Some parts have been taken from the original ATS scripts. You cant tell by the (+) at the begining and end of each insert. Except for where i wrote in Phade.
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“So nice to see everyone up and about.” I greeted them sarcastically as I limped down the steps of the Hyperion. It was irritating the heck out of me to see them all nice and neat while I was purple and blue all along my jaw and cheek. My whole body was sore and covered in bruises from hitting the generator, wall and floor like a sac of potatoes.
“How are you feeling?” Fred asked me in a small voice. I don’t know why she felt guilty, it wasn’t her fault I’d been hurt.
“Just great. Never better.” I replied with a smile even though it hurt. I saw Wes grimace at sight of me and couldn’t blame him. I felt terrible and I was in a crappy mood.
Cordelia turned away from me still smiling and it just pissed me off. If it hadn't been for her stupidity in taking the baby-. The worse part was, Angel didn’t even get mad at her!
Still, Angel had finally set a time and place for my training. I didn’t like the silver lining of my cloud but that’s what I got so too bad.
“Angel’s taking us out.” Fred quipped.
“That’s nice of him.” I glowered at Angel. “Have fun, kids.” I said then hobbled over to the desk they had set aside for me. It was a good thing they kept me in a corner with the way I’d be looking for the next couple of days. Then again there was this new spell I hadn't tried yet.
It was supposed to alter one’s perception and I wondered if maybe it would work with this… I looked at my reflection in the glass but nothing could accurately describe what my face looked like.
“There’s another ticket.” Angel stood by my desk. I was getting used to his silent, broody presence popping up unexpectedly. I didn’t bother looking up at him and just shrugged.
“Thanks but no.” There were new files on my desk which I was supposed to file or search, I wasn’t sure which but I pretended I did and hoped he would go away if he saw I was busy.
“It’s a ballet. The Blinikov ballet and they’re doing one of their signature pieces. Giselle.” He said as if I knew what he was talking about. What did I care about a stupid ballet performance when my whole body ached like a mother..?
“I've been to the ballet.” I turned to glare at him. “The fact that I look like I've been hit by a truck and going to find a dress that most women,” and here I turned my stare on Cordelia. “Would wear once while hiding the tags to return the next day isn’t my idea of fun.”
“But its Giselle.” Angel replied.
“Uyh!” I sighed and stupidly rested my head on my hand. “Ow!” once more I glared at him as I got to my feet and limped my way past him to the back garden.
‘Lorne made a mistake. I don’t belong here and I sure as hell am not some little warrior for the PTB!’
The door banged open as I stepped out into the warm day. Being Friday sure as hell didn’t make me any happier. Not the way I usually looked forward to the weekends.
I sat on the stone ledge of the fountain and tried to breathe normally but every breath felt like I had needles being poked in me. Still the sun felt good on my skin so I closed my eyes to try and enjoy it.
Who wouldn’t want to go the Ballet besides miss snooty-my-shit-don’t-stink? Then again being asked out of obligation or pity didn’t make me feel like going especially with the way I felt and looked. So what if I was being pig headed I had a right to be!
“Look at me!” I grumbled and did. My black t-shirt left my arms uncovered and I could see all the bruises on my upper arms. The jeans covered all the scratches and bruises on my legs but they couldn’t hide my limp or the soreness.
“You don’t look as bad as you think.”
His voice floated down to me as the door closed silently. I glanced up seeing him come down the steps. Of course it was all a lie but it was nice of him to try it.
“Cant I mope to myself?” it wasn’t bothering them if I did it alone. He sighed sitting next to me, as if he were tired, slowly taking off his glasses and wiping them with a handkerchief.
“You can.” Wesley replied once more putting on his glasses. “What good does it do you?”
‘Well, shit. Putting it that way, not much.’
“So what do I do? Pull out a fancy dress and try to hide the bruises?” I shook my head. “Nah, I wouldn’t be able to walk in the heels anyway.” I tried to smile and avoided looking at him directly.
“That’s not the only reason, is it?” he asked. Around Wes I always felt like he could tell when I was lying, even though I didn’t want to say it out loud. I couldn’t help but meet his gaze.
“Yeah,” I agreed. “I'm not sure where I belong with you all. I still feel like some intruder, no purpose, no cause, and of no use.” I shrugged then grimaced. Even that slight movement hurt from the top of my head to my toes.
“I understand.” He agreed so quickly it was a surprise. I thought he would at least try to hedge a bit so I wouldn’t feel so bad.
“Gee, thanks.” The look on my face must’ve been more expressive than my words.
“No, I meant your right about- about…” he sighed and leaned his head back a bit. He did look tired and I wondered why.
“We haven’t exactly made the effort to bring you into our work.” Wesley turned to me once more.
“Answering phones, checking credit, setting appointments, that’s not all we do.”
“Yeah, I know.” I said lifting my arms so he could see the scratches and dark bruises. He sort of shook his head with a little smile.
‘He’s not so stuffy.’ I thought to myself.
“Yes, I see.” He sat up straighter seeming to gather himself into his dignified Englishman’s façade. “My door is always open, if you have any questions or concerns, please, do ask.”
He held my gaze for a second that felt like an hour. The sun shone down on us warmly bringing out the highlights in his dark brown hair. It glimmered off the rim of his glasses and sharpened his features so he looked strong. Stronger than I would’ve thought he could be. The color of his eyes only deepened, like a glass of whisky sitting on a bar top on a hot day when the sun shined through a window making the liquid glow warmly.
I wondered again what it would be like, what he would be like if things were different. I imagined they all would be different people if they hadn’t made this choice.
“How do you do that?” I asked softly.
“What?”
“Make people feel comfortable around you even when you’re talking about uncomfortable things?” I smiled thinking how stupidly I’d phrased my question.
“Oh.” Wesley sort of chuckled glancing away. Had I really embarrassed him?
“I have no idea.” He replied honestly as he got to his feet. At the bottom steps he turned back. “He didn’t ask out of pity.”
I stayed quiet not knowing how to reply. Had I been that obvious about the whole situation?
‘I could swear he read my mind.’
««««« »»»»»»
“Hey Lorne.” He looked up from his paper and smiled.
“Hi sugar pie. What are you still doing up?” he set down his drink, pink this time.
I walked into the bedroom thinking of the first time I’d seen him. The horns, green skin and red eyes combined with my lack of sleep had freaked me out though I was proud I’d kept my out ward calm. That is until he started waving around the ax. I mean really, you start waving an ax when you look like he does and expect to have people throw things at you and running away. I did.
“Cant sleep, green.” I flopped down very carefully on Angel's bed and peeked into the bassinet where Conner lay asleep. “Cant say he has that problem.” I sighed turning to Lorne.
“No, but he has other, more bigger problems than those, out there.” He pointed towards the door with his free hand.
“Poor kid.” I sat up and tried to fold my legs under me quickly changing my mind as I felt sharp pinpricks shoot up my leg. I grimaced turning to face Lorne. “Can I ask you a question?”
Lorne set his paper and the drink down to face me. “Ask away.”
I sighed wincing a little because of my bruised ribs. “Ok, so you guys do all the demon stuff and Wesley has all these books on them and how to kill them.” Lorne was giving me his undivided attention and it was making it harder for me to ask my question. I had to look down as I pushed through.
“Well, I was wondering, I thought maybe, well your green and-.”
“Crumb cake, if you don’t ask I can’t help.” Lorne leaned forward resting his arms on his knees.
“Do you know anything about magic and spells and all that stuff?” there! It was all out and now I felt really stupid. I looked at Lorne from under my lashes hoping the look on his face was a good thing.
“What kind of magic are we talking about here?” he asked.
“I'm having trouble understanding a spell. Its supposed to make ‘unsightly’ things go away.” I pointed out the dark bruises on my face.
“Oh, yes I do.” He grinned sitting back in his seat and picking up his drink. “What’s the problem?”
««««« »»»»»»
After my little chat with Lorne I felt more comfortable going to him for help regarding my spell casting not to mention having a shopping buddy when I needed to get supplies.
“It’s not a complete waste of my night.” I said while I looked for my book. “It’s not like I was invited to the ballet or anything.” I grumbled.
I sat on the lounge couch with the book on my lap and read. There were spells for just about everything you could want. To attract money, to find love, to get a better job, to get rid of a job.
“Ooh! How to be a ‘Bed Goddess’. That certainly sounds interesting.” I mumbled sarcastically as I skipped to the next section and stopped.
Both pages were filled with beautiful drawings of strange shapes. I flipped back looking for the title page not seeing it but it wasn’t in the previous pages. I looked at the sheets once more tracing some of the patterns with my finger. There were a couple of them that caught my eye immediately. I turned the page reluctantly and found the title page.
Rune Magic
"This is interesting."I took the book to my little dresser chest and set it on top in order to open the door. I pulled out the ingredients I needed and was lucky to find the silver chain. My dad had bought a silver locket for me and I had broken the chain. That was a couple of years ago and I still hadn't fixed it.
“It’s good for something now.” I smiled a little as I took the things to the side table, the book was propped up so I could read what I was doing and I started. The process wasn’t so difficult as much as tedious. There were a couple of times where I had to re-do the laying of the chain so I had the correct pattern. By the time I finished getting it right I was wondering if it was really worth doing another one.
“Now I just sprinkle the powdered root over the pattern and- shit!” I stepped away from the table watching little puffs of steam rise from the silver platter and was even more surprised when I saw the chain turn black. It wasn’t just black; the chain glittered throwing off colored sparks.
“Is it supposed to do that?” I wondered going to the book and reading the instructions. As far as I could tell I had done everything the book had said and it wasn’t saying if this was normal.
“No way.” I glanced at the steaming rune then back at the book and read the next step.
“Gently take the rune and place it in the corresponding extremity as you speak the following phrase.” The rune hadn't stopped fizzing or steaming while I’d read and now that I looked at it I wasn’t sure I wanted to finish this. Then again what was one more black mark on my body considering all the other ones currently adorning it?
Carefully removing my t-shirt I read the sentence.
“Hear this request, answer my plea.” Hesitantly placing my fingers over the rune I readied my self for the burn. More wisps of smoke floated up from the pattern. I could feel the heat as they wove their way past my fingers.
“Mend what is torn, Heal from within.” I scrunched my eyes as I grabbed the rune and gasped almost dropping it. I was so surprised by the coldness of the metal I brought it close to my face so I could see it. The rune still steamed within my grasp throwing off little colored sparks. I brought it towards my chest positioning it just under my left breast as close to my heart as I could.
“A rune for healing I take unto my heart.” The cold metal touched my skin and immediately burned but when I tried to take it away I could feel it stick to my skin. I thought I heard a sucking sound as if air were being pulled into my skin along with the rune. I choked on the pain unable to scream as it burned its way inside me.
The last part of the passage was yet to be read and I was doubled over with the pain. Still, I straightened up enough to see the book and managed to strangle out the rest hoping this would make the pain stop. “Let the Gods answer my plea. God of all things nature and mother earth, humbled unto thee take my pain from me.” I looked towards the ceiling and really meant it. “God Please!”
After one last blinding flash of pain which I couldn’t breathe past it all stopped. I found myself on the floor staring at the boards.
‘Damn. It’s dusty again.’ I thought. Slowly getting to my feet I felt the skin where I had placed the rune but it was smooth. I looked down and gasped at the perfect shimmering black pattern just under my skin. I got up moving towards the mirror in my room never taking my eyes from the rune. With every step I took it shimmered changing colors constantly. It went from black to different shades of the darkest to lightest green, blue, purple, orange, yellow, red and black again. I was mesmerized.
I couldn’t imagine this happening to me, ever. Me practicing magic and actually doing a spell. I wondered if there were any other witches I could contact and learn from. There was a lot I didn’t know about and I was smart enough to realize I could make a deadly mistake if I didn’t know what I was doing.
The mirror showed the same thing only there I could see a slightly black tinged glow surrounding the rune. Then I noticed the bruises on my face where yellowish green when only a moment ago they had been completely purple-blue and the cut on my lip was gone.
“It works!” I exclaimed in surprise. “Oh my God it really worked!” I was so happy I ran to the book and began to look for the next rune when it clicked. “I ran.” I turned to look the way I had come from and exclaimed; “I can run again! Oh my God I ran!” I was giddy with my success.
««««« »»»»»»
It was early morning and I could hear voices as I went downstairs.
“Uhg, the ice queen hasn’t melted yet. Darn.” Turning the corner I glanced down at the lobby and noticed ‘Conan the Barbarian’ playing around with the weapons. I went down the stairs slowly wondering if this was a bad thing or good. The others were sitting in Wesley’s office chatting, Wes and Cordelia had their backs to the door. I walked up to the leather and fur mammoth man and cleared my throat.
“Greetings.” He said bowing down. He held the sword point down to the side and when he straightened I saw that his eyes were black. Not the way you think black but completely black, no irises black, and I'm ashamed to say I sort of flinched. I'm thinking he didn’t notice because he just kept smiling which was even weirder.
“Uh, hello.” I replied and looked around for Gunn or Fred. Someone knew where this ‘He-man’ came from and why. Didn’t they?
“So, who are you..?” once more he bowed saying; “I am the Grooselaug.“
“The who?” I shook my head not really caring. “Never mind. What are you doing here? Do you need help?”
His smile widened. “I have come for my true love. I need no help.”
“A-ha, good luck with that then. I’ll just…” I walked in the direction of the others kinda looking over my shoulder at ‘Conan’. He kept grinning.
‘Crazy weirdo with no irises.’
“Hey-.” I stopped at the door.
“Nobody in this office is ever gonna get any.” Cordelia turned to look behind her at the sound of my voice.
“Really?” I replied. “I guess some people need to get laid in order to have good manners.” I could see her color rise and turned my attention to Angel. “There’s some big wanna be ‘Conan the Barbarian’ playing with your swords.”
“That’s Groo.” Angel answered looking uncomfortable. I was getting good at reading his expression especially when he wasn’t all gloom and doom let me brood.
“I have manners! I-.” Cordelia began but I cut her off.
“Excuse me.” I motioned to Angel and myself. “People talking here. It’s very bad manners to interrupt us.” I frowned at her and put my finger over my lips. “Shush.”
I couldn’t help myself. The sight of her red face and high pitched ‘Oooh!’ just made me laugh. Cordelia stood up and took a step towards me pointing her finger. Both Angel and Wesley got up and quickly managed to put themselves in the middle of us. We were all past the point of politely pretending there wasn’t a mutual dislike between Cordelia and myself.
Wesley was very gentle though firm as he moved me out of his office. Angel herded Cordelia towards the other side of the lobby and I watched as the ‘Groo’ took her from Angel and sat her down on the couch. He knelt down looking at her with such concern it was obvious even to me who his ‘true love’ was.
“Eck! And with that!” I shook my head not seeing the attraction to him and turned to Wesley. “Sorry, what?”
He was staring at my face with a small frown.
“I said, the cut on your lip is healed and your bruises have faded, considerably.” He glanced at my face once more before locking his eyes on mine. I took an involuntary step back which he followed and I ended up stuck between him and the counter.
“Uuh…” I couldn’t even think with him staring at me. ‘This is weird. Me, liking him? Nah-ah!’
He arched his eyebrow giving me the ‘look’. That got my dander up and I took a step forward making him move back.
“It’s a healing spell. Works pretty good too, don’t it?” I asked motioning to my face. The ‘look’ fell off and I guessed he wasn’t expecting me to stand up to him or give him attitude. The way I’d been behaving the past few weeks I wouldn’t have expected it either.
I turned to the door beginning to walk out. “I’ll be back in a couple of hours.” I didn’t even glance towards Cordelia and the mooning Groo as I headed to wards the stairs. Just as I was about to go up I heard Efren running. He came barreling down the stairs jumping the last three to land in a one handed crouch. He grinned as he looked around then jumped up.
“Angel! Did you see that? I was cool! I-.” he moved towards the steps and I grabbed the back of his shirt.
“Late for school. Now move!” I shoved him towards the doors grumbling then smacked the back of his head as we walked out. “Haven’t I told you not to jump down those stairs? Any stairs!”
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Next chapter.
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