CIRCLES
CHAPTER THREE: CITY OF CHAMPIONS
NOT SO BRIEF SUMMARY OF CHAPTERS 1 & 2 (skip if you read them): Cordy comes back to life in the home of an English witch called Eleanor, (in England) five days after her death in LA. Eleanor, who was cursed by her dead sister and thus can't speak words out loud or write them down, helps Cordy to figure out why she's been sent back. Cordy gets a once-off vision, that's very vague, but leads her to Paris. Eleanor goes with her. (I tried not to make Eleanor an OC-Mary-Sue because mary-sues make me want to violently throw up – but I needed another powerful witch, and I needed to put her in the way I've plotted the story.) They realise they need to steal a book from a famous museum, which will help them defeat the senior partners. Cordy can't tell Angel she's back because she knows he needs to do his wacky pretending-to-suck-up-to-the-black-thorn thing. Cordy and Eleanor bump into Willow and Kennedy, who are holidaying in Paris before going off to see Buffy in Rome. After much "holy french toast you're not dead" and planning and drama the four of them manage to steal this book from the museum. Booya. Anyway, they try and figure out how to read the book, which makes them all feel weird when they hold it – like they're not themselves. It's actually connected to a temple in Tibet where there, many years before, was an old Watchers Council. So the four of them trudge off to the himalayas. Whee. So yes, this temple in Tibet is split across two dimensions, and if a person were to enter the other dimension they would revert to a previous incarnation of themselves. For Cordy she starts to lose control of her body like she did back when she was evil!Cordy and jasmine took over her; for Eleanor she's happy and she can speak (she's usually v. depressed and quite mute); for Kennedy she starts to go nuts and gets invaded by the minds of other slayers; and Willow turns evil. Anyway, they sort of realise this before they go into the temple, so Willow decides not to go in with them, lest she go psycho again. After much angst and craziness (kennedy and cordy don't go well in the temple, what with the nuts+no control things), they find out that Willow and Eleanor have to go into the temple and fight each other, as opposites of power (good and evil) and thus, create a force that can boot the Wolfram and Hart senior partners out of their dimension. Confusing and rediculous sounding when it's summerized, but oh well – it makes sense when you read the chapters. Heh. Anyway, Willow tells Cordy she better get her butt back to LA, as this apocalyptic fun is going doing today, and if Angel and the others are caught in the cross fire, they're likely to die (as hinted at with alley full of baddies in NFA), and that would be very bad. So Willow sends Cordy back to LA, as Kennedy wants to stay with Willow, and Eleanor and Willow get ready to do their crazy battle to save the universe thing. Enter chapter three!
Champions are made from something they have deep inside them – a desire, a dream, a vision. They have to have a last-minute stamina, they have to be a little faster, they have to have the skill and the will. But the will must be stronger than the skill.
– Muhammad Ali
Cordelia slammed into the floor. Her head hurt. Again. She groaned - she was getting tired of picking herself up off of floors and feeling as though someone had bashed her over the head with a giant hammer. She blinked a few times and surveyed her surroundings. She was in the middle of the main lobby of the Hyperion Hotel.
Willow had sent her halfway across the world and she'd ended up in exactly the place she was supposed to. Damn that witch was good.
She staggered to her feet and looked around. The place was sparkling. Spotless. That was very strange. Angel had probably sent someone from Wolfram and Hart over to clean up after they'd moved out. For some reason that thought filled Cordelia with anger.
Cordelia stepped into the office, pushing her bag off of her back and removing her jacket and thick undershirt. She had just been in the freezing cold of the Himalayas, and now she was back in sunny California – she didn't need to be dressed like a beached whale. She took out a lighter much more fashionable jacket and a pair of jeans from her bag and then changed into them.
When she had changed her clothes she rummaged around in her bag. She got out her scythe (which was small and portable) and tied it to her pants, taking her axe out and holding it in her hands. It was a bit too big to be dangling from her waist. She moved over to the hotel's weapons locker. It was empty. She had expected this, but it was irritating none the less. She walked over to the front doors and unlocking and opening them. She looked back at the hotel as she passed into the courtyard. It looked the same as ever – but Cordelia wondered if she would ever see it again. She sighed and turned away.
It was already dark outside, and Cordelia wasn't sure she had a lot of time. Everything was going down today, and she needed to get to the others before it was too late. She stepped out onto the street and took off at a run towards Wolfram and Hart.
Kennedy held Willow. She wrapped her arms around her and buried her face in her hair, searching for support and reassurance in the embrace of the woman she loved. Kennedy did not cry. She had already done enough crying. She whispered into Willow's ear as she held her, "You remember last year.. right before you made me a slayer.. and I said to you.. you're going to make it through.. no matter how dark it gets.. because you're.. my way."
"I remember," Willow replied softly.
Kennedy paused, forcing herself not to choke up. Then she said, "..that still holds you know."
Willow held her tighter, "I know."
Eleanor stood away from the couple, watching the clouds roll past in the sky. She thought about the last things Cordelia had said to her before leaving.
"There's a strong person somewhere inside you Eleanor, and I don't mean what we saw in the temple.. that person you used to be – I mean what you can become. You don't need to hide behind everything that's happened to you, because you're better than that."
Eleanor sighed. She wasn't strong. These people could put all there trust and hope in her and it wouldn't count for anything, because Eleanor knew the truth. She was weak, and she was only doing this because there was nothing else left for her. Not anymore.
"I'm really proud of you. For everything you're doing."
She thought of Cordelia's sacrifice compared to her own. She was so strong and so beautiful. Going to save the people she loved. Eleanor had only ever loved her sister. And she was gone. Why did she care what happened to the world if there was no one left to care about? She thought about dying, and whether she cared if she did or not. She couldn't decide.
"I'll see you again."
Eleanor wondered if Cordelia had meant in this life or the next, and if she would ever really know for sure.
Cordelia stopped on the street out the front of Wolfram and Hart. There was something big going on - the building was shaking madly and making awful rumbling noises – it looked as though it was about to come down. She hoped to god that Angel and the others were already out of there.
Her gut clenched.. she needed to know for sure. She started up to towards the front door, looking up as the law firm continued to shake as though it was in the middle of a particularly ferocious earthquake.
Cordelia stopped in front of the front doors, wondering if it really was a good idea to go inside. How else was she going to find them? The building gave a particularly loud grinding noise and Cordy stepped back. She looked up towards the outside of the building just as the doors opened and someone ran full pelt into her.
She was winded and fell back onto the ground, the other person on top of her. She struggled blindly with them for a few moments, trying to recover and figure out what had happened.
The other person pulled off of her, and sat back onto the ground, gasping. He looked at her, his mouth dropping open. He backed away, shaking his head. "It.. it can't be.." He said incredulously.
Cordelia stared at him, trying to recover her breath. This was the last person she had expected to see here. "Connor?" she said slowly.
Connor shook his head again, his brown eyes wide in shock, "You're dead! He told me you were dead. It can't be you."
"He.. Angel? Where is he?" Cordelia asked urgently. She noticed that he had blood alover his face and had a hand on his chest, as though he had just been in a fight.
"He was.. inside.. I.." Connor turned and looked back at the building just as it gave way and began to fall in on itself, the doors shattering and glass flying in all directions as it imploded.
Connor leapt to his feet and grabbed Cordelia, pulling her away from Wolfram and Hart as the building collapsed. They reached the street coughing and panting with exhaustion, debris and dust flying through the air around them.
Connor looked back at the ruined law firm, his eyes wide, "Angel.." he said slowly. Then he turned back to Cordy, a look of utter disbelief on his face. "You're dead," he said accusingly. "He told me just today, that you died in your coma, and I.. I.." he stared at her, emotion drawing up in his eyes.
"I thought you were dead.." he said, his voice cracking.
"I was," said Cordelia softly, putting her hand on his shoulder, "But I'm back now. I don't have time to explain everything, but we have to get to Angel.. and.. wait.. I thought you didn't remember.."
Connor shook his head, "No I got my memories back."
Cordelia looked down at the floor, "Oh.. you.. umm.. back.. when all that.."
Connor grabbed her hand and pulled her away from the smoking pile of rubble, "We'll talk later, we need to get you out of here, you have no idea what's going on."
Cordelia resisted, holding her ground, "Yes I do. I need to find Angel and the others."
"He.." Connor said, looking back at the ruin behind them, watching the dust swirl around in the air. "He was inside.. I don't know if he got out."
Cordelia looked at the destroyed building, swallowing, after a moment she said, "He got out."
"How do you know?" asked Connor.
"I just do," she said quietly. She stepped away, "Where would he go now.. where.." she said to herself, looking around.. trying to think..
She turned back to Connor. "Do you know where he would've gone?"
Connor shook his head, still clearly confused, "Maybe back to the hotel? I'm not sure.."
"Back to the hotel. Right." Cordelia said and started to head back there, feeling the first drops of rain falling on her face.
Connor ran after her, "Wait – what's going on?" he yelled as he caught up.
"You have to go home Connor, I'm not going to let you get yourself killed." Cordelia said resolutely.
"That's not your decision to make Cordy," Connor said bluntly as they turned down a street "I'm not the same person I was before." The rain was getting stronger, and it slammed down around them as they ran.
"Connor - Angel's sacrificed everything he has because of you. For you. So you can live through this. You have to go home. Where you're safe." Cordelia reached down and grabbed his hand, looking into his eyes as they ran, sensing his concern. "I'm not going to let him die Connor. Trust me."
Connor looked pained, and turned his head away, "I.."
His words were interrupted by a horrible screeching noise from above them and they both stopped and looked up. A dirty great dragon passed through the sky and headed down the next street, breathing fire and bellowing loudly.
"Holy shit!" Connor said, watching it go.
Cordelia also followed the creature's progress with her eyes, "I have to go now Connor," she looked back at him, and then pulled him into a hug. "Be safe," she said softly, letting go and turning away. "And go home!" she yelled back over her shoulder as she set off again down another street, following the dragon.
Connor stood there, the rain drenching his clothes, watching her leave him. Was this the end? There was a dragon in the middle of the city, Cordelia had come back from the dead and the world's most evil law firm had just sank into the ground.. something big was definitely going on. Was this an apocalypse? Were they winning or losing? Connor swore under his breath, he needed to know more! He thought about what Angel had said to him, only minutes before.
"They'll destroy you!"
"As long as you're OK, they can't. Go!"
Connor felt tears sliding down his face, mingling with the rain. He was torn, unsure now of what to do with himself. They all wanted him to be safe, to be with his family, to go home. He didn't want to fight. He didn't want to die.
..but how could he just go home after all this?
Eleanor looked back at Kennedy and Willow. They stood together on the steps of the temple - serious and resigned. Eleanor turned her head and stepped through the barrier into the other dimension.
They had decided that she would go in first, set things up and wait for Willow. Once the other woman entered there was no telling what might happen, so they felt it best for Eleanor to go first. Eleanor moved forward down the hallway, again feeling the alien feelings of happiness and power she had had last time, only now she could control them better. She walked down the dust covered stone hallway, passing the word she had written on the ground hours earlier.
SORRY
She looked at the letters indented in the dust as she passed. The first word she had written in over three years.
Eleanor sighed and turned away, continuing down the corridor. She needed to prepare the things that Kennedy said they would need to in order for her and Willow to defeat the senior partners. To channel their power combined into the dimensional layers of the whole universe and fight back an enemy stronger than anything she could imagine.
"Sure, piece of cake," she muttered under her breath, sitting down in the dust at the end of the great hall. She drew a circle around herself with her knife and put down charms and objects she had taken in with her. She tinkered around with her spell for a few minutes and then sat back, waiting.
Angel stepped forward, swinging his sword and decapitating the first of the demon horde as they charged. He chopped and sliced, enemies falling around him - but his eyes kept flicking up to the dragon, which was swooping in, ready to flame. Spike came charging in behind him, throwing himself into the pack, and he felt Illyria move past his left arm, punching a demon angrily in the stomach in an attempt to relieve her grief.
Angel hacked off the head of another foe, turning to see how Gunn was doing. Gunn was fighting one handed, letting his axe smash into his victims as they came at him, rather than moving forward to meet them.
Angel looked up again, and yelled for the others to get out of the way as the dragon ducked down and passed through the centre of the alley. They pressed themselves against the buildings on either side as fire went billowing down between them. That was close. Angel turned to watch the dragon fly up into the sky again, which was a stupid move as it left him open to attack.
He was punched in the face by a particularly large demony.. monster.. thing.. that roared at him as he fell back against the alley wall. Angel turned to meet it, catching a glimpse of Illyria kicking in the skull of a Vahrall demon and Spike fighting hand to hand with something red and slimy that was attacking him with a dirty great black sword.
Angel heard someone calling his name. He ran forward at the large demon thing that had punched him and tried to cut at it with his sword. The thing grabbed his weapon, blocking the blow and sending him reeling a few steps backward. He heard someone call his name again. He ducked as the thing threw his sword back at him, missing his head by only a few inches. He turned and reached for the sword, still hearing his name being called from somewhere. He looked around as he got up, trying to find the person who was calling him.
The other three appeared locked in battle, none of them looking his way, none of them calling his name. He turned back to the large monstrosity he had been fighting and prepared to have another shot at killing it, when the thing stopped advancing towards him. The beast's three eyes bulged out in horror and, arms flailing, it let out a piercing scream and began to fall forwards. Angel backed away just in time as the thing almost collapsed on top of him. He looked up, seeing a large axe embedded in the spine of the demon.
Someone was standing on the beast's back, with their hands holding the shaft of the axe, their face masked by a mass of brown hair - clearly the one who had killed it. The person pulled out the axe and flicked their hair up, revealing their identity. Angel stopped. He stared, at first thinking he had to have been hallucinating, as the person jumped off the back of the demon and ran over to him.
Cordelia.
He looked at her for a few moments, not noticing the battle around him or the dragon coming around for another pass. It couldn't be her. She was dead.
Cordelia ran up to him and kissed him soundly on the lips.
Willow moved towards the entrance, her hand still entwined with Kennedy's. She did not want to do this. She did not have a choice.
Life was cruel and unfair. Everything she had fought to stop becoming.. was now what the world needed in order to survive. To win. Willow sighed - life was strange and confusing, and at most times annoyingly ironic.
Things that should be clear were foggy and what ought to be confusing was not always. Things were usually much too serious. Willow hated life being serious. Life should be more like a gobstopper. Cold, hard and boring on the outside, but once you peel back a few layers - soft, gooey and fun.
In reality it was the other way around. Everything seeming happy, fun and easy until you get right down to the heart of it all where things get too serious and much too real.
Sometimes Willow hated being a hero.
She sighed again and let go of Kennedy's hand, stepping forward into hell.
It was a quick, hurried kiss – but it brought Angel out of his daze.
He pulled back from her, "What.." he said, staring at her utterly confused.
Cordelia shook her head, "No time to explain, we have to leave."
She grabbed his arm and looked around for the others. She yelled, "GUNN!" and he looked up from battling another enemy, his face covered in blood and his body bent double, clearly suffering from his injuries. He gaped at her. "We have to go!" She yelled, and saw Spike and.. what looked like Fred with bad hair and a leather cat suit on.. hacking their way towards them.
Spike looked strangely at Cordelia for a few moments, then as he beat back another demon, he yelled, "Can't! We gotta.. gotta stay and fight! We only just started!"
Cordelia shook her head as the five of them tried to get to each other through the crush of evil opponents. "There'll be plenty of time to fight more later! Now trust me for a moment, this battle's out of your hands, you've done all you can."
"No. He's right. We have to stay and fight," said Angel from behind her, she turned around to look at him. He looked even more pale than usual, but had seemed to mostly recover from his shock at seeing her.
"I wish to do more violence!" said the blue haired Fred. Cordelia gave her a strange look, and tried desperately not to think about Wesley and Lorne, who didn't appear to be here.
Cordy took a deep breath as she turned around and stabbed a purple and white scaly demon in the chest, yelling, "You can do that later! If we don't get out of here now you won't be able to do any more violence ever again, because you'll all be dead. So bottle up your pride and your blood lusts, because I've been dead and I've come back just so I could save you people! We have to leave!" They all looked at her, "Right now!" she yelled.
"But-" said Gunn having finally reached them, clutching his side.
"NOW!" yelled Cordelia, putting her arm around him and helping him to move.
"Where!" roared Spike, using a huge rusty black sword to cut the head off a Nezzla demon with a very powerful blow, "In case you hadn't noticed hell's taking a vacation, and we're the new Hawaii!"
Cordelia had noticed. She looked around and pointed back down the side alley, "South!" She yelled at them, "Back to the hotel – easier to defend from!"
"Defend! What the hell's the good of defending?" Spike called back angrily.
Cordelia couldn't be bothered answering him and tried to push Gunn forward, but Angel came over and took him from her. Gunn began to protest, but Angel had clearly taken in Cordelia's words and was leading them back down the alley towards the hotel.
Spike groaned and then set off after them, "Two minutes of brawling and we get rescued. Where's the fun in that?"
Fred-that-was-not-Fred headed to the front of the group and began smashing her way through her enemies, sending them flying. She was a blur of blue in amongst the red of defeated foes, driven by some insane force that Cordelia did not yet understand. Some strange stuff had clearly happened while she had been away.
She looked around. There were so many demons.. she wasn't sure how they were going to make it, but a bubble of pride, hope and the thought that Willow and Eleanor would soon be sending all this lot back to where they came from sustained her. She ploughed on forward, killing anything she could, wounding what she couldn't.
Eleanor looked up. Willow stood in the doorway down the other end of the hall, her face hidden in shadow. Eleanor thought about calling out to her - then thought better of it. Willow moved forward towards her.
Eleanor suddenly felt terrified. Why the hell was she doing this? What did she care if the whole world became a demon playground! She took a deep breath and tried to calm down. She could feel Willow's power.. even with the distance between them – and it was overwhelmingly intimidating.
The other witch continued at a steady walk down the corridor towards her. Eleanor swallowed and stood up.
Willow stopped in front of her. She looked different. A lot different.
She looked evil.
The horde just kept coming. They were a third of the way down the side alley heading back to the hotel when Spike went down. He let out a yell of pain as a great big sword went sliding through his back and out through his chest. Cordelia fought over to him, but the blue-Fred was already there. She had taken down his assailant and was preparing to extract the weapon.
"Uh, no, blue, I'm fine. Really, blue. Just leave it, I'll be alright, I've had a lot worse please.. don't.." He said desperately, but she completely ignored him and ripped out the sword out in one swift movement. Spike let out another yell, panting and falling over. He picked himself up, hand on his chest, his eyes closed. He then turned to look at her, opening his eyes.
"..Ow?" He said in a pained, accusing voice - but she simply stared at him.
"Illyria! Spike! Keep moving!" Angel yelled back at them, and they turned and continued down the alley, Cordelia following them. Spike was grumbling angrily as the three fought their way back through the crowds to Gunn and Angel.
"Easy for him to say, I don't see him having a sword yanked out of his gut by an ancient ego ridden she-demon on the rampage!" he said bitterly, spitting out some blood as they ran. This sentence confused Cordelia, but she didn't have time to ask him to elaborate.
She-demon? Illyria? She looked at the blue-Fred. She could clearly see now that there were huge differences between the woman she had known and the person standing before her now, killing without remorse or expression. She felt a lurch in her stomach that was not inflicted by a physical injury.
What had happened to Fred?
Suddenly there was a low horn like sound from ahead of them, Cordelia thinking wildly that this could not be a good thing, stopped in her tracks. Two white lights came shining into the alley - heading straight toward them. Cordy peered at the newcomer as it crashed through the demons ahead of them, only at the last moment realising that it wasn't some new horror at all – and that it was a car. An SUV. The car skidded to a stop in front of them, smashing into a couple more demons with a disgusting crunching noise. The passenger door swung open.
Connor sat in the driver's seat, his arm outstretched towards them as he held the door wide.
"Get in!" he yelled.
"Connor! What the hell are you doing here?" yelled Angel, punching a Strom demon in the face and guiding Gunn over towards the car.
"Rescuing you! What does it look like?" Connor yelled back as the two of them got in the back of the car.
Angel looked skyward in exasperation, "Why the hell is everyone trying to rescue us? Are we that helpless? I mean, do I have a sign or something around my neck that says 'rescue me' in neon paint?" He looked back at his son, saying angrily, "I told you to go home Connor!"
Cordelia climbed into the front, looking up at the young man, "So did I!" she said accusingly, strapping herself in and closing the door.
Connor looked back and forward between them. "What was I supposed to do? Go home and be a good little boy while the rest of you are out here fighting for your lives?" he protested.
"Yes!" said Angel and Cordelia at the same time.
Connor set his expression, "Look - I made a choice. I'm not a little boy. This is where I'm needed right now, so don't tell me I did the wrong thing, because it wasn't up to either of you."
Cordy gaped at him; he certainly had changed.
Angel was clearly trying to think of something more to say as Spike jumped in the back seat next to him and Gunn, fending off a demon with his legs. He gave it a final sharp kick and slammed the door.
He looked around at the others. "We moving or what?" he asked.
Angel ripped his eyes away from Connor and looked at him. "Where's Illyria?" he asked, just as she opened the door next to him.
Illyria did not get in the car though. Instead she leaned forward, picked up Angel's sword, ignoring his cry of "Hey!" and shut the door again. She jumped up onto the roof of the SVU and prepared to defend them.
Connor put the car in reverse, hoping the god-king could hold her own on top of his car. They drove back down the alley, hearing and seeing various things bump into the sides of the car as they went. They were almost at the hotel when suddenly the SUV smashed into something. There was a horrible lurch as something reached down and with huge vicious claws ripped the back of the car off. Connor gulped, looking back over his shoulder and saying, "My parents are gunna kill me.." as the whole rear end of the vehicle was torn away.
Gunn was almost unconscious, and Cordelia had moved into the back to tend to him, which in hindsight, as she looked up and saw the giant thirty foot monster that had just mutilated Connor's car, was probably not the smartest move. Illyria had leapt from the roof onto the giant's clawed hand, and was now climbing up its arm. She had reached its shoulder, the great creature only just realising she was there and starting to try and claw her. It was slow and dumb however, and Illyria was agile and fast. She hacked away at the beast's neck with Angel's sword as it desperately tried to swat her off.
She plunged the sword deep into its neck and it let out a mighty bellow, shaking the houses and the ground around them. Finally one of the creatures claws managed to dislodge its attacker, slicing a deep wound across Illyria's back. She let out a soft yell, and then fell from its shoulder all the way down to the hard concrete floor beneath. There she lay still.
Spike swore loudly and rushed out the empty back of the car over to her. He gently picked up her body, as the beast above them screamed and roared in pain, Angel's sword still embedded deep in its neck. Spike returned with Illyria and Connor fired up the car again, pushing it past the great feet of the dying beast as fast as they could back to the hotel.
Willow closed her eyes and her let her face drop downward, her red hair falling down around her.
"Let's do this," she said and brought her hands up on either side of her body, both glowing with blue energy.
Eleanor breathed deeply and lifted her own hands. "You first," she said with a courage she couldn't believe she had mustered. She spread her fingers, drawing in power from around her.
Willow lifted her head, her eyes black and glowing, and a smile on her face, "As you wish."
Finally they reached the hotel, and Connor parked the car and they all got out. Angel hoisted Gunn's arm over his shoulder and the two limped up the front steps into the building. Spike had Illyria in his arms, and was rushing as fast as he could towards the doors, Cordelia and Connor close behind him.
The group entered the hotel and rushed forward into the lobby, Cordelia locking the door behind them. The hordes of evil wouldn't give them breathing time, but they might be able to hold up for a few moments before the battle moved in here.
Angel had lowered Gunn gently down onto the floor over by a wall and Spike was putting Illyria down on the pouf in the middle of the room. She stirred, sending Spike reeling back in shock, "I thought you were dead!" he exclaimed.
Illyria coughed, and said weakly, "I have been dead a long time, flesh wounds mean nothing to me now."
Spike raised an eyebrow, "Er.. right. Can you fight some more?"
Illyria struggled to sit up, saying in normal tones, "If it will lesson the pain."
Spike tilted his head towards her, "I thought you said the wounds meant nothing?"
Illyria looked away, "Physical pain is not what I speak of."
Spike gave a small nod, and said "Oh.."
Connor had removed his shirt and was sitting next to Gunn with it pressed into the dark warrior's bloody wound. Gunn was breathing raggedly, but he seemed to still have some strength, managing to stay sitting up. Cordelia went into the office and brought out her bag taking it over to the boys. Connor was talking to Gunn in low tones as he gripped his shoulder and applied pressure to the injury.
"I've got some bandages in here somewhere," Cordelia said, squatting down next to them and giving the bag to Connor. He nodded in thanks and rummaged around in the bag, retracting a wide white bandage. Cordelia stood up and backed away as Connor wrapped the bandage around Gunn's stomach, giving them some room. She turned and found Angel watched her. He looked directly at her for the first time since she had kissed him, disbelief returning to his expression.
"Cordy.." he said after a moment, "How.. can.. is it really you?"
Cordelia smiled softy. "It's really me." she said.
"But you died.. you.. you're gone.." he said, moving over to her.
Cordelia put her hand on his cheek, "I'm sorry. I had to.. be away for everything to work out."
He shook his head, confused, "For.. for what to work out?"
There was a crashing sound as something smashed into the doors out the front. The door was locked but that wouldn't hold them out for more than a few seconds.
Cordelia looked back at Angel, saying hurriedly, "I can't explain everything, but just understand that there's something else going on right now.. and all we have to do is just hold out for a little while longer.. and all this will be over."
"What?" Angel asked incredulously.
Cordelia looked back at the door, which was being pounded at from the other side.
"Looks like our party's about to be gatecrashed!" yelled Spike from the middle of the room, Illyria stooped beside him, her face hidden by her hair.
Connor looked up from patching up Gunn, who tried to get up, reaching over for his axe on the floor next to him. Connor made movements to prevent him from rising, but Gunn was adamant. "I'm not going to die sitting down," he said firmly, using the wall to help himself up.
Angel looked back at Cordelia, who said urgently, "Angel, everything you've done up until this point, what I've helped you to achieve - the vision, the Circle of the Black Thorn, my death, everything - it has all helped to set things in motion to defeat the senior partners! Not just hurt them - beat them," he stared at her, his mouth dropping open. Cordy sighed and looked back at the door, "Look I can't explain it all now, but there's another battle that's going on away from here as we speak that decides the fate of everything that happens now! This is out of our control!"
"Oh well that's comforting," Spike said, coming up to stand next to them, he handed Angel his black sword. "I'm in the mood for hand to hand," he explained after Angel gave him a questioning look. Then he looked around, "So are we going to stand around talking all day, or am I going to get to kill some more things?"
There was a large crashing noise and the front wall shook violently. They looked at the glass door at the front of the building, but all outside was obscured in shadow. Angel tilted his head at Spike, grimacing, "I think it's your lucky day."
Eleanor went sailing through the air towards the back of the hall, Willow's blue fireballs hitting her square in the chest and sending her flying. She smacked into the stone wall hard, groaning and falling forward onto the ground.
"You're going to have to do better than that," Willow said softly, approaching her – walking through her protection circle and stepping on one of the charms, crushing it with her shoe. She looked down at the floor. "What a waste of time," she shook her head and looked back at Eleanor, "Now, if we are going to save the universe, you better pick yourself up and show me a little of that ultimate good you're supposed to be empowered with."
Eleanor began to rise, the pain in her stomach screaming at her to stay on the floor. She tried as best she could to ignore it.
Willow stood over her now, looking down. "Maybe the universe is doomed," she sniffed, "Pity."
Willow raised her hand, the veins in her arms turning black and throbbing as magic coursed through her body. She turned her dark eyes up to the ceiling and began to chant something.
Eleanor gripped the other woman's wrist. Willow looked back down at her. Eleanor's eyes had also changed colour and she had a trickle of blood running down from her nose again.
Willow tried to pull back from her grip, but Eleanor was already doing something. Willow's black arm was now turning white as Eleanor's spell tried to take effect.
"Oh I don't think so," said Willow, reaching out with her other hand.
Eleanor took that hand too, and the two of them stood with their hands locked together, battling wills and powers.
"So there is something inside that shell," said Willow angrily, taking in a deep breath, "let's see if it's enough.."
Willow flicked her hair back, dark power coursing through her body, all focused towards Eleanor. Her hair turned black in an instant, and she began to glow. The English witch struggled against her power, discovering a source of her own – deep within that had been waiting all these years to be unleashed. She just needed to open the bottle.
Willow dug her fingers into Eleanor's flesh, causing a trickle of blood down their combined hands. Willow threw waves of raw magic at Eleanor, trying to separate them. Eleanor felt the hot blood flowing down her hand and onto her arm.
She smiled weakly, "I was so hoping you would do that."
Cordelia made a face and looked down at her watch, "They're late.." she said quietly. Angel threw her a puzzled look as she swore violently and then said, "They were supposed to have fixed the diamond by now!" as though that explained everything.
"Who's they!" Angel demanded at the same time Spike yelled, "What the bloody hell's the diamond?"
"It's-"
BOOM
Her explanation was interrupted by the entire front door and parts of the surrounding wall blasting inwards, sending rubble and glass all over the lobby. Everyone hit the deck, which was just as well, as following the explosion there was a great burst of flame that entered in through the gap in the wall and engulfed the air. The fire billowed out across the room for a few seconds as everyone lay on the floor with their arms over their heads, praying for the best. After the flame had passed, Cordelia lifted her head up to see what had happened.
Where the wall used to be now hovered the head of a gigantic green dragon, its snake-like neck leading out through the gap in the wall, not big enough to emit its whole body. It was covered in sparkling emerald scales and had its mouth open, revealing a set of very large and very pointy teeth.
Angel leapt to his feet and ran at the beast, coming at it from the side, raising the great black sword Spike had given him and bringing it down on the dragon's well armoured neck. The dragon roared in pain as the blade cut through its scales and into its flesh, sending another torrent of fire into the hotel. Cordy covered her face with her arms again, feeling the heat of the flames soar over her head. When she felt the fire recede she chanced another look up. Angel was still sawing into the dragon's neck, the beast screaming and thrashing around in pain. It had caught itself in the wall, however, and was now powerless to stop the vampire's attack. The beast let out one last blood curdling screech as Angel delivered the final blow, splitting the dragon's neck in half and sending its head crashing to the floor. Angel stood for a few moments, his sword hovering in the air, a slightly surprised expression on his face.
"Huh," he said as he looked down at the defeated beast.
Spike picked himself up and looked across the room at his grandsire, who was covered head to toe in dragon blood, "Was that as rewarding as you'd hoped?" he asked.
Angel frowned, "Actually not really."
Spike shook his head in disgust, looking back at the rubble and the dead dragon, then he paused, "..Well don't hang up your hat up yet, cuz that was just the welcoming committee."
The rest of them turned to look out into the garden. The mass of demons had caught up to them, and were climbing over the dragon's back end and up the stairs, rushing towards the great hole in the Hyperion Hotel's front entrance.
There was no time for a plan or strategy, as the horde descended upon them once more. Spike managed to yell, above the roar of death and battle, "How long do you reckon we can hold this lot off for?"
Cordelia was fighting right next to her champion and saw him give his reply. His face was still drenched in blood from the dragon, but there was a new fire burning in his eyes, Cordelia and Connor's presence igniting something within him that he had lost up until then. Hope.
Angel called back at Spike across the crunch of bodies, his voice filled with determination,
"As long as it takes."
The blood connected them, and Eleanor's power flooded to the surface. She changed in an instant. She was not Willow's equal, she could never be. Willow was the ultimate witch, there would never be another like her – she was it.
But now they were connected, Eleanor felt the bond between them as her blood bound them, and smiled. This would do it. They could do it now. Eleanor's hair turned white.
Willow's expression grew painful, Eleanor realising that there was the real person within all the layers of evil that was still struggling to control her. The two of them fused into the temple, their power fighting and combining at the same time. Everything merged, good, evil, past, present. Dimensions ripped apart for a moment as the two of them stood in the centre of the temple, throwing their power and their lives out of their bodies and into the universe. Stabilizing or destroying it – neither could tell.
"I'm sorry," said Eleanor as the two vessels let out one final burst of magical power and the world came down around them.
Kennedy watched in awe as a bolt of red light burst out of the temple. The building shuddered and shook as further bolts came shooting out of it – blasting through the temple's outer layers and sending bits of stone flying into the air.
They were doing it. They were fighting.
Kennedy felt helpless, standing here watching the building fall apart as a battle she could not help with was raged inside.
Angel and Spike were fighting back to back in the middle of the lobby.
"Really wish I hadn't given you that sword about now," Spike said bitterly before moving forward and punching a winged demon sharply in the jaw.
"Your loss," Angel said, sliding the black blade into the gut of another foe, "Where did you get it anyway?"
"Took it off of some great slimy demon back in the alley," Spike replied, punching his opponent in the face again. "Didn't recognize the thing. Why?"
Angel turned around and swung the weapon through the air - cutting the head off Spike's winged enemy in one, clean stroke. Angel smiled at him, "No reason. It's just really good."
Spike glared at him and moved away, battling some other opponents and muttering to himself.
Dimensions split apart. The world shuddered.
The roof of the temple collapsed above Willow and Eleanor.. but it was already too late.
Kennedy watched as the building exploded in a blaze of red light. The light filled the sky around her and the Earth began to tremble. Kennedy stared in horror as debris flew everywhere. One enormous piece of stone flew right at her. There was not time to avoid it. It hit her.. and went straight through.
Kennedy gasped and looked back as the thing flew through her body as though she was not there at all and sailed out over the cliff. Then it evaporated - tiny particles of stone disintegrating into nothing before her as she watched. That wasn't normal.
She turned back to the ruined temple, but there was nothing there. It was as though the thing had been ripped out of existence, and all that remained was a bare mountainside.
Kennedy panicked and ran towards where the temple should have been, looking around for something – anything – that would prove to her that they were still alive.
Willow.. she thought as she searched, where are you?
Cordelia used her scythe to cut the arm off a particularly violent black clothed enemy, sending it screaming and retreating back from her. She moved forward to finish it off when the whole building started to shake. The horde stopped fighting.
Angel, Spike, Illyria, Gunn, Connor and Cordelia stopped fighting too. The Earth convulsed. Suddenly there was a giant screech from over in the far corner of the room. They all looked over as two demons, roaring in fury, began to battle each other.
Then it started. All the demons in the room let out similar war cries and threw themselves at one another, thousands of years of rivalry and hatred unleashing itself. A few of them ran in cowardice through the gaping hole in the wall.
The six defenders stared at them in shock. A few continued to fight them, but the real danger now was not getting in the way of the other creatures battles.
"Why are they doing this?" Angel asked Cordelia as she fought her way over to him.
Cordelia shook her head, hoping, but not fully giving herself over to the idea, "Maybe.. maybe they're no longer under the senior partners control.."
"But why fight each other?" asked Connor, nursing an injured arm.
"Probably all hate each other," Spike said, shrugging.
One of the black clothed warriors Cordelia had been fighting earlier jumped past them, screaming in fury and aiming a long pointed dagger at a large lizard demon.
"You think?" said Cordelia sarcastically.
They stood there, watching the carnage in awe and surprise as the floor beneath them shook. Then it all stopped. The demons standing in and around the hotel all faded away, leaving nothing behind but empty air. Silence filled the foyer.
There were a few weapons spotted here and here, as well as scraps of clothing and spots of blood and.. other things – but not demon horde. Cordelia looked up to where the dragon had been, but all that remained was a giant pool of blood.
"Well.. that was weird," said Spike, looking around. "Where'd they all go?"
Gunn let out a groan that prevented Cordelia from venturing an answer; they all turned as he slumped down next to the back wall. He looked totally drained and clutched his side, the blood seeping through the bandage Connor had placed on him.
"I thought I'd be dead by now," he said in confusion.
"You're stronger than that mate," Spike said coming over to him - but his expression showed his concern.
Connor moved over to Gunn as well, "We need to get him to a hospital, as soon as possible," he said urgently to the others. Spike helped the big man up, and he and Conner guided him over to the crumbled doorway, Connor yelling back that he'd call them later.
Illyria was standing away from the others, blood trickling down her wounded back. She felt empty and grieved. Killing had not eased her pain. She felt now that nothing ever would. Emotions coursed through her body like she had never known. She felt love and grief. She.. did not understand why this was so.. why she cared for Wesley as much as she did. But it pained her deeply. She did not want to live any more it was so bad. She could now relate to many of the things he had said to her about Fred. This made the pain worse. She turned away, desperate to find a way to control herself, and headed for the steps leading up to the rooms.
"Illyria?" Angel said, watching her walk away.
She did not reply.
Cordelia turned to Angel, the two of them now alone in the lobby. "What is she?" she asked finally, looking off at where Illyria had just disappeared from sight.
"She's an ancient demon. An Old One. She took over Fred's body. It's.. a long story," Angel replied softly.
Cordelia didn't say anything, absorbing this information was painful. She couldn't bring herself to ask about Lorne and Wesley. Not yet.
Angel looked around the room, "What happened here? How did they just.. go.. like that?" he asked her.
Cordelia sighed and moved over to the steps to sit down, side stepping the pool of dragon blood. "Willow," she said quietly.
Angel looked surprised, "Willow?"
Cordelia nodded and said, "It's a long story."
Angel came over and sat down next to her, taking off his blood soaked jacket and putting it on the steps next to him a long with Spike's black sword, "I'm not going anywhere."
It was snowing. Of all the times to snow, now was the worst. Kennedy ran blindly through the downpour of white, searching for her witches. She was lost, it was getting desperately cold and her hope was fading faster than the daylight.
She resisted an urge to wail in frustration and despair.. they weren't here.. they were gone.. they were..
Kennedy saw a flash of red. Straight in front of her. Kennedy's heart leapt into her throat and she rushed forward towards it.
Willow and Eleanor lay on the ground in front of her, a thin layer of snow covering them. Willow's red hair was scattered across her face. Her lips were parted slightly and her eyes were closed, her lashes dotted in sparkling frost. Kennedy saw blood on her arms and hands, and all over Eleanor. The two of them lay as still as death in front of her.
A sacrifice that had saved the world.
But not for Kennedy.
She broke down crying, collapsing into the snow strewn ground and clutching the body of her fallen lover.
"Do you think they made it?" Angel asked finally, Cordelia having just explained everything that had happened to her in the past two months since her return to the living world.
"I.. I don't know," Cordelia said.
Angel nodded and looked down at the floor. Then after a moment he spoke again, "Cordy.. I.." he stopped and then started again, "Last time you came back.. but you didn't stay and.."
"Angel.." Cordelia interrupted, "Last time.. I had to leave. I had to.. to die.. and.. to be away from you, for all of this to work.." she took a deep breath, "I said I was on a different path – a different road, and I couldn't see it properly before.. but.. I'm sorry.."
He looked up into her eyes, "I can't lose you again, Cordy."
Cordelia put her hand back on his cheek, feeling a tear slide down her own, "I followed my road Angel.. and the funny thing was my road wasn't straight.. it was more like a circle.. and its lead me back around to you."
She leaned forward, put her arms around him and said softly, "I'm not going anywhere."
Willow's eyes opened. All she saw was white around her. White.. light. Not darkness. Light.
She was free of the darkness that had possessed her earlier. She was herself again. She must be dead, she thought. But what was that smell? She took in a deep breath, letting the smell fill her lungs. It smelt damp.. but familiar. It smelt like..
"Kennedy.." she said out loud.
The slayer pulled back from her, her uncontrollable weeping cut off mid sob. She stared at Willow, incredulous. "You're alive!" she choked.
"Am I?" Willow asked distantly.
"Oh, oh my god! You're alive!" Kennedy said again and pulled Willow into a bear hug, engulfing her with love and warmth.
"Did we win?" asked Willow blankly as Kennedy held her.
Kennedy didn't really know the answer. The world didn't seem destroyed, so she assumed they had.
"Yes.. Yes Willow we won," she replied softly, so overwhelmed with relief and joy that she didn't even care if she was wrong.
"Oh good," said Willow.
Kennedy looked over at Eleanor, who was also just waking up. She opened her eyes and coughed a few times. She looked around, dazed. The world had turned white. How strange.
She sniffed a few times. She was really cold. Kennedy leaned over to her laughing and pulled her into the hug she was sharing with Willow. Eleanor was very shocked and surprised at this, but after a moment of feeling very awkward in the arms of two lesbians, she relaxed.
They had done it. They must have. They had saved the universe from tearing apart.
And.. that made her happy. She looked around. She wasn't in the temple anymore – but she was still happy. That was good.
Eleanor smiled - that was very good.
Connor and Spike sat outside the hospital room, waiting. They had gotten a few strange looks, showing up carrying in Gunn half dead and bleeding everywhere, themselves covered in cuts, wounds and injuries. The two of them had refused to be treated, resulting in even more curious looks, and were now simply praying and hoping for the best.
A doctor had come out half an hour earlier to tell them that it would be touch and go and they weren't sure if he was going to make it. Connor had called the hotel, and Cordelia and Angel were on their way over.
The simply sat in silence, waiting.
Another half an hour passed before the others arrived. They had both changed clothes, but they still showed signs of conflict. Angel's neck and face were still dotted with dragon blood and his various injuries and Cordelia had a large cut on her left cheek.
"How is he?" Angel asked as Connor got up to greet them.
"No change yet, they still don't know if he's going to make it," Connor replied. Spike looked up at the others, "How's Illyria?"
Angel shook his head, "I don't know. She doesn't seem too bad physically - considering she got her back slashed open and fell thirty feet onto the ground."
Spike looked back at the floor in front of him, "Still torn up about Wes then."
Angel sat down next to him, opening his mouth and then closing it, bringing an arm up to his face. Connor took a good long look at him, then after a moment said, "Wesley's.. dead?"
Angel nodded silently.
Connor took in a breath and then looked away.
The door next to them opened and they all looked up as a short balding man wearing glasses came out and closed the door. He nodded at them and said, "Charles is in a stable condition at the moment, and at this stage we're fairly confident he's going to make a good recovery."
Everyone let out sighs of relief, Cordelia slumping into the chair on the other side of Spike pushing her hair back from her face.
The doctor continued, "Luckily none of his organs were punctured, but he did lose a lot of blood. We've given him a transfusion and at the moment he seems to be recovering well. He hasn't woken up yet, which isn't the best sign, but he hasn't sustained any head injuries so we don't think there's an issue there," He looked around at them, taking in their gang like appearance, "He needs rest now anyway, and I suggest the rest of you get some too."
Cordelia stood up, "Uhm.. is it alright if I stay here with him, in case he wakes up?"
The man nodded silently and then left them to talk.
Cordelia turned to the others, "I think it'd be better for him to see a familiar face when he wakes up, and it'll be sunrise before long," she said to Angel and Spike, who nodded.
"It's been a strange night," she said, "but.. um.. I sort of think we won."
Angel shook his head, confused, "I still don't understand everything."
Spike looked back and forward between them, "Well I don't understand anything, so you're one up on me. What the hell happened back there? With the demons going poof and," he turned to look accusingly back at Cordelia, "aren't you dead?"
"Aren't you?" Cordy said levelly.
Spike looked exasperated, "Why does everyone always have to bring that up? And-" he looked around angrily, "I might not have been! If that Shanshu crap was true! I just helped save the world – again – and I'm still as vamped out as ever." He leaned over and put his hand on Angel's chest. Angel pulled back from him, glaring. "And so is the golden boy of gloom over here."
Angel turned away, a resigned expression on his face, "We can talk about this tomorrow."
Spike looked at him, "Brooding! What a surprise. Not that I blame you – I'm feeling a little deflated myself, what with the lack of humanity going on here," he gestured down at himself.
Cordelia didn't know what to say about the prophecy. Something in Angel's expression told her he had already given up on it. She'd have to talk to him about that, but perhaps another time.
She looked at the shirtless young man standing beside her, "Connor.. thank you so much. For everything," she gave him another hug, "But.. it's late and your family is probably worried about you, so you should go home and get some rest." He nodded, and Cordelia continued, "We've all been through a lot.. I'll call you all when Gunn wakes up."
The three of them said goodnight to her and then moved away down the corridor to the exit. Cordelia sat back down, taking her vigil outside Gunn's room.
It had been a big day. A long day. She had been in Tibet this morning, gone through into that horrid temple and had to deal with all of those memories.. she'd discovered that there was a big bad evil making its way into the world and in the process destroying the universe.. she'd had to leave Willow and Eleanor to their fate.. possibly their deaths.. and she'd travelled halfway across the other side of the world so that she could battle it out with a horde of demons in a last attempt to help the people she loved..
But she had been too late to save some of them.
Cordelia put her hand on her cheek, feeling the dried blood of a wound she had sustained earlier. Some things never changed. Fighting. That was constant. Now she had lost Fred and Wesley.. and Lorne had left them after betraying and murdering Lindsey.
She sighed. Some things did change.
She remembered back to when the fighting hadn't been as big as this. When all they'd had to watch out for were the individual people. Saving a single person at a time. Taking out the evil guys – demons, vamps, lawyers.. It had been a lot more simple back then.
Now they were defenders of the whole world – fighting for the greater good and thinking as long term as possible. They'd just saved six billion people from an apocalypse.. Willow and Eleanor had anyway..
Cordelia wondered if they were OK and how she might feel if they weren't.
She looked up at the hospital ceiling. It was grey, unsurprisingly. Everything was grey now. Thinking about it now, Cordelia felt it had been much more rewarding when they had only been helping one person at a time. She hadn't felt as disconnected then. Would they ever go back to that? Did it bother her if they couldn't?
Cordelia looked back at the door to Gunn's room – he had risked his life for this. They all had. To show Wolfram and Hart that they weren't puppets. That they had a voice. A strong voice. To beat them back. And they had won, they had won when they hadn't expected to at all. That was rewarding wasn't it?
Cordelia sighed again, trying not to feel bitter.
We fight whatever battles come at us, regardless of the scale. We dedicate our lives to what we believe in. We give our lives for it. We're champions – and that's the price we pay.
End Chapter
References/Quotes
Ok, so there's only one, but whatever.
"I was.. but I'm back now."
Evil!Cordy Season Four.. can't remember which episode.. she says it to Angel when he's all mopey about how crap The Powers are, and he's all "It's not like there's anyone up there watching" and she goes "I was.. but I'm back now."
Author Notes: I really enjoyed writing that chapter.. not the last part so much, but all the fighting and writing the gang and all that – it was a bundle of fun! I liked writing Spike, as you can probably tell with all the corny one liners I gave him. Sorry about that. tries to look guilty
Umm.. Main story line over. Yay!
But if you like the fic, don't despair, because there will be more chapters! More episode like stories though. I have lots of plans, plus I love writing all the characters together.. especially Spike. And I have a lot of things still hanging in the air.. unanswered, so I can't just leave things like that can I? I like writing this fic in general – it's the first one I've ever written.. so yeah. Please keep up with the wonderful reviews glomps everybody
Oh and by the way, please excuse my un-American spelling, I'm not American, which I guess explains that one! I did include the "SUV" term, which is not what we call them here, but I figure most of you are American, and the show's set in LA, so I should make some sacrifices.
Ohhh – and maybe next chapter there will be some artwork to go along with the story.
A word on shipping: The Angel/Cordy kiss & other Angel/Cordy moments. These don't mean I'm putting them together in the fic! Doesn't mean I'm not putting them together either - you'll just have to see what I do, but basically.. Buffyverse relationships are always very complex and usually heartbreaking and at most times bittersweet.. and as I've said I'm doing this sort of as canon as I can (whether you agree with whether I'm doing it well or not is up to you) so – just because she kissed him most certainly doesn't mean next chapter they're going to be having a happy la la relationship where everyone sits around holding hands and singing songs.
I wanted the Angel/Cordy reunion to be powerful because their relationship is a very important one (whether its platonic or not). Their parting in You're Welcome was all sniff bye big smooch more bye so I think the reunion would involve smooching as well. I mean it would've been a little anti climactic if I'd have had them shaking hands or something yes?
This isn't a romance fic, it's (hopefully) more like an epic. Which will include romance, because what's the point in a story if there's no romance? It's just – not the only central point of the fic.
For the record though, ultimately I'm a Buffy/Angel shipper.
Next Chapter: AFTERMATH
Will have a lot more focus on individuals. Not so much just Cordy. Everybody! Because now they're all together.
Please Review! If you read the fic I really really really appreciate comments. Good or bad (although I prefer good..) but I'm up for suggestions and stuff. That sort of stuff makes me want to continue writing. Thanks!