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It didn't take Cordelia long to secure Ethan in the same cell that Buffy had occupied (he had the key on him), thinking it was a fitting punishment. Afterwards, she returned swiftly to where she had left her friends, entering the cavern with an air of trepidation. *It's so quiet now,* she mused, wondering just what sight would await her.
The first thing that Cordelia noticed was that there was no trace of Falmorean, but she still did a quick sweep of the cavern with her eyes, half expecting him to leap out at her. When no attack was forthcoming, the next thing she noticed was that Ivory and her family were still standing. Hurrying to them, Cordelia gently touched Ivory on one shoulder, prompting the Slayer to open her eyes.
"Cordy!" Ivory cried. "Thank God!" She gestured towards the manacles that held her. "Get us out of here!"
Cordelia was quick to do so, first removing the swords and tossing them aside, then, with Buffy's help, ripping the chains free from the overhang. They could always search for a key later. When she got to Leeloo, Cordelia first said, "If we let you out, do you promise not to run?"
Leeloo paused for a long while, then nodded. "I have no where to run to," she said weakly. And that statement proved true; the moment she was allowed, Leeloo seated herself on the floor, laying back and looking weary. Supporting her husband, Buffy took a seat next to her daughter, reaching out to stroke her hair sympathetically.
Ivory, on the other hand, remained standing, massaging her sore wrists as best she could. "It's really over, isn't it?" she asked, eyes darting quickly around the large enclosed space. "I mean, where's Falmorean? We couldn't have killed him... Plus, I heard him... At least I think it was him, before you came back for us," she said to Cordelia.
Surprisingly, it was Leeloo who came up with the answer. "Darndest thing, it was," she replied. "It was him, speaking in Latin. And... if I have my translation right, he was actually reciting the same spell that had banished him. It was almost like... like someone was making him do it."
Ivory mulled this over, then her eyes abruptly widened. "Oh, my God!" she blurted out, cupping one hand over her mouth. Swallowing her fear, she added, "Chase! Where's Chase?!"
Cordelia let her eyes grow wide as well, but that didn't stop her from taking Ivory by one arm, leading her towards the alcove where she had seen Chase. Once there, it didn't take the two women long to locate him. Dropping to her knees, Ivory gently rolled him onto his back, gasping out loud when she saw just what a mess he was. Streaks of blood coated his lower face, plus his shirt was almost soaked with it. And what was worse, his eyes were so empty, simply staring up at her with a blank, lifeless look.
Biting her lip, Ivory leaned closer, pressing her ear to his chest to listen for a heartbeat. Much to her relief, there was one; she could even feel him breathing, although shallowly on the top of her head. Sitting up, glancing at Cordelia, then her mother and Leeloo as they approached, she asked, "What's wrong with him?!"
Cordelia felt a lump forming in her throat as she realized the truth. "Chase was desperate to save you," she said softly. "And if he took over Falmorean like Leeloo said... Maybe that was just too much for him. If I have to hazard a guess..." Cordelia looked up into Ivory's eyes. "Chase overexerted himself, went beyond the limits of what he was safely capable of... It may not have killed him outright, but it looks like he landed a step away from it."
Behind them, Buffy took time to absorb this, then reached out with her senses to do a quick telepathic probing of Chase's mind. But doing so only proved what Cordelia was saying. There was nothing there, no thoughts, no activity, nothing. His brain had simply shut down completely. She was quick to inform Ivory of this, watching as her elder daughter's shoulders slumped with grief.
Ivory looked down at Chase's still face with tears in her eyes, taking one of his hands in hers. All this time, she had disparaged him, any notion of a relationship with him, because she thought him untrustworthy. But now, she saw, he hadn't cared. He had still adored her, enough to risk everything... Her father had been right; if you loved someone enough, you WOULD lay down your life for them.
After a moment, Ivory looked up at Cordelia. "I have to go," she said abruptly. "I have to get him to a hospital!"
"You think they can help?" Cordelia asked in turn. "Ivory, he's immortal. He's not going anywhere..."
"I don't care!" Ivory cried. "I still have to get him there! Cordelia, please, I have to know that he's gonna be alright!"
Seeing that nothing she said would sway the young Slayer, Cordelia sighed, shooting a glance at Buffy and Angel and noting that the former held a look of understanding. Glancing back at Ivory, she added, "It's still daylight, so we can't help you. Will you do...?"
Leeloo cut in with, "I can! I mean..." She looked downwards, obviously hesitant as she recalled that Ivory had no reason to trust her after the "incident" in the desert. "Forget it," she said quietly.
Ivory looked up at her sister, lips parted slightly. After a few seconds of indecision, it occurred to her that she and Leeloo would have to learn to have faith in each other; why not start here? "It's okay," she said aloud, as peacefully as was manageable. "I could use your help."
Leeloo returned her gaze to Ivory in surprise, stepping forward after an instant to help her sister haul Chase to his feet. They were quiet as they worked together to carry the young man from the caverns, but it was a silence that spoke volumes. And although a tension still existed between the two sisters, they were both hopeful that maybe it would gradually fade with time...
After watching her two daughters leave, Buffy was quick to turn her attention to Cordelia, cradling Angel gently in her arms. She was silent for a long while, just intently studying her friend's face, before she said, "God, you don't know how good it is to see you guys again! There were so many times over the years I thought I might go crazy with loneliness and grief, even while Leeloo was there... I feel like I missed out on too much. I could spend days getting caught up with everyone."
Cordelia bit her lip, taking a step closer and kneeling across from Buffy. "I'm so sorry," she replied with a sob in her voice. "Can you ever forgive me?"
Buffy was perplexed. "Forgive you? For what?"
Cordelia hesitated for an instant. "That day we went to fight Ethan, the day he took you... I got injured and you practically ordered Angel to get me out of there. For weeks afterwards, I was riddled with guilt. I should have put up more of an argument, should have insisted I stay there to fight by your side. If I had..."
Tears began to spill from Buffy's eyes at this juncture. "Cordelia, you couldn't have known that Ethan would fake my death and his. There's nothing to be forgiven for." She paused, gazing down at Angel and stroking his face, partially noticing that the drug given to him seemed to be wearing off. "The time I spent here was like one long hellish nightmare, that's true. But it's something I have to live with, my scars that I have to bear. Not you! Not anyone else!"
Cordelia started to cry as well, her heart going out to her friend. "How did you survive?"
Buffy gave this some thought, her eyes staying locked on Angel. "By keeping hope alive and by praying every day for a way out. I guess they were answered when Chase and I first met." She looked up at Cordelia briefly. "I could tell from the start that he had it in him to do the right thing. But I never thought he'd take these kinds of risks." Buffy paused, rubbing at her eyes with one hand. "I'm like Ivory in that regard. I want him to be okay too."
Buffy bit her lip again, her eyes on Angel as he noticeably became more lucid. She smiled when she saw his gaze focus on her, as one of his hands slowly raised to touch her face and perhaps assure himself that she was real. Buffy's heart flooded with joy as her husband adopted a look of love and wonder. If anything, Angel appeared as if he was just now coming to life, as if he she were the true source of his existence. *But,* Buffy mused. *I guess in a sense, I am, and vice versa... Through all the years of captivity, I survived, but I was never truly complete without him.* Out loud, she added, leaning closer and punctuating it with a passionate kiss, "Forever is truly ours now, Angel..."
The moment Buffy's eyes left her and focused entirely on Angel, Cordelia began to inch her way out of the cavern. She stuck around just long enough to catch her friend's admission concerning Chase, then she was gone, knowing it just might be better to leave the two lovebirds alone.
From there, Cordelia began to roam the vast corridors at a slow pace, her senses on high alert to locate and eliminate any stray vamps that were still around. Only, at one three-way intersection, she stopped, a little confused as to what she was sensing. Curiously, she looked around, sure there was a vampire in this area, but unable to pinpoint where it was. And, after some search, Cordelia eventually deduced she was wrong and moved on, completely failing to catch when a carefully camouflaged trapdoor rose from the floor... and that someone watched her move off into the darkness...
The worst thing she had to suffer through, once they reached the hospital and Chase had been checked in for observation, was the waiting. Ivory and Leeloo talked little at first, neither of them sure just what kind of topic they could tackle. After all, what could two sisters who'd never known each other possibly talk about?
Surprisingly, it was Leeloo who spoke first, abruptly tearing her gaze from a floral painting on the wall to look at her sister. "I feel like I should apologize for what happened at our first meeting," she said shyly. "I always imagined what would happen if we did, and believe me... I never pictured it like that."
Ivory remained silent, allowing Leeloo to continue. "It's just... I don't know what was running through my head," the younger sister said. "There... There are times where it's all just a mess. For one thing..." Leeloo sighed deeply, looking skyward. "I'm half vampire, half human, and I can't for the life of me figure out which half is dominant. It's like... there's this dark side to me that I can't control." She looked up at Ivory. "Does that make sense?"
Ivory hesitated for another moment, weighing the validity of her sister's words. Although Leeloo sounded quite sincere, Ivory couldn't help but remain slightly wary of her and her motives. "How did you imagine it?" the Slayer asked at last.
Leeloo struggled to come up with the right words to describe it, but failed. "It all seems stupid now that I think about it. I just... Sometimes, I would think that Mom and I would escape together and we'd come to Sunnydale, and everything would be all sunshine and roses." Leeloo bit her lip, looking at Ivory. "But it never is that way. It can't be in our world. And me..." She paused again, raising her hand to her mouth and running a finger over one protruding fang. "I don't belong in the human world. I'm too much of a freak."
Ivory raised a protest at this, her heart going out to her younger sister. "Leeloo, that's not true..."
"Isn't it?" Leeloo returned, her dark eyes wide. "I'm not human, Ivory, not to the extent you are. Riley told me so once and it's true. I may be a one-of-a-kind, new breed of vampire, but they're the breed I belong with. I don't fit in anywhere else!"
"Yes, you do," Ivory insisted. "With Mom, Dad, and I. We're your family, Leeloo. You belong with us!"
Still, Leeloo looked skeptical. She looked up, opening her mouth to speak, abruptly closing it again when she noticed a doctor was approaching them. Being careful to keep her permanent fangs hidden, Leeloo stood, gesturing to Ivory who was coming their way.
The Slayer stood as well, growing more alert when the doctor spoke her name questioningly. "Yes, that's me," Ivory said, stepping forward to shake his hand. "You have news about Chase?"
The doctor nodded, and there was a slight grimness in his manner that Ivory faced with growing dread. "Technically, your friend is stabilized and resting comfortably. And, he's as well as can be expected, but... We did an EEG scan, and there isn't as much brain activity as we'd like to see. It's almost as if... he overexerted himself mentally. Apparently, his mind has decided to shut down for who knows how long, to give him time to rest."
Ivory raised her head slightly, her eyes full of expectancy. "But... But he will get better, won't he?" she asked hesitantly.
The doctor sighed, looking weary. "I honestly don't know. I believe he stands a chance at regaining consciousness someday, but I couldn't tell you when that may be, if ever. It's always tricky to tell with coma victims. Sometimes, it can last a few days. In other cases, it may be years."
Ivory's eyes widened, her expression turning to shock. "Years?!"
The doctor nodded sadly. “I’m sorry,” he said, seeing how deeply this news was hurting her. “In either case, would you like to see him now?”
Ivory said yes, turning briefly to Leeloo to tell her to wait, then followed the doctor into Chase’s appointed room. Moments later, pulling up a chair to sit by Chase’s bedside, Ivory found herself slightly heart stricken by his appearance. Lying there so peacefully, he looked like he was sleeping, but she knew better.
Reaching out to stroke his face with one hand, Ivory whispered, “I wanted to hate you for selling us out. I probably would now if you hadn’t risked so much to save us.” She bent to kiss his forehead, and when she pulled away, tears were in her eyes. “You are a lot more brave and noble than I gave you credit for,” Ivory added tearfully. “Thank you, Chase...”