FIC: Once Again (6a/7) Fly, Fly, Fly
Summary: The going gets rough.
Spoilers: Up through BtVS:Chosen and AtS:NFA
Rating: Minor language, violence
Acknowledgment: My thanks to Theo for his input, ideas, encouragement and beta reading. This story would not exist without him.
< Part 5b -|- Part 6b > Part 6a: Fly, Fly, Fly
"No, I don't believe so. I said 'Tzian x'Chooe', the rite we will use to endow the Neerinvar, our candidate, Angel, who will forever be guardian of your reality."
"Forever?" asked Xander in a small, disbelieving voice.
Envoy looked at Xander. "Perhaps an overstatement," he conceded. "And quite oversimplified. Angel will not be immortal. No human can be." He returned his attention to Angel. "But the span of your human years will be much longer than any of theirs."
"So I won't really be human," murmured Angel, a flicker of optimism quickly quenched.
It was both a blessing and a curse to be among these humans again. It reminded him of the importance of the fight against darkness, what it was he was fighting for in the first place, and that in fact it was still important to him. He would continue again, take up the fight, at least in some capacity, no matter what happened here.
But Angel also knew, without a shadow of a doubt, that for himself there was nothing more. As it probably should be, the fight alone was all he would have. Hope, and the hope of reward, was selfish and foolish, so typical of the very humans he was fighting for. He cursed himself for having been such a fool, surprised by how quickly and easily the bitter lesson had been forgotten. He blamed it on being around humans again. His eyes flicked to Cordelia, standing next to Xander, who seemed genuinely pleased, and back to the ground in front of Envoy's feet.
Though Angel had spoken very quietly, Envoy heard him nonetheless. "Quite incorrect, vampire. You will be human. It is necessary. Your lungs will fill with air, your heart will beat, your skin can once again feel the warmth of the sun." Envoy waved to indicate everyone. "You can be killed as they can," he added airily. Envoy focused intently on Angel and spoke solemnly. "Should we succeed there will be no curse upon your soul," he procaimed, "and in a very real way you, Angel, will cease to exist." Envoy suddenly smiled. "And there's the rub."
"No curse on his soul? But how? How is this possible?" asked Giles.
Angel, on the other hand, had a different reaction. "There's always a catch. What is it this time?"
"We have almost everything we need to begin. We have you, Angel. The site is nearly ready. Our witnesses are gathering, the souls of the best of your groups in the struggle against the darkness are present. The Califantos Laheera--the light that shines the way--is among you." Xander swiveled his head to see who he meant, but Envoy had given no clue and he couldn't tell. Xander returned to listening to Envoy. "But we lack the Pevasor Adnihilo, the last necessary ingredient in our little recipe."
Giles bowed his head in concentration, rubbing his knuckles along his chin. "Ah, annihilate the... invader?" Giles asked, looking up at Envoy for confirmation. "And I suppose, in this context, the 'invader' is the demon within?. It would mean death of the demon?"
"Exactly!" exclaimed Envoy, in a parody of a game-show host praising a contestant. Envoy smiled slyly and winked. "Sometimes we just call it the 'Annihilator'."
"Sounds like a monster truck," Xander observed, eliciting laughter from Faith and Carole, while Cordelia rolled her eyes.
"Indeed." Envoy cleared his throat. "Because of Angel's nature we will need the help of this 'Annihilator'. Once the demon has been dealt with, the investiture can be completed." Envoy had with an expectant expression as he looked at each person one by one.
"Aaaand you want us to get it for you?" guessed Xander.
Envoy seemed overjoyed, almost ridiculously so, as he clapped and rubbed his hands together. "Ah, such a bright group of humans! I knew I could rely on you. The others will be most pleased, most pleased indeed. With this in hand we can begin straightaways. Upon successful completion, of which I have little doubt, Angel will immediately assume and bear the burden of his position as the Keeper of the Deeper Well, Guardian and Protector of your kind. Of all our kinds."
"Why do I have the feeling this won't be as easy as it sounds?" Angel muttered.
"Because, for a being derived from humanity, you are reasonably intelligent."
Xander started choking on the trail mix he had just dug out of his pack. Envoy looked amused. "Some of the time."
Giles impatiently waved the others to silence. "But this, this Pevasor Adnihilo, this Demon Death, I've never heard of such a thing." During all his team's research and investigations they had seen no reference, nor even an oblique hint of a reference, to such an artifact. In fact he had never heard of any such thing at all during his entire tenure as Watcher. Such a thing could have been invaluable if they'd but known of it. "What is it? What does it look like? What form does it take? How are we to find it?"
"I don't know," calmly answered Envoy.
"You don't know?!" Giles was incredulous.
"Is it a monster truck?" asked Xander, grinning idiotically.
"I seriously doubt it," said Envoy with a hint of smile, answering Xander's question first. Then, more soberly, he answered Giles. "No, I don't. I'm quite sorry about that." He shrugged with what might be considered a rather detached apologetic gesture.
"But you still want us to find this for you?"
"I do. And for the sake of you own existence you will want to find it as well." Envoy turned toward the blank wall behind him and made a dramatic opening gesture with his arms. "I only know that you can find it here." With a soft hissing noise a dark hole irised open in the rock face before them, revealing a new tunnel. "You must stay on your path and follow your guide. Here your future--and survival as a species--depends on your success. All of our futures depend on you."
"Do we have to go right now?" Xander griped. He was not looking forward to any more tromping around in tunnels. "Can we take a lunch break?" Some of the slayers also nodded.
Though Envoy was tolerantly amused, his tone was grave. "Our time grows short. We are not the only party interested in the Pevasor Adnihilo. So please do be good sports and be on your way. I will find you when you are done."
Xander quickly and efficiently reformed their ranks, with Zelinda and Carole in the van, followed by Angel, Giles and Cordelia. Faith decided to take up the rear with Tarian and Fulani and immediately began a raucous dialog with the Welsh woman. Fulani alternated between confusion and extreme embarrassment as things were explained to her.
Before they began Giles turned to ask one more thing of Envoy. "Where did he go?"
Envoy had disappeared as quickly and quietly as he had first appeared.
Faith scowled. "I hate when they do that."
"I guess his job here was done," said Xander sardonically.
"Now what?" asked Tarian, irritated. She was still unhappy about the vampire in their midst, and Envoy's casual appearance and disappearance was getting on her last nerve. At this point she would have much preferred to be doing something much more slayer-like, like shoving a splinter of wood into an undead person's heart.
Xander looked her square in the eye as he told her. "Now we finish ours." He moved up with Zelinda and led the way into the new tunnel.
The tunnel started off very much like the ones they has been in before, though perhaps a bit wider, perhaps a bit smoother. With no further information from Envoy about what to do, Xander and Giles agreed they would continue looking for the golden markers. They conferred for a few seconds longer before Giles dropped back to be with Tarian and Fulani. After awhile, Angel ended up a pace back from Xander, while Faith moved up beside Cordelia. Tarian and Fulani stayed in the rear.
Xander only half listened in on the chatter and speculation about what Envoy was really talking about and whether they could trust him. Most of his attention was soon focused on Angel when he realized how close the vampire was.
Xander noted Angel seemed preoccupied, more drawn into himself than he ever remembered. If he didn't know better he might even say Angel looked beat down. He couldn't really tell, but it wouldn't have surprised him much given the shocks of the last couple of hours: Cordelia alive, realizing he'd been duped, learning he was the candidate to save mankind.
No, on second thought Xander decided he wasn't going to be overly concerned with Angel. Let the vampire stew in his own problems and guilt. It's what he did best.
Perhaps due to tiredness or whatever mild concern over Angel's presence he did have, Xander wasn't paying attention as the light around him changed from the uneven bobbing shadows and flashes of their headlamps to a formless gray glow. When he finally did notice he looked up, surprised to see no tunnel, and more surprised to see he was alone.
The next surprise occurred as Xander suddenly found nothing resisting his footfall. He flailed as he tipped over, making an attempt to protect his bad ankle, and grasped only air. Almost immediately he landed on his side with an explosive oomph, winding himself. Before he could think or do anything else he began tumbling down a very steep, dry and rocky slope, rapidly gaining speed, going literally head over heels.
It seemed to go forever, and no matter how hard he tried he was unable to stop his flailing tumble. Xander was getting panicky with his inability to do anything about it. He was also getting dizzy, hampering his efforts to recognize what he was seeing as images of his new surroundings whizzed through his line of view.
One thing he did notice during split-second moments was an ominous darkness in the gray ahead, a darkness cut off sharply by the edge of lighter gray he seemed to be rolling on. He concluded it was probably some kind of horizon and that it was approaching very fast. Assuming, with his luck so far, it would be the edge of a cliff, Xander decided falling over would be even more unpleasant than what he was doing right now. In desperation he stopped trying to grab onto anything and just spread himself out as flat as possible to at least to slow himself down.
His tactic worked and he skidded to a painful, scraping stop. He was seized by a fit of coughing from all the dust he had kicked up around him. He also noticed one of his legs was dangling over the edge. Before Xander could even breath a sigh of relief the ground crumbled under him and he fell straight down with a shout. The shout was immediately amplified as his injured leg impacted on a series of unseen crumbling rocky shelves under the edge. He kept sliding and falling and shouting until he achieved a new precarious balance on a lower, narrow rocky shelf. This time things seemed to hold and Xander, believing himself to be stable for the moment, stopped shouting and tried to slow the rapid beating of his heart.
Moving only his head, Xander looked around to take stock of his situation. His original impressions of grayness were confirmed. Everything he could see, from the rock in front of his eyes, to the sky above him, and everything in between, was a shade of gray. He continued assessing things for awhile as he gathered his strength, but soon tired of cataloging all the various shades of gray-on-gray.
Xander felt a little stronger after a few minutes respite and he slowly tried to work his way further up onto the ledge to a more secure position. He immediately ceased his efforts when the crumbly rock began to break away underneath and he slid further down.
It seemed each and every time he advanced a few inches he would fall back even further. Xander tilted his head up and he could see the lip he originally fell over just above him by scant yards. He'd never seen anything so far away, and he nearly cried with the frustration. Of all the stupid ways to die, he thought.
His heart and breathing pounding away again, but at least not sliding anymore, Xander let his head drop against the itchy, dusty surface. He decided to stop for awhile and work on a brand new plan he would grandly call Plan B.
Without moving too much, he craned his head back and began to shout, implementing his new Plan, calling for Giles, the slayers, Cordelia, Faith, anyone. He realized it wasn't much for backup plans, but it was at least worth trying. After five minutes of hanging on and shouting he quieted down and listened. He heard nothing but the hot gusty breeze and his own breathing. He repeated the performance with the same result.
If there was anybody to hear him they would have by now, he figured, and he also guessed they were probably in similar or worse shape than himself. Onto the next plan, he decided, which was a repeat of Plan A.
Just as he was about to lever his knee up he heard a rustling from above and stopped. He looked up to see a black masculine profile against the dark sky.
"Need some help?" Angel asked.
Xander closed his eye and groaned. Plan A emphatically did not include Angel! But, now too frustrated, weary and banged up to argue with gift horses trotting by, Xander shrugged as best he could from his suspended condition. "Well, no, I kind of like it here. Y'know, the view is so much better from this angle. Why don't you come and join me?"
To Xander's immense surprise Angel did just that, landing deftly below him on a narrow lip Xander hadn't seen. Quickly, Angel shifted to brace himself, grabbed Xander by the belt, and in a single fluid motion literally threw him back up onto the slope, landing with a graceless plop, kicking up more clouds of dust. Angel soon followed with an effortless leap of his own.
Brushing himself off with quick strokes, Xander mumbled a half-hearted thanks. Angel saving his ass was definitely a pattern he couldn't get out of too soon. Xander was mildly surprised after he had finished knocking off most of the dust and looked about. "Where is everyone?"
Angel made a long show of looking about as well before answering. "I don't know. After we went through that...portal or... whatever, I ended up on this same slope," Angel waved back behind himself, "but further over. When I looked around there was nobody. The others have just disappeared."
"Or we disappeared."
Angel conceded the point with a shrug. He sniffed the air. "There's been no scent or sign of them. I was about to start heading down when I heard some screaming. I thought it might have been one of the girls, but it turned out to be just you."
Xander's jaw tightened. "Only too glad to disappoint," he mumbled softly, certain Angel would hear him anyway. "Great, we've probably all been split up," Xander spoke up more loudly, looking over his shoulder at Angel. "Well, Mr. Champion, from what I've heard you've got frequent-flier miles on Air Portals. Any suggestions?"
Angel smirked. "As you not so casually reminded me so not very long ago, you're the boss around here."
"And as the boss I'm asking if you have any ideas."
Xander and Angel's gazes locked momentarily.
Angel shrugged mentally. "I was heading downslope," he finally said. He pointed back the way he had come, in a direction that paralleled the edge of the cliff and appeared to gradually descend. "If the others are anywhere then they'll most likely head down as well. It's easier, more likely to find water or anything useful. If there's anything resembling civilization or help then that's also more likely to be down than up."
Xander looked in the direction Angel had pointed. He slowly pivoted around to get his first full view of the entire landscape they were now in. His first impression of 'gray' still stuck. The extremely rugged landscape seemed to consist of nothing but gray, dusty and barren canyons and mesas in an extremely ugly and harsher version of the American southwest. Wherever there weren't colorless boulders strewn about, the ground seemed to be covered in either dust or a loose pebbly scree. There was no sign of life anywhere, a total wasteland.
Looking up, the sky was virtually a mirror image of the ground, only somewhat softer and lighter. Xander was not not even certain if it were actual clouds he was looking at, like a deeply overcast sky, or merely the color of the air here. He suspected the later. No matter where he looked he couldn't identify a source of light, it was just an uneven, colorless glow from horizon to horizon. It was most definitely depressing. He heaved a great sigh and the air tasted of ash.
Xander impatiently shook himself off and nodded sharply. "OK, sounds reasonable," he declared and started off. Just as he suspected, the loose ground gave him troubles. Angel glided easily over the broken ground, giving no assistance to Xander, who limped along, occasionally stumbling, but made no complaint.
---
"What is their progress?"
The voice was a deep rasping of giant boulders grinding together, a voice completely at odds with the owner's physical stature. Further exacerbating the difference, the small human who spoke stood next to the enormous figure of a Kralz demon. Anybody spying on the pair would invariably and incorrectly assume who was master and who was subservient.
The Kralz, warping its fierce visage, answered humbly. "They've been split up, just as--"
"Show me!"
The demon bowed his lump of head and moved over to the polished surface of the stone sitting in the center of the room they occupied. Though the surface was polished it appeared no different than any other polished rock, yet--under the proper conditions--contained a powerful glamour. The demon reached into a pouch tied to his side and withdrew his closed fist. He threw some brownish-green powder into the air over the stone and mumbled incantations in a language so old as to never have been heard by humans. He continued his mumbling recitation as he waved a fetish, a small skull of unknown origin, in his other claw over the surface.
Suddenly the surface shimmered as if it was melting, becoming wavy, then glowing green, glaring bright enough to cause both human and demon to shield their eyes and look away. Shortly the green glare died down to reveal that the surface had become a clear, perfectly transparent window onto a scene of two figures walking through a dusty plain.
"Who is the one still with him?" The human with the rumbly voice was clearly not pleased.
"A human." The demon snorted, dribbling mucus down its chest area. "A crippled one at that." The Kralz turned. "Should we take him now?"
The human ignored the question. "The others?"
"They've all been scattered far away, just as we wanted. They can't possibly aid these two for the time being. But I warn that eventually they will find each other." The demon, now back beside the human, glanced down at his companion. "We should take him now," he reiterated.
The human shook his head. "No, not yet. Let them tire. I'll signal you when. Then attack. Do whatever you have to do to get him," He turned to leave but stopped as he passed by his larger companion and looked up at the ugly folds that passed for a face. Without raising his voice, but with a tone finely altered to one of infinite threat, a tone used by those who truly had the power to destroy, he cautioned the Kralz. "But do not harm him. Do not fail me again, or this will be the last day of your existence."
The Kralz dipped his body in submission. "It will be as you say," he murmured to the human's retreating back. His eyes flicked back to the shimmering image. "And the boy?" he asked more loudly.
The human, already at the exit, didn't even turn back. He merely flicked his hand dismissively. "Kill him or not, it does not matter. Just get me the vampire."
Again the Kralz bowed deeply to his overlord and continued to study the stumbling figures before him.
---
Faith and Cordelia landed together with no more than a stumble for either, each instinctively grabbing the other to keep from falling. After they regained their balance they looked around at the sudden change in location, from the claustrophobic rocky gray walls to the same wide-open gray landscape encountered by Xander and Angel. Another silent moment passed before they realized all the others were missing as well.
Faith sniffed. "Well, this sucks," she commented casually.
Cordelia, determined Faith would never see her unhinged, waved dismissively. "Been there, done that, got the goo all over my shirt." She turned around to get another good look at her surroundings. "Although this isn't quite as pretty as the last time. At least it doesn't look like there are any demon dogs around."
Faith looked at Cordelia curiously but got no explanation.
Neither the slayer nor the seer were prone to panic, nor were either made very anxious by this latest twist. They had both been through too much to be frightened by a little trip through a portal into another dimension. They agreed staying on the high peak of the slope did them little good and, arriving at the same conclusion as Angel and Xander, began their own downhill journey.
"So it's just us two hot chicks, on a journey through the desert to fi--"
"Do not even think to make a Thelma and Louise reference!" snapped Cordelia, "or I will find a way to make you regret it. There will be no cliff-diving in this scenario."
Faith laughed and raised her hands. "Chill, your highness, I was just going to say it looks like us girls are going to have to save the boys. Again."
Cordelia nodded and smiled thinly.
---
Giles looked up when he noticed the change in the quality of light around him. Instead of the polished rock passing inches above his head, painted with the sharp jumping shadows cast by their headlamps, there was now an infinite dome of gray sky, glowing of its own accord without any sun. The sky and ground blended together into a terrible colorless morass.
At once Giles and the slayers discovered four of their team were missing. Giles and Zelinda quickly organized a search through the rocky and blasted landscape, everyone taking a different pie-shaped sector from their immediate location, calling out for their friends as they went. Giles was not overly surprised when they had no luck locating the rest of their party.
"Puts rather a damper on things, don't you think?" he asked of no one in general, taking off his glasses to clean them once more. Zelinda nodded solemnly, while Tarian just seemed annoyed. The junior slayers, Carole and Fulani, were somewhat jumpy and nervous from the turn of events, but the calming presence of Giles and Zelinda helped greatly.
"Well, I believe we have a number of options open to us at this point," Giles announced while peering through the lenses to verify he hadn't actually made them dirtier. "We can continue looking for our friends, or we can resume our original task and locate this Pevasor Adnihilo, this Demon Killer, or whatever it is. Or we can wait here for them to find us." The last option Giles spoke with a tone of clear distaste for he had no desire to passively sit and wait around. He looked toward Tarian since he knew she would be the most vocal and would also most likely choose the same thing he would have.
Tarian didn't disappoint. "We have no idea if Xander and his girlfriend, or Faith or the vampire, are even alive. Or if they are, if they're anywhere in this...dimension, or world, or whatever hell this is." She looked up and shuddered a bit. They had only been here an hour or so and it was already beginning to get to her. "I say assume we're in the right place to find your artifact. We'll either run into the others or not." When Giles looked to the others, they were nodding their heads. He knew slayers would almost never chose the passive option.
Giles nodded his own agreement and they headed out.
---
Xander limped on steadily, slightly ahead of Angel, favoring his bad ankle. Their initial exchange having petered out, they naturally settled into an abrasive, almost irritating silence that neither seemed inclined to break.
Except for the occasional gusts of wind as they swirled around and through the peaks and the larger boulders there was virtually no sound but their own footfalls. Every quarter-hour Xander stopped to take a quick drink of water and give his ankle a break, ignoring Angel's amused condescending looks. Occasionally they both bellowed out the names of their companions, hoping to get an answer. None were forthcoming.
Despite his relatively risk-free time in England, Xander hadn't forgotten the lessons learned in Sunnydale, savannah and jungle. Like Angel, he wordlessly kept a sharp eye on the passing surroundings, constantly cataloging areas that might pose a threat, or hide enemies, or be good for an ambush.
On their right the ground formed a rough and rocky slope up to a high ridge slashing against the gray sky with razor-tooth peaks. In fact it was rocky everywhere. The canyon Xander had nearly fallen into was on their left, but now Xander could better see the dry bottom as they descended. Far, far ahead of them could be seen where the ridges on their left and right converged onto a tight V-shaped notch of a valley, out into the unknown beyond. Xander suspected it would be just more of the same, but getting through that narrow opening could prove hazardous. One thing at a time, he cautioned himself.
Most of the mental work of keeping aware of his surroundings was ingrained and automatic; Xander didn't have to put too much conscious effort into it and he could let his mind wander a bit. Inevitably it wandered onto the subject of his traveling companion.
He and Angel would never get along, Xander knew that, and this current enforced march through a dusty gray hell wasn't doing anything to change his mind. Why couldn't he have been stuck with one of the others? Even Tarian, with her prickly personality and almost indecipherable accent, would be a far, far preferable companion than Angel.
Xander smiled suddenly, thinking it could almost be pleasant if it were Cordelia he were alone with, even in this gray hellhole. A little fantasy with him, Cordy and a deserted tropical island quickly played through his mind.
Then he frowned. He was worried. He was worried about where she might be right now, if she were in danger or hurt. Xander knew full well, and it had been ably demonstrated, Cordelia could take care of herself as well as any non-slayer he had ever known. Yet still he felt almost sick at the thought she could be hurt at this very moment. It must be that damn White Knight syndrome of mine getting all uppity again, he thought. He chuckled ruefully as the irony was not lost on him he had been one to hurt her the most, both emotionally and physically. Yeah, where were you then, White Knight? he thought, unhappy with himself.
At another level he continued to be anxious about where they were together. It seemed she had forgiven him, in action if not specific words. They had agreed they were to be friends, good friends even. And that meant exactly...what, now? That they would write? That they would call? Maybe even visit now and again? That they might talk about nothing more deep than the weather? Was that the pattern now set permanently?
Granted, Xander was ecstatic for even that much with her. But was that enough? Could it possibly be enough? If that fantasy meant anything about what was really going on in his head, then he realized, deep down, he had an almost burning desire, an unfounded one perhaps, for more.
There was still something about Cordelia he had found in few others, something that attracted him powerfully. Anya had had it. And despite everything he admired and adored about Buffy, he realized she didn't. Nor did Willow, he understood with a certain wistfulness. It was an undaunted spirit, a fiery quality for living life on her terms, a hot-tempered feistiness, an honesty and directness that had entranced him then, and still did. Even their last contentious battle over his declaration of leadership didn't change that. If anything it only made her more desirable.
With this new understanding of his desire for her, Xander cautioned that he must curb himself for fear of losing what he had regained. He could not, would not, chance it. He would be the best friend he could be, fulfilling all the promises he had made to her, that he would always be someone she could trust from now on. He would gladly accept whatever level of intimacy she wanted with him, and count himself lucky. Even if all that meant was talking about whether or not is was sunny outside today.
The rare sound of Angel stumbling over a loose rock brought him out of his thoughts and Xander frowned deeply. Angel. Wherever there was Cordelia, Angel--in thought or reality--would not be far away. He was one of the mysteries about her. What had she seen in him that had brought them so close? Bah! He didn't understand it. He didn't want to. But he knew he would eventually have to figure something out, because if he now truly trusted her as much as he said he did, then he had to trust in her judgment of the vampire.
As far as Angel was concerned though, the only bright spot in this entire ordeal was it seemed Xander had finally learned the virtues of silence. The boy had always been far too chatty for his taste, a never-ending torrent of verbal diarrhea, weak insults, and dumber jokes, with barely anything worthwhile to contribute.
He couldn't understand how the Cordelia he had grown to know, who had become far, far more than a pretty, self-absorbed cheerleader with a razor-sharp wit, the woman he had fallen for, how that person had ever had anything to do with Xander. Even allowing for youthful ignorance how could Cordelia ever have given this boy even two seconds of her time, much less an entire year? It was killing Angel to see how they got on now, how easily she interacted with him, much as she once had with himself in the best days of their own relationship in Los Angeles.
"You're not good enough for her."
Xander blinked at Angel's first words spoken to him since they had begun their trek. For a moment, for their own reasons, both noted how ironic it was for Angel to be the first to speak.
"Good enough? For who?" Xander had a pretty good idea who Angel was referring to, but he wanted Angel to say it.
"Cordelia. You're not good enough for Cordelia," Angel obliged with threatening overtones.
Xander's brow furrowed. "I'm not?" he responded in a light mocking tone. Hell, Xander thought, if Angel was jealous of him, this was something he could really get used to, even if there was little merit to it.
"You're just going to hurt her all over again. I won't allow that."
"I will? You won't?"
Angel growled low in his throat, rumbling his threat.
Xander glanced over at Angel, then looked forward again to keep an eye on their path. "Y'know, Spike and I didn't ever agree on much, or, well, just about anything at all. But there was one thing we could always drink to: that you're an idiot. A real bleedin' pillock, I think was how he put it. Or potato-head. Whatever. We were really drunk. For your information, there is no Cordelia and me."
The vampire snorted. "I'm not blind. I see the way she's been looking at you."
Xander came to an abrupt halt, turning to face Angel directly. "Let's get something straight right now. She's not looking at me in any way. We're friends, Angel. That's it." Xander dropped his head and stared at his boots, voice lowering as he continued. "And after everything that's happened between us, after everything that's happened to her, finding her alive again, it's...it's more than I could ever have dreamed for, more than I deserve." Xander looked up at Angel with a steady gaze. "And for your information, I really do know that."
"We're just friends," Xander repeated. He shook his head in rueful surprise. Surprise at how good he felt about that. He and Cordelia were friends. And that felt mighty damn great! Hey, it's sunny here today, how about you?
Angel huffed but didn't add anything further as they resumed their silent parade.
---
The woman answered the phone on the fourth ring.
"Buon pomeriggio, sono Buffy."
"Well ain't that just the most darling accent, my precious. You must make all the Italian stallions just flop out of their Gucci's when you pass by."
Buffy Summers didn't recognize the caller and frowned, but was more than happy to switch to English. Even after all the time she had spent in Italy she still had no facility with the language. It sometimes made her envious of Dawn, especially when they used to hit the clubs and Dawn would launch into rapid-fire casual conversation with anyone--and everyone--they met, while Buffy had to hope the guy knew English. Fortunately there usually had been plenty of those who did.
These days she was concerned with less frivolous stuff. "Who's calling?" she demanded.
"I'm a friend of a friend, cupcake." A longish pause was followed by a wistful admission. "Well, we used to be friends. But that's water under the bridge. You--"
"Which friend?" interrupted Buffy impatiently. She didn't have time for antics like this and was ready to hang up the phone.
"Oh, stands about yea high, has shoulders about yea wide, pouty good looks, a forehead all the ad agencies in town are desperate to rent out, a tendency to sulk in dark cor--"
"Angel!"
"And a pumpkin pie for the little lady!" crowed Lorne.
"Pie? I thought it was supposed to be a cigar."
"Uech! I hate cigars! They stink and cause cancer, why would I want to give you one of those? Now pumpkin pie, on the other hand, is one of the true pleasures of this dimension! Bu-u-ut, if you really still want that cigar...?"
Despite her general mood these days, Buffy laughed at the joyful insanity of her caller, whoever it might be. "You're right, I'll take the pie. And who is sending me this pie?"
"Call me Lorne. Everyone's doing it."
"Why's that?"
"Because, cinnamon bun, it's my name."
"Makes a sense that, uh, makes sense." This was definitely one of the weirder and more fun phone calls Buffy had ever had. But now it was time to get down to the point. "You said you know Angel. Is that what this is about? Do you know anythi--"
"That. And a lot more. Your presence is required. There's a group you just gotta meet in England."
"You mean the Council? I'm already scheduled to see them next week." They were deciding what to do about a memorial and Buffy had some definite ideas about what that.
"No, no, no. Please, write this down."
Buffy didn't know why, but she felt inclined to trust this Lorne. "Hold it a sec." She scrabbled in the drawer for a pencil and paper. "OK," she prompted when she was ready.
Lorne proceeded to give her a set of directions, starting in London, and to the best of Buffy's limited knowledge of English roadways, led somewhere west, rather than north towards the Council House. She frowned deeply when Lorne finished. The directions were precise, but there was no destination address, just a final turn off the roadway.
"Where is this?"
"You'll find out soon enough."
"And I should just trust you?"
"My dearest little strudel, you have been most kind and generous to even listen to a wee soul such as mine. I ask as a favor of Angel, your friends, and well heck, let's just throw in the whole human race, huh?"
"I'm required?"
The voice lost all its garrulous humor. "Yes, sweetikins, you really are. Now pack your bags and get goin', honeybunch!"
The connection clicked dead and Buffy stared at the phone for a long time as thoughts tumbled through her mind. "Your friends," he had said. Could it possibly mean--? She snapped the phone back in place and went upstairs to pack.
---
Xander fumed, but it was not about anything to do with Angel's statements regarding him and Cordelia. He couldn't get a certain thought out of his mind. At the moment the thing he was having trouble with, the thing he couldn't get beyond, was the fact Angel seemed to have been tapped to get the big reward. No matter how hard he tried he couldn't stop thinking about it. After all the crap he'd done, either as Angel, and most especially as Angelus, how does he get to be the one to get the brass ring? Xander glared at the vampire.
"Y'know," Xander puffed out between breaths, "I'm almost really glad you're going to be human."
Angel had no problems speaking since he could not be winded by his exertions. "Really? Why would that be, Xander?"
"Because we'll finally be able to settle it once and for all between us, all fairish and squarish. If you're going to be just as human as me, I figure I'll have decent odds of being able to pound you into the ground. That's going to be as sweet as my mom's--err, my uncle's--apple pie."
Angel snorted derisively. "You got a lot of things to learn, boy. Grow up!"
Xander turned to face Angel. "See, that's the difference between us. I'm only in my twenties; I figure there's a big world out there I still haven't seen, and I still got a lot of growing up to do. So what the hell's your excuse, bicentennial man?" Xander pointed sharply at Angel, nearly poking him in the chest. "Someday I will grow up. But you? You're always going to be this way. Just a sulking waste of space." Xander smirked when he saw his jab have a stinging effect on Angel.
Disgusted, and not wanting to waste any more time with him, Angel waved him off. "Some people just never change."
---
Faith and Cordelia also walked along silently. The two never had much to do with each other during the brief period they were both in Sunnydale, and events in Los Angeles only sealed the enmity between them. However, by now, Faith was indifferent toward Cordelia, while Cordelia simply despised the slayer on the rare occasions she did think of her. And now, though possibly an unconscious motivation, Cordelia may have had another reason for disliking her companion
"You seemed pretty friendly with Xander."
"I guess cause we're friends, yeah?"
Faith's small smirk irritated the hell out of Cordelia, causing her to hesitate before asking her next question.
"Are you two--?"
"Fuck buddies?" Faith wasn't above taking the princess down a notch or ten, nor from getting a rise out of her just for shits and grins.
Cordelia grimaced. "Trust a skank. I should have known you can't take the slut out of the slayer."
Faith laughed at Cordelia's expression and couldn't resist needling the taller girl even more. "Would you really like to know?"
Despite her better judgment, Cordelia was curious, but she didn't want to give Faith an edge over her. It wasn't like really cared if Xander and her were--But...
"It's just, y'know, interesting."
"Yeah? How so?"
"Well, the last time you two were in the same room you almost succeeded in killing him. Now you're best pals? It's just interesting how that works out. The Xander I remember could hold a grudge like nobody's business." Cordelia only had to recall his attitude, past and present, towards Angel. "I never would've given him that much credit for being the forgiving kind."
Faith stopped in her tracks. She accepted her past and tried to learn from it, to use it as motivation for improving her future, so being reminded of it didn't usually bother her. But something about the way Cordelia spoke to her, like she was still just gutter trash, really got under her skin. Faith took a deep breath to calm herself.
Cordelia had taken a couple of more steps before realizing she'd left Faith behind her. By the time she turned around, Faith's expression was serene again.
"A lot of stuff went down while you were out of it, princess. I like to think I've changed. For the better. People I respect believe I have. So I don't really care if you do or not. The pirate and I are friends. And I mean exactly that. No 'bennies' or anything, except the trust and care of a good friend. He's helped me out a time or two, and I've helped him as well. But there's no 'us'." It was one of the longest speeches Faith had ever delivered on the subject and she was nearly breathless.
"No?" Cordelia asked skeptically, eyebrow arched. She crossed her arms across her chest and looked far from convinced. It was Faith after all.
"No. In fact," Faith held up her left hand to show off her ring, "I'm getting hitched." She smirked triumphantly upon seeing Cordelia's gaping expression. Faith turned on her booted heel and resumed her pace. "Don't bother asking," she threw over her shoulder, "it's no one you know. But I'll remember to include you on the guest list. And I'll expect something real nice from you."
Cordelia's jaw dropped. The thought of the wild slayer, psycho-killer extraordinaire, ex-con, the paragon of use-em-and-lose-em, getting married just didn't compute. She shook her head at an image of Faith, dressed in white, with a long flowing train, bridesmaids in tow, in a grand cathedral wedding.
No, that was an image that would not emerge.
Cordelia hurried to catch up. When she did...
Faith, seeing Cordelia's still stunned expression laughed again before giving Cordelia an appraising expression. "People can change, princess. People can change."
---
Xander cocked his head. He thought he heard an odd sound on top of the low keening of the constant gusts coming up from the canyon below. It came and went irregularly and he wasn't even sure it was real. But if pressed he would swear it sounded like--music? When the wind died down for a moment it turned it out it was actually off-key humming from close behind him.
Surprised, he turned around to see Angel, several steps back, eyes down and focused on the ground, unaware of Xander's notice. After a few seconds, as Angel caught up to him, Xander's surprise turned to incredulous shock. "Is that?--Is that Manilow you're humming?"
Angel, so buried in his own thoughts he hadn't been aware Xander had stopped, stumbled slightly in a half-hearted attempt to avoid crashing into Xander.
Xander was even more surprised by Angel's embarrassed stuttering response. "What? What? Uh, no!" Angel refused to look at Xander while stammering his answer. "I'm just, just humming nothing. Really," he finished lamely.
Xander was having none of it, a huge shit-eating grin forming on his face. He pointed an accusing finger and giggled as well. "Yes! Yes it was! That was Copa Cabana, wasn't it?!"
"No, it was--" Angel tried for righteous, indignant anger but failed utterly as Xander started doing a spastic little jig around him.
"Oh, yes it was!" crowed Xander, dancing in what he probably thought was some sort of Latin step and singing in a falsetto, finally breaking into full out laughter. "You're humming Manilow!" Xander burst into another fit of laughter when Angel's expression went from indignant embarrassment to outright irritation. "Oh. My. God, I thought things were bad before," he gasped, "but now it looks like we'are just getting started!" Xander had to stop when, seeing how genuinely angry Angel had become, another bout of laughter doubled him over.
"Are you done yet?" demanded Angel, giving Xander a shove. With his weakened ankle and being unprepared, Xander toppled over easily, kicking up a cloud of dust. But Xander just looked up at Angel's scowling face and threatening posture and busted out into yet another round of laughter, causing Angel to deflate.
After several more minutes Xander finally calmed down and clambored back to his feet without saying anything to Angel. Wearing a self-satisfied grin, he shifted his pack on his shoulder and continued on without a word to Angel.
He glanced over as Angel quickly caught up to him but stayed silent, for which Angel was ever grateful. After awhile Xander, with a sober expression, again looked at Angel. "Does Cordy know?"
Angel winced. "Yeah."
"And she still stayed friends with you? Wow, I'm...impressed. That--" Xander sighed wistfully. "She must have really been something. You, and Wesley, and everything else. I wished I'd called. Or even visited."
"She was, Xander, she really was." Then, in surprising friendly candor, Angel continued, "And you should have, she would have liked that."
"Y'think so?" Xander asked with a dubious expression.
"I do."
Xander chewed on his lip as he pondered Angel's answer, curious at Angel's friendliness. "Y'know what really bites my Twinkie?"
"What?"
"You guys hardly knew her but you really got the best. I grew up with her, from kindergarten through high-school graduation. I knew her practically her whole life. And it wasn't until that last year or two, even when she was tearing me a new one, I realized how wonderful she could be when she wanted to. It wasn't often, but even still." Xander shook his head regretfully. "You got the best. I didn't. And it's all my fault. That's one reason--among a pile of other good ones--why I hate you so much."
---
"How much has Xan told you about Sunnydale?"
Cordelia shrugged in a non-committal way. "I know it's not there anymore. As much as I hated that flea-bite excuse for a landfill, I'm still kind of sad about that. To defeat the--First?" Cordelia looked at Faith, who nodded, "You, Buffy and the potentials had Willow do a girl-power spell and turned everyone into slayers. I guess that's what's keeping Xander busy, running around the world looking for super-chicks."
"Keeping all of us busy, honey," Faith gently corrected. "We barely have a handle on it. He tell you about the eye?"
"Not really. He said it was 'another day at the office'."
"Figures," Faith snorted, but she didn't elaborate.
"So what about the eye?"
Faith pursed her lips and considered for a moment before she shook her head decisively. "Nah, not my story to tell. Just take my advice and keep your hands away from his face; he gets real skittish about that."
---
Xander wearily stopped next to a sand-polished boulder, one of hundreds in the field they were currently traversing. It was wide open and the rocks, though large, were too small to provide much cover to any real threat, so Xander felt it was as safe a time as any to catch his breath and drink some water.
"You need another break?"
Xander was leaning across his body to tenderly prod his ankle and re-adjust the boot laces. He didn't look up as he spoke. "Being human has its downsides, pal. Maybe you'll get to fi--what?"
Angel had suddenly crouched into a combat stance and was intently looking about. "Did you hear it?" he demanded, waving for Xander to be quiet.
Instinctively, either in reaction to Angel or to whatever Angel was sensing--he didn't know which--Xander also flowed in to a ready stance, pains and bruises ignored. He slid behind Angel so they were back-to-back. "No, I didn't hear a thi--there!" Xander pointed off to the right toward some movement he'd caught out of the corner of his eye.
The whole rock-strewn field erupted. At least twenty or thirty of the "boulders" turned out to be the prostate forms of turtle-like, swift-moving Brotzalk demons. Once raised up from under their shells they had mottled red and green hide, with two legs and four arms, although the lower set of arms could also serve as legs, allowing them to lope along extremely quickly.
"Friends of yours?" Xander inquired over his shoulder as he brought up his shotgun.
"Not in the least. You got anything I can use?"
Xander looked Angel in the eye and their gazes locked for a split second. Xander curtly nodded. He reached back, pulled out a short-sword and handed it over. Angel seemed disappointed. Xander smiled. "It's how you use it that matters."
"So I've heard," Angel replied dryly, briefly swishing the blade to get a feel for its heft and balance. He seemed satisfied with it.
The exchange took only moments but the oncoming mass of demon had halved the distance and seemed to be moving even faster. Angel and Xander braced themselves for the onslaught. At the last moment Angel charged into the front rank, sword swinging, surprising the demons and earning himself at least two kills right off.
Xander, half-expecting this, turned and arrowed in right behind, blasting a demon that was lunging for Angel's neck. Now that they had gotten the mass of demons to one side they quickly re-established their defensive side-by-side posture. Xander continued pumping shells until he ran out and then started swinging the gun like a club. Behind him he could hear Angel grunting with effort and the occasional thuds as he absorbed a blow. Xander took a split second to look up and survey their situation and saw they were surrounded again, though the pair had cut down the enemy numbers by an impressive amount.
Once more Angel charged. At that moment Xander's world went dark.
---
"Enough about me and Xander, what about you? You guys were looking pretty cozy there. Cleveland's kind of a dull town. Something juicy I can add to the gossip pot?"
Cordelia gave Faith a calculating look. "Just like you, we're friends. I think."
"Just friends, huh? And you wouldn't be interested in more?" Faith gave Cordelia a nudge with her elbow.
It wasn't like the idea hadn't occurred to Cordelia at least once, or maybe even twice, over the last week or so. And their little epiphany during the trip over had put her in a place where she could even contemplate it without berating herself for being an idiot. But...
"I don't know. When we were together, back in high-school, I believed in him, I really did. And you know where that got me. It's a matter of--"
"Trust?"
Cordelia nodded. "I don't know if I could ever really trust him. Not fully. I couldn't go through something like that again. I won't go through something like that again."
"I get that," agreed Faith, with a judicious nod. "Trust's a hard thing to come by." If Cordelia was surprised by the philosophical way Faith spoke she hid it well. "Harder to earn than respect, easier to lose, and ten times more important. But here's the thing. People, even good people--and Xander is that--make mistakes, bad ones even. But that don't mean they ain't good people. Or that you can never trust them again. A pretty smart guy we both know once told me that. It's too bad, but at the time he said it I wasn't ready to listen. Took a long while, and a lot of people I hurt along the way, before I got there."
"Xander said that?"
"Our boy Angel, actually. Listen here, highness, I'm not going to tell you what to do with your life, Lord knows I'm not Angel, and I'm certainly not much good at anything but killin' vamps. But if you do feel something for Xander, I mean really feel something, then I don't think you should close the door on the idea just 'cause of what happened when we were all too stupid to know better. That boy is not the same person you knew back in high school."
This time it was Cordelia's turn to nod thoughtfully. Maybe. Just maybe, she thought. She'd have to play it by ear and see how things turned out.
---
Xander groaned, coughed and rolled over. He finally opened his eye and woke fully, his head feeling much worse for wear, tear and bashing. Groaning all the way, he nearly lost his balance just sitting up. If he wasn't careful he'd also lose what little lunch he'd had previously. For awhile he just held his head in his hands and concentrated on breathing evenly and not passing out again. When he felt he was ready, and with another orchestra of groans, he slowly clambered to his feet.
Breathing heavily from the effort he then took a moment to assess his situation. The fresh set of pains joining the others he'd garnered so far was no surprise. "After this I'm taking a real vacation, with beaches and hot tubs and massages and nothing for me to do but sit in the sun, drink beer, get fat, and enjoy every minute of it." He was only a little surprised Angel was nowhere in sight. This would usually have been a cause for some celebration, but this time he was willing to take a rain-check until he know where Angel actually went.
"Angel?!" he called out.
Xander looked around after he got no response. There were plenty of signs of their fight: dead demon carcasses, dropped weapons, furrows and divots in the ground, but no sign of Angel. He repeated his call, but much louder, keeping it up for a few minutes.
"Damn," he muttered. There was no nothing, no mark in the dust, no torn bit of clothing or anything that might give him a clue as to what happened to Angel. He had just vanished. Xander sat back down and massaged a sore shoulder and pondered his next action. It didn't take long before he concluded that staying the course and following their first objective was his only real choice. And if that didn't work out he'd think of something else.
Xander took one more look around, unsurprised when there was still nothing to see. As much as he disliked Angel, without him Xander knew this mission might all be for nothing. "Damn!" he swore again. He got up and stomped away, muttering about getting too old for this shit.
---
Either by good planning, good fortune, or the possible intervention of some higher power, all the separate parties found each other after another hour or two of arduous hiking. From different directions they met at the beginning of a low valley, nestled between spiky pinnacles of rock that towered over them yet cast no shadows.
This time the reunion was more somber due to their extreme tiredness and the dire situation. Xander, sitting down on a rock, soon got very annoyed with the constant barrage of questions about Angel's whereabouts.
"For the hundredth time, I don't know what happened to him," he answered again. "I told you. We got jumped. There had to have been over a dozen of them. For awhile we were back-to-back but then he jumped out and got separated. That's when I got clonked and it was lights out for me. When I came around there was no one or anything in sight. No clue which way they may have taken him."
"Taken him?" demanded Cordelia.
"Yeah." Xander shook his head, trying to remember all he could of the confused fight. "I can't really explain it, but I got the feeling they were more interested in taking than killing. Just a grab and go."
"But not you?" asked Faith, looking a bit angry and suspicious but not sure how to vent it. "Did you even try and stop them?"
Xander's face went stony and he just looked at Faith for the longest time, with a glare that finally made her drop her stare. "I do not like Angel," he answered, "It's fair to say I will never like Angel. But I did not just 'let him go'. And that's all I'm going to say on the matter."
Faith's lips pinched together and she folded her arms together tightly across her chest as the two glared at each other. Neither seemed inclined to back down from their combative stance. Then, much to Cordelia's surprise, Faith minutely relaxed, ducked her head in apology and held out her fist. "Sorry, X, it's just--"
Xander also relaxed and reached out to tap fists with Faith. "I get it. He means a lot to you." He glanced at Cordelia, "Both of you. All of us. We'll find him."
"I fear we must. For some..." Giles looked constipated, "inexplicable reason he appears to be the instrument of our salvation in this crisis."
"We'll find him," insisted Xander, with more confidence than he actually felt.
"How?" asked Tarian, standing with the other slayers, acting as unofficial spokesperson for them.
Giles took the lead in answering, working his way through the arguments in his head as he spoke. "If this, this Envoy is to be believed, then we need both the Pevasor Adnihilo and Angel." Giles' expression went sour again as he mentioned Angel's name. Though he had made a peace of sorts after the Angelus affair, he disliked being in the position of needing Angel for anything. "It's not unreasonable to assume our enemies know that as well. They have Angel. We must assume they will be after the Pevasor Adnihilo as well."
"So what do we go after first, Angel or this demon killer thing?" impatiently demanded Tarian. Zelinda laid a hand on her shoulder to calm her down.
Cordelia wondered. "Could they be together?"
"That would make it easy," said Xander.
Giles' reply was sharp. "It would also be quite bad! Having them both would give our adversaries the advantage all around."
"Hey!" Faith interrupted. "We got us five slayers here. Six, if you count me twice, 'cause I'm just that damn good." Faith's Cheshire cat smile disarmed any offense the others might have taken of her claim. And it was infectious as well, causing all the slayers to begin smiling in a dangerous and feral way, showing their willingness to take on anything.
Giles considered Faith for a few moments, then nodded his head. "We start with what we know. The translations and research we've done so far have turned up nothing about this artifact Envoy mentioned, or even this place, so I don't think there are any useful clues there. What have we learned so far that's new?"
"He said 'follow your guide'," Xander quoted absently, closing his eye as he tried to remember all Envoy had told them. "What the hell is that supposed to mean? A guide knows where he's going, right? They've been there before, right? Any of you been around these parts?" Xander looked at everyone in turn to see if they had an answer.
Cordelia thought about it and couldn't get any further as Giles and Xander, with Faith and Zelinda occasionally tossing in ideas, batted some notions back and forth, but not really getting anywhere productive. Eventually throwing up her arms in frustration, she stalked off. She needed to put some space between herself and the bickering.
Just as she decided she was far enough away, far enough where the voices could still be heard yet were reduced to an unintelligible drone, Cordelia developed a sudden and extremely painful headache. Though not as bad as the visions used to be, it was still shocking in its intensity and onset, causing her to cry out and stumble as she clutched her hands to her head.
Far quicker than Cordelia would have thought possible, Xander was by her side, surrounded by the others. He was sitting down, cradling her head as they looked on with worry. She decided she must have actually passed out, which would explain their attitudes and how fast they seemed to have gotten there.
When Giles saw her stir he immediately began peppering her with questions, demanding to know if she had gotten a vision. Tarian shushed him for being so inconsiderate and knelt down beside her as Cordelia struggled to sit up. Tarian offered her a canteen of water, which Cordelia gratefully took and washed the stale taste from her mouth.
Cordelia saw Giles waiting in frustration and she almost laughed but for the pain. Instead she made a small hand gesture to let him know she was now ready to answer his questions.
"What was it? Was it a vision? Are you all right, m'dear?"
"No. It's a headache, just a headache," Cordelia answered. "And, I'll be fine. Help me up." Xander wordlessly lifted her to her feet. She continued to press her hand to her head in an effort to push back the pain. With Xander on one side and Tarian on the other, they led her back to the rough and temporary encampment they had created.
After taking a few steps back Cordelia uncurled to her full height. "Hey, it's gone!" she exclaimed.
"Just like that?" asked Xander.
"Yeah, gone like it came."
"Not even a little?" Xander was dubious.
"You suddenly don't understand English, Xander? When I say gone, I mean gone. No pain, no nothing. Just like--" She attempted to snap her fingers but couldn't and she scowled. "Well, just like that."
Giles frowned. "That's highly unusual, Cordelia. Could--"
"I don't care what you think. I'm just happy." When Cordelia attempted to continue back Giles stepped in her way. "Hey!"
He had a speculative look about him. "I'm sorry, Cordelia," he said placatingly, but neither moving out of her way, "but, would you mind walking back in that direction?" He pointed back they way they came.
"Why? Trying to get rid of me?" she joked.
"Please," he asked gently, "do an old man a simple favor?"
Cordelia gave Giles a measuring look before reaching some conclusion. She turned about and retraced her steps, the entire entourage in tow. Looking back over her shoulder she saw everyone following her, like they were ready to catch her at the slightest falter or jump at her every command. She smiled. "A girl could get used to--"
She stumbled again, raising her hand to her head. This time Xander really was closest and most ready, and he caught her easily, arms wrapped around her waist, and lifted her back upright before releasing her. He kept a hand on her waist as he led her back.
"Now it's gone again!"
Giles nodded his head. "And now, if you please, in that direction." He pointed off at ninety degrees from the direction she had first taken. She looked at Giles curiously, and then warily eyed the direction he indicated. She squared her shoulders, brushed Xander's arm away, and started off, but more cautiously than before, Xander at her side.
She stopped after a few steps.
"How do you feel?" asked Giles.
"It's a little achy, but nothing like before." Understanding dawned on her. "You don't think--"
Giles took off his glasses to polish them. "Yes, I do think. Let's test this a bit further. Could you walk in a large circle?" Giles circled his hand about to indicate how he meant.
Cordelia did so, somewhat tentatively, circling the group clustered together in the middle. Along certain portions they noticed her wince but she did not cry out. She finally stopped by the group, who had been watching her silently. "Whenever I go in this direction I feel OK. Any other direction feels bad, feels...wrong?" She faced the good direction and pointed. "This, this is the way to go. It's just this feeling I get."
"When you look to the west?" Xander asked, staring off into the distance of the direction she was facing and pointing. Cordelia stuck her tongue out at him.
Fuming, Tarian finally spoke up. "What's going on?"
Faith looked askance at her junior. "You don't get it?"
"No!"
"Whenever Cordelia heads in this direction she feels no pain or ache," Giles elaborated for Tarian, and everyone in general. "Perhaps it's remnants of the vision aspect you once had, or some latent ability which allowed you to have them in the first place. Whatever it is, the upshot is this: I believe Cordelia is meant to be our guide. And this is the direction we're supposed to be going. When we go off track she will feel it and we can determine again which way to go."
"You mean this is like some giant game of 'hot or cold'?"
Giles frowned at Xander's suggestion. "Err, well, yes, yes, it seems to be basically just that. Perhaps being here activated her ability, or she has some affinity for the object we seek. Either way, she is our guide." Giles seemed certain.
"You're just guessing the direction she feels good is the direction we really want," stated Xander. "Suppose it's really leading us to a trap?"
"Er, I suppose that's possible too. Do you have another suggestion?"
Xander pursed his lips and stared at Giles through a squinted eye, then looked around at the others waiting for him. "OK, let's go."
"What about the vampire, Angel?" wondered Carole.
"One thing at a time."
< Part 5b -|- Part 6b >
Spoilers: Up through BtVS:Chosen and AtS:NFA
Rating: Minor language, violence
Acknowledgment: My thanks to Theo for his input, ideas, encouragement and beta reading. This story would not exist without him.
< Part 5b -|- Part 6b > Part 6a: Fly, Fly, Fly
"No, I don't believe so. I said 'Tzian x'Chooe', the rite we will use to endow the Neerinvar, our candidate, Angel, who will forever be guardian of your reality."
"Forever?" asked Xander in a small, disbelieving voice.
Envoy looked at Xander. "Perhaps an overstatement," he conceded. "And quite oversimplified. Angel will not be immortal. No human can be." He returned his attention to Angel. "But the span of your human years will be much longer than any of theirs."
"So I won't really be human," murmured Angel, a flicker of optimism quickly quenched.
It was both a blessing and a curse to be among these humans again. It reminded him of the importance of the fight against darkness, what it was he was fighting for in the first place, and that in fact it was still important to him. He would continue again, take up the fight, at least in some capacity, no matter what happened here.
But Angel also knew, without a shadow of a doubt, that for himself there was nothing more. As it probably should be, the fight alone was all he would have. Hope, and the hope of reward, was selfish and foolish, so typical of the very humans he was fighting for. He cursed himself for having been such a fool, surprised by how quickly and easily the bitter lesson had been forgotten. He blamed it on being around humans again. His eyes flicked to Cordelia, standing next to Xander, who seemed genuinely pleased, and back to the ground in front of Envoy's feet.
Though Angel had spoken very quietly, Envoy heard him nonetheless. "Quite incorrect, vampire. You will be human. It is necessary. Your lungs will fill with air, your heart will beat, your skin can once again feel the warmth of the sun." Envoy waved to indicate everyone. "You can be killed as they can," he added airily. Envoy focused intently on Angel and spoke solemnly. "Should we succeed there will be no curse upon your soul," he procaimed, "and in a very real way you, Angel, will cease to exist." Envoy suddenly smiled. "And there's the rub."
"No curse on his soul? But how? How is this possible?" asked Giles.
Angel, on the other hand, had a different reaction. "There's always a catch. What is it this time?"
"We have almost everything we need to begin. We have you, Angel. The site is nearly ready. Our witnesses are gathering, the souls of the best of your groups in the struggle against the darkness are present. The Califantos Laheera--the light that shines the way--is among you." Xander swiveled his head to see who he meant, but Envoy had given no clue and he couldn't tell. Xander returned to listening to Envoy. "But we lack the Pevasor Adnihilo, the last necessary ingredient in our little recipe."
Giles bowed his head in concentration, rubbing his knuckles along his chin. "Ah, annihilate the... invader?" Giles asked, looking up at Envoy for confirmation. "And I suppose, in this context, the 'invader' is the demon within?. It would mean death of the demon?"
"Exactly!" exclaimed Envoy, in a parody of a game-show host praising a contestant. Envoy smiled slyly and winked. "Sometimes we just call it the 'Annihilator'."
"Sounds like a monster truck," Xander observed, eliciting laughter from Faith and Carole, while Cordelia rolled her eyes.
"Indeed." Envoy cleared his throat. "Because of Angel's nature we will need the help of this 'Annihilator'. Once the demon has been dealt with, the investiture can be completed." Envoy had with an expectant expression as he looked at each person one by one.
"Aaaand you want us to get it for you?" guessed Xander.
Envoy seemed overjoyed, almost ridiculously so, as he clapped and rubbed his hands together. "Ah, such a bright group of humans! I knew I could rely on you. The others will be most pleased, most pleased indeed. With this in hand we can begin straightaways. Upon successful completion, of which I have little doubt, Angel will immediately assume and bear the burden of his position as the Keeper of the Deeper Well, Guardian and Protector of your kind. Of all our kinds."
"Why do I have the feeling this won't be as easy as it sounds?" Angel muttered.
"Because, for a being derived from humanity, you are reasonably intelligent."
Xander started choking on the trail mix he had just dug out of his pack. Envoy looked amused. "Some of the time."
Giles impatiently waved the others to silence. "But this, this Pevasor Adnihilo, this Demon Death, I've never heard of such a thing." During all his team's research and investigations they had seen no reference, nor even an oblique hint of a reference, to such an artifact. In fact he had never heard of any such thing at all during his entire tenure as Watcher. Such a thing could have been invaluable if they'd but known of it. "What is it? What does it look like? What form does it take? How are we to find it?"
"I don't know," calmly answered Envoy.
"You don't know?!" Giles was incredulous.
"Is it a monster truck?" asked Xander, grinning idiotically.
"I seriously doubt it," said Envoy with a hint of smile, answering Xander's question first. Then, more soberly, he answered Giles. "No, I don't. I'm quite sorry about that." He shrugged with what might be considered a rather detached apologetic gesture.
"But you still want us to find this for you?"
"I do. And for the sake of you own existence you will want to find it as well." Envoy turned toward the blank wall behind him and made a dramatic opening gesture with his arms. "I only know that you can find it here." With a soft hissing noise a dark hole irised open in the rock face before them, revealing a new tunnel. "You must stay on your path and follow your guide. Here your future--and survival as a species--depends on your success. All of our futures depend on you."
"Do we have to go right now?" Xander griped. He was not looking forward to any more tromping around in tunnels. "Can we take a lunch break?" Some of the slayers also nodded.
Though Envoy was tolerantly amused, his tone was grave. "Our time grows short. We are not the only party interested in the Pevasor Adnihilo. So please do be good sports and be on your way. I will find you when you are done."
Xander quickly and efficiently reformed their ranks, with Zelinda and Carole in the van, followed by Angel, Giles and Cordelia. Faith decided to take up the rear with Tarian and Fulani and immediately began a raucous dialog with the Welsh woman. Fulani alternated between confusion and extreme embarrassment as things were explained to her.
Before they began Giles turned to ask one more thing of Envoy. "Where did he go?"
Envoy had disappeared as quickly and quietly as he had first appeared.
Faith scowled. "I hate when they do that."
"I guess his job here was done," said Xander sardonically.
"Now what?" asked Tarian, irritated. She was still unhappy about the vampire in their midst, and Envoy's casual appearance and disappearance was getting on her last nerve. At this point she would have much preferred to be doing something much more slayer-like, like shoving a splinter of wood into an undead person's heart.
Xander looked her square in the eye as he told her. "Now we finish ours." He moved up with Zelinda and led the way into the new tunnel.
The tunnel started off very much like the ones they has been in before, though perhaps a bit wider, perhaps a bit smoother. With no further information from Envoy about what to do, Xander and Giles agreed they would continue looking for the golden markers. They conferred for a few seconds longer before Giles dropped back to be with Tarian and Fulani. After awhile, Angel ended up a pace back from Xander, while Faith moved up beside Cordelia. Tarian and Fulani stayed in the rear.
Xander only half listened in on the chatter and speculation about what Envoy was really talking about and whether they could trust him. Most of his attention was soon focused on Angel when he realized how close the vampire was.
Xander noted Angel seemed preoccupied, more drawn into himself than he ever remembered. If he didn't know better he might even say Angel looked beat down. He couldn't really tell, but it wouldn't have surprised him much given the shocks of the last couple of hours: Cordelia alive, realizing he'd been duped, learning he was the candidate to save mankind.
No, on second thought Xander decided he wasn't going to be overly concerned with Angel. Let the vampire stew in his own problems and guilt. It's what he did best.
Perhaps due to tiredness or whatever mild concern over Angel's presence he did have, Xander wasn't paying attention as the light around him changed from the uneven bobbing shadows and flashes of their headlamps to a formless gray glow. When he finally did notice he looked up, surprised to see no tunnel, and more surprised to see he was alone.
The next surprise occurred as Xander suddenly found nothing resisting his footfall. He flailed as he tipped over, making an attempt to protect his bad ankle, and grasped only air. Almost immediately he landed on his side with an explosive oomph, winding himself. Before he could think or do anything else he began tumbling down a very steep, dry and rocky slope, rapidly gaining speed, going literally head over heels.
It seemed to go forever, and no matter how hard he tried he was unable to stop his flailing tumble. Xander was getting panicky with his inability to do anything about it. He was also getting dizzy, hampering his efforts to recognize what he was seeing as images of his new surroundings whizzed through his line of view.
One thing he did notice during split-second moments was an ominous darkness in the gray ahead, a darkness cut off sharply by the edge of lighter gray he seemed to be rolling on. He concluded it was probably some kind of horizon and that it was approaching very fast. Assuming, with his luck so far, it would be the edge of a cliff, Xander decided falling over would be even more unpleasant than what he was doing right now. In desperation he stopped trying to grab onto anything and just spread himself out as flat as possible to at least to slow himself down.
His tactic worked and he skidded to a painful, scraping stop. He was seized by a fit of coughing from all the dust he had kicked up around him. He also noticed one of his legs was dangling over the edge. Before Xander could even breath a sigh of relief the ground crumbled under him and he fell straight down with a shout. The shout was immediately amplified as his injured leg impacted on a series of unseen crumbling rocky shelves under the edge. He kept sliding and falling and shouting until he achieved a new precarious balance on a lower, narrow rocky shelf. This time things seemed to hold and Xander, believing himself to be stable for the moment, stopped shouting and tried to slow the rapid beating of his heart.
Moving only his head, Xander looked around to take stock of his situation. His original impressions of grayness were confirmed. Everything he could see, from the rock in front of his eyes, to the sky above him, and everything in between, was a shade of gray. He continued assessing things for awhile as he gathered his strength, but soon tired of cataloging all the various shades of gray-on-gray.
Xander felt a little stronger after a few minutes respite and he slowly tried to work his way further up onto the ledge to a more secure position. He immediately ceased his efforts when the crumbly rock began to break away underneath and he slid further down.
It seemed each and every time he advanced a few inches he would fall back even further. Xander tilted his head up and he could see the lip he originally fell over just above him by scant yards. He'd never seen anything so far away, and he nearly cried with the frustration. Of all the stupid ways to die, he thought.
His heart and breathing pounding away again, but at least not sliding anymore, Xander let his head drop against the itchy, dusty surface. He decided to stop for awhile and work on a brand new plan he would grandly call Plan B.
Without moving too much, he craned his head back and began to shout, implementing his new Plan, calling for Giles, the slayers, Cordelia, Faith, anyone. He realized it wasn't much for backup plans, but it was at least worth trying. After five minutes of hanging on and shouting he quieted down and listened. He heard nothing but the hot gusty breeze and his own breathing. He repeated the performance with the same result.
If there was anybody to hear him they would have by now, he figured, and he also guessed they were probably in similar or worse shape than himself. Onto the next plan, he decided, which was a repeat of Plan A.
Just as he was about to lever his knee up he heard a rustling from above and stopped. He looked up to see a black masculine profile against the dark sky.
"Need some help?" Angel asked.
Xander closed his eye and groaned. Plan A emphatically did not include Angel! But, now too frustrated, weary and banged up to argue with gift horses trotting by, Xander shrugged as best he could from his suspended condition. "Well, no, I kind of like it here. Y'know, the view is so much better from this angle. Why don't you come and join me?"
To Xander's immense surprise Angel did just that, landing deftly below him on a narrow lip Xander hadn't seen. Quickly, Angel shifted to brace himself, grabbed Xander by the belt, and in a single fluid motion literally threw him back up onto the slope, landing with a graceless plop, kicking up more clouds of dust. Angel soon followed with an effortless leap of his own.
Brushing himself off with quick strokes, Xander mumbled a half-hearted thanks. Angel saving his ass was definitely a pattern he couldn't get out of too soon. Xander was mildly surprised after he had finished knocking off most of the dust and looked about. "Where is everyone?"
Angel made a long show of looking about as well before answering. "I don't know. After we went through that...portal or... whatever, I ended up on this same slope," Angel waved back behind himself, "but further over. When I looked around there was nobody. The others have just disappeared."
"Or we disappeared."
Angel conceded the point with a shrug. He sniffed the air. "There's been no scent or sign of them. I was about to start heading down when I heard some screaming. I thought it might have been one of the girls, but it turned out to be just you."
Xander's jaw tightened. "Only too glad to disappoint," he mumbled softly, certain Angel would hear him anyway. "Great, we've probably all been split up," Xander spoke up more loudly, looking over his shoulder at Angel. "Well, Mr. Champion, from what I've heard you've got frequent-flier miles on Air Portals. Any suggestions?"
Angel smirked. "As you not so casually reminded me so not very long ago, you're the boss around here."
"And as the boss I'm asking if you have any ideas."
Xander and Angel's gazes locked momentarily.
Angel shrugged mentally. "I was heading downslope," he finally said. He pointed back the way he had come, in a direction that paralleled the edge of the cliff and appeared to gradually descend. "If the others are anywhere then they'll most likely head down as well. It's easier, more likely to find water or anything useful. If there's anything resembling civilization or help then that's also more likely to be down than up."
Xander looked in the direction Angel had pointed. He slowly pivoted around to get his first full view of the entire landscape they were now in. His first impression of 'gray' still stuck. The extremely rugged landscape seemed to consist of nothing but gray, dusty and barren canyons and mesas in an extremely ugly and harsher version of the American southwest. Wherever there weren't colorless boulders strewn about, the ground seemed to be covered in either dust or a loose pebbly scree. There was no sign of life anywhere, a total wasteland.
Looking up, the sky was virtually a mirror image of the ground, only somewhat softer and lighter. Xander was not not even certain if it were actual clouds he was looking at, like a deeply overcast sky, or merely the color of the air here. He suspected the later. No matter where he looked he couldn't identify a source of light, it was just an uneven, colorless glow from horizon to horizon. It was most definitely depressing. He heaved a great sigh and the air tasted of ash.
Xander impatiently shook himself off and nodded sharply. "OK, sounds reasonable," he declared and started off. Just as he suspected, the loose ground gave him troubles. Angel glided easily over the broken ground, giving no assistance to Xander, who limped along, occasionally stumbling, but made no complaint.
---
"What is their progress?"
The voice was a deep rasping of giant boulders grinding together, a voice completely at odds with the owner's physical stature. Further exacerbating the difference, the small human who spoke stood next to the enormous figure of a Kralz demon. Anybody spying on the pair would invariably and incorrectly assume who was master and who was subservient.
The Kralz, warping its fierce visage, answered humbly. "They've been split up, just as--"
"Show me!"
The demon bowed his lump of head and moved over to the polished surface of the stone sitting in the center of the room they occupied. Though the surface was polished it appeared no different than any other polished rock, yet--under the proper conditions--contained a powerful glamour. The demon reached into a pouch tied to his side and withdrew his closed fist. He threw some brownish-green powder into the air over the stone and mumbled incantations in a language so old as to never have been heard by humans. He continued his mumbling recitation as he waved a fetish, a small skull of unknown origin, in his other claw over the surface.
Suddenly the surface shimmered as if it was melting, becoming wavy, then glowing green, glaring bright enough to cause both human and demon to shield their eyes and look away. Shortly the green glare died down to reveal that the surface had become a clear, perfectly transparent window onto a scene of two figures walking through a dusty plain.
"Who is the one still with him?" The human with the rumbly voice was clearly not pleased.
"A human." The demon snorted, dribbling mucus down its chest area. "A crippled one at that." The Kralz turned. "Should we take him now?"
The human ignored the question. "The others?"
"They've all been scattered far away, just as we wanted. They can't possibly aid these two for the time being. But I warn that eventually they will find each other." The demon, now back beside the human, glanced down at his companion. "We should take him now," he reiterated.
The human shook his head. "No, not yet. Let them tire. I'll signal you when. Then attack. Do whatever you have to do to get him," He turned to leave but stopped as he passed by his larger companion and looked up at the ugly folds that passed for a face. Without raising his voice, but with a tone finely altered to one of infinite threat, a tone used by those who truly had the power to destroy, he cautioned the Kralz. "But do not harm him. Do not fail me again, or this will be the last day of your existence."
The Kralz dipped his body in submission. "It will be as you say," he murmured to the human's retreating back. His eyes flicked back to the shimmering image. "And the boy?" he asked more loudly.
The human, already at the exit, didn't even turn back. He merely flicked his hand dismissively. "Kill him or not, it does not matter. Just get me the vampire."
Again the Kralz bowed deeply to his overlord and continued to study the stumbling figures before him.
---
Faith and Cordelia landed together with no more than a stumble for either, each instinctively grabbing the other to keep from falling. After they regained their balance they looked around at the sudden change in location, from the claustrophobic rocky gray walls to the same wide-open gray landscape encountered by Xander and Angel. Another silent moment passed before they realized all the others were missing as well.
Faith sniffed. "Well, this sucks," she commented casually.
Cordelia, determined Faith would never see her unhinged, waved dismissively. "Been there, done that, got the goo all over my shirt." She turned around to get another good look at her surroundings. "Although this isn't quite as pretty as the last time. At least it doesn't look like there are any demon dogs around."
Faith looked at Cordelia curiously but got no explanation.
Neither the slayer nor the seer were prone to panic, nor were either made very anxious by this latest twist. They had both been through too much to be frightened by a little trip through a portal into another dimension. They agreed staying on the high peak of the slope did them little good and, arriving at the same conclusion as Angel and Xander, began their own downhill journey.
"So it's just us two hot chicks, on a journey through the desert to fi--"
"Do not even think to make a Thelma and Louise reference!" snapped Cordelia, "or I will find a way to make you regret it. There will be no cliff-diving in this scenario."
Faith laughed and raised her hands. "Chill, your highness, I was just going to say it looks like us girls are going to have to save the boys. Again."
Cordelia nodded and smiled thinly.
---
Giles looked up when he noticed the change in the quality of light around him. Instead of the polished rock passing inches above his head, painted with the sharp jumping shadows cast by their headlamps, there was now an infinite dome of gray sky, glowing of its own accord without any sun. The sky and ground blended together into a terrible colorless morass.
At once Giles and the slayers discovered four of their team were missing. Giles and Zelinda quickly organized a search through the rocky and blasted landscape, everyone taking a different pie-shaped sector from their immediate location, calling out for their friends as they went. Giles was not overly surprised when they had no luck locating the rest of their party.
"Puts rather a damper on things, don't you think?" he asked of no one in general, taking off his glasses to clean them once more. Zelinda nodded solemnly, while Tarian just seemed annoyed. The junior slayers, Carole and Fulani, were somewhat jumpy and nervous from the turn of events, but the calming presence of Giles and Zelinda helped greatly.
"Well, I believe we have a number of options open to us at this point," Giles announced while peering through the lenses to verify he hadn't actually made them dirtier. "We can continue looking for our friends, or we can resume our original task and locate this Pevasor Adnihilo, this Demon Killer, or whatever it is. Or we can wait here for them to find us." The last option Giles spoke with a tone of clear distaste for he had no desire to passively sit and wait around. He looked toward Tarian since he knew she would be the most vocal and would also most likely choose the same thing he would have.
Tarian didn't disappoint. "We have no idea if Xander and his girlfriend, or Faith or the vampire, are even alive. Or if they are, if they're anywhere in this...dimension, or world, or whatever hell this is." She looked up and shuddered a bit. They had only been here an hour or so and it was already beginning to get to her. "I say assume we're in the right place to find your artifact. We'll either run into the others or not." When Giles looked to the others, they were nodding their heads. He knew slayers would almost never chose the passive option.
Giles nodded his own agreement and they headed out.
---
Xander limped on steadily, slightly ahead of Angel, favoring his bad ankle. Their initial exchange having petered out, they naturally settled into an abrasive, almost irritating silence that neither seemed inclined to break.
Except for the occasional gusts of wind as they swirled around and through the peaks and the larger boulders there was virtually no sound but their own footfalls. Every quarter-hour Xander stopped to take a quick drink of water and give his ankle a break, ignoring Angel's amused condescending looks. Occasionally they both bellowed out the names of their companions, hoping to get an answer. None were forthcoming.
Despite his relatively risk-free time in England, Xander hadn't forgotten the lessons learned in Sunnydale, savannah and jungle. Like Angel, he wordlessly kept a sharp eye on the passing surroundings, constantly cataloging areas that might pose a threat, or hide enemies, or be good for an ambush.
On their right the ground formed a rough and rocky slope up to a high ridge slashing against the gray sky with razor-tooth peaks. In fact it was rocky everywhere. The canyon Xander had nearly fallen into was on their left, but now Xander could better see the dry bottom as they descended. Far, far ahead of them could be seen where the ridges on their left and right converged onto a tight V-shaped notch of a valley, out into the unknown beyond. Xander suspected it would be just more of the same, but getting through that narrow opening could prove hazardous. One thing at a time, he cautioned himself.
Most of the mental work of keeping aware of his surroundings was ingrained and automatic; Xander didn't have to put too much conscious effort into it and he could let his mind wander a bit. Inevitably it wandered onto the subject of his traveling companion.
He and Angel would never get along, Xander knew that, and this current enforced march through a dusty gray hell wasn't doing anything to change his mind. Why couldn't he have been stuck with one of the others? Even Tarian, with her prickly personality and almost indecipherable accent, would be a far, far preferable companion than Angel.
Xander smiled suddenly, thinking it could almost be pleasant if it were Cordelia he were alone with, even in this gray hellhole. A little fantasy with him, Cordy and a deserted tropical island quickly played through his mind.
Then he frowned. He was worried. He was worried about where she might be right now, if she were in danger or hurt. Xander knew full well, and it had been ably demonstrated, Cordelia could take care of herself as well as any non-slayer he had ever known. Yet still he felt almost sick at the thought she could be hurt at this very moment. It must be that damn White Knight syndrome of mine getting all uppity again, he thought. He chuckled ruefully as the irony was not lost on him he had been one to hurt her the most, both emotionally and physically. Yeah, where were you then, White Knight? he thought, unhappy with himself.
At another level he continued to be anxious about where they were together. It seemed she had forgiven him, in action if not specific words. They had agreed they were to be friends, good friends even. And that meant exactly...what, now? That they would write? That they would call? Maybe even visit now and again? That they might talk about nothing more deep than the weather? Was that the pattern now set permanently?
Granted, Xander was ecstatic for even that much with her. But was that enough? Could it possibly be enough? If that fantasy meant anything about what was really going on in his head, then he realized, deep down, he had an almost burning desire, an unfounded one perhaps, for more.
There was still something about Cordelia he had found in few others, something that attracted him powerfully. Anya had had it. And despite everything he admired and adored about Buffy, he realized she didn't. Nor did Willow, he understood with a certain wistfulness. It was an undaunted spirit, a fiery quality for living life on her terms, a hot-tempered feistiness, an honesty and directness that had entranced him then, and still did. Even their last contentious battle over his declaration of leadership didn't change that. If anything it only made her more desirable.
With this new understanding of his desire for her, Xander cautioned that he must curb himself for fear of losing what he had regained. He could not, would not, chance it. He would be the best friend he could be, fulfilling all the promises he had made to her, that he would always be someone she could trust from now on. He would gladly accept whatever level of intimacy she wanted with him, and count himself lucky. Even if all that meant was talking about whether or not is was sunny outside today.
The rare sound of Angel stumbling over a loose rock brought him out of his thoughts and Xander frowned deeply. Angel. Wherever there was Cordelia, Angel--in thought or reality--would not be far away. He was one of the mysteries about her. What had she seen in him that had brought them so close? Bah! He didn't understand it. He didn't want to. But he knew he would eventually have to figure something out, because if he now truly trusted her as much as he said he did, then he had to trust in her judgment of the vampire.
As far as Angel was concerned though, the only bright spot in this entire ordeal was it seemed Xander had finally learned the virtues of silence. The boy had always been far too chatty for his taste, a never-ending torrent of verbal diarrhea, weak insults, and dumber jokes, with barely anything worthwhile to contribute.
He couldn't understand how the Cordelia he had grown to know, who had become far, far more than a pretty, self-absorbed cheerleader with a razor-sharp wit, the woman he had fallen for, how that person had ever had anything to do with Xander. Even allowing for youthful ignorance how could Cordelia ever have given this boy even two seconds of her time, much less an entire year? It was killing Angel to see how they got on now, how easily she interacted with him, much as she once had with himself in the best days of their own relationship in Los Angeles.
"You're not good enough for her."
Xander blinked at Angel's first words spoken to him since they had begun their trek. For a moment, for their own reasons, both noted how ironic it was for Angel to be the first to speak.
"Good enough? For who?" Xander had a pretty good idea who Angel was referring to, but he wanted Angel to say it.
"Cordelia. You're not good enough for Cordelia," Angel obliged with threatening overtones.
Xander's brow furrowed. "I'm not?" he responded in a light mocking tone. Hell, Xander thought, if Angel was jealous of him, this was something he could really get used to, even if there was little merit to it.
"You're just going to hurt her all over again. I won't allow that."
"I will? You won't?"
Angel growled low in his throat, rumbling his threat.
Xander glanced over at Angel, then looked forward again to keep an eye on their path. "Y'know, Spike and I didn't ever agree on much, or, well, just about anything at all. But there was one thing we could always drink to: that you're an idiot. A real bleedin' pillock, I think was how he put it. Or potato-head. Whatever. We were really drunk. For your information, there is no Cordelia and me."
The vampire snorted. "I'm not blind. I see the way she's been looking at you."
Xander came to an abrupt halt, turning to face Angel directly. "Let's get something straight right now. She's not looking at me in any way. We're friends, Angel. That's it." Xander dropped his head and stared at his boots, voice lowering as he continued. "And after everything that's happened between us, after everything that's happened to her, finding her alive again, it's...it's more than I could ever have dreamed for, more than I deserve." Xander looked up at Angel with a steady gaze. "And for your information, I really do know that."
"We're just friends," Xander repeated. He shook his head in rueful surprise. Surprise at how good he felt about that. He and Cordelia were friends. And that felt mighty damn great! Hey, it's sunny here today, how about you?
Angel huffed but didn't add anything further as they resumed their silent parade.
---
The woman answered the phone on the fourth ring.
"Buon pomeriggio, sono Buffy."
"Well ain't that just the most darling accent, my precious. You must make all the Italian stallions just flop out of their Gucci's when you pass by."
Buffy Summers didn't recognize the caller and frowned, but was more than happy to switch to English. Even after all the time she had spent in Italy she still had no facility with the language. It sometimes made her envious of Dawn, especially when they used to hit the clubs and Dawn would launch into rapid-fire casual conversation with anyone--and everyone--they met, while Buffy had to hope the guy knew English. Fortunately there usually had been plenty of those who did.
These days she was concerned with less frivolous stuff. "Who's calling?" she demanded.
"I'm a friend of a friend, cupcake." A longish pause was followed by a wistful admission. "Well, we used to be friends. But that's water under the bridge. You--"
"Which friend?" interrupted Buffy impatiently. She didn't have time for antics like this and was ready to hang up the phone.
"Oh, stands about yea high, has shoulders about yea wide, pouty good looks, a forehead all the ad agencies in town are desperate to rent out, a tendency to sulk in dark cor--"
"Angel!"
"And a pumpkin pie for the little lady!" crowed Lorne.
"Pie? I thought it was supposed to be a cigar."
"Uech! I hate cigars! They stink and cause cancer, why would I want to give you one of those? Now pumpkin pie, on the other hand, is one of the true pleasures of this dimension! Bu-u-ut, if you really still want that cigar...?"
Despite her general mood these days, Buffy laughed at the joyful insanity of her caller, whoever it might be. "You're right, I'll take the pie. And who is sending me this pie?"
"Call me Lorne. Everyone's doing it."
"Why's that?"
"Because, cinnamon bun, it's my name."
"Makes a sense that, uh, makes sense." This was definitely one of the weirder and more fun phone calls Buffy had ever had. But now it was time to get down to the point. "You said you know Angel. Is that what this is about? Do you know anythi--"
"That. And a lot more. Your presence is required. There's a group you just gotta meet in England."
"You mean the Council? I'm already scheduled to see them next week." They were deciding what to do about a memorial and Buffy had some definite ideas about what that.
"No, no, no. Please, write this down."
Buffy didn't know why, but she felt inclined to trust this Lorne. "Hold it a sec." She scrabbled in the drawer for a pencil and paper. "OK," she prompted when she was ready.
Lorne proceeded to give her a set of directions, starting in London, and to the best of Buffy's limited knowledge of English roadways, led somewhere west, rather than north towards the Council House. She frowned deeply when Lorne finished. The directions were precise, but there was no destination address, just a final turn off the roadway.
"Where is this?"
"You'll find out soon enough."
"And I should just trust you?"
"My dearest little strudel, you have been most kind and generous to even listen to a wee soul such as mine. I ask as a favor of Angel, your friends, and well heck, let's just throw in the whole human race, huh?"
"I'm required?"
The voice lost all its garrulous humor. "Yes, sweetikins, you really are. Now pack your bags and get goin', honeybunch!"
The connection clicked dead and Buffy stared at the phone for a long time as thoughts tumbled through her mind. "Your friends," he had said. Could it possibly mean--? She snapped the phone back in place and went upstairs to pack.
---
Xander fumed, but it was not about anything to do with Angel's statements regarding him and Cordelia. He couldn't get a certain thought out of his mind. At the moment the thing he was having trouble with, the thing he couldn't get beyond, was the fact Angel seemed to have been tapped to get the big reward. No matter how hard he tried he couldn't stop thinking about it. After all the crap he'd done, either as Angel, and most especially as Angelus, how does he get to be the one to get the brass ring? Xander glared at the vampire.
"Y'know," Xander puffed out between breaths, "I'm almost really glad you're going to be human."
Angel had no problems speaking since he could not be winded by his exertions. "Really? Why would that be, Xander?"
"Because we'll finally be able to settle it once and for all between us, all fairish and squarish. If you're going to be just as human as me, I figure I'll have decent odds of being able to pound you into the ground. That's going to be as sweet as my mom's--err, my uncle's--apple pie."
Angel snorted derisively. "You got a lot of things to learn, boy. Grow up!"
Xander turned to face Angel. "See, that's the difference between us. I'm only in my twenties; I figure there's a big world out there I still haven't seen, and I still got a lot of growing up to do. So what the hell's your excuse, bicentennial man?" Xander pointed sharply at Angel, nearly poking him in the chest. "Someday I will grow up. But you? You're always going to be this way. Just a sulking waste of space." Xander smirked when he saw his jab have a stinging effect on Angel.
Disgusted, and not wanting to waste any more time with him, Angel waved him off. "Some people just never change."
---
Faith and Cordelia also walked along silently. The two never had much to do with each other during the brief period they were both in Sunnydale, and events in Los Angeles only sealed the enmity between them. However, by now, Faith was indifferent toward Cordelia, while Cordelia simply despised the slayer on the rare occasions she did think of her. And now, though possibly an unconscious motivation, Cordelia may have had another reason for disliking her companion
"You seemed pretty friendly with Xander."
"I guess cause we're friends, yeah?"
Faith's small smirk irritated the hell out of Cordelia, causing her to hesitate before asking her next question.
"Are you two--?"
"Fuck buddies?" Faith wasn't above taking the princess down a notch or ten, nor from getting a rise out of her just for shits and grins.
Cordelia grimaced. "Trust a skank. I should have known you can't take the slut out of the slayer."
Faith laughed at Cordelia's expression and couldn't resist needling the taller girl even more. "Would you really like to know?"
Despite her better judgment, Cordelia was curious, but she didn't want to give Faith an edge over her. It wasn't like really cared if Xander and her were--But...
"It's just, y'know, interesting."
"Yeah? How so?"
"Well, the last time you two were in the same room you almost succeeded in killing him. Now you're best pals? It's just interesting how that works out. The Xander I remember could hold a grudge like nobody's business." Cordelia only had to recall his attitude, past and present, towards Angel. "I never would've given him that much credit for being the forgiving kind."
Faith stopped in her tracks. She accepted her past and tried to learn from it, to use it as motivation for improving her future, so being reminded of it didn't usually bother her. But something about the way Cordelia spoke to her, like she was still just gutter trash, really got under her skin. Faith took a deep breath to calm herself.
Cordelia had taken a couple of more steps before realizing she'd left Faith behind her. By the time she turned around, Faith's expression was serene again.
"A lot of stuff went down while you were out of it, princess. I like to think I've changed. For the better. People I respect believe I have. So I don't really care if you do or not. The pirate and I are friends. And I mean exactly that. No 'bennies' or anything, except the trust and care of a good friend. He's helped me out a time or two, and I've helped him as well. But there's no 'us'." It was one of the longest speeches Faith had ever delivered on the subject and she was nearly breathless.
"No?" Cordelia asked skeptically, eyebrow arched. She crossed her arms across her chest and looked far from convinced. It was Faith after all.
"No. In fact," Faith held up her left hand to show off her ring, "I'm getting hitched." She smirked triumphantly upon seeing Cordelia's gaping expression. Faith turned on her booted heel and resumed her pace. "Don't bother asking," she threw over her shoulder, "it's no one you know. But I'll remember to include you on the guest list. And I'll expect something real nice from you."
Cordelia's jaw dropped. The thought of the wild slayer, psycho-killer extraordinaire, ex-con, the paragon of use-em-and-lose-em, getting married just didn't compute. She shook her head at an image of Faith, dressed in white, with a long flowing train, bridesmaids in tow, in a grand cathedral wedding.
No, that was an image that would not emerge.
Cordelia hurried to catch up. When she did...
Faith, seeing Cordelia's still stunned expression laughed again before giving Cordelia an appraising expression. "People can change, princess. People can change."
---
Xander cocked his head. He thought he heard an odd sound on top of the low keening of the constant gusts coming up from the canyon below. It came and went irregularly and he wasn't even sure it was real. But if pressed he would swear it sounded like--music? When the wind died down for a moment it turned it out it was actually off-key humming from close behind him.
Surprised, he turned around to see Angel, several steps back, eyes down and focused on the ground, unaware of Xander's notice. After a few seconds, as Angel caught up to him, Xander's surprise turned to incredulous shock. "Is that?--Is that Manilow you're humming?"
Angel, so buried in his own thoughts he hadn't been aware Xander had stopped, stumbled slightly in a half-hearted attempt to avoid crashing into Xander.
Xander was even more surprised by Angel's embarrassed stuttering response. "What? What? Uh, no!" Angel refused to look at Xander while stammering his answer. "I'm just, just humming nothing. Really," he finished lamely.
Xander was having none of it, a huge shit-eating grin forming on his face. He pointed an accusing finger and giggled as well. "Yes! Yes it was! That was Copa Cabana, wasn't it?!"
"No, it was--" Angel tried for righteous, indignant anger but failed utterly as Xander started doing a spastic little jig around him.
"Oh, yes it was!" crowed Xander, dancing in what he probably thought was some sort of Latin step and singing in a falsetto, finally breaking into full out laughter. "You're humming Manilow!" Xander burst into another fit of laughter when Angel's expression went from indignant embarrassment to outright irritation. "Oh. My. God, I thought things were bad before," he gasped, "but now it looks like we'are just getting started!" Xander had to stop when, seeing how genuinely angry Angel had become, another bout of laughter doubled him over.
"Are you done yet?" demanded Angel, giving Xander a shove. With his weakened ankle and being unprepared, Xander toppled over easily, kicking up a cloud of dust. But Xander just looked up at Angel's scowling face and threatening posture and busted out into yet another round of laughter, causing Angel to deflate.
After several more minutes Xander finally calmed down and clambored back to his feet without saying anything to Angel. Wearing a self-satisfied grin, he shifted his pack on his shoulder and continued on without a word to Angel.
He glanced over as Angel quickly caught up to him but stayed silent, for which Angel was ever grateful. After awhile Xander, with a sober expression, again looked at Angel. "Does Cordy know?"
Angel winced. "Yeah."
"And she still stayed friends with you? Wow, I'm...impressed. That--" Xander sighed wistfully. "She must have really been something. You, and Wesley, and everything else. I wished I'd called. Or even visited."
"She was, Xander, she really was." Then, in surprising friendly candor, Angel continued, "And you should have, she would have liked that."
"Y'think so?" Xander asked with a dubious expression.
"I do."
Xander chewed on his lip as he pondered Angel's answer, curious at Angel's friendliness. "Y'know what really bites my Twinkie?"
"What?"
"You guys hardly knew her but you really got the best. I grew up with her, from kindergarten through high-school graduation. I knew her practically her whole life. And it wasn't until that last year or two, even when she was tearing me a new one, I realized how wonderful she could be when she wanted to. It wasn't often, but even still." Xander shook his head regretfully. "You got the best. I didn't. And it's all my fault. That's one reason--among a pile of other good ones--why I hate you so much."
---
"How much has Xan told you about Sunnydale?"
Cordelia shrugged in a non-committal way. "I know it's not there anymore. As much as I hated that flea-bite excuse for a landfill, I'm still kind of sad about that. To defeat the--First?" Cordelia looked at Faith, who nodded, "You, Buffy and the potentials had Willow do a girl-power spell and turned everyone into slayers. I guess that's what's keeping Xander busy, running around the world looking for super-chicks."
"Keeping all of us busy, honey," Faith gently corrected. "We barely have a handle on it. He tell you about the eye?"
"Not really. He said it was 'another day at the office'."
"Figures," Faith snorted, but she didn't elaborate.
"So what about the eye?"
Faith pursed her lips and considered for a moment before she shook her head decisively. "Nah, not my story to tell. Just take my advice and keep your hands away from his face; he gets real skittish about that."
---
Xander wearily stopped next to a sand-polished boulder, one of hundreds in the field they were currently traversing. It was wide open and the rocks, though large, were too small to provide much cover to any real threat, so Xander felt it was as safe a time as any to catch his breath and drink some water.
"You need another break?"
Xander was leaning across his body to tenderly prod his ankle and re-adjust the boot laces. He didn't look up as he spoke. "Being human has its downsides, pal. Maybe you'll get to fi--what?"
Angel had suddenly crouched into a combat stance and was intently looking about. "Did you hear it?" he demanded, waving for Xander to be quiet.
Instinctively, either in reaction to Angel or to whatever Angel was sensing--he didn't know which--Xander also flowed in to a ready stance, pains and bruises ignored. He slid behind Angel so they were back-to-back. "No, I didn't hear a thi--there!" Xander pointed off to the right toward some movement he'd caught out of the corner of his eye.
The whole rock-strewn field erupted. At least twenty or thirty of the "boulders" turned out to be the prostate forms of turtle-like, swift-moving Brotzalk demons. Once raised up from under their shells they had mottled red and green hide, with two legs and four arms, although the lower set of arms could also serve as legs, allowing them to lope along extremely quickly.
"Friends of yours?" Xander inquired over his shoulder as he brought up his shotgun.
"Not in the least. You got anything I can use?"
Xander looked Angel in the eye and their gazes locked for a split second. Xander curtly nodded. He reached back, pulled out a short-sword and handed it over. Angel seemed disappointed. Xander smiled. "It's how you use it that matters."
"So I've heard," Angel replied dryly, briefly swishing the blade to get a feel for its heft and balance. He seemed satisfied with it.
The exchange took only moments but the oncoming mass of demon had halved the distance and seemed to be moving even faster. Angel and Xander braced themselves for the onslaught. At the last moment Angel charged into the front rank, sword swinging, surprising the demons and earning himself at least two kills right off.
Xander, half-expecting this, turned and arrowed in right behind, blasting a demon that was lunging for Angel's neck. Now that they had gotten the mass of demons to one side they quickly re-established their defensive side-by-side posture. Xander continued pumping shells until he ran out and then started swinging the gun like a club. Behind him he could hear Angel grunting with effort and the occasional thuds as he absorbed a blow. Xander took a split second to look up and survey their situation and saw they were surrounded again, though the pair had cut down the enemy numbers by an impressive amount.
Once more Angel charged. At that moment Xander's world went dark.
---
"Enough about me and Xander, what about you? You guys were looking pretty cozy there. Cleveland's kind of a dull town. Something juicy I can add to the gossip pot?"
Cordelia gave Faith a calculating look. "Just like you, we're friends. I think."
"Just friends, huh? And you wouldn't be interested in more?" Faith gave Cordelia a nudge with her elbow.
It wasn't like the idea hadn't occurred to Cordelia at least once, or maybe even twice, over the last week or so. And their little epiphany during the trip over had put her in a place where she could even contemplate it without berating herself for being an idiot. But...
"I don't know. When we were together, back in high-school, I believed in him, I really did. And you know where that got me. It's a matter of--"
"Trust?"
Cordelia nodded. "I don't know if I could ever really trust him. Not fully. I couldn't go through something like that again. I won't go through something like that again."
"I get that," agreed Faith, with a judicious nod. "Trust's a hard thing to come by." If Cordelia was surprised by the philosophical way Faith spoke she hid it well. "Harder to earn than respect, easier to lose, and ten times more important. But here's the thing. People, even good people--and Xander is that--make mistakes, bad ones even. But that don't mean they ain't good people. Or that you can never trust them again. A pretty smart guy we both know once told me that. It's too bad, but at the time he said it I wasn't ready to listen. Took a long while, and a lot of people I hurt along the way, before I got there."
"Xander said that?"
"Our boy Angel, actually. Listen here, highness, I'm not going to tell you what to do with your life, Lord knows I'm not Angel, and I'm certainly not much good at anything but killin' vamps. But if you do feel something for Xander, I mean really feel something, then I don't think you should close the door on the idea just 'cause of what happened when we were all too stupid to know better. That boy is not the same person you knew back in high school."
This time it was Cordelia's turn to nod thoughtfully. Maybe. Just maybe, she thought. She'd have to play it by ear and see how things turned out.
---
Xander groaned, coughed and rolled over. He finally opened his eye and woke fully, his head feeling much worse for wear, tear and bashing. Groaning all the way, he nearly lost his balance just sitting up. If he wasn't careful he'd also lose what little lunch he'd had previously. For awhile he just held his head in his hands and concentrated on breathing evenly and not passing out again. When he felt he was ready, and with another orchestra of groans, he slowly clambered to his feet.
Breathing heavily from the effort he then took a moment to assess his situation. The fresh set of pains joining the others he'd garnered so far was no surprise. "After this I'm taking a real vacation, with beaches and hot tubs and massages and nothing for me to do but sit in the sun, drink beer, get fat, and enjoy every minute of it." He was only a little surprised Angel was nowhere in sight. This would usually have been a cause for some celebration, but this time he was willing to take a rain-check until he know where Angel actually went.
"Angel?!" he called out.
Xander looked around after he got no response. There were plenty of signs of their fight: dead demon carcasses, dropped weapons, furrows and divots in the ground, but no sign of Angel. He repeated his call, but much louder, keeping it up for a few minutes.
"Damn," he muttered. There was no nothing, no mark in the dust, no torn bit of clothing or anything that might give him a clue as to what happened to Angel. He had just vanished. Xander sat back down and massaged a sore shoulder and pondered his next action. It didn't take long before he concluded that staying the course and following their first objective was his only real choice. And if that didn't work out he'd think of something else.
Xander took one more look around, unsurprised when there was still nothing to see. As much as he disliked Angel, without him Xander knew this mission might all be for nothing. "Damn!" he swore again. He got up and stomped away, muttering about getting too old for this shit.
---
Either by good planning, good fortune, or the possible intervention of some higher power, all the separate parties found each other after another hour or two of arduous hiking. From different directions they met at the beginning of a low valley, nestled between spiky pinnacles of rock that towered over them yet cast no shadows.
This time the reunion was more somber due to their extreme tiredness and the dire situation. Xander, sitting down on a rock, soon got very annoyed with the constant barrage of questions about Angel's whereabouts.
"For the hundredth time, I don't know what happened to him," he answered again. "I told you. We got jumped. There had to have been over a dozen of them. For awhile we were back-to-back but then he jumped out and got separated. That's when I got clonked and it was lights out for me. When I came around there was no one or anything in sight. No clue which way they may have taken him."
"Taken him?" demanded Cordelia.
"Yeah." Xander shook his head, trying to remember all he could of the confused fight. "I can't really explain it, but I got the feeling they were more interested in taking than killing. Just a grab and go."
"But not you?" asked Faith, looking a bit angry and suspicious but not sure how to vent it. "Did you even try and stop them?"
Xander's face went stony and he just looked at Faith for the longest time, with a glare that finally made her drop her stare. "I do not like Angel," he answered, "It's fair to say I will never like Angel. But I did not just 'let him go'. And that's all I'm going to say on the matter."
Faith's lips pinched together and she folded her arms together tightly across her chest as the two glared at each other. Neither seemed inclined to back down from their combative stance. Then, much to Cordelia's surprise, Faith minutely relaxed, ducked her head in apology and held out her fist. "Sorry, X, it's just--"
Xander also relaxed and reached out to tap fists with Faith. "I get it. He means a lot to you." He glanced at Cordelia, "Both of you. All of us. We'll find him."
"I fear we must. For some..." Giles looked constipated, "inexplicable reason he appears to be the instrument of our salvation in this crisis."
"We'll find him," insisted Xander, with more confidence than he actually felt.
"How?" asked Tarian, standing with the other slayers, acting as unofficial spokesperson for them.
Giles took the lead in answering, working his way through the arguments in his head as he spoke. "If this, this Envoy is to be believed, then we need both the Pevasor Adnihilo and Angel." Giles' expression went sour again as he mentioned Angel's name. Though he had made a peace of sorts after the Angelus affair, he disliked being in the position of needing Angel for anything. "It's not unreasonable to assume our enemies know that as well. They have Angel. We must assume they will be after the Pevasor Adnihilo as well."
"So what do we go after first, Angel or this demon killer thing?" impatiently demanded Tarian. Zelinda laid a hand on her shoulder to calm her down.
Cordelia wondered. "Could they be together?"
"That would make it easy," said Xander.
Giles' reply was sharp. "It would also be quite bad! Having them both would give our adversaries the advantage all around."
"Hey!" Faith interrupted. "We got us five slayers here. Six, if you count me twice, 'cause I'm just that damn good." Faith's Cheshire cat smile disarmed any offense the others might have taken of her claim. And it was infectious as well, causing all the slayers to begin smiling in a dangerous and feral way, showing their willingness to take on anything.
Giles considered Faith for a few moments, then nodded his head. "We start with what we know. The translations and research we've done so far have turned up nothing about this artifact Envoy mentioned, or even this place, so I don't think there are any useful clues there. What have we learned so far that's new?"
"He said 'follow your guide'," Xander quoted absently, closing his eye as he tried to remember all Envoy had told them. "What the hell is that supposed to mean? A guide knows where he's going, right? They've been there before, right? Any of you been around these parts?" Xander looked at everyone in turn to see if they had an answer.
Cordelia thought about it and couldn't get any further as Giles and Xander, with Faith and Zelinda occasionally tossing in ideas, batted some notions back and forth, but not really getting anywhere productive. Eventually throwing up her arms in frustration, she stalked off. She needed to put some space between herself and the bickering.
Just as she decided she was far enough away, far enough where the voices could still be heard yet were reduced to an unintelligible drone, Cordelia developed a sudden and extremely painful headache. Though not as bad as the visions used to be, it was still shocking in its intensity and onset, causing her to cry out and stumble as she clutched her hands to her head.
Far quicker than Cordelia would have thought possible, Xander was by her side, surrounded by the others. He was sitting down, cradling her head as they looked on with worry. She decided she must have actually passed out, which would explain their attitudes and how fast they seemed to have gotten there.
When Giles saw her stir he immediately began peppering her with questions, demanding to know if she had gotten a vision. Tarian shushed him for being so inconsiderate and knelt down beside her as Cordelia struggled to sit up. Tarian offered her a canteen of water, which Cordelia gratefully took and washed the stale taste from her mouth.
Cordelia saw Giles waiting in frustration and she almost laughed but for the pain. Instead she made a small hand gesture to let him know she was now ready to answer his questions.
"What was it? Was it a vision? Are you all right, m'dear?"
"No. It's a headache, just a headache," Cordelia answered. "And, I'll be fine. Help me up." Xander wordlessly lifted her to her feet. She continued to press her hand to her head in an effort to push back the pain. With Xander on one side and Tarian on the other, they led her back to the rough and temporary encampment they had created.
After taking a few steps back Cordelia uncurled to her full height. "Hey, it's gone!" she exclaimed.
"Just like that?" asked Xander.
"Yeah, gone like it came."
"Not even a little?" Xander was dubious.
"You suddenly don't understand English, Xander? When I say gone, I mean gone. No pain, no nothing. Just like--" She attempted to snap her fingers but couldn't and she scowled. "Well, just like that."
Giles frowned. "That's highly unusual, Cordelia. Could--"
"I don't care what you think. I'm just happy." When Cordelia attempted to continue back Giles stepped in her way. "Hey!"
He had a speculative look about him. "I'm sorry, Cordelia," he said placatingly, but neither moving out of her way, "but, would you mind walking back in that direction?" He pointed back they way they came.
"Why? Trying to get rid of me?" she joked.
"Please," he asked gently, "do an old man a simple favor?"
Cordelia gave Giles a measuring look before reaching some conclusion. She turned about and retraced her steps, the entire entourage in tow. Looking back over her shoulder she saw everyone following her, like they were ready to catch her at the slightest falter or jump at her every command. She smiled. "A girl could get used to--"
She stumbled again, raising her hand to her head. This time Xander really was closest and most ready, and he caught her easily, arms wrapped around her waist, and lifted her back upright before releasing her. He kept a hand on her waist as he led her back.
"Now it's gone again!"
Giles nodded his head. "And now, if you please, in that direction." He pointed off at ninety degrees from the direction she had first taken. She looked at Giles curiously, and then warily eyed the direction he indicated. She squared her shoulders, brushed Xander's arm away, and started off, but more cautiously than before, Xander at her side.
She stopped after a few steps.
"How do you feel?" asked Giles.
"It's a little achy, but nothing like before." Understanding dawned on her. "You don't think--"
Giles took off his glasses to polish them. "Yes, I do think. Let's test this a bit further. Could you walk in a large circle?" Giles circled his hand about to indicate how he meant.
Cordelia did so, somewhat tentatively, circling the group clustered together in the middle. Along certain portions they noticed her wince but she did not cry out. She finally stopped by the group, who had been watching her silently. "Whenever I go in this direction I feel OK. Any other direction feels bad, feels...wrong?" She faced the good direction and pointed. "This, this is the way to go. It's just this feeling I get."
"When you look to the west?" Xander asked, staring off into the distance of the direction she was facing and pointing. Cordelia stuck her tongue out at him.
Fuming, Tarian finally spoke up. "What's going on?"
Faith looked askance at her junior. "You don't get it?"
"No!"
"Whenever Cordelia heads in this direction she feels no pain or ache," Giles elaborated for Tarian, and everyone in general. "Perhaps it's remnants of the vision aspect you once had, or some latent ability which allowed you to have them in the first place. Whatever it is, the upshot is this: I believe Cordelia is meant to be our guide. And this is the direction we're supposed to be going. When we go off track she will feel it and we can determine again which way to go."
"You mean this is like some giant game of 'hot or cold'?"
Giles frowned at Xander's suggestion. "Err, well, yes, yes, it seems to be basically just that. Perhaps being here activated her ability, or she has some affinity for the object we seek. Either way, she is our guide." Giles seemed certain.
"You're just guessing the direction she feels good is the direction we really want," stated Xander. "Suppose it's really leading us to a trap?"
"Er, I suppose that's possible too. Do you have another suggestion?"
Xander pursed his lips and stared at Giles through a squinted eye, then looked around at the others waiting for him. "OK, let's go."
"What about the vampire, Angel?" wondered Carole.
"One thing at a time."
< Part 5b -|- Part 6b >