(Untitled)

[face_of_angelus]

"I'll be sure to send you all a postcard. Someday or another."Hearing voices in the lobby I poked my head out of the office door in time to see the lobby door shut. Wes was going to be sending us a postcard? That obviously meant he was back on his feet. Which was good, we could use him around here. Faith had disappeared with Illyria, and none

Comments

[visiongirl]

Oh sure! Leave it to Angel to show up now. Now when Wesley was already leaving and where had he been when I was trying to convince him to stay? I figured if anyone could convince him it would be Angel. Wesley had stayed for this long for Angel, I didn't understand why he suddenly had to leave now that Angel was back.

"He didnt' mention a where." I said with a sigh as I turned around and raised an eyebrow in Angel's direction. "He might have mentioned a why, but honestly none of it made all that sense. I just don't know what to do." I said shaking my head, and yeah I was still really annoyed that I'd managed to get stabbed. Getting stabbed? Hello! Wesley had a front row seat for a sword going through my back, did he really have to stab me?

[face_of_angelus]

"Oh."

Once the sun set I would be able to catch up with Wes. That's if Wes didn't take a plane to, well, pretty much anywhere. Then again he didn't want to talk to me when I was a ghost, why would now be any different.

"And the reason your bleeding is?" The smell of it was all over her, I could tell it was hers too. I might have been dead but I would have been able to pick up her scent from miles away.

[visiongirl]

Frowning, I crossed my arms over my chest and looked up at him with a sigh. I was angry, partially at Wesley and partially at myself. I was Cordelia, I should have been able to make him stay. We were supposed to be friends. For so long, he was my only friend. Had I let him down somewhere along the way. Somehow I knew I had, even if he'd recognized in the past that the thing that had killed Lilah...it wasn't me. He said he knew that it wasn't me but now, he looked up at me with those accusing eyes and....

"Wesley stabbed me. With scissors." No sense in keeping secrets anymore, was there? I knew he would smell it anyways, stupid vampire senses. Pressing my lips into a thin line, I sat down heavily on the lobby couch. And yes, even when you're half demon? Getting stabbed sucked.

[face_of_angelus]

"Huh. So much for scissors only being dangerous while your running."

Why would he be doing this now? I know Fred and Spike pissed him off while he was with Faith, but still. "Are you ok Cor?" The running with scissors joke hadn't gotten much of a reaction. Everyone had been so distant since I'd come back, and I didn't know how to fix it.

Maybe they would have been better off leaving me dead.

Sitting next to her on the couch I gave her a half smile. At this point I would do anything to make her happy. Even shopping.

[visiongirl]

I shrugged at his question. Was I okay? Were any of us going to be okay ever again? We had Angel back, that was a good start as far as I was concerned.

"Well, let's see." I said in my usual no nonsense tone of voice as I turned my face to look at him. "In the last few weeks I've been shot, stabbed twice and died once." Raising an eyebrow he gave me that look. That 'everything is my fault' look. God, I hated that. Stop brooding! I was going to draw it on his forehead. Not that it would do any good, considering he couldnt' see his reflection.

"But you know what? None of it matters, because for as disturbing as my foray into magick was? You're back, and that's what matters."

[face_of_angelus]

"Are you sure about that?"

Yeah I was back but what was the cost. Wes was losing it. Fred and Spike were busy doing things I didn't want to picture. Illyria was still out of control. Faith was, well we didn't really know where she was. The rest of the slayers still hated us. We were in trouble and I had no idea where to go. Shouldn't Cordy be having a vision right about now?

"Something isn't right here." Well that was pretty obvious. I just couldn't put a finger on it.

[visiongirl]

"Lots of things aren't right here. They haven't been right for a very long time. Wes has completely lost it, and I don't want to believe that it's for good but it might be. Fred's not even Fred anymore, Spike is...well Spike is just annoying as usual. We have to find a way to get past all of this and get back to the mission. Just because we don't play nice with the slayers anymroe doesn't mean that our job is over. There's still hopeless out there that need helping. A whole city of them, in fact. You're the Champion. It's time we got back to basics around here."

Basics. Basics. Business cards? There was a good place to start. Flyers. We might do better now that people knew Angel was back. Because let's be honest? Keeping this business afloat for the last few years? Hasn't been easy. Especially not when you considered who my partner was.

"Things have changed, but the city? The city is still the same."

[face_of_angelus]

Back to basics? What was this? Boot camp for vampires or my hotel. "No its not. Wolfram and Hart. Its gone."

Where was I going with this. The deal, Connor. None of them had mentioned him. Not even Cordy, which had to mean the memory spell was still in place. Which had to mean Wolfram and Hart or some part of it was still here.

"Your right though, there are still plenty of helpless out there." And lots ot things that wanted to eat them.

"Illyria!"

[visiongirl]

"Well yeah okay, Wolfram and Hart is gone sure, but they weren't the only big bad out there, Angel. There's always more things coming, and trust me when I say there's no shortage of demons and vampires around here to keep us busy."

I narrowed my eyes when he suddenly exclaimed the blue goddess wannabe's name. Illyria. Why did everything always go back to Illyria?

"What?"

[face_of_angelus]

"Its Illyria. She, she..." Realizing there wasn't any good way to explain this to her I stopped talking. Did I want to bring up Connor with her?

No.

"Nothing. Its too bad the powers couldn't have put her back in her coffin where she belongs." Maybe if they had brough Fred back the way she had been Wes would still be sane. Then they really wouldn't have needed me.

[visiongirl]

"I know we all have issues with the demi-goddess, but she has been helping. I really think she could end up being part of the team, as much as that thought disturbs me."

Strangely enough? The thought of Illyria on our side didn't disturb me half as much as the thought of Faith on our side. Yes, I went and recruited her at Angel's insistance but when you boiled it all down she was still another slayer. The rogue slayer, sure whatever. But a slayer all the same. Slayers were not our friends, or anything even close to it.

"And don't you nothing me." I said, giving him my usual glare accompanied with a hand gently on his knee. "Tell me what you were going to say."

[face_of_angelus]

"I wasn't nothing-ing you." Putting my own hand over hers I wondered if she knew, if any of them had any idea. "Its just, I don't trust Illyria. She might help out, but the only reason she does it is because its in her interest, for now anyway."

Just look what she did to Wes, and now her new favorite toy was Faith it seemed. Why the hell couldn't she go and bother Buffy or Giles?

"You know what I mean?"

[visiongirl]

Unfortunately, I knew exactly what he meant. So maybe my motives for favor of Illyria were a little jaded by the way she had decided that Faith was her new chewtoy. I knew it wasn't fair of me, not for one second. And sure, over the years Illyria has helped us out from time to time...but exactly what Angel said. Only when it served her own interest to do so.

"Yeah I do." I finally said with a sigh, wrapping my fingers around his and giving them a slight squeeze. "She's unstable, sort of whacked out and super strong. Yep. One big fat liability. There must be some way to...I don't know, take away some of her powers or something? I mean, what is it were talking about here? Killing her? Is that even possible? Maybe we should try and make her weaker instead."