Part 4,
Spike looked over the weakened Illyria in the medical ward and with the mystics and doctors standing around her working like mad to figure out what was wrong with the former Demon-Goddess. But the way the Demon-Goddess looked as she breathed made him think about Buffy the Slayer. Between Spike in a mood of wanting to finally put an end to his nightmarish erotic dreams of the blond Slayer, he had taken a sawed off shotgun and marched over to the Slayer's house ready to open fire. But he had found her on the steps crying, in a complete state of emotional breakdown. He moved over to where she was sitting on her back steps and sat down next to her and comforted her as he gave her a shoulder to cry on. He hadn't known how long he sat with her, but learning that her mom was suffering from a brain tumor and no matter how much she fought, what physical demon she could slay.
There were just some monsters that the Slayer couldn't beat, pound, crush, decapitate, or impale. These were the monsters that existed in your own soul. Spike couldn't imagine what Illyria was going through. Experiencing the sum events of the person who you have slain, over and over again, made old Stiffy pants ensouling curse look like bottled water to ninety proof vodka; and Old Illyria here was bearing the grunt of it. There were times where Illyria started to sound like Fred her mannerisms, fear and her joy.
How much had he wanted to think her for making corporeal again, but being her friend had become his reward during all those sleepless nights she had spend in her lab. The Same Lab that her co-worker Knox had poisoned her with the sarcophagus containing the Demon-Goddess's essence. But he wished that he and Angel had been able to save her from this monstrosity. Now he had to deal with a creature that had curled up into Fred's skin. Now seeing the Demon-Goddess experience Fred in THX, Super Dolby 4:1 surround sound, Hi-Def 4D sensory smell-o-vision. That was when one of Fred's memories worked its way up to the surface.
"Wesley... don't leave me." Te Fred Shell said as she took up a fetal position. "I must get through this. I lived in a world where my kind were butchered like cattle."
"Wesley..." Then Illyria shot up to look at her hand.
"This will do..." Illyria said as she looked at he hand.
"That wasn't a memory of my shell, that was me. Then if it is her memory then how much of me is her and how much of her is me?" Illyria said as she tuned to see Spike.
"Fred." Spike said to the girl with the blue hair.
"Am I Dead or something else?" Illyria said as she brought her legs in front of her and wrapped her arms under her knees.
"Are you Fred or are you Illyria?" Spike said as the blue girl looked at him.
"I don't know. I don't know." The blue girl said as she moved between reptilian actions to those of more human. "What's happening to me?" The question would reveal itself in time.
On the other side of Wolfram and Hart, Wesley Windom-Pryce was consulting with several mystics and Psychics including Lorne.
"Well here is the down low of what I got from Illyria's mind." Lorne said as he pulled out a sketchpad on which he had drawn several images on. "Old Fredkin's has decided to strike back with a vengeance, but another set of images that kept showing themselves in my mind. One is of Cordy and the other is of a guy that I have not seen before." With that he pulled out another picture of a man in his late twenties or early thirties with dark hair.
"Well whomever it is seems to have targeted Illyria for something." Wesley said as he looked at the picture. "What ever it is it seems that Illyria's powers or lack of them have made her the perfect weapon for them to use."
"Yes," said Shesheba and Indian mystic who Wolfram and Hart had hired as one of their Psychic bloodhounds. "Illyria was a Demon General of ancient times, so someone wants to use her powers for some deed." She said with a deep Queen's English British accent.
"Yeah well considering that the number of suspects in the local area that might have the Mojo to pull this off is very limited." Lorne said as he looked through a file he had gotten his hand on.
"Yes. Illyria seems to be a formable opponent so I believe that checking with Angel about who would know about Illyria's current state." Wesley said as he started to deduct through possible leads in front of him.
"Well considering that old Illyria is front page news around here, so the number of people that know about Illyria's current state is about Oh, three fourths of the building and those family members of the employees as well. So I would say that the cat is pretty much out of the bag." Lorne said with his usual Pylean Hollywood finesse.
"Well I would suggest that Spike keeps watch on Illyria but I would suggest that he have a weapon on him to at least give him an edge if who ever is after her decides to make a move." Wesley said then there was an alert that went off. That was when Gunn came running in to Wes's office in his street clothes.
"Illyria just up and disappeared right out the medical bay." Gunn said then Spike came walking in with some sort of electronic device in his hands.
"Yeah and the little Harlot is making a bee line for the Hyperion Hotel." Spike said as Angel came into the room.
"Spike I thought that you and technology didn't get along." Gunn said seeing the electronic gizmo in his hands.
"Yeah normally I would say yes, but when I was in ghost form Fred showed off his creation of her's. She said that it was designed to track anything if you got a sample of genetic material or a fragment of them." Spike said as the unit started beeping more and more. "The Irony is that we're now using to find her body."
"So how loopy do you think Illyria is going to be when we find her?" Gunn said as he pulled out an old Halbant Battle Ax as he moved out to the elevator with Angel.
"I don't know but considering that she is getting full uncut Fred downloaded into her head. I think that she will either kill us quickly or wait until she sees us in a position that she can strike then either try to have us to kill her." Angel said as he hit the button for them to go down to the garage level. "She might look like Fred, but remember this isn't Fred, so stay on your toes. Illyria might be more dangerous now than she was when she had all of her powers."
Across town Illyria had entered the old Lobby of the Hyperion Hotel and was touching the various surfaces and reliving memories of Fred's life. The main counter held so many memories of Fred's life. All the books and Chinese food that Fred had eaten on this spot came flooding back to her. The circular bench that Fred had rested her head on deep in thought then she moved into Angel's old office. How long had it been since Angel or any one been in here? Then Illyria saw her reflection in the office mirror. The blue hair and the reptilian scales that ran from her hair and down the sides of her neck. The cobalt blue eyes that were once green. Then Illyria looked at her eyes and form.
"Winifred Burkle what are you doing to me. Is this my curse for taking your shell as my own?" Illyria cursed at the image in the mirror, and then as Illyria moved towards it her face took on the appearance of its former owner.
"Yes and No. The choice is up to you on how you proceed with our life. A Penitence must be paid for your actions but those who will choose that penitence are much older than you." The reflection said as Illyria started to touch her skin as it took on the feel of warm human flesh. "If you are to be in my skin, then learn what it is to be me for a day or two."
Illyria turned to see her form changing as most of the body suit Illyria was wearing started to modify its appearance. Most of her red chest garment remained the same leather material she had worn, but her skin had lost its blue hue and replaced with the warm soft pink of human flesh tones. Her leg garments changed to the feel of the human material called Denim and her battle boots changed to the foot garments called sneakers. Illyria looked at her new form and saw much of her identity being changed.
"I will not change whomever you are. I have fought enemies that spit acid and devour souls as their meal. I was one of these creatures. I was a God to a God." Illyria demanded to the unknown force changing her.
"You will change so that you can learn about the Enemy that you will be facing in the future the battle of your existence will make you learn about your past as well as the destiny of the ones called Angel and Spike. If you wish to die, then so be it but the name of Illyria will not be known to the world ever again and you will join the dust of your people." the unseen voice said as Illyria wrenched over in pain as her insides were feeling like they were being torn asunder. "You will experience a taste of what you did to Winifred Burkle." It took only moments for Illyria to realize that she wanted to live and screamed in pain to bring forth all her might to stay standing; she would not kneel to anyone not even to death itself.
"Wait, What do you wish me to do?" Illyria said as the pain subsided.
"Go to Winifred's room and look around it. You will find an item there that will guide you on your path." With that the voice faded.
"What do you wish me to find?" Illyria's voice cried out then she was left alone in the hotel's lobby. Then Illyria accessed Fred's memory of the floor plan of the hotel and made her way through the hallways to room 222. Illyria made her way there she smelled various items the dust clothes covered in the rooms. Even once she smelled the scent of the long vacated shell of a human coming from one of the rooms as she passed by. Then she arrived at Winfred's room and opened the door and walked in. She had not been in this room not too many times since she had taken this shell, but the room gave off the feel of a tomb and of a Maternity Ward. This was where Winifred Burkle had died and Illyria had been reborn. As Illyria looked through the room she found that there were several magical texts sitting on the shelves next to her physics and quantum mechanics' books. Then Illyria's looked around at the rest o the room at Fred's bed and saw on of the many bottles that Wesley had used to loose himself in mixed with cans of beer. Suddenly something in her snapped, and she grabbed the bottles and started tossing them into the sink and seeing a nearby six-pack, Illyria took each can into her and squeezed the stuffing out of them until they erupted like the brains of the squeezed honeycomb of the Danna Larva of the Rizt realm as they were born.
"I'm doing this for you Fred so Wesley can go on." Illyria said as she looked in the mirror and she regained some of her blueness.
"You heard me?" The reflection said back. Then Illyria moved out of the bathroom and headed to one of the shelves as she started to search through them in a methodical manner. Pulling the texts out the shelves and flipping through them then dropping them to the floor. That was when one of the books fell open to a page of a temple that Illyria had only heard about in rumors and myths in her own time. The Temple of the Oracles. That was when the voices started again.
"You just found what you are looking for Illyria." The voice said as Illyria was drawn to the text.
"This place, I have only heard stories about it. This is where the warriors and followers of the Powers go to so they can ask questions of the missions they have been sent upon." Illyria said, as she looked at the page then an individual sheet of paper with a spell written upon it.
"Go to the dead letter office down town and the spell will get you into it their temple but you will need the lighter." The voice said as Illyria saw an old lighter with the insignia of the Watcher's council sitting by a picture of Wesley, Gun, Lorne, Angel, Cordillia, and the shell's former owner. Illyria moved to pick it up and looked at the appearance of the people in the picture and noticed several weapons in their hands and the spatters of something green on their shirts.
This was a picture taken during a celebration after a battle. Each of them were still holding their weapons between a wooden club that had a sharpened point carved into the top of it, and the battle blades that several others had. The one called Fred was carrying a pair of small battle-axes in her hands in a style that was similar to Illyria's own fighting style. The question that started going through her head was if she had not taken the Shell, would have the shell become a warrior like herself? How much of Fred was in Illyria now and how much of Illyria was in Fred to begin with? If so was her predestine resurrection supposed to make her merge with this small being for some battle ahead, something where the skills of the other would aid in keeping the other one alive. That was when she heard a clicking of a firearm bolt and grabbed the book, the spell, lighter and the photograph and dove out the door as weapons fire started to cleave through the window and thus destroying most of the wall on her way out of apartment 222.
Illyria knew that in these corridors she was limited in the fighting space she had, so she need a place with more space and plenty of cover to use. The front lobby but more weapons fire cut off her direct route to where she was heading. Suddenly she had to shift directions and head for the kitchen and main dining area of the hotel. As she ran down the hallway thoughts were running into her mind. Something about running and fighting an unknown enemy with minimum or no resources other than the clothes on your back felt almost familiar. With a burst of speed Illyria creamed into the main dining room and jumped over a table with piles of human clothing on it and grabbed one of the sides of it and with her weight flipped the table onto its side thus creating a cover for her to hide behind. During the flip the lighter Illyria had gotten from Fred's room had fallen out of the bundle she was carrying without her knowledge.
Illyria knew that she only had moments to think but she was too limited in her movements in carrying these materials in her hands. If she had both hands available she would be able to fight unencumbered. Then she saw a yellow book bag lying on the floor with all the stuff she had knocked over. Then one of Fred's memories came flooding back to her. This was the room where the Demon being known as Jasmine had eaten several of her followers. And these garments that lay before Illyria were what were left of the mortal humans and demons she had feasted upon. The fear that was in Illyria brought forth another memory of how she was able to break the spell on the half-breed known as Angel and were able to start to create an underground to fight the false Messiah. Then another round of bullets came through the door as Illyria stuffed the items she had in her arm into the book bag and started running for the door at the other end of the large room. Then she saw two demons come through the door. Their human-esque garb looked like a uniform. The gray almost ridiculously stiff hyper masculine garb and black boots made them look like horse riders and not like soldiers but Fred's memories pointed to a point in human history where such garb were worn by the likes of mankind and nearly destroyed the world in the process in a systematic madness. Illyria knew now that she had to fight now with all her might, so using her speed and summoning a blade she proceeded to use her fighting skills unsure how much her strength had been diminished and took out one of the large full blooded demons with her blade before her legs creamed into the other demon's head and gave a blood curdling crack to her opponent's neck. Still spinning in the air sideways she landed on all fours and started to run into the main lobby that was when she saw two humans about to be preyed upon another group of demons. Illyria searched her memories and remembered that there was a weapons locker in the main lobby. Quickly she rushed towards it and pulled it open breaking the lock in the process. Seeing the myriad of weapons, Illyria quickly chose one that was close to her own blade as she remembered that it was probably with Spike still and not wanting to waste time she pulled out a Sai dagger. Its long stabbing blade and forked ends would serve to help her as she rushed to take out the other three demons between her and the door.
"Humans get down!!!" Illyria yelled as she ran along the surface of the wall about Angel's old office and leaped forward with the blades in front of her as she dove right into the chest of one of the demons whose head looked like the thorns of the plant called a Rose and face looked like the dung of earth beetle from long ago. The two demons who had their attention on the humans turned to her as she took her blades and sent them flying right into the base of their spines separating their brains from their bodies. As Illyria stood up to see the bodies still twitching she reached over to the two demons she had thrown her blades into and proceeded to separate their heads from their bodies. The two humans who stood before her were scared but relived that she had saved them. The human female whose curly red hair and almost circular face made her think of a feral animal or the human beast called a dog or its spawn called a puppy.
"Um, I believe that I have come at a bad time. Listen If you know where Wesley Windom-Pryce is, then I will leave you to... to..." The woman was looking at Illyria severing the heads of her attackers like it was a simple bit of common business that went down in this place. Illyria looked up as she got up off of the floor after she had finished severing the last of the flesh from the Demon's neck.
"How do you know the human sorcerer known as Wesley?" Illyria said using the best tack she had to the two beings before her. The red head just studied Illyria like she was nothing out of the ordinary.
"Well me and Wesley used to date for awhile after he saved me from being turned into a human sacrifice. That and he impersonated Angel when his boss was on some urber secret mission." The red head said as her suitor or mate who was looking at Illyria like she was about to kill them without a second thought. That was when Red reached over to the man and nudged him and whispered something to him that Illyria over heard.
"Gerald. Be nice, she just saved our lives from those demon guys so I wouldn't piss her off. Wes probably knows her as a collogue. Hell he is a rogue demon hunter, so she might be one as well or some inter-dimensional warrior." Red said as Illyria turned to hear more steps coming their way.
"Yes. But I'm kind of new to this world that you grew up in Virginia. I mean you hung with sorcerers and mages and the sort. But come on she just decapitated three..." Gerald looked at the small puddle of green blood coming from the bodies of Illyria's attackers. "What ever those things are." He pointed out.
"I suggest that we leave now or our attackers will come to claim us." Illyria said as she grabbed the two humans by the shoulder and started to shove them out the door.
"How you know?" Virginia the red head said as Illyria's firm grip started to leave a bruise. Then the room exploded with more demons coming in.
"I heard them getting ready." With that Illyria and the couple stared running to the parking lot. It wasn't until Virginia of the red guided them to her silver chariot called an Audi and opened the doors and let them in that Illyria stated their next course of action and ushered the conveyance out of the parking lot.
"I need to journey to the place called the Dead Letter office." Illyria said as she watched the people pass on the streets ignorant about the true evils or the world. "I need to take care of something." Illyria said as she felt the sun touch her face.
"Listen this is one heck of a time to go and pick up your mail." Gerald said from the back seat.
"I am not going there to pick up a mate. I am going there to visit with the Powers that Be." Illyria said as she turned towards Gerald and letting him see her full non-human features before returning to her seat.
"So you are some mystic warrior on some sort of quest and you were seeking out Wesley to help you out on it?" Virginia said as she looked over and rubbed the side of Illyria's neck and Illyria turned and started to cry. Virginia was taken back by this and wondered what was wrong with this woman with the blue scales on her skin.
"Sorry, am I doing something wrong?" Virginia said as she took her hand away from the side of Illyria's neck.
"Nothing, I just am stuck in thought about my people being gone." Illyria said as she tried to get back her warrior pride.
"So rubbing your neck the way I did reminded you of home?" Virginia said seeing the blue skin warrior nod up and down in agreement.
"My mother used to do the same thing to me when I was young. To let me know that the world was going to be well." Illyria said as more tears started to fall from her eyes. "That was before the dark times came and the destroyers came and slaughtered my people and entombed the others alive while others were just made and essence of themselves, like I was before being put into the Hole in the World." Illyria said trying to come to terms of what had happened to her.
"So you are going to these Powers of Whatever to see if there are any more of you out there?" Gerald said seeing the warrior's armor start to crack as Illyria turned to his direction. "Yes and No. I want to know what I am here for. I have nothing; my body has been placed into a shell that can barely hold my form. My powers have been stripped. And everywhere I look I have been hated and feared for no other reason than just being. I exist in a world where even the mightiest of beings are mere paupers to their desires and I feel so cramped in this shell." Virginia looked over and noticed that this was just a scared girl or child placed into a world she didn't understand.
"Do you want me to roll down the window for you?" Virginia said as she hit the driver controls on her door to remotely roll the window down. The passing currents of air flew into the car and Illyria closed her eyes.
"This reminds me of the wind currents of the Azure Plains of the Mn'Selatrop realm during the summers. Thank you." Illryria said as much of her claustrophobia and tension was flushed from her body as she had a moment of peace not from Winifred Burkle whose own memories on the high plains of Texas sought solace in this one moment, but from Illyria herself of the common feelings she and her host's shell had both lived through. They were both survivors in the harshest of conditions and they would fight to have a moment of sanity in the crazy world they were now in. Across town the enemies and allies that Illyria would need in the near future were calculating their next actions of the events that went down at the Hyperion Hotel.
TBC
Next: Part 5, The Powers that Be, and the powers that be
Note: The realm that Illyria is speaking about is actually the reverse spelling of Portales, NM so if you are a Sci-Fi fan you know the significance of this place and the works of Jack Williamson.