[Hand_of_Chaos] FF: Shadowwalker 5/? Repost

[Carol.Clarke@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx]

Title: Shadowwalker
Chapter Five: Power
Rating: PG-13 now, later? 
Disclaimer: Joss Whedon and Mutant Enemy own it all 
Summary: Buffy died but it's not the end. 
Thanks: Cheryl Hill and Sammy my Koala
Spoiler Notes: Spoilers for Gift. 
Note: I began this story the summer after season five. So I never had season
6 in mind when it was written.

Power

It had been two week since Willow and Tara had returned to Sunnydale. Two
weeks since Cordelia had slept in bed alone. She still couldn't explain her
attraction to the girl. She could feel the outside forces pushing them
together but it didn't seem to matter. Nada was a better lover than most of
her pervious partners. Not that there had been that many. And the girl was
in truth kind, gentle and caring. The three things she wanted out of a
partner. And while her fashion sense basically sucked given time Cordelia
knew she could improve her wardrobe if nothing else. Still it bothered her.
The feeling they were being pulled together by an outside force. 

And the lack of headache. The feeling was so much like a vision but without
the pain. She could hear the voices whispering in her ear but the blinding
pain that came with the voices was gone and that more than anything
frightened her. 

Cordelia smiled as Nada snored quietly in her arms. She had been holding the
younger woman while she thought over her feelings and her visions. There
were just too many things to think about really. Buffy was getting stronger
every day. The ex slayer still couldn't walk but she was now able to dress
and bath and roll herself around the house. Each day Cordelia could feel her
power returning. 

The seer carefully fingered the deep bruise on Nada's back from the almost
daily punches Buffy gave her. Her violent 'fits' were also growing. Buffy
still had no memory of hitting Nada and being half demon the bruise didn't
show for long. Nada thankfully healed quickly. Cordelia had hoped they would
lessen as the ex slayer gained more control of her body, instead they seemed
to be growing in intensity. She had asked Madelyn about it, and the demon
had only said things would get worse before they got better. 

And she still didn't understand what a Shadowwalker was exactly. Madelyn had
described it as an echo with a soul attacked. It was as if someone's shadow
remained just a few seconds after a person died and somehow his or her soul
was attached to the shadow in the instant after death. The more she thought
about it the more it gave her the headache that all the visions in her brain
should have given her. So she leaned over and kissed Nada, and started to
fall asleep. 

As her body lowered itself into slumber she was hit was a mind numbing
vision. Screaming she hugged Nada close to her body as the pain overwhelmed
her brain. When it was done she was covered in sweet and shaking as Nada
held her tight in her arms. 

"Call Angel, tell him to get the guys over here fast." Cordelia said as she
staggered off to the bathroom to throw up. 

Nada watched her lover move away then picked up the phone. Looking at the
clock she noticed it was well after 2 am as she dialed the number. 

"Hello?" a groggy male voice answered. 

"I didn't think vampires needed to sleep." Nada replied honestly on the
phone still watching the bathroom door. She could feel Dennis hovering over
Cordelia and was happy the ghost was watching her. 

"We don't need to sleep. Who is this?" Angel asked in a complete deadpan
voice. 
"Oh sorry, It's Nada. Cordelia just had a vision. A bad one, she woke up
screaming and now she is in the bathroom throwing up and I am babbling.
Sorry." Nada said then focused her thoughts and added, "Cordelia said to
tell you to get the guys and come pick her up and to hurry." 

"I see, tell her we're on our way." Angel replied deciding to leave any
questions he might have until he arrived at Cordelia's home. 

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))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))

Angel and Wesley literally met on the steps up to Cordelia's apartment. Gunn
had to come from further away so they both knew he would arrive in about
five minutes. Both men moved up the stairs and started to knock on the door
only to be let in by Phantom Dennis. 

"Thanks Dennis." Angel replied as they both moved into the apartment. 

"I don't care! I am coming with you." Nada's voice could be heard from the
bedroom.

"Look you would only get hurt. Just stay here and go back to sleep. You have
to work tomorrow and you have to help out at home and stuff, you need to
sleep." Cordelia said as she continued to dress. 

"I won't get hurt. I can blend in with the demons and stuff." Nada replied

"How? How can you blend in, you don't even have a third eye?" Cordelia said
as she walked out of the bedroom, past both men and into the kitchen to get
water and pills. Nada following on her heals the whole way, handing her the
bottle of painkillers while Cordelia poured water. 

"Demons can tell I am not completely human, they can smell it. He can smell
it." Nada said pointing at Angel. "He doesn't even trust me, because he can
smell it. I can blend in. I can be useful and I AM going." Nada said
stomping her feet and putting her hands on her hips. "Ok I meant that to be
more mature, but I am still going." She added. 

"Not dressed like that!" Cordelia said looking at Nada. Gunn picked that
moment to walk in the door.

"What is wrong with the way I am dressed now? You picked these pants out.
You said they looked nice." Nada said completely confused by her lover. 

"For shopping they are fine, for slaying demons they are too bright, put
your blue jeans back on." Cordelia replied.

"Fine I will put them on in the car, you are not leaving without me. I know
what you are up too. The minute I go to change you leave me." Nada said
grabbing her backpack with her work clothes in them and moving to the door. 

"It must be love." Gunn whispered to Angel. 

"Can we just go now." Angel said following Nada out the door. 

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))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))

They arrived at the address Cordelia's vision had given her. A large
abandoned factory. Wesley and Gunn started to get weapons out of the trunk. 

"Nada would you help Gunn and Wes with the weapons." Cordelia said sweetly
to her girlfriend. After Nada had moved around the car Cordelia grabbed
Angel and yanked him roughly across the parking lot.

"She just turned eighteen two months ago. She thinks she is this big old
tough dyke. I could beat her up. I do not want her hurt. Do you understand!"
The seer whispered desperately. 

"Cordelia you know I can't..." Angel started to say.

"Everything ok?" Wesley asked standing beside them holding out Cordelia's
favorite ax. 

"Fine Wesley, thank you." Cordelia said taking the ax. The ex Watcher looked
at the vampire as Cordelia moved away wondering what was going on. 

The two men had been talking a lot lately. Almost all of it was about
Cordelia and her new girlfriend. Wesley had been doing a lot of research
into Xen Kil Tra Demons. They were dubbed peacekeeper demons as an almost
sick joke. The demons have the power to manipulate people's emotions. In
ancient times they used their powers to escalate wars between warring
factions. Oddly about four hundred years ago the demons started living up to
their name. Instead of making war, they began to promote peace. Many of them
joined a redemption cult. They were nearly all killed by other demons who
didn't care much for their new outlook. But in general most Xen Kil Tra
demons alive today are non violent and living peacefully among humans. 

Still both men were very weary of Cordelia's sudden turn to lesbianism and
her relationship with the half demon. 

The small group moved into the factory carefully. The front rooms seemed to
be abandoned. As they moved to the back factory floor they saw seven or
eight large cages filled with humans. 

"Wes you and Gunn take the guard over there." Angel whispered pointing out
one of the two guards that were visible. "Cordelia you and Nada stay here on
look out. I don't want to be surprised from behind." Angel said as he
started to move toward the first guard. 

Several minutes later both guards were knocked out and tied up. Angel tore
open the first cage. "Come out." He said as the people inside failed to move
at all. 

"You're free now, we need to go." Cordelia replied.

"I don't think they are going to move." Nada said moving into the cage and
grabbing one of the women and looking her square in the eye. 

"What's wrong with them?" Gunn asked as he and Wesley entered a second cage.


"I think they're under some kind of spell or influence." Nada said still
looking at the woman she was holding.

"Can you break it?" Angel asked.

"I am not a witch so no, I just sense it. It's not like a spell, some kind
of demon influence I think. My mom never let us play much with other
demons." Nada finally said still holding onto the woman.

Angel grabbed a young man and shook him. "Come on snap out of it." He said
as he shook the man. 

"It's so beautiful." The man replied and continued to stare straight ahead. 

Angel moved over and grabbed one of the guards. He was really glad they
hadn't killed them. Then he dumped some water over the demon and started
slamming him into the wall. "Tell me where the demon is who is responsible
for their state. Talk or die." 

He didn't talk. Angel started beating the hell out of the second demon
guard. "I want an answer."

He got an address. Angel left by himself to get a Zat Zat Demon while the
others stayed behind. There were about 60 people in cages. Far too many to
move without their free will. 

The group broke open all the cage locks and just sat around waiting. 

"I hate those jeans." Cordelia said as she stood behind Nada.

"You know they are my favorite pair, right?" Nada said turning around and
looking at Cordelia.

"Buffy told me last week." Cordelia said honestly.

"Is that what the two of you do while I am at work. Talk about my wardrobe?"
Nada said but she was smiling while she asked.

"Well it is Buffy's wardrobe too, since you share most of your clothes."
Cordelia said frankly.

"So was Buffy totally into clothes like you are when she was alive, because
to be honest I find it hard to picture." Nada said frankly. She really did
have a hard time picturing the Buffy Cordelia described against the Buffy
she knew. 

"When she was younger yes. Buffy changed a lot. Life made her change."
Cordelia said as she pulled Nada in for a close hug. She loved that the girl
fit perfectly in her arms. 

"Funny she says the same about you. You know Buffy really likes you. I mean
she liked you even when you were in high school. She told me about the thing
with Xander and Willow. How worried she was about you. How much she missed
you not being around." Nada replied. 

"Yeah, she was like that. Never wanted people to see it. But she really was
a caring person. When I first moved to LA. She got my number from my mom.
Nobody in Sunnydale bothered. None of my old friends, but out of the blue I
get this call from Buffy. I blew her off. I was in this awful apartment.
Things were really bad. And Buffy calls me. She says she wants to make sure
I wasn't turned into a vampire. About a week later I almost was, Angel saved
me." Cordelia said then kissed the back of Nada's neck. 

Angel burst through the door with the small demon. He was small with a
kangaroo type tail and pointed ears. Angel was dragging him by his tail.
Once through the door Angel picked him up and put him on his feet. "Free
them all now and you get to live." The vampire stated in complete game face.
Nada jumped a little seeing his demon face. 

"Ok, Ok bring me over to the cages." The demon replied. One cage at a time
the demon freed the people in the cages. Gunn, Wesley, Cordelia and Nada
helped them get orientated as they were freed. As Angel dragged the demon to
the last cage he turned to the vampire. "Ok I can free the people in the
cage but I can't do anything for those two. It's not my magic putting them
together." The demon replied. 

"Which two?" Angel said grabbing the demon tightly. 

"Those two, the love birds," The demon said pointing out Cordelia and Nada
across the room, "someone has but one hell of a manipulation spell on them.
They couldn't not be in love if they tried. Even if you break it, my guess
is they would still be in love. It's a manipulation spell not a love spell,
there had to be a spark between them for the spell to work." The demon said
frankly.

"You said it is a manipulation spell what exactly does that mean?" Wesley
said from beside Angel.

"It's like taking something that is already there but people don't act on
it, and making them act on it. Mostly those kind of spell are used to start
riots or wars. The hate has to be there but with a fragile peace. You push a
few buttons and instant war. Afterwards no one remembers while they were
standing in the middle of the street throwing stones at each other. It's
unusual to use for love but hey, if it works." The demon said.

"You're talking about the kind of magic Xen Kil Tra Demons use?" Wesley
asked the demon.

"If you could find one sure. Most of them are on that damn redemption kick,
if there are any alive. But manipulation was their specialty yes."

"You think Nada could have cast the spell." Gunn asked looking across the
room at the two women.

"Not knowingly." Angel said staring at the two women as he held onto the
demon. 

"The kid, no way. Who ever cast this spell knew exactly what they were
doing. Love is much harder to work with than hate. Who ever cast this spell
was a master at it. Besides, the spell is cast on both of them. The half
demon kid is under the spell just as much as the seer." The demon replied
looking at the girls. "Besides you're missing the point." The demon added. 

"Which is?" Angel said growling a little at the demon. 

"Falling in love with each other had to be a possibility. They had to have a
spark. Since they're both girls, my guess is one or both of them had the
feelings but didn't want to come out of the closet. Humans get all bent out
of shape over gender. Look at you three. Because they're both girls you act
like it's just not possible for them to fall in love. If they were a
boy/girl couple, half demon or not, none of you would bat an eyelid. Does
the kid treat your seer badly? Is she a drug dealer, wife beater, evil? Even
I can see the kid has a pure soul. It's sickening. I could sell a soul like
that for a lot of money. Soul eaters pay a lot for pure souls." The demon
replied almost lusting after the girl as he spoke. 

"Well you're going to have to tell your soul eater pals you're out of
business in this town." Angel replied and pointed at the last cage. The
demon released the people and they began to pour out of the cages to join
the rest of the recently released people. 

"You have 24 hours to get out of town. Then I track you down and kill you."
Angel said shoving the demon to the door. He had given the demon his word
that he would set him free. Angel had learned it was important to keep his
word. Still 24 hours later he would hunt the demon down and kill him. He
knew the type, they never left town. They just got bodyguards and thought
they could win that way. 

"So what are we going to do about them?" Gunn asked. He was actually
starting to like Nada so he was a little upset over the spell business. 

"Get a second opinion. Nada hasn't met Lorne yet. And I think we all could
use a karaoke break." Angel replied moving toward the girls. 

"Excellent idea." Wesley said wishing he had thought of it. He was going to
have a lot of research to do on manipulation spells once he got back to the
hotel.

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)))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))

Across town it was nearing sunrise. Buffy slipped into her wheelchair and
wheeled herself into the kitchen. She had yet another nightmare. She missed
Nada sleeping beside her at night. Nada always helped her with her
nightmares. 

Still she was happy for her friend, or rather friends. She was glad the girl
had found someone to love even if she was never home at night. 

The blond got herself a cup off the counter. Madelyn left her things where
she could get them easily. It still was hard to do things like get a glass
of water. At least she could take herself to the bathroom. She had hated the
diapers, the lack of independence. 

She filled the cup and took a drink. 

"Still have your slayers blood. You still feel the sun set and rise."
Madelyn said from the door.

"I guess I have felt it for so long I don't realized I feel it anymore."
Buffy said honestly. 

"I know." Madelyn said pausing for a second, "Buffy there are many things
you feel... that you do, that you do not realize you are feeling or doing." 

"Do you have to be so cryptic all the time?" Buffy replied turning her
wheelchair around to face the three eyed woman. 

"You have a good heart. Heaven was stupid for not letting you in." Madelyn
said smiling.

"I have no idea how to respond to that." Buffy said looking at Madelyn. She
liked the demon, but she seldom understood her when she was like this. 

"Buffy you have done something that you do not realize you have done. And
you have done it because you have a good heart. Worked a magic. And now it
has been discovered. And you don't realize you have done this thing. And I
cannot help you with this problem. You must find it on your own. Just as I
cannot will you to walk, your muscles must gain control in their own time.
But that does not mean I do not want you to walk, or for the magic to be
true. It was a good magic and it made people very happy." Madelyn said as
tears poured down her three eyes.

"You know I don't have a clue what you are talking about?" Buffy said
wheeling over to Madelyn. She may not understand the demon woman but she was
learning to love her. 

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))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))

Willow sat straight up in bed covered in a cold sweet. She had this same
dream almost every night since they had returned from LA. Tara sat a second
later and leaned over the nightstand and picked up a bottle of water. The
blond witch handed the bottle to Willow wordlessly. When Willow finished she
handed it back to Tara who then took a drink. 

"I take it you had the same dream?" Willow asked. She didn't need to
describe the dream; they both had it almost every night now. 

"Eagle and the Wolf." Tara whispered then hugged Willow tightly. 

"We have to go back to LA?" Willow said with complete resolve face.

"We could go visit Dawn. With the money from the store we could afford a
motel room for a week at someplace like Motel 6." Tara said quietly. 

"I'm sure Hank Summers would just be so glad to have us checking on Dawn."
Willow said sarcastically. When Hank Summers came for his daughter, he made
it clear he didn't want any of them in her life. 

"We know what school she is going to, we can check on her there. Dawn will
want to see us." Tara said frankly.

"And the dream." Willow added. "Let me call Xander and make sure he can help
Anya with the store."

"Tell Xander and Anya the truth, I think they have started having dreams
too." Tara said before kissing her girlfriend. 






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