A/N : Good morning and evening to all of you out there in Fanfiction Land! Special shoutout to all you out there who left reviews, including angelplusbuffyequals4ever, David Fishwick, Keniaia, Hope, Lilly Emerald, Angellufy, teamtiva, Alexis Steele, ashes at midnight, philly cheese dude, and Megagalvatron12. You guys rock!
I don't think I've ever uploaded this many chapters in 1 month since I started writing this bad boy in 2003. Kinda proud of that. Well, guys, here's the latest chapter. The next update will probably come around early September or so (or then again, if inspired enough, I might have it up sooner, who knows?) Special thanks to the greatest beta writer south of the Equator, Starway Man, for the awesome edits. Please check out his work on his FF dot net page, you won't be disappointed!
I came up for some of the scenes thanks to the inspiration of two specific songs: Bring Me to Life, by Evanescence (of course) and "All the Things She Said," by T.a.T.u. back in 2003. Feels good to see them in print finally. I'd recommend listening to them sometime later to get the feel for what I was trying to do here.
And as always, feedback and reviews make for a happy Jean-theGuardian. So, sit back, get a soda and your favorite snack and enjoy the latest chapter of…
Bring Me To Life - A Buffy the Vampire Slayer / Angel Crossover Event
Part 21 - Wake Me Up Inside, Part 2
How can you see into my eyes
Like open doors?...
Leading you down into my core
Where I've become so numb
Without a soul
My spirits sleeping somewhere cold
Until you find it there and lead it back home...
(Wake me up!)
Wake me up inside
(I can't wake up!)
Wake me up inside
(Save me!)
Call my name and save me from the dark
(Wake me up!)
Bid my blood to run
(I can't wake up!)
Before I come undone
(Save me!)
Save me from the nothing I've become
- Bring Me To Life, Evanescence
Hyperion Hotel - Main Lobby
Fifteen minutes earlier
It had been a quiet half-hour or so since the Hypnos dream spell had been cast, leaving the assembled Scooby Gang and Fang Gang members anxious as they awaited the outcome of the ancient and primal magicks.
While Lorne had popped into the kitchen to help Andrew with the food he was preparing for the hungry crew, Gunn and Fred sat quietly in the corner, watching the comatose trio of Buffy, Cordelia and Darla slumber in the mystical hold of the spell, while Willow floated cross-legged in an almost fugue state, channeling the mystical forces connecting their minds together.
Xander, Giles, Oz, Kennedy, Whistler and Anya were standing close to Gunn and Fred as they also watched the effects of the spell, transfixed with the scene before them; while Wesley and Lindsey guardedly monitored the four entranced women.
After several minutes of reading the Bisylline Codex, Lindsey let out a terse sigh. "I can hear you glaring at me all the way from here," the ex-lawyer said off-handedly to Wesley, without looking up from his reading.
As his hard blue eyes appraised the man, Wesley replied in a similar nonchalant manner. "Just making sure someone is keeping an eye on you."
"Is that your way of saying you want to help?" Lindsey smirked, as he looked up into the cool expression of the ex-Watcher. "Fine, then. Three glazed, three jellies, and I like my coffee with two lumps of sugar. Think you can handle that, or are you gonna mess it up just like you did kidnapping Angel's brat?"
"It would be in your best interests not to piss me off, McDonald," Wesley retorted coldly. "Or else an order for pastries isn't the only thing that will be messed up around here."
Lindsey only chuckled. "You got a lot to learn about making threats, you know that?"
"Who said it was a threat?" Wesley coolly answered. "Tell me this...what's your game, McDonald?"
"Depends on the night of the week," Lindsey replied cheekily. "Strip poker, darts, solitaire…that last one you'd probably know quite a bit about, I'm guessing? You know, on account of how you don't have friends anymore?"
Ignoring the brief stab of pain those words caused him, Wesley kept his rugged features impassive. "Well, then, given that a power-hungry bootlicker like yourself is always in short supply of friends, perhaps you can tell me how to cope one day."
"Easy. I drink," Lindsey shrugged, unfazed, as he turned the pages of the Codex.
"Been there, got over that," Wesley said, before returning to his original question. "Now why are you here? The local branch of Wolfram and Hart is currently out of business, and you have allegiances to no one here, least of all, Angel. Yet, here you are. Why?"
"For starters, Crumpet Boy, an apocalypse would have a direct impact on me, seeing as how this is my planet and all."
"That never stopped you from siding with Wolfram & Hart in the past, did it?"
Lindsey chuckled bitterly. "Oh, boy. Here we go again. You guys ever learn a new song, huh? I thought you people at Angel Investigations were all about redemption and saving souls."
"No, that's Angel's thing, I'm afraid. And even if it wasn't, don't think I've forgotten how we've had this conversation before. I seem to recall it being around the time you sold your soul to the Senior Partners, after that nasty business with those three blind children," Wesley coldly replied. "Myself, I'm currently in the business of fighting evil, whether it wears a thousand-dollar suit, or it possesses horns and fangs."
"First off, my suits cost $4,000 each. Custom made," Lindsey countered. "And second, we all make mistakes, Monarchy Boy. Try putting yourself in my shoes for a second. Growing up dirt-poor with a stay-at-home mom and a dad whose fifth-grade education only qualified him to be a traveling farm hand in whatever Podunk town he could find work in, bouncing around from place to place in the Dust Bowl with six brothers and sisters, which come flu season, got whittled down to four? Left to fend for yourself after a tractor accident kills your dad on your sixteenth birthday? Burying yourself in the books to make something of yourself, while getting picked on at school because everyone knows you can't even afford to have a toilet in your home?
"And then some guy in a suit shows up one day when you're in your sophomore year at college, and tells you that if you sign on with his big fancy law firm, you'll never have to worry about being poor again? That you can send money to the rest of the family, and keep 'em comfortable for the rest of their lives? What the hell would you have done?" Lindsey demanded angrily.
"I would have asked Holland Manners - that is you recruited you, yes? - what the catch was," Wesley replied. "Because there's always a catch…as you discovered."
"Touché," Lindsey smirked, before looking back to the spell book in his hands. "But I did what I had to do at the time, to stay alive and keep my family alive. Would I do it all over again, if someone gave me the chance? I don't know. But when the people you love need your help, morals don't pay for food, shelter or medicine. Money does. And Wolfram & Hart had plenty of that to burn."
"And all it cost you was your soul," Wesley said simply.
"As I said, Pryce, I wouldn't expect you to understand," Lindsey said, thumbing through the ancient pages again. "Not with your background."
After a beat, Wesley asked, "Do you miss your family?"
The question clearly caught Lindsey off-guard, the handsome ex-lawyer looking up in surprise at Wesley, who sat back patiently waiting for a response.
After a moment of careful thought, Lindsey smiled. "Not in the sense you mean. Hey, I love my brother Earl to death - he always loved to kid around with me; even when I was pissed, even when I didn't want to talk to anybody. He owns a candy shop I manage for him during weekdays now, I see him all the time. And Lisa, my younger sister? Pretty little thing, blonde hair, blue eyes, great tan and a big heart…my brothers and I used to have to sit on the damn porch with a shotgun, to keep the boys from swarming all over her during high school."
Lindsey abruptly chuckled with mirth at the memories. "That's part of the reason why I became such a good shot."
Wesley frowned as he realized something. "You said you were one of four siblings. You mentioned two…what about the third one?"
Lindsey's smile immediately vanished, his eyes turning cold again as he looked away. "He's not our family's problem anymore. And thank God for that."
Wesley raised an eyebrow at that comment, but said nothing further. Besides, he wasn't sure just how much more he wanted to know about his apparently former enemy, and current romantic rival.
At that thought, Wesley's eyes softened as he turned to look at Darla, who looked angelic as she slept under the mystical spell. Like a Sleeping Beauty that was awaiting the right prince to awaken her with a kiss.
"Beautiful, isn't she?" Lindsey's voice broke his reverie.
Wesley couldn't help but to narrow his eyes at the man, as he returned his gaze to Darla briefly. "Yes. She is," he mused softly.
"In the Odyssey, Helen of Troy's beauty was enough to launch a thousand ships - even though according to Wolfram & Hart's records, it was actually more like a hundred. But whatever - it figures that beauty would be enough to make a guy do the wacky. Like wage war. Kill his best friend," Lindsey said, pensively, before smirking. "Or, you know, drive to the other side of the damn country with a practically mute werewolf and a balance demon who knows more ways to sing '99 bottles of beer' than should legally be allowed."
"So, is that all you care about?" Wesley asked, his voice thick with a slightly accusing edge. "Another chance to make her love you?"
"I never claimed otherwise, did I?" Lindsey replied, his eyes still on Darla. "Darla's not the only reason why I'm here…but I'd be lying if I said she had nothin' to do with it. Never figured I'd have you as competition, though." At that, he looked at Wesley poignantly.
"This isn't a race," Wesley muttered distastefully.
"No. But it is going to be a fight," Lindsey said, sizing up the Englishman. "That's what you can expect from me, if you're fancying the idea of making a play for my girl."
"From the way she so affectionately punched you in the face, I'd say Darla wouldn't appreciate being referred to 'your girl,'" Wesley replied smoothly as he leveled his steely blue-eyed gaze at the former lawyer. "But if it's a fight you want, I'd be only too happy to oblige you. After we save the world. Not before." He looked briefly to his old friends, Gunn, Fred and Lorne, a spark of longing briefly igniting in his eyes before he returned his gaze to Darla. "Hearts just get in the way."
"You keep thinking that, Wes old boy," Lindsey crowed confidently. "That's exactly the kinda talk I need to win Darla's heart. Just keep doin' what you're doin'. That's good stuff, man."
"They look so peaceful, don't they?" Fred said, musingly, as she watched from the other side of the room.
Anya snorted, more than a little bitterly. "Yeah. Hard to tell that they've already got one foot in the grave. Almost literally."
"Ahn!" Xander scolded her.
"Anya, please," Giles said in a sigh that was half a warning and half in simple exhaustion. It had been a long day and night, and while Giles's spirit was willing, his aging flesh was not what it used to be. He was counting the seconds until this dreadful spell was over, and two of the people that he loved like family - Buffy and Willow - were safe and sound again.
"Yeah, yeah, I know, Giles, the tact thing," Anya waved him off, knowing that she was about to get chastised for her comment and honestly not wanting to hear it.
"We have to keep our spirits up," Giles said, addressing the others softly. "We're still a long way from being out of the woods."
"We'll get there. Just takes time," Oz said simply.
Fred turned to the werewolf and offered him a smile. "I don't suppose you learned how to speed any of that up during your travels, did you?"
"Not unless it's by driving a turbo-powered van, I didn't," Oz said with a half-smile.
Gunn gave Oz an intrigued look, his curiosity piqued. "I know a thing or two about custom rides myself, with my truck all geared up for vamp killing. Maybe when this is over, I can take it for a spin?"
"When this is over, I'm thinking extra-large pepperoni pizza and enough Cherry Coke to fill me up for three days," Oz smirked, which drew a small, brief but much-needed round of chuckles from the group - all save Kennedy, who was eyeing Oz with noticeable disdain.
Off his werewolf friend's words, Xander's stomach suddenly growled loudly, reminding him that it had been hours since he had last eaten.
"Speaking of which, where's Andrew with the grub already?" Harris asked.
"Right here!" the nerd's squeaky voice rang out as he came out of the kitchen with a tray of assorted finger sandwiches for the crew, Lorne following with several cups of coffee.
"Sorry we don't have anything less jitters-causing for the old nerves, people, but I figured that a little caffeine at this hour would be a lot more helpful than, say, a cup of tea," Lorne said apologetically as he passed the tray of coffee around for the heroes.
"I'll say," Gunn grumbled. "Me? I'm running on a sandwich I had yesterday, and about three cans of Red Bull."
Fred glanced sympathetically at her former boyfriend. It had been a very trying time for the Angel Investigations team over the last few months, and even though things were supposed to get easier with time, it seemed to her that with each passing day, the horrors were only getting worse.
From Holtz's appearance last year to Connor's disappearance and return, Angel and Cordy disappearing for the entire summer, the Beast and the Rain of Fire, the Permanent Midnight, the return of Angelus, the truth about Cordelia's possession…it was like a Ferris wheel of fire and death that was gaining speed with every turn, and there was no stopping it.
"I guess breaks aren't plentiful when fighting the forces of darkness," Fred murmured.
"Sadly, no," Giles sighed. "But we have to have faith that the worst of it is almost over."
"So…Giles, isn't it?" Gunn said, turning his attention to the older man. "Wes said that your Buffy's Watcher, right? The guy who trained her right from the get-go?"
"You could say that," Giles nodded with a slight smile, as a tidal wave of memories suddenly tumbled through his head.
Meeting a bright-eyed, still-inexperienced Buffy on her first day at Sunnydale High School during her sophomore year. The late night training sessions, patrolling cemeteries, endless hours of hearing how much she wanted a normal life, an ill-tempered Giles learning the value of patience that came with training a sarcastic Valley Girl unwilling to accept her destiny…a girl that he would eventually come to love as his own daughter as she slowly blossomed into a beautiful young woman, and possibly the greatest Slayer in history.
"So, level with me. Can your girl really make this right? Can she really save Cordy?" asked a still-skeptical Gunn.
Giles gazed fondly to the still-slumbering Slayer. "Rest assured, young man. She won't stop until she does."
Inside Cordelia's Mind
Now
Buffy's sword - a mental construct she had learned to materialize - viciously slashed across the throat of a shambling zombie, one of several swarms of zombies that had appeared in the last few minutes to attack both her and Darla.
"I." Slash. "Hate." Slash. "Undead." Slash. "Stupid." Slash. "Stinking." Slash. "Nasty." Slash. "Zombies!" the Slayer yelled furiously.
As Darla beheaded an approaching zombie to her right, she could only grunt, "I'm going to have to agree with you on that."
Time passes differently, depending where you are. While only an hour had passed since the spell had been cast within the Hyperion, in the astral plane, it had been more like seventy-two hours. For the last three days, the blonde Slayer and the ex-vampiress had been traveling this mindscape, searching high and low for the soul of Cordelia Chase. At least, it had felt like three days to them, though it was hard to tell in this horrible place.
It had been a trying seventy-two hours, with both women having to struggle with their own inner demons while fending off the numerous attacks created by the Beastmaster. So, to say that it had been a trying time for the two heroines was a gross understatement. But in the process, they had developed an understanding of each other, and of themselves in the process.
(A/N: I'll have details on that in a separate companion piece I plan to write later, regarding their three days traveling together.)
Buffy just hoped that would be enough to help them defeat the Beastmaster and save Cordelia, in the end.
Five minutes later, after dispatching the last of the zombies, Buffy tiredly slouched against a nearby boulder, taking a moment to catch her breath. As said, it had been nearly an endless effort during the last several days to beat back the enemy tide, and frankly, her patience was starting to wear thin.
Huffing, she took a look at Darla, who wiped a bead of sweat off her brow. "Please, for the love of God, tell me that this is the place already."
Taking a moment, Darla let her senses extend, guided by the mystical force left over from her re-corporealization by the Beastmaster.
"Just over that cliff, I think," Darla said, as she opened her eyes, motioning towards a cliff slightly over the horizon.
Groaning, Buffy shuffled to her feet. "Great. Just what I need, more walking. 'Cause Lord knows I haven't done enough of that in the last few days."
"Just a little further, I promise you," Darla said patiently, as the two blondes made their way up and over the cliff…
…where they found a large and barren patch of desolate land.
Irritated, Buffy groused, "What? This is it? Three days of searching and fighting, and we come to this backdrop of nothing? Wow, talk about winning the booby prize! Only we're the ones who look like boobs." She frowned. "Um…that didn't come out right."
Darla chuckled at the Slayer's frustration. "You really can't see it, can you?"
"See what?" Buffy snapped, getting tired of all the mystery.
"I'm disappointed in you, Buffy," Darla said as she regarded the empty space with interest. "You of all people should know by now that there's always more to things than meet the eye."
Suddenly, Darla's eyes began to glow white. With a wave of her hand, the air around the space began to ripple, like water in a lake after a stone had skipped over it. It was then that the façade and the magical barrier around the vacant space began to give way…finally revealing a slumbering Cordelia Chase, encased in amber.
Buffy's eyes widened. Finally!
"Cordelia," she breathed, surprised.
Darla exhaled a sigh of satisfaction. At last, the nightmare was nearly over.
Puzzled by the strange amber encasing and trapping the brunette seer inside, Buffy looked to Darla for answers. "What the hell is that thing she's trapped in? And why is she taking a nap?"
"In reverse order, probably a spell of some sort - and that's most likely some sort of...mystical cage, that the Power and the Beastmaster are using to ensure that the real Cordelia can't pose a problem for them," Darla mused. "It's most likely something conjured by a spell, or a -"
"Blah, blah, blah, getting bored already," Buffy huffed as she marched towards the amber cocoon holding Cordy prisoner, her trusty right hand balled into a powerful fist. "All I know is, it looks breakable to me."
"No, wait!" Darla shouted in warning, but it was too late as Buffy's fist connected with a solid blow to the amber casing…
…only for the Slayer to be sent flying backwards and sliding across the floor, thanks to a powerful bolt of energy that blasted out from the cocoon.
Dazed, Buffy groaned as she shook off the cobwebs thanks to that unexpected backlash. "What…the hell…was that?"
Shaking her head, Darla helped the Slayer to her feet. "I tried to warn you. There's some seriously powerful warding magic surrounding that thing, holding your friend prisoner. Physical force is useless in trying to free Cordelia, unfortunately."
"Now you tell me," Buffy groused.
A shrill laughter suddenly surrounded them. A hauntingly familiar sound that had been plaguing them over the last three days in this horrible place.
"Typical Slayer. Always thinking they can solve their problems with their fists instead of their tiny little brains," the voice of the Beastmaster taunted them. "No wonder you Lycra-covered, stick-wielding bimbos die so young. Of course, you'd know that better than anyone - wouldn't you, Miss Soulless-Vampire-Humps-A-Lot?"
Buffy's pretty face twisted into a grimace, her stance becoming immediately combative as she and Darla readily held up their weapons. "I can think of at least one problem my fists - and my feet - can solve. So why don't you come on out, and let me show you how?"
"You still don't get it, do you, Bleach Blonde Barbie?" the voice taunted as the air in front of them began to ripple, revealing the Beastmaster; once again in the form of Cordelia Chase. "You've already lost, the second you and Pretty Woman over there waltzed into my realm."
Darla stiffened at the crack, no doubt a reference to her less virtuous days as a prostitute, but said nothing.
"You may as well cut the bullshit, Queen Beeyotch. That 'I am God here' crap you were spouting three days ago is just that - crap," Buffy spat, having had enough of this thing's mind games. "You know what we're here for, and that we can hurt you now that we know the rules of this little game. So let Cordelia out of her cage. Now, if you still want your head attached to your body!"
"Is that any way to talk to your host these last few days?" 'Cordelia' smirked. "Gotta give you gals credit for making it this far; I bet twenty bucks that you wouldn't have lasted a day in here. But what's with the cranky faces? I mean, here I thought you two were having fun, playing our little contest of wills..."
"The game's over," Darla said threateningly, glaring at the enemy as she readied her sword.
"What she said," Buffy added, her eyes narrowed in a warrior's death gaze, her blade ready to cut this bitch in half.
"Oh, no, no, ladies," the Beastmaster smiled evilly, her hands crackling with red energy as she readied for a final showdown. "Because the fun hasn't even star -"
"Enough!" another female voice boomed from the skies above them, drawing the attention of all three soon-to-be combatants.
"This has gone on for long enough," the voice continued.
Buffy noted how the Beastmaster suddenly looked worried, as she - it - whatever, talked to the disembodied voice. "Uh…M-mistress, I don't think this is a good -"
"I did not ask for your counsel on this. Nor will I," the voice coldly replied, as the air once again began to ripple, but this time alongside the Beastmaster. "It is time - long past time - to clear up this little…misunderstanding."
Buffy took in a deep breath. This was it. This was the Big Bad that had been making Angel's life a living hell, and allegedly, responsible for all the horrors in her own life as well, from the moment she'd been Called. And it was about to make its presence felt.
"Ready to rock?" the determined Slayer murmured to her traveling partner.
A steely look overtook the ex-vampiress's eyes. "And roll."
The air roiled as a humanoid form began to take shape …one that morphed into a tall, beautiful, African-American woman.
To say that Buffy was taken aback was a gross understatement. She'd been expecting horns, fangs, tentacles, anything of the usual ugly monster variety…instead, she found herself in the presence of a woman whose beauty put her own to shame, someone whose presence was…awe-inspiring.
Darla, looking surprised herself, was also staring at the woman in shock. This…was not what she'd been expecting.
"Buffy. Darla," the black woman greeted them warmly, a serene smile on her face. "I bid you welcome."
Something was pulling at the iron will of the Slayer, something powerful. Buffy could feel the anger, the fight in her spirit begin to wither, slowly leaving her body with each passing second.
Despite her own anger, something was also beginning to cloud Darla's senses. Slowly, steadily overriding her will. She could feel it.
"Who…what are you?" Buffy asked, in a sort of daze.
"I believe your research indicated a second being present within my soon-to-be mother's body," the woman shrugged, still smiling a dazzling grin. "I am she. And as for what I am, let's just say I'm no stranger to this world. Well, the mortal plane beyond Cordelia's mind."
"You've been here before?" Darla asked softly, feeling as if something heavy was being drained out of her.
The black woman smiled knowingly at the Beastmaster - who merely rolled her eyes in annoyance - before she elaborated, "Yes. In the beginning, before the time of man, great beings walked the earth. Untold power emanated from all quarters - the seeds of what would come to be known as good and evil.
"But the shadows stretched and became darkness, and the malevolent among us grew stronger. The Earth became a demon realm. Those of us who had the will to resist left this place…but we remained ever-watchful," she finished with a flourish.
"You are a Power That Be," Buffy breathed in astonishment, before frowning. "Um…Power that…is? Was? Is that the right verb? I wouldn't want to offend -"
The woman laughed; and it was a melodious enchanting sound, so unlike the Beastmaster's cold cackling. "You could not offend me, Buffy, even if you tried. I've been watching you for a long time, my dear. Your struggles, your pain, and suffering. You've lost so much, even your own life - and yet you still fight on for those who need your strength and courage most of all. I am honored by your presence."
"Yeah, it's a real treat," the Beastmaster muttered in disgust, which earned her a withering glare from the Power.
"So, what were you saying before? After you and the rest of the Powers left Earth...?" Darla asked, slowly, trying to fight the fog creeping over her mind.
"We watched, and acted through our messengers when we could. We had all but given up hope that this realm could ever be made whole again," the black woman continued. "That the darkness which had consumed it would rule over it for all eternity. But then…something new emerged from deep inside the earth - neither demon, nor god."
"Man," Buffy realized, to which the woman nodded.
"And it seemed, for a time, that through this new race, a balance might be restored," the fallen Power said. "Alas, but that became more…complicated than we anticipated. Humans are wonderfully complex creatures, capable of great emotion, great…will," the woman finished that sentence with a slight frown. "But sometimes, that will has led you all down the wrong path. A path riddled with violence, famine, hunger, disease, death and suffering…it was we who failed you. We became little more than observers. Eventually, I could no longer bear to just watch all the suffering. I had to find a way back. But first, I needed a miracle -"
Suddenly, the dazed look of awe on the faces of both women abruptly vanished, a hardened glare resurfacing on the face of the Slayer and a righteous look of anger on the beautiful face of Darla.
"Yeah, yeah, we're clear on that part of it, Oh Wise One," Buffy snapped, in her trademark flippant tone. "Now, you be a good little so-called goddess, and tell us how to stop it. How to get Cordelia free of that cage she's in, before we kick your so-called divine ass!"
This clearly surprised the woman and the Beastmaster, who drew back in shock. "How?" the Power asked, astonished. "How did you -?"
"How did we break your almighty mystical thrall crap?" Buffy smiled wickedly. "We had a little help."
"Ever heard of the Orb of Makai?" Darla elaborated, smirking.
As the Beastmaster started cussing angrily, the female Power's face fell as she silently cursed the other Powers for granting Makai godhood eons ago - a move that she had opposed, by the way. "That damned Quilloc demon. I always knew he was going to be trouble."
"I told you we should have just killed them and been done with it," the Beastmaster groused.
"Be silent," the Power commanded her, and 'Cordelia' instantly shut up.
"Yeah, hate to break up this fun dissension among the evil ranks and all, but I'm kinda on a schedule here," Buffy snapped, her grip around her sword tightening. "Now, are you going to get my friend out of that cocoon right this second, or am I going to have to go postal on both of you?"
"Personally, I'm hoping for the second option," a scowling Darla said as she glared daggers at the Beastmaster. "I've got a score to settle with that one."
The grinning 'Cordelia' drew a large knife from behind her. "Looking forward to it, bitch."
"Wait…please," the Power pleaded, holding up her hands in a placating gesture. "There isn't any need for violence. We're all fighting for the same thing. We're on the same side -"
Buffy instantly shook her head. "Lady, I don't know what team you and Faux-delia over there are playing for, but it sure as hell isn't mine! My team wouldn't kill people or try to destroy the world." She paused, reconsidering that statement. "Well, not unless they're soulless. Or possessed by an evil goddess. Or werewolves. Or hopped up on dark magicks. Or they're some mystical ball of energy that can open dimensional gateways with the right ritual..."
"Whatever, they get the idea," Darla sighed, sending Buffy an annoyed look.
"Buffy, think about it," the renegade Power threw pleading dark eyes at the blonde Slayer. "For nearly eight years, your entire life has been dominated by the war against Evil. As have the lives of your friends. It's taken its toll on all your souls, and you can't tell me otherwise. It's taken time away from enjoying the wonders and treasures that life has to offer, forced you to grow up too fast and suffer through so much. And Angel, think of him! Think of how much he's suffered trying to atone for the sins of his past. Think of how his friends have also suffered tragedies too heavy for anyone to handle.
"I'm offering you a way out from all that, Buffy," the Power continued, her pleas becoming more passionate. "My birth will finally usher in a new age for mankind. Just by my presence alone, it'll become a world without violence. Without hate. Or evil. Or fear. A better world…one where people can be safe and free, they can laugh, live and love as it was always intended. A world where your sister Dawn can grow up safe and sound, and she'll be able to receive everything this life has to offer her. A world filled with limitless potential, boundless opportunities, where you and your friends can be safe…a world where you can do what you want to do, be what you want to be." She met Buffy's eyes poignantly. "Love who you want to love, without consequence or pain. Isn't all that worth the life of one person?"
God help her, but at that moment, Buffy Anne Summers was tempted. Oh, was she ever tempted. She was Adam (the Biblical one, not that freak cyber-demonoid or whatever) and Eve was holding out a sweet, delicious-looking apple to her.
The Slayer could feel the power that this creature was emanating, knew that she could most likely make good on all her promises.
And truth be told, Buffy was tired of fighting. She had been for a very long time, even before her death and resurrection by Willow.
This life…this hard, cruel life, was too hard sometimes. It had taken her mother, and friends like Merrick, and Jenny and Theresa and Tara and Kendra. It had destroyed her chance to love…Riley and Pike and Scott Hope…even Spike and…Angel. It had separated her from the man she had loved for years, their longing hearts separated by duty and ancient curses and cruel twists of fate.
And Dawn, she had already been through so much; too much for someone so young.
All because of The Mission. Her mission. Her war. The never-ending battle.
And now, this goddess, this Power, was offering her a way out from all that. If Buffy did this, if she gave in and allowed the Power and its plans to come to fruition…this world she spoke of, this perfect world…wouldn't need a Slayer anymore. She could finally be free of the burden and the responsibility of her calling in a world without evil, or evil demons.
Her friends - Willow, Xander, Giles, Anya, Spike and Oz, heck, even Faith - could find happiness and safety. As could Wesley, Gunn, Fred, Lorne and Connor…and Dawn, sweet little Dawn, she could be free to see the whole world, and experience everything.
And Angel…if this Power could remove the perfect happiness clause from his curse - and Buffy suspected that she truly could - then she and Angel could finally be together, without the fear of unleashing the evil thing within him. A perfect world meant that Angel wouldn't have to worry about fighting evil to atone for his bloody past anymore, because all evil would have been wiped out.
No more fighting, no more killing, no more suffering and pain and sacred duties or destinies…it would just be her and Angel. And his deep, sad eyes. That chiseled body. His perfect face. All of his caring and understanding. All of the love and attention and tenderness of the only one who truly understood what she went through to keep the world safe every night, because he went through the same thing. All of it and even more untold possibilities could be hers…
…and all it would cost her was the life of a brunette woman that, quite frankly, she'd never been particularly close to.
A woman who, apparently, had been moving in to claim the heart of her former lover before her ascension to the higher realms.
A woman who'd frequently insulted her and helped ruin her reputation back in high school, who had been so mean to Buffy's friends before she became a Scooby herself- only to show her true colors again, after the break-up with Xander - and put down everyone around her as they were growing up in Hellmouth High.
Some might argue that by doing this, Cordelia's final fate, while unfortunate and cruel, would be serving some purpose, some higher meaning in bringing about a better world…even if it was one without her in it.
Darla looked warily at the Slayer, noting how she was mulling over this creature's proposal. "Buffy. You can't seriously be considering this, can you? After everything this thing has done, all the people it's killed? What it tried to do to Connor and your sister? What it will do to your friend if it's born?"
Buffy eyed the sword in her hand for a moment, before turning back to Darla. "You have to admit, a lot of what she says makes sense."
A wide-eyed Darla began to protest, "Buffy -"
"Just hear me out, Darla," Buffy cut her off softly. "Evil doesn't stop coming, we both know that. It never does, and never will. I'll say this for the forces of darkness - those guys are a lot of things, but being lazy or quitters aren't among them."
A sigh. "God knows I've lost track how many times I've wished for all of this to just…stop. To have it so that my skipping patrol for one night in order to go to a concert, hang out with my friends, dance at a club, go on a date, even work a real job…wouldn't mean that some vamp or demon from the 8th level of hell that I could have stopped, wound up killing some old lady or a father or an eight-year-old kid or the guy who rings me up every morning at Starbucks. I wake up the next morning and, poof - no more evil. No more slaying. No more senseless, stupid death. I could be…free. This Power, this…"
Buffy looked at the Power again, musingly. "I'm sorry, what do I call you?"
The woman mused for a moment. "I have no name of my own, but if I had to choose, it would be the name of the flower whose scent Cordelia spent many nights enjoying in the front garden of the hotel…jasmine, I believe you call it."
"Jasmine," Buffy said the name slowly, as if trying it out. "Okay, if…Jasmine, here, can really do all of this…then that really would be a better world. Not just for me, but for everyone. Angel, my sister, Spike, my friends…everyone. It might even be the best thing for me to do. The smart choice."
The Beastmaster and 'Jasmine' exchanged pleased glances with each other, thinking that the Slayer had come around to their line of thinking.
Suddenly, Buffy's pensive eyes hardened again. "But unfortunately, here's the downside. Doing that would mean that Cordy dies."
The Chosen One motioned towards the sleeping woman in the amber, rock-like casing. "I'll be honest with you, Darla. The Cordelia Chase I knew was a snob, a bitch and pretty much the nastiest girl in Sunnydale. She was the only person I ever met who could turn her nose up at you, while her eyes looked down on you at the same time. She was rude, vain and she liked clothes and shoes a lot more than she liked people, more often than not. Sometimes…I just really wanted to knock her teeth down her throat.
"And yet, here's the thing...when the chips were down and when it counted most, she was there for me. Cordy might have complained about it - before, during and after - but she was still there to help. Not because it suited her, not because she had no other choice…well, I hope not, anyway…but because it was the right thing to do. Because that's what a real friend does. And there's no way I could ever turn my back on someone like that, not when she's watched my back with everything she had."
The Chosen One turned those determined blue-green eyes of hers to Jasmine. "And if your so-called perfect world means a dead Cordelia Chase when I could have saved her, then by definition, it's not a perfect world. It's a world that I want no part of, not even in the slightest. So, I'll say it again one more time and then, I'm going to get really pissy." Buffy held up her deadly sword, for emphasis. "Let. Her. Go."
Jasmine looked at her sadly. "I can't change your mind?"
"Not a chance in hell, Jasmine," Buffy said, steadfastly.
Smiling in relief, Darla then scowled at the two 'women' before them. "What she said."
For a moment, Jasmine closed her dark brown eyes, looking regretful…before she opened them again, a green, sinister gleam overtaking them.
"A pity."
In moments, another horde of zombie creatures sprouted out of the ground all around the two heroines. Within moments, the undead monstrosities had surrounded them.
"Zombies. Of course, it had to be zombies again," Buffy lamented before scowling at her two enemies. "Pick a new damn theme, already!"
"Well, funny thing. But 'Night of the Living Dead' was Cordelia's favorite horror flick...something your dork pal Xander got her hooked on back when they were dating," 'Cordelia' smirked.
Xander, when I get out of here, your ass is SO getting kicked for this! an irritated Buffy thought to herself as she prepared to face yet another round of zombies.
Jasmine shook her head, disappointed. "I tried to do this the easy way, Buffy. I tried to offer you my hand in friendship…and you slapped it away, instead. It's a shame, truly. You would have been a worthy ally. But, if I have to use your blood as the mortar on which to build the perfect world...I will."
"We won't let you win," Darla promised fiercely, as she and Buffy started fighting the zombies.
'Cordelia' laughed malevolently, as she looked on at the peril both the Slayer and Darla faced. "Still holding out hope against the inevitable, eh? Don't you get it yet? You can't win this fight! Not here. Not while we still hold all the cards."
Buffy wasn't fazed. She knew that the others were still out there in the real world, ready to work a Plan B if necessary. As she slashed and hacked and stabbed at the zombies, she called out, "All the cards, huh? Guess you forgot that my friends still have you chained up at the hotel. And your powers are useless out there, as long as those chains are still intact."
"And that would be a problem…if those chains were strong enough to hold a Power That Was," Jasmine smirked, her eyes flashing an even brighter jade hue. "But with a little amplification of my power from the inside out…let's see what we can't do to make your friends a little more...uncomfortable, shall we?"
Within the Hyperion Hotel
The same time
Walking through the upstairs corridors of the hotel, Robin Wood had recently finished a bed check on all the Potential Slayers. Luckily, all the girls were present and accounted for, as well as either asleep or getting there during the small hours of the night.
That had given him time to wander into one of the rooms filled with books that he was hoping could fill him in on some information on Angel...or rather, Angelus, if it turned out that Kennedy's tale from earlier was correct.
Even Vi, Amanda, Molly and Anna were growing drowsy as they waited for news about Connor and Dawn, up in their room.
Down in the lobby, it was quiet; the white hats were either munching on their food, or talking quietly among themselves. But then, without warning, something visibly slithered within Cordelia's nine-month-pregnant belly - and the floors of the Hyperion Hotel began to shake violently, as the lights began to flicker.
"Wha - earthquake?" Xander stammered, looking around in surprise.
"What was your first guess?" Whistler shouted over the increasing noise.
Suddenly, large pieces of plaster began to fall from the ceiling. One particularly large and heavy piece was about to land on Anya's head when Oz, in a blur of speed, knocked her aside and out of harm's way.
"Everyone, look out!" Wesley shouted as the heroes all tried to regain their footing, but were sent sprawling after a powerful aftershock rattled the hotel.
"Fred!" Gunn shouted as he rushed to cover the petite Texan's body with his own, while the roof of the lobby kept falling down around them.
"What's happening?" a confused Fred cried out, the quake had stopped but it was as if the building was still convulsing in agony.
The aftershock sent more pieces of plaster falling from the ceiling, one large piece falling and shattering on top of the mystical red sand circle holding Skip prisoner…
…which broke the binding spell which had been holding the silver demon captive, for nearly twenty-four hours now.
Smirking, the mercenary demon eyed the female physics whiz like a cat about to devour a field mouse. "All this? It's the end of the world, cupcake."
With that, Skip calmly took five easy steps out of his cell until he stopped just short of a frightened Fred and a bewildered Gunn.
"Well, it is for all of you, anyway."
Gunn's instincts immediately kicked in as he grabbed a heavy piece of plaster and promptly slammed it against Skip's head. Despite its weight, the heavy blow did little to faze the evil demon - he just dismissively backhanded Gunn, sending him flying over the reception desk.
Bolting for the weapons cabinet, Whistler and Lorne immediately armed themselves with swords and tried their luck in attacking Skip. But their blows harmlessly bounced off Skip's armor-plated hide, not even leaving a scratch.
With minimal effort, Skip's powerful fist connected with Whistler's jaw, sending the balance demon flying across the room, crashing against the weapons cabinet and spilling its contents across the floor. Another solid backhand flung Lorne to the other side, his head connecting with a stone pillar of the hotel before he slumped to the floor unconscious.
Oz tried charging Skip with a sword, only to be grabbed and flung over the reception desk alongside Gunn.
Skip smirked. "Oh, man, that's just pitiful."
Grabbing a mace that had spilled onto the floor, Lindsey twirled twice to gain valuable momentum before slamming the spiked ball against the mercenary demon's head. And even though he staggered back, Skip did not suffer any real damage - so, grabbing the mace upon Lindsey's second attempt to strike him down, the merc unleashed a deadly uppercut that caught Lindsey full in the jaw and send him flying several feet across the lobby.
Grabbing a nearby small battle-axe, Xander let out a loud yell as he charged the demon, lashing out with three stiff blows from the deadly weapon. Annoyed, Skip jabbed an elbow in the young man's face, and was subsequently rewarded with a loud 'Crack!' thanks to Xander's nose breaking.
Skip subsequently grabbed Harris by the scruff of his neck and tossed him through the air like a sack of garbage. "I really don't like you," the demon then semi-growled, recalling every verbal jab Xander had given him recently as the human crashed head-first into a wall.
"Keep him away from Willow and the others! Nothing else matters!" Giles shouted as he and Kennedy went up next.
The Watcher sent several hard, lethal blows at the armored Skip with a scythe-like weapon, while Kennedy swung a large axe against him. The demon merely laughed at their efforts, grabbing Giles and flinging him hard against the smaller Kennedy, sending them sprawling onto the ground.
Anya and Fred each charged the demon with two sharp katana blades, hacking away at Skip with several hard, but ultimately futile blows. Annoyed, Skip hauled back and belted both women with a solid backhand, knocking Anya out while sending a now-dazed and bloody-nosed Fred crashing to the floor.
"You really are all a bunch of stupid primates, aren't ya?" Skip crowed at the fallen heroes, including both Lorne and Whistler in his insulting description. "Haven't evolved past poking at it with sharp, pointy things in order to solve your problems. C'mon, you bunch of pantywaists, give me something new!"
A feral growl was the only response Skip heard, as he turned to find a new challenger…Oz, or rather the snarling, large and very angry werewolf he'd become.
Clearly surprised and even a little shocked, Skip grimaced. "Huh. Okay, that's something new."
Inside Cordelia's Mind
Now
"I still think you should just get it over with and simply kill them, Mistress," 'Cordelia' said, as she and Jasmine continued to watch Buffy and Darla fight for their lives.
"And I told you to be silent. Beware my ever-increasing lack of patience with your outbursts," the rogue Power declared, narrowing her eyes at her so-called minion.
Darla abruptly remembered what Whistler and Lindsey had said about 'Jasmine' being tricked and completely fooled by the Beastmaster, the fallen angel who was really working for the First Evil - so even as she dodged and weaved and slashed at the zombies, Connor's mother opened her mouth to sow a little more dissension within the ranks of Team Evil…
…when several zombies managed to overtake her in her moment of distraction, tackling the ex-vampire down to the ground.
"Darla!" Buffy shouted, as she caught sight of her ally falling to the mercy of the undead creatures. That slight distraction of her own cost the Chosen One, though, as one of the zombies reached up behind her and trapped her throat in a stranglehold, allowing several others to overtake the Slayer.
As she thrashed in the grip of the monsters, Buffy started to panic. They were outnumbered, and without a game-changing moment soon, both she and Darla were both as good as dead. And she knew exactly where to get that moment…if Darla was willing to conquer her greatest fear.
"Darla…you have to change!" Buffy shouted as she wrestled with the monsters.
Despite being on the ground and fighting for her life, a cold fear shot up Darla's spine at the implications of Buffy's words. She knew what the Slayer was asking of her; they had discussed the subject over the last three days of their journey. But it was something that Darla had been struggling to avoid at all costs - for it was too high a price to pay. And she had no idea what would happen, if she gave in to the…well, 'darker' side of her nature.
"No…I can't. I won't!" Darla rasped out as she struggled with her undead captors.
"Darla, you have to!" Buffy pleaded as the zombies brought her to her knees, one of them viciously clawing at her face, drawing blood. "Damn it! I can't hold out much longer!"
"You don't have much longer left to live, Little Miss Glory Hound," the Beastmaster said tauntingly, as she and Jasmine took several steps closer to the subdued blondes.
Jasmine eyed Buffy with a regal stare, yet which was also one of complete and utter disdain. "This is your last chance, Buffy. Either join me…or die at my feet. Decide now."
Defiant to the end even as the zombies were trying to choke the life out of her, Buffy snorted, then spat upwards into Jasmine's face.
Delighted, the Beastmaster laughed, "Ooh, boy! Now you've done it, Barbie Doll..."
As she slowly wiped the globs of saliva from her face, Jasmine malevolently eyed the embattled Slayer.
"Your hate has sealed your doom," a seething Jasmine promised the Slayer, before turning towards a still-pinned Darla. "But not before your new friend pays the price for your insolence."
To the zombies holding Darla, the fallen Power waved dismissively. "Rip her to pieces."
"No!" Buffy shouted, in fear for Darla's life. But the zombies had already swarmed all over the older blonde, clawing and pummeling her as they sought to carry out Jasmine's orders.
Darla felt her head rock violently as one zombie punched her in the side of her head. She felt her strength beginning to drain away completely, as the other undead creatures pulled and yanked and tried to dismember her.
Only one thought floated through Darla's brain, as she finally bowed her head in defeat. Forgive me, Connor…
Tears pricked at her eyes as Buffy squirmed and struggled helplessly in the grip of the zombies holding her, realizing that there was nothing she could do to save Darla now. Buffy had failed her. And now, Darla was going to be…
Trembling, the Summers woman turned her furious, tear-brimmed stare at the cold stare of Jasmine and the cruel smirk of the Beastmaster.
"Well, whattaya know? Yet another life you failed to save," 'Cordelia' taunted the crestfallen heroine. "Gotta say, Buffy, when it comes to your rep as the mighty Vampire Slayer, the word 'overrated' comes to -"
Suddenly, the entire horde of zombies attempting to rip Darla apart went flying backwards, surprising everyone. Shocked, Jasmine and 'Cordelia' took note of the still-kneeling form of Darla, her back still turned to them.
And then, a breathy, cold, cruel laugh followed…
"Darla?" Buffy half-whispered in shock, even as she continued to fight against her own zombies.
"You shouldn't have done thaaat…" Darla's soft voice sing-songed.
As another zombie moved in to strike her, Darla - in a lightning-quick movement - grabbed the creature's arm and began to crush it. Literally.
And then, as she whirled to face the creature, Buffy felt her breath catch in her throat as she briefly caught sight of Darla…in full vampire face.
"…'cause now I'm pissed off," Darla hissed through her demonic visage.
Then, she promptly and effortlessly plunged her fist right through the zombie's face, bursting it like a rotted melon.
Grabbing her discarded sword, the vampiress began to effortlessly cleave through the hordes of undead surrounding her. With hitherto unseen power, speed and brutality - and a heartless, sadistic smile on her ridged and fanged face - Darla began hacking, slashing and mauling the creatures, who were completely overwhelmed by the deadly fury of the demon dubbed by the Watcher Diaries and occult history books as "the Immortal Belladonna." Limbs and heads began flying everywhere.
Whirling around amid the carnage she had created, Darla - now wielding two swords, one which she had created as another mental construct - threw them both with deadly accuracy towards two of the zombie creatures holding Buffy's arms, the lethal blades lopping their heads off and freeing up the Slayer for combat.
Off Buffy's confused stare, Darla gruffly growled, "What is this, a staring contest? Fight!"
That wintry command was all that Buffy needed to snap back to her senses, as she shook her right leg free and crushed the head of one of the monsters holding her left leg, before getting back to work as she picked up her sword and fought back against the rest.
"No…" Jasmine growled in disbelief as she saw the two heroines somehow managed to turn the tide of battle, mowing down the enemy minions by the dozens.
"Damn it!" the Beastmaster shouted angrily. "We gotta kill them! Now!"
"So be it!" Jasmine commanded, her voice slightly wavering in fear. "Kill them both!" she then shouted.
Looking up from the carnage Buffy, a feral smile on her face, glared up at the two villainesses. "Sounds like a plan to me. How about you, Darla, what do you think?"
As she crushed the heads of two more zombies together, turning them into bloody stumps on decayed bodies, Darla gave a blood-chilling smile of her own as she growled, "Kill 'em all. Let God sort 'em out."
With that, the Chosen One and the legendary vampiress resumed slicing, kicking and slashing down the mob of zombies with zealous abandon.
As she continued to dispatch the enemy, Buffy took a moment to look over her shoulder to see how Darla was doing…and she almost wished she hadn't, after watching her companion in action. Because as one of the walking dead managed to land a hard blow across Darla's left cheek, the vampiress - not even fazed by the blow - gave the creature an evil smile, just before she reached out, grabbed the zombie's head and twisted hard, tearing the creature's head right off and sending a spray of blood jetting upwards.
As part of the blood ended up splattering onto her face, Darla stuck her tongue out and licked the sticky fluid off her lips, closing her eyes in satisfaction at the taste, before she continued cutting down the last remaining enemy minions.
Despite fighting for her life, the sight brought back chilling memories to Buffy of the wicked demoness that had once attacked her with a Colt .45 pistol, years ago, shooting with glee at anything that moved within the Bronze. Not good...
And suddenly, Buffy had become very wary of the situation. She had thought that having Darla tap into that darkness in this place - where the mind had total control - would give them the extra edge that they needed to win this battle. Instead, it now appeared that she might have not two, but three threats to deal with…
…and that distraction cost Ms. Summers dearly, yet again.
Her head was out of the game long enough for her last zombie to tackle her to the ground. Surprised, Buffy fought with all her might to keep the creature's snapping jaws away from her face...
Yet without warning, a female hand grabbed a handful of the creature's hair before pulling back in one motion, tearing the zombie's head clean away from its neck, and discarding the decaying skull as the body fell lifelessly to the ground.
Buffy gasped as she saw the frightening image of a vampire-faced Darla leering at her. As if she…
As if she's hungry, Buffy realized in horror.
In a flash of supernatural speed, Darla seized the younger woman by the throat, Buffy gasping as she felt the vampiress's hand clamp down on her windpipe. The blood from the zombie had awakened something deep and primal with the older blonde, something long forgotten but always present - the demonic lust for blood.
"Darla! Darla, stop! Stop! What are you doing?" Buffy rasped out, surprised by how strong the vampiress was.
Lost in the bloodlust, Darla held her grip fast, an evil grin still on her face as she leered at the squirming Buffy, growling in anticipation.
Every instinct in the Slayer's mind told her to fight, but she knew she couldn't. Buffy had begun to like the woman, and she knew that to attempt to harm Darla now would be to lose her to the dark side forever. Hope this works…
"Darla…Darla, please, it's me! It's me! Buffy, remember? You don't want to…hurt me! This isn't…the real you!"
"It is now," Darla growled, that hauntingly evil smile still on her face as she lowered her fangs to Buffy's throbbing jugular…
"Connor!" Buffy suddenly blurted out, causing Darla to recoil. "Connor…think about him, damn it! Think of your son! How the hell do you think he'd react, if he saw you like this?"
The words had their desired effect as Darla drew back, a look of recognition now in her demonic amber eyes. "C-connor?" she repeated slowly, unsurely.
Hope began to rise in Buffy's heart at the hesitation in the vampiress's face. "Yes. You love him, remember? He wouldn't want this for you. Please, Darla…don't make me fight you. Not now. Not when we're so close to the end. Please, remember why we're here!"
Slowly, Darla's grip on Buffy's throat began to loosen, eventually dropping the Slayer to the ground as Connor's mother slowly shifted her features back to her normal human guise.
Shaking her head, Darla's hand clasped her forehead as she mentally tried to get ahold of herself. Oh dear God, what have I done? What was I about to do...?
Buffy glanced warily at the woman above her. "Darla? Are you…"
"Fine. I'm fine," Darla rasped as she steadied herself, offering the downed Slayer her hand. "I'm…sorry about that."
Hesitating for a moment, Buffy grabbed hold of Darla's hand as she rose to her feet. "Yeah. Okay. We're good…I think."
Suddenly, the ground began to quake and rumble as Jasmine and the Beastmaster, with Cordelia's soul in tow, suddenly rose up into the sky on a rapidly growing mountain peak that erupted out of the ground.
"They're getting away!" Darla shouted.
"The hell they are," a scowling Buffy retorted. She was tired of these games. It was time to end this. "Let's go!"
Taking advantage of the unconventional principles this mindscape worked by, the two heroines flew - literally up, up and away - after the villainous pair, shooting upwards into the sky faster than the rocky cliff was growing. At last they caught up with the black hats and their cargo, landing with a quick tandem roll onto the cliff's peak, where the Beastmaster and Jasmine were waiting.
"Enough with the mind games," Buffy growled, brandishing her sword. "Now let Cordelia go or you both die, here and now!"
Again, 'Cordelia' laughed at her, her sharp knife now morphing into a deadly three-pronged trident. "Oh, I don't think so. This time, it's the two of you that are gonna take the big dirt nap. For keeps, that is."
"Think again," Darla menaced, eyeing the Beastmaster contemptuously. "Whatever you're planning, it won't work. This is the end of the line!"
"Oh, I'm afraid not, Darla," Jasmine smiled sinisterly, as the air around her hands twisted until it morphed into a weapon…a heavy sledgehammer. "This is just the beginning."
"Good," Buffy said, her muscles tensing for battle. "I hate being late. Now, shut up and fight!"
At those words, Buffy's sword clashed with Jasmine's hammer, and Darla's blade collided with the Beastmaster's trident. The final battle for Cordelia's soul had begun.
Darla and 'Cordelia' traded fierce blows, each harder than the one before. For Darla, this was the battle that she had been waiting for since this creature had pulled her back into this world; ever since this…parasite had twisted her son's mind nearly to the point of no return.
Now, she had the opportunity to pay this thing back in kind. And then some.
For the Beastmaster, her motivation was slightly different. In her warped world-view, Darla had been the catalyst that had sent a brilliant plan to acquire a human body and a place at the right hand of the First Evil, to be a major player in a new world order…practically tumbling down in ruins.
Never mind that the First would have screwed the Beastmaster over, with Cordelia's body either dying or ending up a vegetable after the mystical birth pains and delivery; in the fake Cordelia's mind, this bitch had ruined - was ruining - her chance to have it all.
And for that, the Beastmaster was intent on making Darla pay the ultimate price.
"Is that it? Is that all you got?" 'Cordelia' taunted, as she evaded one of Darla's deadly sword slashes. "And here I heard you were some kind of deadly killer, Working Girl."
As she thrust the trident at Darla's heart, the blonde woman parried what would have been a fatal blow, driving the trident's head to the ground.
Looking into the scornful eyes of her son's tormentor, Darla flashed a malevolent grin…right before her face shifted into its terrifying vampire form. "You heard right."
Her game face had the desired effect, as the smug, evil look on the face of 'Cordelia' quickly changed to one of wide-eyed, gap-jawed surprise. Darla took advantage of that opening, lashing out with a hard right hook that caught 'Cordelia' full in the jaw, rocking her backwards.
Dropping the sword, Darla - the feel of old, long forgotten power rushing through her - suddenly decided to do this the old-fashioned way.
"The first mistake you made…is you picked a kid to do your dirty work for you," Darla growled, a left jab striking the Beastmaster right in the face.
"The second mistake you made…is you picked my kid as your pawn!" With righteous fury, Darla drove her knee right into the imposter Cordelia's stomach, rewarded with the creature's grunt of pain.
"But your biggest mistake, the one that's gonna cost you your life…is you totally pissed -"
Punch. "Me."
Punch. "Off!"
As the Beastmaster wobbled on her feet, dazed, bruised and bloodied, Darla delivered her final blow…
Ka-pow!
…an uppercut that knocked the fake Cordelia to the ground, defeated.
With satisfaction, Darla spat on the fallen Beastmaster. "Bitch!"
Meanwhile, Buffy was having her hands full with Jasmine, who was eagerly trying to crush the Slayer's skull with her heavy hammer. Buffy's lightning-quick Slayer reflexes were all that were keeping her from the hammer's blows. Jasmine was unbelievably fast and powerful. Stronger than the Master ever was. Maybe even more powerful than Glory.
"You can't keep this up forever, Buffy," Jasmine taunted the petite blonde warrior. "You might have the power of the demon, but in the end, you're only human. Whereas I…am eternal."
"Eternal, huh? Is that why you never shut up?" Buffy sarcastically retorted, still geared for battle.
"You have spunk, I'll give you that. And heart," Jasmine said, moving in a blur of speed as she brought the deadly hammer down, Buffy narrowly escaping a blow so powerful that it completely shattered the ground where the hammer landed. "It's a shame I'm going to have to rip it out."
Buffy smirked. "Gee, with talk like that - are ya wondering now why I had such a hard time believing all that 'perfect world' crap you were spouting, before you and your lackey bitch sicc'ed a bunch of zombies on me and Darla?" Suddenly the Slayer paused, her own words jarring back a memory - about the true nature of the Beastmaster, as an agent of the First.
As she dodged another blow, Buffy rapidly began talking. "By the way, I got a newsflash for you. Whatever that thing is that you've aligned yourself with, it's not who you think it is. She…it…whatever, the fake Cordy's actually working for the First Evil."
A look of surprise flashed across Jasmine's face at Buffy's words, before the fallen Power laughed. "Oh, please. That creature might be irritatingly independent at times, but it's been my ally for eons. She knows her place, even if occasionally she might not act like it. Seriously, Buffy, did you really think I'd fall for something like that? I'm one of the Powers That Be, a being forged in the fires of Creation. Secrets are a little hard to keep from creatures like myself."
"Well, in that case, you should know all about how that thing and its pal - you know the one, which the other Powers caught and killed? - how they were double-dealing under the table with the First way before they met you, right?" Buffy challenged. "How the plan was for the First to make a play for this new body you're baking, push you out and grab it for itself, and the Beastmaster gets Cordy's body in exchange?"
Buffy could see doubt begin to set in on the Power's face. "You're lying," Jasmine fiercely accused.
"No I'm not," Buffy said sincerely, but maintaining her warrior's gaze. "And somewhere deep down you know it, too. You've been played, Jasmine. The fake Cordy and her boss, they played you right from the start; and you fell for it hook, line and sinker - like some rube getting suckered in by a crooked used car salesman. But it's not too late, you can still -"
"Enough!" Jasmine interrupted with a shout, bringing down her hammer so hard that the aftershock of the blow knocked Buffy off her feet. Before Buffy could even register what happened, the angry Power had her by the throat, driving her straight into the stone wall of the cliff behind her.
"You're just trying to trick me," Jasmine said threateningly, her face twisted into a mask of anger. "Trying to stop me from saving this world with my love. But I've come too far, and sacrificed too much, and I won't be stopped now by the likes of you!"
Buffy tried to kick the angry Power away, but it was like trying to push away a steel wall. Behind a titanium wall. That was encased in lead. No matter how much she squirmed or clawed at this thing, even Buffy's Slayer strength was simply no match for that of a Power That Be.
Jasmine's free left hand pulled back and suddenly began to glow green, maggots and worms immediately crawling out of it, eliciting a horrified look from the pinned Buffy.
"Would you like to know what one of my other abilities is?" Jasmine smiled, an evil knowing look on her face. "It's what I call my necrotic touch. And since I know you skipped that lecture in biology class, let me explain what I mean exactly. Certain events, such as death, can cause the decay of human tissue. But that process can take months, even years, under normal circumstances. My touch…" she glanced at her glowing green, maggoty hand, "…accelerates that process much, much faster."
Appraising the wide-eyed Slayer with her eyes, Jasmine smiled sinisterly. "You really do have such a pretty face, Buffy. It's a shame I'm about to turn it into a rotten, putrid mess."
In the meanwhile, the Beastmaster, coughing and wheezing in pain, had crawled along the ground, reaching desperately for her trident…only to be stopped when Darla, moving with an uncanny speed only a vampire could muster, had kicked the hammer away, stomping down hard on the imposter's right hand.
"AGGGGHHHHH!" 'Cordelia' had cried out in pain as Darla, now in human face, stood over her, her blade poised right above her throat, icy blue eyes coldly regarding the murderous parasite.
Fearfully, the Beastmaster had begun to try to talk her way out of this mess. "Darla, please! Please, don't…don't - I-I-I was tricked, I never wanted to…please, I'm begging you, have mercy!"
"Mercy?" Darla spat, furious. "Like you showed my son, when you were warping his mind? Like you showed that girl in the factory, when you were about to kill her? Or the thousands of people who died at the hands of the Beast, or during the Rain of Fire and the Permanent Midnight?"
Darla raised the blade up high, ready to plunge it down into the cowering Beastmaster's throat. To symbolically and literally end her. "I've got your mercy right here…"
But then Darla paused when she saw what was happening on the other side of the cliff, where Buffy was overpowered by Jasmine; who held a green-glowing, maggot-covered hand only a few inches from the Slayer's face.
Understanding her enemy's frozen indecision, 'Cordelia' laughed. "Uh-oh. Looks like your little buddy's in a lot of trouble! Guess you have a decision to make, Darla. What's it going to be, kill the thing that screwed with your retard kid - or save your new friend? Decisions, decisions. Better hurry, you only have time for -"
With incredible speed, Darla drove her heel into the Beastmaster's jaw, effectively shutting her up. Shifting into vampire face, Darla then leapt all the way across to Jasmine and Buffy, landing a hard flying kick that knocked the stunned Power backwards and freed the Slayer.
Gasping for breath, Buffy managed to quickly steady herself as she rose to her feet, grabbing her sword.
"You alright?" Darla asked, not liking how Jasmine was already starting to get up.
"I will be, once Maggot Girl over there is worm food," Buffy replied testily. "Thanks for the save."
"Don't mention it." Darla looked at her, warily. "I don't think a sword going to be enough."
Eyeing her slyly, Buffy smirked. "I know."
With that, the sword in her hands suddenly morphed into an AT-4 shoulder-mounted missile launcher. Slinging the rocket launcher over her shoulder, Buffy took aim at the fallen Power.
"That's why it's time to break out the big guns," the blonde smiled…right before she pulled the trigger and fired the LAW rocket, which exploded in a fiery ball of shrapnel and death after it hit Jasmine full in the chest.
Staring at the large ball of smoke and fire, Darla and Buffy waited to see if the battle was truly over.
"You think it worked?" Darla asked the Slayer, as she carefully scanned for any signs of life.
Her answer came a moment later as a tattered, ashy and furious Jasmine emerged from the carnage, a murderous look in her eyes.
"I'm gonna go out on a limb here and say 'no,'" Buffy winced.
Slowly walking towards her foes, Jasmine railed at the Slayer, "An exploding missile. Really, Buffy, who do you think I am - the Judge? I'm power incarnate, I was a god before the concept of God even existed - and you attack me with your toys?"
Gritting her teeth, Buffy's rocket launcher morphed back into a sword as she prepared for Round 3.
"Figured it was worth a shot," Buffy shot back as she and Darla charged Jasmine, managing to land several hard slices to the fallen Power's face, arms, legs and torso. But Jasmine simply shrugged off the lethal blows, her skin healing itself almost immediately as her foes continued their fruitless assault.
As Buffy swung hard at Jasmine's throat - hoping for a decapitation - Jasmine blocked the blow before grabbing Buffy and tossing her several feet into the air, the Slayer landing unmercifully hard against the wall of stone as she slid to the ground, dazed.
Darla, still in game face, twirled rapidly as she sliced at Jasmine's kneecaps, surprising Jasmine as she fell to her knees. As Darla hauled back and prepared to bring her sword down across Jasmine's neck, the fallen Power's fist shot out and caught Darla in the stomach, sending her flying backwards until she landed hard on the ground.
Ouch! Now in her human guise, Darla groaned as she slowly opened her eyes…and just barely caught the wooden spear that was about to plunge into her chest, wielded by a bleeding and enraged 'Cordelia.'
"This is getting annoying," the Beastmaster growled, wanting to erase the humiliation she'd previously undergone.
"Tell me about it," Darla growled back, as those two started going at it hammer and spear all over again.
Not far away Buffy, still dazed and laying on the ground, was yanked up by Jasmine, who held the Slayer in another death grip.
"That's it. I've had it with you, you stupid little brat," Jasmine sneered. "Don't you get what I'm trying to do? What I'm trying to accomplish?"
As she struggled to breathe, Buffy's eyes focused on the slumbering Cordelia Chase in her amber cocoon. Another memory of Lindsey's words echoed in her mind…
You need its name. Thing is, we don't have it. But Cordelia does. The real one, that is. It's locked deep in her subconscious….Once you wake Cordelia's subconscious up, she should be able to divulge the name. Hell, it might even be the first thing that comes out of her mouth.
Gathering what breath she could, Buffy called out to her sleeping high school classmate. "Cordy…Cordelia, if you can hear me, please, listen to me! I need you…to wake up. Now, or you're going to die here! You're under a spell. This thing is going to kill us! And then Angel, Xander, Willow, Giles and all of our friends…everyone! Please…I can't stop it…I tried, but I can't. But you can! You can stop this. Now, get off your ass and wake up! Cordy! WAKE UP!"
Jasmine laughed with heartfelt mirth at Buffy's futile efforts, as the unconscious brunette still slumbered peacefully inside her yellow shell.
"You honestly expected that girl - a failed actress and someone who was little more than one of Angel's groupies - to wake up now? At this late stage?" Jasmine chuckled as her grip around Buffy's throat tightened. "You really are all out of tricks, aren't you? Too bad - for you. Because as much fun as this has been, Buffy, it's time for me to end our little game - on account of you've put my plans way too far behind schedule, as it is."
Unbeknownst to both the Power and the Slayer, though, deep within the amber cocoon…Cordelia's eyes began to slowly flutter.
Hyperion Hotel - Lobby
The same time
Werewolf Oz wildly clawed and slashed at the armor-plated Skip, his steel trap-like jaws clamping around and breaking off the organic metal ring under Skip's chin, causing the merc to cry out in pain.
They had been wrestling for several minutes, the berserk lupine creature proving to be a remarkably formidable foe.
As he threw the enraged wolf off of him, Skip staggered to his feet, green blood pouring from the wound Oz had inflicted - something which, while painful, was not enough to actually stop him. As the werewolf charged him again, Skip - picking his moment carefully - landed a well-aimed kick to the side of Werewolf Oz's head, causing the creature to stagger backwards. Pressing his advantage, Skip followed up with three hard blows that eventually dropped the wolf to the ground, unconscious.
"That's it, Snoopy, play dead," Skip sneered, inwardly breathing a sigh of relief over how close this creature had come to beating him.
At that moment, Skip decided that all this simply wasn't worth it anymore. He was a mercenary, thus he followed the money - went wherever the deal was, so to speak. But the risk-reward ratio had now gone too far in the other direction. He'd stuck his neck out to serve the First, albeit through the Beastmaster, who'd promised him great power as his reward; and yet, what had that gotten him?
Getting beaten up by a broody undead schmuck like Angel, caged like an animal for ages, and getting ridiculed by humans and lesser demons alike - most of whom he could crap out after breakfast - like a damn circus chimp, especially that Xander kid. His so-called boss hadn't even seen fit to spring him before getting captured itself, probably having been too busy hatching its own stupid plans.
Well, Skip decided as he stared at the unconscious werewolf, I'm done with this particular job now. He was nobody's sap, not even the ultimate evil's. Screw it, no amount of money and power is worth all this!
Therefore, he was now going to have to cut his losses…starting off by killing off the human vessel, before the 'baby' could be born. Skip had a few favors owed that he could call in from sources he'd kept close to over the last few centuries - favors that would buy him some protection for a little while, before he figured out his next move.
But first things first - namely, taking care of all of these annoying do-gooders in here who'd dared to mock him, before slaughtering Mommy Dearest.
Walking menacingly towards Fred, who was crawling away in desperation, Skip picked her first.
"Now, what were you saying earlier? Something about…infinite agony?" the demon asked tauntingly before he picked up the bleeding, gasping brunette woman by the throat as if she was nothing.
Without warning, Gunn let out a loud war cry as he came out of nowhere and began hacking away at the silver demon, raining down angry blows with his sword. Sighing in irritation, Skip dropped Fred and backhanded Gunn across the floor, sending him skidding against the reception desk.
"Do you mind? I'm trying to work here," snapped the annoyed Skip.
"Work this," a voice called out from above.
Suddenly, two ninja stars came flying at him, embedding themselves in the armor but doing no real damage. Skip looked up to see Robin Wood, all business and armed with a large bayonet, charging down the staircase towards him.
"Oh, good, more of you meat puppets to smack around," Skip sneered, as the son of Nikki Wood delivered several skilled, well-timed cuts to the mercenary's head and torso. Any other demon would have been hacked to pieces, but the organic metal covering Skip's body was simply too durable.
"Okay, you're done," Skip sighed as he hauled back and threw a punch that launched Robin backwards and into a stone column, the principal groaning as he clutched at his injured back.
Seeing no one else able or willing to challenge him, Skip started towards the mystical triangle holding the still-entranced Buffy, Darla and Cordelia, Willow still in a meditative trance that prevented her from helping.
But then a bloodied Xander, staggering to his feet, understood Skip's intentions and immediately picked up his battle axe and charged the demon, whacking him in the back; even if the blow harmlessly clanged off Skip's thick hide. Skip then instinctively whirled around and backhanded Xander over the circular couch in the middle of the hotel.
"You are really starting to bug the crap outta me, kid," Skip growled.
As he finished his complaint, two bullets fired by Wesley's semiautomatic handgun hit Skip square in the chest, the impacts making his torso recoil slightly, but not doing any harm. Wesley then continued to fire, his precise aim allowing him to hit the merc's skull, shoulders and chest.
BANG! BANG! BANG! Wesley knew that bullets would most likely not succeed anymore than swords and axes had, but he was hoping to either find a weakness in the nearly-impenetrable armor or at least buy some time for a last-minute miracle to occur.
His efforts were for naught, though, as Skip, positioning his body at just the right angle, managed to deflect a bullet back towards Wesley, which blasted the gun out of his hand and wounded him.
As Wesley clutched his bleeding right hand with a loud curse, Skip shook his head at Wesley's futile attack. "Do those things ever work? Really." A few moments later, Wes was on the ground and fighting to stay conscious.
As Giles struggled to get to his feet - only a few feet away from the merc - Skip simply kicked him in the face, cold-cocking the Watcher as he continued to head towards his four primary targets.
"Excuse me, old timer, comin' through," Skip dismissively said as he passed Giles by.
Skip examined the magical spell connecting the women, briefly musing over who he should pick off first. He could start with the witch, and hopefully take care of business with all four femmes at once - but he didn't want to risk waking the Slayer up. Little Miss Tiny had that annoying habit of screwing things up for everyone, after all - like finding her way here at this moment in time, when she wasn't supposed to.
Slayer first, then? he mused, but almost straightaway Skip figured the real prize would be in killing the First's chosen vessel. Her death would piss off his now ex-boss, as well as hurt that chump-nut Angel badly.
Two birds, one stone, Skip smirked as he hovered over the pregnant Cordelia. Okay, May Queen, it looks like your number's up.
Xander's head was full of pain, and everything hurt. He was bleeding profusely from his mouth and nose, he had a nasty cut above his right eye, and he could barely stand - let alone fight. But as he saw Skip standing so close to Cordelia, not to mention his two best friends, with that terrible smile on his metal mug and not one good guy left standing, Xander could think of nothing else except that he could not let this happen.
Offering a quick prayer and grabbing a nearby sword, Xander dug deep and somehow found the strength to run towards the demon, weapon raised high as he prepared to defend the four helpless women -
- only to be brought crashing down to the ground, after Skip whirled around and delivered a powerful punch that knocked him to the floor yet again.
"What's with you, ya goofball? Are you in love with pain or something?" Skip shook his head in mock surprise.
Somehow - shaking, bleeding and exhausted - Xander managed to make it to his knees, crawling backwards until he fell against Cordelia, acting as a last desperate human shield for the helpless brunette.
In amazement, Skip stared down at the half-dead guy before him, the only thing between him and his intended target - the still-slumbering Cordelia. "Are you completely nuts, monkey boy? Do you have any idea what else I could do to you?"
Spitting out a mouthful of blood, Xander, his right eye now swollen nearly shut, glared up at the callous demon mercenary, inching his body in front of his helplessly unaware ex-girlfriend. "Bite me, you…filthy demon…son of a…bitch."
"You still don't get it, do you?" Skip coldly answered, he hated any aspersions on his mother as much as the next demon. "Here you are, trying to save your ex's life - but. She. Didn't. Love You. The stupid bitch never even liked you, either! Whatever you thought she felt for you back then - it was all smoke and mirrors, prearranged from before both of you were born. Your little 'thing' together was as fake as Pamela Anderson's boob job! Basically just hormones, nothing more than a means to an end. And if you're still in my way in the next five seconds..."
With that, Skip raised his huge silver metallic fist.
"This is gonna go through BOTH of your chests, and you'll end up heading off into the afterlife together, hand in hand. So lemme ask you, grease stain - just outta academic interest, of course, since I'm gonna kill you and everyone else around here anyway - is it really worth you throwing your life away over something that wasn't even real?"
At that, a flood of memories rushed into Xander's battered mind...their first passionate kiss in Buffy's basement...the many kisses that had followed in the halls, in closets, in empty stairwells...Cordelia blowing off Harmony and the other Cordettes to walk off hand-in-hand with him in the school courtyard...late nights in her father's car...sweet moments holding each other in comfortable silence...pictures of him, of *them* in her locker...
Trembling but still defiant, Xander's brown eye (the one that wasn't swollen shut) stared into the evil red eyes of the demonic mercenary. "It was...real...for me..." Harris spluttered out, firmly planting himself between Cordelia and her impending murderer. "And you'll...hurt her...over my...dead...body!"
Skip stared at Cordelia's white knight for a moment, with a look that was akin to respect...before he shrugged and hauled his fist backwards.
"Yeah," Skip nodded, ready to deal the final, deadly blow. "That I will."
It was only a moment. One split second. But as Wesley's keen eyes zeroed in on Skip, he took notice of one weak spot, one opening…a small hole in the left side of his head, oozing green blood, where one of the demon's horns used to be before Angel tore it off in that fight yesterday.
Finally, the British man had found the chink in the demon's armor.
His mind and body reacting as one with remarkable speed, Wesley, spotting his discarded gun, rolled across the floor in one fluid motion, picked up the gun, and opened fire.
Pryce's aim, honed to perfection with countless hours of practice throughout the last few months, was true and deadly as he fired his last round into the small opening in Skip's head, piercing his brain just as the demon was about to deliver the death blow to Xander and Cordelia.
In shock, Xander's head whipped around to find Wesley's grim face eyeing the mortally wounded demon coldly but warily.
Skip swayed for a moment, using his last breath to mutter his feelings of astonishment in one sentence: "Well, that ain't right."
And then he fell to the floor, stone cold dead.
Xander, Fred, Whistler, Lindsey and Robin, the only ones still conscious (if barely) all stared at Wesley in awe.
The ex-Watcher simply shrugged, turned to Xander and gave a wordless, yet appreciative nod. Xander, who beheld the Englishman's level gaze, reciprocated the nod with one of his own, each man having a newfound respect for the other.
Staring at the lifeless body of the metallic demon on the floor, oozing greenish blood out of his head, Whistler couldn't resist. "Clean-up on Aisle 1!"
"Not now, short stuff," Lindsey groused, barely sparing Whistler a glance as he continued to look at Wesley, completely dumbfounded at the man's skill. But he refused to give his rival a compliment, even within his own mind. Lindsey still had his pride, after all.
Giles, who had just awakened, leaned on a now-awake Kennedy and Robin for support while Whistler went to check on the slowly stirring Oz, who had shifted back to his human form after being knocked out. Andrew, who had hidden in the corner during the fight, helped Anya to her feet while Lorne managed to regain his own footing.
"Nice shot," Robin nodded to Wesley.
"Yeah, you were like James Bond, circa Golden Eye," Andrew enthusiastically praised him.
"And where were you during all the fighting?" Anya asked the comic geek, her eyes accusingly staring at him.
"Um, w-well, I was kinda fray-adjacent during the whole thing, but I was totally rooting for all you guys!" Andrew smiled nervously off the dirty looks he received from both crews.
"Yes, how very brave of you," Giles acidly replied as he scowled at the rapidly shrinking former member of the Trio.
"Hate to…say it. But, Giles, think…about it. Andrew. Holding sharp things, or things that…shoot out…flying…fatality," Xander reasoned, still bleeding everywhere and clutching his sore ribs.
A beat. "Yes. You're quite right. Point taken," Giles relented, wincing in pain.
"Is he…you know, dead?" Fred asked as she went to Gunn's aid, her ex-boyfriend slowly coming to.
"He looks dead," Xander said with a slow wheezing of air as he crawled away from the sacred circle, sending one last look at Cordelia before returning his gaze to Skip.
Wishing he could kick the corpse just once for good measure, Xander hacked and coughed before saying, "Unless he can…magically regenerate his brain cells after being shot in the head, I'd say…he's dead."
Swallowing nervously, Harris suddenly turned to Wesley. "He can't…do that, right?"
"I very much doubt it," Wesley said, just before Anya went over to lift Xander up off the ground. "I looked up his species a little while ago, searching for weaknesses and such. There was no mention of any such thing."
"Great. Okay, the metallo-demon thing's dead, but now what?" Gunn asked, holding Fred close as they leaned against each other for support. "Slay-gal and Darla still aren't out of the woods, unless they get that name. And it's not exactly like it's simply gonna pop up around here, just like that -"
Right on cue, bolts of lightning began to crackle in the middle of the hotel lobby as an indigo portal suddenly swirled open…
…and out popped a tattered Angel, holding the blue sphere key to Demon-Bug World in one hand and the head of an insectoid demon with its mouth stitched shut in the other. He had been on quite an adventure lately, battling demons in Jasmine's former temple - such as the Keeper of the Name and the Guardian of the Word.
"Angel!" Fred blurted out, stunned.
"Huh. The guy still knows how to make an entrance," Lindsey said with a shake of his head.
As the portal closed behind him, Angel quickly assessed the damage to the hotel and the bruises and wounds his crew and the Sunnydale group had sustained.
"What happened here? Is everyone alright?" Angel asked rapidly. "This place looks like a war zone!"
"We're fine, we just survived an…" Wesley answered, then trailed off when he saw the head of the demon in Angel's hand. "Err, what exactly is that?"
"The final piece we need to get the real Cordy back and end this, hopefully," Angel replied, grabbing one of the nearby knives. "Have Faith and the others come back yet?"
"We thought they were with you, from what Buffy said," Giles replied.
Shaking his head, Angel decided he would worry about that later. He had four beautiful women to save…one of them being the woman he loved.
"Everyone, get back," the undead Champion said, preparing to slice the threads on the demon's mouth holding this mysterious Power's true name. "I've got no idea what's gonna happen, exactly, when I…"
Angel trailed off, his eyes suddenly taking notice of a badly injured Xander - who was still being visibly supported by Anya. What the…?
Confused at the vampire's sudden attention, Xander asked, "What?"
"Well. It's just…you look really terrible," Angel said, with a hint of concern. He might not have liked Xander very much, but he was Buffy's friend - and he had never seen Harris this badly damaged before. Looks like he needs a quick trip to the hospital, more than anyone else around here…
Anya had to agree with Angel's assessment. Her former betrothed looked like he had just gone fifteen rounds against Mike Tyson at the top of his game. After calling him a sissy. Everything Anya had wanted to do to Xander after he'd left her at the altar last year, it was as if Skip had finally done it for her.
Everything Cordelia had wanted to do to Xander after he'd cheated with Willow, ditto.
He was willing to die for her just now, Anya thought to herself, briefly glancing in Cordelia's direction before shifting her weight to keep Xander upright. Unbelievable, how the big dummy was going to sacrifice his life - just for that bitchy ex-client of mine, who willingly left him behind in her dust years ago. I swear, Xander, I will never understand what goes on inside that stupid, loveable head of yours…
Though it hurt to smile, Xander smirked as he appraised Angel's torn shirt and still-bleeding, though rapidly-healing wounds. "You should talk, pal."
"Vampire here, I heal fast. You, not so much," Angel replied.
"I'll be fine, Deadboy," Xander waved him off as he eyed Cordelia again. "Besides…" Harris then looked over towards Skip's corpse with a dark, satisfied smile. "You should see the other guy."
Inside Cordelia's Mind
Now
Human consciousness is a funny thing. When you're awake, you know who and what you are, where your place is in this amazing universe.
When you're asleep, the mind rests after the day's labors are finally over, recovering in the blessed absence of conscious thought.
And then there was the place between awake and asleep. The place where you can vividly remember dreams…and nightmares. The place where you can hear the disembodied voices of the people around you; voices shouting, pleading, and cursing at you.
"Cordy! WAKE UP!"
"It was...real...for me. And you'll...hurt her...over my...dead...body!"
I know those voices, was the first conscious thought that went through the mind of Cordelia Chase in nearly eight months.
Deep within that accursed amber cocoon, Cordelia began to stir as a tornado of memories started to whirl around in her subconscious mind.
Doyle's passionate good-bye kiss that passed her the visions onto her…
Working alongside Angel, Wesley and Gunn case after case, night after night, becoming a team, a family…
Each vision becoming more painful than the next, the cumulative effects starting to damage her brain according to the doctors she'd secretly consulted…
Disappearing into Pylea, finding Fred…coming back after having been declared the princess of the realm, naturally enough…
Skip and his offer to demonize her on the astral plane, in order to be able to hang onto the visions…the strange new powers associated with having become part-demon…
Connor's birth…Groo…Connor's disappearance and Angel's grief…Connor's return and assault on the team…
Groo leaving her that night…Skip…ascending to the Higher Planes…that revelation of the ultimate deception by one of the Powers…
The hardest choice she'd ever had to make - giving up all her memories of her friends, her life…descending back down to the mortal plane…that stupid goddamn memory spell...
Being forced to watch but unable to act as those horrible creatures used her body for accomplishing terrible deeds…
The Beast and the Rain of Fire…her night of passion with Connor…Lilah's murder at her own hands…
No, a horrified Cordelia thought as she restlessly stirred within her amber prison, as if trapped in a nightmare.
Killing that Manny guy, another death at her hands, this time Lizzie Borden style…
The Permanent Midnight over LA…
Killing the Svear priestesses and the rest of their family…
The overnight pregnancy…
Stealing Angel's soul…manipulating her family from within, like a cancer…
Slowly poisoning Connor's mind…
That virgin girl to be used in that unholy ritual, to bring forth the fallen Power inside her…
Oh, please, God, no, Cordelia's mind silently begged, as she struggled against the unconsciousness brought on by the spell trapping her in the cocoon. Make it stop, please…no…
Nearly repeating the birthing ritual again, only this time with Dawn, sweet little Dawn Summers who she'd loved like a sister, as the victim…
Breaking two hearts at once, as she gleefully revealed her tryst with Connor to her shocked and hurt friends back at the hotel…
Her captors' attempts to kill Buffy and Darla as they tried to free her…
"Cordy! WAKE UP!"
"WAKE UP!"
"WAKE UP!"
NOOO!
With a loud gasp, Cordelia's eyes burst open…
…and then she screamed.
Cordelia Chase shrieked like a damned soul in the pits of Hell as a brilliant white light exploded out of her eyes and mouth that cracked open the cocoon, at the same time that an earthquake suddenly thundered throughout the entire mindscape and the noise became deafening.
Struck in the back by the light as she held the struggling Buffy within her grasp, Jasmine cried out in pain, her face morphing into its rotted, maggot-encrusted, true form.
"NO! Not now -!" Jasmine screamed as the light engulfed her, dropping Buffy to the ground before the concussive force of the light threw her into the wall of the cliff, which shattered and came tumbling down on top of the fallen Power.
Confused, Buffy stared up at the brilliant light that was consuming Jasmine and directed her gaze towards the source…Cordelia, whose cocoon was beginning to rapidly crumble apart.
"Cordy!" Buffy exclaimed. as she staggered to her feet towards her former Scooby teammate.
The next moment, the brilliant light from the true Cordelia Chase struck the Beastmaster full-on as she and Darla fought tooth and nail.
Staggering backwards in surprise, Darla watched in shock as the screaming 'Cordelia' cried out in agony.
No, it can't be! This can't be happening! Not now! It's not fair! NOT FAIR! the horrified Beastmaster mentally wailed.
"No, NO, NOOAAAIIIIIEEE!" the Beastmaster shrieked - Darla briefly catching a glimpse of the skeletal form of a deformed, worm-like being within the light as the fake Cordelia's body began to decompose and burn away…
…until there was nothing left of the murderous creature except a pile of ashes.
With grim satisfaction, Darla stared at the ashes of her fallen foe. "Good riddance," she said vindictively.
At last, the cocoon completely disintegrated as a dazed and barely conscious Cordelia fell forward, about to land flat on her face on the hard ground…
…when Buffy, moving with incredible speed, gently caught the tired Seer and gently lowered her to the ground.
Breathing heavily, Cordelia panted and groaned, clutching her head in pain. She felt as if a fog had lifted from her mind, like she hadn't been awake in a very long time.
"Cordy? Cordelia, can you hear me?" Buffy gently shook her, as Cordelia's eyes slowly fluttered open to meet the worried gaze of the Slayer.
"Wha…Buffy?" Cordelia murmured, her eyes scrunched in confusion. "Whuzit…what's going on? I can't…"
"It's okay, Cordy. It's okay," Buffy reassured her, giving her a small smile. "It's over. You're safe now."
During this time, Darla had made her way over to the pair of Sunnydale High School graduates.
"How do you feel?" a concerned Buffy asked Cordelia.
The Vision Girl groaned as she struggled to sit up, her 'muscles' weak from months of non-use. "Like I just got the…life sucked out of me. Guess that's how some unlucky saps feel after a vampire atta -"
Before she could finish her sentence, Cordelia's stunned hazel eyes widened at the sight of Darla, who was now standing right next to Buffy. Gasping in fright, Cordelia - now fully awake - began scampering backwards on the ground.
"Darla? Buffy, look out! It's Dar -" the brunette started to say.
"Whoa, Cordy, chill!" Buffy interrupted, her hands held out placatingly. "It's okay; she's just here to, y'know, help..."
Glaring at Angel's sire, Cordelia scoffed, "Yeah, sure! The last time I was this close to that bitch, she tried to help me, alright…help herself to my jugular as one of her pregnancy cravings snacks!"
Cordy then scrunched her eyes in confusion as she stared at the ex-vampiress. "Wait, hang on a second…didn't you die, again? So how the hell are you even here?"
As Darla gave Buffy an exasperated look, the blonde Slayer exhaled wearily. "Yeah, that's a really long story, Cordy…" Buffy began to say…
…just as the debris from the shattered cliff wall suddenly exploded everywhere, revealing an angry, rotted-faced Jasmine.
"…which we apparently don't have time for," Buffy finished in wary surprise as Darla and Cordelia gaped in shock at the despoiled fallen Power.
"What the -?" Darla asked, baffled. "I thought Lindsey told us that Cordelia waking up and unleashing the Power's name would destroy it!"
"Yeah, well, that's the thing about the intelligence business - sometimes, your sources get it wrong," Buffy told her, girding herself for battle once again.
"What the hell is that?" Cordelia demanded in bewilderment, before turning surprised eyes to Darla at her statement. "And…Lindsey? He's here, too? Who else is making surprise appearances, Holtz? Maybe the Master, while we're at it?"
"Funny story there, actually," Darla shook her head at the mention of the Master, as she eyed the angry Power.
"Which we don't have time for," Buffy reminded her as she constructed a new sword from thin air. "Cordelia, get behind us. If Darla and I can't beat this thing…run."
"Run? Run where?" Cordelia shouted, confused and gesturing at the desolate mindscape. "What the hell is going on here?"
As Darla moved to stand alongside her, armed and ready for battle, Buffy began looking around frantically. Cordelia was right; there was nowhere to run to…except that portal that was supposed to have magically appeared once the real Cordy had woken up. Okay, she's awake now - so where the hell is that portal?
"This is too much!" Jasmine thundered out, her face returning to normal as she malevolently eyed the trio of women. Eyeing Cordelia, she growled, "You, you're going straight back into your cage, Mother!" She turned to face Buffy and Darla. "But not before I take care of these two meddling -"
Suddenly, Jasmine clutched her ears in pain as a long, whistling noise - her true name which had been exhaled with the last breath of a dead demon into Cordelia's ear by Angel, to be exact - echoed throughout the mindscape. Again, her facial features shifted into their rotted maggot form as Jasmine fell to her knees.
Suddenly, the air swooshed and swirled behind the three women as a blue portal opened behind them.
"What's that?" Cordelia asked, growing more confused by the second.
"Our gateway back home," Buffy replied, eying the swirling vortex in appreciation.
The Vision Girl accepted that, even if her confusion level hadn't changed. "How'd that happen, anyway?" Cordelia inquired.
Buffy paused for a moment, before she allowed herself a small smile. "Angel."
Cordelia's eyes shot to Buffy in shock. "Huh? Angel?"
"How do you know?" Darla asked, also confused.
"I just…do," was Buffy's simple reply.
Groaning as she tried to get up from down on her knees, Jasmine's face glowed green as she managed to change her features back to human form - but she now looked sickly and weak, as boils and scars marred what would have otherwise been beautiful features. From the way she sluggishly moved, Buffy could tell that the enemy was weakened.
But there was no time to test just how weakened Jasmine really was, not with that portal finally here and about to close. With that in mind, Buffy returned to the mission at hand - getting Cordelia safely out of here.
"Darla, grab Cordy and get going. Now. I'll hold Jasmine off until you two get to safety," Buffy said as she sized up the weakened goddess.
Helping Cordelia to her feet, Darla eyed Buffy suspiciously. "But what about you? You have to get through the portal as well before it closes, or you'll be -"
"Just do as I say!" Buffy shouted furiously, she was in no mood for arguments and there was no time for them anyway.
Huffing and puffing, Jasmine staggered towards the trio, obviously weakened but still very deadly. "None of you are going anywhere!"
"Beg to differ, Oh Maggoty-er-Than-Thou One," a determined Buffy quipped as she stalked forward and landed two solid punches to Jasmine's face. The punches appeared to have more effect than before, as Jasmine was rocked backwards. Smiling grimly as well as keeping the pressure on, Buffy unleashed a spinning roundhouse kick that sent Jasmine staggering sideways.
Turning back to see Darla and Cordelia still standing there with time ticking away before they would be stuck here forever, Buffy frantically shouted, "I said get your asses through that portal, now! GO!"
Knowing that she had no other choice, Darla pulled a reluctant Cordelia towards the portal.
"What are you doing? Buffy needs help!" Cordelia protested angrily.
"You think I don't know that?" Darla retorted, just as angry. She had grown rather fond of Buffy during the three days they had spent inside this hell that was Cordelia's mind, and the thought of leaving her behind as she fought for her life did not sit well with Connor's mother.
But Darla knew the stakes, and she knew, deep down, that Buffy was right.
The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few, or the one.
"But you heard her. You're the key to all this, Cordelia. You have to get out of here right now, or you'll die and the rest of the world will follow. Now are you going to shut up and do what you're told, or am I going to have to knock you out and carry you through that portal?" Darla demanded, as she dragged the brunette along with supernatural strength.
Angrily, Cordelia and Darla traded scowls before Cordy finally relented as she looked away. "Fine. Let's go."
Darla shook her head as she and Cordelia began to run towards the portal, the blonde woman turning back one last time to see the Slayer battling with the angry fallen Power.
"Good luck, Buffy," Darla murmured before they disappeared into the vortex.
Buffy allowed herself a moment to look over her shoulder to see Darla and Cordy fade into the blue portal…
…but that brief moment cost her, as Jasmine hit the Slayer with an uppercut that launched her into the air, the petite blonde warrior landing on her back hard and painfully.
"You pathetic, stupid, little girl! Do you have any idea what you've done?" Jasmine screeched, her scarred face contorted in pure rage.
Grunting as slowly rose to her feet, Buffy smirked. "The usual, I'm thinking. Y'know, saved the world? Screwed up your big plan beyond repair? Left you in thundering need of a good facial? Gimme a break here, lady, it's been a long three days!"
"You think you've won? You have no idea what you've lost! What you've cost everyone!" Jasmine shouted angrily as she swung hard at the Slayer, who evaded several follow-up blows as she inched herself closer to the portal. "You have no earthly idea why I even tried to do what I did! What I was trying to save you from!"
"Yeah, and you know what? I don't care!" Buffy snarled as she brought her hands together and swung upwards with all her might, cracking Jasmine in the face and sending her flying backwards onto the ground.
"Newsflash, but the end doesn't justify the means! You killed and you maimed and you hurt people I care about along the way to getting what you want," Buffy said, standing tall as she looked down at the prone Jasmine. "Angel, Cordy and Wesley might have their own thing in LA now, but they were part of my gang first. Part of my world. So, hurting them was your biggest mistake 'cause once a Scooby, always a Scooby. You mess with one of us, you mess with all of us…and when you mess with Buffy Summers, you get your ass kicked. Hard."
At that moment, Buffy realized the blue portal was quickly starting shrink. By her count, it would be gone within the next five seconds. She had to get out of here right now, unless she wanted to make it a hat trick on the number of times she's died.
And that would be of the bad, because there was no way Willow would be mystically resurrecting her again.
"Uh-oh, that's my cue!" Buffy said, turning one last time to Jasmine - who was struggling to get her bearings - and mockingly saluted her. "Been nice beating ya!"
Buffy turned and literally flew towards the portal leading back to the real world, which was still rapidly shrinking.
"NO!" Jasmine shouted, making it to her feet as she summoned one last burst of power and leapt towards the Slayer, tackling her…
…and they both tumbled into the portal together, barely two seconds before it closed.
Hyperion Hotel - Main Lobby
The same time
Without warning, a brilliant green light exploded out of the pregnant Cordelia's belly as an octopus-like, tentacled creature started floating in the air.
The gathered heroes stared in shock at the sight, as Angel - the only one still strong enough to effectively fight - raised his sword defensively, ready to attack and defend the wounded at all costs.
"Wait!" Wesley shouted, holding his hand up.
"For what, for that thing to eat us? Angel, kill it already!" Gunn shouted back.
"We don't know what that'll do to Cordelia!" Wesley insisted.
The brilliant rainbow spectrum around the creature suddenly began to fade away, as it suddenly shot across the room and exploded out through the upper window of the main lobby's entrance.
Oz, Kennedy, Lorne and Giles - the ones closest to the door - immediately ducked to avoid the sharp glass and falling debris from where the light had exploded out of the hotel.
Staring at the hole where the window had been, Oz cocked his head. "Well, that's something you don't see every day."
"Okay, I'm game. What the hell was that?" Robin asked, stunned.
"Oh dear Lord," Giles breathed as a worried look crossed his face. "If that was the creature, the-the Power, inside of Cordelia, then that must mean…"
"No," Angel murmured in horror, as the meaning of what Giles had said had dawned on him. The Champion immediately began striding towards the four women to check on them.
Xander understood as well. He remembered full well Skip's rant about how Cordelia would not survive giving birth to this mysterious Power, or at least not survive whole.
"Cordy!" Harris shouted as he desperately broke free of Anya's supporting grasp, and began to limp forward towards the purple triangle-shaped light binding the four women…
…just as the light suddenly dissipated, and Willow opened her eyes with a gasp. Her concentration broken, Willow fell to the floor, which she'd had the foresight to line with soft couch cushions to break her fall. She had learned her lesson after bruising her tailbone several times during similar spells over the years.
At that same moment, Cordelia, her belly now returned to its normal, toned state, gasped as she awoke with a start.
To her left, Darla's blue-grey irises fluttered open as she too inhaled a sharp, deep breath of air.
And on the far right, Buffy's blue-green eyes shot open as she gasped for air…just as Angel reached her, the first sight she saw that welcomed her back to the real world.
"Buffy," Angel asked in his gentle, concerned tone. "Are you okay?"
As she fought to catch her breath, Buffy found herself suddenly marvelling at Angel's handsome face, staring deep into those beautiful brown eyes that she had honestly doubted that she would ever see again during that mind quest.
"Angel?" Buffy asked softly, hoping desperately that this was not a dream.
Relief overcoming him, Angel pressed a soft kiss to her temple, pulling back to see her pretty face, every instinct in him wanting to crush her body into his arms and never let go. "Welcome back."
Buffy's heart flip-flopped as she saw that sexy half-smile that she had dreamt about for so many nights shower her with affection. And again, just like that - the rest of the world fell away as the two former lovers stared longingly at each other.
Cordelia's coughing caught his attention as Angel suddenly turned his attention to his Vision Girl.
"Cordy?" Angel asked, hesitantly, unsure if he was really talking to his best friend or to her evil, bitchy doppelganger.
After a beat, Cordelia, though exhausted, flashed him her famous, flawless smile with a warmth that only the real Cordelia Chase could ever produce. "Well, it ain't Jennifer Aniston, Bubba."
In a flash, Angel had given her a crushing hug, surprising Cordelia before she eagerly hugged him back…drawing green-eyed stares from both Buffy and Xander, the latter who had now gotten within the spell area.
Cordelia's eyes briefly focused on her ex-boyfriend, taking note of the raw hamburger that was the guy's face - the broken nose, the split lip, the swollen-shut right eye. The damage was so bad that Cordelia honestly didn't recognize him for a second. In fact she was just about to ask who he was, when recognition abruptly set in.
"Xander?" Cordelia asked in disbelief, breaking away from Angel - who was rather glad, given the expression on Buffy's face, and who was also wondering what was going to happen now between him and his Vision Girl.
"Hey, Cor," Xander smiled despite the pain that flared in his right cheek as he did so, limping closer to the Seer.
"Oh my God," Cordelia breathed as she took in the young man's tattered appearance, reaching up to gently touch his bruised and bloody face. "What the heck happened to you? You look like hell! What, did you get hit by a Mack truck or something?"
Despite the pain Xander felt near-bliss at her soft touch, savoring the feeling of the real Cordelia's hand on his face. He also savored the feeling of a mission accomplished, a quest successfully fulfilled. This feels…good. How did I forget that this could feel so good?
As he cast an eye down at her over-the-top black gown, Xander raised an eyebrow. "Not to throw stones in glass houses, Cor, but…have you seen what your evil twin had you wearing yet?"
At that, Cordelia looked down and was instantly horrified to see what sort of outfit she was wearing. "Oh, crap! Where the hell did she get this outfit, Morticia's Spring Collection?"
Xander, Angel and Buffy exchanged knowing smiles. Yup, the real Cordelia Chase was definitely back.
Xander turned to Buffy, looking concerned over one of his best friends. "You okay, Buff? We were worried about you."
The previous feelings of annoyance where Harris was concerned were instantly forgotten, as she took in his battered and busted form. Wide-eyed as she eyed her wounded friend, Buffy exclaimed, "Me? Xander, what happened to you? Like Cordy said, you look like you got run over by a truck - or else you picked a fight with one of those WWE guys on TV! Only, you know, for real."
"Hey, don't go dissin' the good name of professional wrestling!" Xander quipped, wincing and clutching at his ribs as he did so. "Sure, it might be mostly well-timed choreography and lots of baby oil, but the Undertaker can hit just as hard as Skip."
Buffy shook her head and chuckled. "I'll take your word for it, Xan."
Immediately the Scoobies, the Fang Gang and the others began mobbing around the four women, bombarding them with questions and fussing over each of them.
Giles gave Buffy a relieved smile as she managed to stand under her own power. "Buffy, are you…?"
"Right as raindrops," Buffy assured him with a small smile, looking over to Darla, who was being tended to by Wesley and Lindsey, each man jealously maneuvering in for closer position. With appreciation, Buffy gave her a knowing smile and a nod of appreciation - for everything her partner had done during their fantastic voyage.
Catching the Slayer's gaze after she rolled her eyes at the antics of the two men, Darla returned the nod in sincerity. At that moment, whatever grudges had existed between the two women in the past were officially buried, marking the start of a new friendship.
Cordelia felt herself gasping for air, as Fred squealed and gave her a brutally crushing hug. She'd never figured that someone as small as the brunette Texan could be so strong. "Fred! Squeezing hard…breathing…becoming…issue!"
Flushed red, Fred pulled back. "Sorry! I'm sorry, it's just…well, you know."
Cordelia smiled as she looked at Lorne, Wesley, Fred and Gunn. Doing the best to repress the horrors of the past, she said, "I know…I missed you guys too."
"Welcome back, girl," Gunn said, as he tenderly hugged his brunette friend. "Hasn't been the same without you."
"You sure you're okay, Sugar Drop?" Lorne asked Cordy with a tender smile.
Cordelia reached upwards and gave the green-skinned demon a deep hug. The Chase woman didn't directly answer the question as she replied, "It's just good to finally be me again, Lorne!"
The Seer turned her eyes to Wesley, taking in his rugged, stubbly appearance. "New look?"
Wesley shrugged, with a smirk. "More or less."
Cordelia raised her eyebrows on approval, smiling at her longtime teammate. "It's a good look," she said as she pulled Wesley into a hug.
"You okay?" Oz asked Willow as he gently helped her to her feet. "That was pretty intense."
Still wobbling, Willow steadied herself as she held onto Oz's arms. "Yeah…but still! We did it! First time ever that someone did that spell in the Bisylline Codex successfully! Definitely one for the record books..." Willow babbled, feeling as excited and hyper as only the redhead could, bringing a smile to Oz's face.
Despite her own injuries, Kennedy, seething with jealousy at the close proximity that Oz and Willow were sharing, quickly cut in and shoved the werewolf aside as she checked on her girlfriend.
"Willow, baby, are you okay?" Kennedy asked as she checked the witch for injuries, making sure her body was positioned as to block Oz from view.
While annoyed at being crassly shoved away from Willow, Oz said nothing and kept a close eye on the redhead, who was waving off Kennedy's concern as she turned her head to glance at Oz.
Looking around the damaged hotel, Buffy raised her eyebrows. "Okay, humor me. What'd you guys do, hold a monster truck rally while Willow, Darla and I were under?"
"We had a little…unexpected turbulence," Wesley said as he grimly eyed Skip's corpse.
As her eyes slid across from the metallic corpse of the dead mercenary to the discarded severed insectoid head of the Keeper of the Name, Buffy eyed Angel curiously. "Do I even want to know?" the blonde Slayer asked.
Angel shook his head. "Not right now…I'll fill you in later."
At that moment, the Hyperion's front doors swung open as Spike, Faith, Dawn, Connor and several people the blonde Slayer had never seen before came into the hotel, armed and dangerous.
"Cavalry's 'ere," Spike announced glibly, before he took a long look around at the ruins of the lobby, and a now awakened Buffy, Darla, Cordelia and Willow. "And apparently, a little late."
Golden's eyes widened at the sight of Lorne, him and the other youths holding up their spears. "What the hell is that ugly-ass beastie doing here?" Golden gruffly demanded.
"Ugly-ass? Hey!" an indignant and offended Lorne exclaimed.
Seeing the street youths pointing their weapons at his teammate, Gunn grabbed a nearby battle axe and protectively stepped right in front of Lorne. "I don't know who the hell you punks are, but you better point your little sticks away from my boy right the hell now - unless you want me to stick 'em where the sun don't shine! You read me?"
"Punks?" Golden angrily exclaimed.
"Hey!" Kate shouted, looking angry. "What did I say before in the sewers? All of you, stand down. Now! This isn't enemy territory."
"Gunn," Angel called out. "It's okay. They're with me."
Hesitantly lowering his weapon as the youths did the same, Gunn eyed Angel warily. "You really ought to screen people first before you let 'em up in our crib, man."
"Hey, wait a - Gunn?" Golden asked, as recognition suddenly dawned on him. "Charles Gunn?"
"Did I say you could use my name?" Gunn snapped brusquely.
"Did I say you could use my ride without paying the piper?" Golden replied with a smirk on his face.
"What? Paying the…" Gunn's confused frown melted away, as the memory of catching a snot-nosed little punk twelve-year old kid attempting to hotwire his beloved vampire-killing truck five years ago on Venice Boulevard flickered to life in his brain. "God-damn! Tommy Golden's little brother? Randall?"
Off the youth's smile, Gunn walked over and affectionately patted him on the shoulder, the previous animosity between them instantly forgotten. "Little-ass Randall Golden, man, you tried to jack my ride. Damn, kid, you grew up! Last time I saw you, you weren't even old enough to shave!"
"So what the hell you doing here, dog? I heard on the street how you broke off from your old crew a while back," Randall asked in curiosity.
"I work with these guys nowadays," Gunn motioned to the Angel Investigations crew. "We're paranormal detectives. Like Ghostbusters, only we kick more ass. But enough about that, man! How's Tommy? I haven't seen that boy in forever, I've missed his ass! How's he doing?"
Upon hearing that Kate, Randall, Holly, Matthew and the others sadly looked away. Gunn's grin faded into a look of shock and sadness. He knew that look they were giving him all too well.
"Oh, God," Gunn breathed, horrified. "Randall, man, I'm sorry."
Off the look on her ex-boyfriend's face, Fred instinctively went to his side. "Charles?" she asked imploringly.
"Tommy…he used to soldier in my crew back in the day," Gunn explained, though still in shock. "He went off and built up his own operation, 'bout a year before I ran into Angel."
"Oh…so he was a good friend of yours?" Fred asked sadly.
Gunn nodded as a morose feeling swept over him. "Yeah…yeah, that he was."
Randall put his hand on Gunn's shoulder, sympathetically. "You were his hero, man. He always used to tell me that whenever he was in a tight spot, he would think to himself, 'What would Gunn do?' He never stopped looking up to you. Just thought you wanted to know."
Gunn felt a lump begin to form in the back of his throat as Randall embraced him in a comforting hug. I never got another chance to say goodbye, Charles realized as the moment turned bittersweet for him. He'd regained one friend in Cordelia…only to find out that he'd lost another.
As Fred wrapped her arms around his back, offering him comfort, Angel and Buffy exchanged sad glances. They knew that a big part of this life was the inevitable deaths of friends and allies.
The Grim Reaper reached for them all, and not everyone could escape its grasp.
"If it's any comfort," Angel said to Gunn. "We killed the thing that killed your friend down in the sewers. It won't hurt anyone else ever again."
After a beat, Gunn turned his eyes to Angel. "Did you make it hurt 'fore ya killed it?"
Angel nodded. "Yup."
"Good," Gunn replied grimly.
"Hey, Spike? How come you showed up so late for the party? Did you make a late night run for more glow-in-the-dark hair care products?" Xander asked not far away as Anya took her place at his side again, frowning at her ex.
Eyeing the badly beaten Harris male, Spike raised an eyebrow. "So what happened to you, Droopy Boy? Did ya pick a fight with Ken Shamrock?"
"Who's that? You'll have to pardon me if I don't have clue-one who the hell you're talking about, Billy Idol generation," Xander said innocently, causing Spike to silently growl at him.
Deciding to ignore the annoying git - as well as Robin's habitual dark scowl upon seeing him - Spike, along with Faith and the others, approached the crowded circle, William's eyes resting squarely on Buffy.
"Welcome back to the land of the living, luv," Spike smiled sincerely.
Buffy gave him a grateful nod. "Hopefully, I'll never leave it again."
"So…is Cordelia all 'not evil' now?" Faith asked as she eyed her fellow brunette warily.
At the sight of Faith and Spike, Cordelia - whose memories were still rather hazy at the moment - stiffened.
"Someone mind telling me what the hell Psycho Slayer and Mr. Blonde Evil Ambition are doing here, and why no one is currently kicking their asses?" Cordelia demanded.
"Huh, guess the cheerleader chit's still as mouthy as ever," Spike muttered to Faith, to which Faith couldn't help but to smile at.
"It's okay, Cordy. They're on our side now," Buffy assured her. Off Cordelia's unconvinced and wary glance, Buffy sighed. "No, really, they are."
"Geez, a girl goes on one little trip to the dark side and she never gets to live it down, huh?" Faith chuckled, to which Cordelia and Buffy gave her a glare.
"Are you alright, Buffy?" a concerned Dawn asked her sister as Connor went to check on his mother, who immediately gathered him into a deep hug.
"I'm fine," Buffy sighed, frowning as she remembered exactly what Dawn had been doing while she was off in Dreamland. "And by the way, missy, when I wake up in the morning? We're going to have a nice, long talk about what the definition of grounding is. As well as the meaning of extra-grounded, which you definitely are now, as of right this second."
"Oh, come on!" Dawn shouted angrily, startling her big sister. "Are we back to all that again? Because I've helped out sooo much ever since we left Sunnydale! Buffy, I get that you don't want me to die or get hurt, I really do. But I don't need to be molly-coddled! I helped Connor capture Evil Cordelia, I helped Faith and Spike save Connor's life - I even tricked that weird insect-demon thing in order for us to get the name of the big nasty hijacking Cordy's body!"
Ignoring Buffy's gaping look, the Key turned her pleading blue eyes to her sister's ex-boyfriend. "Angel, tell her!"
The ensouled vampire shrugged. "Well…yeah, gotta admit. Dawn has been pretty helpful lately."
Off Buffy's malevolent glare, Angel quickly added, "But that still doesn't change the fact that you should have asked for permission before you left the hotel with Faith and Spike, Dawn."
"Oh, sure, and as if you or Buffy would have said 'yes' to that!" Dawn spat out indignantly. "This is getting ridiculous! I mean, Buffy used to patrol for vampires late at night all the time when she was my age!"
"It was my job, and I had the advantage of superpowers," Buffy reminded her sternly. "Which is more than I can say for you."
At that, Dawn, Connor and Angel flashed back to the mysterious green light show that erupted from the former Key's eyes and mouth down in the sewers. As Angel questioningly eyed the youngest Summers, looking as if he wanted to say something, Dawn subtly shook her head - whatever it was that had happened in that demon's lair was something that she would have to figure out on her own, later.
"Dawn?" Cordelia asked, as she took in the sight of the Slayer's not-so-little-anymore sister.
Dawn eyed Cordelia curiously, her little temper tantrum now over. "Cordy? Is that…really you? Not the evil, crazy, homicidal, bitchy you?"
"It's really me, Dawnie. I swear," the Seer assured the girl she used to babysit during the summer of her junior year of high school. "By the way…when'd you get so tall?"
At that, Dawn's face lit up as she pulled Cordelia into yet another hug that the gorgeous brunette seer had been given tonight, Cordelia laughing as she returned the hug.
However, as she opened her eyes, she saw Connor's face…his expression of guilt as he awkwardly looked away, separating himself from Darla. Cordelia's smile instantly vanished, as the memory of their night of passion together suddenly came to the fore of her mind.
Holy friggin' crap. Ever since waking up, the young woman had been trying her best to repress what had happened ever since returning from the Higher Planes; but now Cordelia had a bad feeling that the consequences over everything that had transpired over the last few months, was going to be bad. Really bad.
Nearly-suicidal, guilt-trippin' bad.
"So…does this mean it's all over?" Fred asked hesitantly.
"Well, I'm not all possessed or carrying Rosemary's baby anymore - so, I guess things are kinda back to normal," Cordelia replied, banishing the bad thoughts as she gratefully ran her hands down her flat stomach.
"Not…exactly," Buffy countered, thinking back to the weakened Jasmine's last-ditch effort to grab her back in Cordelia's mindscape, and falling through the portal with her.
Upon hearing that Darla stood up, surprised. "What do you mean?"
"When I was fighting that thing, the bad guy Power - it called itself Jasmine, by the way - I think it might have followed me through that portal out of Cordy's brain," Buffy said somewhat nervously, looking at everyone around her.
"What?" Angel, now on full alert, turned to the Slayer. "Are you sure?"
"Um, pretty much - so, did anything out of the ordinary happen when the mojo wore off and we all woke up?" Buffy asked.
"Huge green light show, weird octopus-like thing went all floaty for a few seconds, then it went burstin' out that window," Xander reported as he pointed to the broken window in question.
"And you think it was that…Jasmine thing?" Angel asked.
As the others, all of them concerned and worried, turned to Buffy for answers, Buffy swallowed. "Not only do I think that…but unless I'm mistaken, and I really, really hope I am…I think it's out there. On the loose. Right now."
Turning to a grim-faced Angel, Buffy sighed. "Which means we still have work to do."
Los Angeles - an alley, ten miles from the Hyperion Hotel
Now
Several homeless men had gathered around a fire within an empty oil barrel, trying to cook several packages of chicken they had stolen from a local supermarket earlier in the evening. It wasn't going to be the tastiest of meals, nor was it the most ethical of behavior, but it would keep them alive for another night; and human beings can justify a lot to themselves in the name of personal survival.
Just as the meat had begun to become edible, one of the men looked up and saw what appeared to be a naked female form slowly approaching them in the alleyway.
"Hey, Gus," the man nudged the closest one next to him. "Check it out."
As the one called Gus looked up to see the attractive female silhouette approach them, he hungrily licked his lips.
"Sweet," the homeless man laughed along with the others as he approached the woman, who was heading towards the flames, the shadows hiding her face.
"Hey there, beautiful," Gus leered. "You hungry? We've got some cheap prime choice chicken here, if you want to get your stomach filled up. Of course, if you're short on cash, we could always settle for payment in kind…if you get my drift."
"Give me your clothes," the shadowy woman demanded in a cold voice.
Gus's eyes lit up. "Hey, boys, you hear that? She wants me to take my clothes off!"
The others laughed and wolf-whistled towards the mysterious figure. Encouraged, and somewhat drunk, Gus sauntered closer to the woman in the darkness. "Well, if you show me yours first, honey, maybe I'll show you mi-ACK!"
An arm as strong as iron shot out and a hand gripped his throat, causing Gus to gag and choke. His eyes bulged out in fear as the black woman stepped out of the shadows…revealing a scar-faced, milky-eyed and very naked Jasmine, scowling at the lowly human in her grasp.
"Now!" Jasmine thundered.
As they spotted the ugly female figure choking the life out of Gus, one of the men instinctively charged Jasmine with a broken beer bottle. The rogue Power, dropping Gus to the ground, merely broke the man's arm with one hand, then sent him flying head-first into the wall of the alley, his neck breaking loudly as he fell to the ground - dead.
Two others began attacking her, but Jasmine dispatched one of them (who'd tried to punch her) easily when she simply grabbed him by the throat and twisted hard with one hand, breaking his neck, and then stepped over the corpse with regal disdain.
Panicked, the other man pulled out a small cheap revolver, firing several shots that struck Jasmine in the face and chest. But the bullets were simply crushed on impact, bouncing off Jasmine's still-powerful body as harmlessly as marshmallows.
"More of your toys," Jasmine sneered as she moved in a blur of speed towards the stunned man, plunging her fist through his stomach…
"Pathetic," Jasmine spat.
…and ripping his spine out from inside him, blood and viscera spilling out everywhere as the man dropped dead onto the ground.
Turning to a cowering Gus, Jasmine stalked towards him, her face full of anger.
Immediately, Gus began to pull off his shirt. "O-o-okay, okay, lady, uh, miss, um. Ma'am! Here's my clothes, take 'em, all of them!" As he stripped off his pants, leaving him clad only in his underwear, he reached into his stained jeans and tossed his frayed wallet over to Jasmine, which landed right in front of her. "And here's my money, too, that's all I've got! Please, just please don't kill me!"
"Why should I let you live? It's because of the scum like you that this world needs saving," Jasmine growled as she inched closer to the terrified man. "I've lost almost everything, thanks to that damned Slayer and her undead lover. But maybe I can still make this world a better place…one body at a time."
And then Jasmine began to pummel the screaming, teary-eyed, begging homeless man. She pounded on his skull, ignoring his pleas for mercy. She hit him again and again, letting loose the rage and hatred that had filled her broken heart. Jasmine battered her victim, raining down fist after fist with increasing force, with growing rage and despair and bewilderment, screaming with every blow she dealt…
…until all that was left of Gus's skull was a bloody smear on the ground.
And yet Jasmine still kept pounding the ground, her blows becoming weaker and more ineffectual until she collapsed on Gus's naked, headless and blood-matted torso, wailing and sobbing brokenly, her hands covered in the dead man's sticky, dark red blood.
Jasmine had not lied to Gus - she had indeed lost almost everything. The unleashing of her true name by Angel had robbed her of the ability to control the humans of this world merely by her presence. By her…love.
The rogue Power also knew that she could not return to the Higher Planes. Even if she wasn't in this greatly weakened state that made returning there impossible, even if Buffy had been lying about the Beastmaster, the other Powers would never allow Jasmine to go back home now, not after what she'd done.
Even her worshippers in Demon-Bug World were gone now; she could sense how Angel had killed the pitifully few remaining ones during his sojourn there.
All of Jasmine's plans had been laid to waste, because of that damned vampire and his Slayer.
She had wanted it all…and now, she had lost almost everything. She had just enough strength and ability left to kill every human being on this planet, and that was it.
For the first time in her eternally long existence, the fallen Power calling herself Jasmine was completely and utterly alone.
From the shadows, unbeknownst to her, the First Evil - now wearing the physical form of Buffy Summers - watched…and smiled.
"Perfect," it grinned darkly, the First knowing its dark plans were still moving along. Right on schedule.
To Be Continued...
Next: Now awake and more-or-less back to normal, Cordelia begins coming to terms with the memories of her actions whilst under the control of the Beastmaster and Jasmine. Will she be able to cope with seeing all that blood of the innocents on her hands, even if she wasn't in the driver's seat? Maybe, with the help of a damaged and bed-ridden ex-boyfriend…
As Dawn tries to understand her new-found powers, Darla helps to unravel the secrets of her past…and the Key to her future.
Buffy, Angel and Cordelia hunt for the still-on-the-loose Jasmine. But they will be completely unprepared for the bombshell that Jasmine reveals to them, explaining her actions…and her true connection to the First Evil.
Speaking of the First…the ultimate Evil's pawns are now finally in position. And when they strike, will the Scoobies nor the Fang Gang be prepared for the carnage that will inevitably follow?
Well, that's all for now, my peeps! Tune in next month for more…same place, same name. Only on FF dot Net!
Later!
Jean-theGuardian
