Chapter Twenty-one
Wednesday, November 13, 2002 – 1630 Revello Drive, Sunnydale; morning:
Jonathan heard Buffy, Willow and Dawn talking in the kitchen, but paid little attention to what they were talking about. He was too busy glaring at Andrew, who was still tied to his chair in the middle of the Summers family living room.
{ I was an idiot to ever trust this guy again, after the way he and Warren tried to stab me in the back during that armored car robbery, } Jonathan thought to himself angrily. { What's the matter with me? I shoulda learned my lesson that night, and just ditched Andrew at the first opportunity. Was I that desperate for company that I didn't want to be all alone in Mexico, and stuck with him against my better judgment? }
Jonathan came to the conclusion that it was definitely possible, all things considered. Well, hindsight was twenty-twenty and all that, so he figured he should just be grateful someone Up There had decided to intervene on his behalf last night. Otherwise, right now, he'd be nothing but a blood-soaked corpse on top of that seal...
"I'm hungry," Andrew said, bringing Jonathan out of his musings. "Can you get me something to eat?"
"Why should I?" he growled. "Besides, I heard Xander complaining last night how you needed to lose a few pounds – you were that heavy for him to carry."
"Hey, it's not my fault our diet has mostly consisted of burritos and high-fat nachos lately," Andrew said defensively. "Besides, I haven't eaten since yesterday afternoon, and I'm starving."
"I could make you eat that knife you were gonna stab me with, asshole. So shut up," Jonathan hissed at him furiously, getting up off the couch and glaring at his former friend. "Just sit there and be quiet, so that I won't give in to the urge to kill you. Because right now, you're really pushing your luck!"
"What's going on in here? Jonathan, siddown. Now," Buffy ordered him in no uncertain terms, as she entered the room. She waited until he was seated on the couch and said, "All right, what's the commotion?"
"I'm hungry," Andrew told her, which instantly made Buffy roll her eyes. "Could you untie my hands so I could eat something?"
"OK, Andrew – first off, you need to understand what the word 'prisoner' means. Second, neither I nor anyone else here owe you any free meals. Third, ye gods – but I still can't believe how the First has put so much time and effort into getting you to do its dirty work," the Slayer said acidly. Then she added, "What, was it running low on evil minions or something?"
Jonathan would have added his own comments to that, but before he could do so, the front door bell ding-donged. He heard Buffy audibly sigh in annoyance before she went over to open the door; and the amateur warlock wasn't all that surprised when Cordelia came straight into the house, without even waiting for an invitation.
"What are you doing here this early?" Buffy wanted to know, looking outside for a moment before closing the front door. "And how the heck did you get Xander to give you his car? Last night, you said he had to get to work – "
"Xander's truck finally got fixed. Someone replaced the alternator on his Ford F-250 yesterday – free of charge – and delivered it to the apartment building this morning," Cordelia interrupted. "I mean, the Doofus told me how you and Dawn followed Willow to his place on Sunday, in order for him to repossess his Taurus because of that. You haven't forgotten, have you?"
"No, but – free of charge? Really?" Buffy frowned. "I mean, what's up with that?"
"Cordy! You're here," Willow said in greeting, as she and Dawn walked in from the kitchen. "How come you're here so early?"
"Xander's already gone to work, and no way I was gonna sit around in his apartment doing nothing for any longer than I had to," Cordelia replied rapidly. She then turned back to Buffy and said, "And as for why someone at Xander's company fixed his truck for free, jeez – do I really have to explain that to you? RHIP."
"RHIP?" Buffy echoed in confusion.
"Yeah. Rank Hath Its Privileges. Truth is, certain people are entitled to special benefits; they're called winners. Which, nowadays, includes my boyfriend. Former," Cordelia added the last part with obvious reluctance.
Buffy scowled at her, Dawn shrugged and nodded, but Willow smiled. "Hey, remember that conversation we once had about the junior year swim team members, and their perks? It was pretty memorable! Cordelia, you said something just like that, back then – and didn't Xander say something in reply, uh, what about that nutty 'all men are created equal' thing?"
Cordelia smirked and nodded. "Propaganda spouted out by the ugly and less deserving."
"Yeah, and then you actually mentioned that part about Jefferson keeping slaves," the red-haired woman shook her head. "I still find it hard to believe you really went there!"
"Why? I mean, apparently, he was something of a tightass, even after the guy was elected President," Cordelia shrugged. "So my opinion, it's no wonder they eventually put his face on the nickel coin."
"Harumph," Buffy cleared her throat. "If we could get back on topic? Namely, why you're here," she said to Cordelia. "Because I have to get to work, Dawn has to go to school, and Willow has classes at UC Sunnydale this morning. So, unless you wanna volunteer for guard duty with these two... "
"Uh, question. If Cordelia hadn't come over – what was the plan?" Jonathan asked, getting up off the couch again.
"Lock you up in the basement again, and leave that guy tied up in his chair, until work was over for today," Buffy replied promptly.
"But – you can't leave me tied up like this all day! My ass is gonna get sores, sitting on this chair that long," Andrew complained.
"Shut up," quite a few female voices told him in no uncertain terms. Jonathan just glared at Andrew again, but none of the women took notice.
"So, Willow, college classes?" Cordelia asked, raising her eyebrows.
The redhead shrugged. "I've been blowing them off since Monday, but I can't afford to do that anymore. Not if I want to be matriculating with the class of 2003, anyway."
Cordelia nodded, briefly looking like she was making an effort not to blurt out her real thoughts on the matter. "OK, whatever. So, what am I supposed to do – just wait around here for you to come home? Or try to find a way to fix the amnesia myself?"
"Huh? Amnesia?" Jonathan asked, looking confused.
"We think it's some sorta spell. Cordelia here doesn't remember anything beyond, uh... just before the end of her junior year of high school," Dawn said uncomfortably. "That whole swim team incident."
"Oh. Huh. Well, if you're willing – I'd like to help with that, if I can," he shrugged. Off Cordelia's look, he added, "Hey, you saved my life last night, you and Xander. I figure, it's the least I can do."
"You can do magic nowadays?" Cordelia asked, looking astonished. Then she shook her head. "Oh, wait – Xander mentioned something the other night, some sorta magical stunt you pulled after graduation?"
Jonathan shrugged again. "Uh, yeah. Not exactly my finest accomplishment, sure, but – well, I do know something about the craft; spells, glamours and stuff. I'm nowhere near Willow's level, but I can still do some things better than your average practitioner," he told her.
"Oh, I don't know... " Willow said, dubiously. "I mean, no offense, Jonathan – but I'm pretty sure this thing with Cordelia's memory problem is way outta your league!"
"And quite frankly, I don't know if we can trust you that much yet," Buffy said to him. "You spent too much of last year as the enemy for us to simply forgive and forget, you should know."
Jonathan shrugged and nodded. "Fair enough. But my offer still stands, for whatever it's worth."
"So why'd you do it?" Dawn asked, as all eyes turned to face her. "I mean, why'd you ever team up with those two idiots in the first place?"
"Hey!" Andrew shouted, but again, everyone told him to shut up. Dawn then repeated her question, staring at him intensely.
Jonathan squirmed and looked uncomfortable. "It, uh, it just sorta seemed like a good idea at the time, y'know? And, well, truth is I was kinda bored back then – Andrew, Warren and I were playing that D & D game, and I just sorta... "
"Unbelievable," Buffy muttered. She then said to him, "How did it come to this, I ask you? For God's sake – we knew each other in high school, Jonathan, and even afterwards – "
"Sure, but it's not like you ever invited me to hang with you and your friends. You, Willow and Xander – and even Oz and Cordelia, for a while there – you all made it clear that your little group had exclusive limited membership. No outsiders need apply," Jonathan told her with a vague hand gesture. "Even though Anya and that Riley guy, and even that Tara girl – "
He stopped and stared at Willow apologetically. "And I'm so sorry for what happened to your girlfriend, Willow. I really am. I swear to you, I never wanted Tara to be hurt or killed – "
"This is getting us nowhere," Cordelia cut in, seeing the upset look on Willow's face. "Look, Jonathan, I just want to know one thing – you really think you can help me?"
"I dunno. But I can try," he said simply.
"Fine. Then go wait by the car, until I join you," she ordered him. Nodding, he quickly left out the front door.
A moment later – the same place; morning:
"I hope you know what you're doing. Because high school was a long time ago, and Jonathan's changed," Buffy said warningly.
Cordelia shrugged. "Well, obviously. But then, so has everyone else. Some people for the better, others – not so much."
"What's that supposed to mean?" Buffy demanded, taking her comment precisely the wrong way.
"Exactly what it sounds like," Cordelia said dismissively. Then she turned to look at Willow. "I figure the nerd and I will head for the magic shop, see what books and stuff we can find there to help. You'll come by once you're free?"
"Yup," Willow nodded. She reached into her jacket pocket and brought out a folded piece of paper, before handing it over. "Here. This is the stuff not worth looking at, because I've already checked 'em out and determined that they're useless; it'll save you some time."
"Thanks," Cordy accepted the paper and put it into her own pocket.
"Damn, look at the time. We really need to get going," Buffy said, checking the nearby clock.
"Are, are you guys really gonna leave me here? All alone?" Andrew suddenly re-entered the conversation, causing everyone to look in his direction. "I mean, what if there's a burglar? What if there's a fire? What if – "
"You say 'what if I pee all over the carpet' again, we're gonna have a problem," Buffy interrupted roughly. "All right, Andrew, here's the deal. I'll let you out of that chair and lock you up in the basement. You won't be able to get out of there, not with all the bars on the windows and the heavy-duty lock on the door. Try anything funny, and I swear – I'll personally deliver you to the cops after I come home from work. Got it?"
"Uh, sure," Wells nodded frantically. "But, um, food? Like I said before, I'm kinda starving."
"You can have bread and water, this isn't a hotel for attempted murderers. Just don't eat and drink too much – or else, you're gonna have to use a bucket down there if you do," Buffy told him, before ripping the ropes off with Slayer strength and dragging Andrew to the kitchen for supplies.
Willow looked at her watch, muttered that she was definitely going to be late, and likewise departed to grab her stuff and head for the UC Sunnydale campus. That left Dawn and Cordelia alone together, for like the first time ever.
"So, you really don't remember me. And I don't actually look human to you," Dawn said, staring her right in the eye.
"Yeah, but Xander says you're one of his girls, so that's good enough for me," Cordelia shrugged. "Besides, I can tell how you're not evil or anything."
"This is so weird," Dawn said, almost to herself. "Because I remember you, Cordelia, and really well. Time was that you were my role model, almost – and I remember giving Xander all kinds of grief for cheating on you with Willow, that was a really low point in our friendship. Plus, I remember us talking on the phone once or twice over the years, after you called Willow for help on whatever."
"Well, who knows. Maybe when I get my memories back, I'll remember you again. As Buffy's little sister, I mean," Cordelia quickly clarified. "I think I'd kinda like that, actually. Because Xander mentioned that the way he remembers it, we used to babysit you?"
"Yeah. Even though that one time, after I came downstairs again after going to bed? He was way more interested in shoving his tongue down your throat, while you two made out on the couch." Dawn rolled her eyes in annoyance, causing Cordelia to smile in a far more genuine way. The teen noticed and added, "Hey, I was only eleven – and you two totally grossed me out! Seriously, I thought for sure you were gonna choke to death, and die... "
"Uh-huh. So, spill. There a special guy in your life? Or has my Doofus ruined you for all other men?" Cordy asked, amusedly.
"Nuh-uh. To both questions. And Xander's yours again? Like, officially?"
"Not yet, Dawn, but soon," Cordelia said straightforwardly. "I mean, just between us? I'm pretty sure I'm wearing down his resistance over that 'she's just seventeen!' crap. And if I have to, I'll sneak into his bedroom one night soon, and make him mine again... "
Dawn opened her mouth to say something, when Buffy came back into the living room with Andrew in tow. The Slayer yanked open the basement door, shoved Wells inside with a baguette and thermos of water, and then locked the door securely. Buffy then told her sister to grab her stuff, that they had to go like right now.
Cordelia nodded, said her goodbyes to the Summers women, and then departed towards her car – where Jonathan was standing patiently, waiting for her to arrive.
A while later – main counter of the Magic Box, Sunnydale; morning:
Anya looked up as the doorbell jingled, and immediately frowned. She recognized both of the new arrivals; one was her former Wish-based client, not to mention Xander's ex-girlfriend, and the other –
"Jonathan? Jonathan Levinson? What are you doing here? Why aren't you in jail, where you belong?" Anya demanded, coming out from behind the counter. "And you should know that I categorically refuse to do business with wanted criminals, no matter how much money you're willing to offer me to purchase goods and services here."
"I'm not here to buy anything, Anya. I'm just here to try to help Cordelia with her amnesia problem," Jonathan told her, shuffling his feet slightly. "White flag type deal, OK? Not here to cause you or anyone any hassles."
"Oh." Somewhat perplexed after hearing that, Anya transferred her attention to Cordelia and said, "Is this true?"
The Seer nodded. "Willow has college-y stuff to deal with today, so I figure since I saved this jerk's life last night, I might as well get something useful out of it. Until she can shake a leg and get over here, later on."
"Well, great! That's just perfect. Yet again, you people are disrupting my business! How am I supposed to make a profit with all your constant interference?" Anya ranted.
Cordelia held up Xander's credit card. "I'm willing to pay rent for using this place for my own purposes."
Immediately, Anya calmed down. "Well, that's different! All right, fine, my standard rate is – "
"I don't give a crap. You get five bucks an hour, and I'm willing to pay for a whole working day, in advance. That comes to forty dollars," Cordelia cut her off, staring at Anya with a no nonsense look in her eye. "And just so it's clear, this is not negotiable."
"What? That's chicken feed! Not even worth my time. Why should I do it?" Anya demanded, angrily.
"Because this place doesn't actually belong to you, and I'll complain to Giles if you don't shut up and play ball," Cordelia warned her. "He'll be coming back to Sunnydale eventually, and I know how to annoy him enough so that he'll do whatever I want, just to get rid of me. Even if that means getting rid of you."
Anya glowered, but then silently conceded that the amnesiac shrew had won this particular round. Besides, money was money, and she definitely didn't want this unwelcome interloper getting any ideas about punching her in the face again. "Fine. Gimme."
Cordelia handed over the credit card, along with a warning not to try anything funny. Anya ignored that, and quickly closed the sale of Magic Box rental space for today before handing the card back to the Seer. "All right, it's done. Now, speaking as your landlord, there are certain rules you need to follow – "
"I'll stay out of your way, and so will Jonathan," Cordelia interrupted her at once. "Plus, you don't harass us on whatever research-y stuff we need to access to fix my memory problem. Those are the only rules between us, Demon Girl. We clear on that?"
"Fine," Anya said again, grimacing. "Well, get on with it, then. I have other paying customers to deal with."
"Uh, where?" Jonathan finally spoke up, gesturing around at the empty shop. "Ow!" he then grunted, as two female hands dope-slapped his head. "What was that for?"
"No one likes a smartass, Jonathan," Cordelia told him firmly.
Anya nodded firmly. "What she said."
The Chase woman pulled a piece of paper out of her pocket, and gave it to the geek. "Now, let's get started. This is the stuff Willow said she's already checked out, so no need to bother with any of that... "
A while later – 1630 Revello Drive, Sunnydale; mid-morning:
Andrew tried opening the basement door, but failed to succeed in his attempt. He then went back down the stairs, and tried the windows, but with an equal lack of success. Depressed, he started munching on his bread and drinking water from the thermos – before he put them both down, as a resigned look appeared on his face.
Grabbing a yellow bucket from near the dryer and putting it down on the floor, Andrew quickly unzipped his pants –
The same time – Sunnydale High School basement, Sunnydale; mid-morning:
Buffy walked straight towards the door in front of her, with the "Basement No Student Access" sign on it. She checked to make sure no one was looking, and then went through, walking down the stairs. She entered the high school basement, and quickly walked over to examine the seal of Danzalthar.
"What the hell is this thing?" she asked herself, examining the inverted pentagram with the goat's head in confusion.
A few hours later – St Joseph's Medical Center, Stockton, Northern California; afternoon:
Faith ran through the double doors into the ER, carrying a wounded Edie Rhodes in her arms. She looked and felt tired; even with her amazing strength and stamina, the journey here from the ambush site had been quite taxing for her. Groo came in behind them, a moment later.
"We need a doctor over here!" the Slayer yelled out, before various orderlies and nursing staff rushed over, taking the wounded prison guard off of her hands.
"Oh, great... " the Chosen One then muttered herself, seeing a Stockton County Deputy Sherriff in full uniform approaching rapidly.
Faith suddenly got the nasty feeling that it might take a while before the upcoming police investigation was finished, and so she was glad that she'd had the foresight to hide Groo's huge-ass sword in a safe place...
A while earlier – the Magic Box, Sunnydale; lunchtime:
Slayer Central. Not all that long ago, Jonathan remembered, he and the other two members of the Trio had considered it enemy headquarters...
He had to force himself not to think about the last time he was present in this place. Back when Black Magic Willow was on the rampage, and wanting to turn him and Andrew into nerd flambé – after skinning Warren alive, and then killing him with as little effort as stomping on a bug (or so he'd heard). Fortunately, it was easy to distract himself with all the reading material; he had to admit, there was a real treasure trove of information here...
The doorbell jingled, and Jonathan looked up to see Willow enter the store, before focusing back on his self-appointed task. A few minutes later, he was vaguely aware that Willow, Anya and Cordelia had gotten into some sort of argument – but he was so focused that he barely even registered how the three beautiful women had become very upset over something to do with Xander...
"OK," Jonathan said, snapping his book shut and grabbing another one. He read it and then looked up. "Uh, ladies? I think I found something!"
Still glaring at Willow and Anya, Cordelia finally (and reluctantly) switched her attention back to him. "What? You say something, Dweeboid?"
"Yeah," Jonathan nodded, ignoring the insult. "A spell I think might help tell us what sort of magical amnesia you're suffering from, actually."
Willow frowned, calming down and looking at what he was pointing to within the leather-bound tome. "What is this? Jonathan... this isn't any sort of diagnostic spell, what have you-?"
"I know, that's the whole point!" Off the redhead's look, he tried to explain, "I heard how you tried to read Cordelia's aura a few days ago, right? And it nearly killed you. That's why I'm thinking any direct mystical examination is too dangerous, at least under the current circumstances. We need a more... tangential approach. Like this one."
"Let me see that!" Anya bustled the guy aside and snatched the book from Willow's hands. "Hrmm. Oh! Yes. With the right sort of prep work, I think this might do... "
"What are you talking about?" Cordelia demanded, straightaway.
"Uh, how to explain it in layman's terms... well, magic isn't like a computer program, or a cooking recipe. Do this, enter that, get this result. No matter what some people might think." The shopkeeper glanced at Willow, who briefly glared back at her. The former vengeance demon continued on regardless, "Truth is, magic is about intent. And the caster's intentions and imagination and will. This spell, it's based on using the willpower and focus of the caster to intentionally direct their magic through something, and generate a...a mystical shadow, I guess you could call it, on an illuminated surface. Think of it as a supernatural X-ray!"
"Okayyy, I think I follow you so far," Cordelia said, blinking. "So, what's the catch?"
"The spell, it's not designed to work on people," Willow frowned. "I mean, it's for inanimate objects. Still, on second thoughts... Jonathan, I think Anya's right, you may be on to something. I mean, if we just alter this section here... "
Cordelia quickly tuned out the mystical technobabble, she didn't care about details she couldn't possibly understand anyway. Eventually, she cut into the conversation and said, "Look, bottom line it all for me. Will this spell help me get my missing memories back?"
"Not directly, no," Anya shrugged. "It'll help pinpoint exactly what's wrong with you, though. And I have to admit, my professional curiosity has now definitely been engaged. Eleven hundred years as a demon, and a magic user before that, I don't think I've ever witnessed anything like what this spell is supposed to accomplish! So, excuse me while I finish up with these customers, and then briefly close the shop's doors for some privacy."
"Yeah, you do that. I'll need a few minutes to modify the spell. Jonathan, you get a bunch of candles, whatever's easiest – and light up that wall over there," Willow directed her former classmate, waving a hand in the appropriate direction.
"OK."
Cordelia watched and waited for a few minutes, as the preparations for the ritual were completed. Once the Magic Box was empty of customers, Anya locked the front door, and then grabbed her cell phone from under the front counter. The Vision Girl saw her do it and asked, "What's that for?"
"Well, duh! No one's ever done this before, or at least not as far as I know. Who knows how long that mystical X-ray image will actually last? That's why I'm planning to take a photo of it with my phone!" Anya exclaimed huffily.
"That's – a good idea, actually," Jonathan admitted, nodding. "Document everything. That way, if something goes wrong, at least we'll know what not to do next time."
"What? It might not work?!" Cordelia exclaimed.
"Oh, for heaven's sake, of course it might not work," Anya said irritably. "I mean, how can there possibly be any guarantees at this point? Think about it; this is something that's being tried for the very first time. A brand-new spell like this is a lot more likely to fail than not, at least initially. I'll wager that we'll need to iron quite a few bugs out... "
Later, Jonathan figured the ex-demon was either a lot more knowledgeable than she appeared, or else she was deliberately sabotaging the spell just to make a point. Because the first six times they tried it, nothing happened. But on the seventh try...
Willow's magicks went through Cordelia, and something... resonated, for a want of a better word, throughout the magic shop. Vaguely, Jonathan was aware of a brief whir-flash noise to the side, but he didn't automatically connect that to Anya taking a photo of the wall illuminated by the candlelight. He didn't even register the shocked silence in the aftermath of the spell.
"This is – amazing," Jonathan breathed in pure awe, and Cordelia (who looked like she was she was kinda out of it) stared at him in surprise.
"I have to concur with that assessment," Anya nodded, taking more pictures with her Nokia phone camera. "It's quite the revelatory experience. In fact, I think development of this spell will be quite the watershed event in the years to come! Not to mention a source of long-term profit."
"Why? What happened?!" Cordelia demanded, before she looked at the wall – and gasped in surprise.
Everyone could see the black and white image of the Seer, it was almost as if someone was X-raying her and the wall was like a huge TV screen. There were no bones or anything visible, just – areas of light and darkness. But then, a moment later, the image faded – and there was nothing but normal candlelight present.
"Did you get that? Close-ups, and from various angles? Please tell me you got all that!" Jonathan yelped, looking at Anya.
"Yes, yes, you annoying virgin, I got it all!" Anya snapped at him.
"Anya," Willow said reprovingly, "There's no need for insults, OK? Now, let's have a look at the photographic record... "
They all took turns examining the recorded images, and then both Willow and he hit the books again, trying to interpret what they and everybody else had seen. Eventually, Cordy got tired of waiting for answers and demanded, "So, what does all this mean?"
"Yes, I'd be interested in knowing that myself. Time is money, after all," Anya said, checking her watch.
"OK, this is all pretty preliminary, but – this is what we know, or at least have guessed so far. Willow?" Jonathan gestured at the redhead.
"Yeah, uh... well, somehow, while still remaining predominately human, Cordelia's also become at least partially demon – but it seems to be a good, or at least non-evil demon," Willow said slowly.
Cordelia was understandably freaked by this. "WHAT THE HELL?!"
"Yeah, guess Xander finally has a perfect dating record now," Willow giggled in amusement, before she winced at Cordelia's glare and visibly focused. "Sorry. Anyway, it's true; the demon essence's signature is unmistakable, even though I have no idea how that happened. Cordy, I'm guessing we'll have to ask Angel and your friends in L.A. about that at some point. But that's not all... "
"What else?" Cordy asked faintly, not sure if she wanted to know the answer.
"Well, that dark shadow or presence that I detected before, with the other spell I did? You remember, the aura reading one that kinda blew up in our faces? It's somehow intertwined with the memory spell, or whatever it is that's causing your amnesia," Willow frowned.
"Meaning?" the Vision Girl demanded.
This time, Jonathan spoke up. "Well, we're not one hundred percent sure, but it looks like your aura is tied to the Higher Realms by a faint mystical linkage of some kind; one that's also entangled with the dark blot on your aura and chakras."
Cordelia sent him a look of pure exasperation and said, "OK, lemme rephrase. What does that mean, in normal English?!"
"Well, uh, to use an analogy – Cordy, we think the dark stain might be a latent infection, or-or a timed virus of some sort," Willow shrugged. "And while I can't be absolutely certain yet, I'm at least ninety-nine percent sure that it's spread to every single part of your brain. So – uh, from the looks of it... it may not be possible to restore your memories and break this spell you're under, without activating that dark infection within you."
"Wait up; are you saying that I'm stuck like this? That this is too dangerous to try and fix? That I don't ever get the last four and a half years back?!" Cordelia demanded, in wide-eyed disbelief.
"No, we're not saying that, at least not yet," Jonathan shook his head.
"He's right. But it, it needs further research and some very cautious exploration before we even attempt to do anything further, because I have no idea what we'd be setting off – if we accidentally awakened the infection inside you," Willow told Cordelia bluntly.
"Well, uh, yeah. Guess that makes sense, I'd rather not go there," Cordy blinked and nodded rapidly. "So, this, uh, infection, are you guys saying – well, I've haven't got a case of supernatural crabs or anything, have I?"
"Nope," Jonathan replied at once, shaking his head again. "Whatever this dark virus -slash- infection really is... physically at least, you're fine at the moment. And like Willow said, all we can do is continue to research this ourselves – since apparently your friends in L.A. are more or less missing in action right now."
TBC…
A/N: Cordelia's reference to crabs was in fact inspired by The Big Bang Theory season 6 episode 21, 'The Closure Alternative'; "I think you'll like the next one better. All the cheerleaders are suffering from an evil curse." "Oh. Well, that's like my high school, too. But instead of a curse, it was crabs." Just goes to show that even 15 years later, BTVS season 1 episode 3 'The Witch' was still a wonderful part of the TV mythos in this world!
And DonR, thank you for your anonymous reviews; hopefully we've answered some of your questions on which way Cordelia will jump if/when she gets her memories back, what will happen if Andrew starts worshipping the ground Buffy and Willow walk on, and no - Connor will not be a happy camper when he and the others finally track Cordelia down! Anyway, we hope you and everyone else have enjoyed this chapter, and please tell us what you thought of it!
