Part 5,
Charles Gunn was looking around the battle scene that used to be Angel Investigations old base of operations. Between the three decapitated demons on the floor before him and the bullet fire that had been heard from across the street. Illyria was quickly racking up a body count in her wake that and he had green blood sticking to the bottom of his Lugz designer boots. That was when Angel came walking in the hotel carrying a Necro-tempered glass fiber umbrella and looked at the damage as the Wolfram and Hart Tactical Black team stood around him.
"Illyria has definitely been here given the body count." Gunn said looking at the three heads mounted on the office counter. "Given how these are laid out it looks like Illyria got the jump of these..." Gunn looked down to look at the sleeve of one of the demons and noticed the red, white and black Nazi swastika on their uniforms. "... Demon Nazi goons. I thought I had seen every thing on the streets. But Demon Nazi's officially takes the cake." Around that time Spike came walking in and saw the uniforms.
"Well it looks like old Hitler decided to go the demon route after you broke up his Uber Vamp Army of the undead plans." Spike said as he slapped the side of his foot into the ribcage of the recently deceased demon.
"Yeah whatever Spike." Angel said as he looked at several of the heads as well as the uniforms. "Vash..." Angel called out to one of the tactical team. "I want you to run a full sweep of the building and report back what you find." With that Vash left and started to order his men to check out the floors of the building in a systematic manner.
"So I got the feeling that Spike here knows about these Nazi Demons." Gunn said as he looked down at the body.
"Well actually the demon is a Gargamel given the nose formation on the body and the spikes on the head." Wesley said examining the head. "But the human garb is definite change from their standard behavior they are more of a roving foot soldier, so who ever has sent them..."
"Wes, these guys work for a group called the Scourge. I fought them a few years back when I first came to LA." Angel said only taking a loose glance at the uniforms trying to fight back bad memories. "These are the folks that killed my friend Doyle." The words and looks on Angel's face were of pain and of anger.
"So, do you think they are after her to get to you?" Gunn said as he moved away from the bodies.
"No," Angel said taking up his "I am thinking and will do some ass womping after this stance" with his fists on his sides. "I believe that these guys thought Illyria was part human and part demon. And they just wanted to kill her for just being." Angel said as he remembered the M.O. of the Scourge.
"So they weren't specifically after her, but they mistook her for something else all together." Wesley said as he surveyed the damage.
"Sir we have found something." Vash's voice said over the radio and Angel reached into his pocket to take the radio out.
"What is it that you found?" Angel said into the radio.
"Well Sir, you better come up and take a look. I'm in room 222." Vash said as Angel, Wesley, and several other personnel started up the stairs. Gunn and Spike, who decided to stay down stairs and check out the trail of blood that was on the floor that was by the doors to the dining room. There they found two more bodies taken out Illyria style and a bullet shot up table on its side. Elsewhere in the hallway leading up to room 222 Angel and Wesley were looking at the spray of bullet holes in the wall. When they reached the room the noticed that despite much of the damage, Illyria had been looking for something in the bookshelf.
"Well I can tell that Illyria came back here for something, but what ever it was, it looks like she was interrupted before the bullets went flying. Wesley said as he surveyed several of the titles of the books as he lifted them off of the floor and started to place them back to see what texts were missing as Illyria had started a systematic search going left to right. It wasn't after that he placed the third book on up on the shelf that he noticed that there was a text missing.
"Angel come over here." Wesley called out as he looked at the vacant space left from the pile Illyria had let fall onto the floor. "There is a book missing." Wesley said as he measured the space and looked that the various titles that were on the shelf.
"So what is important about there being a book missing from Fred's shelf?" Angel said as he started to realize as he looked at the other titles on the shelf. They were all science and sorcery titles. "Oh."
"So I surmise that what ever force has taken control of Illyria wants her to do something." Wesley said as he looked around to see several other papers on the floor and Angel Bent down to pick them up. It took only a moment for him to recognize them.
"Yes. And Wes I think I know where she is going." Angel said as he looked at the number of pages he had then at the number he had written on the back of them and noticed that there was one missing.
"Where do you think Illyria is heading?" Wesley said as he surveyed the damage and saw Angel heading out of the room.
"To see the Oracles of the Powers that Be." Angel said as he walked out of the room with some serious determination in his step to prevent someone from using Illyria as some tactical nuke. Meanwhile across town Virginia Bryce was consoling Illyria as she was attempting to prepare herself on entering the temple of the Oracles.
"Illyria is this the place?" Virginia said as her red hair moved around her face as her dark pants and light shirt made her small face stand out.
"Yes, I think it is?" Illyria said as many of her Blue features had returned. "I feel something like a vortex in this place. Power... yet a sense of respect with it and old." Illyria said as she ran her hand against one of the arched walls.
"So how do you get in? Say Open Says Me, and poof you are there." Gerald said as he knocked on the wall with his fist.
"I believe that the book holds the answer." Illyria said as she pulled the text out of the book bag she had and sat down on the floor flipping through the pages until she got to where she saw the image of the temple of the Oracles and started reading. It took several tries for Illyria to start to understand the instructions of how to get in and she realized why she needed the lighter. Then Illyria stood up and took the scroll out and placed into her hand and started to search through the book bag for Wesley's lighter and found it gone.
"The lighter I need it. I need fire for the spell to take place." Illyria said in a panic as she shook out all the contents of the book bag onto the floor and started to pad at some of the articles that were still in the bag. Wallet of a girl long since devoured by Jasmine, a book on Wicca that had been torn in half, a pair of panties and an old mystic necklace. But no lighter. While Illyria was patting through all the contents frantically searching Gerald reached into his pocket and pulled out a matchbook and lit a match.
"Will this do?" Gerald said as he offered Illyria the still lit match. Illyria seeing the flame before her stood up and attempted to take the match but it went out.
"No. I have journeyed so far. Do the Wolf, the Ram and the Hart want to crush my will as well. I will not be heeded." Illyria said as she fell down in defeat.
"Listen. I'm sorry about the match going out but I have like sixteen left." Gerald said as he showed her the matchbook he had in his hand.
"Then not all is lost." Illyria said as she stood up again and looked at Gerald. "When I motion for you to produce the fire, I will need you to burn the scroll that I am going to read."
"Okay." Gerald said looking at Illyria like what ever he was about to do was very important for her.
"Gerald how come you have a match book in your pocket?" Virginia said looking at the matchbook. "I didn't know you smoked."
"Actually I don't smoke but I got the matchbook from the Cigar party that we went to about a month ago, and since I was in the Boy Scouts I know that sometimes that you have to be prepared for stuff so I kept the matchbook as a result of the "Just in case of emergency use this" thinking I grew up with. So I hope that Illyria meets these Oracle people she needs to speak with."
"I am ready to begin. I will need your fire sticks. Please produce the flame." With that Illyria started to read from the scroll she had.
"I come before the oracles for guidance and direction. I beseech access to the knowing ones. " With that she took the match from Gerald and set the parchment on fire and she was caught up in a blaze of light as at that moment Angel burst into the room and saw what Illyria was doing and lunged into the blast of light and landed with Illyria in a place that was not the Oracle's temple but someplace else all together.
"What is this place?" Angel said as he looked around at his surroundings and saw Illyria crying.
"My Temple... Why was I brought back here?" Illyria said as she looked around and saw Angel standing nearby. In a Rage she got up and started running towards him. "You did this!!! You brought me back here." Illyria said as she was about to take her fist and start to pummel Angel starting with his head her fist hit an invisible barrier that sent Illyria's punch flaying away.
"What magic is this?" Illyria said as she attempted another series of punches and kicks that only made her hit air. "I will crush you Half-breed for doing this to me." Illyria said as she moved backwards as she took up more of a battle stance as she attempted to summon one her blades. "What is this, I cannot summon my weapons?" Illyria started to move backwards in fear until she hit the wall of the temple. "You strip me of my powers. Of my strength. Of my ability to fight. You make me into the image of the shell I have taken. Kill me Half-breed." Illyria said as she sunk to the ground.
"Who are you calling a Half-Breed! I am a Half-breed, so I would suggest that you wee lady behave around here, the Powers are not too kind at their Oracles being discriminated against." A voice called out with an Irish brode to it. Angel and Illyria turned to see a figure wearing a silver tunic; his silver skin highlighted his presence. "Angel I see that you are still wearing dark colors. 'Dilia did want you to pick up some lighter color tones for your wardrobe." The Oracle said as Illyria looked in fear wishing that she had taken back her last statement.
"Um, do I know you?" Angel said as the figure started coming closer to him and the Male Oracles' garments started to morph into a dark well worn leather jacket Dark pants and well worn red shirt. It took a moment for Angel to start to think to where he knew this person from?
"Angel it has been a long time. Have you forgotten me?" The Oracle said as the figure started to take on some more forms as his face started to morph into that of a human, but Angel didn't not still recognize him. Illyria who was standing now was worried as the vents started to terrify her to her more. Then the Oracle's started to morph again in to the face of an old acquaintance.
"Doyle.... Is that really you?" Angel said seeing the face of his old friend who had died many years ago standing before him.
"Yes it is Angel." The old sidekick said as he saw his old friend and shook his hand. Illyria who was taken back by this started to move cautiously over to Doyle.
"So why are you doing here and why in the heck is this place looking like Illyria's old layer." Angel said saying a double question to his old friend.
"Well, do you know a demon known as Skip?" Doyle said in his old form before he reverted his face to what he looked like as an Oracle as a woman came into room.
"Yes I do, I heard from Cordilia that he had this thing for a movie called the Matrix. Something about him creating environments so that people could feel comfortable or uncomfortable for them." Angel said seeing the woman morphing from her silver Oracle to that of a busty blond woman with long hair, a blue t-shirt a silver sweat shirt and a long black skirt with red roses on it.
"Well he was the one who did the remodeling to this place after the last two oracles got murdered by Wolfram and Hart's hit demon." The blond said as she started studying Illyria's features.
"Sorry about the entire making you seeing your Temple again, but it was the only environment that we could create on such short notice." The blond said as she ran her finger under Illyria's eye. Illyria just looked at the Oracle and sensed a feeling that this was a being of respect and of compassion. Created with the power of the Earth itself, and the flora and fauna were part of this entity making Illyria feel like she was among an equal for the first time during her reawakening.
"Why did you bring me back here?" Illyria said as the woman guided her by the hand in the direction of her grand hall.
"To help you learn about your past as well about your future." The blond said as Illyria started to shake in fear wondering who or what was going to happen next. "Doyle chat with Angel on what you two need to talk about. I'll take Illyria on a journey of what she needs to learn. " With that the blond left with Illyria and Angel was left with Doyle.
"Angel so how are the things going after you got 'Dilia's visions? Planning to take out the Black Torn in your usually leave no prisoner's style." Doyle said to his old casual style and pulled out a bottle of scotch. "Want a slug as the girls do their bonding thing."
"Yes to the talking, but no the drink." Angel said as Doyle led him into another construct that of the Old Angel Inc offices from five years ago. Else where Illyria and the female Oracle were sitting around a table in a place full of magical items and there were number sitting on the shelves stating what the item was and the word "for each one or by the pound." Occasionally there was the world "Sale" by them.
"What is this place?" Illyria said as she moved around the items.
"Well before I became an Oracle I was a Wicca who lived with the Scoobies of Sunnydale." The Oracle said as she pulled a chair out and motioned for Illyria to sit down.
"Oracle why did you bring me here?" Illyria said as she sat in the chair of the round table as the Oracle took up and sat down at the other end.
"Well, I feel comfortable here and my name is Tara." The Oracle said as she sat down in her chair. "See Illyria the main reason that you came here is so that you can learn your destiny. Illyria you are the last of the Old One's but you are going to be one of the First Ones." Tara said as she looked at the former Demon-Goddess's face.
"What do you mean?" Illyria said as she looked at her hands. The blue skin pattern on the back of her hand, taking note of all the human elements, but not her species native body pattern that was there.
"Well Illyria you and your "shell" as you call it were not supposed to be two separate things one living inside of the other. You were supposed to be merged into one entity." Tara said as Illyria started to go deep into thought.
"Me and the one called Winifred were supposed to be one entity?" Illyria said as the information started to sink in.
"Yes... The part that was you, the warrior spirit, your memories your experience and consciousness were to be merged and mixed with Fred's soul; thus making you into and her into one entity for the battle ahead." Tara said as she got up and moved over to Illyria and put her hand on her shoulder. "I can explain it better if you came with me." This was when Tara motioned for Illyria to get up and come with her. Illyria was scared but understood that the only way for her figure out about the enemy she was to fight ahead. So she followed Tara though a door in the back of the store and moved through a back door and wound up in a kitchen of a human's house.
"I hope that you are use to this, I'm still trying to get used to this ability to reshape environments?" Tara said as she opened the box of cold and pulled several items of fruit and a container of something in a circular container along with a tray of ice. "You see if you take each of these items and put them into a container, lets say this container is Fred and some of what I am going to put in first can also be called Fred, some of the contents of it being Fred such as the strawberries and the milk are the base form which we shall start working with. Then with the Fred and I add in the Ice cubes and the yogurt and some blue berries to the mix; which I will call Illyria." Illyria moved over to Tara with the look of distaste on her face. "Sorry about that, but this is a kind of visual aide but you are getting the point. See Fred was there to start with you are just the added ingredients to the mix. Now if I just let it stay there it wouldn't become anything. The elements are there but they are just touching each other and not interacting. They are becoming stagnate and not moving." Tara said as Illyria bent over and studied the contents in the blender.
"Now, during your transformation process, did a ton of hacking up of Fred and yourself to get into your shell." With that Tara hit the pulse button on the blender for a second and the contents jumped up and got mashed up but not completely integrated into the mix. Large chunks of Ice, yogurt, blueberries and strawberries just floated around in the milk occasionally being seen on the outside and on the surface of the mix. Illyria was just wondering where the Oracle called Tara was going with this. "Now in your current state you are like this, mix not all one thing or another, but the integration is mixing and causing large fragments of the Fred and the Illyria, You and your shell to interact in ways that are not completely whole. Thus there is chaos and confusion on what you are to be." Tara said as Illyria glanced up at her in worry. "Now the process of your merging was supposed to go like this without any interruption." That was when Tara hit the button the blender that was labeled Liquefy and the contents of the mix slowly shifted into a red purplely mix of ice, mashed fruit and floating fluid. "Now this is the form you are supposed to be, not Illyria nor Fred but a mix of the two. One entity sharing the elements of both thus making you into a single powerful being." Tara said as Illyria looked at the swirling mass in the blender.
"I am not supposed to be me? Nor am I supposed to be her. I am to be both?" Illyria said in confusion. "I came here for answers, not for riddles and food." Illyria started to move away in disgust.
"Illyria. You are in the merging process of who you were, who you are, and who you will be." Tara said, as she moved away from the blender and touched Illyria's face with her hand and stroking the blue lines on the beings face. "This will not be an easy journey for you, nothing worth having or fighting for is easy. Your people are gone but you feel compelled to stay." Tara said as Illyria nodded in agreement. "Well the merging will help you cope and change you into something that the old Illyria would be proud to be. A being to be a worthy adversary to any opponent. A warrior whom generations will speak of in respect and honor. Your descendants will be seen as beings that are respected with honor no matter where they go." Tara said as Illyria started to understand some of what was being said by Tara.
"Illyria, your feelings of loss, curiosity and anger are just steps for you on a longer journey. But it is the journey not the destination that will be important to you. There are guides you will meet that will help you and you have met the first few. Now you have much to understand that your old enemy the Wolf, Ram and Hart; Which I think sounds like a really bad music group you cannot stop but you can let them know that you can hurt them. Angel will help you do this; he has his own reasons but they will be made clear to you in time. The darkest hour will lead you to learn of your jailer and he will put you on your path to being one of the few chosen warriors. The shell will give you an opportunity to explore who you will need to become as you attempt to prevent an unbearable wave of sorrow from attacking those close to it." Tara said as she poured the contents of the blender into two glasses and handed one to Illyria.
"Here drink this, it will make some of the images and concepts of what is happening to you clear. Also it should make you right as rain as you head out of the door." With that Illyria started to sip the mix and realized it was familiar yet strange to her as she slowly took it in. Tara who was drinking her own mix noticed that Illyria was getting a smoothie mustache on her face and taking her thumb licked it and brushed the purple foam from Illyria's upper lip.
"Okay, you look better now." Tara said as she waved a hand and Illyria's garments started to change back into her red leather body suit. Illyria looked down at her own form and wondered why she had been changed back. "Illyria there will be a point where you will feel that you will need to walk in your own skin, but you will realize that your shell and you have become each other's skin. So don't freak when it happens. Though you will find that the body you will have is something that you will be proud to call a home for your essence, your soul and your being. But it will take a shower and a mirror for this to sink in." Tara said as Illyria wondered what she meant by this. "You will lose some of those who were close to Fred and they will give you the spark to become something more than the God to a God."
"Another riddle for me to solve." Illyria said as she left for the main chamber followed by Tara as she shifted into her silver skin and silver toga.
"Yes and no. Just some common sense you will need Illyria." Tara said as they moved through the door and into the grand hallway of Illyria's old temple where in the chamber they both saw Angel and Doyle talking.
"Illyria has to go first for this to work, Angel." Doyle said as he shifted into his silver form.
"Illyria it is time for you to go. Things will reveal themselves in time. Oh and Stall Hamilton on the other side for a few moments, he might want to see this." Tara said as she opened the vortex and Illyria walked through and found that Wesley and several other personnel of Wolfram and Hart's security detail were all pointing weapons at her.
"Illyria please do not any sudden moves and come with us." Wesley said as Illyria turned to see Gerald and Virginia being shielded behind several large men with guns. "Where is Angel?"
"Wesley the Oracles sent me out first. Where is the one called Hamilton?" Illyria said following the orders that she had been given. Then a monster of a figure of a man came up before here out of nowhere.
"Oh, crap... Here comes big gruesome. Hamilton himself" Gunn said as Hamilton's large form came into play.
"You are the one called Hamilton?" Illyria said as she studied this figure before her. He smelled like a creation of the Wolf, Ram and Hart.
"Yes, I am Hamilton." The monster of a man said before her. "Why do you ask Illyria, want to challenge me, you will find that I am more than you think I am. I will not wet my pants like Eve did when you challenged her in the hallways of Wolfram and Hart." He said as Illyria just moved side-to-side studying him, knowing her real mission was just to delay and not to confront.
"So Angel has gone to the Powers that Be. I bet he is telling them what he thinks of us. Or you are just some diversion to..." Hamilton never got the chance to finish his sentence as Angel came flying backwards through the portal and slid to a stop after hitting the wall. Everyone including Hamilton stood looking at the scene as Angel stood on up and staggered some before having to lean on the wall. When Angel turned so that everyone could see his face they saw a black and blue bruise forming on his face from where he had been struck on the face by a mean upper right hook.
"Angel are you alright?" Wesley said moving over to his employer and friend for several years.
"No, I just got decked by one of the Oracles." Angel said staggering some before having been lean upon Wesley. "Man after Wolfram and Hart last paid their last visit here, they hired tougher Oracles to speak for them." Angel said turning to Illyria.
"Illyria did the Oracles speak to you in the same riddles as they did me, because whatever you did right and I did wrong, definitely got you on their good side and me on their seriously pissed off bad side." Angel said knowing that only him, Illyria and the Powers that Be knew what actually went down inside of the Oracle's temple.
"Well I see that I need to speak to the Senior Partners about this. I will leave you now." Hamilton said as he up and turned out of the room and headed back to Wolfram and Hart. Illyria moved over to Angel and looked at him.
"Did the Oracle offer you a drink?" Illyria said to Angel as she looked at the large four lined impact marks on his face.
"Yes they did but I refused the drink. Why did you ask?" Angel said questioning the former Demon-Goddess.
"I accepted mine and got a riddles about me and my shell and my future. What did you get from your session Half-breed Angel?" Illyria said inspecting his words to come.
"Riddles, Riddles. My life history, More Riddles and questions about my sex life with Nina." Angel said as he moved out the door with Illyria.
"That sounds the same to me. Except for your sex life with Nina the Moon Beast."
"Yeah I expected that." Angel said as they left the structure at dusk. Behind them Virginia and Gerald looked at Wesley.
"So how long have you know Illyria? And what is it with you and her?" Wesley said as he turned with the look of Oh, Crud. This was going to be one of those days I should have gone to the dentist and not to work.
TBC
Next:
Part 6, Parents and Mini-me's
Author Note, for those who know the Smurfs, their arch nemesis was a sorcerer named Gargamel. So naming the demons after the dude was in line with Illyria being called Smurf.