Title: Darkest Hour (1/?) : Story 21 in the "Who I Am, What I'll Become" series
Author: X_tremeroswellian
Email: X_tremeroswellian@yahoo.com
Disclaimer: All Angel and Buffy the Vampire Slayer characters belong to Joss Whedon, David Greenwalt, and all the other nice people that actually get paid to work to work on the show, none of whom I have any affiliation with whatsoever. Please don't sue me; I'm a poor broke college student. Songs are "Yellow Light" by Remy Zero, and "Chosen Family" by Leona Naess.
Rating: R for violence, language and sexual content.
Spoilers: Up through "Are You Now or Have You Ever Been" and the first 20 stories in this series.
Timelines: Takes place immediately after "Darkness Falls."
Summary: Cordelia grows worried about Angel's absence; she later realizes her own life is still in jeopardy.
Distribution: Anyone with previous permission. Permenant home is at www.geocities.com/angel_roswell/fanfic.html .
Category: Story
Subcategories: horror/angst/friendship
Author's Note: This fic gets very dark (and I'm not talking about night-time, folks) and graphic. Proceed with extreme caution.
Feedback: Rates right up there with chocolate, hint, hint. :)
Dedication: To rousedowser, Anne, Windsor and Julia.
Darkest Hour (Part One)
"And hey, got to move all across this thing
As the moon has made everything mean
Now it tears apart my brain
My bones is beginning to shake
Reach out your hollow flame
Ohh, you're hangin' so weird and strange
Ohh, your darkest days
They're just beginning now....ohhh..."
Something was wrong.
Cordelia paced back and forth in her living room, her lavender dress swishing as she moved. "Where is he, Dennis? He should be back by now."
Not unexpectedly, Dennis remained silent.
However, a mug of fresh hot chocolate floated over and hovered in front of her. "Thanks, but I don't think cocoa's going to help," she told him. The mug floated over and landed on her coffee table.
Cordelia ran a hand through her hair, trying to keep herself calm.
But with each passing moment, her anxiety grew. She wasn't sure how she knew it...chalk it up to woman's intuition or whatever...but something was wrong. She felt it with every bone in her body.
"Oh, God, Dennis! What if he got staked?" Her eyes widened with horror as a series of images of how life without Angel would be like flashed through her mind.
She felt Dennis smooth the hair off her forehead. "I know, I know. I'm freaking out over nothing. He's probably fine. I'm sure he is. He's Angel. He probably just ran into some demons attacking someone and stopped to help. He'll be back any minute, right? Yep, any minute." She stared at the door, hoping that it would swing open. When it didn't, she took a deep breath. "Okay, no more babbling." She crossed the room and grabbed the phone off its cradle. Then she hit speed dial button #2.
Wesley lay in bed, Kate's head resting on his bare chest. He stroked her back gently and played with the ends of her golden hair. She sighed contently and snuggled closer to him. He kissed her forehead. "Did you always want to be a police officer?"
"Actually, believe it or not, when I was younger, I wanted to be a country music singer."
"What happened?"
She stared at the wall. "My father wanted a son. To follow in his footsteps and become an officer. But I was the only child he and my mom ever had."
"So, trying to win your father's love and approval, you followed in his footsteps instead."
"That's the gist of it." Kate raised her head up and gazed at him. "What about you?"
"I wanted to be a writer. But my father was a watcher and he had a certain...influence on the council. I was inducted when I was twelve."
"It's amazing how much parents can affect their children," she murmured.
He looked into her eyes. "What about your mother?"
"She died when I was six. I don't remember her very well. But she used to wear this perfume...I don't know what it was, but it smelled like Spring. You know, when all the flowers begin to bloom again after a long, cold winter. And I remember she used to bake me homeade chocolate chip cookies...to this day, that's my favorite kind of cookie. My father never even attempted to bake. When I was growing up, we always had take-out or something on the grill. I honestly don't even remember the last time I had homeade chocolate chip cookies..." Kate's voice trailed off. "I'm sorry. I'm probably boring you to tears."
Wesley shook his head. "Not at all. I'm honored that you talk to me about your life." He kissed her forehead again.
She smiled at him.
Just then his telephone rang. He frowned as he glanced at the digital clock by his bed. It was 11 p.m. "I should get it...Cordelia may have had a vision, or..." His voice trailed off and he looked at her apologetically.
"Don't feel bad on my account," Kate assured him, moving over so he could grab the phone.
Wesley pressed it to his ear. "Hello?"
"Wesley, something's wrong!"
"What is it?" he asked, immediately worried from the sound of his friend's voice.
"The killer was outside my window! Angel went after him!"
"Okay, just stay calm. I'm sure that Angel's fine--"
"Wesley, that was almost three hours ago!"
He looked at Kate, who was watching him with concern. "All right. I'm going to get dressed and come over there. Then we'll figure out what to do. Just sit tight, okay?"
"Okay."
Wesley hung up the phone.
"What happened?"
"The killer was outside Cordelia's window. Angel went after him. Three hours ago," he said grimly.
Her eyes widened slightly. "I'll go with you."
"I appreciate that," he said sincerely as their eyes met. Then they both rushed to locate their clothes.
Angelus's eyes focused on the figure at the back of the darkened room. "Wow, I'm hungry," he remarked as he walked towards Lindsey McDonald.
Lindsey looked a bit worried, but held his ground.
"Angelus," Darla said sweetly.
He glanced back at her.
"Let's show him a little mercy," she suggested.
He raised an eyebrow. "When have you ever shown *anyone* mercy?"
"Well, he did bring me back, after all. And he got rid of that nasty soul of yours. We should show him our appreciation. Besides, he may turn out to be useful later."
Angelus sighed heavily, glanced at Lindsey again, then shrugged. "He probably would have tasted like a rat anyway."
She walked over and took him by the arm. "Let's go out. It's been so long since I've had a night on the town."
He grinned. "And I'm in the mood to feed."
Darla smiled seductively. "You definitely should. You'll need all your strengh for later." She turned and waved at the lawyer at the back of the warehouse. "Ta-ta, Lindsey!"
Without another word, the two vampires left the warehouse and stalked out into the dark night.
Cordelia sat on the edge of her sofa, unable to pay attention to The X-Files marathon that was running on FX. She had called Wesley twenty minutes ago. Where the hell is he? she wondered.
If only she knew what was going on, if Angel was okay.
She stood up. "Why can't the PTB send me a vision right about now? I mean, if Angel's in some kind of trouble, they would send me a vision so I could help him, right? I mean, it's not like I can just pick up the phone and dial..." Her voice trailed off as something else suddenly occurred to her. "That's it! Dennis, I'll be back soon! Let Wesley in when he comes over!"
Cordelia grabbed her purse and ran out of her apartment.
She looked around the semi-crowded demon bar and frowned. She spotted Lorne in the back at a table alone. She took a deep breath and hurried over to him.
"Hey, there, beautiful. What are you doing here tonight? And all dressed up, no less. Is that a Donna Karen?"
She looked down, having completely forgotten to change clothes. "Yeah. Listen, I need you to do your Sylvia Browne thing."
Lorne raised an eyebrow. "You know the rules, sweetcheeks." He nodded towards the stage where a five-eyed blue demon was belting out, "Ain't No Mountain High Enough."
Cordelia cringed. "Couldn't you just--" she waved her arms in the air. "--forget the rules this one timie? Angel's in trouble."
He frowned. "Sorry to hear that, but the problem is I *can't* read your future unless you sing."
"Okay, okay. Fine." She sighed, and waited impatiently until the demon on stage was finished. Then she rushed up there, looked over the song selections, and quickly chose one.
Cordelia drew in a nervous breath, pulled the microphone off its stand and began to sing along with the music.
"He's no Cassanova
He's no pushover
He's no king
And I hope he's no queen
He is kind
And I know you'll agree
He is my chosen family
When his hands are in mine
I know that we'll be fine
And no ocean can keep me away
My love...
He's no star
But he drives a fast car
He lost his folks a long time ago
And if you look
You can still catch the blow
He is my chosen family
When his hands are in mine
I know that we'll be fine
And no ocean can keep me away
My love...
He's no Cassanova
He's no pushover
He is no king
And I know he's no queen
He is kind
And I know you'll agree
He is my chosen family...
When his hands are in mine
I know that we'll be fine
And no ocean can keep me away
My love...
My love...
My love...
My love...
My love."
Cordelia placed the microphone back onto its stand and fled the stage, making a beeline for Lorne's table.
He had a worried expression on his face.
"What is it?" she asked, clenching her hands together.
"Sit down, cupcake." He pulled out a chair for her.
She sat down and stared at him. "Tell me."
"When's the last time you had a vision?" he questioned, studying her.
Cordelia blinked and tried to remember the last vision she'd had...it had been weeks.
"That's what I thought. The Powers are testing you."
"Testing me? Why?"
"I don't know for sure what's going on. But I can tell you that you're headed straight into trouble." He took a sip of the martini he was drinking.
"Look, I'm not worried about me right now. It's Angel that I'm worried about."
Lorne shook his head. "You're worried about the wrong person, then, sweetie. You're the one in danger." He leaned toward her and dropped his voice slightly. "You're about to face the darkest hours of your life. Are you ready for that?"
Wesley and Kate both covered their ears as they walked up the stairs to Cordelia's apartment. Apparently one of her neighbors was having a loud dance party. Loud music blasted somewhere from down the hall. When he reached Cordelia's door, he banged his fists on the wood, hoping she'd be able to hear him over the racket. "Cordelia!" he shouted. "It's Wesley!"
The door opened by itself a moment later.
"Thank you, Dennis," he told Cordelia's ghostly roommate. He stepped into the apartment, then reached back and took Kate's hand. "Cordelia?" he called loudly.
Kate closed the door behind them.
Wesley walked through the apartment, searching for any signs of his friend. When he reached her bedroom door, he froze. "Dear Lord," he muttered, staring at the mess of shredded clothes and grafitti on the wall.
Kate came up behind him and sucked in a breath. "I should call headquarters and get a team out here to work on this."
He nodded. "If Angel caught up to the man who did this..."
"...there will be one less active serial killer in the U.S.?" she finished.
They exchanged a look.
"Maybe I shouldn't make that call."
"I have to agree." Wesley backed out of the room and walked out to the living room. "I don't understand why Cordelia isn't here. She knew I was on my way over."
"Do you think she went after Angel?" Kate asked, frowning.
He looked over at her. "I don't know," he answered quietly. "And that's what worries me."
Cordelia climbed out of the taxi cab in front of her apartment building, a dull pain thudding in her temples. The darkest hours of her life were coming up.
Great. Cause I've already had my share of bright, happy hours, she thought wryly.
And what the hell were the PTB testing her for, anyway? It didn't make sense.
But at least Angel wasn't in danger, which made her feel somewhat relieved.
She reached the front door of her apartment building, then realized she'd forgotten to put her keys in her purse. Good thing I have a roommate, she thought as she reached up to buzz the intercom box.
Before she could push the button, someone grabbed her from behind. A large hand covered her mouth and kept her from screaming as she was dragged around into the alley.
"Do you have any idea how long I've been waiting for this, Cordelia?" a voice hissed in her ear. "A very long, long time."
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