001 ∞ closed section and then open ☼ but I just had no intention of living this way

[redeems]

CLOSED TO CORDELIA --

Angel returns to Chicago much like he did the first time. He's soaked to the bone, dripping wet. Where once there was an army in front of him, an entire army to take down, there's now Grant Park. His sword comes down hard as he yells out, hitting grass and not concrete. There is no clang. Immediately, he suggests foul play. A second ago, he was in the middle of a melee and now he's in the middle of what looks like a park. The sun is his next issue. His instincts say cover his face and use his coat as a shield.

It's Pylea all over again when he realizes he's not burning to a crisp. He looks up, then, before giving his surroundings another glance.

Taking him out of the equation is a simple way of ensuring the win. But, it's not right. It defies prophecy. Even the Senior Partners can't do that. Coincidence? There are no coincidences in Angel's life. He's in Sunnydale for a specific reason. He goes to Los Angeles because it is written. But, he signed his shanshu away.

For what? A park and some sunlight? He hasn't ascended. He's still a vampire. He's not breathing. Angel continues to move through possibilities in his mind. An alternate reality seems to be the best answer but the why still confuses him. This changes the balance between the forces of good and the shades of grey that Wolfram and Hart and the senior partners operated on.

He has nowhere to put his sword so for now he's a man holding a sword, alone in a park ... by a book. He doesn't see it until he pulls the sword out of the ground. A journal, just sitting there, waiting for him. Is that for him? Is any of this?

∞

Cordelia brings him to the Sanctuary. He spends about an hour getting the feel for the place. He makes note of the entrances, the exits. He's told other people stay here. He isn't surprised if he runs into anyone. He's less surprised when he runs into somebody who claims to know him. He's dealing with that. It's strange but, he's been through stranger.

Right now, Angel is wandering. He'll be around the lobby, some of the hallways, and outside the building. He's getting both his bearings and his surroundings. He has also stashed the sword so he doesn't look that crazy.

∞

Angel returns to Grant Park later in the day after Cordelia locates some blood for him. He's essentially wandering around, trying to see if he can feel any portal energy. He ended up here, somehow, as did everyone else. He doesn't belong here. So, he really just looks like a crazy person standing, closing his eyes, and searching for something he won't be able to find.

∞

He can also be seen on the streets of Chicago finding landmarks of note. The local butcher's, the Kaashta he hears about, a few of the bars. He's exploring but not going in many places. He's realizing that he can't really get enough of the sun.

[ Only the first section is closed to Cordelia. Angel can be found legitimately anywhere else including a return to Grant Park, the Sanctuary, and the streets of Chicago. If you want some place specific, just indicate it in the comment title! ]

Comments

but everything else is the same, there's things I remember and things I forget ] for cordelia

[redeems]

Re: but everything else is the same, there's things I remember and things I forget ] for cordelia

[visiongirl]

Angel was here when Cordelia arrived in Chicago. But he also disappeared shortly after. It had been really jarring and disappointing but she's Cordelia Chase, damnit, and she doesn't mope about things like this. So she's been moving on and trying to establish her own life here. Between discovering her Slayer abilities and working at the Sanctuary she's certainly been keeping busy. And then Doyle showed up. And then Fred. So she's had her hands full. It's kept her from doing foolish things like hoping a certain brooding vampire might show up again.

Still, she'd be lying if she said part of her didn't hope that maybe she'd get to see him again. Because even if she ever leaves Chicago -- well it's not like she gets to go home (not that anyone knows that, she keeps that her secret. Fred and Doyle are better off not knowing).

So when she's walking through Grant Park on her way home one can imagine her surprise when she spots him standing in the sun, trying to figure out what's going on. It doesn't even occur to her yet that it might not be the version who was here before.

Which is why she runs over to him, wrapping her arms tightly around him. "You came back." Her voice is soft, happy even. And then she pulls away enough to punch him in the arm. "And that's for leaving in the first place!"

Not that it was his fault, but still.

[redeems]

You'd think with his enhanced senses he'd see this coming, hear Cordelia running towards him. And he does. But, he does too late. As he turns, he's met with a breath-taking, literally, hug. His arm continues to be held outward, thanks to the sword. But, there's no mistaking her voice.

"Cordy?"

Back?

He gives her a confused look before she punches him in the arm. The confused look goes nowhere. Mostly because, what? None of this makes sense. But, there is one truth. He was holding Cordelia Chase. The last time he'd seen her, she'd given him a message and she'd kissed him. It was a reminder of what they didn't and could never have. Or, maybe it was a reminder of what they did have. Something they could never actually be able to have thanks to betrayal and Jasmine and a coma.

And then thanks to the Powers.

"Shouldn't I be the one saying that?" And, "Wait, when did I..." He won't hide his happiness, in finding Cordelia of all people, and momentarily he forgets all about Wolfram and Hart, their army, and his original thought process. "What's happening here?"

[visiongirl]

"Yeah, well, I couldn't help that," She brushes past it easily, or tries to. It's strange, having someone here again who knows what happens to her after months of just trying to hide it from Fred and Doyle. Well, she has a feeling Buffy might know but they just...don't talk about it.

"You don't remember," She says with a frown, mostly to herself. She's heard about this, people reappearing into the city never remembering they had been there in the first place. It's really frustrating, but she'll deal. She's Cordelia Chase, she's put up with worse.

Plus, it's Angel. Part of her is just glad he's back at all.

"You fell threw something called a Rift. Think of it like the portal we fell through to get to Pylea, except a little more permanent. We're in Chicago, but it's like...Bizzaro alternate reality Chicago and lots of people from lots of different worlds are here. We're known as Wanderers."

And she'll stop for a moment to let him recover.

[redeems]

"I don't."

But, he'd like to. He's bothered. He's more bothered then he lets on that he has gaps in his memory. He's been here before? Where is here? That's his first question. What happened is his second and she answers both. They always have been on the same wavelength, haven't they? He takes mental notes as he does. He fell through a rift. The Rift. Like Pylea and isn't that what he first thought of when he saw the sun. Chicago. So, he has a place of reference. He hasn't been there in years and even then, he'd passed through. And he hadn't been alone but that is old, vampire news.

He catches up to the information.

"I've been here before," he reiterates, not feeling any single sense of familiarity. God, that grates. "How long?" He means several things. He would like to know how long it's been since he's been here, how long Cordelia has been here, and how long they'll be stuck here. Right, permanent. Permanent implies a long time.

"Have you tried getting back? Did I try?" Those questions are going to get old. "Portals can be reopened." Cordelia of all people should know that.

[visiongirl]

"People come back and don't remember, like they were never here at all. It happens. It's not you, Angel." Except it was. He had been here when she arrived and then he was just gone and it sucked but it's easier to not verbalize that. To put on a strong front. It's what she's best at, really.

"I've been here about six months, you've been gone for about five. You were here before I was, but I don't know how long." She didn't really get a chance to find out much about his stay here before he disappeared again. "But other people may recognize you, so prepare yourself for that."

And right. More questions. Good thing she has more answers! "I haven't tried, don't really have anyplace to go back to." Except the Powers, but she's doing good here. And she can see Fred again here, and Doyle, and now Angel and maybe it's selfish not to want to go back but hasn't she earned a little selfishness?

"Others have though, it doesn't go well so I wouldn't suggest trying it unless you really want to become vampire mulch. People disappear sometimes but there's no way to know if they got home or stuck in another world or killed or what."

[redeems]

It sounds like him. Another him. An alternate him. He wonders if this Angel was from an alternative timeline or if he's going through the same motions as before. Frustrating, really. He's pretty sure this has zero to do with Wolfram and Hart. That's nice. But, there is the matter of the giant army, Gunn, Spike, and Illyria he left behind. He can't help but feel guilty about that.

"I'm sorry," is what he says to hearing that he hadn't been around long after her ... fall. That's what they are? Falling through rifts. The Rift. At least he has a name to go along with the research he'll need to start. "What kind of other people?"

Does he have to be nice to complete strangers? He hopes none of these new other people have heard him sing. Did he have friends? Enemies? He's Angel, so he's sure he's made enemies.

Right, he keeps back, along with another apology. If Cordelia ever found a way back what would she go back to? Being a tool for the Powers That Be? This way, she has her own life, or so he thinks. He hopes, even. She deserves that and more.

"If we try to go back through a rift we..." Become mulch. He doesn't need to finish his own sentence. And the alternatives are disappearing (like himself) or getting sucked into a different world altogether. "Are there other portals outside of the rift? Could we open a portal somewhere else, outside of Chicago?" His mind is working a mile a minute.

This is an alternate Chicago. That means different things have happened.

"Are there other us?" A beat. "Besides the other other me? That's going to get confusing."

[kiss_evilgoodbye]

Buffy spends a lot of time outside these days.

She isn't entirely sure why -- maybe it's because it's the only thing that doesn't make her feel so closed in. Closed in never used to be a problem until she spent too much time being locked in a room she could never really see the ends of.

Maybe she should get a new place with a balcony. It'll give her a chance to go outside without ever leaving home.

Regardless, she spends a lot of time outside. Normally she patrols, but tonight she's sitting cross legged on a bench, pouring over the real estate listings. She might have missed him if her eyes hadn't started to her and she needed to look up for a brief moment.

It's the coat. It kind of gives him away.

She folds the paper up, sticking it under her arm before she gets up and walks closer. "Figured you'd find your way back eventually."

[redeems]

Buffy Summers is sitting a few feet away from him on a bench.

He's used to walking at night. Being in the sunlight is not something he'll easily get used to. Even though he'd returned during the late afternoon he left soon after the sun set out of habit. He notes his surroundings and a Chicago he's not quite familiar with as he moves under the moonlight.

Angel spots Buffy a few feet away, sitting quietly. Is she reading the paper? Things have changed. Her response doesn't surprise him. After all, he's been here before. That's not hard to get used to.

"I heard you were here. I heard I was here," he says. "It's good to see you again, Buffy." Because, admittedly, it is, despite whatever circumstances there may be. "I'm sorry for -- disappearing." Even if he can't remember, he still apologizes. He apologized to Cordelia as well. "Are you reading the paper?"

[kiss_evilgoodbye]

The pleased look on her face at seeing him again fades when she sees that he doesn't recognize her. It's not that she didn't expect it -- she honestly shouldn't be surprised at this point -- but it was just another stumble in the mess that had been her month at this point.

"Oh. It's okay. Not like it's your fault." It's the rift, who's ass she'd really like to kick one day, for better or for worse. Her eyes dart down to the classifieds again, and she shakes her head. "Just looking at the ads. I'm thinking about moving out of the Kashtta."

[redeems]

"I moved into the Sanctuary," he says, not hating that they can have conversation without it turning dramatic. They can just have casual conversation. It's nice. Different. Strange, considering they've done something like this once and he can't remember. His frustration with her not trusting Wolfram and Hart is slowly seeping out because she seems to be agreeable.

Friendly, even.

"See anything promising?"

[kiss_evilgoodbye]

"There's only so much you can tell from a classified ad. I just ... want to have an idea of what I want you know? How many bedrooms, in what kind of building -- I need to see what my price range will have to be."

Talking about living arrangements is much easier than talking about complicated home things that neither of them are going to budge on. It keeps things much simpler.

[redeems]

"What do you want?" A beat as asks the next question. It's none of his business and Buffy better have pursued another life here when she realized she couldn't get back. "Are you moving in with someone?" He sounds wary but, most of it comes from the aforementioned hope. "I hear kitchens matter." Their size, the cabinets, things like that.

Coloring inside the lines seems to be safer. With them it's always been safer. Making things needlessly complicated always ruined interactions. But, there's no Faith here to sour their relationship and apparently no Wolfram and Hart for her to question her trust in.

[brokeharlem]

Bruce has decided he needs to start avoiding the park; it seems like whenever he's there, weird stuff starts happening. First, there was that thing at Christmas with Bela and the magical mistletoe, then the guy with the gun a couple of days ago that he'd pointedly avoided -- he feels bad for that after the fact, as it's occurred to him that between the gun and the writing, maybe he was there to try to commit suicide, and he did nothing to help -- and now Angel. At least Angel is the least awkward of the things he's encountered in the park, even if he does look like a reject from The Craft, standing there with his eyes closed.

Or maybe he looks like he's about to pass out. Bruce isn't quite sure, but hell if he's just going to walk away again. And so, cautiously, he approaches him, his hands held up to catch Angel should he sway and fall or to defend himself if this is just another case of the weird. Even he's not quite sure.

"Hey, uh ... you okay?"

[redeems]

Bruce brings him out of his thoughts. Angel can't feel a trace of any kind of energy that might come from a portal. He's been told by everyone he's come into contact with that he can't get back, but Angel is nothing if not stubborn.

"I'm fine." This isn't working. He opens his eyes, giving Bruce his attention. "Just wasting my time." He sighs. Cordelia warned him that some people disliked wanderers. He's going to stay vague when it comes to getting back hoe, just in case. Not that he couldn't hold his own if Bruce made something of it.

[brokeharlem]

Well, that rules out sick, he figures. He's not sure he likes the alternative, but it's hard to stay hopeful. Still, Angel hasn't done anything overtly bizarre just yet, so maybe his luck in Chicago is turning around.

"Waiting on someone, or ... ?"

[redeems]

"No," he answers. "Waiting for something," he starts, before resigning himself to the fate he knows to be true. "That won't be happening today." It may not happen ever but Angel's not that kind of guy, so this is simply losing a battle and not a war.

"I'm new," he adds. "To Chicago."

[brokeharlem]

"Well, that's cryptic," Bruce mumbles, more for himself than for Angel.

He opens his mouth to apologize -- his luck running out as far as he can tell or not, that doesn't mean he needs to be rude -- and stops short when Angel mentions being new to the city. He wonders how he means that. If he's new in the same way he and Tony were new a couple of months ago, the vague answer makes a certain amount of sense. Particularly if he's been warned to keep the truth of how he got there to himself to avoid drawing the wrong kind of attention.

Thing is, Bruce isn't sure how to ask without drawing the wrong kind of attention to himself, and he's still pretty sure that Chicago doesn't need a run in with the Hulk if Angel's part of the anti-Wanderer faction.

"Road trip?" he guesses lamely, for lack of a better way of probing.

[redeems]

Angel doesn't address how cryptic he is or isn't being. Because, let's face it, both the narration and Angel know he is.

If he could read minds, he'd agree with Bruce's assessment as that is why he's deliberately playing it close to the vest.

"Unplanned, unwanted, last minute road trip," he answers, staying vague, dry and generally aloof. But, it rings true because in a way all of that is true. "And," he starts, "my car broke down. I can't get back." In a way, he's waiting for his ride, a ride he hasn't actually called for. So, the question goes, if a ride isn't offered, does it come?

In this case, no.

For now, these two can continue to sniff around each other.

[judgy]

Bonnie never met Angel the first time around. She met Cordelia the day the woman arrived, and she met Buffy at a big Chicago event, and both have mentioned him indirectly, but he left before either could introduce him.

Now he's wandering the halls of her home and she's curious, even though she has no way of knowing he's one of those rare soul-having vampires from their world. He's a new face, and if he's here, at the Sanctuary, she wants to know who he is.

Also, he's kind of hot.

"I haven't seen you here before," she says as she approaches him, her voice warm and her smile bright. She's not flirting. Really.

Okay, maybe a little.

[redeems]

Angel, among other things, is oblivious to things like flirtation if he's in tune with it. Plus, this is really the cusp of flirtation so he just assumes this girl doesn't recognize him. He assumes this because she outright says so. It's pretty safe to assume.

Angel's on his way to Cordelia's office when he runs into this new girl. It's refreshing to not see somebody who knew him before - both before Chicago and knew the other him who'd been there.

"I'm new," he admits, no reason to lie considering this building is wanderer-friendly. "Fell through the Rift today. You live here, too?"

[judgy]

Oh, Angel. The narration finds you absolutely adorable in your obliviousness.

Bonnie nods at his question, assuming him to be a new resident himself. Yes, good, stay here, handsome stranger. She's already preparing for future flirtations.

"For almost a year." It's a few months sort, but close enough. "You seem to be taking this pretty well. Weird life?" She was the same way, as was Cordelia. Only someone used to the strange and unusual takes falling through the Rift as well.

[redeems]

Bonnie, the narration blinks in response. Because he is a dangerous hero. But, the narration did not do a good job of pointing this out.

"It's not my first time traveling through a portal," he admits, no reason to lie. "A year's a long time." To be stuck anywhere.

[judgy]

She shrugs in response. "Nothing I can do about it. May as well make the most of it."

The CLF is nothing compared to a nearly invincible vampire-werewolf hybrid. She's good with Chicago, now that she's worked through her identity issues.

Most of them.

[redeems]

"A lot of people end up making a life here?" he asks, hearing the same thing from several other people, including people close to him.