Cander (Cordy/Xander)

The Strife

Summary: What if Cordy came to Sunnydale to help with the battle? What if Anya never died? What if Xander never lost an eye?

Disclaimer: I own nothing that has been made already by the Angel and Buffy creators.

It was a beautiful night. Cordy was at her apartment, sitting on the couch, looking at a folder of papers from a case they were working on. That's when it hit her like usual. The folder of papers tumbled to the floor, as she screamed in pain from the vision.

A few minutes later, it ended. She took two aspirin pills with water, wrote a note for Angel, left a voicemail at work, packed her bags, and then she was out of there. She had had a vision of a Sunnydale battle. That's why she left in such a hurry. She cared about them. Well, not about Spike. But still. No matter what, she had to help out.

It was a dark night, as the Scoobies sat around Buffy's house researching for how to kill the First Evil. That's when there came a knock on the door. Buffy opened it to reveal a very worn-out looking Cordelia Chase. She looked like crap.

"May I come in?" she asked softly.

Buffy stepped to the side to let her in. The Seer walked into the living room and everyone looked up. Willow immediately stood up and guided her gently to the couch.

"You can have my spot."

"Thanks."

She helped her sit.

"Vision?" she asked the Seer.

"What's wrong? Hangover?" Xander asked, half joking.

"You know me. I don't drink and have hangovers. I had a vision. A very painful one. Gruesome, too."

"You're a Seer," Buffy commented.

"Yes. Of course."

"Doyle died, but passed his visions down to you right beforehand. Am I right?" Anya said.

"Yes. He did."

Xander looked at everyone. At his friends. It confused him. All this talk about Seers, visions, and some Doyle guy.

"Could someone open the door for me? I'm lost. I got the whole Cordy has visions, but from onward, you guys lost me. What's a Seer, when did this happen, who was Doyle, and why wasn't I informed?"

"A Seer is someone whom has painful visions of disasters and etc to come. Doyle was half human and half demon. He was a good guy. It's been going on for the last few years. We didn't tell you because we didn't want you going to check on her in LA. We didn't know how you would react," Willow explained.

"Really?"

"Yes, really."

Will knelt in front of the former Queen C.

She held her hands.

"What did you see?"

"There was a battle. A gruesome one. It was in Sunnydale. I didn't know what it was, so I came here. I want to help."

"Unless you know how to defeat The First Evil and its minions, you can't," Buffy told her.

"But I can. Remember who I work for. I know how to get my sources and where to look. I know what books to look into. I won't take no for an answer. Please. Let me help you. You saved me time and time again without my saying a single 'thank you.' Now it's my time to save yours. It's what I do. I save people."

"She's right," Will announced.

"Let her help. I know I would," Anya said.

"Okay. You're in. You can help. But if you die and blame me, don't come back to haunt me."

"You know, Cor. It's scary how much you know. Way back when, the only thing you knew that we didn't was how to kill goblins," Xander replied to her.

Cor smiled up at him.

He smiled back at her.

Anya rolled her eyes.

For the first time, Cordelia Chase noticed a guy she didn't know.

She smiled warmly at him.

"Hi, I'm Cordelia Chase. And you are?" She greeted.

"Andrew."

"I know that name. You, Spike, and Angel know each other."

"Yes. We do."

She stood up and looked at everyone, as she spoke to them all.

"Here's the plan. Buffy and Faith will stick together, Willow and Anya will stick together, Andrew and Spike will stick together, and Xander and I will stick together. Faith should be here in 3,2,1, and action."

Faith walked in.

"I'm home."

A few nights later, the strife roared on, as they fought against the creatures. It was as gruesome as it had been in Cordelia's vision but in the end, they all survived.