Buffy The Vampire Slayer Fan Fiction ❯ Her New Family ❯ The First Step ( Chapter 13 )

[ X - Adult: No readers under 18. Contains Graphic Adult Themes/Extreme violence. ]

Dru's "gift" to Cordelia proves a curse that nearly kills her, and Angel takes the first step in recuperating his family.

Non Anime: Buffy The Vampire Slayer Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Supernatural / Romance / Occult / Hentai / Action | Type: Alternate Universe | Uploaded On: 11.06.2007 | Pages: 6 | Words: 7.6K | Visits: 367 | Status: Completed

Disclaimer: I don't own…really…

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The lunch with Buffy had been quite informative at best. It was hard for Willow to look at Buffy and not imagine her dusting Dru, but somehow she control her rage, looked interested in the endless prattle Buffy had to offer, only gave vague answers to the interrogation, and still managed to have enough time to steal curious looks in Riley's direction. Most of the time she found that he was watching her with amusement, as if he knew something she didn't and enjoyed it.

“So, Riley.” She turned on him in the moment Buffy stood to go to the bathroom. “What part of Iwoa are you from?”

“Huxley.” He informed, leaning back against his seat, folding his arms over his broad chest, mirth twinkling his eyes. “Grew up on a farm.”

“Oh.” Yet another bell of recognition rung, but she still couldn't put it together. Her eyes narrowed a fraction. “And what made you choose to come to Sunnydale of all places to come live in?”

His grin widened. “I had a friend online who used to live here. We met on a chat room, traded insults through email for a couple of days over a difference in opinions over Apple and Windows, and then became very good friends until she stopped writing four years ago.” The grin grew both amused and mischievous when he saw her eyes widen in remembrance.

“Riley Finn?”

He chuckled, leaning forwards onto the table. “I wondered when you were going to make the connection.”

“Riley!” Throwing herself at him, Willow hugged him across the table before letting go quickly and sitting back, hoping that no one had seen her so, well, Willow-y. “What are you doing here in Sunnydale?”

“I'm a TA at the college.” Riley told her, his smile friendly. “Have been for the last two years.”

“So that's how you met Buffy…” Willow nodded in understanding, suddenly blushing. “Sorry for cutting off all communication like that, but as you already know, I've been incommunicado with everyone the last four years.”

His smile faltered and he nodded, leaning back. “Everyone was worried about you Willow. Buffy and them don't know that we used to email each other, but she told me things about you on our dates—and she was worried that you'd been killed, or kidnapped by a serial rapist or, gangs on drugs or something.”

Willow lowered her gaze, playing with her napkin. “Yeah—well—--.”

“I personally was worried that you'd been killed by vampires.”

Paling, Willow jerked her gaze up. “Buffy told you--?”

“That she's the Slayer? Nah.” He snorted, shaking his head. “But I kinda figured it out during our second date. It's hard to ignore the fact that the girl you're with disappeared to the bathroom for half and hour, and when you go to see if she's okay you come upon her dusting six HUGE vampires and saving some other girl who had bloody fang marks in her neck.”

The redhead was speechless at how candidly he said that. “And it doesn't bother you? How did Buffy take it when you told her you knew?”

“Well, you see, I never exactly told her I knew.” Riley replied sheepishly. “I'm still kinda waiting for her to tell me.”

Willow shook her head. Buffy once again had underestimated those around her. She was about to voice that when she noticed Riley's narrowed gaze on something above her shoulder, but when she turned all she saw was a quick movement, a man with blonde hair and a dark tan disappearing behind the next building before she could get a good look at him.

She turned back to Riley, noticing how tense he'd become suddenly. “You okay?”

“Yeah.” He nodded stiffly, eyes darting behind her once more. “I have to go. Tell Buffy I'll see her tonight.”

“Sure.” Wondering who the other man was and why Riley seemed so tense, Willow watched as he stalked in that direction, body stiff and tall, disappearing behind the building. “How…odd.”

Her cell rung. Only two people knew this number, and she quickly pulled it out of her bag and flipped the cover. “Yeah?”

“Red.”

She winced, knowing Spike wouldn't be too happy that she'd snuck out on him.

“You need to come to the hotel immediately.”

“But---.”

“It's the cheerleader.” Spike's words were clipped.

“What happened to Cordelia?” Willow asked, fishing in her bag for a pen and beginning to jot down a note on the napkin for Buffy since the blonde was taking forever in the bathroom.

“The pup went out scouting when we found out that you'd disappeared,” the way he said that promised that they would speak about that later. “and I told him to check the moron's house and the cheerleader's. Maybe even the Watchers. He called me to tell me that something had happened to the cheerleader.”

“What?”

Cordelia's scream in the background broke into whatever Spike would have said. “Red, come now.” He then hung up.

“Shit.” Throwing down enough money to pay for her bill and for a tip, she hurried back towards the hotel.

Cordelia huddled in the darkest corner of the hotel room, hugging Miss Edith to her body, knees against her chest, rocking back and forth. Still wearing the nightdress she'd worn to sleep in last night, shoulder-length curls uncombed and tangled, her dark eyes were wide in fear. She alternated from whispering to Miss Edith to gripping fistfuls of her hair and pulling, screaming, begging the voices in her head to shut up and leave her alone.

She hadn't noticed much around her, hadn't realized that Oz had entered her house—worried at the terror he could smell inside—and found her. The ex-cheerleader hadn't noticed him until he'd bent in front of her, reluctantly worried.

“Puppy?” She'd whispered, not knowing how she knew that this stranger with black hair and pierced eyebrow was the `puppy' Dru had spoken about. She just knew.

And then she'd spaced out again as the voices screamed louder. Never noticed Oz' eyes widening in horror, standing rapidly, backing up away from her.

“Please, make them stop!” She begged no one in particular. “Make them stop! They're too loud! Too loud!”

The dark haired woman hadn't noticed Oz wrapping her in a blanket before picking her up and taking her down to the car he'd rented. Her eyes were closed tightly as he placed her lying down in the backseat and drove them to the hotel, taking her out and picking her light, crying body up to Willow's room through the back entrance.

She'd felt better with Oz, close to him, and the voices lowered when she was brought to the room where Spike waited. Still, the voices were too loud, all screaming at once, and Dru's voice trying to calm her was nearly inaudible due to the other voices.

Unlike with the others, Cordelia sensed when Willow entered the room. She wanted to ask the redhead what was happening—why Dru would do this to her, but she couldn't get the screams to stop---so she held her hands to her head, rocking back and forth, tears streaming down her cheeks as she cried.

“Cordy?”

Looking up, Cordelia found Willow kneeling before her, hand on her shoulder, the other wiping at her tears.

“I can't take it anymore, Willow.” Cordelia whimpered, continuing rocking, trying to stay focused on the redhead. “Make them stop—tell her to make them stop!”

“Tell who?” Willow's voice was cautious, and her thumb slowly caressed her skin in a soothing manner that would have calmed Cordelia if she wasn't in such horrendous pain. “Who did this to you?”

“Dru.” The word was forced out of her lips painfully. “Last night—dream—said you needed her gifts.” She clutched Miss Edith to her chest as pain erupted in her heart and she screamed.

“Bloody hell.” Spike whispered.

“She's going to die if we don't find a way to stop whatever's happening to her.” And Oz sounded worried.

“Cordy—Cor—listen. Tell me exactly what Dru told you last night.” Willow's voice was choked, as if she felt like crying. She obviously believed her that she'd been with Dru the night before.

That gave Cordelia hope, and with painful, broken sentences she replayed the dream. Sometime during her recounting Willow had eased her into her arms, and rocked Cordelia softly, whispering into her hair. Surprisingly enough the actions were calming for the voices. Although they didn't stop screaming, their intensity lowered.

“Get Angel.”

“What the bloody hell does he--?” Spike growled, obviously not liking Willow's order.

“Didn't you hear her?” Willow hissed, and then softened her voice when Cordy whimpered against her. “Dru did this to her, and she told her to say hi to all of us, Angel included. He's supposed to be here. Something's going to happen, something's building in her, and if he isn't here she could die!”

Oz got up from where he sat slumped on the bed. “I'll go get Angel right away.”

“Bloody sun outside people!” Spike barked.

“Tinted glass.” Oz called as he hurried out of the room to go and get the dark haired vampire.

Spike sighed as Oz left, and knelt next to Willow, a hand on her shoulder. “Sorry about that luv. I—I just don't want the bloody ponce to be near you.”

Cordelia was surprised to hear the love in the vampire's voice—and the fear. He was frightened by Angel and Willow's past relationship!

“She loves daddy.” Cordelia's eyes widened as her lips moved, words being forced out that weren't hers. “But she loves you too, my dark knight. She's as yours as she is his. You'll never be alone again.”

Spike jerked as if hit, eyes suspiciously moist. “Dru?”

But Dru's presence disappeared and the voices returned with ferocity, a blood-curdling scream escaping through her lips as she buried her face in Willow's chest.

“Make them stop! Make them stop!” She didn't know how much time passed as she screamed and Willow held her near, rocking her against her and Spike eventually placing a hesitant hand on her back, rubbing her as he used to Dru whenever she got in her spells.

The pain grew in her chest and head and she was crying blood, staining Willow's shirt, yet the redhead didn't mind, holding her closer, whispering words in Latin. While whatever Willow was doing was diminishing the pain slightly, it couldn't stop it, and Cordelia felt as if she would explode from the pressure and pain.

“Angel…” She heard Willow whisper against her hair. “Angel…hurry!

Angel was a careful vampire, that was how he'd become the great Angelus, but when the stranger told him that Willow needed him he hadn't cared that he had no reason to believe this person even knew Willow, much less that he was telling the truth. Not even the fact that it was day kept Angelus back.

Throwing on a dark duster and covering himself with a thick, black blanket, he hurried to the car with tinted glass and once again hurried into the hotel, following the dark haired stranger up the stairs towards room 666 (he would have bet his unlife that Spike had insisted on getting that room), from where he could hear female screams.

The black hair stranger—whose smell was familiar somehow—opened the door with a swipe of the key card and Angel entered, throwing off the blanket when the door was closed behind them.

The sight that greeted him froze him to the spot. Willow was on her knees, rocking a screaming and crying Cordelia Chase, and what shocked him even more was Spike. The vampire who'd gotten off by torturing women for decades was on his knees as well, one arm around Willow's trembling shoulders, and the other rubbing Cordelia's back comfortingly.

“What happened to her?” Angel demanded, voice gruff from surprise and something else.

Willow turned her head and looked at him, shoulders sagging in relief. “Thank God.” She nodded thankfully in the direction of the man behind Angel, and the vampire suddenly remembered where he'd seen the other man before. This was the famed Daniel Osbourne!

What was Osbourne doing back in Sunnydale?

Yet the only thing he managed to get out was… “You're eyes.”

Willow blinked, confused. Didn't she know that her eyes were vampiric gold?

She suddenly narrowed those beautiful eyes. “Not now Angel.” Turning to Cordelia, her voice dropped to a soothing whisper. “Cor? Angel's here now.”

The moment Angel and Osbourne walked towards them, Cordelia threw her head back and screamed, darkness shooting out through her eyes and mouth, her tanned skin paling, her dark hair flickering around her with the intensity of the power surrounding them. Spike, Angel and Oz were thrown back by the blow, yet Willow held on tightly, scrunching her eyes shut in pain.

It took Angel a second to realize that the power wasn't coming from Cordelia…but Willow, whose screams had joined the other woman's.

“Red!” Spike had gotten up and hurried towards the two women only be thrown back by the power surrounding them. “Dammit! Red!” He threw himself at the power barrier once more, cursing loudly as it threw him across the room. “Red!”

“Willow!” Oz appeared with a sword and tried to hack through the invisible barrier, yet was thrown back like Spike had.

Angel stood, eyes narrowed as he searched the barrier, trying to find a crack, a weak spot.

“Don't do it Red!” Spike pounded his fist at the barrier, angrily, desperately, and surprisingly enough the barrier didn't throw him back, just didn't allow him to pass further. “Let her go Red! Let her go!”

Before Angel's very eyes Willow's hair turned black, her body seeming to glow green, especially at her fingers.

Not understanding what was happening, terrified that something was draining Willow, Angel continued with his search of the barrier, looking for some weakness, growling when he found none.

“I won't lose you!” Spike's voice was hoarse with emotion as he continued to pound the barrier. “Just let her go! Let her die!”

Angel knew Willow, knew she wouldn't let Cordelia go even if it killed her. She was fighting with whatever power had possessed the former cheerleader, he could see the darkness surrounding both women, and the fingers of metallic green flames that rose from her skin, lashing out at the darkness around them.

“You can do it.” He whispered, surprised when she turned to look at him, eyes completely black. Had she heard him? “You can do it Willow.”

Suddenly the darkness descended upon them like a blanket, suffocating them in its thickness. The screams stopped.

Two of the three heartbeats in the room went completely silent.

“Red!” Spike cried out, tears of blood falling down his cheeks as he slid to the ground, body trembling.

The sword fell from Oz's hand as he fell to his knees. “No.”

Angel froze in horror.

Suddenly a ray of green erupted upwards out of the blackness and it exploded with such force that it broke the barrier and threw the men backwards. The moment the tongues of green covered Angel, his eyes flew back in his head and unlocked the vault in his mind, created by the blessing so he wouldn't `brood' over the things he'd done when he'd lost his soul.

His memories came flooding back to him with a force that left him breathless---so it was quite fortunate that he didn't need to breathe.

The first to recuperate from the blow, Angel staggered to his feet and hurried towards the women lying in awkward positions on the ground.

“Willow!” Falling to his knees he pulled her up onto his lap, tears of blood falling into her face.

“Red.” Spike crawled towards them, his encounters with the power leaving him weak despite his quick healing abilities. The blonde vampire seemed to forget his contempt for his grandsire as he knelt besides him, his tears of blood joining Angel's on the face of their beloved.

That's when Angel heard it.

Three hearts beating.

“Spike?” Willow groaned, forcing her eyes open. The black was bleeding away back to pure gold. She looked confused, exhausted, and in intense pain.

Oz smiled with relief from where he stood, and then frowned and hurried to Cordelia when the tanned beauty began to groan, still unconscious.

“Red.” Spike collapsed on her, planting desperate kisses on her face, hands traveling over her, checking her for injuries. “Don't ever do that again! I thought I'd lost you!”

A frog seemed to be in Angel's throat, keeping him from speaking, but he knew that his eyes said everything he couldn't with his mouth. He placed a comforting arm around Spike, who didn't seem to care as long as he could touch Willow.

Angel closed his eyes.

He didn't understand what had just happened, but he knew that it was the first step in his getting his family back.

“Angel.”

He looked down at her, surprised when she raised a weak hand and wiped away the bloody tears from his eyes. “Yes Little One?”

“Thank you…” Her voice grew weaker. “Thank you for believing I could do it.” And with that her eyes rolled back in her head and she fainted away.

“Red?!?”

“She's fine William.” Getting up, Angel accommodated Willow in his arms. “She's needs to rest, but she won't get the attention she needs here. You're coming home with me—all of you.” He added, watching as Oz picked up Cordelia's limp form.

“We haven't bloody needed you for years Angelus! Every time you come back, you leave us and I am the one who has to clean up your mess!” Spike spat at him, standing as well, but his body trembled, betraying his emotions. “You can't just appear and try to be a soddin' hero and expect us to open our bloody arms to you and say `welcome home daddy'!”

His head lowered a fraction in shame at the truths being thrown in his face. “I know that William.”

Spike look taken back by his admittance.

“But I love Willow, and I love you.” Angel told him, raising his gaze until they met suspicious yet hopeful blue ones. He had no idea that his own eyes were Angelus'. “And Willow's my mate.”

“She's mine as well.” Spike hissed.

Angel nodded, once again taking the brutal truths without fight. “And her family is my family, so you'll have to get used to it William. You're stuck with me, and this time I'm not going anywhere.”

“We'll see how bloody long that promise holds.” Spike muttered, yet he pulled on his duster and threw a blanket over Angel and Willow, before doing the same with himself.

Angel smiled softly to himself as they left the destroyed hotel room and hurried out towards the car below.

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