Author Note: Thank you to alexceaser, theprincessbride06, Village-Mystic, and marykaitlyn for their reviews.

I hope I can count on you all and anyone else interested in Angel the Series or Xena: Warrior Princess to please review and tell me what you think. I'd like to do well on this fic but it has been ages since I last saw an Angel or Xena episode and there is a lot of stuff I've either forgotten, gotten mixed up or even just found out while surfing the web.

Chapter Summary: This chappie has less of the Buffy and more of the Cordy. It's more like a second prologue for the fic.


Chapter 1: Broken Memories


Cordelia's viewpoint

There was darkness, nothing but darkness.

That was all Cordelia could and had seen for an undetermined amount of time.

It was as if she was floating in some sort of void with nothing but her thoughts and memories for company.

The silence was almost deafening.

She couldn't remember anything about how she ended up in this state.

Her memories were fragmented.

She could only remember bits and pieces as if she was looking at the remains of a shattered mirror, her memories being the mirror.

As soon as she thought that her surroundings changed and she found herself floating above a large frame which stood out starkly against the inky black backdrop, resting in the frame were a few glass fragments which reflected not her face but different portions of her sense of self.

Now it was looking like a puzzle, a puzzle missing most of its pieces.

A memory that she realised was of her childhood, suddenly appeared. It was of her, as a little girl, playing with one of those puzzles with funny shaped parts and the special box that the bits always rested in to stop them getting lost.

There was another shift in the scenery and a larger sized box that looked like a replica of her hold childhood one appeared next to the frame filled with numerous glass pieces.

Cautiously she picked up a fragment and looking back down at the board Cordelia placed the sliver in next to one that was already in there.

There was a flash of fire between the fragments and they melded together as if they hadn't been separate just moments ago.

She was immediately caught up remembering what that particular bit represented.

It was a happy memory, the one of when she got a bouquet of her favourite flowers in primary school from a mysterious admirer.

Excitedly she picked up another piece and added it to the mirror puzzle. There was another flash of fire.

Once again she remembered something else, it was another childhood memory.

Eagerly she continued to add more bits, concentrating mainly on her childhood.

She was extremely nervous about what her teenage and adult recollections would embody. She had a feeling that a lot of those memories would be nothing but bad.

Sure enough, as she reached the memories of her high school she came upon the very first time she saw Buffy.

She was surprised when she remembered the very first thoughts she had of the slayer.

She had thought that Buffy was beautiful, and not in the admiring another female's looks way but more of the wanting to know what it would be like to kiss her way.

It wasn't the first time she had come across those thoughts for another female but she truly had forgotten, tried to wipe from her mind, the attraction she had first felt for the Slayer, especially after what had happened next.

The memories seemed to actually jump into the box after that in an accelerated mode.

There had been the crush she had had on Angel.

The adventures she had gone on with the Scoobies.

The crush she had had on Xander when she had found out that he had been the one to give her that bouquet back in primary school.

Even more adventures.

Finding Xander and Willow kissing and the heartbreaking sorrow that followed.

Staying away from the Scoobies.

Finding out that her parents were in trouble for tax evasion and having to actually find her self a job.

Helping the slayer out again.

Putting the dress she wanted on lay-by.

The upset at not having enough money for the dress she wanted in time for the graduation dance.

The delight at going into work one day only to find out that someone had paid of the rest of the lay-by for her.

Feeling, surprisingly, no jealous of when Buffy receives the award for Class protector.

The fight against the demon mayor.

Moving to Las Angeles and pursuing her acting career.

Finding Angel and meeting with Doyle.

More adventures.

Detective Kate Lockley.

Charles Gunn.

Wesley Wyndam-Price.

Dennis.

Lindsay McDonald.

Spike.

Oz.

Buffy.

Faith.

Lilah Morgan.

Drusilla.

Darla.

Lorne.

Winifred Burkle.

Connor.

Eve.

Darkness.

Oh Gods!

What did I do!

With only one piece left and wracked with guilt, Cordelia gripped that sliver so hard her it was biting into the palm of her hand.

She didn't deserve to awake out of this prison void, not after all of the pain and suffering she had caused.

Oh Gods!

Tears fell freely down her face as she started choking on sobs of despair.

Her hand jerked in a cramp causing her to drop that last sliver onto the mirror of her life, mixing with her tears.

There was a gigantic burst of flames this time which caused Cordelia to startle and the mirror to disappear only to reappear moments later with a large red and gold bird which looked as it was afire. It was crooning a soothing melody.

In the Hospital, Cordelia awoke with a start, sitting up abruptly and scaring the dickens out of the nurse who was doing her early morning rounds.


Dawn's - Point of View

Angel's Hotel

The combined group of the Angel Investigations group and the remaining Scoobies sat in the foyer, after having read Buffy's goodbye letter, stunned for a moment.

And then they all seemed to talk all at once.

Wondering why Buffy had left.

The Scoobies blamed themselves for driving Buffy away. They had all noticed that after the closing of the Sunnydale Hellmouth, how Buffy had kept her distance from them, never giving them her concrete trust again.

Dawn alone was unsurprised by Buffy's sudden departure. She had noticed how restless her older sister had been and new she would jump at the chance to get away from everything, at least for a little while.

Especially after Spikes second death.

The bottle blonde Vampire had become just as bad as Buffy in that coming back to life to save the world stuff.

The phone rang in the office and Dawn being one of the closest and calmest got up to answer it.

"Angel Investigations, Dawn speaking."

"Good morning this is the Hospital long term residence ward, can I speak to a Mr Angel O'Rielly, it's in regards of one of our patients a Miss Cordelia Chase".

Dawn had a good calling about this call, 'Can you please hold on a moment, I'll just get him."

She gently placed the receiver down then hurriedly moved back to the foyer and everyone looked up noticing her agitated excitement.

"Angel it's the Hospital, it's about Cordelia." Before she had even finished speaking Angel rushed into the office followed closely by the rest of the old AI gang.


I hope to have the next chapter done within the next 2 weeks, fingers crossed!