Title: One Breath (1/?): Story 22 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 and David Greenwalt. Roswellians belong to Melinda Metz and Jason Katims. No infringement intended, no money is being made. Song is "Yellow Light" by Remy Zero.
Rating: Serious R for violence, language, sexual content and character deaths.
Spoilers: Up through and including the Angel episode, "Are You Now or Have You Ever Been," and the first 21 stories in this series. Also, up through the BtVS episode, "Blood Ties" and the whole Glory-is-a-god and Dawn-is-the-key story though I will be deviating from some of the events later in this series. Some of the events in this fic are reminiscent of events in season 2 of Angel.
Timelines: Immediately after "Darkest Hour."
Summary: Angelus, Darla and Drusilla are reunited and wreak havoc on L.A.; Angelus develops a new obsession while the Angel Investigations crew struggles to deal with the loss of Angel.
Distribution: Anyone with previous permission.
Category: Story; crossover with Buffy the Vampire Slayer and semi-crossover with Roswell.
Subcategories: Horror/angst/friendship/dark romance
Feedback: I thrive on it. :)
Dedication: To Shalyn and Barbara for all the awesome feedback.
One Breath (Part One)
"...come and leave somehow
Lights to the world, the sun is rising
From the moon and the earth to the stars
Simple wings are simply pulled apart
My bones is beginning to shake
Reach out your hollow flame
Oh, you're hangin' so weird and strange
Oh, your brightest days
They're just ending....oh...
Your darkest days
They're just beginning now, oh..."
Cordelia sat at the kitchen table, staring down at the cup of coffee cradled in her hands. The sun was peeking over the horizon and rays of light began to shine in through the window above the sink.
She could hear the soft sound of snoring from her living room--either from Oz or Gunn--but other than that, the apartment was totally silent.
Even Phantom Dennis was dormant, probably unsure of what to do.
I know the feeling, Cordelia thought, massaging her temples as her headache worsened. She'd barely slept the previous night and when she had, she'd had grusome nightmares of people dying.
She shuddered, then braced her hands against the table and pushed herself to her feet. She quickly lifted the telephone receiver off its cradle and dialed the phone number Xander had given her.
"I'm sorry. The number you have dialed is temporarily out of service..." the recorded voice told her.
Fear clenched at her stomach. She hung up the phone, then picked it up and dialed Willow's number, then Buffy's, getting the same message both times.
"Why don't you guys get cell phones?" she muttered.
"Cordelia?"
She jumped, then whirled around. "Geez, Wesley! You know right now? Not the best time to go sneaking up on people!"
"Sorry," he said quietly.
Cordelia leaned back against the wall and drew in a deep breath to calm her racing heart. Then she raked a hand through her hair and returned to her seat at the table.
Wesley poured himself a cup of coffee and sat down across from her. "How long have you been up?"
She spared the clock a glance. "An hour. I tried calling Sunnydale, but the lines are apparently still down."
"We'll try again soon. Did you get any sleep?" he asked, converned.
"Not so much," she admitted.
"Me either." He sighed deeply.
Cordelia sipped her coffee. "Is Kate still sleeping?"
Wesley nodded. "Yes."
She set her mug down and looked directly at him. "When do we curse him again?"
"I have an Orb of Thesullah at my apartment. I bought it after the incident with Rebecca Lowell. Just for precaution. We can head over as soon as the sun has totally risen."
"Good."
There was a moment of silence.
"How's Kate taking all of this, anyway?"
"Surprisingly well, actually. I was a bit worried that given her past with vampires, she'd--"
"--jump on the stake-Angel-bandwagon?"
"Well, uh, yes."
"She may have, but I think a big part of the reason she hasn't is because she's dating one of Angel's best friends."
He blushed. "So last night, how did you know that the two of us...?"
She smiled despite herself. "A girl can tell. You guys have been standing closer and talking softer and just...sending off these vibes. Plus when you came back to Liz's party, the two of you were holding hands."
"Yes, well."
"You really like her, don't you?"
Wesley met her gaze and nodded. His voice was lowered when he spoke again. "I've never felt this way about anyone before."
A pang of sorrow stabbed at her, then she felt guilty. She shouldn't be feeling sorry for herself, she should be happy for her friend. He'd found happiness despite the darkness that now surrounded them. Cordelia shoved aside the feelings of self-pity and reached across the table. She squeezed his hand. "I'm glad you found someone, Wes."
"I understand I have you to thank for that. Kate told me that when you invited her on our trip to Roswell, you told her it was my idea. Thank you," he said sincerely.
Cordelia nodded and pulled her hand away. She picked up her coffee cup and took a sip. She glanced at him and chewed on her lower lip. "Wesley?"
He lifted his eyes to meet hers. "Yes?"
She hesitated. "Nothing."
Wesley frowned. "Cordelia?"
"I'm sure it's nothing to be worried about."
"What?"
Cordelia sighed. "I saw Lorne last night. At Caritas. It was before we knew what happened to Angel. I got worried that something had happened, so...anyway, he did his mind-mojo thing and he said that the reason I haven't had any visions for a long time was because the Powers were testing me."
His frown deepened. "Testing you for what purpose?"
"He didn't know." She stared down at the table.
"Well, after we cast the spell to restore Angel's soul, we'll start researching immediately."
"Thanks, Wes."
"Of course." He stood up, turned to go, then paused. "Even with Angel's soul restored...with Darla back, there's going to be trouble."
Cordelia met his eyes and nodded. "I know," she said simply.
Flames shot up through the air. Orange, red and fiery streaks of blue surrounded him, stretched as far as he could see.
A flash of white in the distance.
He narrowed his eyes, then squinted, trying to see what it had been.
The fire danced around him, licked at his feet, threatened to consume him.
In front of him, the flames bowed down for a moment and allowed him to see her.
Walking towards him.
She was beautiful.
A long white silk dress trailed the ground behind her, her long dark tresses wild and blowing in the wind he hadn't noticed until that moment.
Her hazel eyes were locked on his as she moved closer.
The flames twisted around her but didn't scorch her flawless flesh.
A few feet away from him, she stopped and simply stared at him.
He tried to walk towards her, but found himself unable to move.
She stretched her hand out towards him, her eyes pleading with him to take her hand. He reached his arm out, but not far enough to take her hand. He stretched as far as he could and their fingertips just brushed.
Suddenly a wall of flame shot up between them and he quickly jerked his hand away.
He called out to her but she didn't respond.
She was gone.
Angelus sat up in bed, startled by the dream. "What the hell was that?" he muttered. He'd dreamed of human girls before--plenty of times--but the dreams were always of killing them, not...whatever the hell that had been about.
He swung his legs off the bed and stood up. He walked the length of the warehouse, then turned back and did it again.
What was it about that damned girl, anyway? He'd had the perfect opportunity to kill her last night, and yet, he hadn't wanted to. Fuck. What the hell was wrong with him? He wasn't some lovesick, pussy-whipped, back-stabber like Spike. He was the Scourge of Europe.
He was Angelus. He maimed and tortured and killed without remorse.
A memory of Cordelia's lips against his, of her warm body pressed up against him, burning him as his hands tangled in her hair sent desire flooding through him.
He paused at the side of the bed, staring down at Darla, who was still sleeping. Even if he fucked her, he somehow knew that it wouldn't rid him of his unbidden lust for Cordelia Chase. He wouldn't even be able to pretend that his sire was Cordelia. Maybe if he closed his eyes...
His lips curled up in disdain and with a low growl, he stalked away from the bed again.
Cordelia stared out the passenger side window of Oz's van, the sunshine warming her face. The sky was a beautiful clear blue, which struck her as odd. Maybe it was a good sign.
"Uh-oh," Oz said from the driver's seat.
Or maybe not, she thought.
"What is it?" Wesley asked from the back.
Oz nodded his head towards the windshield. Cordelia looked and her eyes widened.
"Oh, my God," Wesley whispered.
Police officers, paramedics and firefighters surrounded Wesley's apartment building. Or what was left of it, anyway.
Thick clouds of smoke bellowed up from the rubble.
Oz parked the van across the street and they all scrambled out. Wesley and Kate approached the scene and Cordelia hung back with Gunn and Oz.
Kate pulled out her I.D. badge and flashed it to the nearest officer. "Detective Lockley, L.A.P.D. precinct 7. What happened here?"
"Fire started about three hours ago. One of the residents called 911 when her fire alarm went off."
"Injuries?"
"A couple of smoke inhalation victims, but nothing serious. They were taken to County a couple hours ago."
"What do they think caused the fire?"
"Not sure yet, but arson hasn't been ruled out."
Kate glanced at Wesley, who was staring at the smoldering remains of the building, her expression unreadable. She reached out and touched his arm.
His gaze flickered to her face. "We have to tell the others."
She nodded.
Cordelia knew before Wesley or Kate said a word. "Angelus."
"He must have known I had an Orb of Thesullah," Wesley agreed quietly.
Gunn looked back and forth between them. "How do you know for sure it was him?"
She looked down at the ground. "I just know."
"What now?" Oz questioned.
Everyone remained silent for a moment.
"We go back to Cordelia's. Try to locate another Orb," Wesley said finally, looking at her.
"You're welcome to stay at my place as long as you need to," Cordelia told him. She glanced at Kate. "You're welcome, too."
"Thanks."
She nodded, then shivered despite the warmth of the sun.
"Well, at least things can't get much worse, right?" Gunn asked hopefully.
Angelus walked in front of Darla to the sewer exit from the warehouse. But as they got closer, he heard footsteps approaching. He held his hand up and Darla stopped moving.
He vamped out, prepared to kill whoever had made the mistake of invading his territory.
The door flew open.
Angelus relaxed, but stared in surprise at the familiar brunette standing before him. "What are you doing here?"
Drusilla smiled at him. "The stars told me a secret. They said that daddy's home. Shh. Don't tell anyone."
"My lips are sealed, precious."
She walked past him, then clapped her hands in delight when she saw Darla. "Grandmother's not dusty anymore. The big bad wolf brought her back to us! If only my Spikie was here we could have a family reunion," she said, pouting.
Angelus narrowed his eyes. "How is Spike these days?"
Drusilla frowned deeply. "He's a naughty, naughty robot. Only does what the Slayer tells him to, won't even hurt people anymore."
"Angelus...the Slayer. Let's go and kill her," Darla purred.
"All in good time," he answered. Oh, Buffy and Spike and all the other pathetic Scoobies like Xander Harris would get what was coming to them. Just not right at the moment. He smiled at his childe. "Cheer up, Dru. We were just on our way to a massacre."
Her eyes lit up. "Ooh. The glass in the dirty mirror will break. The blood will make a river."
Darla rolled her eyes but remained silent.
Angelus grinned more broadly. "How right you are, Dru. How right you are."