Part 4<\/b><\/p>\n
Angel cradled Cordy in his arms. The woman was grounding her fists in her eyes, grimacing.\u00a0Wesley immediately was at Angel\u2019s side with an ornate old bottle handing it to the vampire.<\/p>\n
\u201cDrink, baby.\u201d Angel held the bottle to Cordelia\u2019s lips.<\/p>\n
Cordelia nodded, sipping at the potion. Cordelia pushed the bottle away. \u201cEww. God that stuff is gross.\u201d She complained. Cordelia unclenched her fist, rubbing her face and the pain that had been etched on her beautiful face disappeared. \u201cBut, damn, it works.\u201d She took a deep breath, smiling at the vampire.<\/p>\n
\u201cCordy?\u201d Angel could feel the cessation of the tremors that had over taken Cordy\u2019s body when the vision hit but still he couldn\u2019t trust that all the pain had been alleviated.<\/p>\n
\u201cAngel,\u201d Cordy raised her hand attempting to smooth the worry on his handsome face. \u201cReally, a couple of aspirin and I\u2019ll be fine.\u201d<\/p>\n
Fred dutifully held out two pills and a bottle of water.<\/p>\n
Cordelia smiled her thanks.<\/p>\n
Angel got to his feet helping Cordelia to stand.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe vision?\u201d Wesley asked.<\/p>\n
\u201cA couple of vampires hanging out at the boardwalk waiting for wandering food. A young couple.\u201d<\/p>\n
Angel nodded going for his coat. Cordelia moved to follow.<\/p>\n
Angel turned. \u201cI can handle two vampires, Cordelia.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou might\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo.\u201d<\/p>\n
Wesley shook his head. Gunn rolled his eyes. \u201cAre they ever going to stop with this?”<\/p>\n
Wesley comment was cut short by the yell directed towards him.<\/p>\n
\u201cWesley,\u201d both Cordy and Angel faced him with stubborn glares.<\/p>\n
Wesley took off his glasses, rubbing at his eyes. He hated that they but him in the middle of their tug of wills. No matter what he said, one of them would be mad it was a no win no win situation. But they both had reminded him that he was the boss. Wesley took a deep breath. \u201cCordelia, Angel can handle two vampires alone very well.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHmmph,\u201d She glared, starting to argue, when her eyes went blank, and she slumped to the ground.<\/p>\n
\u201cCordy,\u201d Angel rushed to the unconscious girl. \u201cWhat the hell? Cordy,\u201d He knelt feeling for her pulse.<\/p>\n
Wesley, Gunn, and Fred ran to his side.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat\u2019s wrong with her?\u201d \u201cIs she?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo, but\u2026Wesley, she won\u2019t wake up.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou said that potion wasn\u2019t harmful.\u201d Angel shot accusingly.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s not, none of the ingredients are dangerous.\u201d Wesley leaned down worriedly. \u201cI can\u2019t explain this.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMan, we got to take her to the hospital.\u201d Gunn said.<\/p>\n
Angel looked to Wesley. \u201cThe last time\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAngel,\u201d Wesley frowned, \u201cThat was because of Vocah\u2019s curse, she was in the throes of a physic episode as a result of the visions. She doesn\u2019t seem in any mental or physical distress\u2026.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShe won\u2019t wake up.\u201d Angel growled, harshly disputing Wesley\u2019s definition of \u2018distress\u2019. \u201cAnd she just had a vision and that potion.\u201d<\/p>\n
Wesley considered and made his decision. \u201cTake her upstairs, I\u2019ll analyze the potion again and we\u2019ll call Lorne possibly he can tell us if this is a result of a mystic force. If it\u2019s natural or he can\u2019t tell we\u2019ll take her to the hospital.\u201d Wesley looked to Angel for his answer.<\/p>\n
Angel nodded, picking up the lifeless young woman.<\/p>\n
\u201cUm,\u201d Fred bit her lip, concern for Cordy clear on her brow. \u201cI\u2026the vision?\u201d She hated to bring it up but there was a couple to be saved.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m not leaving Cordy.\u201d Angel growled.<\/p>\n
Gunn grabbed his jacket. \u201cI got it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Wesley looked at his friend then at the vampire, clearly torn.<\/p>\n
\u201cWesley, I can call Lorne and do the analysis, it will be like chemistry, I was good at that in school, not as good as in math, but I can do it.\u201d Fred insisted, determined to help the best way she could.<\/p>\n
Wesley nodded gratefully at the young woman. \u201cGunn and I will go take care of the vampires.\u201d<\/p>\n
Angel didn\u2019t even bother to acknowledge Wesley\u2019s statement already up the stairs.<\/p>\n
***<\/p>\n
Both Lilah and Lindsay looked at the cloaked figure and the glowing orb in his hands.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s it?\u201d Lilah asked.<\/p>\n
\u201cYes. The woman\u2019s soul is contained.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSo, we just toss it through the portal?\u201d Lilah asked.<\/p>\n
The cloaked figure nodded. \u201cOnce broken the soul will be released, it will seek out its appropriate vessel.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd in 1998, that would a seventeen year old Cordelia Chase.\u201d<\/p>\n
The cloaked figure nodded.<\/p>\n
\u201cDo it.\u201d Lilah ordered.<\/p>\n
The cloaked figure began mumbling. A flash tore through the fabric of the air, expanding and swirling at his words, once completely formed, the spell caster threw the glass orb into the opening. The cloaked figure slumped as the portal closed.<\/p>\n
\u201cI require rest before repeating the next spell.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSure, time is our friend on this one.\u201d Lindsay pointed to a door. \u201cThere\u2019s a bed in there.\u201d<\/p>\n
Lilah picked up the phone. \u201cYou want something from room service.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cRoast Beef,\u201d Lindsay nodded, pulling out his cell phone to set the next stage of their plan in motion.<\/p>\n
Part 5<\/b><\/p>\n
1998<\/i><\/p>\n
Cordelia jerked up in her bed. Whoa, what a dream. She blinked looking around for Angel. Where was he? He had to be back from dusting the vampires. Cordelia scrunched up her face. When did she fall asleep?<\/p>\n
Her eyes widened as she saw her surroundings. Okay. She was still dreaming. Cordelia blinked again. Nope, didn\u2019t work. She closed her eyes and pinched her arm as hard as she could. She slowly opened her eyes and shut them immediately. Okay, this was way wrong. Cordy’s eyes shot back open at knock at the door.<\/p>\n
\u201cMiss Chase.\u201d A familiar voice traveled into the room, one not heard in over three years. \u201cMiss Chase,\u201d the voice repeated.<\/p>\n
\u201cMarie?\u201d Cordy squeaked.<\/p>\n
\u201cMiss Chase,\u201d an older woman opened the door, her clothes confirming her status as a maid. \u201cIt\u2019s time to get up. You don\u2019t want to be late for school.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cUh.\u201d Cordy closed her eyes again, praying that the woman and the room would vanish.<\/p>\n
\u201cMiss Chase, are you not well?\u201d The maid came closer to the bed.<\/p>\n
\u201cOh god.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMiss Chase, Cordelia?\u201d The woman asked in concern, reaching out to touch the young girl\u2019s forehead.<\/p>\n
\u201cFine, I\u2019m fine, I\u2019m fine,\u201d Cordelia clenched at the covers. Oh god. She saw the familar expensive pretty comforter buddle in her fists. Oh god.<\/p>\n
\u201cAre you\u2026?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThank you, Marie,\u201d Cordelia forced down the panic in her voice, willing her self not to scream.<\/p>\n
\u201cBreakfast is ready, when you are, but you better hurry you don’t want to be late for school.”<\/p>\n
Cordy nodded, not trusting her ability to speak. As soon as the door closed, Cordelia shot up from the bed, her eyes darting around. There was no denying it she was in her room back in Sunnydale. Which was impossible because she was in LA, annoyed that Wesley took Angel\u2019s side about her going with him on the vision. So, she couldn\u2019t be in her old bedroom in Sunnydale.<\/p>\n
Cordelia looked down, her hand twisting in the silk nightgown. Angel, she wanted to scream out, but nothing came out but a gasp. She wasn\u2019t supposed to be wearing a nightgown. Cordy slept in the nude, she had ever since Angel pouted like a big baby the first time she tried to sleep in anything. But then again, she wasn\u2019t even supposed to be asleep or in Sunnydale or\u2026.Cordelia forced the scream down in her throat.<\/p>\n
Cordelia stepped to her dresser tentatively fingering the items on it- Yep, her brush, her perfume, and her pictures. She slowly picked up the frame photo of her and Xander. She quickly put it face down. She raised her eyes to the mirror.<\/p>\n
She shook her head trying vehemently to deny the image of the teenage beautiful girl with long mahogany hair that shook her head back in return. Cordelia looked down at her manicured toes, following the line of her legs up to the hem of her nightgown. She slowly raised the silky garment. Her hand brushed the smooth unblemished skin of her lower abdomen. She slowly looked around, her eyes fixing on the blaring absence of a sun tattoo. She closed her eyes, dropping her gown and then looked back at her reflection. She peered closer, now pushing back the dark hair. She traced the marks on her neck. Hold on. Teenage Cordy never had a vamp hickie on her proclaiming her the property of Angel. What was going on? Physically she was her seventeen-year-old self in every way but that.<\/p>\n
Cordelia walked stunned back to the bed, hugging at her knees trying to think.<\/p>\n
All the evidence pointed to the bizarre conclusion that she was back in Sunnydale as a 17 year old except with her 20-year-old mind. But why, how\u2026? Think. She had a vision. Cordelia took the potion. She stood up. Started to argue with Angel, she\u2026.nothing.<\/p>\n
Okay, possible side effect of the visions, maybe they finally drove her crazy, or it could\u2019ve been the potion. Maybe she was safely in LA, just crazy. Cordelia could hope. Angel wouldn\u2019t let her stay crazy for long.<\/p>\n
She didn\u2019t feel crazy, well actually she did and if she felt crazy didn\u2019t that mean she wasn\u2019t. Now she was driving herself crazy. She stopped that train of thought. Cordelia wanted to be crazy in LA with Angel not in Sunnydale in her 17-year-old body.<\/p>\n
Cordelia slowly got to her feet. She couldn\u2019t stay hiding in her room. She thought about it a minute. Why not? She shook her head. If she was in Sunnydale then she needed to find out why and how. What had Marie said? School. Cordelia sighed it looked like she would be revisiting her alma mater and its library.<\/p>\n
Part 6<\/b><\/p>\n
London 1898<\/i><\/p>\n
\u201cMy Darling Boy,\u201d Darla caressed Angelus scowling face. \u201cWhy so unhappy? Don\u2019t you like my little gift?\u201d<\/p>\n
Angelus stared down at the bound crying woman, her long dark hair hiding her face. The hair. There was something about the hair, the color. He slowly rose from the plush velvet chair kneeling when he got to the woman.<\/p>\n
Darla grinned clapping her hands together. \u201cThat\u2019s right, my boy. Let\u2019s play with the lovely.\u201d<\/p>\n
Angelus grabbed a fistful of the bountiful hair, yanking the woman\u2019s face to his. He scowled as the frightened teary blue eyes stared back. He studied the pert nose, the too thin lips. Pretty. Angelus growled slamming the woman\u2019s face to the floor, causing blood to spread underneath. \u201cI can get my own food,\u201d stepping away from the woman.<\/p>\n
\u201cAngelus, what is wrong with you, first you disappear for days and, for some reason cut you hair why you don’t even know and come home only to act like a petulant child.\u201d Darla scolded harshly coming up to the vampire.<\/p>\n
\u201cGet out of my face, Darla.\u201d<\/p>\n
Darla raised her hand, backhanding Angelus. \u201cDon\u2019t talk to me like that, I am your sire,\u201d her eyes flashing. \u201cNow eat the girl and be a good boy.\u201d<\/p>\n
Angelus growled throwing Darla across the room. \u201cI am not a fledging, you need to start remembering that,\u201d storming out of the elegant room.<\/p>\n
\u201cDaddy\u2019s head is all clouded.\u201d Drusilla crooned from the doorway.<\/p>\n
Darla glared, getting to her feet. \u201cBe quiet, you twit.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cCome on, Pet. Let\u2019s go somewhere fun, this sure and hell isn\u2019t\u201d Spike tugged at his sire.<\/p>\n
***<\/p>\n
Angelus angrily stalked the streets of the East End heading towards Gertie\u2019s. The other late night wanders kept out his way, even the streetwalkers, all sensing the danger that flowed from the dark handsome man.<\/p>\n
Angelus growled, fingering his hair, ignoring the scattering mortals. He had no memory of cutting it, just like he had no memory of his missing days and nights. All he remembered was waking up dazed in an alley, bruised, feeling as if he had been beaten and then put to sleep. Yet, there was a vague vision of brown hair, beauty, fire, and need. A woman. One he tasted, marked, one that got away. He did remember that. Angelus had wanted to turn the brunette, place her at his side; the ache to do so was a constant pounding in his head. But he hadn\u2019t been able to, something, \u2026no not something- another vampire had taken her from him.<\/p>\n
Angelus turned at a slight sound coming from the adjoining alley. A streetwalker was servicing a man against the dirty bricks. Angelus narrowed his eyes, seeing the dark color of the woman\u2019s hair as her head moved, moaning in fake pleasure. Angel\u2019s eyes glowed yellow, his demon bringing forth his fangs and ridged brow as he saw the man thrust repeatedly into the woman.<\/p>\n
Angelus ripped the man off the woman, breaking his neck easily. He yanked at the woman pulling her face up to him. He growled, breaking her neck also. The woman fell to the ground her dead green eyes and rotten teeth gapped up in shocked surprise.<\/p>\n
Angelus swirled around sensing more movement. The alley filled with men, in strange dress armed with unfamiliar weapons. The air crackled behind Angelus, sizzling and opening into a swirling hole. Angelus stared at the expanding hole, the phenomenon triggering his memories, clearing the fog. He slowly smiled turning back to the men, his human face sliding over his expression. \u201cLilah, send you?\u201d<\/p>\n
The man assuming the lead position lowered his weapon, as the other men\u2019s weapons remained trained on the vampire. \u201cShe requests your help on some unfinished business.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBy all means.\u201d Angelus laughed. He was getting another chance to get his Cordy.<\/p>\n
Part 7<\/b><\/p>\n
Present<\/i><\/p>\n
Angelus stepped out of the portal, his eyes targeting Lilah’s. \u201cWhere is she?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cGood to see you too, Angelus.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cLilah, I haven\u2019t forgotten my promise to cut you into little pieces if you interfere with my desire to have Cordy.\u201d<\/p>\n
Lilah gave a slight smile, nodding to the security guards that appeared after Angelus, beckoning them to keep their tranquilizer guns pointed at the vampire. \u201cI do remember something about torture, but not the cutting up bit.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI must\u2019ve left it out. Where is she?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cCordelia Chase is no longer in this time.\u201d Lindsay stepped forward.<\/p>\n
\u201cWho are you?\u201d Angelus studied the man, his eyes resting momentarily on his prosthetic.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m work for the same employers as Lilah. Our objective remains the same as before.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cTo kill Cordelia and damn my future ensouled self. Well, I don\u2019t want him damned, I want him dead. I want Cordy.” He growled.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou succeed he\u2019ll be gone and we\u2019re more flexible about how you kill Cordelia Chase this time around, turn her if you want, we don\u2019t care.\u201d<\/p>\n
Angelus narrowed his eyes. \u201cI’m remaining here.” Angelus jerked his head towards Lilah. \u201cThat bitch wanted to send me back.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd here I thought we had gotten so close.\u201d Lilah snorted.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat? You want to spread you\u2019re legs for me again. You wouldn\u2019t live through it this time. Hey, that would be fun.\u201d He winked with smirk.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs tempting as that is, I\u2019ll pass.\u201d Lilah stepped back even further from the vampire.<\/p>\n
Lindsay rolled his eyes. \u201cYou fucked Angelus? What couldn\u2019t get Angel in your bed so you went with the evil version? You\u2019re a real piece of work.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSo, says the man that had the hots for the syphilic whore.\u201d Lilah scoffed.<\/p>\n
\u201cChildren, do I need to start ripping heads off.\u201d Angelus said menancingly, low but with the ability to stop the lawyers bickering.<\/p>\n
Lindsay turned back to the vampire. \u201cIt was a mistake to try to send you back to a time period that would only lead to you getting cursed again.\u201d<\/p>\n
Lilah narrowed her eyes. \u201cAngel would be damned. He wouldn\u2019t have a soul.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIn the 21st century, but that one,\u201d Lindsay pointed to Angelus, \u201cWould just get one back in the 19th century. Didn\u2019t you ever watch Star Trek? No, Angelus needs to be sent to a time after Angel gets his soul so it won\u2019t happen again. Another reason to send him to 1998.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI like it here in the 21st.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a only a few years back and in the here and now, Cordelia was protected by Angel.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI can kill him.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes, but there are certain advantages for you by going back, the most obvious one, of course is, that\u2019s where Cordelia\u2019s soul is.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSoul? I don\u2019t want her soul.\u201d Angelus growled.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe understand that, but that is the soul you need to destroy, and right now it\u2019s being housed in a slighty younger Cordelia Chase. And better yet, while Angel knows that Cordelia he has no interest in her. In fact, he\u2019s in love with the slayer.\u201d<\/p>\n
Angelus fell into the nearest chair slightly nauseous. \u201cI don\u2019t believe you. In love with a slayer? Impossible.\u201d The more he heard about his future self the more it sickened him.<\/p>\n
\u201cSorry, but it\u2019s true. She\u2019s a friend of Cordelia\u2019s. Buffy Summers, blonde very pretty, if that makes you feel any better.\u201d Lindsay said somewhat sympathetically as the vampire got even paler than his natural complexion.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s doesn\u2019t.\u201d Angelus head started to hurt. Vampires were supposed to kill slayers. His future self had to die.<\/p>\n
\u201cOf course, Angel isn\u2019t really Angel right now or rather right then. He lost his soul after having sex with the slayer, triggering a happy clause in the curse. Now or rather then, he\u2019s obsessed with terrorizing her and her friends. He\u2019s Angelus, you. But, you shouldn\u2019t have to worry about him interfering with your plans for Cordelia. From the files of the era, he barely notices her. He gets his soul back a few months later.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNO.\u201d Angelus stood. \u201cNot me- no matter what he calls himself.\u201d Angelus could barely believe it. Angelus would never love a slayer or not notice Cordy. That Angelus was as much of a fraud as the ensouled freak. \u201cI\u2019ll kill him.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOkay.\u201d Lindsay shrugged. \u201cAngelus, we won\u2019t send you back to 1898 but also know we won\u2019t bring you back to this time, but that shouldn\u2019t bother you, you like it in this time, well its only 2002. You\u2019ll be damn close to the 21st century and you\u2019ll have Cordelia.\u201d<\/p>\n
Lilah looked at Lindsay, galled that the other lawyer told Angelus the truth.<\/p>\n
Angelus studied the lawyer, his expression passive, slowly nodding. Four years, he wouldn\u2019t wait that long to kill the lawyers.<\/p>\n
Part 8<\/b><\/p>\n
Angel stood as Lorne hurried into the room. \u201cFreddykins said that the princess\u2026.\u201d The green demon halted and gulped as he stared at prone body on the bed. \u201cAngel.\u201d Lorne looked at the vampire.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019ve got to help her. I don\u2019t know what\u2019s wrong with her. She won\u2019t wake up. She just lies there barely breathing her eyes staring blankly at the ceiling.\u201d<\/p>\n
Lorne nodded the vampire\u2019s morose and frightened expression worrying him more than Angel\u2019s words.<\/p>\n
Lorne sat on the edge of the bed, placing his fingertips on Cordelia\u2019s temples. \u201cCome on, sweetie, tell your best bud Lorne what\u2019s going on in that beautiful head of yours.\u201d Lorne beckoned. Lorne frowned, lifting his fingers, studying the young woman.<\/p>\n
He tried again. \u201cCome on, honey.\u201d Lorne closed his eyes his hands leaving her face to briefly clutch at her hand, stood up, and took a deep breath before turning to face Angel.<\/p>\n
\u201cLorne?\u201d<\/p>\n
The demon half waved and half shrugged. \u201cI don\u2019t know, Angel,\u201d his voice serious. \u201cI can\u2019t read anything from her.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSo, it\u2019s not mystical.\u201d Angel didn\u2019t know if that relieved him or not. He wasn\u2019t a doctor, if it was physical, Angel couldn\u2019t do anything but wait and hope and he had to do something, seeing Cordelia like this was killing him.<\/p>\n
\u201cI didn\u2019t say that. I can\u2019t read ANYTHING, Angel. No aura, no nothing. Her soul is gone. The princess is empty. Something stole her soul and that isn’t natural.\u201d Lorne empahized.<\/p>\n
Fred gasped, standing in between Wesley and Gunn. All three were huddled in the doorway.<\/p>\n
Angel blinked. \u201cHer soul? She\u2019s alive. Her soul can\u2019t be gone.\u201d<\/p>\n
Fred blinked up to Wesley. \u201cWill she wake up evil, like Angel if he lost his soul?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cShe didn\u2019t lose her soul.\u201d Angel growled.<\/p>\n
\u201cAngel cakes, it\u2019s gone, what\u2019s left is a vessel only.\u201d Lorne said gently.<\/p>\n
Wesley moved in the room. \u201cShe won\u2019t wake up will she- not without her soul.\u201d<\/p>\n
Lorne shook his head. \u201cUnlike Angel cakes, she needs her soul. Angel\u2019s a vampire, the soul an anomaly. Without it, he still is a vampire. Angel is his \u2018self\u2019 abet nasty. But, the Princess is a human, her soul is who she is- the body merely a beautiful vessel, it lives but it\u2019s not animated with \u2018Cordy\u2019. It\u2019s nothing.\u201d<\/p>\n
Angel stilled. \u201cIt\u2019s Cordelia. She\u2019s in there.\u201d His voice straining not to break.<\/p>\n
Wesley stared at Cordy\u2019s body. \u201cSomeone must have done a spell, it\u2019s the only way.\u201d<\/p>\n
Angel\u2019s jerked his head up moving towards the door. Finally, something he could hear, giving him something to do.<\/p>\n
\u201cAngel, where are you going?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cTo pay Lilah a visit,\u201d he growled disappearing.<\/p>\n
\u201cThose bastards wouldn\u2019t be stupid enough to mess with Cordy again\u2026.\u201d Gunn grunted and answered his own question. \u201cOf course they would.\u201d He nodded to Wesley. \u201cShould we go with him?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe would just get in the way. Fred, could you please help me. If Angel doesn\u2019t find the answers at Wolfram & Hart, we need too.\u201d<\/p>\n
Fred blinked her teary gaze away from Cordy, nodding.<\/p>\n
\u201cFuck, that law firm needs to be blown up.\u201d Gunn grunted.<\/p>\n
Lorne nodded in complete agreement.<\/p>\n