††††††††††
Cordelia smiled as she walked away from the stage, having completed her show and getting such a buzz. On the way out, she met a few fans and did some autographs, before heading towards her trailer, her assistant, Nev, by her side
"Okay, there are stars and there are stars and then there is you," he said
"Oh, you're so sweet, Nev. Am I paying you enough?"
"As a matter of fact"
"Good, what's cooking? God, I want something. Hypo-something. Hypothermia?"
Nev on the phone in an instant, calling for a tub of ice water
"No, that's not it. Hyper... hyperbaric?"
Nev cancelled the ice water and called for an oxygen tent, but Cordelia dismissed that as well, as she ran through the mental list, trying to find what she wanted. She couldn't understand why she had this sudden need for something
"Hyperion! That's it!" Cordelia cried
"The hotel?" Nev asked
"Yes. I wanna go there"
"But it's been closed for fifty years. Why do you want to go there?"
"Nev, I am going there and that's final. Go handle my fans"
"As you wish"
Nev headed off, as Cordelia looked around, before leaving the studio, making her way over towards the Hyperion hotel. However, on the way over, she was so caught up in her thoughts, that she accidentally bumped into a young girl
"Oh my God, you're Cordelia Chase?" the girl cried, "I'm your biggest fan!"
"Do you want an autograph?" Cordelia asked, "I can give you one"
"I was wondering you want to come around, that's all," the girl said, "I've got something that I really want to show you, since you're cool and all"
"Well…okay then, let's go"
Cordelia followed the girl to her home and entered, seeing the magical pentagram on the ground and instantly felt a shiver of worry running down her spine
"My dad walked out and I'm trying to bring him back," the girl said, "Hopefully, if everything goes right, my dad will be back"
"Uh, I don't think this is a good idea," Cordelia said
"Oh, it's totally safe," the girl said, before starting to chant
However, instead of her father returning, a massive demon with numerous eyes and mouths appeared in the room, growling and roaring. Cordelia felt a flash of recognition, but pushed it aside, as she grabbed the nearby lamp and smashed it against the demon's head. It growled and spun around, knocking her down. At that moment, the door burst open, as Wesley and Gunn stepped inside. Instantly seeing the threat, the pair had it contained and killed the demon within a matter of minutes
"Wesley?" Cordelia said in surprise once the battle was over
The Wesley she knew wasn't the same person from Sunnydale. He had short, cropped hair and a five o'clock beard, but it was the missing left arm she noticed
"What happened to your arm?" she asked, getting to her feet
"Kungai demon," Wesley replied, "Cordelia? What are you doing in LA?"
"This is Cordelia Chase," Gunn said, "She's the star of her own talk show. Don't you ever watch the TV?"
"I'm surprised you do," Wesley retorted, "Cordelia, this is my associate, Charles Gunn. Don't mind the scar"
"Chicks dig it," Gunn grinned, proud of his facial scar, "Hey, I think Wes used to talk about you, Barbie. Didn't you guys, like kiss or something?"
"That horrible kiss where he drooled all over my chin?" Cordelia asked, "Trying so hard to repress it with occasional success"
"Right, well, as much as I am enjoying this forced death march down memory lane, let's head back, shall we?" Wesley asked
"What is it with you Sunnydale folk and repression?" Gunn asked, "The three of you are the most denying-est folks around"
"Three of us?" Cordelia asked, "Who else is here?"
"Angel," Wesley replied grimly
††††††††††
The trio arrived back at the Hyperion Hotel, as Wesley led the way upstairs to the dimly lit corridor and stopping before a door so he could take the key off the hook and unlocked the door before him. As soon as light entered the room, Angel scurried away from it, rising up on his feet, whilst muttering crazily under his breath
"Couldn't save them…couldn't save them all…no, no, no"
"What happened to him?" Cordelia asked
"Angel was on his own for a while, until a half-demon called Doyle arrived," Wesley explained, "When Doyle died, he passed the visions onto Angel. He's been harbouring them on his own for a while until I arrived"
"The visions have pretty much driven him insane," Gunn added, "Sometimes he sends us out to save people he killed two hundred years ago"
"Angel?" Cordelia asked gently, stepping into the room
"Careful, Cordelia," Wesley said, "The visions make him unpredictable. There have been times when we've had to chain him up for his own safety"
"Angel, it's me, Cordelia"
Angel shrank away from her, huddling against the corner, sinking against the wall, still muttering and drawing on the wall with his finger
"Angel, please, don't you remember me?"
"I couldn't save them," Angel muttered rapidly, "I couldn't save them"
"It's okay. It's gonna be okay"
Cordelia was kneeling before the vampire, her heart breaking at the sight of him. He rubbed his palm over to the wall, clearly having lost his sanity thanks to the vision
"It's okay. It's gonna be okay," Cordelia said
She then leaned forward and pressed her lips to Angel's. He stopped fidgeting, as a blue light passed from his lips to hers. Cordelia drew back, seeing that Angel was frozen in time. Looking over her shoulder, she saw the same had happened to Wesley and Gunn. Then, her memories hit her and she realized what was going on
"I remember everything," she said, getting up
Skip had appeared in the room, standing solemnly beside Gunn
"We had a deal. Your new life in exchange for the visions," Skip said, "Call me crazy, but I thought that was a pretty good deal"
"I need the visions and the visions need me," Cordelia said, "I'm the only one"
"We've been over this. You can't handle the visions. I get you're trying to be all noble and heroic and all that Russell Crowe Gladiator crap"
"You saw-?"
"Didn't like it," Skip replied shortly, "One more vision and you'll die in your sleep. Your kids will never have a mother and-"
"Well, I'm meant to have them," Cordelia said, "And if the Powers That Be aren't stupid, they know it too. Surely, there must be some kind of loophole"
"There is one way," Skip replied, "Not to be taken lightly. You become half-demon. No idea what the side effects will be, but you'll be able to handle the visions"
"What are we waiting for? Demonise me already"
She closed her eyes, as Skip sighed and pressed his hand to her forehead
††††††††††
Cordelia gasped as she woke up, sitting upright in bed. Angel jumped to his feet, pulling her into a hug, as she sighed contently and hugged him back, before suddenly pushing him away and feeling around her body
"No horns. No tail. Excellent"
"Cordy, are you okay?" Angel asked
"Perfectly fine," Cordelia smiled, getting out of bed
"What happened here?" Wesley asked, walking into the room
"No idea," Angel replied, "She just woke up. Everything okay?"
"Fine. Now we just have to worry about my vision"
"Uh, what vision? The one you had before going all comatose?" Gunn asked
"No, not that one. The one I'm having right now," Cordelia replied
"Uh, Cordelia?" Angel said in slight shock, looking at her feet
"What?" she asked, floating about half a foot in the air
††††††††††