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"You don't understand him," Cordelia said, "He has power"
"The power to do this?" Angel asked huskily
Cordelia moaned and arced her back, her eyes closed in contentment, as Angel slipped her dress straps off her shoulders and kissed along her nude bottom, briefly tracing his lips over the scar on her stomach. Cordelia moaned, as Angel kissed her, his hands unseen. She then opened her eyes, seeing something through the haze
"Oh no!"
Angel straightened, as someone tackled him and disappeared over the couch. She sat up, pulling the straps back up, as Angel wrestled with the figure, who was wearing a comedy mask, laughing as he battled with Angel
"Maybe they were interrupted or something," Cordelia said
She didn't see the man approaching her from behind, wearing a tragedy mask. She turned around and screamed, as Angel leapt over the couch, tackling Tragedy. A knife was stabbed into his chest, but Angel grinned, removing the knife, before taking Tragedy's sword. In one smooth, fluid motion, Angel stabbed Tragedy through the chest with the sword, whilst throwing the knife straight into Comedy's throat without looking. He got up from the body, as Cordelia joined him
"We should go"
"You think they're not dead?"
"You looked really hot doing that"
"Right. Come on, let's get going"
Angel and Cordelia left the room, soon bumping into Fred, Wesley and Gunn
"What are you guys doing back here?" Angel asked
"Looking for you," Fred replied, "Uh, Cordy, your tag's sticking out"
"What did you find out?" Wesley asked
"The Prima Ballerina had a lover," Angel replied, "I'm guessing Kurskov found out"
"Who's Kurskov?" Gunn asked
"Owner of this place. This place in trapped in time. Or at least, the Prima is. I'm guessing we find Kurskov and break his hold over this"
"He'll be here, watching the show," Wesley said
"Right, well, I'm heading off to find him. You guys, get out of here"
"Would if we could," Gunn said, "But w – argh!"
A comedy-masked figure had stabbed Gunn in the back, before running off, as Wesley gave chase. Gunn slid against the wall, as Fred stayed by him
"It's not fatal," Angel said, "I think you'll be fine"
"That's reassuring"
"I'm gonna help Wes," Cordelia said
She and Angel headed off in different directions. Wesley caught hold of Comedy and threw him to the floor, taking his sword. Comedy got up, drawing another sword
"Ah. Well then, shall we?" Wesley asked
Comedy lunged with a thrust that Wesley deflected, then sliced at his face. Comedy ducked under the blade, whirling around to slash, but Wesley managed to turn and block, lifting Comedy's sword up, then slicing towards his unprotected stomach. The masked warrior giggled and jumped back, aiming a thrust at Wesley's chest. Stopping the move, Wesley twisted his wrist, flicking Comedy's sword aside, before thrusting his blade through his chest
"Who's laughing now?" Wesley asked
Comedy laughed weakly
"Well, you are. But I win"
At that moment, Cordelia joined him
"Oh, you killed him"
"Is Gunn alright?"
"Yeah, he is. We need to get help for him"
"You go. I'll check on him"
Cordelia headed off, as Wesley headed back towards Gunn and Fred. But what he saw was not what he expected to see: Gunn and Fred locked at the lips. Wesley was crushed. He couldn't believe the sight before his eyes. Pain clutched at his heart and he walked away, heading into another room, before falling to his knees in despair, as Cordelia returned back to Gunn and Fred, who had drawn apart when she arrived
"How's it all going? You doing alright, Gunn?" she asked
"Yeah, it's just a flesh wound. I'll live," Gunn grinned
"How the hell are we gonna get out of here?"
"Kurskov's magic is limited," Wesley said, appearing suddenly, "We killed his henchmen, he exerts his magic making more. The more we kill, the less of a hold he has and we'll be able to break out"
At that moment, two masked henchmen arrived. Wesley tossed one sword to Cordelia, who had been receiving some training from Angel in the past few weeks since Ashleigh's birth. Gunn got to his feet, aided by Fred, as Wesley and Cordelia took on the henchmen together. Once they were 'killed', they split in two
Meanwhile, Angel was searching for a way out of the maze of corridors, when he saw a shimmer. Heading closer, he could see the backstage through the shimmer of reality magic. Knowing that for some reason, Kurskov's hold was falling apart, Angel dived through the portal, landing beside the Prima Ballerina as she stared mournfully out at the stage, where a few dancers came off stage and faded away. Looking up at the highest box seat, Angel could see Kurskov sitting there
"What are you doing back here?" the Prima Ballerina asked
"I know what happened," Angel said, "Kurskov is making you dance forever"
"He thinks I dance for him. Everything I had, I lost it all because I waited too long. I lost everything and now this all I have left"
"But you can change it. Change the dance. By doing that, you're freeing yourself from his hold. And I'm sure you don't want to be his puppet for any longer"
The Prima Ballerina gaped at him in shock, but then realisation and understanding overcame her. When her time came, she danced out onto the stage, but then started doing a completely different routine. Smiling, Angel crossed the stage and leapt up to Kurskov's box seat, throwing his two henchmen over the edge
"You are ruining everything," Kurskov cried, "She dances only for me"
"Yeah, whatever"
Angel slammed his fist into Kurskov's medallion, destroying it and the reality magic. The Prima Ballerina finished her routine, before fading away, finally at peace. Backstage, the minions and corridors disappeared, as the gang made their way to the stage, where Angel joined them, having knocked Kurskov out
"Let's get out of here"
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Gunn was fine, as Fred tended to him. Wesley was in the office, closing the door behind him. He had been in there ever since returning from the ballet. Angel thought about the night's events, his fingers resting against the box in his coat. Cordelia joined him by the counter, a cup of water in her hand
"How you doing?" she asked
"Just thinking…about earlier," Angel replied, "We came so close"
"Indeed we did, but hey we've been there before"
"But we could have unleashed Angelus by accident because of that"
"Right, unlike last time," Cordelia said sarcastically
"Look, let's just…move on from tonight. Let's not worry about it, okay?"
"Sure. I can do that. Give me a night and a day and we'll be peachy"
"Look, I kinda wanna forget about tomorrow, simply because…well…I've got something…to say"
"If it's 'I love you', I already know that"
"No…yes…no wait, this is a little bit bigger than this"
Angel was about to bring the box out, when Lorne came down the stairs, carrying a crying Ashleigh, a bottle in the other hand
"Oh finally, you guys are back. Ash's been crying for a while now. Won't take her bottle and I changed her and all. Guess she just wants Mommy's touch"
"I'll take her," Cordelia said, before taking her daughter from Lorne
She headed off upstairs, as Lorne joined Angel by the counter
"So, how'd it go?"
"There was going to be a moment, but I think I kinda screwed it up. And when I tried to salvage it, the moment was already lost"
Angel sighed and cast his eyes towards the second floor where Cordelia had gone
"You might have missed it this time, champ, but there will be another time," Lorne said, "Don't fret too much. Our seer isn't going to go anywhere any time soon"
"I don't wanna wait forever for the right moment," Angel said, "Or it might be too late"
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