See Part One for disclaimer and details. Hey, everyone, welcome to the latest chapter of the story! Big thank-you to everyone who's read and/or reviewed this fic so far, as always it's much appreciated. It really is! Please, keep it coming. Now, this chapter is something of a filler, but it sets the stage for a lot of stuff that will happen later on in the story, so it's important to get it all out there at this point. Anyway, hope you enjoy – and happy Easter, to one and all!
Part Three: Revelations
Restricted area of the coma ward, Wolfram & Hart private hospital
January 24th, 2004
Pain.
The first thing she noticed was the pain from a headache that slowly dissipated. The second thing the young woman noticed was the steady beeping. It wasn't incredibly loud or annoying or anything, just constant.
Then came the smell, and Cordelia Chase instantly knew where she was – because she knew the smell of a hospital room anywhere. She had been in them many times during her relatively short life.
A few scrapes here and there during childhood, that long stay after the 'fluke' back in senior year of high school, her demon pregnancy, Connor's checkups, the brain scans that had told her she was slowly dying...
Coughing, Cordelia yanked the tube out of her throat as the young woman opened her eyes and looked around. She was in a hospital bed, surrounded by a privacy curtain all around her. { What the hell... }
Because the last thing the Seer recalled was watching Angel and the others in Las Vegas from one of the Higher Realms, and feeling relief that her friends were finally safe from that asshole named Lee DeMarco. Now she was wearing tan slacks, a grayish silk shirt showing a generous amount of cleavage, and her brunette hair was expertly done up in soft curls; thanks in part to the trials Xander had undergone.
After all, Cordelia Chase in an off-white hospital gown, looking totally pale and half-dead? The very idea!
Cordy got up from the bed, and moved toward the side where the beeping was coming from. She slowly opened the curtain, and once she saw who was in the bed next to hers – the Vision Girl screamed, long and loudly, like she did when she saw her first demon.
CEO office, Wolfram & Hart building
A few minutes later
"What?!" Angel demanded in shock, his hand clenching the phone tightly as he stood up from his desk.
The two other people in the office looked up sharply at their boss. "Angel?" Fred asked him.
"Don't let her leave!" Angel said forcefully into the mouthpiece, ignoring the brunette. "I'll be right there!"
He hung up and was halfway towards the door when Wesley grabbed his arm. "What is it, what's going on?"
"It's Cordelia," the ensouled vampire told the amazed ex-Watcher. "She's awake!"
Restricted area of the coma ward, Wolfram & Hart private hospital
A short while later
"Please calm down, Ms. Chase," the doctor tried to alleviate his patient's distress as he blocked the room's doorway. "I just need to give you an examination to make sure you're okay..."
Cordelia backed away from him at once. "Why the hell should I trust you?" she wanted to know. "I don't even know who you are. I wake up in this place, wherever this place is, with no idea how I got here – and I find someone beside me plugged into so many machines that he looks like a damn Borg!"
"I'm a doctor, and this is a private hospital in Los Angeles. I'm afraid you've been here for many months, Ms. Chase," the physician told her. "You've been in a coma. I don't know how he got here, or even why he's in a comatose state, but-"
"What?!" Cordelia interrupted, focusing on the first part of the explanation. "Hello, do I look like I was in a damn coma? I was in a very dull higher plane of existence, I'll have you know!"
"Cordy!" Angel called out as he charged through the door, knocking the doctor to one side before he hugged her intensely. "You're awake!"
"Angel, thank God, I..." Cordelia began to say as the vampire held her tightly in his arms. "Hey! Kind of needing to breathe here!"
"Oh...right!" Angel said as he let her go. "Do you-" But he was instantly cut off by Fred grabbing Cordelia into a big hug as well.
"Ohmygod!" Fred babbled happily. "You're awake, you're awake!"
"Okay, that's it. Can someone please tell me what's going on here?" the very confused Cordelia asked of the entire room.
"You've been in a coma since Jasmine was born," Wesley said as he came close and embraced her too. He didn't seem to notice the Seer's shock as he added, "It's been nearly a year – and bloody hell, the doctors told us the odds were that you'd never wake up!"
"A year?!" Cordy exclaimed. She was utterly shocked to hear that; even if in a small, detached part of her mind, it actually explained why Wesley was no longer acting like any sort of ostracized outcast, like she'd been subconsciously expecting. The Seer shook her head and added, "Uh, and Jasmine? Who or what is that?"
"Your...daughter," Fred said awkwardly, briefly looking at the others.
"Daughter?!" Cordelia screeched. "Fred, what the hell are you talking about?!"
{ She doesn't remember? Oh, boy... } Angel turned to the doctor. "Look, uh, that'll be all. I'll take it from here, okay?"
The man just nodded before he left. "Of course, Mr. Angel."
"Mr. Angel?" Cordelia asked, looking at her vampire friend in amazement. "And what, you tell hospital doctors what to do now...and they obey you, just like that?"
"Uh, no," Angel said, feeling unsure if he wanted to tell her everything. But then he decided it would be best to get this all out into the open right now. { What the hell, she's gonna find out sooner rather than later; and it didn't work out too well the last time we tried to keep secrets, when she had amnesia! } "Ah, ever since we took over the L.A. branch of Wolfram & Hart-"
"You did what?! Wait, is this-? Wolfram & Hart have their own hospital? Like, where you can go to get your hand chopped off?" Cordelia interrupted. "Okay, I'm getting a headache, nothing's making any sense! One thing at a time." She looked at Angel in annoyance. "And my first question is...why the hell is Xander here in a coma?!"
"Xander? Xander Harris?" Wesley asked, surprised. "But according to that Andrew fellow who was here last week, he's in Africa..."
"I know Xander Harris's face when I see it, Wesley!" Cordelia told him, frowning. "And so should you! Look, there he is – in that bed!"
The new arrivals finally took notice of the comatose man not far away. "It's really him?!" Angel asked, shocked. "Huh. What the hell is he doing here?"
"That's what I want to know!" Cordelia yelled.
"You can call Harris here a pinch-hitter, kid."
Everyone turned towards the door at the sound of the Bronx-accented male voice, as a badly-dressed short man wearing a hat came into the room and closed the door. "Hello, all."
"Whistler?" Angel asked, a little surprised by this blast from the past. "What are you doing here?"
"All right, I give up. Who's the guy with the horrible Seventies clothes?" Cordelia asked. "And do you know what's going on here?"
"Yeah, yeah, I know the score," Whistler told her shortly.
When he didn't say anything else, Cordelia growled at him. "Well?!"
The balance demon went over and sat on the bed Cordelia had woken up from. "Long story short, all of you...including that black guy and the lounge demon with the horns, who aren't here right now...you were all played like violins."
"We already know all about that," Angel told him impatiently, just as Cordelia was about to say 'What?' again. "Skip confessed about how we were all manipulated from the start, before Wes finally killed him!"
"Skip?" Cordy asked, with a great deal of puzzlement. "You mean that big silver thing who demonized me, the demon guide who sent me to that white...place?"
Angel looked at her, and felt pity for her lost and confused self. "Yeah, but the thing is he was actually a bad guy in disguise, working for Jasmine. Look, Cordy, this is gonna sound very hard to believe, I know...but see, our lives over the years, just about everything we did – it was all part of this big master plan, which was orchestrated by that damned thing."
When he saw her continued bafflement the vampire added, "I'll tell you all the details later. But the bottom line is Jasmine messed with everyone's destinies to get herself born into this world, so that she could take it over."
"We barely stopped her in the end," Wesley added. "And even though thousands died, the planet was saved at the last moment from becoming a so-called 'paradise' at her hands."
"Connor?" Cordy had to ask.
"Who?" Wesley and Fred asked in unison, looking at each other briefly.
"He's still alive," Angel said, catching her eye and sending Cordy a subtle signal not to get into that right now. He was glad that she remembered and all, but now was so not the time to get into that subject! "But I'm afraid a lot of others weren't so lucky."
"Yeah, and you don't know the half of it, pal!" Whistler told his old 'acquaintance'. "Angel, pop quiz. Who do I work for?"
"The Powers That Be, of course," the vampire replied.
"That's right," Whistler nodded. "And who have you worked for, the last seven years or so?"
"The Powers That Be!" Angel said again, as he shared a look with Wesley. "What are you trying to say to me?"
Whistler stared hard at him, "Is that what you think? That you're a, a Champion for the Powers? That you're...special?"
"Well, yeah..."
Ignoring Angel's look of confusion, Whistler waved his hand, and an image appeared hovering in the room. It was an oval-shaped glimpse into the past, and while Fred just stared in confusion, Cordelia, Wesley and Angel quickly understood what the image represented.
The condo of Rupert Giles, or rather the former residence of the British man – since Sunnydale had been a giant crater for well over six months now.
"Special, right. Okay – listen up, champ, while I give everyone here a little history lesson. This is from back when your evil alter ego almost sucked the world into Hell," Whistler told Angel, as the image seemed to come alive like a floating TV set. "Remember that little fun episode? Because I do. And you wouldn't believe how much groveling I had to do, to try to make up for what my star protégé got up to back then!"
Angel looked embarrassed, as everyone watched a seventeen-year-old Buffy Summers grab their balance demon acquaintance by the neck. "I have had a REALLY bad day, okay? If you have information worth hearing, then I am grateful for it. If you're gonna crack jokes, then I'm gonna pull out your ribcage and wear it as a hat."
As she dropped him, Past Whistler felt his sore throat. "Hello to the imagery! Very nice." His tone got serious. "It wasn't supposed to go down like this." He walked around Past Buffy. "Nobody saw you coming. I figured this for Angel's big day. But I thought he was here to STOP Acathla, not to bring him forth!"
Looking back at her, he kept going. "Then you two made with the smoochies...now he's a creep again. Now, what are you gonna do? W-what are you prepared to do?"
Past Buffy sighed. "Whatever I have to."
Past Whistler shook his head. "Maybe I should ask, what are you prepared to give up?"
Past Buffy exhaled again, annoyed. "You don't have anything useful to tell me, do you?" She looked the guy over. "What are you, just some immortal demon sent down to even the score between good and evil?"
Past Whistler stared at her, surprised and impressed. "Wow. Good guess."
The floating images stopped and disappeared after that. "Acathla," Whistler told Angel firmly. "The real reason it was arranged for you to get your soul back, believe it or not, was that SOB stone demon. Your big, grand destiny was to stop Drusilla from sucking the world into Hell, that's it. But then you went and lost your soul! Ended up just another vampire."
Angel shook his head firmly, refusing to believe that. "I'm a Champion!"
"Yeah, well – call it whatever you want. I mean whatever floats your boat, pal," Whistler shrugged. "But once you hit your big creep-o phase, like I said to Little Miss Goldilocks back then...well. As far as the Powers were concerned? Soul or otherwise, you might just as well have stayed in Hell as escaped being sent there. But then Jasmine took over your so-called destiny, and brought you back to become her pawn."
"No," Angel told him stubbornly. "You're wrong. It was the First Evil who did that, in order to get me to kill myself and damn my own soul. Besides, there were prophecies, there were – I have to work for my shanshu, that was the deal! I work for the Powers as their Champion, and they make me human one day as my reward!"
"Really. Okay, then, here's a question for the studio audience – anyone here know what the cast of the A-Team is doing now?" Whistler asked.
"Ah, no..." Fred finally spoke up, not sure what to make of the abrupt change in subject.
"Right," Whistler told her. "And that's because no one cares, on account of their job is done and they faded away into the sunset...or night in your case, Stink Guy."
Before Angel could respond, Whistler went back to the main topic. "Your sidekick Doyle, he was tricked by Jasmine into thinking he...well, you know, that whole redemption thing he had going. So then you thought you finally started playing in the big leagues. Like Jasmine sending your little buddy visions about a girl you couldn't save, to get you pissed enough to go after that creep Russell Winters. And getting you there just in time to save the Prom Queen, here."
"What the hell are you talking about? I was never a prom queen! And why would saving me then be so damn important?" Cordelia demanded.
Whistler sighed dramatically, and even theatrically. "Okay, for the girl that was just in a coma? I'll say it once. The big evil plan was for you and Doyle to fall for one another, then when it's time for him to die for the cause and he plants a big wet one on ya...well, bottom line, that idiot didn't know that he was gonna transfer the visions to you."
"He didn't?" Cordy said, shocked and a little upset. "But I thought..."
"That he knew?" Whistler asked. "Nope, Vision Boy didn't know squat about that happening. He just gave his life for his friends; which earned him enough points to make up for letting those people who came to him for help die, and get into Heaven. Although personally, I say he shoulda let Angel here jump! Lotta people who are dead right now wouldn't be, in that scenario."
Angel again looked like he couldn't believe what he was hearing, but Whistler relentlessly kept going. "Anyway, then the big bad lawyers brought back good old Darla, then vamped her, and pretty soon the miracle baby shows up! Connor is born fully human, well – mostly. Then he goes away for a few weeks, and comes back all grown up with an attitude. Then he gets all jiggy with 'Mom' here..."
"What the hell are you talking about?!" Cordelia yelled, repeating herself from a minute ago.
"That's what I'd like to know," Wes looked completely lost, as did Fred. "Angel, who the – what on earth is this Whistler person referring to?"
"Yeesh, this is getting too annoying. All right..." Whistler conjured up an Orlon Window, the small cube glowing with yellow light in his right hand. "Can any of you guess what this is?"
"No, what is it?" Fred demanded, intrigued by the object.
"The end of Angel's little memory spell."
"No, don't!" the vampire leapt forward.
Too late. Whistler threw the Window to the ground, and once it shattered – the original memories of the past came rushing back to the British ex-Watcher and the Texan physicist (but no one else).
Both Wes and Fred literally staggered, trying to cope with the influx overload. The Englishman recovered first, his hand reaching for a scar that was no longer there. Wesley's eyes narrowed accusingly and he said to Angel, "Everything that's happened since last year. You...you altered...you made me think...you tried to murder me, while I was lying helpless in that hospital bed!"
Angel backed away, mourning the permanent loss of Wesley's friendship as well as the betrayed look on Fred's face. "Look, you guys, I had my reasons for doing what I did!"
"Reasons? Reasons? You, you raped our minds that way – without our knowledge or consent, Angel! So what if Connor was a complete mess? That didn't give you the right to do something like that to the rest of us! I mean, is this why we all decided to work for the big evil law firm? Because I don't know what to believe anymore!" Winifred Burkle looked traumatized and very upset, as Cordelia stared at Angel in horror.
"Cordelia, I'm glad you're out of the coma and all, but as far as I'm concerned – we're done here. So consider this me tendering my resignation, Mr. Angel!" Wesley shouted, as he backed away.
"Hold up, English. This story ain't over yet," Whistler advised, halting the British man in his tracks. "Stick around. The main event's still yet to come."
Wesley looked at the supernatural messenger boy, suspicious and cynical after the recent shocking revelations. "And that would be?"
"We'll get to that, soon enough. But I figure you might wanna do the whole moral support thing first, once the princess here learns how she popped little Connor's cherry."
"I did what?!" Cordelia demanded in disgusted disbelief.
"You turned that kid into a man," Whistler told her bluntly. "Hell of a way to lose your virginity, too, I gotta say."
"No!" Cordelia said firmly, as Wesley and Fred looked at her sadly. "That's insane, I would never...I mean, it's Connor! I was practically his mother...I changed his diapers, for God's sake!"
The floating ovoid-shaped portal appeared again, and showed younger versions of Cordelia and Connor looking out a window in some old building.
Past Connor looked upset as the rain of fire began. "What if it is? What if that thing is – it chose the place where I was born. Is that why it's here...because of me?"
Past Cordelia told him firmly, "No."
The male teen didn't appear so sure. He shook his head, "I was never supposed to happen. The child of two vampires. What if-"
"Connor, it's not you," Past Cordelia told him firmly.
Past Connor looked back at her. "You don't know that."
"Yes, I do. In my heart." She reached out and touched his face, brushing the hair from his eyes. "It's not you, baby. It's not you. Not you."
With the hand she used to brush hair from his face, the younger Cordelia pulled Connor's face closer and kissed him tenderly and passionately. When they separated, the eighteen-year-old boy looked at her in surprise. "Why...why did you-?"
"Because I don't think it matters anymore," Past Cordy told him softly. "I know how you feel about me, Connor. When I think about what you've..." She trailed off, before she caressed his face lovingly. "You never had a childhood, or a family or friends or anything that's real, and if this is the end, I want you to have something that is."
"Oh my freaking God!" the current version of Cordelia Chase screamed a few seconds later, and covered her mouth as she ran for the nearby bathroom. She had just witnessed the Miracle Child and herself – doing the deed. Bumping uglies. Riding the baloney pony. Playing bury the weasel. Petting the beaver. Stroking the mink. Buttering the muffin. Playing slap the kitty. Coitus. Shagging like bunnies, call it what you will –
Very loud sounds of retching and vomiting could then be heard, as the young woman reacted badly to the images she had just seen. Wesley and Fred looked like they wanted to join Cordelia as well.
"Well," Whistler grinned. "She took it better than I thought she would..."
"That's enough!" Angel shouted with an enraged expression, as the Messenger for the Powers shrugged and the images vanished. "Too much-"
"You don't like having to witness the woman you love gettin' knocked up by your son – or how you were too thick to realize it wasn't actually her in the driver's seat, back then?" Whistler asked cuttingly.
Angel couldn't say anything, thanks to the pain and anguish of those days hitting him all over again. Oddly, Wesley of all people decided to speak up to support his boss – or former boss, anyway. Wyndam-Pryce said, "He wasn't alone, you know. If I recall correctly, Jasmine duped all of us that way. And if you're planning to take the moral high ground, would you mind telling me why in God's name the Powers ever allowed matters to get that far?!"
Whistler squirmed, instantly losing the smirk. "Mine is not to ask why, Book Guy. I just work here, like I told the Slayer way back when."
Wesley could tell how that was a lie. But he didn't say anything, as Cordelia returned from the bathroom. The ex-Watcher could tell the Seer looked ill, like she'd swallowed something that really didn't agree with her.
The truth.
"How the hell did that happen?" Cordy asked the room in general.
"Y'all were possessed by Jasmine," Fred said simply, her Texan accent thickening from all the stress of recent events.
"Where is she?" Cordelia looked mad. "'Cause I swear, I want a piece of her ass!"
"Too late. Connor killed her over six months ago," Wesley replied with a haunted voice.
"Damn it!" Cordelia cursed, angry to be denied her vengeance. But after glancing backwards, she suddenly remembered her original question to Angel's Avengers. "Hey, but what about Xander? And what did you mean by 'pinch-hitter', Whistle-face?"
Whistler shook his head. "I think I'll let him explain it himself." He gestured again, and the oval-shaped portal sprang to life once more.
"What the devil are they saying?" Wesley frowned, as he and the others witnessed Xander in conversation with what appeared to be an African witch doctor. They were speaking in a foreign language – Swahili, maybe, or something like that.
"Oops, sorry..." Whistler looked apologetic as he reset the language control button, so to speak.
"-there can be no doubt about it. The woman will soon die in her sleep, but not before someone uses her image to manipulate the vampire and his associates," the witch doctor said calmly, looking at his bowl that contained animal bones, spit and a sample of Xander's blood.
"Can you give me more details on exactly what happens, after Cordy dies?" Past Xander asked, as the Fang Gang looked shocked.
"The earthly instruments of the Senior Partners shall all die in various ways. But in retaliation the Wolf, Ram and Hart will send an army to slay their killers. And the Seer will be rotting in her grave two months before that happens."
The conversation suddenly ceased, as Whistler gestured in alarm. "Damn, I never knew about that part of it..."
"I was supposed to die in my sleep?!" Cordelia let loose with a primal shriek. Then she turned to face Whistler, "You! Mr. Fashion Victim, I wanna know everything. And no tricks, no evasions. Or I'll do what Buffy said a few minutes ago, and pull out your damn ribcage!"
"Easy, easy!" Whistler instantly backed off. "Look, I don't know everything, okay? Seriously, that last part was just as big a surprise to me as it is to you!"
"Well, obviously, Cordelia didn't die while she was trapped in that damned coma. Therefore, logically, Mr. Harris did something to change that." Wesley's sharp mind didn't have to work too hard to make the obvious conclusion.
Whistler nodded, "That he did." He then turned to Cordelia. "You want details regarding your ex?"
"Bet your ass I do!"
"Fine. Well, he did this for you. After Harris left that witch doctor in Africa, he made his way to the Conduit-"
"The Conduit?!" Angel interrupted. "But he wouldn't be allowed to go in there, only a Champion is permitted to enter!"
"You mean – someone like you? Even though you know now that you were basically nothing but a puppet, for the past five or six years?" Whistler asked derisively, as Angel looked away. "I'll tell you something, though, that Harris guy really is a piece of work. If other humans were like him, this planet would be a helluva different place! Even though he's practically suicidal these days..."
"He's what?!" Cordelia instantly demanded.
Whistler just stared at the buxom beauty quizzically. "Harris was willing to die in order to save your life. Partly to make up for past mistakes, but partly because the way I figure he saw it, he had pretty much nothing left to lose any longer. On account of not only did everyone he trusted lie to him directly to his face, about you being in that coma? Not all that long ago, he was pushed real hard to take a job in Africa he didn't want, his witchy best friend stopped talking to him, and his Slayer pal started sleeping with someone he hated. It was almost as bad as when blondie was screwing that vampire called Spike, rather than bitch at her friends about her problems..."
"What?!" Cordelia said in disbelief for maybe the tenth time so far today, as Angel ground his teeth in anger.
"Spike knows this guy, too?" Fred asked in confusion.
"Yeah, I – hey! Since when do you know who Spike is, Fred?" Cordy whirled around.
The Burkle woman shrugged. "He comes in to my lab every so often to visit. Says hi to me and a few others over at the firm," she said.
Wesley nodded. "Although he's moved on lately. Trying out that whole 'helping the helpless' thing, rather than work with us at Wolfram & Hart..."
Then recent memories came crashing back, and the Englishman's expression changed as he contemplated that and what Angel had done. "Good luck to him, I suppose."
"Spike? Okay, are we talking about the same soulless Billy Idol wannabe I met years ago in Sunnydale?" Cordy demanded incredulously.
"Oh, no, he's got a soul nowadays," Fred was quick to defend her one-time ghostly friend, who had recently become corporeal once more.
"He does?" Cordelia wanted to be sure of that. "So, you mean, Spike's like Angel now?"
"No!" Angel said vehemently. "We are nothing alike!"
Cordelia shook her head again, figuring she didn't want to know anything more about that. She turned back to Whistler and said, "Keep going. You said something about a conduit?"
"Oh yeah. That thing banged Harris around something good, but kinda funny about a guy who thinks he's on a one-way street to Endsville – he don't give up easy, once he sets his mind on something. So, somehow, the man passed all the trials which the Conduit set up, in order to get what he wanted."
"Trials? What trials?" Wesley demanded, his interest engaged.
"Trial by fire and combat. But there was also another test regarding purity of spirit, or intent, or some such thing. Gotta admit, never thought he'd pass that one; but he did, and with flying colors even!" Whistler briefly looked amazed.
"Oh, come on! Xander has purity of spirit?" Angel couldn't believe it.
Whistler, Cordelia, Fred and even Wesley turned to stare at him. "As far as I know, unlike yourself – he's never willingly violated the minds of his friends," the British man said icily.
"Or deliberately let two vampires slaughter a bunch of evil lawyers in a basement," Cordelia said in a haunted tone of voice, which made Angel want to flinch.
"Or even risked letting your evil alter ego send the world to Hell. I'm guessing that's why he lied to the Summers chick back then, anyway. I mean, if that girl had learned that there was even a one in a million chance her witch pal would stuff that soul back down your throat? What do you think woulda happened that day with Acathla, wise guy?" Whistler said with an upraised eyebrow.
Angel couldn't seem to find anything to say, what with all the stares being sent at him. And for their part, Cordelia and Wesley silently wondered if they'd ever even known Xander at all.
So Whistler went on, "Anyway, Harris here was the first guy in maybe ten thousand years to earn himself a face-to-face with the Powers That Be. That's where we met, Up There – and man, but you shoulda heard him afterwards! I don't think my bosses were ever expecting anyone to show up and start yelling at 'em like that, but what the hell – the kid kept ranting that his ex had been used and abused in their name for nearly five years, and damn well didn't deserve what was gonna happen to her pretty soon. Talk about over-emotional, sheesh!"
Cordelia turned to face the comatose one-eyed man in question, tears starting to well up in her eyes. "What happened to him after that? Why is Xander like...this?"
Whistler shrugged. "The Powers told him that they couldn't just wake you up like he wanted. Despite everything you've gone through, kid, it simply doesn't work that way. So Harris here agreed to take your place. You know; the whole balance thing..."
Cordy was instantly horrified. "NO! Change it back, right now! I'm not going to let Xander die for me!"
"Cordy, no way!" Angel exclaimed at once. He told her in no uncertain terms, "You are not going back into that coma!"
"Are you serious?!" Cordelia shouted, her eyes becoming stormy and her face enraged as Angel instantly took a step backwards. "Oh, what am I saying – of course you are! You honestly prefer that Xander die in my place that way!"
"No, I-"
"No? Really? Because it's a win-win situation as far as you're concerned, isn't it? You get me back, and a guy who always hated you conveniently ends up dead! Oh, I swear, Angel – I am so totally pissed at you right now!"
"But I-"
"God! To think that Groo left me and I didn't even go after him that night, because I had some stupid-ass vision of myself saying that I was in love with you!" Cordelia ranted, not giving Angel any chance to defend himself.
"Wouldn't have worked out even if you did chase after your boyfriend, actually," Whistler interjected, before the vampire could say anything. "On account of that big lug wasn't the long-haul guy for you, and deep down, ya both knew it. I mean, geez – initially his idea of foreplay was to kill something and present it to you as some kinda trophy, remember?"
Cordelia blushed, calming down as everyone stared at her with various emotions in their eyes. Then she said firmly, "Getting back on topic?"
"Right, Harris. Well, as I said, he agreed to take your place. And you woke up-"
"Wake him up as well," Wesley interrupted firmly. "Despite our past differences, there is no way I'm going to allow that young man to undergo this...this travesty of justice!"
Whistler rolled his eyes. "Are you people deaf, or just not listening to me? Harris deliberately put himself in a coma. Deal with it! Luckily though, the way he worded his request to my bosses, the guy made sure he didn't end up with the cheerleader's brain damage – Little Miss Vengeance, Class of 880, she taught him well. So he'll wake up again one day – you just gotta wait it out, that's all."
"How long?" Fred walked over and appraised the one-eyed man, wondering which resources of her division she could best utilize to help him. "Ballpark figure, if you have to."
Again, the human-looking demon shrugged. "My opinion? A year, maybe. Or more. Or less, who knows? And some free advice for you. Be ready for a fight when Harris's so-called friends hear about this, and come charging over here to take him away from you people!"
"You mean Buffy and Willow, yes?" Wesley asked in confusion.
"And what's that 'so-called' thing supposed to mean? 'Cause I know for a fact that those two would be willing to die for him, and vice versa!" Cordelia added promptly.
"That was then, this is now," Whistler replied, his facial expression suggesting this was no longer a topic of conversation he wanted to continue. "Listen, Angel-"
"What are you trying to hide?" the vampire interrupted, staring at his old sponsor. "Whatever it is – you may as well cough up, Whistler. We'll eventually find out, anyway."
The balance demon snorted. "Fine, you asked for it. Like I said before, Harris didn't like it when he learned your slayer ex had hooked up with that chowderhead called the Immortal-"
"Buffy did what?!" Angel immediately roared, vamping out in fury as Wes instinctively grabbed Fred and shielded her with his body.
"Hey! Calm down, pal. You and her ended up splitsville ages ago, remember?" Whistler asked, as Cordelia got a funny look on her face from witnessing Angel's anger and jealousy. "Even if you and blondie were sucking face in that tomb, the night before Sunnyhell went the way of the dodo..."
The Messenger went on, "Anyway, there was one helluva of a nasty fight in Rome when Harris confronted Summers about that. So, eventually – after the guy made sure the kid sister was all right for her final year of high school, and even had a job ready for her with that friggin' Council if she wanted it – Captain One-Eye left blondie behind for good. And just my opinion, but his comment about her needing to see a shrink for dating that immortal ass-wipe? That mighta been better left unsaid..."
"Who's the Immortal, exactly? And, uh, the kid sister?" Fred asked timidly, as Wesley finally let her go.
"Dawn Summers. You remember; she was briefly at the hotel along with everyone else, after Sunnydale was destroyed that day," Wesley said, frowning. "Hmmm – she is turning eighteen soon at that, isn't she? My word, how the years have passed..."
"And the Immortal's the foulest evil Hell ever vomited forth," Angel spat in disgust, resuming his human mask and wondering how things had ever come to this.
"Well, he's not quite that bad. Because hey, you're still pissed over how he screwed them two vampire broads of yours back in the nineteenth century – concurrently," Whistler said with a slight curling of his lip. "Totally understandable."
Angel gritted his teeth. "I have to get back to the office, and contact Buffy. Try to explain what's happened. And figure out how to kill that guy, once and for all!"
"He's immortal, so never gonna happen. And I don't know why you're actin' like this, champ. You and that Slayer coulda been together all this time if you'd made the right choice back then, you forgotten that little tidbit?"
Wes and Fred looked lost yet again. "What do you mean by that?" Wyndam-Pryce asked Whistler.
It was Cordy who spoke up after figuring it out. "Back in 1999 – Angel was human for a day. And apparently he and Buffy ended up together, y'know, in the bedroom sort of way, after some stupid Mohair demon or whatever came around to our old office building. But then Angel did the whole Groundhog Day thing, when he decided it was more fun being a vampire or whatever, and the entire day's events vanished."
"Hey, it wasn't like that! Well, not exactly, I mean – the Oracles told me Buffy would die if I stayed human," Angel sounded annoyed as he said that.
"And you becoming a walking corpse again prevented that, how? That broad ended up six feet under anyway less than two years later, remember?" Whistler asked. "And just so you know, that was your only chance to be with her. Because the Powers are not gonna turn you human – ever."
{ No, no, no! That means...Spike is the ensouled vampire who eventually becomes human? } It was the final straw for the emotionally battered Angel. "Why?!"
"Number of reasons. But mostly 'cause deep down, you don't want to be human. You'll lose all the power, and end up just like Harris was during the Nineties. Weak and useless against the demons in a war zone – or at least that's what all the Slayers would say these days, anyway. Yeah, what was it you said to Coma Boy that day, princess? The Zeppo of the group?"
Cordelia scowled, upset about past mistakes but burying her feelings behind an angry mask for public show. "Is there actually a point to any of this?"
"Heck, yeah. Apart from telling you about Sleeping Beauty over there, there's another reason why I came down to this neck of the woods again. And what is that, you ask? It was to tell you, Angel, that not only will you never be made human, you lose your soul ever again – you'll end up dust at once, no more warnings or second chances. Angelus will not be allowed to roam loose for a fourth time."
The demon then vanished in the blink of an eye. "Damn it! I hate it when he does that," Angel complained, feeling pissed after hearing the Messenger's cautionary warning-slash-threat.
Wesley looked at him, then Cordelia, and then Fred. "Time for me to go as well." The British man left without another word. Fred quickly followed after him.
"Cordelia-" Angel started to say, looking at her hopefully.
"Angel, don't even," the young woman interrupted wearily. "I mean – were you seriously planning to ask me to hook up with you, after everything I've learned just now?"
"Cordelia-"
The Chase woman seemed determined not to let him finish a sentence today. "Yeah, that's what I thought. Look, Angel, despite everything, I do still love you...as a friend. But as something more? After you were perfectly willing for Xander to die in my place? After seeing you get so jealous of Buffy's new boyfriend? No. I'm sorry, but that stuff's not something I can simply ignore. Not to mention what you did with that mind-wipe spell."
"Cordelia-"
"I mean, you put whatever thoughts and memories you wanted inside everybody's heads? And without their informed consent? I get that you had your reasons for doing that – I know that you'd do anything for Connor, no matter what the cost – but still, that's not the actions of a Champion, pal. What you did – well, quite frankly, it makes me ashamed of you, mister!"
"Cordelia-"
"Plus, think about it; if we did get together that way, how long would it be before you lost your soul again? Not wanting to brag, of course, but I'm Cordelia Chase – so, pretty damn soon! That's why I can't, I'm sorry but I can't be party to that. You need to find someone else, I guess...someone who won't make you perfectly happy. Someone who's not me..."
Deciding that actions spoke louder than words, Angel ran over and kissed her, with all the passion he could muster. But after it was over...he knew just from looking into the brunette's eyes that it hadn't been enough, that he had lost Cordelia as an object of romantic affection.
"Cordelia..."
No response this time. Just a sad, disappointed look, which hurt more than all her previous words put together.
So looking utterly defeated, Angel too finally left the hospital room. Cordy subsequently wiped her mouth and drew the privacy curtain away to the side, opening up a clear view of the comatose Xander Harris. He looked like a shell, whose essence had left the building. Much like she herself must have looked up until an hour ago, the Seer thought glumly.
"Well, now what?" Cordelia asked herself, eyeing Xander's prone form briefly. "Where do we go from here, Dweeb Boy?"
TBC...