Angel kicked the door as hard as he could. It flew off its hinges a sailed across the room nearly missing Connor who was still chained to the chair. Angel cautiously stepped into the room. The rest of the gang followed in behind and all took a step back once they seen Connor in the chair and a tall figure standing behind him.
The man began to chant and you could see a strange blue colored mist begin to surround the boy. Angel then started to approach his son again and the man spoke to him, "It is time vampire, for your son to know his true nature." Then the man said something in Latin and disappeared.
Angel ran to Connor who was now slumped over in the chair. Angel lifted his head and Connor gave him a small smile. He looked exhausted, like he had been fighting to get out of that chair for days. Angel broke the chains that bound him and Connor flopped to the floor. He tried to stand but couldn't get to his feet. It seemed that all his strength had been drained from him.
"Did you know that guy dad?" Angel just shook his head no and promptly picked Connor up and walked out of the room. The gang followed suite and they headed back to the hotel.
Buffy called back to the hotel to inform the rest of the group that they had found Connor and were bringing him home. She knew Dawn was worried and she could hear her sister let out a deep breath when she told her the news. Buffy was happy when they got into the car and Connor asked about Dawn right away.
Angel didn't speak a word on the ride back to the hotel; he just sat there next to his son with a blank expression on his face. Buffy thought she could hear his mind turning over the events that just occurred and she found herself wondering what kind of magic the stranger had used on his son. They would fill in Wesley and Willow as soon as they got back. In the mean time, she would go with Angel to question informants of who the stranger may have been.
Dawn was standing out front of the Hyperion when they arrived, and seemed both excited and scared to see Connor. She had been pacing back and fourth in front of the entrance since Buffy had called. She ran to the car and pulled the door open. Connor looked up at her and smiled, she could feel her body starting to relax just at the sight of him.
While the others were gone, Willow told Wesley the rest of her dream and the plans she had. He seemed happy with her plans and they began to work on the spells needed for the transformation. She had sent Andrew and Xander out to buy the necessary ingredients. They knew Dawn would not be of any help at the moment, all she could do was pace and worry about Connor. Willow thought she was so much like Buffy in that respect.
As Angel and Buffy came into the library to fill them in on the mission, Illyria and Spike came into the hotel with the rest of the girls. They discussed the mission and the mysterious man or demon. Angel told Wesley that they were going out to roust some of his old informants to see what he could find out. Wesley agreed and he and Willow continued with their plans.
Just as Buffy and Angel tried to leave Spike stopped them, "Where do you think you're going?"
"Out Spike, we need to find out who is after my son." Angel spat back at Spike.
"And what, you're going to leave me here to baby sit, again? No, bugger that. I'm going with you; you're not leaving me here while you're out having all the fun." Spike ran up to them and they all walked out the door.
Wesley then turned to Willow, "Shall we get started then?" He asked her with a smile on his face. He finally felt as though they were actually going to be able to do something for Fred. "Yes, lets." Willow said as she put her arm around Wesley's and they walked into the library.
It was almost an hour before Xander and Andrew arrived with the supplies they needed. He grabbed the bags from them and told Willow to fill them in on what they were going to do.
"Xander, can you please go up and see if Dawn will join us for a little while. I really need her for some of these spells and I'm sure Connor can rest without her standing watch for a few hours. I think Kennedy will watch over him if that makes her feel better." She was worried sick after he was taken and she had not left his side since they brought him back.
"Sure thing Wills, be back in a jiffy."
It took some convincing to get Dawn away from Connor but after several minutes of making her feel bad about not helping Fred. She changed her mind and went with Xander. Kennedy agreed to stay with Connor and Dawn felt somewhat secure that he at least had a slayer watching over him.
"Ok, I'm here and I'm ready for the casting." Dawn said cheerily as she entered the library.
"Great Dawnie, sit over here with me and go over this list of ingredients. We need to get started and you are pretty good with the mixing." Willow said as she handed Dawn several sheets of spells.
"Wes, would you go and get Illyria. It's time we told her what we plan to do and make sure she's on board with it. I'd hate to do all this work to have her back out on us." Wesley was sure that she would agree to do it. He was slightly worried about how she would react without human feelings. Would she be evil? Would she be the same? All he knew was he wanted Fred back and now he also could have Illyria as well, it seemed like a good thing.
He found her sitting in the courtyard talking to the jasmine growing on the vine. She did this quite often and it made him wonder how she could dislike humans but have a loving relationship with plants. He watched her for several minutes before approaching her. "I hope I'm not disturbing you? Willow and I have found something that I would like to share with you. Will you come to the library to discuss it?" She did not acknowledge his presence, and continued to rub her hands across the flowers. After a minute she got up and walked into the hotel.
"What is this matter you wish to discuss?" Illyria questioned.
"We may have found a way to separate you from your shell as you wish to call it." Wesley answered in a harsh tone.
"You wish to take my shell from me. I do not understand, you want me dead, I thought you have grown fond of my presence?" Illyria looked at Wes with her head cocked to the side. She had the look of a caged animal and he thought she may sprint from the room at any moment.
"NO, it's not like that, we only wish for you both to have a shell. Do you understand?"
"Very well, proceed with your analogy, I will hear it." Wes let out a breath he had been holding in and nodded to Willow to explain.
It took Willow two times to explain everything to the former god, but after a few nods of encouragement from Wesley and much detail, she finally agreed to try the spell. They sorted everything out and decided to wait until Spike, Angel and Buffy came back just in case.
Dawn called Buffy and filled her in on the situation and asked her to come home as soon as she could. Angel argued at first but then thought of having Fred back had soon changed his mind.
Dawn, Willow, Wesley, and Andrew set up a circle with candles. All the spell ingredients were ready and they sat down with Illyria in the center.
"Ok, the first thing we are going to do is separate Fred from Illyria. This will leave Illyria as a ghost like entity. Once she is separated, we need to give her form with the second spell. We must not break the circle at any time until the rituals are complete. I need Buffy, Spike, and Angel to stand guard and make sure we are not disturbed. Is everybody ready?" Willow took charge and got it all started. "Good, let's get the magic ball a rolen, shall we."
They began to chant the first spell. Everything seemed to going according to plan. They could see Fred standing there and it was like Illyria was stepping out of her body. Swirls of different colored lights were surrounding them. After they were completely separate, they began the second spell. It didn't look like it was working and Wesley was starting to panic.
His palms were sweating and he could feel the hair on the back of his neck begin to rise. Dawn began to say something in Latin then threw herbs into the urn in the circle. The chanting continued but it didn't look any like they were making any progress.
Then a warm wind began to swirl around the room and Willow's hair began to change to a bright white color as she began to chant above the rest. She thru her head back and shouted, "Solid."
It was then that Illyria began to take form. She looked like Fred but slowly her face began to change the she grew a foot taller. When the spell was finished Illyria and Fred both fell to the ground at the same time. Willow fell backwards on the floor and began to giggle loudly.
Wesley became frantic, "Mother of god, are they dead?"
Willow sat up on one elbow, "No Wes, just tired, if you were just ripped in half you would be kind of pooped."
He was not convinced, and got up and approached the two women lying on the floor. He reached his hand out and checked for a pulse on both of them. He hung his head, "Oh, thank god….. Bloody hell."
Willow shook her head and turned to Dawn, "I think you can go check on Connor now. Our work here is done."
Wesley asked Angel and Spike to help him carry the girls up to a room. They slept on the bed and Wesley sat in the chair across from them just to keep an eye for a while. He felt if they woke he wanted to be the first to answer any questions they might have.
Illyria was the first to wake. She rubbed her head for a few seconds then bolted strait up in bed. She began to search the room with her eyes.
"Your fine, look you even have your own shell." Wesley tried to reassure her.
"Yes, I feel different. Not constrained, I feel my own thoughts. Is the shell alive?" Illyria acted as though she missed Fred. She had not been on her own and it felt strange to her.
"She if fine, I hope anyway. She is still sleeping." Wesley was glad Illyria was ok but now he worried for Fred. What if there wasn't enough of her left to get back? What if she woke up and was like a zombie or worse what if she stayed in a coma state?
"I felt the separation; I think she held on with great force inside. It may take a while for her to let go and come back. Do not worry so Wesley, I believe you will have your Fred back soon."
Wesley felt as though some of Fred's humanity must have stayed with Illyria. "Yes, let's hope so. I think you should still rest, that spell was powerful and you need to gather your strength." Illyria nodded and lay back down next to Fred. Wesley walked back over to the chair and settled down. It would be a long night but he was hopeful that in the morning, the love of his life would be back to stay.
