Disclaimer: Since my name is not Joss Whedon, 'Angel' and all the characters associated with the show belong to someone who isn't me. I also don't own the storyline - that's taken from gidgetgirl's 'Twice The Trouble' Challenge, posted on the Chocolate Covered Strawberries Challenge Archive.
'Twice The Trouble' Challenge
A Fred Throwback. In season five of Angel, Illyria's attempt to takeover Fred's body is thwarted by the Powers that Be, and the result is that, when Illyria enters Fred's body, the body splits in half: into two identical little girls, save one has blue hair. The Angel gang has to keep little Illyria (if that's her name...) from taking over the world, and take care of little Fred. You take it from there.
Requirements:
The evil one must have blue hair.
Harmony must make an appearance in the fic.
Both Gunn and Wes must babysit... one of the girls must like each of them better than the other.
Author's Note I: To Imzadi – While I'm sure that the girls would love Lindsey, the adult members of the Fang Gang hate him and there's no way in hell that they would let him babysit.
Author's Note II: To Perfect Darkness – You must really hate Wesley and Co. Two teenagers? That's inhuman!
Author's Note III: Thanks for all the reviews, everyone. I'm so sorry it's taken so long for me to update but now that exams are over, I have more time to write.
Chapter 12.
"Willow!" A relieved Angel pulled the red haired Wicca into a suffocating hug before realising what he was doing and stepping back sheepishly. "Sorry. What are you doing here? I thought . . . I mean, Giles said . . ."
Willow smiled, gesturing towards the dark haired young woman at her side. "You're just lucky that Faith has no manners and no qualms whatsoever about listening in on Giles' private phone conversations and passing the information on." She gave the Slayer a mock-chiding look. "Faith had me pulled out of the astral plane and told me everything. The coven already knew that something was up. They had felt the power." She gave Wesley a sympathetic smile. "It seems that you have a friend in a high place."
Faith looked around the room, her dark eyes taking in the toys and picture books scattered all over Angel's office, the drawings tacked to the walls. "Looks like you guys have been kept busy."
"We have a video." Angel announced proudly, giving Spike a sly smile.
His grandchilde snarled at him.
"That's nice." Willow beamed. "Now let's get Fred back so that we can embarrass her with it." Her expression became solemn. "I'll need all the information you have on this Illyria."
Wesley gave her a wry smile. "I'll introduce you in the morning."
Half past eight, the next morning, Angel's office.
"They're so cute!" Willow exclaimed adoringly.
Even Faith, never one to ooh and aah over little kids, had to admit that the two identically dressed little girls made a sweet pair. /Of course, that probably means that they're a pair of little monsters underneath. /
Little Fred, plagued by a sudden attack of shyness, clung to Wesley's hand, her thumb in her mouth, remaining half hidden behind the former Watcher's leg.
Illyria regarded Faith with unconcealed dislike. "Slayer." Her childish voice dripped with loathing, a scowl on her small face. "I saw the creation of your order. The protectors of the humans." She glared at Faith. "Without your kind, the humans might have died out long ago and I would have had a fitting kingdom to return to."
Faith returned the scowl with a sarcastic smile, not bothered in the least by the pint-sized deity's venom. "Aren't you sweet."
The miniature goddess snarled at her.
"Illyria." Wesley's voice held a warning note. "Manners." He hugged the other child to him. "Fred, these are our friends, Willow and Faith." The little girl clung to his side. "She's shy." He elaborated unnecessarily.
Willow nodded understandingly, bending down so that her head was level with Fred's. "Hi, Fred. I'm Willow. I'm here to help you guys."
"Restore my powers." Illyria demanded, sounding more like a spoilt child than a fearsome demon deity. "Now!"
"Wouldn't if I could." Willow responded casually but gently, not put out in the least by little Illyria's glares. She smiled at Fred. "If it's okay with you, I'd like to ask you a couple of questions, so that we can figure out how to send you home. Would you like that?"
Little Fred hesitated, biting her lip thoughtfully. "I don't know. I miss my Mommy and my Daddy lots but it's fun here. I like playing with Wesley and I don't wanna leave Wanker here on his own."
The fluffy black kitten, untroubled by the new arrivals, was happily watering Angel's carpet.
"Are you sure that's all you remember, Fred?" Willow pressed gently. "It could be very important."
"I told you." The four year old was fidgeting impatiently, wanting to end the inquisition so that she would be free to play. "I was playing outside and then I was here and I didn't know how." She gave Wesley a beseeching look. "Can we play Experiment now?"
Willow raised an eyebrow. "Experiment?"
While the medics had been running tests on her in the lab, little Fred had been fascinated by their work and, under Wesley's supervision and the guidance of one of the lower ranking lab techs, she had been performing a few simple experiments herself.
Wesley had the grace to look sheepish. "Long story. Are you done for now?" Willow nodded. He held out a hand to Fred. "Come on, sweetheart, we can go to the lab if you want to."
Fred needed no second prompting. Scooping up Wanker, who had been banished from the office by an irate Angel, she took Wesley's hand and practically dragged him out of the room.
Willow turned to Illyria, who was kicking her chair, a mutinous scowl on her little face.
"What about you?" Demon goddess or not, Illyria's child form meant that Willow couldn't bring herself to speak unkindly. "Can you remember anything about the Deeper Well?"
"Peace." Illyria sounded rather far away. "Quiet. Eternal sleep." She sighed, sounding like a tired old woman. "Would that I could return."
Willow gave her a small sympathetic smile. "I see." She made an effort to sound cheerful. "You can run along with Gunn now. I've got research to do."
Half an hour later, the lab.
"See, Wesley?" Fred's small brow was furrowed in concentration as she added the yellow liquid to the beaker of water, being careful not to spill any. "The oil stays on top of the water because it's lighter. And even though this looks heavy" She showed Wesley and Wanker the block of wood in her small hand before dropping it into a second beaker of water. "It floats too."
"Fascinating." Wesley watched as intently as if she had made the greatest scientific breakthrough of the century.
"Wesley?" Fred spoke up shyly. "Am I gonna go home?"
"It depends." Wesley said carefully, not wanting to get her hopes up. "Willow might not be able to help. Would you like to go home?"
"Kinda." Fred threw her arms around his neck and hugged him tightly. "But I'd miss you. And I'm scared something bad'll happen."
He rubbed her back gently. "Whatever happens, I'll make sure that you're alright, I promise you that."
"Hey, munchkin." The lab assistant assigned to guide his pint-sized employer's first steps in the world of science greeted cheerfully. "I've got some nice combustibles here. Wanna try your hand at homemade fireworks?"
"What about this?" Wesley asked hastily, snatching up a rock from the counter where Fred's samples were laid out before she could agree to the assistant's dangerous proposal. "Will this float too?"
The four year old sighed inwardly, reaching for the sample and launching into an explanation about why rocks didn't float.
Homemade fireworks could wait.
She had a Wesley to educate.
Later that evening.
"Red?" Faith tapped her friend's shoulder. "Everything okay?"
"Yeah." Willow sighed. "I've been researching Illyria, everything I could find in Wesley's archives, I even astralled, trying to get in touch with the forces behind the magic but anything I can find is so dangerous . . ." She exhaled slowly. "Why couldn't it have been something straight forward, like raising Buffy from the . . ." She trailed off, a slow smile spreading across her face. "I've got an idea."
TBC.
Author's Note: Not much longer left now. One more chapter, maybe two, plus an epilogue. Thanks for reading and I apologise again for the update delay.