Chapter 18
"Oh my God! It's you. You're back." Buffy said, moving towards Cordy. Cordelia backed away. "Don't you remember? Buffy. That's Angel."
Angel looked back at Gunn and Fred. "Um, you see her too, right? We're not just.."
"No, man, it's real." Gunn said.
"It's ok. We're friends. You know us. Fred. Gunn. You're dazed or something. Thank God you're back." Buffy said.
"So we know each other?" Cordy asked.
"Yeah, really well."
"Ok, um.. who am I?"
"What do you remember?" Angel asked.
"I don't know. Numbers. Animals. Flossing."
"But not us."
"Or me. I don't remember me."
"You're Cordelia Chase. You work here. With us. You've been gone for a while, but you're safe now." Angel stepped toward her, but she stepped back. "It's ok. We-we're friends. We're here to help you."
"I've been gone?"
"What's important is that you're back." Buffy said.
"Are there other people here?"
"Um, not to sound all 'Movie of the Week', but I think you might have some kind of amnesia. Like maybe you fell or banged your head." Fred said.
"Should we take her to a hospital?" Gunn asked.
"Hospital? I don't need a.. Not yet, maybe later." Cordy said.
"I don't think seeing a doctor will solve her problems." Fred whispered to Buffy.
Angel looked over at the door and saw Lorne coming towards the doors. "Neither will seeing green."
Buffy got the hint and turned to Cordy. "You wanna know what might help you remember? Seeing some of your things." Buffy turned to Gunn. "You wanna check for her things out in the garden?"
"Checking away." Gunn left and shooed Lorne back into the garden.
"Hey, Fred. You wanna help me look in the office?" Angel asked.
"Sure." Fred said. "Excuse us."
"I'll stay here. You know, talk to her." Buffy said.
Angel and Fred went into the office and Buffy turned to Cordy. "So, um.. Is there anything else you remember? How you got here maybe?"
"Nothing. None of you seem familiar at all." Cordy said.
"We'll take you up to your room as soon as everyone finds some of your stuff." Cordy looked over at the window where Angel and Fred were staring at her. They waved. "Ok, that's creepy." She said. Then she noticed the double bladed axe lying on the floor. "So's that."
Buffy looked down, eyes wide, and shoved the axe under the couch with her foot. "Hobby."
Angel came out of the office. "Couldn't really find anything of yours in the office."
"That's ok." Cordy said as the phone rang. "Shouldn't someone answer that?"
"The machine'll get it. You really don't have to be afraid."
"Easy for you to say. I don't know that. Don't know you, this place.." Cordy was cut off by her voice on the answering machine.
"Hi. You've reached Angel Investigations. We can't come to the phone right now, but if you leave your name and number, we'll get back to you as soon as possible. Thanks! And wait for the beep." There was a beep.
Cordy moved forward and stared at the phone. "But that voice.. Oh, my God! It's me. I work here."
"Uh, yeah, this is Murray, down at the spa. Listen, it's after midnight, and uh, you better get down here. That demon broad came back. Looks like she's gonna try and hatch her blood-sucking little.."
Angel coughed and Fred picked up the phone. "We're here. Uh-huh. Ok. We'll be right there."
"Did he say demon broad?" Cordy asked.
"Yeah. His, um, wife. It's an ugly divorce case thing. You know, private eye stuff." Fred said. "I should get Charles and terminate it before the situation multiplies."
"Ok. I'll just stay here and help Cordelia settle in." Buffy said.
"Ok." Fred ran out to get Gunn.
Angel stayed behind. "They don't really need me to help them out."
"Yeah." Buffy turned to Cordy. "So.."
"I wanna go home. Know where I live?" Cordy asked.
"Well, um.. You live here now. You had an apartment, but it.. You.. were gone so long that they sort of.. Evicted you."
"Where do I live now?"
"You live here." Buffy gently took Cordelia's arm and led her towards the stairs. They walked up to the room Gunn and Fred had moved Cordy's stuff into.
Cordy walked in and looked at all the boxes. "This is it? Everything?"
"Fred and Gunn, they moved everything over from your old apartment after you.." Buffy said. Cordy picked up a strappy shoe from one of the boxes.
"You remember that? You wore it when we went to the ballet." Angel asked.
"The ballet? For real? You and me?" Cordy asked.
"We ALL went, but yeah." Buffy said a little possessively. "Pretty special. I thought maybe you'd remember because I was.. It's too bad. We had, uh, a really good time. Working together too."
"I wish I could remember."
"Me too. I wanna help you get those memories back. You're one of my best friends."
"Great. But not tonight."
"I-I understand. If you need any.."
"I will."
"You really are among friends." Angel said as he and Buffy backed out the door. They walked to their room and opened the door. He watched Buffy as she walked to the bed and lay down exhaustedly. Angel sat down beside her and rubbed her leg. "How you doing champ?"
"I'll be better once we figure out what's going on with Cordelia." Buffy sat up. "Why now? A-a-and why without a memory? It's weird."
"Yeah. It is."
Buffy lay back down. "There goes bath time fun."
Angel lay beside her. "Yeah. Damn it."
"Are you sure we should just leave without leaving Mom and Dad a note?" Conner asked.
"They're in Vegas! How will they know?" Dawn asked.
"They're mom and dad. They'll know."
"If they get a vacation, so do we. I don't want to be stuck in Sunnyhell all week."
"Dawnster's got a point." Xander said.
"So? I just don't want to get in trouble. Mom and Dad have super powers. Not something I want to toy with." Conner said.
"So do you. If anything, you're twice as strong as they are. You're their kid." Dawn said.
"Dawn, can we just drop this? It doesn't feel right. Something's off."
"Nothing's off. You've been pampered ever since you got back. You're a mama's boy!"
"I am not!"
"Prove it! You're always hanging with Buffy."
"She's the Slayer. She's my mom. She teaches me stuff. Slayer stuff. I love her. Nothing wrong with that."
"Whipped!"
"You're whipped!"
"Guys, cut it out! Geez!" Willow said.
"Sorry." Conner said.
Dawn leaned over to whisper, "Whipped."
Conner sat back and stared out the window. He saw a van parked on the side of the road and the hairs on the back of his neck stood on end. "Uncle Xander, stop the car."
"What? Why?" Xander asked.
"Spider senses." Xander stopped and Conner jumped out. "Stay here. I'll be back soon." Conner walked towards the van silently.
"Your father's just trying to get us home." The woman in the passenger seat said.
Conner looked into the back window and saw a teenager a little younger than him sitting there. "You ok?" Conner asked.
"Dad?" the teen asked.
"Can I help you?" the dad asked, walking up to Conner.
"You're in trouble." Conner said.
"No, we're fine."
"I like your hat." Conner said to the teen.
There was a noise of an approaching vehicle from behind them, and the dad turned to look. When he turned back, Conner had disappeared into the shadows. A tow truck with yellow flashing lights pulled up in front of the car, but there was something off. They were driving like maniacs and blaring rock music. They got out of the car, and the dad turned to talk to them.
"Hey, you guys are just in time. Not sure if we needed a jump or a tow."
"I vote jump." The vamp from the tow truck said.
The vampire lunged for the dad and attacked him while his cohort went for the mom and teen in the car. The mom saw him coming and locked the door, so the vampire beat on the window, trying to smash it in. The vampire was still punching the dad outside, and the vampire who had went for Mom had broken through the glass, grabbing her. She screamed, but then the vampire turned to dust in front of her eyes. After the dust cleared, Conner was standing there, pulling his stake back.
"You ok?" Conner asked.
"Uh-huh." The mom said.
Conner reached inside and punched the cigarette lighter in. Then he went to help the dad fight the vampire attacking him. Conner grabbed a container full of gas and beat the vampire with it, spilling gas all over it. The he ran back to the car, grabbed the hot cigarette lighter, and tossed it to the vampire.
"Hey." Conner tossed the lighter to vampire, who ignited and explodes. Conner turned to the dad. "Is that your family?"
"Dad!" the teen yelled.
The dad went back to the van, not even thanking Conner for the help. Conner huffed and walked back to Xander and the others. He got in and slammed the door.
"Crap! That was retarded! I just saved them and all I got was a walking away!" Conner said.
"Sometimes you just get that sweetie." Willow said.
"People suck."
"Yup."
Xander started the car and headed towards the Hyperion.
"Angel, would you hurry up?" Buffy asked. "She might come down and see you!"
"I'm hurrying." Angel said, grabbing a bunch of jars in his arms.
"Here she comes!"
Angel ran into the office with Buffy as Cordy came into the lobby.
"Hello?" Cordy called. "Somebody down here?" She went downstairs to the counter and saw something on the counter where the jars were. She touched it. "Hello?"
Angel and Buffy ran out of the room quietly as Cordy had her back turned. They practically dived into the basement and stumbled down the steps. Angel started to put the jars of blood in the large refrigerator.
"I'm going back up. She knows something's up." Buffy said.
"She doesn't know. We're doing pretty good keeping it from her." Angel said, turning to Buffy who was half way up the stairs.
"I don't know. I'll feel better once she's, you know, Cordy again." Buffy walked up the last few steps and into the lobby. As she walked in, Cordy jumped up from behind the counter and started to back away from Fred and Gunn who had demon blood dripping from them.
"It's ok, Cordelia." Fred said.
Cordy backed away, hit the weapons cabinet, which made the weapons fall and Cordy scream, and then she started to run. Angel came from behind Buffy and grabbed Cordy.
"I can explain." Angel said.
Cordy recoiled and ran out into the garden. As soon as she was out, Wolfram and Hart ops attacked her. Buffy and Angel burst through the doors and started to kick their asses and then Cordy joined in. As soon as they were all dispatched, Cordy turned and stared at the small gang.
"Wow. How did I..?" Cordy said. "I am a spy. I get it now. You're all spies. Probably all Russian. And you've brainwashed me, and want me to believe we're friends so I'll spill the beans about some nano-techno-thingy that you want."
"So.. I look Russian to you?" Gunn asked.
"Black Russian."
"That's a drink. Right?" Buffy asked.
"Says the head spy."
"Nobody here is a spy." Angel said. "Those two guys are lawyers.. weird as that may seem.. from Wolfram and Hart. They must know you're back. We'll have to keep her in the hotel so she's safe."
"Safe? Is that some kind of joke? Your friends here were just talking about murdering children. And there's-there's-there's singing and blood and-and pointy things. And did I mention the singing? I mean, what the hell is going on here, Bunny?"
"Buffy." Buffy corrected.
"Whatever."
"I know things seem weird. Maybe even scary. But you have to believe me when I tell you we're trying to do everything we can to help you get through this. The Cordelia that we know, the person who you're trying to remember, is very much at home here, bizarre as that may seem. So I ask you to look inside, to believe me when I tell you that you're safe and you're among friends who only want the best for you."
"I believe you."
"You do? Of course you do!" Buffy sighed and looked around a bit. "Hey! Let's get you back up to your room and check out some of your stuff. Huh?"
"Yeah, ok."
Buffy and Angel led Cordy back up to Cordy's room. Cordy walked over and sat on the bed. Angel stood in the doorway while Buffy paged through the old Sunnydale Yearbook.
"Fun times." Buffy said. "Hehe! I remember this!"
"What?" Cordy asked.
"This." Buffy took the book to Cordy and showed her a picture taped to one of the pages of her and Cordy. "We took this when we were 17. Homecoming. That was a mess."
"What happened to my dress?"
"We were.. We were in an accident. But of course, we made it through.. Just in time to find out that we were both runners up for Homecoming Queen."
"Runners up?"
"Yeah. You pissed me off by not telling me about school pictures and then you said something stupid about me and then I ran against you for Queen. We both lost to Holly Charleston and Michelle Blake. Of all people!"
"So, I'm not a spy?"
"Nope."
"Am I a mom?"
"What?" Cordy bent over and picked a picture up out of a box. Buffy took it and stared at it, small tears forming in her eyes. "That's my son. That's mine and Angel's baby boy, Conner."
"So, we weren't a happy family?" Cordy asked Angel.
"Not like that." Angel said.
"And you and me? We weren't.."
"No, Buffy's my wife."
"I'm I a nun?"
"A what?" Buffy and Angel asked together.
"Were we not a happy family because I was a nun?" Cordy reached over to a box next to her. "I was going through my stuff," She grabbed a handful of rosaries," and I found all these."
Cordelia put numerous rosaries adorned with crucifixes in Angel's hands, causing him to vamp out uncontrollably. He growled, and she screamed. Cordelia ran out of her room and down the hallway frantically escaping vamped-out Angel. She ended up in the lobby and ran into Lorne. They fell down, with him on top of her. They were face to face. When each realized who/what they were looking at, they both screamed. Cordelia started beating on Lorne's chest and pushed him off.
"Get off me." Cordy cried.
"I'm getting. I'm getting. Just stop the clobbering." Lorne said.
Buffy and Angel ran in to the lobby, and Angel grabbed Cordelia. "Cordelia, stop. Stop. It's ok. It's ok. He's with us."
"Hey, if this was about that missing lingerie, that was for a friend."
"Tell me that this is Halloween, and he isn't what I think he is." Cordy said.
"Tick or Treat."
"Don't you remember Lorne? You two are old buddies." Fred said, she and Gunn walking up to Lorne.
"Yeah, you, uh, wanna know why we call him Lorne?" Gunn asked.
"What I want is answers, and I want 'em now, mister!" Cordy said.
"Ok. Maybe we haven't been a hundred percent honest because, well, we were afraid the truth would scare you." Angel said.
"Yeah, and the lying and deceit have been so comforting."
"You're right. Our bad. I think it's time we came clean. About everything." Buffy said.
"That's.. everything?" Cordelia sighed. "It all makes perfect sense now. I was a cheerleader, a princess, and a warrior. And I have visions and super powers and I'm the target of an evil law firm because I've spent the last three months living on a higher plane, fighting for the forces of good, who wage a battle against demons and evilies and squishy bug babies, cause all that stuff's real and that's the world I live in. And I think I know why I don't remember any of this 'cause, hey.. who'd want to!"
"Um, sea breeze?" Lorne offered.
"I know it's a lot to take in." Angel said.
"Says the vampire with a soul, the Vampire Slayer Wife, and his wacky gang of sidekicks."
"Um, not a sidekick." Gunn said.
"I think there's a way we might be able to sort this out. Pick a song." Buffy said.
"Yeah.. What?" Cordy asked.
"So Lorne can read you."
"You sing, he sees your future." Angel said.
"Hopefully he'll be able to explain what's happened and how we can get your memory back."
"I can't just sing. I-I don't even know if I'm even musical. Am I?" Cordy asked.
Buffy looked away and up at Angel. Gunn was the one to speak first. "Sure? You remember any songs?"
"W-well, there's so many. How do I pick?"
"It doesn't really matter. I'm kinda a ballad man myself, but, uh.. just pick anything." Angel said.
Cordy sighed and then started. "Because the greatest love of all is happening to me. I've found the greatest love of all inside of me. The greatest love of all is easy to achieve. Learning to love yourself.."
"Does he look a little green to you.. I mean, more than usual?" Fred whispered to Gunn.
"Uh, great, enough. Ok! You were great." Lorne said, backing towards the door. "You were great. E-everything's great. We're all just, uh.. I see, uh, a very, very, um.." Lorne left.
"Was I really that bad?" Cordy asked.
"Wasn't you. It was.. the song. It reminds him of.. um.."Angel tried, but he and Buffy left the room before he could finish.
"Oh, come on! You guys aren't even good liars. This is ridiculous." Cordy called after them.
Buffy and Angel went to Lorne's room and knocked. Lorne called back for them to go away. Buffy knocked again and called, "Lorne. Talk to us. What'd you see?"
"Go away." Lorne called again.
"If it's that bad, we need to know."
Lorne opened the door. "It's that bad. G'night." Lorne tried to shut the door, but Angel stopped him.
"I need details." Angel said.
"I got none. Just a splitting migraine, a tummy full of rattlesnakes, and a strong suspicion I'm gonna lose my lunch again if I don't start drinking myself silly." Lorne tried to shut the door again and Angel stopped him, again.
"C'mon, Lorne. You gotta give us something."
"Do the words 'slouching towards Bethlehem' ring a bell? Or how about despair, torment, terror? And I'm not referring to little missy's choice of song, either, although that was horrifying in its own right. What I saw was jumbled. It was pieces, flashes. It was enough to make my skin crawl away and scamper under the bed. Evil's coming, kiddies, and it's planning on staying."
"Does this have anything to do with that bad thing in Sunnydale? You know, 'from beneath you it devours?'"
"Blondie gal, I have no clue." With that, Lorne slammed the door shut.
Xander walked into the Hyperion's lobby. It was empty, but the lights were on. He guessed that Fred and Gunn weren't able to go. He had dropped Willow, Conner, and Dawn off at Hank's place, Buffy and Dawn's dad. Xander had come by here to see if he could barrow one of Angel's shirts for a night on the town. Just as he stepped into the middle of the lobby, a hideous drooling demon guy jumped from the second story. A woman screamed behind him and Xander turned.
"Cordelia!" Xander cried.
The demon behind him shoved into him and knocked Xander into Cordy. Before Xander could stop himself, he stood back up and punched the demon hard. The demon reeled back and went to punch Xander, but he blocked it and grabbed the dagger out of his jacket pocket. With one swing, Xander had the dagger embedded in the demon's chest.
He turned to Cordy. "Are you ok?"
"Can you get me out of here?" she asked.
"Sure." Xander took Cordy's hand and ran out.
"Oh my God! It's you. You're back." Buffy said, moving towards Cordy. Cordelia backed away. "Don't you remember? Buffy. That's Angel."
Angel looked back at Gunn and Fred. "Um, you see her too, right? We're not just.."
"No, man, it's real." Gunn said.
"It's ok. We're friends. You know us. Fred. Gunn. You're dazed or something. Thank God you're back." Buffy said.
"So we know each other?" Cordy asked.
"Yeah, really well."
"Ok, um.. who am I?"
"What do you remember?" Angel asked.
"I don't know. Numbers. Animals. Flossing."
"But not us."
"Or me. I don't remember me."
"You're Cordelia Chase. You work here. With us. You've been gone for a while, but you're safe now." Angel stepped toward her, but she stepped back. "It's ok. We-we're friends. We're here to help you."
"I've been gone?"
"What's important is that you're back." Buffy said.
"Are there other people here?"
"Um, not to sound all 'Movie of the Week', but I think you might have some kind of amnesia. Like maybe you fell or banged your head." Fred said.
"Should we take her to a hospital?" Gunn asked.
"Hospital? I don't need a.. Not yet, maybe later." Cordy said.
"I don't think seeing a doctor will solve her problems." Fred whispered to Buffy.
Angel looked over at the door and saw Lorne coming towards the doors. "Neither will seeing green."
Buffy got the hint and turned to Cordy. "You wanna know what might help you remember? Seeing some of your things." Buffy turned to Gunn. "You wanna check for her things out in the garden?"
"Checking away." Gunn left and shooed Lorne back into the garden.
"Hey, Fred. You wanna help me look in the office?" Angel asked.
"Sure." Fred said. "Excuse us."
"I'll stay here. You know, talk to her." Buffy said.
Angel and Fred went into the office and Buffy turned to Cordy. "So, um.. Is there anything else you remember? How you got here maybe?"
"Nothing. None of you seem familiar at all." Cordy said.
"We'll take you up to your room as soon as everyone finds some of your stuff." Cordy looked over at the window where Angel and Fred were staring at her. They waved. "Ok, that's creepy." She said. Then she noticed the double bladed axe lying on the floor. "So's that."
Buffy looked down, eyes wide, and shoved the axe under the couch with her foot. "Hobby."
Angel came out of the office. "Couldn't really find anything of yours in the office."
"That's ok." Cordy said as the phone rang. "Shouldn't someone answer that?"
"The machine'll get it. You really don't have to be afraid."
"Easy for you to say. I don't know that. Don't know you, this place.." Cordy was cut off by her voice on the answering machine.
"Hi. You've reached Angel Investigations. We can't come to the phone right now, but if you leave your name and number, we'll get back to you as soon as possible. Thanks! And wait for the beep." There was a beep.
Cordy moved forward and stared at the phone. "But that voice.. Oh, my God! It's me. I work here."
"Uh, yeah, this is Murray, down at the spa. Listen, it's after midnight, and uh, you better get down here. That demon broad came back. Looks like she's gonna try and hatch her blood-sucking little.."
Angel coughed and Fred picked up the phone. "We're here. Uh-huh. Ok. We'll be right there."
"Did he say demon broad?" Cordy asked.
"Yeah. His, um, wife. It's an ugly divorce case thing. You know, private eye stuff." Fred said. "I should get Charles and terminate it before the situation multiplies."
"Ok. I'll just stay here and help Cordelia settle in." Buffy said.
"Ok." Fred ran out to get Gunn.
Angel stayed behind. "They don't really need me to help them out."
"Yeah." Buffy turned to Cordy. "So.."
"I wanna go home. Know where I live?" Cordy asked.
"Well, um.. You live here now. You had an apartment, but it.. You.. were gone so long that they sort of.. Evicted you."
"Where do I live now?"
"You live here." Buffy gently took Cordelia's arm and led her towards the stairs. They walked up to the room Gunn and Fred had moved Cordy's stuff into.
Cordy walked in and looked at all the boxes. "This is it? Everything?"
"Fred and Gunn, they moved everything over from your old apartment after you.." Buffy said. Cordy picked up a strappy shoe from one of the boxes.
"You remember that? You wore it when we went to the ballet." Angel asked.
"The ballet? For real? You and me?" Cordy asked.
"We ALL went, but yeah." Buffy said a little possessively. "Pretty special. I thought maybe you'd remember because I was.. It's too bad. We had, uh, a really good time. Working together too."
"I wish I could remember."
"Me too. I wanna help you get those memories back. You're one of my best friends."
"Great. But not tonight."
"I-I understand. If you need any.."
"I will."
"You really are among friends." Angel said as he and Buffy backed out the door. They walked to their room and opened the door. He watched Buffy as she walked to the bed and lay down exhaustedly. Angel sat down beside her and rubbed her leg. "How you doing champ?"
"I'll be better once we figure out what's going on with Cordelia." Buffy sat up. "Why now? A-a-and why without a memory? It's weird."
"Yeah. It is."
Buffy lay back down. "There goes bath time fun."
Angel lay beside her. "Yeah. Damn it."
"Are you sure we should just leave without leaving Mom and Dad a note?" Conner asked.
"They're in Vegas! How will they know?" Dawn asked.
"They're mom and dad. They'll know."
"If they get a vacation, so do we. I don't want to be stuck in Sunnyhell all week."
"Dawnster's got a point." Xander said.
"So? I just don't want to get in trouble. Mom and Dad have super powers. Not something I want to toy with." Conner said.
"So do you. If anything, you're twice as strong as they are. You're their kid." Dawn said.
"Dawn, can we just drop this? It doesn't feel right. Something's off."
"Nothing's off. You've been pampered ever since you got back. You're a mama's boy!"
"I am not!"
"Prove it! You're always hanging with Buffy."
"She's the Slayer. She's my mom. She teaches me stuff. Slayer stuff. I love her. Nothing wrong with that."
"Whipped!"
"You're whipped!"
"Guys, cut it out! Geez!" Willow said.
"Sorry." Conner said.
Dawn leaned over to whisper, "Whipped."
Conner sat back and stared out the window. He saw a van parked on the side of the road and the hairs on the back of his neck stood on end. "Uncle Xander, stop the car."
"What? Why?" Xander asked.
"Spider senses." Xander stopped and Conner jumped out. "Stay here. I'll be back soon." Conner walked towards the van silently.
"Your father's just trying to get us home." The woman in the passenger seat said.
Conner looked into the back window and saw a teenager a little younger than him sitting there. "You ok?" Conner asked.
"Dad?" the teen asked.
"Can I help you?" the dad asked, walking up to Conner.
"You're in trouble." Conner said.
"No, we're fine."
"I like your hat." Conner said to the teen.
There was a noise of an approaching vehicle from behind them, and the dad turned to look. When he turned back, Conner had disappeared into the shadows. A tow truck with yellow flashing lights pulled up in front of the car, but there was something off. They were driving like maniacs and blaring rock music. They got out of the car, and the dad turned to talk to them.
"Hey, you guys are just in time. Not sure if we needed a jump or a tow."
"I vote jump." The vamp from the tow truck said.
The vampire lunged for the dad and attacked him while his cohort went for the mom and teen in the car. The mom saw him coming and locked the door, so the vampire beat on the window, trying to smash it in. The vampire was still punching the dad outside, and the vampire who had went for Mom had broken through the glass, grabbing her. She screamed, but then the vampire turned to dust in front of her eyes. After the dust cleared, Conner was standing there, pulling his stake back.
"You ok?" Conner asked.
"Uh-huh." The mom said.
Conner reached inside and punched the cigarette lighter in. Then he went to help the dad fight the vampire attacking him. Conner grabbed a container full of gas and beat the vampire with it, spilling gas all over it. The he ran back to the car, grabbed the hot cigarette lighter, and tossed it to the vampire.
"Hey." Conner tossed the lighter to vampire, who ignited and explodes. Conner turned to the dad. "Is that your family?"
"Dad!" the teen yelled.
The dad went back to the van, not even thanking Conner for the help. Conner huffed and walked back to Xander and the others. He got in and slammed the door.
"Crap! That was retarded! I just saved them and all I got was a walking away!" Conner said.
"Sometimes you just get that sweetie." Willow said.
"People suck."
"Yup."
Xander started the car and headed towards the Hyperion.
"Angel, would you hurry up?" Buffy asked. "She might come down and see you!"
"I'm hurrying." Angel said, grabbing a bunch of jars in his arms.
"Here she comes!"
Angel ran into the office with Buffy as Cordy came into the lobby.
"Hello?" Cordy called. "Somebody down here?" She went downstairs to the counter and saw something on the counter where the jars were. She touched it. "Hello?"
Angel and Buffy ran out of the room quietly as Cordy had her back turned. They practically dived into the basement and stumbled down the steps. Angel started to put the jars of blood in the large refrigerator.
"I'm going back up. She knows something's up." Buffy said.
"She doesn't know. We're doing pretty good keeping it from her." Angel said, turning to Buffy who was half way up the stairs.
"I don't know. I'll feel better once she's, you know, Cordy again." Buffy walked up the last few steps and into the lobby. As she walked in, Cordy jumped up from behind the counter and started to back away from Fred and Gunn who had demon blood dripping from them.
"It's ok, Cordelia." Fred said.
Cordy backed away, hit the weapons cabinet, which made the weapons fall and Cordy scream, and then she started to run. Angel came from behind Buffy and grabbed Cordy.
"I can explain." Angel said.
Cordy recoiled and ran out into the garden. As soon as she was out, Wolfram and Hart ops attacked her. Buffy and Angel burst through the doors and started to kick their asses and then Cordy joined in. As soon as they were all dispatched, Cordy turned and stared at the small gang.
"Wow. How did I..?" Cordy said. "I am a spy. I get it now. You're all spies. Probably all Russian. And you've brainwashed me, and want me to believe we're friends so I'll spill the beans about some nano-techno-thingy that you want."
"So.. I look Russian to you?" Gunn asked.
"Black Russian."
"That's a drink. Right?" Buffy asked.
"Says the head spy."
"Nobody here is a spy." Angel said. "Those two guys are lawyers.. weird as that may seem.. from Wolfram and Hart. They must know you're back. We'll have to keep her in the hotel so she's safe."
"Safe? Is that some kind of joke? Your friends here were just talking about murdering children. And there's-there's-there's singing and blood and-and pointy things. And did I mention the singing? I mean, what the hell is going on here, Bunny?"
"Buffy." Buffy corrected.
"Whatever."
"I know things seem weird. Maybe even scary. But you have to believe me when I tell you we're trying to do everything we can to help you get through this. The Cordelia that we know, the person who you're trying to remember, is very much at home here, bizarre as that may seem. So I ask you to look inside, to believe me when I tell you that you're safe and you're among friends who only want the best for you."
"I believe you."
"You do? Of course you do!" Buffy sighed and looked around a bit. "Hey! Let's get you back up to your room and check out some of your stuff. Huh?"
"Yeah, ok."
Buffy and Angel led Cordy back up to Cordy's room. Cordy walked over and sat on the bed. Angel stood in the doorway while Buffy paged through the old Sunnydale Yearbook.
"Fun times." Buffy said. "Hehe! I remember this!"
"What?" Cordy asked.
"This." Buffy took the book to Cordy and showed her a picture taped to one of the pages of her and Cordy. "We took this when we were 17. Homecoming. That was a mess."
"What happened to my dress?"
"We were.. We were in an accident. But of course, we made it through.. Just in time to find out that we were both runners up for Homecoming Queen."
"Runners up?"
"Yeah. You pissed me off by not telling me about school pictures and then you said something stupid about me and then I ran against you for Queen. We both lost to Holly Charleston and Michelle Blake. Of all people!"
"So, I'm not a spy?"
"Nope."
"Am I a mom?"
"What?" Cordy bent over and picked a picture up out of a box. Buffy took it and stared at it, small tears forming in her eyes. "That's my son. That's mine and Angel's baby boy, Conner."
"So, we weren't a happy family?" Cordy asked Angel.
"Not like that." Angel said.
"And you and me? We weren't.."
"No, Buffy's my wife."
"I'm I a nun?"
"A what?" Buffy and Angel asked together.
"Were we not a happy family because I was a nun?" Cordy reached over to a box next to her. "I was going through my stuff," She grabbed a handful of rosaries," and I found all these."
Cordelia put numerous rosaries adorned with crucifixes in Angel's hands, causing him to vamp out uncontrollably. He growled, and she screamed. Cordelia ran out of her room and down the hallway frantically escaping vamped-out Angel. She ended up in the lobby and ran into Lorne. They fell down, with him on top of her. They were face to face. When each realized who/what they were looking at, they both screamed. Cordelia started beating on Lorne's chest and pushed him off.
"Get off me." Cordy cried.
"I'm getting. I'm getting. Just stop the clobbering." Lorne said.
Buffy and Angel ran in to the lobby, and Angel grabbed Cordelia. "Cordelia, stop. Stop. It's ok. It's ok. He's with us."
"Hey, if this was about that missing lingerie, that was for a friend."
"Tell me that this is Halloween, and he isn't what I think he is." Cordy said.
"Tick or Treat."
"Don't you remember Lorne? You two are old buddies." Fred said, she and Gunn walking up to Lorne.
"Yeah, you, uh, wanna know why we call him Lorne?" Gunn asked.
"What I want is answers, and I want 'em now, mister!" Cordy said.
"Ok. Maybe we haven't been a hundred percent honest because, well, we were afraid the truth would scare you." Angel said.
"Yeah, and the lying and deceit have been so comforting."
"You're right. Our bad. I think it's time we came clean. About everything." Buffy said.
"That's.. everything?" Cordelia sighed. "It all makes perfect sense now. I was a cheerleader, a princess, and a warrior. And I have visions and super powers and I'm the target of an evil law firm because I've spent the last three months living on a higher plane, fighting for the forces of good, who wage a battle against demons and evilies and squishy bug babies, cause all that stuff's real and that's the world I live in. And I think I know why I don't remember any of this 'cause, hey.. who'd want to!"
"Um, sea breeze?" Lorne offered.
"I know it's a lot to take in." Angel said.
"Says the vampire with a soul, the Vampire Slayer Wife, and his wacky gang of sidekicks."
"Um, not a sidekick." Gunn said.
"I think there's a way we might be able to sort this out. Pick a song." Buffy said.
"Yeah.. What?" Cordy asked.
"So Lorne can read you."
"You sing, he sees your future." Angel said.
"Hopefully he'll be able to explain what's happened and how we can get your memory back."
"I can't just sing. I-I don't even know if I'm even musical. Am I?" Cordy asked.
Buffy looked away and up at Angel. Gunn was the one to speak first. "Sure? You remember any songs?"
"W-well, there's so many. How do I pick?"
"It doesn't really matter. I'm kinda a ballad man myself, but, uh.. just pick anything." Angel said.
Cordy sighed and then started. "Because the greatest love of all is happening to me. I've found the greatest love of all inside of me. The greatest love of all is easy to achieve. Learning to love yourself.."
"Does he look a little green to you.. I mean, more than usual?" Fred whispered to Gunn.
"Uh, great, enough. Ok! You were great." Lorne said, backing towards the door. "You were great. E-everything's great. We're all just, uh.. I see, uh, a very, very, um.." Lorne left.
"Was I really that bad?" Cordy asked.
"Wasn't you. It was.. the song. It reminds him of.. um.."Angel tried, but he and Buffy left the room before he could finish.
"Oh, come on! You guys aren't even good liars. This is ridiculous." Cordy called after them.
Buffy and Angel went to Lorne's room and knocked. Lorne called back for them to go away. Buffy knocked again and called, "Lorne. Talk to us. What'd you see?"
"Go away." Lorne called again.
"If it's that bad, we need to know."
Lorne opened the door. "It's that bad. G'night." Lorne tried to shut the door, but Angel stopped him.
"I need details." Angel said.
"I got none. Just a splitting migraine, a tummy full of rattlesnakes, and a strong suspicion I'm gonna lose my lunch again if I don't start drinking myself silly." Lorne tried to shut the door again and Angel stopped him, again.
"C'mon, Lorne. You gotta give us something."
"Do the words 'slouching towards Bethlehem' ring a bell? Or how about despair, torment, terror? And I'm not referring to little missy's choice of song, either, although that was horrifying in its own right. What I saw was jumbled. It was pieces, flashes. It was enough to make my skin crawl away and scamper under the bed. Evil's coming, kiddies, and it's planning on staying."
"Does this have anything to do with that bad thing in Sunnydale? You know, 'from beneath you it devours?'"
"Blondie gal, I have no clue." With that, Lorne slammed the door shut.
Xander walked into the Hyperion's lobby. It was empty, but the lights were on. He guessed that Fred and Gunn weren't able to go. He had dropped Willow, Conner, and Dawn off at Hank's place, Buffy and Dawn's dad. Xander had come by here to see if he could barrow one of Angel's shirts for a night on the town. Just as he stepped into the middle of the lobby, a hideous drooling demon guy jumped from the second story. A woman screamed behind him and Xander turned.
"Cordelia!" Xander cried.
The demon behind him shoved into him and knocked Xander into Cordy. Before Xander could stop himself, he stood back up and punched the demon hard. The demon reeled back and went to punch Xander, but he blocked it and grabbed the dagger out of his jacket pocket. With one swing, Xander had the dagger embedded in the demon's chest.
He turned to Cordy. "Are you ok?"
"Can you get me out of here?" she asked.
"Sure." Xander took Cordy's hand and ran out.
