Severed Ties

Chapter 6

Through Thine Eyes

Los Angeles

May 16th, 2002

2:08 a.m.

The pain was something that, a year ago, would have been expected. A sharp jolt to the skull, kind of like being cracked by a sledgehammer, always accompanied their delivery. She'd get up (with help, of course), recite what she saw before downing two or three (sometimes even four) aspirins with a glass of water and then—hey—back to normal. Of course, that didn't include the little sidebar that the supernatural migraines were turning her brain to mush but that was okay. Once she became part demon, said migraines immediately following the PTB's glorious emailing system had become a thing of the past.

Now, as she writhed on the floor, screaming incoherently, Cordelia was reminded a little too bluntly how bad the visions used to be. More than that, however, her mind's eye saw that her pain, however mind-numbing was nothing compared to…

Hazel eyes opening, unsure, surveying the room.

Panic, fear, disappointment before relief and elation pour through as cobalt blue eyes, filled with love stare back.

Purely, unadulterated joy as two lovers unite…

Her first love, near death as the creature tore into him, laughing all the while-before he's saved by a man who is…but isn't-himself.

Death as the others step through the portal.


Cobalt blue eyes shimmer in disgust and regret as they watch the woman atop him. The woman with red eyes smiling down evilly at him as she takes his dignity. She whispers to him that this will destroy his slayer and that his slayer will kill him.

She watches the two together, the succubus wrapped around her lover. Pain like she has never known as her chest bursts. He walks to her, his demon face in place. His fangs puncture her skin and she reacts instinctively…

The stake appears in her hand and she slams it into his chest…

"You never trusted me," he manages before dusting.

She falls to the floor, stake clattering to the ground, weeping and she is surrounded, her friends dead. He walks up to her, his face hidden behind a cowl though his voice is more than familiar…

"Now that's everything, huh? No weapons…no friends…no hope. Take that all away, and what's left...?"

She looks up at him; her grief-stricken face contorted in the anguish of her loved ones gone and the words that he spoke.

He drops his cowl and her shriek coincides with Cordelia's, as they know the destruction that will be wrought in this world by…

"Angel!" Cordelia screamed as the final visions assaulted her mind. Not ten seconds later, the dark vampire was by her side, followed by Gunn and Fred.

"Cordy," Angel said as he held the limp woman in his lap. "Cordy, answer me. It's Angel, I'm here."

"What happened?" Gunn asked.

"I…I don't know," Angel conceded. "It looks like she had a vision."

"But she hasn't been one with the cosmic migraine since she…"

"Became part demon, I know," the vampire ground out. His hands held her shoulders firmly as her body slowly came down from the seizures. He wiped away the blood from where she had bitten her lip. Time stood still for Angel as he watched Cordy's now unmoving form nestled in his arms. It felt so good, so right for her to be here. Unfortunately, the reason was not quite what he would have wanted.

"Here's a pillow, for her head," Fred whispered as she kneeled down next to Angel and the vampire glanced at her. He hadn't even realized that she and Gunn, who followed her and took position on the opposite side of Cordelia, had gotten up.

"Three industrial strength aspirin and a cup of water for our very own oracle." Gunn smiled at his fallen comrade, hoping that he could will her eyes open. It was a gesture that he shared with the two others across from him.

"Do you think we should move her to the couch?" Fred asked and her eyes sought those of her boyfriend. The fear and helplessness within her fell away temporarily as she stared into Gunn's loving eyes.

"Fred's right, my man," Gunn conceded. "As comfortable as it probably is in your lap, maybe she'll be better off over on the couch." The two lovers waited for Angel to respond to the suggestion and, after several seconds, he nodded and lifted the seer into his arms effortlessly.

It took a few minutes for Cordelia to open her eyes, and when she did, Angel's undead heart seized in his chest at the pain and fear reflected in her irises.

"Cordy," he said and took her hand. Although the seizures had subsided, her body still trembled, though it was not from physical injury. "What is it?"

Tears cascaded down the woman's cheeks as she took in the man before her. No longer had Cordelia thought of Angel anything but that. True, a demon resided inside his flesh but that did not make him less of a man. On the contrary, it made him more. Most people had their own internal demons to battle in order to remain on the path of righteousness, but with Angel, he had to battle his own demons and not just in the metaphorical sense but the literal as well. Everyday his soul warred with his natural instincts and everyday his resilience to fight against the darkness grew. He was strong of mind, body and soul. The fact that his past was covered in darkness was irrelevant now because he was now the champion of the light. He was the embodiment of redemption, a man who was determined to make amends for his past mistakes, no matter how long it took. And no matter what obstacles were in his path, he would find his way around them.

It was for all those reasons that Cordelia had fallen helplessly in love with him.

She pulled Angel close to her, pushing away the memories of his face, twisted in evil as it glared contemptuously down at Buffy. She could not let herself imagine that. The look in his eyes had been so hateful, so cold, quite the opposite of the warmth that greeted her only moments ago. It had been even more terrifying than Angelus, that scornful sneer in her vision. It couldn't have been him, But what if it was? What if something caused him to relieve that one true moment of happiness? - Ripping his soul away. What if it had been…?

"Cordy?" This time it was Gunn, his tone soft and worried, just like Angel's had been. She stared at him over Angel's shoulder as she clung to the vampire. For some reason, the picture of her fellow comrade and his girlfriend stabilized the brunette and she gently pushed Angel away.

"I'm…I'm fine, guys," she lied. Their looks told her that they knew that she wasn't though they said nothing of it. She ran a hand through her short hair and inhaled deeply. Angel's comforting scent, a mixture of leather, blood and cologne assaulted her and she smiled inwardly. His hands still rested on her hips and she didn't mind one bit. She exhaled sharply, knowing what she had to say to him, knowing that, in less than a day, they would be headed down the road and back to that small little town that she had once called home.

"It's Buffy," she said and although she knew what his reaction would be, it still hurt to see the concerned frown mold his face. God, Cordy, she thought derisively. Selfish much?

"Is she all right?"

"Well, she will be." Cordelia dropped her gaze to Angel's strong forearms. She placed her hands on them, her fingers kneading his tense muscles. When she looked back up, the tension that had appeared at the mention of his ex's name was a distant memory. Of course, it would return in full force once the whole story came from her lips.

"But not for long," she said and brought a hand to his cheek.

"That doesn't sound too encouraging," Fred's meek voice sounded in the silence.

"How bad?" The vampire almost growled and the seer flinched though she knew the anger was not directed at her.

"Bad bad. As in 'end of the world' bad."

"Like I'd expect anything less," Gunn bit sarcastically and massaged the back of his neck with one hand.

"Oh, it's more than 'apocalypse' bad," Cordelia replied and stared directly into Angel's dark eyes.

"What?" He whispered, realizing that she was speaking directly to him.

"Whatever it is that's coming is bad. And if we survive, we're never going to be the same." Angel sighed. He wanted to tell her that he already knew that much from his distinguished experiences of being on both sides of an impending apocalypse. Even if all did survive they were changed, another coat of innocence stripped away. But that was life for them. She should have been used to that by now. That's what he wanted to say.

But he didn't.

Instead, he held his tongue. The conviction behind her words, the truth he read in her eyes was what got to him. It wasn't just because Cordelia believed it that he conceded. There was also that prickling feeling at the back of his neck that continued to grow, had been growing ever since Connor had been taken from him. He had, at first, thought it was nothing more than grief; grief and hope that his son would be returned to him. But that had been two months ago and still there had gotten no answers on how to retrieve the infant and yet, the uneasiness remained. Now, as he stared longingly into Cordelia's eyes, Angel knew why it had never left.

Whatever it was she had seen, whatever it was that awaited them in Sunnydale would fundamentally change them forever.

The only thing Angel wasn't sure of was if that change would be for the good.

Or a sharp left turn into a world of badness.

*&*

Sunnydale

May 16th, 2002

2:23 a.m.

Faith groaned as she limped up the steps, weapons bag slung over her shoulder. Her whole body felt like one big bruise.

"A bruise and then some," she grumbled to herself when she reached the second floor. She walked into the bathroom and closed the door, letting the bag slip onto the floor. The blonde stuck her tongue out at the weary face that stared back at her through the mirror.

"I look wonderful," she smiled sarcastically at her blood and dirt encrusted features. Tonight had been her first full night of patrolling since…well, since she'd been here. Her and Spike had left for patrol at around nine, done some patrolling together before splitting up at around eleven or so. Of course, after separating, she would get hounded the entire night by demons and vampires. She had lost count of how many she dusted but judging from the burning in her chest, her lungs sure as hell hadn't.

She grimaced when the rough edge of the face rag rubbed the gash in her forehead the wrong way. Oh well, she thought, nothing but a little pain.

Finishing up with her face, the slayer stripped down and hopped into the shower. She turned the water all the way over till it was nearly scalding her skin. The heat was a welcome distraction from the throb of her muscles and tendons, especially the throb that radiated from her right knee.

As much as she had told everyone her leg was fine, it was far from it. Not that it kept her up at night or anything but when she put too much stress on it, like, say, when she was fighting for her life, the discomfort was very real. Taking out at least a dozen demons, several of whom had gotten a few good licks in, two of whom stood out for throwing her though tombstones no less, was the reason for the full tilt boogie on the pain as it was now. Her slayer healing would make the pain go away by the time she got up in the morning but that didn't help her much at the moment. No, the only thing that was helping was the lovely feel of water scorching her skin.

By the time Faith exited the shower the water had cooled significantly. She took a few minutes to dry off and gingerly applied baby oil to her skin before wrapping a cold compress around her right knee. She'd keep it on fifteen minutes and would take it of before getting in bed. And that way Spike would never have to find out. Satisfied that everything was in order, she gathered her belongings in her arms and hobbled to the room she shared with Dawn, mindful of the towel wrapped around her petite frame.

Once in the room, she silently went about her business, putting her weapons away and getting dressed in the darkness. She was mindful of the noise, knowing that Dawn still had a few more weeks of school left. How the teen remained so strong in light of everything that had happened was a mystery to Faith but, like her, Dawn was a Summers woman and the slayer took no small pride in the strength of her heritage.

Taking a few minutes to brush her growing hair, Faith finally climbed into bed after removing the compress on her knee, thankful that Dawn hadn't claimed the entire surface as her own. She had remained on her side, giving Faith half the mattress and possibly a chance at a decent night's sleep.

"Sleep," she muttered dreamily as the word immediately began to fade from her mind. The aches of her body were suddenly a distant memory as the warmth of rest twirled its thin tendrils of influence around her entire being. A tiny smile creased her lips as she rushed to greet the restful unconsciousness. She was almost there when the silent click of a door opening coincided with her mind bolting awake as it remembered something she had chronicled in her diary over a month ago.

"Mum," she said into the darkness, her voice carrying through the air. She heard the quiet beat of footsteps up the stairs and then the light knock at the door.

"Bitlet," Spike whispered before slowly opening the door. Faith barely registered the presence of her father as images not her own flooded her mind…

The blinding, searing light of the dome blinds her temporarily as she claws her way out of the darkness.

Mind numbing fear grips her as she relieves the nightmares of her dreams. She wants, needs someone to comfort her but no one is there.

HE isn't there.

She whimpers his name through her haze but receives no response. She's in a panic as she realizes that she's alone.

Always alone.

She wants to scream for him but her vocal cords lack the strength and all that her throat elicits is a hoarse cry.

So alone.

Always alone…

"Faith," Spike said and winced when Dawn mumbled in her sleep but returned his attention back to his daughter, thankful that the younger girl did not waken. "C'mon, Bitlet, snap out of it." He grabbed her shoulders and tried to keep his tone light but a hint of worry tinged his words. He had been uneasy all night, his predatory instincts screaming in his ears that something was wrong. Though it had been the first time Faith had patrolled without him, Spike doubted that that was the reason for his unease. No, it was something else. Something having to do with…

"…Her," Faith's voice broke through his whirling thoughts.

"What was that, 'let?" He asked and dropped his hands from her shoulders. He gasped at the smile she graced him with. So like Buffy yet still her own.

"Go to her."

"Go to who, pet?" He asked. Faith cocked her head to the side, clearly annoyed but before she said anymore, Spike's eyes sparkled with understanding and love. He kissed her on the forehead and sped out the room.

Five seconds later, Faith heard the distinct slam of the front door.

Three seconds after that, the revving engine of the de Soto shattered the silence of the night.

Two seconds following, Faith heard tires peel as Spike was undoubtedly about to break every speed limit known to man.

Three seconds later as she heard him turn the corner, Faith's head hit the pillow, a content sigh escaping her lips before she allowed sleep to finally claim her.

Her last thought was that the next time she opened her eyes Buffy would be awake. They would be a family again.

And nothing in the world could make Faith happier.

***Well, our next chapter will be Awakenings, for obvious reasons. It will be up February 4th, either a pre- or post-Buffy treat.