"Only Angel is equipped to make good on this debt."
"Angel. I don't know. For a guy, who's a couple
of centuries old - not very big with the wise investing. And when you say 'equipped' that isn't
what you mean, is it?"
"And 'eww!'" Cordelia said, shuddering slightly. "I so didn't need to hear that."
"He was..."
"Well..."
"Equipped..."
"Mmm...Angel..." the three said.
Cordelia sighed, looking over the furies. "So let me get this right -- you put the spell on Caritas because all three of you and Angel got..." Cordelia looked down. "God, okay, I can't get it right. Especially the 'well equipped' part." She stood up. "I mean...come on? Angel? I don't think he even knows...well, okay, there was Buffy, but then the soul thing and..." She sighed again. "So what will it take to get you to drop the spell? 'cause even though I don't have the...equipment..." She swallowed. "There must be something?"
"Can you..."
"Prove your..."
"Adequacy?" The third fury raised an eyebrow.
"Adequacy! Right! Um..." Cordelia frowned. "I have visions! From the Powers that Be. Except for a short time last week when they were from someone else, but, mainly, Powers. Forces of Good! Knows what she's talking about!"
The first put her hand to her mouth and the second one yawned.
"Damn, um...I've killed demons! Lots of them! Vampires -- slain. Huge slime demons -- hacked to pieces. Evil lawyers? Taken care of them too."
The second held out her hand and the third began grooming the second's nails.
"I was a princess in an alternate dimension!" Cordelia said desperately. "I was supposed to fulfill a prophecy where the hero took on my visions, but I didn't let him and I got rid of slavery in that dimension! I have a tiara and everything!"
The first looked up at the ceiling.
"God, What does it take?" Cordelia finally shouted.
"Prove..."
"Your..."
"Adequacy."
"What more do you want?"
The three looked at her.
Cordelia blinked. "Oh."
The three continued their stare, their eyes never leaving Cordelia's face even as they swayed in the air.
Cordelia frowned, her eyes alternating between the three faces, then looked down towards the trailing ends of their dresses. "Just so I'm clear on this, you're not actually parts of bodies stuck onto the tentacles of some strange demon like a freaky puppet show, right?"
The three half-smiled, and lifted their skirts, showing her perfectly smooth and well-manicured feet.
"All right then." Cordelia stood. "Let's do this."
"You are.."
"Willing to..."
"Prove your..."
"Adequacy?" the three said together in surprise.
"Yep. If it's the only way to get you to lift the spell, I'm ready to go." She took off her earrings and set them on the table. "Whatever, you want, I'm here. I'm ready. Just say the word." She reached back and unzipped her top, unhooking her bra as well. "I mean, okay, I've never done anything like this before, and I probably never would, but they're in trouble, and I'm here, and whatever it takes, y'know?" She took a deep breath and pulled off her top.
The three blinked.
"What? You've never seen a girl topless before? Too busy swooning over Angel? I'll show you 'adequate'!" Cordelia grabbed the ties of her skirt and yanked, pulling the skirt off of her in one tug.
She stood in front of them, only in her underwear and knee-high boots, her hands on her hips. "Come on, we don't have all day! Separately or together? Top or bottom? Whatever you want, I'm ready!"
The three blinked again, then, together, giggled, floating towards Cordelia.
"Leave..."
"The boots..."
"On..."
"Mmmmmmm..." the three chorused again as they surrounded her.
"Hey, watch the hair..." Cordelia grumbled, her voice muffled.
"We're..."
"Terribly..."
"Sorry..."
"Ohhhhh....." moaned the three, rising up towards the ceiling and taking Cordelia with them.
"Ohhh..."
"Cordelia..."
"Ohhh..."
"YESSSSS!"
The three slowly lowered Cordelia back onto the couch and, after a few more seconds, drifted back down to their usual hovering position.
Cordelia began reaching for her clothes again. "So, um, about that spell...?"
"It has..."
"Already been..."
"Removed."
Cordelia pulled her skirt on and grinned. "Really?"
The three nodded.
"Great." She grabbed her top. "Thank you so much..."
The three smiled.
"No..."
"We..."
"Must..."
"Thank you," they said, slowly floating back up to the ceiling again.
Cordelia smiled slightly as she put her earrings back on. "No problem, and, hey, if you ever need..."
"You are..."
"Always..."
"Welcome here..."
"Cordelia...." they said together, with just a hint of an orgasmic sigh.
Cordelia grinned, grabbed her coat, and left.
"I just wanted to thank you for lifting the spell on Caritas..." Angel said, making certain to look at each fury, despite their higher-than-usual hovering.
"It was.."
"Something that needed..."
"To be done."
"Yes..." Angel said. "And I wanted to thank you for, y'know, listening to Cordelia." He smiled. "I wasn't sure you'd--"
"She was..."
"More than..."
"Adequate."
"Mmmmm...Cordelia..." the three chorused.
Angel frowned for a minute, then slowly nodded. "Oh..." he said. He frowned again. "Oh?"
The three just smiled.