Title: Chained to Fate
Chained to Fate Chapter One- Cuffed
Chapter: 1 - Cuffed
Author: Minnie-May
Distribution: Archive permission granted to: Unnatural, WNW, Bookish, Gifted. All others please ask.
Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters of Angel (not even Wesley ;_;) they are all owned by Joss Whedon and the fine folks of Mutant Enemy…..lucky….
Summary: A dangerous prophecy is unveiled that seems to center around Connor, who is getting…mean? Sequel of sorts to Cruise Control (D/C, W/F, possibly C/A)
Rating: PG-13
Feedback: Yes please! Send to: sweet_senshi@hotmail.com
Notes: Ok this takes place directly after the events in Cruise Control. You don't have to read that fic to understand this one but they're in the same future time frame so you might wanna give it a read. And review…..^_~
The air was warm and slightly moist as Dawn and Connor walked hand in hand down the streets of LA. The two had been talking a few minutes earlier about Connor's driving lesson and how he had done. Dawn kept insisting that he was doing great but Connor knew that she was just being nice. It had been a miracle he hadn't hit anything and they had been in an empty parking lot. Not exactly a promising start in the wonderful world of driving.
It was fairly late at night, at least midnight if not later, and the streets were almost deserted as they walked along towards the Hyperion. A woman walking a dog strolled by briskly, only sparing them a small glance over her shoulder to wonder what kids their age were doing out so late. Connor felt happier than he had felt in a long time to be just walking along with Dawn at his side. He was so content that he hardly noticed that Dawn had begun talking again.
"--And so he was all like 'Niblet, the brakes!' I mean like shesh, yelling at me is gonna make it better? So I totally panicked and rear-ended the car in front of me, which ironically enough, was fully of vampires. And can you BELIEVE that Spike had the nerve to blame me that one of them ripped his crusty old duster? I mean, hello, about to fall apart anyway" Dawn fumed, ranting as they walked along.
She turned towards Connor and he nodded at her words, agreeing with whatever it was that she had said. Apparently it was the golden rule for talking with women when they were mad; agree with everything they said. Or at least that's what Angel had told him, but looking back on Angel's record with the ladies Connor wondered why he even paid attention to Angel's love advice.
"--So I said…" Dawn trailed off and looked over at Connor, arching an eyebrow crossly. "Are you even listening to me?" Dawn asked sharply. 'Oh God', Connor thought, aware that his mind had wandered while she talked. 'I need a recovery, and quick' he thought furtively, glancing around at anything that could get her mind off the topic.
"You know, you look really beautiful tonight" Connor said, squeezing her hand. Dawn felt a bright red spread across her cheeks and she glanced at the ground to cover her blush. 'Score one for Connor' he thought to himself, mentally patting himself on the back for a quick recovery.
"Thanks" she mumbled to the ground, then raised her gaze and looked over at Connor, the moonlight reflecting off her big brown eyes almost enough to make him gasp. "If you think that's gonna get you out of not listening though, your in for a big surprise mister" Dawn informed him, taking up her glare once again.
'Well' Connor thought to himself grimly, 'it was worth the shot.'
"But now" Dawn said, smiling at him in a way that made his stomach turn. "I'm afraid I'm going to have to punish you" she said edging closer to Connor as she talked. Connor gulped down a thick breath of air and stared at her with huge eyes.
"I bet your…" she said, trailing off as she ran her hand up Connor's arm. His heart was beating in his throat and it was suddenly hard to find enough air to breathe. "…Majorly ticklish" Dawn finished as she ran her hand up to his shoulder and snuck under his armpit to tickle him.
A short burst of laughter erupted from Connor as Dawn surprised him with her sudden tickle attack. It was true that Connor was very ticklish and he tried to squirm out of her way to avoid anymore torture. But Dawn kept at it, going for a full on tickle attack and soon Connor was laughing so hard that he was crying. He tried feebly to get back at her but she was quicker than he was and not handicapped by the laughs that were still erupting from Connor.
"Not…*gasp *…..fair" Connor managed to get out between laughs. Dawn stopped tickling him and giggled to see the harassed look on his face. "I don't think the crime merited the punishment" Connor pouted, taking a step closer.
"Well, how about this then?" Dawn asked, stepping closer to Connor so there was barely an inch separating them. She leaned closer to him, intent upon finishing the kiss that Wesley had interrupted that afternoon. Connor leaned down as well, Dawn the only thing on his mind, when a crash from a nearby alleyway broke them apart.
"What was that?" Dawn hissed at Connor, eyes glued to the alley. It was cast in shadows and Connor couldn't see anything, save the inky blackness.
"I don't know" Connor whispered back, grabbing onto Dawn's elbow. "But maybe we should go and not find out" he suggested, beginning to pull her away from the alley. If he had been alone Connor would have probably taken the time to investigate. But having Dawn along changed everything; the thought of getting her hurt was unbearable.
"We can't just leave" Dawn said, yanking her elbow out of Connor's grasp and giving him a dirty look. She hated being babied above all things and she got enough of that at home. She had proven time and again that she could handle herself decently, yet everyone was always trying to protect her. Trying to shut her off from anything that could be potentially dangerous. Which was ironic because since her sister was the Slayer that pretty much equaled constant danger. Wouldn't it be better if she had some experience?
"Dawn, we don't know what that is" Connor stated, going for the obvious to convince her to leave.
"Well duh, that's why we investigate" Dawn stated, rolling her eyes and edging toward the open mouth of the alley. Connor trailed reluctantly behind her, wishing that she would just listen to him every now and then. "I mean what if it's a vampire that's about to snack on some unknowing victim" Dawn hissed over her shoulder.
"So you'd rather be that victim?" Connor mumbled to himself, sliding up behind Dawn and pulling the stake from his pocket.
"What?" Dawn asked, having missed the last comment. Connor shook his head in a nevermind gesture and handed her a stake.
The two began edging their way into the alley, backs pushed up against the right wall as they slid in. Connor had now taken the lead and was squinting into the darkness. His sensitive eyesight picked up a dark shape against the wall opposite them and he stuck his arm out to tell Dawn to stay where she was. With all the stealth possible he snuck across the alley towards the dark shape. The closer he got the more defined the shape became; it looked human but then again so did a lot of demons.
Whatever it was didn't wait for him to come say hello. With more speed and strength than Connor thought possible the shape flew at him and knocked him back, almost sending him onto his back. Connor steadied himself and waited for the next attack, casting his eyes about for any signs of the demon. He was clearly at a disadvantage in the dark alleyway where his eyesight was suffering.
His eyes adjusted slightly, just in time for him to see the figure come at him again. This time he was ready and when the attacker lunged for him Connor quickly stepped out of his path. He grabbed his attacker's arm and flipped him over his head, where he landed near the mouth of the alley with a satisfying crunch. Connor sped up to finish it off before it could recover but was too late. The creature jumped up and turned to face Connor, showing itself to be a vampire with it's yellow eyes and thick brow. Connor twirled the stake in his hands, testing out the weight as he crept closer.
It was then, just as he was practically upon the vampire, that he heard it. A scream. Not just any scream though, Dawn's scream.
Connor spun around, brown hair whipping in his eyes, to see at least four more vampires crowded around Dawn. One held her from behind with it's strong hand clamped around her neck, choking her off as she tried to give out another scream. As he watched, Dawn elbowed the creature in the face as hard as she could, forcing it to lose it's grip on her. She tried to run away but another vampire in the group just grabbed her and pressed a knife against her throat. Dawn stared over at Connor wide-eyed and afraid.
"We have been looking for you for a very long time" the vampire near Connor said, his voice sounding ghostly and unreal.
"Well I've been in town for a few months now" Dawn commented trying to edge her throat away from the knife. "Couldn't have been looking very hard."
"Not you, insolent girl" the vampire said, gaze ticking to Dawn and then back to Connor again. "We have been looking for the Miracle Child" the vampire stated, addressing Connor.
"Miracle child?" Dawn asked incredulously. "How come I don't get any cool nicknames?" she asked, sarcasm coming off her in waves. Never show vampires fear; it was something Dawn had learned from her sister.
"Quiet!" the vampire holding her snapped, trashing her back and forth a bit. Dawn saw stars flash up before her eyes. These vampires obviously had like NO sense of humor.
"If you're after me let Dawn go" Connor said, finally finding his voice. Dawn rolled her eyes at being treated like the hostage that she was. If she had any dignity by the time this was finished she would be seriously surprised. Of course that was assuming she would be alive after this.
"We have come with glad tidings, O Most High" one of the vampires said, bowing before Connor. Connor's eyes got very wide and he glanced around the alleyway to see if they were indeed talking to him. "The prophecy is about to come to pass; we are here to speed it on its way."
"Prophecy?" Connor asked, hearing the confusion in his own voice. "What prophecy?"
The vampire kneeling in front of him didn't answer but snaked his hand into his jacket and pulled something out. It had a round shape but Connor could tell little else about the object.
Instead of waiting to be skewered with whatever the vampire had just pulled from his jacket, Connor flung into action. He lashed out an arm and caught the vamp in the side of the head, knocking him down. He pulled the stake up and plunged it down, mark about to hit home when another of the vampires jumped on his back and pulled him away. Connor threw himself from side to side to shake the vamp but it didn't work, the vampire had a strong hold on him.
Behind him Connor heard Dawn scream again and prayed that she would be all right. For all everyone tried to protect her, Dawn actually was a decent fighter when she needed to be and Connor prayed that her skills would keep her from any serious harm. He wanted badly to go and help Dawn, to make sure she was all right, but first he had to take care of the vampire still clinging to his back. He pulled his elbow back and rammed it straight into the vamp's ribs, hearing a telltale cracking that meant he had broken something. Unfortunately the vampire still did not loosen his grip on Connor, but he heard it emit a small grunt of pain.
The vamp on the ground rolled over and Connor saw that it had the round object in it's hands. For some reason Connor couldn't name, the object gave him a sense of dread that went down to his very bones. The vampire pulled back his arm and hefted the object to the vampire on Connor's back. Connor tried to swerve out of the way but that was easier said than done with a huge vamp on your back. The vampire on top of him caught the circular object and gave a low, dangerous laugh.
Panicked, Connor rammed the vampire into the wall beside him, taking him by surprise and causing him to tumble off the younger boy's back. The vampire was up in a moment however, and Connor threw a hard kick into his broken ribs, hearing another loud crack. A pained looked passed over the vamp's face but it hardly lost momentum, fist almost connecting with Connor's face.
Connor stumbled back into the waiting arms of another of the vampires. He turned his head in time to see Dawn sprint towards the mouth of the alley then get grabbed by two of the remaining five vampires. They dragged her back beside Connor and the two of them shared a panicked look.
"I don't see why you had to make this hard" the original vampire said, putting a hand to his head and staring at Connor. "We're not going to hurt you."
"Oh yea we really feel comforted now" Dawn mumbled as one of the vamps walked up and stood directly in front of Connor. It took the round object from it's pocket and grabbed Connor's arm. He tried to yank his arm free but to no avail.
The vampire slammed the thing down around Connor's wrist, encircling it as Connor tried to yank free once more. Then the vamp said a few hurried words in Latin and smiled as the cuff gave off a dull glow. He turned to regard Connor once more as he began backing out of the alley.
"Events have been set in motion, it won't be long now" the vampire said as it turned and fled the scene. The other vamps quickly let go of Connor and Dawn and followed the first out the mouth of the alley and into the night.
"Geez, cryptic much?" Dawn muttered, then turned her gaze to Connor. "Are you alright? What did they do to you?" she asked with obvious concern.
"I'm not sure" Connor said vaguely, staring down at his wrist. "They put this cuff on me" he remarked. Dawn grabbed his arm and inspected what he was talking about.
"What cuff?" she asked in confusion. Then understanding lighted Dawn's eyes and she smiled at Connor. "Oh, you mean this bracelet? They gave you a bracelet?" Dawn commented, turning the bracelet around on Connor's wrist.
"It's not a bracelet, it's a cuff" Connor said, trying to sooth his wounded pride. "Cuff is more manly."
Dawn rolled her eyes and stared at the * cuff* on Connor's arm.
"Geez vampires in LA are sure different than they are in Sunnydale. I mean our vampires don't give us presents" Dawn commented.
"It seemed to know me somehow" Connor said, pulling his wrist from Dawn's grasp. "Whatever this thing is, I don't like it."
"Fine, then take it off" Dawn stated logically. Connor stared at her a moment, puzzled that the thought had never occurred to him before.
Then he tried to yank the cuff open but it wouldn't budge. He tried to pull it over his hand but it suddenly seemed much too tight. Connor pulled out one of his long blades he kept at all times and tried to cut through the cuff. Not even a scratch.
"Ummm" Connor said, staring at it in confusion. "It's not coming off."
****
"Why's this filed under demons when it's a missing persons case?" Fred asked from behind a huge pile of manila folders. Wes turned slightly behind his own huge stack and accepted the folder she held out to him. For a brief moment their hands caressed each other and the two smiled. Then Wes took the file and was back to being all business, inspecting the contents.
"Perhaps they were kidnapped by a demon?" Wesley ventured, flipping through the file.
"Still seems like more of a 'kidnapped' sorta file than 'demons'. And speaking of, I mean isn't 'demons' a little broad for a file name? I mean shouldn't we sort it out more?" Fred wondered aloud, staring at the files that encased her and Wesley in a makeshift fort. A very unfun, confusing fort and Fred felt like at any moment the files would tumble on top of her head.
"Whatever you think is best" Wesley said vaguely, pulling another folder off the stack to his right. "I can't tell you how good it is to have someone that takes filing seriously. Cordelia has made a horrendous mess of the case files. I can't find anything. And why is this vampire cult in with the witchcraft files?" Wesley asked in aggravation, dropping the folder into his lap and his head into his hands. Fred giggled as she began to write the new filing system on the pad in front of her.
"My pain is amusing to you?" Wesley mumbled through his hands. He was peeking up at her through his fingers and Fred gave him a beaming smile.
"Your cute when your annoyed" Fred told him matter of factly, straightening a pile near her that was threatening to tumble. Wes gave a self-conscience smile and seemed to preen a little bit over the comment.
"We should probably get back to work" Fred commented when Wes just stared at her for a few moments. "With the filing."
"Right, because we've had so much to do lately" Wes put in, sighing as he picked up another file.
"Yea it has been pretty slow lately hasn't it? Not many beasties for Angel to beat up" Fred said thoughtfully, chewing the cap of her pen. She decided that there should be folders for all the unfinished cases too but should they be divided up as well? Don't want to have too many categories.
"Angel isn't the only one that beats up beasties" Wes said, sounding as if his pride was a bit hurt. Fred giggled again and then put a hand up over her mouth to control her laughter.
"Now what?" Wesley asked in confusion, not sure what he had said this time to make Fred amused.
"You said beasties" Fred managed to get out between laughs. Wesley rolled his eyes and rocked into a squatting position so he could stand without badly disrupting any of the files. He offered a hand to Fred, who gladly accepted, and pulled her to her feet.
"I think we're been filing too long" Wesley said, giving Fred a meaningful look. Fred surpressed another giggle and gave Wesley a grave nod as the two picked their way around files spread out over the floor. "I think some greasy taco food might clear the thought process a little bit" Wesley put in, once they got to the door of the filing room. Fred's face broke into a wide smile at the prospect of her favorite food group.
"Tacos? Taco Bell, here we come!" Fred announced, running towards the stairs to get her jacket.
The door to the Hyperion opened suddenly, revealing a tired looking Gunn. He walked into the lobby looking slightly harassed. Earlier he had gone to check up on some of his old gang and as always he looked much the worst for the visit. Wesley had a feeling if it wasn't for Gunn's inert sense of loyalty he wouldn't go for those visits at all. They seemed to drain him greatly, whether just emotionally or from the memories, Wesley didn't know.
Gunn's gaze pushed from his ex-girlfriend at the landing of the stairs over to Wesley and back. The two of them had broken up a while before but it was obvious that at times it was still awkward between them. Especially since Fred had begun to date Wesley. Fred looked nervously at Gunn for a moment before edging over to him in concern.
"Are you ok? You don't look too good" Fred said, standing a step below him. Gunn moved down the step and past Fred, heading for the main desk.
"I'm fine. Any new cases?" he asked as he flipped through the few brief messages on the counter. None for him of course. They never were.
Gunn walked back into the main lobby; noticed Fred leaning uncomfortably against the post of the staircase. He wondered if they had been about to go somewhere before he showed up. On a date perhaps. For a second he felt guilty about bursting in and making them feel bad about leaving. Then he crushed down the feeling; wasn't Wes the one who said they shouldn't be dating on the job?
"Where's Angel?" Gunn asked, doing a quick sweep of the hotel with his eyes and seeing the vampire nowhere in sight.
"He went to go teach Connor how to drive" Wesley commented, grinning at the shocked expression on the black man's face.
"Well nothing can go wrong with that idea" Gunn replied wryly. Wesley nodded his agreement to Gunn's sarcastic statement and then nodded to Fred at the landing of the stairs.
"We were just about to go for tacos, get away from the filing for a few moments. Care to join us?" Wesley asked, although it was obviously to anyone with a brain that neither wanted him along. It would just be sad and awkward and Gunn had had enough of that for one night.
"No thanks English, I think I'll sit that joy ride out" Gunn commented, wondering where Angel had stashed his small black and white TV set.
Fred was about to start up the steps again when the sound of the door opening again startled her. She turned around to see Dawn and Connor in the doorway, both looking mussed up and tired. Connor had a few bruises around his face and Dawn had a small cut on her cheek. 'Boy, they were really serious when they said driving was dangerous' Fred thought to herself walking back into the lobby.
"What happened to you two?" Gunn asked staring back and forth between the two of them. Dawn sighed and pushed her brown hair out of her eyes with one hand, wincing when the back of her hand brushed her bruised cheek.
"Vampires" Connor remarked cryptically, walking into the main lobby with Dawn trailing slightly behind him.
"Crazy cult vampires" Dawn put in, dropping herself on the couch in the middle of the lobby and giving Connor a strange look. "They were all 'we worship you, Miracle Child'. I mean how come no one ever worships the key? I could stand to be worshipped every now and then" Dawn put in with a small sigh. Connor gave Dawn a strange look and then turned back to where the others were staring at him.
"The vampires were worshipping you?" Wesley asked sounding confused and intrigued at the same time.
"Well they attacked, then they worshipped, then they attacked again" Connor said, plopping on the couch next to Dawn. She turned over to look at him, eyes darting to the bracelet circling his wrist, and then back to the three confused members of AI.
"Then they gave him a present" Dawn said sarcastically, pointing at his wrist. Connor tried to pull it away from inspection defensively but the three had already closed around it. Wesley was staring at it in fascination, turning it over to stare at the ancient runes carved on it's surface. Fred and Gunn just looked at it and Fred commented that it was pretty.
"I think these carvings are actually a form of ancient Babylonian" Wesley mused, still deep in thought. "Do you think you could take it off so I could have a better look at it?" Connor looked away, blush rising to his cheeks, and scratched the back of his neck with his other hand.
"That's the weird thing though" Dawn commented beside Connor, leaning over to speak to Wes. "It doesn't come off. We tried everything short of one of those metal torches but we didn't even put a dent in it. I think the vampires worked some evil mojo on it" Dawn said, bobbing her head rigorously. Connor gave her a poisonous look but Dawn didn't notice as Fred made some comment about one of her inventions they could use.
"Not really sure that's a great idea since it's new and untested 'an all" Gunn put in, trying to let Fred down gently. He didn't want Fred's invention to accidentally take off Connor's hand or something.
"I guess you're right" Fred mumbled in disappointment. Wes smiled at her and patted her hand reassuringly.
"You and Gunn could help with the research, find out if this thing is in one of the books" Wesley said, grin going wider as Fred cheered up and headed towards where Wesley kept his books. Gunn trailed behind muttering darkly about how much he hated research.
"In the mean time I want you to come with me young man" Wesley addressed Connor, who looked up in surprise. "If that bracelet-"
"Cuff, it's a cuff" Connor put in, face red with indignity. Dawn sniggered behind him and he gave her another pointed look.
"ahem cuff then. If that cuff won't come off your arm I'm afraid I'm going to have to study it with you attached" Wesley said, motioning for Connor to get up and move into Angels office after him. Connor rose off the couch and directed a sheepish smile at Dawn, who merely shrugged, and then followed after Wesley.
****
TBC
AN: Feedback!!!!!! Need Feedback! PLEASE! ^_^ …no I'm not desperate or anything….