Wesley took a step towards the thing that now wore the body of a woman Buffy was considering a friend.
"Laura?" The question received no answer and the silence in the room choked the air around them.
"Illyria?" Buffy asked pushing the feelings of new grief down.
She studied the new creature carefully seeing Laura's features masked in a hard visage. There were streaks of blue in her hair and a slightly bluish tint to her complexion. But the feature that most startled her was the crystal blue eyes that hardened at her name where once warm brown ones had been present.
"My name. You think because I have come in the form of a human that you can speak to me?"
Buffy could feel the new power of this thing before her hum in the air around her. She knew that on her own she wasn't enough to take this being but she wouldn't cower either.
"Well I either call you by your name or make one up for you. I was trying not to be rude."
Illyria gave a glare at Wesley and turned her attention back to Buffy.
"I thought humans would have long died out by now. Instead you've grown insolent."
"Do you remember Laura?" Wesley took a step forward.
A hard glare was the only answer she seemed willing to give.
"So you don't know who she is?" He questioned again.
"Nor do I care. You waste my time. We are done."
Buffy strode forward so that she stood directly in front of the blue creature.
"I don't really think we are."
Illyria seemed to study her more carefully and Buffy could feel those cold eyes almost looking through her.
"You are different than this other one. Not as weak. But easily breakable all the same."
This was just pissing her off. She had fought a god before and won in the end. This one wasn't getting a scared little girl she was facing a full on Slayer who was tired of having her buttons pushed.
"You'll find that I'm not as easily breakable as you would think."
Without a word the thing reached back and back handed her in the face. She gasped as she reached the other corner of the room in a flash and connected hard with the wall. Unable to help herself she let out a small groan with the impact. That hadn't gone very well she realized as she pulled herself to her feet.
"I remember now Laura was the name of the shell."
"The name of the woman you killed." Wes replied matter of fact.
The words hit Buffy hard and she suddenly found herself blinking back-unbidden tears. Again she pushed the feeling aside knowing that there would be time later for it.
"This is grief. I am sensing human grief. It is disgusting."
"Well you better get used to it." Buffy spit out between clenched teeth.
Wesley drew the curtains back from the window and pointed out to the lit up Los Angelus sky line.
"Look humans rule the Earth." Buffy watched cautiously as Illyria moved towards the window. "They will last for millennia...like roaches crawling everywhere. Crying and sweating and puking their feelings all over you." Illyria turned her head away from the sight. "Go back. Sleep until the humans are gone. They are stupid and weak. They'll kill each other off and you can return to the world you deserve." He hissed the last word almost into her ear. "Leave this shell."
Her head turned back to him sharply and Buffy knew that he had gone just a little too far.
"You seek to save what is rotted through. This carcass is bound to me. I could not change that if I cared to, but you have opened my eyes to truth. If the world is truly overrun by humans..." She placed a hand on his chest and gave an effortless push on him towards the window. "Then I have work to do."
"Wes!" Buffy managed to shout as she watched his body bounce against the shatterproof glass and an "Ummph." of pain passed his lips.
Blocking the door she stood in front of Illyria ready to stop her only she never got the chance. With one grasp of her arm and a flick of her wrist she went flying over her head and into the emergency cart next to the head of the bed.
From her new position on the floor she watched as Illyria strode out the door.
Getting to her feet she glanced over at Wesley.
"Hey you ok?"
"Sure never better." The linoleum muffled his voice.
She gently reached out and pulled him to his feet. "You should alert security, not that they would be able to stop her or anything but maybe let them know she's loose in the building."
"Right. Where do you think she was going?"
"I don't know but after your little humans run the Earth speech I'm thinking it can't be good."
He turned back away from her. "I'm going to check on Fred."
Hearing her name smacked a memory for Buffy. "DAMN! Knox!" She grabbed Wes by the arm and pushed him towards the door.
"What?"
"I need to know where Gunn would take someone to talk to them."
********
With Wesley and Fred in tow she entered Gunn's office. Gunn and Harmony were already inside staring intently at the chair in front of them.
"You tied up Knox." Wesley was sure good at the observations today, Buffy rolled her eyes.
"We're gonna torture him." Buffy noticed a distinct sound of glee coming from the vampiress.
"Umm why?" Fred hesitantly asked like she was afraid of what the answer could be.
"He knows what's going on. Been hiding it the whole time. I just need a few minutes alone."
"He's involved in this?" He ground the words out.
Buffy could read the shock in Fred's eyes. She knew the other woman was bright enough to put two and two together. Just as much as she knew Wes had figured it out.
"Pretty sure."
Wes turned and faced Buffy a hard gleam to his eyes. "Why didn't you tell me?"
"Yeah why didn't you?" The mockery in that voice made her want to slap him.
"I found out just before I went back into the room." She watched as the hardness in his eyes passed.
"I can handle this whatever he knows..."
"Doesn't matter anymore. Laura's gone."
Knox let out a little snort of a chuckle and all eyes turned on him.
"Sorry...It's not what you think. It's just so beautiful." He looked directly at Buffy. "Tell them. Tell them what happened."
When there was nothing but silence for a few moments Wesley answered for her.
"The infection, Illyria, consumed her. Took over her body."
"Then it's still Laura, right? This thing is just controlling-"
Buffy cut Gunn off. "She's gone."
"You don't know that."
"Wait I'm confused." Well how much didn't that surprise her. "It looks like Laura but it's not?"
"She's so much more than that now. Beyond flesh. Beyond perfection. I had chosen Fred because she had a warmth that took you in and held you until everything cold and distant melted away. She's the most beautiful, perfect woman I ever met. She was the only one I thought was worthy. But Laura she was a good second choice." Buffy could see the other woman trembling slightly and was glad that she had Wesley who without a word moved his arms around her while his eyes seethed hatred for the man in front of them.
Unfortunately Buffy's own blood had begun to boil and she grabbed Knox by the throat.
"Buffy don't. We need him." Gunn held a soft plea in his voice. "I know how you feel but-"
"Do you? I watched helplessly as she died. And she was in so much pain and scared and brave. And she was so much better than this. Now she's gone." She could feel the tears returning again and fought with them silently for a moment her grip neither tightening nor loosening.
"I know." Angel said from the doorway. Buffy met his eyes and then the warm blue ones of Spike. Her hand fell back to her side.
********
They were gathered back in Angel's office all of them with faces downcast more lines marking their faces then they would care to admit.
"So England was a bust huh?" Buffy decided that she liked Gunn he had that directness she had associated with Anya that at times could be quite refreshing. Especially when not discussing orgasms or money non-stop.
"Not entirely we found out where the sarcophagus came from. There were thousands of them." Angel looked unsettled about the fact.
"Minus one." His voice drifted past her ear from over her shoulder as she stood in the circle of his arms.
"What about the Drogyn character wouldn't he help?"
"Couldn't. We were too late." He let out a tiny sigh.
"I should have seen it. Knox. He sang for me and I should have seen it." Lorne had his head down and Buffy could feel the despondency from across the room.
"It's not your fault." She watched as Lorne raised his head and stared at Gunn.
"If I had concentrated harder, read him better Laura might-"
"Look there's a lot we might have done, all right? Starting with never coming to Wolfram & Hart in the first place. We can beat ourselves up over it later, but right now-"
"I'm sorry Angelcakes." Lorne walked out of the door.
"Lorne..." He called after him.
"No let him go. If he's doubtin’ himself he won't be any good to us."
"Lorne's right we should have seen this coming." Gunn said walking towards Angel's desk.
"It wouldn't have made a difference. Drogyn said the sarcophagus was preordained to be released. Nothing could have stopped it from arriving."
"That's not completely true. I played a round of piñata with lab boy while you were gone. The sarcophagus was stuck in customs and it should have stayed there but someone got it out."
"Who?" Fred questioned.
"I'm working on it."
"Good for you Charles not a moment to lose."
"Wes I know how you feel but you need to keep it in check. We all do for Laura's sake." Buffy could feel Angel's eyes boring into her.
"There is no Laura anymore."
"You don't know that." Gunn denied.
"We watched it gut her from the inside out. Everything she was is gone. There is nothing left but a shell." Wesley's eyes held hers for a moment before dropping away.
"Then we'll figure a way to fill it back up."
"The thing only took over her body. Just the tip of the theological."
"It's the soul that matters."
"Trust us. We're kind of experts."
"What about her- if her organs have been liquefied?"
"Buffy was buried for 147 days. She got better."
"You really think there's a chance of bringing her back?"
"Laura's soul is out there somewhere. We'll find it and put it back where it belongs." His voice took on a hard edge. "And then we'll make every son of a bitch that had a hand in this pay. We all on the same page?"
"Where do we start?"
"We need the big guns."
"Willow." Spike stated.
Buffy had been silent through the whole conversation listening but not really hearing. Words filtered in here and there but her thoughts were centered on the last moments Laura had been in that hospital room. The feeling of watching her life slip away almost like it was sand running through her fingers. She had noticed how quiet Fred was also and knew that she felt a tremendous amount of guilt. It was written all over her face.
Willow's name penetrated into her preoccupied mind and she quickly connected it to the ideas being passed around the office.
"No." Every head turned to look at her. She could feel the disbelief thrum through the room.
"What?" Angel asked his brow furrowed in confusion.
"No." She shook her head. "This stops now."
"Buffy if there's a chance-"
"No." She said the word more forceful this time.
"Pet?" The soft question from behind her made take a deep breath.
"Do you even know where her soul is? Do you think that just because this thing took control of her body and killed her that her soul is just out there floating freely?" She could feel Spike's arms tighten around her and she was sure that he understood. But the others were staring at her in confusion.
"I won't let you mess with things you don't understand. Something you don't have the right to do. That no one has the right to do."
"Buffy-"
"No Angel. She's gone we have to accept that. The price is just too high." She turned in Spike's arms resting her head on his shoulder. "We can't play god and change things with magic that we don't like."
"Normally I would agree Buffy but the circumstances-"
She lifted her head and looked at Wesley. "You forget that I am the only resurrected human in the room. I know what it's like to be brought back. And unless you can prove to me that she ended up in some hellish hell dimension then this discussion is over."
"You know we don't have any way of knowing-"
"Exactly Wes. If there is even the slightest chance that she isn't in one I won't allow you to do this."
"Buffy-"
"No she's right Peaches. Learned that lesson the hard way." His hand was stroking her back holding her even closer and she dropped her head back to his shoulder.
Everyone was silent for a moment not sure of what to say.
"We need to find her. Illyria, find her and keep her locked up somehow." Lifting her head again she looked back over to Angel.
"Well you two talked to her. Any idea where she was heading?"
"Well I don't know where she was going but I know where she's been." Buffy turned to see Harmony stride into the office her hand rubbing her bruising cheek. "Smack her a good one for me huh?"
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Author's Chapter Notes:
Thank you for the great reviews again!!! You guys are just terrific. Okay now for the actual story. The dialouge from Shells was written by Stephen S. DeKnight so please give him the credit that he deserves. Please let me know what you think and I'll see if I can't update again tomorrow. Thanks so much!!