her bag up front and pulled out her cell phone.

"Who are you calling?"

Buffy ignored Angel and speed dialed the Hyperion. Fred picked up on the second ring. "Fred, it's Buffy. Angel and I need you guys to start researching. The axis of Pythia. Find out what it is, what it looks like, where we can get it, and how much it's gonna cost. Ok. We'll be there in a little while. No, we're on our way to see a snitch of Angel's. Well, if it's mystical and hard to find, talk to Willow. She'll be able to find it through her magicks. Ok. We're on our way there now. Ok. Bye." Buffy closed her phone and tossed it in her bag. "There. They should have a pretty good idea of what this thing is and if Dinza was lying by the time we get there."

"Smartie." Angel said.

"I know. But you love me."

Angel chuckled and drove through a yellow light. Two hours later, the two arrived at the Hyperion. Fred had a large white board set up with drawings on it, Willow was at the computer, and Gunn was sitting on the counter watching Fred. Conner was sitting on the opposite steps playing his Gameboy and Dawn was doing homework on the settee. Angel went to the desk behind the counter and sat down, starting to draw. Buffy went over and sat next to Conner, watching him play his video game.

"Hi guys." Willow said.

"Hey." Buffy said. "What all did you find?"

"Plenty. Apparently that Dinza lady wasn't lying. The axis does exist."

"We set up a chart." Fred said. "Well, it's sort of a business presentation, but it's not like we're evil lawyers."

Buffy laughed quietly to herself at Fred's joke. Conner turned his Gamboy off and turned to Buffy. "Are you ok mom?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. Why?" Buffy asked.

"You have tear tracks down your cheeks."

"It messed up my makeup, didn't it?"

"No. I can just see them. What's the matter?"

"Nothing now. It was something stupid earlier that made me cry. I'm fine now."

"Can we begin?" Fred asked.

Buffy nodded and moved over to sit on the counter next to Gunn. Conner sat on the floor in front of the counter and Dawn stayed where she was. Angel moved the chair over a little so he could see.

"The axis of Pythia. Forged from the tripod of the Delphic oracle, the axis, a metal arc set into a marble base, stands approximately two feet high and weighs eighteen pounds." Fred showed off her little drawing of what the axis looked like.

Angel handed a paper he had been scribbling on to Gunn. "Here, that'll give you an idea."

"Wow!" Gunn said. On the paper was a detailed sketch of the axis.

"Is that.. You didn't draw that." Fred said.

"Yeah, he just, you know, scribbled it down out of one of the books." Buffy said.

"Ah, nice." Fred turned back to her board and flipped the page. "The axis is said to have been imbued with many mystical qualities, one of which is finding souls or entities across dimensions."

"Entities like Cordelia." Buffy said, motioning to the drawing Angel did of him, Cordy, and Buffy.

"Wow. That's just.."

"Oh. Hey, baby, I like your little.. your ghost guy." Gunn said.

"I haven't slept, Charles."

"So, we need the axis. How do we get it?"

"Currently the axis is being held in a vault in Chandler's auction house." Willow said. Fred flipped the chart to reveal a blocky, yellow square with two rows of white squares ranged within it for windows and a door in the bottom with Chandler written over it. "An establishment firmly rooted in the black market. Black market means money. Money means security."

"But not to worry, because Buffy and I beat the building plans out of a snitch, who thought I was dead." Angel said.

"The building plans are only half of it. Just because we know where it is doesn't mean we can get to it."

Fred flipped the chart again and Gunn started to read off the list she made on it. "Surveillance cameras, electric gates.."

"Laser sensors, handprint recognition.." Buffy read.

"Not to mention armed guards." Willow said.

"Yeah, but if it's an auction house can't we just, you know, e-bay it?" Gunn asked.

"Thirty three million dollars." Willow and Fred said.

Gunn started to choke on his coffee. "I think my lungs.." Cough, "have coffee.."

"I'm still working on a plan, but so far it involves being sent to prison and becoming somebody's bitch." Fred said.

"No one's going to jail, Fred. A heist like this, I've done it a million times." Angel said. Buffy stared at him. "Okay. Maybe twice, but I'm good at it. I swear!"

"Uh, you're not counting the time we stole the crazy making death shroud that nearly killed us, right?" Gunn asked.

"Or the time we tried to steal the Box of Gavrok and ended up losing me to the mayor?" Willow asked.

"The point is, this is how we find Cordy, so this is what we're gonna do." Angel said.

"Okay." Fred laid the plans out. "I'm just going to take these and go over the details and see if I can, I don't know, whip something up, say, a plan. Okay." Fred left.

"I'm really strong, if that helps."

"And me!" Buffy called.

"Ok!" Fred called back.

"That's my girl, large and in charge. Okay, teensy-weensy and in charge." Gunn said.

"Amazing the way she stepped up while I was in Sunnydale. Kinda reminds me of Cordy." Angel said.

"Angel, say we use this axis thing to find her. What then?" Buffy asked.

"Then we do whatever it takes to get her back home. Where she belongs."

"Okay. So what are we going to need for operation chance-in-hell?"

"Hmm. I can only guess. Probably some repelling hooks. Flashlights, obviously. Aerosols. What else?"

"Oh! Can I use the wire thing again? Cause that was fun the first time."

"Ok, you are too freaky." Gunn said.

"She did. It was pretty cool." Dawn said, not looking up from her homework.

"Cool."

"Yup." Buffy said. "Now, let's get to work getting what we need rounded up."