Part 15
Angel watched as Cordelia ran up to Buffy’s door pounding on the wood until Buffy answered. He breathed a sigh of relief as the door shut ensuring Cordy’s safety.
He turned to the vampire walking next to him. “They will return to Cordelia’s.’
Angel B nodded.
“They were together? And they didn’t try to enter?”
Again Angel B nodded.
“That doesn’t make any sense.”
“It does if they weren’t working together- fighting you and each other would have given Cordelia the chance to escape.”
It was Angel’s turn to nod. “Neither would share. But, they would want to take Cordy before they went after each other. Angelus 1 would have the advantage, he can kill any of us, but none of us can kill him. God, I want that bastard dead.”
“Wesley and Gunn said you fought him twice and almost killed him. That must have been both gratifying and hard.”
“His death would’ve stopped so much pain and evil. It would’ve almost been worth it, but when I met up with Cordy again in LA she had almost got herself killed. It was probably the only time since that her connection to me hadn’t been what put her in danger. I couldn’t take the chance that someone else would’ve saved her. So, Angelus lived.”
“Ensuring that Angelus killed and tortured for almost another decade.”
“Ensuring that Cordelia survived and I can live with that.” Angel took off in a run towards the school.
***
“This is almost too easy.” Angel shook his head and raised his weapon at the fighting vampires.
“Predictable.” Angel B commented raising the rifle in his hands.
“I almost want to say hi.” Angel shot as did Angel B, their combined darts hitting the two battling Angelus.
Angel B walked over to the unconscious vampires. “Here?”
“Take them to the old apartment. We can open the portal and leave the other Angelus to wake up with a headache away from Cordy’s house.”
***
Angel B stood in the darkest corner watching as Angel tossed Angelus 1 back into his past.
“You’re turn.” Angel faced the other vampire.
Angel B shook his head. “I can’t take the chance.” He raised his rifle shooting, shooting again as Angel’s surprise transformed into rage. The vampire crumbled struggling against the encroaching unconsciousness. Angel B stepped back as the other vampire sprawled on the floor of the apartment.
He wondered slightly about the lack of guilt but then again who was he hurting, it was himself that he was going to kill.
***
The fog was lifting from Angel’s mind, leaving the realization of why he felt groggy. He jerked to move only to be brought back down by an unbreakable binding. He growled, staring at the chains that bound his naked body. He pulled again but his wrists were secure against the bed. His eyes glowed yellow searching for the cause.
Angel B leaned against the doorway, his arms across the chest. “Angelus is so full of drugs he didn’t need the chains but you did. I wasn’t confident that you would stay still to listen.”
Angel narrowed his eyes. “I’m listening.”
Angel B nodded. “I’ve could’ve just killed you but I wanted you know before you go to hell or wherever I’m destined to go that Cordy will be safe always. I’m not Angelus. I thought you’d appreciate the reassurance.”
“I don’t. Why are you doing this?”
“Isn’t it obvious. I don’t trust you to give me the future I want. You screwed up once already.”
“It’s over; Angelus is back where he belongs. You will get your future.”
“Through you. That’s not good enough.” Angel B pushed up from the doorway. “Four versions running around Sunnydale, all wanting Cordelia Chase, but only one can have her. I’ve decided that it should be me.”
“Wesley said….”
“Right, I go back and then what, disappear? the memories of what I did to Cordelia vanishing as you take her back to your future. Well, I can’t be that sure of that. I need her. I need her love her touch to soothe the memories to make them go away. I need another image of her face as I bury myself in her warmth, not tears, not terror but what I saw could be mine in her bedroom. Love, acceptance, desire. My body her body joined.” Angel B chuckled.
“You should’ve gone with your first instinct and not trusted me but then again you can trust me to make sure that Cordelia will be safe. I won’t hurt her that’s not want I want. I love her just as you do.”
“She doesn’t love you. You are merely a version of me, a version formed because you didn’t love Cordelia, didn’t have the chance to. She’ll know and she’ll hate you. The future you want will never happen, not like this.” Angel tried to reason with the vampire, as he pulled harder on the chains.
“I’ll be the one in her father’s sweater.” Angel B tugged on the garment that he was now wearing as well as Angel’s pants and shoes.
“A shirt? That won’t fool her.”
“Are you sure, she seems to take great stock in the versions choice of wardrobes and she did choose this for her vampire. She’s expecting one vampire, this sweater, this orb and spell,” Angel B held up the glass container,” that is what she will get.”
“She expects the vampire that knows her. You don’t.”
“I do,” Angel B protested. “I’ve watched her for two days. She is beauty, courage, and heart.”
“She’s also a pain in the ass. You don’t know her.” Angel growled. He couldn’t believe that this was happening.
Angel B flashed his demon eyes. “I DO. And she will know that I love her. That’s enough.”
Angel struggled against his confinement as fear and rage intermingled in his body. “You say you want her, you love her. You don’t or you wouldn’t be doing this. Your need to be forgiven is allowing you to justify your demon’s need. You have a soul, don’t do this.”
“This has nothing to do with my demon but everything to do with my soul. I love her and amazingly she loves the vampire with a soul. And once your dead that’s me.”
“Damn’t, you aren’t that vampire. The only shared experience YOU have with Cordelia Chase is when you brutalized her. Those aren’t loving memories or basis for a friendship. She’ll know and you will hurt her. What are you going to do when she rejects you?”
Angel had to convince the vampire. There was no way Angel could be reassured that Cordelia would be safe with that vampire soul or no soul. She would realize the truth and her reaction wouldn’t be one of understanding.
Angel B growled. “She won’t. This is finished. I only wanted you to go to your death with the knowledge that she would be safe. Now you know.” Angel B snapped off a bedpost, striking Angel through his chest.
Angel B stepped back from the scattered dust, growls rumbling from his throat. He shouldn’t have wasted the time, talking to the vampire had just made him doubt.