adifferenttime: A Loss of Family
Cordelia's dead.
That's the first time I've been able to write that down since it happened. Cordelia Chase is dead. She's dead; Angel's lost to us as a result. And it's my fault. At least partly.
It started when a portal opened up in Caritas, and the host's--Lorne's cousin appeared from his home dimension. We had to figure out how to send him back, and when we did, Cordelia ended up getting caught in the portal as well, so we went after her. Gunn refused to go, though, because of his gang, so it was just me and Angel, and when we arrived, we found a girl named Fred who had been caught in a portal like Cordelia had been - she told us that Cordelia had been taken as a slave to the palace.
Priests of the Wolf, Ram and Hart - yes, the same ones - were holding her because of her visions, and because Angel was the only demon, he was the only one who could challenge for her return. Fred and I were trying to figure out everything about the ritual challenge, but we had problems getting the information because we had trouble getting to the books, and by the time we did...it was too late.
Angel had lost the challenge, and Cordelia was murdered so her visions would pass on to someone the Priests could control. Angel, Fred and I had no choice but to run - we couldn't even bring Cordelia's body home.
We have the books now...but they weren't worth Cordelia's life.
I haven't seen Angel in over a month now. He left the hotel, disappeared into the sewers, leaving me to take care of Fred. Poor dear Fred. She was so lost when she came home.
At least that was something that ended happily, though. She had taken to writing on the walls in her room at the hotel, and one of the things she had written over and over was a man's name. Nick Stokes. I did some tracking - found a Nick Stokes in Las Vegas. Turned out that he had been her boyfriend when she had been at UCLA. After her disappearance, he had spent a year with the police looking for her, went into Forensics as a result. When it seemed that they were never going to find her, he moved to Vegas to work. However, when I contacted him, he was on the first flight to L.A. His being here did more for Fred than I could have ever hoped. Fred's adapting better, and she's moving with him to Vegas after they go home to Texas to see her parents.
Gunn's gone back to his gang permanently. And as for me...I'm not sure what I'm going to do. I've been in contact with some people I've heard are some of the best freelance demon hunters in L.A. about working together. This is what I know, and without Angel, A.I. doesn't exist.
Sighing, Wesley put his pen down and looked at his journal. It was the first time he had written in it since returning, and still, it didn't seem to do any of what had happened justice. It was just words. It didn't convey how hard the last month had been, how much Cordelia's death had hurt as had Angel's just giving up.
Wesley had lost the people he considered his family. He was alone. Again.
Getting up, he grabbed his jacket even though it was warm out because his gun and stakes were concealed inside and put it on before heading out to his Jeep. He started to push his glasses up his nose then remembered that he wasn't wearing them - after returning, he had decided to get fit for contacts since the glasses had proved a severe liability in Pylea, especially after he had lost them.
Jacob had told him to meet him and the others at a small bar in a rather seedy part of town. He had just arrived and was heading down a side street when he heard what sounded like someone being attacked nearby. Drawing his gun, he rounded the corner into the alley and stopped at the sight that greeted him.
"Buffy?" he asked in surprise before he could stop himself.
That's the first time I've been able to write that down since it happened. Cordelia Chase is dead. She's dead; Angel's lost to us as a result. And it's my fault. At least partly.
It started when a portal opened up in Caritas, and the host's--Lorne's cousin appeared from his home dimension. We had to figure out how to send him back, and when we did, Cordelia ended up getting caught in the portal as well, so we went after her. Gunn refused to go, though, because of his gang, so it was just me and Angel, and when we arrived, we found a girl named Fred who had been caught in a portal like Cordelia had been - she told us that Cordelia had been taken as a slave to the palace.
Priests of the Wolf, Ram and Hart - yes, the same ones - were holding her because of her visions, and because Angel was the only demon, he was the only one who could challenge for her return. Fred and I were trying to figure out everything about the ritual challenge, but we had problems getting the information because we had trouble getting to the books, and by the time we did...it was too late.
Angel had lost the challenge, and Cordelia was murdered so her visions would pass on to someone the Priests could control. Angel, Fred and I had no choice but to run - we couldn't even bring Cordelia's body home.
We have the books now...but they weren't worth Cordelia's life.
I haven't seen Angel in over a month now. He left the hotel, disappeared into the sewers, leaving me to take care of Fred. Poor dear Fred. She was so lost when she came home.
At least that was something that ended happily, though. She had taken to writing on the walls in her room at the hotel, and one of the things she had written over and over was a man's name. Nick Stokes. I did some tracking - found a Nick Stokes in Las Vegas. Turned out that he had been her boyfriend when she had been at UCLA. After her disappearance, he had spent a year with the police looking for her, went into Forensics as a result. When it seemed that they were never going to find her, he moved to Vegas to work. However, when I contacted him, he was on the first flight to L.A. His being here did more for Fred than I could have ever hoped. Fred's adapting better, and she's moving with him to Vegas after they go home to Texas to see her parents.
Gunn's gone back to his gang permanently. And as for me...I'm not sure what I'm going to do. I've been in contact with some people I've heard are some of the best freelance demon hunters in L.A. about working together. This is what I know, and without Angel, A.I. doesn't exist.
Sighing, Wesley put his pen down and looked at his journal. It was the first time he had written in it since returning, and still, it didn't seem to do any of what had happened justice. It was just words. It didn't convey how hard the last month had been, how much Cordelia's death had hurt as had Angel's just giving up.
Wesley had lost the people he considered his family. He was alone. Again.
Getting up, he grabbed his jacket even though it was warm out because his gun and stakes were concealed inside and put it on before heading out to his Jeep. He started to push his glasses up his nose then remembered that he wasn't wearing them - after returning, he had decided to get fit for contacts since the glasses had proved a severe liability in Pylea, especially after he had lost them.
Jacob had told him to meet him and the others at a small bar in a rather seedy part of town. He had just arrived and was heading down a side street when he heard what sounded like someone being attacked nearby. Drawing his gun, he rounded the corner into the alley and stopped at the sight that greeted him.
"Buffy?" he asked in surprise before he could stop himself.