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PART 3.

Here he was again, back in the dark. He hated the dark so much, but he would never tell anyone. If father found out that he had admitted to such a childish fear…

No, he wouldn't even think it.

Don't be so pathetic, boy. Young men are not afraid of such trivial things. The sooner you learn that, the better.

Why was he here again? He couldn't remember. His head still hurt too much. He must have done something else wrong, one more failure to add to the ever-growing list. Father said he would never do this without a reason, it was all for his own good.

Father knows best.

Best just wait it out, like he always did, and use the silence to think about how he could make himself better for next time. If only he could try a little harder, be a little braver in the next test, he wouldn't disappoint.

* GASP * What was that? There is something in here with him, he could hear it. Or was it just his own movement? He couldn't see in the dark, it was too black.

You are such a wimp. Coward. Stand up for yourself.

He shuffled backwards. He knew the wall was there, it always was. It was safe, his only comfort in this God-forsaken little hole. If he just hid here and made himself really small, no one would notice him and he would be left alone. That was all he wanted, to disappear. He was worthless anyway. Who would even care if he just ceased to be? Certainly not father. Maybe this was the one thing he could do to please him.

Stupid thing to think. You can't disappear anyway. Go on, do what you always do, run away. Hide.

He cradled his legs in his arms, pulling his knees up to his chin and sat, breathing as quietly as he could so as not to draw the attention of the monster. Stupid really. He knew, deep down, that there was nothing there. When the door was opened and he was finally let out again, (he would be this time, wouldn't he?), the light would pour in and show just how silly he had been. There was nothing there, it was just a closet.

Still, what if…?

No point in calling out, no one would hear you or help you. Don't even think about trying to get out either. You can't. Such cowardice would only award him with more punishment anyway,

Take it like a man, boy.

Now that was ironic, wasn't it? Stop it. You shouldn't think such things about father. He's a good man, always trying to do what's best. You'll only make him angry.

That's decided it then. He would just sit here and suffer in silence. He wouldn't cry. He would NOT.

Too late.

The tears are already there, running down his cheeks and following the same route as they had done so many times before. There have been so many, perhaps now they remember which way they have been already.

You'd better wipe those away before father finds you, or there will be trouble.

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Angel stood in the corner of the room, assessing the situation.

They had brought Wesley up here and calmed him down. Now, he lay unconscious on the bed, and nothing they could do would rouse him. They just couldn't reach him; there was nothing.

Cordelia was sat on a chair next to the bed, leaning her elbows on the covers with her head in her hands. He wondered what she was thinking. She'd already refused to cry, refused to talk, refused to leave. She just sat there looking utterly mortified.

Angel wished that there was something he could do to comfort her, but whenever he had tried; she had just brushed him away, not knowing what to feel.

Maybe she was just getting a few things straight in her head. All this was a cover. She was trying to look strong. It wasn't working on Angel. He'd just have to keep his distance and wait until the time was right. He'd be there for her, when she needed him. For now, he'd just support her from a distance.

He looked at the digital clock on the bedside table for what must have been the fifteenth time in a row.

Where was Gunn? He didn't think he would take this long.

With the initial frantic dash over, Angel had sent him down to do a couple of things.

Firstly, they had needed to get rid of Harris. Angel had told Gunn to pretend that everything was fine and tell him he could go. He should return to the Hyperion as soon as he could use his powers again, just to let them know. Angel didn't want Gunn to even bother about mentioning the money. That wasn't important right now.

Having done that, Gunn was instructed to go out and bring back the one person he could think of who might be able to help.

He'd been gone for nearly an hour now. What was taking him so long?

Angel couldn't bare it. All this waiting and not being able to help. It was sending him crazy.

He started to pace the room, staring at the same spot o the carpet the whole time. After several lengths, he noticed Cordelia shift slightly.

"Angel, please stop doing that. You're bugging the crap out of me", she said quietly with none of her usual fiery temper. She hadn't even moved her hands or looked up.

He did as he was told, feeling slightly comforted that at least he had gotten a response out of her. All was not lost, she hadn't flipped just yet.

Angel then snapped his head up. Someone was coming. He could hear two sets of footfalls and the rustle of clothing. It must be them. He waited with baited breath, despite the fact that he didn't need to breathe anyway, and tried to stare a hole through the door. It was all he could do to restrain himself from rushing forwards and demanding answers. He just ground his teeth instead. Hard.

Sure enough, the door opened to reveal Gunn, whose first instinct was to hurry over to the bed before acknowledging Angel's presence. He was closely followed by The Host, who gingerly stepped his way in, pushing the door shut behind him with a gentle click. He gave Angel a cautious smile, seeing as how the vampire was tensed up rather menacingly in the shadows, a grim expression on his face.

"I'm sorry it took so long, Angel-cakes, I came as soon as I heard. I'm afraid as was rather 'otherwise engaged' when Gunn came to find me, and it always takes a while to brush off company. You know how it is."

Not willing to engage Lorne in a conversation that he would probably regret having later anyway, Angel got straight to the point.

"Is there anything you can do or not?" His tone was cold and unfriendly, making it clear to Lorne that he was not in a good mood.

Lorne swallowed hard, slightly intimidated by Angel's towering form. "I can't promise you anything, but I'll give it a try."

Cordelia had been watching the two of them from her vantage point by the bed, and she moved to give up her seat to Lorne as he approached.

"Thanks, sweet-thing", he said to her as he took it, giving her a smile that melted some of her worries away. If anyone could help them now, it was Lorne. She shuffled round to stand on the other side of the bed with Gunn, and Angel moved forward to get a better view.

Lorne shook his cuffs and got himself ready to begin, leaning over Wesley.

"OK, Wesley, if you can here me, I want you to know that I'm here to help. I'm not going to hurt you, so, just relax. Here we go."

He moved his hands over to Wesley's head, placing two fingers on either side. He felt a small bolt of static jump through his hands as he made contact with skin, and pulled back quickly with an 'Ouch!'.

He looked at the others, slightly confused, and seeing there worried glances, stopped himself from complaining. "OK, no touch. I get it."

He turned back to Wesley and, this time, let his hands rest on the pillow on either side of his head without actually touching him. Cordelia bit at her nails as she watched in silence. The Host just sat there with his eyes closed for what seemed like an eternity. If he didn't say something soon, she was going to have bitten her whole fingers off.

Finally, and with a slight sigh, Lorne leant back in his chair and gave them all an understanding look.

"What you'll be glad to hear is that he's still in there, just kinda buried at the moment somewhere very deep. I'm afraid you're just going to have to wait some more for him to do this on his own. He'll come back in his own time, when he's ready."

"Is that it?" cried Angel, not quite believing what he was hearing. "I thought you were supposed to be able to sense people's futures. Tell us about that!"

"Yeah", Cordelia joined in, "You're, like, mojo guy… so do some mojo already."

"I'm afraid it's not that simple. There's a whole load of stuff going on there that just can't reveal to you. I'm sorry, but it's just not up to me. All I can say is that this was meant to happen, and that you'll get your answers soon enough."

'Just like Lorne', Cordelia thought to herself. Always with the cryptic stuff. He sighed and bent her head, resting it on Gunn's shoulder in resignation. Angel just stood there, rubbing his forehead with his hand.

Then, abruptly, as if he had suddenly gotten over the whole thing, he looked up and randomly asked "Does anyone want anything to drink?"

Cordelia straightened her head and frowned, not sure want to think. He reiterated.

"Cordy, Gunn, you want anything?"

Gunn livened up a bit at the prospect of refreshment, and walked over to join Angel.

"Sure, I'll come help you get some stuff", he said, "I'm starving. Maybe I should go and fetch some food or somethin' if this is gonna be another all-nighter?" He looked at each of them in turn, as if seeking confirmation.

"Yeah, that's probably a good idea. We're going to need a few things for when… well, you know." Angel opened the door and went out, Gunn pulling Lorne out with them.

"You gonna be OK in here, Cor?" he asked before he left.

"I'll be fine. You guys go and get whatever it is you need. I can stay here and keep watch. Oh, and thanks Lorne, for all your help."

He winked at her as if to say 'don't you worry about that big ole' vampire', and said "My pleasure" as he left.

Gunn closed the door quietly, leaving Cordelia alone in the room with Wesley and her thoughts.

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Not again. He thought he had done better this time, he really had.

It wasn't his fault. That other boy, the one who had always bullied him, he had brought his friends along with him this time. There was no way one small person on their own could stand up to that and win, no way.

Still, father had told him to stand up for himself, so he had to try.

And really had tried. He'd fought harder than he ever knew he could, but still, he was no match for them. Three on one. It just wasn't fair.

He'd come home bruised and cut again, and father wasn't pleased. At least he had made it home on his own this time. That had to be worth something, right?

Apparently not.

A painful grip on his arm, father was dragging him along roughly, not caring about how much he was hurting his son.

There it is again. The stairs. The cupboard. How much more of this was he going to have to take before father realised that he just wasn't strong enough? That's it. He couldn't bare it anymore. He was going to say something, even though he knew it would cost him dearly.

"Daddy, please, you're hurting me!"

"Not enough, evidently! You would dare to talk back at me?"

"Please, I couldn't help it, they got me first, it wasn't my fault…"

Father stopped then, and started shaking him by the arm.

"You might want to rethink this, boy. What have I told you about respecting your elders?"

"But-"

There it was. The slap around the head that he knew he was going to get. He felt himself turning red with passion, an anger that he had never felt before, building at the injustice. How could father do this to him, after everything he had already been through?

Father must have guessed his thoughts, because he become even more angry, hurling him across the hallway and back into that nasty dark hole. The door slammed shut, plunging him into darkness once more. He clutched his head, wanting to scream in frustration but trying desperately to exercise a little self-control. He felt like he wanted to throw something. Hard. Smash it up and vent a little fury…

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Cordelia sat absorbing the silence, staring off into space as she waited for the others to come back. Why it had taken all of them to carry a few drinks back upstairs she could only imagine. Still, it gave her a chance to be on her own for a bit, even if Wesley was still there.

She wondered what was going through his head, if anything at all. Could he hear them? She wanted so badly to believe that Lorne was right, that all they had to do was wait, but she still wanted to find something else, to do something and feel like she was making a difference. Maybe that was her purpose in all this. Just to sit and do nothing but support her friend through whatever it was he was going through.

She slid her hand from under her chin, where it was currently serving as a chin rest, and picked up Wesley's hand.

Wait a minute. What was that? Did he just flinch at her touch? Praying that she wasn't just imaging it, she stood up and leant a little closer.

"Wesley?"

Damn. It must have been nothing. 

It was at that point that she noticed a building sensation in the air. Something was different. It felt like the room was pressing on her, but she could see nothing.

Then it happened. A chill ran down her spine as a small vase on the other side of the room picked itself up and was flung by an invisible force across the room. It crashed into the wall behind Cordelia, sending fragments flying.

She jumped back and screamed, dropping Wesley's hand on the bed.

She stood gasping for a moment, trying to catch her breath. When nothing else happened, she glanced around the room suspiciously.

"Phantom Dennis?" she asked cautiously. What a stupid thing to say. She didn't expect an answer, and she didn't get one. Just more silence. The strange feeling had left her, and everything returned to its peaceful state. She scolded herself for being so dense and jumpy. This was obviously something else to do with the spell.

She had no more time to ponder the event as Angel and Gunn came crashing in, scanning the room wildly.

"Cordelia, what happened, are you OK? We heard something break and a scream…"

"Oh, that was just me. I just got a little over excited when that vase over there decided to THROW ITSELF ACROSS THE ROOM!!!"  

She pointed at the shattered object on the floor and proceeded to make her way around the room, collecting up any other loose items she could find.

"Cordelia, what are you doing?" Angel asked when he had finally comprehended what had happened.

"What does it look like? I'm taking these away in case they all decided to start flying towards my head."

She bundled them all into a drawer and looked at the mess on the floor. She bent down to start picking up some of the biggest pieces, trying not to cut herself on the sharp edges. Gunn and Angel moved over to help her, but stopped when they heard a moan from the bed. They all whirled round at once, staring open mouthed as Wesley started to move, bringing his hands up to rub his face.

"Oh my God, Wesley!" Cordelia cried in delight, flinging herself onto the bed and putting her arms around him.

"Ow, my head", he moaned in pain when Cordelia got a bit over zealous in her hugging.

"Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to hurt you, are you OK?"

"No" he said bluntly, trying to sit up. Angel came t his side, handing him a glass of water and a painkiller he had prepared earlier. Wesley took it without question and swallowed it all, hanging his head again when he'd finished. It felt like the worst hangover in the world plus three of Cordy's visions. He hadn't even dared to open his eyes and look at any of them yet, he knew it would hurt too much.

"What happened?" he asked them in a hoarse voice, "did the spell go wrong?"

Just as Cordelia was a bout to answer, Lorne walked into the room, holding the spell book in his hands.

"No", he answered for them, "the spell didn't go wrong. This was exactly what was supposed to happen."

To be continued…