Part five:
Cordelia's eyes slowly opened. In a sleepy haze she contemplated the face of the figure asleep in the bed next to her. She let out a noise of disgust as she remembered he wasn't supposed to be in her bed. She angrily slapped him on his shoulder which startled him awake. He looked at her in confusion.
"Hello?" she snapped, "didn't I distinctly say floor?!"
"You were crying in you sleep," he replied, "So I came up here to comfort you. That's it. I didn't try to cop a feel if that's what you're thinking."
She narrowed her eyes at him.
"What was I supposed to do? Let you whimper all night?" he asked.
"I was not whimpering," she scoffed.
"How would you know? You were sleeping," he replied turning over and closing his eyes.
She looked at his back and sighed. She didn't want to admit to him that she was wide awake when he climbed in the bed next to her. Or that she was extremely relieved that at lest someone wasn't too pissed off at her to hold her while she cried. What she had done to Angel was inexcusable and for the first time in her life she felt remorse for her actions. Being around Angel and Doyle was starting to change her and that made her really nervous. She stretched and got out of the bed. Her stomach growled so she headed to the kitchen to get something to eat. She was surprised to see Angel in the kitchen eating left over Chinese food. He smiled at her and said "good morning".
"What are you doing?" she asked.
"Eating?" he offered.
"I guess I'm just not used to it, is all."
"I figure I might as well enjoy it while I can." He stated with a mouth full of lo mien.
"Charming," she said opening the refrigerator, "Did Buffy show up yet?"
He swallowed hard and shook his head 'no'.
She stared at him. He was sitting on the counter digging in the Chinese food container with his fork and sporting a noodle hanging out of the side of his mouth. The noodle disappeared into his mouth with a slurp. Suddenly, the remorse that took up house in the pit of her stomach pained her, "Angel, I'm really sorry I got you into all this. I was just trying to cheer you up. I would never have done that if I had known what you went though with Buffy that day."
"I'm not mad at you. I understand what you were trying to do for me. I just wish you had asked me first," he said with a concerned face.
"I know," Cordelia sighed and stuck her head in the refrigerator, "Giles needs a girlfriend. There is nothing in here but Chinese food and a box of baking soda."
Angel grunted and she looked up to see him holding his head in pain.
"Angel?" she questioned nervously.
He silenced her with his hand. She waited for his pain to stop and an explanation as to what was wrong. Finally he looked up with worry in his eyes.
"I know where Buffy is."
Buffy was awakened by the clinking sound of keys going into the lock on the door of the room she and Xander were held captive in. She shook Xander awake and rose quickly to be ready to defend herself. Xander shied away in the corner holding his wounded finger protectively to his chest. Angelus sauntered in followed by two of his vampire goons. Buffy recognized the second one from the graveyard last night. He winked at her and she wrinkled her nose in disgust.
"Good morning," Angelus said with mock hospitality. "I trust you slept well?"
Buffy glared at him with clenched fists. He gestured to his goons and they stepped forward to grab Buffy. She backed away angrily and tried to push them off her. Her efforts were in vain and they succeeded in dragging her out of the room. She could see Angelus walking towards Xander menacingly as they pulled her around the corner.
"Get away from him, you bastard!" she screamed at him.
The only answer she got was Xander's muffled cries. She tried to break free as they forced her down a narrow hall way to an open door. They tossed her inside roughly and Angelus walked in behind them soon after. He nodded at them and they left slamming the door behind after themselves. Her stomach dropped as she saw though the door's small window that they were walking back towards where Xander was being kept.
"They better not hurt him," she warned Angelus.
"Now that depends on your definition of hurt," he said placing his fingers in a steeple in front of his chin.
She glared on him but said nothing. Looking around the bare room she soon realized that it was very similar to the one she was just in, except this one had a chair in it. A naked light bulb hung over it. She noticed there were chains on the arms and legs of the chair. She swallowed nervously.
"Have a seat," Angelus gestured smirking at the obvious fear in her eyes.
She remained crouched on the floor glaring up at him. She considered her options. It didn't take her long, since she didn't have a whole lot of them. She decided she wasn't going down with out a fight and launched herself at him. He grabbed her arms effortlessly and slammed her up against the near by wall. She grunted as he pressed his knee against her stomach pinning her tightly against the wall.
"I love it when you try to fight back. It's so...cute," he smirked.
She struggled against him in vein. He tightened his grip on her wrists causing her to suck her breath in quickly from the pain. He laughed and roughly crushed his lips against hers. Then he threw her into the chair and clamped the shackles to around her wrists before she could recover. He chuckled when she tried to kick her legs out at him. Soon he had her ankles shackled also. Her eyes burned with hatred as he stood up to admire his work.
"You're not as strong as I remember. Or maybe it's because I'm stronger," he laughed.
"You're not going to win," she threatened him.
"That's not very convincing, Buffy. Try to remember who's tied to a chair, here?" he smirked, "Oh by the way, I have a friend I'd like you to meet."
He walked over to the door pausing to look at her before he left.
"Now don't you go anywhere," he commanded wagging a finger at her.
"Angelus has Xander and Buffy," Angel reviled to the group who had collected in Giles' living room.
"We all kind of figured that by now, Angel," Willow said in a quiet voice.
"Yeah, something a bit more specific might help," Doyle added.
"He has them locked up in the basement of the burned out high school," Angel stated.
"Like that for example," Spike quipped.
"How can you be so sure?" Willow asked.
"I think that Angelus and I have some connection. I could see what he saw," he explained.
"What did you see?" Cordelia asked.
"Buffy is in a lot of trouble. We need to get them as soon as possible." He replied with a stern face.
"Hold on a minute," Spike interjected narrowing his eyes at Angel, "How do we know he can't see though you're eyes?"
Angel opened his mouth to talk but couldn't think of an explanation. He just shrugged as everyone looked at him warily.
"Wait!" Willow cried as she ran to the computer and within minutes was studying the spell the demon used on Angel.
"Ah ha!" she cried triumphantly, "It's a temporary affect of the spell. He only can see though your eyes when you get those head aches."
"Well that's not good!" Cordelia cried, "He's had two of them around us already! Who knows what Angelus knows!"
"Well he doesn't know what we're planning," Angel said.
"Yeah!" Doyle yelled supportively, "Uh, what are we planning?"
"Willow," Angel began, "Get that reversal spell ready. Doyle, we're hitting the sewers."
Buffy was struggling against the shackles in an effort to escape. She tried to rock the chair back but realized it was bolted to the floor. She cried out in frustration as the door creaked open. She looked up in surprise as Giles walked in the room.
"Giles!" she cried happily, "you're alive!"
He smiled at her and shut the door behind himself.
"Come on, unshackle me. We have to save Xander!" she commanded.
He leaned against the wall and smirked at her.
"What are you wanting for?" she asked, "Where have you been? Giles, why are you looking at me like that?"
"You know, I really thought I had trained a better slayer," he replied, "You couldn't even save your own watcher. It's pathetic."
"Giles?" she questioned, "Look I'm sorry about what happened, but we really need to get out of here."
"I don't think you're sorry at all. You're so wrapped up in yourself that you don't even see what's right in front of your nose, do you? I know why I was fired from the council. I successfully produced the sorriest excuse for a slayer I have ever laid eyes upon."
"Why are you saying this?" she asked her eyes filling with tears. "You know it's not true."
He walked over to her and lifted her up her chin with his hand, "Then why are you crying?"
She looked at him with a mix of confusion and hurt in her eyes.
"You know what Angelus told me?" he asked her in a low voice, "He told me that the reason Angel left you was because you were the worst lay he had ever had. I guess your mother's talents weren't passed down to you."
Buffy's face twisted into a look of disgust, "What did he do to you?"
He circled behind her and ran his hand down the side of her cheek causing Buffy to wince.
"I think you're slayer sense is losing its touch," he said brushing her hair to the side, exposing her neck, "Didn't I teach you to recognize a vampire when you saw one?"
She cried out as she felt him slice her neck with a knife. He ran his finger along the wound and licked her blood of it.
"Hmmm, sweeter then I expected," he said as he walked in front of her.
Tears rolled down her cheeks as she watched him lick his lips in satisfaction.
"Oh, don't cry. It's only a flesh wound," he said with mock concern.
"Fuck you," she said between clenched teeth.
He punched her roughly in the mouth causing her lip to start bleeding. She glared at him.
"You are not Giles," she hissed.
He punched her again. She grunted and spit blood out of her mouth. He grabbed her by her hair and jerked her head back. He cocked his head and smiled at her.
"You're quite beautiful when you're angry," he said wickedly.
He leaned down and pressed his lips against hers. She responded with muffled protests and squeals of anger. He bit her lip and drank the blood that pooled into his mouth. He pulled away roughly and gave her a bloody smirk. She lowered her head in disgust at the violation she had just undertaken.
"I can't see why Angelus said that. You seem to have a lot of spunk," he wiped his mouth with the back of his and pulled out the knife he had used on her a few minutes earlier, "Now's the time for some real fun."
Spike watched intently as Willow poured a thick black liquid that smelled like sulfur into a glass vile. She capped it quickly and began clearing up the supplies spilled out on the table.
"What are you planning on doing with this stuff?" Spike asked inspecting the vile, "because you'll be hard pressed to find anybody who would drink this gunk."
"Good thing we don't have to," she replied, "All it has to do is come into contact with someone who's had the spell put on them recently to do the job."
"It's that simple?" he inquired.
"Well sort of. The two of them have to be touching each other as well."
"Kinky," he smirked at her.
She looked at him oddly as Angel and Doyle rushed in the house. Angel started gathering up weapons.
"I was right," he said as began packing the duffle bag with weapons. "The sewer still leads right under the school. He has three vampires helping him, and only one guarding the door. Apparently, he's not too concerned with us trying to get in. He was always full of himself."
Cordelia walked in and looked at them, "What's the plan?"
"Doyle and I will take out the vampire at the sewer entrance," he explained. "He's a fledgling so it shouldn't be too hard. He didn't even notice us sneaking in. After that we find Buffy, Xander and Giles. Willow is the reversal spell ready?"
"Yup, I got it right here," she replied holding up the vile.
"Good," he stated, "you can explain how to use it on the way there. Everyone grab as many weapons as you can. We don't know how hard it will be to take down Angelus, but remember…don't kill him."
Spike gave a disappointed sigh. Angel looked at him questioningly.
"You're coming with us?" he asked Spike.
"You're bloody right I am," he responded, "It's been too long since I've seen a good spot of violence. I need some cheering up."
"Uh-huh." Angel cleared his throat, "Well we need all the help we can get. Even if you can't hit anyone, you can carry some weapons at least."
"I can hit things! It hurts a whole lot but I still can do some damage!" he insisted winking at Willow as she handed him a blanket.
"It's still sunny," she said softly.
She smiled, relived that he'd be going even if he was about as much help in a fight as she was. Doyle picked up a crossbow and some stakes. "Everyone ready for some ass kicking?" he asked with a goofy grin on his face.
"I just hope it's not our asses that get the kicking," Cordelia commented quietly.
"Let's go," Angel commanded ignoring Cordelia's comment.
They followed him out the door towards the sewer's entrance. Spike paused, pulled a blanket over his head and followed suit.