Chapter 3: With Angelus into Hell

Wesley blew out the candle he’d lit to ward off evil dreams. It was to be used sparingly, for its effects could neutralize the usefulness of the dreamwalk. A few minutes earlier, Angel’s face had melted back into his human countenance. He’d taken a few uneven breaths, then settled into deeper sleep. Cordelia, apparently unhurt by whatever had taken place, had done the same.

The ex-Watcher rubbed his eyes. He knew how important his vigil was. Should anything go wrong with the spell, he had to be aware of it and be ready to bring his friends out of it at a moment’s notice. But he was tired, so tired, and even all the caffeine he’d been drinking was losing its effectiveness.

An indrawn breath from Angel signaled the start of a new REM cycle. They would be moving on now . . .

***

"So who does Oz think is ‘atrocious’?" asked Cordelia.

Angel shook his head. "Not sure I want to guess."

"The Master?" Cordelia speculated. "The Mayor? Snyder?"

"Are you getting a sense of direction?" They were walking past the smoking rubble of Sunnydale High School.

Cordelia sighed and pointed toward the city limits. "Out there. You can only go so far in Sunnydale, you know."

"Yeah," Angel agreed. "I’ve heard that."

"Well, well, well," said a voice. "If it isn’t the Dark Avenger and Batgirl."

Both Angel and Cordelia halted. They immediately knew who their new guide was, and they immediately dreaded this leg of their journey.

A figure came striding out of the darkness. It matched Angel in every way but for the bearing of his body and the fact that he was in vamp face.

"Angelus," they both said.

And Angelus it was, down to the leather pants. The embodiment of Angel’s vampiric nature walked slowly over to them with an arrogant pace.

"What? Not happy to see me, little bro?" He smiled, showing his fangs. "And Cordelia—still hanging out with this loser, I see. Don’t expect him to get more interesting. But hey, this should be fun." His face smoothed into his human visage, and he stood in front of Angel. "Just like a mirror, isn’t it, little bro? Hey—I’m hot! Don’t you think so, Cordy?"

"I like his face better," said Cordelia. "For one thing, it talks less."

Angelus clasped his hands over his heart. "You wound me, Cordelia. Be honest now—don’t you want to screw him?"

"Pfft!" Cordelia made a brushing-off gesture. "As if! You came out the last time he got some; I’m not taking that risk."

There was a soft, cruel laugh from Angelus. "Cordy, Cordy, Cordy—do you honestly think that sleeping with you could give any man perfect happiness?"

Angel’s hands lashed out at that, grabbing Angelus by his leather coat lapels. "I’ve got an idea," Angel hissed. "Why don’t you take us wherever you’re supposed to take us, give us our key, and get lost?"

Angelus regarded him lazily. "Now, Angel—don’t damage what you both need."

"Need you?" Angel laughed. "I’m sure we could find ourselves a better guide."

"It’s not just the guide gig, Angel," said Angelus. "You two need me every single day. She does, in particular."

"Get over yourself," said Cordelia. "I need you like I need a bad dye job."

Angelus laughed again. "No, Cordy, you need me. You need to be able to separate me from Angel, or you wouldn’t be able to be around him. You think of me as something different than what he is—doesn’t she, little bro?"

"Stop calling me that," Angel ground out.

"But that’s what you are, Angel," Angelus told him. "You came out of me more than you came out of Liam. And one day soon, both of you are going to realize just how close the two of us are."

He looked like he was going to say more, but just then, the sound of the child’s voice singing her song drifted in again. The effect on Angel was immediate; he stiffened and looked in the direction the song was coming from. The effect on Angelus was even stronger. He vamped out.

"Can’t she find something else to sing?" he burst out. "Every time I go to sleep, it’s the same freakin’ hymn. I’m sick to death of it!"

Angel shifted his glare to his alter ego, who he still held in his grip. "All right, Angelus. If you don’t take me where you’re supposed to, we’re heading for her. Understand?"

Angelus broke his grip petulantly. "Fine. Come along, then." He whirled, leading them out of Sunnydale as Cordelia wondered what it was that had gotten Angelus so worked up. Another question was eating at her mind, too.

"What did you mean earlier? When you said we needed you, what did you mean?"

"Glad you asked!" Angelus gestured broadly as he continued to walk, taking them out of Sunnydale. "You’re with this mealy-mouthed, sorry excuse for a vampire day in, day out. You have your visions and entrust him with your life. But Cordelia, if you were to think about the fact that you can’t separate him from me, that I’m present every day, would you still put up with him? Or would you go running for the hills?" Angelus suddenly whirled, advancing on Cordelia. "He may walk like a man, talk like a man, even look like a man most of the time, but gorgeous—he’s a vampire. Everything I am is still present in him. He’s just got the soul holding him back."

"Yeah, I know this," Cordelia shot back. "I’ve seen it, remember?"

"But you’re not getting it," Angelus said. "You’ve still got this idea that you can separate us, and that somehow, he’s ‘good’ Angel. What would you say if I told you there’s less of a dividing line than you could ever imagine?"

Angel suddenly cut in between the two of them. "You may be right, Angelus. But I control you."

"No, little bro—you use me," Angelus corrected. "There’s a difference. And one day, you’ll dip too far in. You’ll use me, and you’ll find that line between us disappearing until you won’t be able to put me away again. And I gotta tell you, bro—I’m really looking forward to that. Gonna be fun!"

Angel lashed out again, striking Angelus and sending him flying. "Fine then, Angelus. I’ll use you. Take us where we need to go, and give us our key—then leave."

Laughing, Angelus stood. "I like that. You’re so cute when you get all dark. You want me to leave you? No problem! I’ll leave you just about where I left you before . . ."

Suddenly, light whirled around them in a vortex. When it was gone, they were left in

"Hell." Angelus spread his arms wide. "Enjoy it, little bro. Oh, and your key—I like it. Your key is that both of you have to face your greatest fears and regrets before you get to Agragon, or he’ll eat you for lunch. Can’t avoid it. Hey, it looks like you two have been at it already!" With that, he reached out, running his fingers over Cordelia’s neck before she could jump away. His fingers came away smeared with blood, which he greedily licked from them. "Mmm! That’s good stuff. Nice work, little bro. But—didn’t you forget something?"

Without any warning, he grabbed Cordelia around the back of her neck and kissed her almost violently on the forehead. Then he jumped back, laughing, as Angel lunged at him.

"Be seeing you both real soon," he said, walking away. "Oh, and just so you two aren’t at a loss for a topic of conversation while you walk through Hell together—Angel, why don’t you tell Cordelia how much you got off on that dream of biting her?" With one last wink at Cordelia, Angelus vanished.

"Personally, I find him atrocious," remarked Cordelia, scrubbing at her forehead.