Empty Shells

A/N: So here is the sequel to Thank You! In a way, it's like the same stuff happened in the Angelverse, but my (keyword MY) Charmed Ones are returning during 'Shells' So if you haven't seen any up to that this may not make a lot of sense. For those of you that didn't get the last chapter of Thank You! The (MY) Charmed Ones were the reason that Cordelia woke up because they needed to set Angel back on his path. This picks up RIGHT when the gang is in Angel's office trying to contact Willow.

Chapter 1: Is What We Leave Behind

"Never a witch around when you need one." Wesley said softly to Gunn through his boss's anger fit, after the phone crashed into the wall.
Gunn's deep brown eyes scanned the room just after Wesley said this. "What about three?" He asked, then looking at Angel, who was obviously frustrated.
Angel looked at Gunn, "What are you talking about?" He said, anger taking his memory.
"Dalton gave me her number to call her if we ever needed anything." Gunn replied. "I think this would apply as a witch needing situation." Gunn said. Angel nodded in agreement and sent Harmony to Gunn's office to get the number and call. About twenty minutes later, the Adkins witches arrived with Brian.
Dakota and Dalton came into Angel's office first, followed by Danielle and Brian. "Angel!" Dalton began happily, then noticed the undying gloom in the room, "Not the greatest night, what's up? Harmony said something about Fred and that's basically all I got besides 'we need you three here now'." She finished.
Angel, who had been staring at the floor looked up at the blonde. "Are you okay? What happened to your hands?" He asked, ignoring her previous statements and looking at the thick bandages on each of her hands.
"You caught us at the end of a pretty rough fight. Brian didn't have time to heal her yet." Dakota told him.
Angel looked as if he wanted a better answer, "I was nailed to a cross, these warlocks were trying to sacrifice me, but 'Kota and Danielle came to my rescue and we vanquished them." Dalton explained.
"So, what's going on with Fred?" Danielle asked, speaking for the first time they entered Wolfram & Hart.
"That's why we need you. She was taken over by an ancient demon called Illyria, it's been saying that Fred is gone for good, but we thought maybe there could be a spell or ritual to bring her back." Wesley explained to the witches. The three of them listened intently, and Dakota and Danielle looked at Wes when he talked, but Dalton's eyes were glued to Gunn, who was looking very guilty, but at the same time trying to hide it.
"Do you want us to try to vanquish the Ill Na Na thingy?" Danielle asked.
"I'm not sure if you can. If you even are able to, killing Illyria would destroy Fred's body, and give us no hope in bringing her back." Wesley replied.
The three sisters looked at each other then back at their White Lighter, Dakota looked at Wesley and smiled, "We'll be right back." The four of them rushed out into the lobby. "If she's already dead isn't that not right?" Dakota asked Brian.
"Well--" Brian began but Danielle cut him off before he could continue.
"Maybe she's not dead though, all that Ill thing did to Fred was kick her out of her body, right? Then that would mean her spirit is still floating around here somewhere." Danielle looked at Brian and awaited an answer.
But again, he didn't get to answer. This time it was Dalton who interrupted him, "You need to stop watching the Sci-Fi channel when you can't sleep." She said quietly.
"Can I please say something here?" Brian's blue eyes looked into three pairs of eyes.
"Sorry." Dalton sighed.
"It's okay. Danielle may not be totally wrong, but we need to find out what we're dealing with here before we try to resurrect someone." Brian told the sisters. "You three find out everything Wesley has researched and I'll go check with the elders." He nodded. The Charmed Ones nodded and their White Lighter orbed away.
Dakota, Dalton, and Danielle walked back into Angel's office where everyone was anxiously awaiting their return. "We'll see what we can do. Wesley can we see your research on Illyria, we need to know what we're dealing with before we try anything." Dakota said, taking the lead like usual.
"Yes, of course." Wesley nodded, walking toward the door. He stopped before leaving and looked at his boss, "What do we do if she comes back?" He asked.
"We have to be ready." Angel said simply. Wesley nodded in agreement and led Dakota and Danielle off to his office to show them his research but Dalton stayed behind.
"Angel, I see how much this is bothering you. I want to help, but sending me down there with Wes and my sisters won't help you any. Dakota is the brains of the operation, Danielle has been the one that has taken up the spell writing, and I'm just the muscle. Which doesn't really bother me, but let me help in the way that I can." She told the vampire.
"Do you want me to take her down the simulation room? I'm sure our sorcerers can conjure a Illyria simulation." Gunn said, speaking up for the first time since he gave his boss the Adkins sisters' number.
"Good idea." Angel replied simply.
Harmony walked in with the beginning of a bruise on her face, "You wanna hurry up the process and smack her a good one for me?" She asked looking at Angel then at Dalton. She smiled at Dalton, though she was annoyed, "Hi." She smiled. Dalton returned the smile and a quiet 'hi'.
"Harmony what happened?" Angel asked his secretary.
"Illyria." She replied.
Gunn looked at Dalton, "Let's go get ready for this." He said.

~~~~

"What is it with this place and the big white rooms?" Dalton asked as they entered the simulation room.
"Blood shows up better and we know where to clean." Gunn joked; Dalton laughed a little, and then remembered why they were there. She hadn't known Fred that long, and she didn't know that much about her, but she had always been nice to her and her sisters.
Dalton pulled off her tight, long denim jacket to reveal a red top and the top of her brownish blue jeans. "Let's do this thing." She said, she tossed her jacket in a corner and pulled a hair bow from her wrist and put her loose curls in a loose updo.
The simulation began, the simulated Illyria appeared in the center of the room in front of Gunn and Dalton. She looked at the man beside her and saw the pain on his face that he tried not to let be visible. "Why do you feel so bad about what happened to Fred? It wasn't your fault." Dalton told him.
"Yes it was." Gunn said quietly.
The simulation stood still and was commanded to do so until attacked, "How? You didn't give her whatever infected her with Illyria." Dalton told him. She glanced around the room, she felt someone was watching them from the upper level observation, but she saw no one. Although someone saw her, the real Illyria stood watching the witch and the lawyer converse.
"It was my fault. I signed for the sarcophagus to be brought in for examination. I didn't mean to, it just happened. I was loosing my brainpower and I went back to make it permanent, I signed for something to be brought in. I had no idea what it was. I just didn't want to loose what made me feel important." Gunn said, starting to break down. The tears were visible in his eye, as one fell; he wiped it away quickly and pretended it wasn't there.
Dalton put her hand on his shoulder, "It wouldn't have mattered. They're your friends; sure you've got a lawyer job without a day of law school but who cares? You're a great person with or without the super brain. I know how it is to be the backup muscle, I'm the Slayer, and if they can't write a spell or make a potion to vanquish a demon, they hand me something sharp and send me to kill it." Dalton replied.
"You didn't know me before I was like this." He replied, looking at her.
"Yeah, but I know you now." Dalton smiled warmly. "I don't care if you're a lawyer or not, you are still great."
Gunn nodded, "Thanks Dalton."
"You're welcome." She wiped a tear from her own eye, and then laughed. "I think I'm getting a new power."
"What?" Gunn asked curiously.
"I think I can read people's feelings." The witch replied.
Gunn looked a bit surprised, "Cool, now let's get to it." He said as if he was trying to hide one of his feelings, but Dalton ignored it for now and they started the fight simulation.
When Dalton and Gunn seemed to have the upper hand with the Illyria simulation, it suddenly disappeared. "I thought the only way they'd cut it off was if you told them too." Dalton stared at the place where the fake Illyria had been, panting lightly from a rough but successful fight.
"Yeah, that's what I told them." Gunn agreed. He looked in the control room window; the operator lay in the floor at an awkward angle. Gunn quickly turned back and looked at the blonde witch, "We're not alone in here." He said very quietly, but she heard him. It was suddenly so quiet you could have heard a drop of water fall and hit the ground.
Dalton and Gunn stood back to back and they scanned the room nervously. The door to the far left open and the two in the center of the room turned toward it immediately, in walked Knox and Illyria. "If it's not blue-hair Barbie and Physco-Scientist Ken." Dalton said, maintaining a calm appearance.
"You're the best they can do? Sad really, a little girl with yellow hair and pleasing features. Are you trying to pretty me to death?" Illyria scoffed at the comment that Dalton had made.
"That's not my only trick." Dalton smiled, she flung her left arm and Knox flew back and crashed into the wall.
"Witch." She growled, not bothered by the fact her Qwa'ha Xahn had been thrown into a concrete wall.
"Demon...Hey you're getting that to? Maybe I should vanquish you!" Dalton said sarcastically, but truthfully.
"You don't have that kind of power." Illyria retorted.
"I know I don't." Dalton replied. This was a surprise to Gunn who thought she'd say she did even if she didn't. "That's why they call it the power of **three**." Dalton half-smiled.
Knox returned to her side, she glanced at him, "Let's begin."
Dalton lowered her eyebrows, "Begin what?" She said quietly. She shook the thoughts out of her mind and realized what her had to do. The blonde Slayer used her powers to again get Knox out of the way and then reached out her left arm to do the same to Illyria but she grabbed the witch's arm and twisted it very hard. There was a loud pop, and Dalton screamed in pain and Gunn moved quickly to her side. He threw a punch at Illyria, and landed it to each of their own surprise, Illyria looked astonished and flung Dalton from her grip. Gunn was about to land another blow, but the interruption of Angel, Spike, Wesley, Dakota, Danielle and a S.W.A.T team sized band of guards armed with machine guns.
Gunn shook Illyria away from him and helped Dalton up. She was holding her left shoulder in pain, she looked toward her sisters. Illyria began to wave her hand and time started to slow down around her, but before it reached anyone around her, Danielle froze the whole room. She smiled and looked across the room at her blonde sister. "Thanks." Dalton smiled, "Did you guys figure anything out about Illyria and how to get Fred back?" She asked.
"I just figured out she can alter time, when she unfreezes that little blur around her will spread and make all of us super-slow." Dakota explained.
"What do we do to stop it?" Dalton asked, still holding her shoulder.
"Can you try to move it back towards her rather than out at us?" Danielle asked, observing the blur.
"I can try, unfreeze her." Dalton commanded. The youngest sister did so, and Dalton waved her right hand and the blur began to contract, a look of surprise overtook Illyria's face as she tried to run for it but the blur hit her and she ran, but extremely slow.
"What happened to demon girl?" Spike asked.
"I used her power against her." Dalton replied. She looked over at Angel, "Do you have a way we can possibly contain her?" Dalton asked.
"Containment cells in the basement, but I don't know if they'd work." Angel replied.
"Worth a try." Danielle shrugged. She froze the room again and then poked Angel who was too her left.
"What did you do?" He asked, looking at the frozen room minus the witches and himself.
"Poke Spike and you two can get a chain or something cause once you touch her she's unfrozen." Danielle explained. Angel, a little confused still, touched Spike's arm.
"Bloody hell! Everyone's not moving!" Spike mused, looking at the frozen guards.
"Get the chain and use it on Illyria, I think people are going to notice if I keep freezing them." Danielle commanded.
Spike shrugged and ok, and he and Angel chained Illyria while Danielle unfroze everyone else. "What are you two doing?" Wesley asked as Spike and Angel picked up the chained, slow-moving Illyria and started off toward a containment cell.
"What we have too." Angel replied as Dalton followed them out of the simulation room.

~~~~~~~~~

A/N: Chapter number one is over, I deserve an applause, that was half my Friday right there. I hope you like it and if you don't get it because you haven't read 'Thank You!' you might wanna go do that and it may make more sense. Please review, I'll update faster if ya do.... XOXO Charlize