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| Mazzy & Prebuffy present |
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| *****Mazzy****** Cordelia burst out through the side door of the Bronze and began to pace the alleyway, neither concerned nor worried about the evil that could dwell there. �Oh my God, Oh my God, Oh my God.� She tried to catch her breath and at the same time make some sense of the events that had just occurred. She wasn�t alone for long; soon Xander approached her with a semi-confused look in his eye. He grabbed her shoulders tenderly and faced her to him. �What was that?� �This was our idea of fun in high school? Killing vampires? This is SO not normal! Why am I here in this place? Why did I like this? This was my life? �OK,� Xander said as he held her steady, �keep making with the rant. It�s okay.� �I mean if I wanted to fight bad things and creepy crawly stuff, I would�ve stayed in LA with Angus! I come here, and you guys take me out for a night of fun, and this is what you call fun? I thought maybe we could go to the mall or visit my folks.� The realization that she hadn�t been HOME brought her to shock. �Oh my God! I don�t even know where my parents are!� �Shh, it�s okay,� Xander soothed as he attempted to answer her myriad of questions. �Fun in high school? For us, killing vampires was normal.� He looked up with his eyes searching for the answers to other questions she had asked, trying to appease her. �We brought you here �cause there�s a good band playing. You liked it here �cause this is where all the cute guys hung out. Yeah this pretty much WAS your life. LA�s creepy crawlies are not quite as special as Sunnydale�s. His name is Angel by the way. Again, this is not our idea of fun.� His eyes strained for the last bit of information and he looked at his watch, as she waited impatiently. �The mall closed about a half an hour ago, and finally, your parents are in exile in Aruba.� Then Xander�s tone grew serious. �And you actually don�t really get along that well with them anyhow.� She breathed deeply, yet was grateful for his attempt to make her feel better. �Well I don�t like this kind of fun now. And do you have any idea how overwhelming it�s been to meet everyone? And that freaky Dawn girl earlier? The way she looked at me. She was glowing too.� �About the glowing�� Xander absentmindedly ignored her comment about Dawn as he sought for some answers of his own. �I don�t know what I can say.� She placed her hands on his and looked him in the eye. �All this time, I�ve been trying to remember what I forgot and trying to forget what I remembered. That for instance.� �THAT meaning vampires? Didn�t Angel cover that territory with you?� Cordelia seemed a bit exasperated and stepped away from him, almost ashamed. �No! What I am. What I became.� �Still not erasing the fuzzies for me,� Xander said with a touch of humor to try and lighten her state. Cordelia crouched down on a nearby cement stoop and ran her fingers through her short silken hair. Xander joined her on the stoop, suddenly aware of the nearness of his body to hers while simultaneously recalling an earlier high school memory when they had snuck out here for secret kissage. She took a deep breath, comforted by his warm presence. �I�m sorry, I just want things to be normal, to make sense. And I just sort of put myself in denial about what I am�a demon, just like Angel and the horny green guy." She paused as she realized her verbal faux pas and the questioning look on Xander�s face, then continued, �and all those vampires. I�m evil and ugly and disgusting.� She broke down in despair. �Whoa! Where�s that coming from?� Xander put his arm around her and pulled her close so her head fell on his shoulder. �No, that�s not what I see at all. See, I know you Cordy. I know you pretty well, even if you don�t remember it all. What I see is someone who is beautiful and brave and powerful.� She looked up at him with huge brown eyes, glistening with hopeful tears. �We live in a world filled with big bad things, and we choose to be on the side that fights them. You choose to be. That is who you are. That�s what you did in there. Still not clear on exactly HOW you did that, but you did a good thing, and that�s nothing to be ashamed of.� Xander smiled down at her and she began to gain some sort of understanding. He wiped the tears from the corner of her eyes and kissed her on her forehead. Cordelia moved her arm up and onto his shoulder, grabbing him tightly to her for warmth and comfort. �Just hold me. Hold me and tell me it will all make sense. That it will be alright.� He kissed her hair and soothed her. �Shh, don�t worry. I�ll help you.� ******** Inside the Bronze, while Dawn went off to gab with her school pals, Buffy, Willow and Anya began to pow-wow about the events. Some other random teenagers interrupted their hushed whispers asking about Cordelia�s �display� and seeking autographs. Buffy politely declined their attention. �I gotta hand it to the manager of this place. He�s quick toe-thinking guy. Performance art? And the kids seemed to have really dug it too.� �Yeah,� Willow added earnestly, �and had we known, I might�ve been able to conjure up some zingy little costumes and fireworks, though I guess Cordy did enough of a light show.� �So Anya, what was up with that? How did you know that Cordy had demon powers?� Buffy asked, as she squired her friends to a nearby round table in the corner of the place so they could speak more freely. Anya distractedly looked to the back of the club, having seen Xander run after his ex, and was none-to-pleased about the turn of events. �You know how you have slayer sense? Well, I have that too.� Anya turned her head back to the door. Buffy wrinkled her nose. �Huh? Slayer sense?� Willow chimed in again, stating what her friend might have been thinking. �Does that come in the complete vengeance package or is it an a la carte deal?� Anya finally turned her head back around to the duo and explained tersely. �Demons know demons.� �Oh. OK,� Willow turned to Buffy and gave her a look that tried to communicate that Anya wouldn�t be much help and they�d have to deal with this one on their own. �Okay, so maybe taking her here on vamp night wasn�t the biggest stroke of genius, but how were we to know the fangy bitey ones would be here? And besides, we found out that she�s got power, so that�s gotta be helpful right?� �Yeah, just would�ve been nice if Angel had thought to have mentioned that she was a demon prior to her higher being gig.� Buffy pouted then got lost for a moment, distracted by the thought of Angel, which naturally led her to thoughts of Spike. She wondered if they were getting along alright, if Angel was helping. She secretly sent out a little wish in the direction of LA�hoping that things were working out better on their end. �Ok, so she�s a demon and she�s got power.� Willow paused thoughtfully. �If we could do the research thing, maybe we can learn more about her demon power, you know and use it so she could remember some stuff?� Anya, who was half listening to her so-called friends piped in. �Count me out. I�m not going anywhere. You two can have fun chasing your demon of the week or whatever it is you do on Tuesday nights, but my night has been B-A-D bad, and I fully intend to drown my sorrows in a pint of some frothy German beer. That IS the ritualistic thing to do when one feels gloomy, isn�t it?� Buffy also looked a little down since her thoughts had drifted to other worries. Suddenly a beer sounded like a world of heaven. �Normally, I would tell you that beer leads to deviant behavior and other sorts of primitive action, but nope, not gonna fight you on this one. I think I could actually use a nice alcoholic distraction.� She looked eagerly at her best friend, �Will?� �Well, I�m not gonna go do the research thing by myself. It IS Cordelia after all. It�s not like it�s an emergency or anything. Besides, Xand�� She ended her sentence quickly as Anya flashed her the evil eye. �Hey you know what?� Willow popped out of her seat and motioned toward the bar. �The first round is on me.� ******** Deep in the vermin-filled sewers of LA, Spike led Wesley toward the source of a familiar scent. �What in the underbelly is a rogue demon hunter anyway? Might as well just call yourself the scary monster chaser.� In response, Wesley reached into the black bag he had slung over his shoulder and pulled out what looked like a flamethrower. Spike didn�t seem to notice. "Actually, I'm the one who's a bit of a rogue these days." "Well, you've got plenty of company, mate. Lots of us living our lives on the fringes of acceptable cliques. Nothing new there.� A long tailed rat ran over the toe of Spike�s Doc Martens. His stomach lowly grumbled with hunger, but then it clenched suddenly as it began to feel like he was surrounded by claws scratching at his legs, his back, his neck, everywhere. He twitched uncontrollably beneath his clothing, but worked hard to disguise his unexpected disorientation from the ex-communicated white hat. Wesley was amazed about how right the vamp was about their similar predicaments and how smart he seemed�almost like human. "It's extraordinary really, another souled vampire. Maybe we should just do the world a favor and send all the vampires to get souls or get that charming Willow girl to cast a grand spell on them all." Spike stopped and sniffed the air. He held out a hand then pointed to a dark corner where he could see the gleaming round edges of brown iridescent shells. His tone grew serious. "How extraordinarily PAINFUL. If you'd had any idea what I'm going through...� Spike pulled out his axe and walked carefully toward the nest. Wesley followed close behind and began to load the flamethrower. Spike continued with his thoughts as his mental illusions began to dissolve. "Though I expect vamps deserve it. Evil creatures.� Spike stopped himself from that thread of conversation, realizing that he had potentially incriminated himself. He and Wesley grew closer to the nest, and he motioned for the dark-haired hunter to move around to the other side of the large three foot breeding ground. �Besides, you don�t want Red casting any big spells. Last time she worked her charms, we almost had 'nother apocalypse.� Wesley held up his weapon and began to aim. His finger was near the trigger as he spoke quietly. �Another? Guess that one passed us by, didn�t it?� �So it did.� Just as Spike was about to attack he noticed Wesley�s burning arrows and began to yell. �What're you doing man? Don't go all Hagrid on me! Hasn�t anyone taught you that heat will make Swagger eggs hatch faster?" But Wesley had already taken action. The nest was lit up and he screamed across the flames toward Spike. �I suppose you�re the expert on how to deal with these creatures then, huh� Malfoy?� Shrieks of agony filled the air as the eggs immediately hatched and were then consumed by the deathly flames. One demon�s clawed talon reached toward Spike in a last attempt at an attack, but the vamp, struck down hard at it with the ax, dismembering the creature. �I suppose that was effective. Let�s get the bloody hell out of here.� He began to sprint out of the sewers. Before they reached the exit, Wesley finally caught up to him. �Well, that did it then for the nest, but what about the other hatchlings? What about Fred?� Spike was finished with the games and was anxious to move on to his real purpose, and he knew convincing Wesley to move on too would indeed benefit him. "Mr. Muscle will take care of the others and that sweet girl.� Spike noticed the subtle crushed looked beneath Wesley�s stoic fa�ade. �Though I�ve a feeling, she can more than take care of herself.� �Very well then, I suppose you want me to help you find Angel?� �That would be in the plan.� Spike began to climb out of the sewers. �Where's the other souled one hanging out at these days?� Wesley climbed out after him and began to shake the grime and soot off his stain covered clothes. �Well, being the rogue that I am, I couldn't say for sure.� He wiped at the sweat of his brow as he saw Spike also attempting to create a decent appearance. �My source has him over at Lusaka's pub. He's been mediating between warring underlords lately. No doubt he's got himself in a bit of a scrape there.� Spike smiled knowingly as he thought about an old time when Angel was the one causing trouble with underlords like Kangus the Ruffian. �Goody, goody, this should be fun.� He and Wes began to walk down the street side by side, and Spike patted him on the shoulder. �C�mon mate. Looks like you could use a pint. Heaven knows I could." ******** In the alley behind the Bronze, Cordy and Xander clung to one another like the lovers they almost were. Cordelia sighed deeply. �This feels comfortable. Safe. Familiar.� She looked up at him pleadingly. On pure instinct and lost in the moment of long ago romance, Xander bent his head down and met her soft lips with his. It had been so long and yet it felt just like yesterday. He had missed her, though he didn�t realize how much �til that moment. And a part of him hoped that through this connection, he could really help her. He could be her hero, and she might actually want to remember him and forget the hurt he had once caused her. The kiss grew intensely as she pulled him closer. Xander�s hands began to roam freely over her shoulders, then down her breasts, under her blouse. His fingertips brushed her mounds of warm skin, and a heat began to rise within him. Cordelia allowed his touch willingly. Lifting her leg, she slung it around his back, drawing the length of his body down onto her so that the only thing that separated their most intimate connection were pieces of clothing. Their breathing grew heavy as hands and lips continued to roam over one another, their bodies moving in unison. All at once Xander stopped and looked at her beautiful face. He had to pause before he could even begin to go any further. She spoke softly. �Xander, did I love you?� Xander nodded his head. �I think so, in a high school love kind of way.� He looked at her searchingly. She breathed again. �Did you love me?� He smiled down at her, his face betraying affection. �More than I knew.� He began to kiss her again, but as her body leaned back further, her head banged into the concrete step behind her. �Ow,� she yelped lightly, as she began to sit up. Xander tried to attend to her, but something was different, almost as if some sort of sense had been literally knocked into her head. She remembered about the strange dark-haired girl inside. She rubbed the back of her head as she drew her attention to him. �Xander, what did that girl mean? About you? Who is she? She said you hurt me?� Xander snapped back to reality. �Anya,� he spoke thoughtfully as he leaned up and rested his chin in his hands. Cordelia could see the change in his expression and realized that this woman meant something to him. She angled herself slightly away from him. Uncomfortably he continued. �She spoke out of turn. You and I did have complications, but it�s uh, complicated.� Cordelia composed herself ending the intimate moment. �Look, maybe we should just put �this� on hold until�until�I don�t know. �Til I can remember something.� She gathered herself up and strolled off the stoop. �Dammit I just wish I could remember. It's like one day I woke up and I didn't know who or where I was.� Xander rose and stood next to her, a thought suddenly occurring to him. �Tabula Rasa!� Cordy looked at him like he was crazy, �Tabula huh?� He grabbed her hand. �I think we�re going to need Willow.� They left the alleyway and headed back inside in search of the one person who might actually be able to help her. |
| Note: The following story takes place prior to Buffy season 7 "Selfless" and prior to Angel season 4 "Spin the Bottle". This commences an AU B7/A4 |
| PART V |
| Wanna play tag? Go here! |
| SWITCHED ON |
| Slight NC-17 warning! |