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When Chase failed to return during the night and was still missing the next morning, Angel began to worry about his roommate. Surely, the young man wouldn't desert them out of anger; they needed him too much at this juncture. Nevertheless, beginning to doubt even that belief, Angel called over to Ivory's room around nine in the morning, quickly giving her the score.
The news sent the Slayer into a tailspin, having her dressed and over at her father's apartment within moments, pacing the room. Finally, at Angel's insistence, she settled onto the couch, wringing her hands together. "He wouldn't just take off without a word, would he?" she asked aloud. "Oh, God! What if he did?! What if he's halfway to Mexico because I hurt his feelings?"
Angel had to laugh softly at this, shaking his head. "Don't you think you're overreacting just a little?" he asked.
Ivory looked up at her father. "Maybe," she admitted after a long pause. "But I have good reason to. I don't want Chase to just up and leave because I made a terrible mistake!" She sighed, rubbing at her eyes. "I've slept on it and had time to reconsider it this morning... And I can't help feeling that I had no right to berate him. I was the one who initiated that kiss, not him!"
Angel stepped forward, seating himself on the sofa next to her. "But you said yourself that it was a mistake. That you lost your head for a few minutes..."
"Did I?" Ivory asked, lightly gnawing on her lip. "I'm not entirely sure! And that scares me more than anything!" She let her eyes dart around the room momentarily, then focused back on Angel. "I don't know how I feel about Chase any more than I know how I feel about Kenyon. All I recognize is that I care about them both, and I don't want to see either one get hurt... I don't know what to do to settle this. Dad, I need help!"
Angel hesitated, then placed one hand on Ivory's shoulder comfortingly. "Oh, sweetie," he murmured. A pause, then, "I can't tell you what's in your heart. I don't have that kind of power... It's something you need to figure out for yourself."
Before Ivory could get another sentence in, she and Angel heard a key turning in the lock, saw the door begin to swing open. While her father hurried to get out of the path of the sunlight, Ivory tried very hard to contain herself when she caught sight of Chase. Calmly, she stood, taking a step forward; it was all she could do not to fling herself into his arms. "Where were you all night? We were getting worried," she asked evenly, her voice not betraying even a hint of what she was feeling.
Chase hesitated, then relaxed himself, although he was disappointed by her initial reaction. Shrugging his shoulders, shutting the door behind him, he said, "I was just around. I needed to be by myself, to think things through." Then, with a note of sarcasm, he added, "I'm sure you understand."
Ivory nodded. "Of course," she replied offhandedly. "Although at one point, I was concerned that you might have been attacked by some random vampire. Promise me you won't do that again, Chase. I couldn't stand to lose you," Ivory added.
Some of the emotion she was feeling must have showed, for Chase softened, taking half a step towards her and raising his hands in an ironic gesture. "Hey, I'm not going anywhere," he said softly. "I'm immortal, remember? Can't be killed, at least not very easily."
Angel, whose eyes had been darting back and forth between the two, spoke up now. "He has a point," the elder vampire put in. "Although not a very valid one." To Chase, Angel added, "Immortal doesn't mean the same as invulnerable. If it did, I would never have given up on Buffy, never would have believed she had perished in that fire... Ethan wouldn't have been able to trick me and everyone else so easily." Angel raised his eyes to regard the younger man. "All I'm saying is, don't take it for granted. Don't let your guard down under the impression that nothing can happen to you."
During Angel's speech, Chase's eyes never budged from Ivory, studying her intently for some sign that she fretted over his well-being, something to indicate that last night's kiss meant more than friendship. But there was nothing to be found there, which instantly dashed his hopes. And he didn't dare ask her, for fear of angering her and getting her to build her walls up a little higher. At last, he let out a deep breath, squaring his shoulders. "I won't," he promised, holding Ivory's gaze firmly with his own...
When she had gone to Riley's quarters early that morning to be given the grand tour, the last thing Cordelia expected was for it to start with a visit to the human population area. Granted, most of the mortals in this region of the caverns had been provided with the most lavish and comfortable settings possible, but it still made Cordelia sick. She lost count of how many pregnant girls (both teenagers and young women) there were after fifteen, and she inwardly mourned for what would happen to these people, whether they were free or not.
Next, Riley merely showed her through the many tunnels, during which Cordelia caught glimpses of vampires feasting on humans here and there, including one or two children. After a while, she just averted her eyes, keeping them on Riley as he spoke.
"Just about every vampire here has their own room, as do the humans. It's that huge and spacious," Riley was saying, spinning on his heel and walking backwards to keep his gaze on her. "At last count, there were over five hundred of our kind bedding down here... All those vamps, and only one Slayer... She'd be seriously outnumbered if she ever broke free. Even if she is like us, she's still not strong enough to bring us all down. Not with the way Ethan's been working her over during the years she's been here."
Cordelia's eyes widened, her startled gaze lifting to meet Riley's amused one. "A Slayer?" she asked, saying a prayer under her breath that the answer would be Buffy. "But how? The last I heard, such a girl was stationed in France." That much, at least, was true; Cordelia had been in Paris assisting a young Slayer (Lacey Connelly) before she got called back to Sunnydale.
Riley laughed. "Boy, where have you been?" he asked in amusement. "Last I checked, Ms. Francais Slayer was dead." He paused, leaning against a solid rock wall. "In fact, Ethan took care of that personally, or at least had one of his lackeys do it. This after taking care of some private business in England."
Cordelia hesitated momentarily. "What business?" she asked, a sultry smile playing at her lips.
Riley grinned at her. "It's a long story. Are you game?" When Cordelia nodded, her companion took her hand. "Follow me then," he said, leading her down a corridor Cordelia was almost sure would lead them to Buffy's cell. "You probably know some of this story already though. Once upon a time, there lived a Slayer who was all-powerful and resided in a little town called Sunnydale. Made almost invincible by the fact that her lover, a rogue vampire named Angelus, turned her into one of us rather than let her die."
Cordelia nodded. "Yeah, I'm familiar with this story. Happened around the same time as Lorenzo's downfall... Barely escaped Sunnydale myself intact afterwards..."
Riley paused momentarily for dramatic effect, then went on. "Anyway, Cinnamon does some digging in all these demon lore books and stumbles across a ritual to raise Falmorean. Nasty demon, very wild, would cause a whole mess of trouble for the human race if he were set free. Only problem is, she has no knowledge of the Black Arts and all that magick stuff. So, finding Ethan while touring Europe turns out to be a real catch for her. He, in turn, hatches a plan to secure the ritual's needed participants for her, starting with Miss Sunnydale Slayer."
Cordelia wisely kept her smile on, although a feeling of dread and revulsion was welling up inside. When Riley turned to face her, Cordelia met his gaze with faked enthusiasm. "Tell me more," she whispered in a seductive, sugary tone.
Riley lunged forward to catch her lips with his own, almost catching her off guard. "Oh, I plan to, my sweet," he murmured back. "Anyway, phase one works out well, and Buffy is well within our grasp. However, when arrangements are made to grab Angelus, he both thwarts such plans and disappears for a number of years, leaving behind his little daughter... And she too was needed, Ethan could have nabbed her at any time. But the fact that Angelus was missing. We had to wait until daughter Ivory grew up and embraced her role as a Slayer before he resurfaced. Now, it's only a matter of time before we have them both."
Cordelia cut in with, "You said Ethan had the Parisian Slayer killed. Why?"
"As a means to bring Ivory to power," Riley answered. "Thanks to a visit to an old Watcher friend in England, Ethan had advance knowledge that she was up next."
Cordelia inwardly froze, knowing that there was only one Watcher friend that Ethan could possibly have had. *Giles,* she thought frantically. *Oh, God, how much did he know? Did Ethan go to him directly? If so... If so, did Giles know Buffy was still alive before he had his stroke?*
Her mind reeling with all the possibilities, Cordelia asked, as Riley continued to lead her down the corridor, "How can you be so sure that you'll get Angelus and his daughter? What's the plan?"
Riley merely smiled secretively. "We have our ways... In the meantime, I haven't told you the best part... The ritual to raise Falmorean actually requires four vampires or half-vampires, of the same bloodline. And we had Buffy, Angelus, and Ivory pegged from the outset. But, I'll tell you... Leeloo came as a complete surprise to us."
"Leeloo?" Cordelia asked in genuine surprise. "But how? I mean... rumor has it that, except for Buffy, everyone in Angelus' bloodline is wiped out."
"Not everyone," Riley said in a secretive tone that informed Cordelia he'd not tell her any more. Just then, she became aware they were advancing on the passageway where she'd heard the crying, where he'd caught her, the other day, and her hopes began to soar.
"This is where you're keeping her?" Cordelia asked, gesturing towards the corridor. When Riley nodded, she put in, as part of her ruse, "This oughta be fun. I had a chance to kill this Slayer once, but failed. If not for this ritual she's a part of, I'd sure get a kick out of paying her back for killing my sire."
Riley grinned, leading her down the walkway. "I like your style, my lovely Cordelia," he purred.
It wasn't long before they reached a wide open space, and the first thing Cordelia saw was that this cave had been fitted with prison bars, welded securely into the rocks. Buffy's cell was moderately comfortable, Cordelia observed as she strained to catch a glimpse of her friend. At last, her brown eyes alighted on the small form on the cell's bunk, and she fought to keep from crying out Buffy's name.
Riley seemed content to do that for Cordelia, as he strolled up to the bars, leaning against them slightly. "Oh, Buffy," he said in a sickly sweet voice. "Company's here."
Without moving, the Slayer -- Ivory's mother -- simply stated, in a lifeless tone, "Leave me alone, Riley."
While Cordelia's heart shattered at seeing what an empty shell Buffy had become, Riley cocked his head to one side. "Is that any way to treat a guest? Come on. She came all this way to see you. The least you can do is show some enthusiasm."
Buffy turned her head ever so slightly towards them. "I have nothing left to give... Does that make you happy? You and Ethan have taken everything I cared about," she said flatly. "I do wish you'd just kill me and get it over with."
Wisely, Cordelia chose not to speak; it would only cause more trouble to pretend to be evil in front of her friend. Taking a small comfort in knowing that Buffy would refuse to face them, Cordelia eyed her for a sufficient amount of time for Riley's benefit, then motioned with her eyes that she'd like to go. And, as she followed him from the enclosed space, Cordelia murmured a single word: "Soon..."