Holding true to my word I tried to make this chapter a little longer. It's still short but it's about twice as long as the others. This one is Connor-centric with a bit of ConnorxCordy-ish at the end. So anyways, I still don't own Angel or any of its characters and there's the usual warnings. Enjoy.
Connor dropped down into the sewers that ran below the Hyperion. He was armed with two stakes hidden in the sleeves of his hoodless sweatshirt and a crossbow. His feet sloshed slightly in the sewage and he wrinkled his nose in disgust.
"Ok, focus," he told himself, stopping and closing his eyes. He sniffed the rotten air. Rats, cockroaches, and a few things he didn't want to identify. There it was: vampires. He grinned and opened his eyes. "Ready or not, here I come," he said and followed the scent intently. He had to focus because it was several hours old, but this was defiantly Angelus and Darla.
Connor followed the tunnels in silence. The moon peaked at him through the gutters, but he paid no attention to it. He was hunting. Rats squeaked and fled from his presence just as they had done for his father previously. Connor rolled his eyes and snarled at the wet, flea-infested creatures. Just seeing them made him feel itchy, but he shook the thoughts from his head and focused on the task at hand. Finding where Angelus and Darla were staying if not finding they themselves.
The tunnels turned and twisted in several different directions. Sometimes he would come to a fork where only by scent could he tell where to go. He came up to one of these. There were three tunnels to choose from and each one lead into unknown darkness. Connor sniffed the air and growled in frustration. There was a scent trail going down each tunnel. Angelus must have laid these to discourage anyone from following him. These tunnels went for miles and Connor was sure he had covered at least eight of those miles since he left the hotel. His pants were soaked with disgusting water half way up to his knees and the tops of his shoes were not far from being submerged, but he wasn't a quitter.
He snarled and walked past the entrance of each tunnel, sniffing the trails that lead into them. He did this several times before deciding that the one on the left had the freshest scent so it would make sense that that was the right choice. After making one more round past the tunnels, he entered his tunnel of choice and followed it.
Connor hissed as he stepped into dark water up to his ankles. He felt the putrid liquid seep into his shoes and soak his socks. He gave a shudder of disgust but continued, having to lift his feet unnaturally high in order to prevent drag. His feet sank deeply into whatever was lying on the tunnel floor. There was a sickening sucking sound every time he lifted his foot up and his shoes were full of water and covered in slimy gunk.
After about ten minutes of this, Connor realized he had been needing to lift his legs higher and higher as time had passed by and the sloshing continued. He stopped and looked down. With a groan, he realized that the sewage was now halfway up his calves and water soaked above his knees.
"This is ridiculous," he growled. He looked at the slime covered walls and thought for a moment before climbing up the curved surface. A horrible stench escaped the slime as his hands and feet broke the thin, film seal. He coughed for a moment and struggled to keep his grip on the slippery cement. He looked up and groaned at his stupidity. Grates lined the top of the tunnel. Any one of those could have lead to where Angelus was and this continuous trail could easily be a decoy. After some debate he headed back the way he came, clinging to the wall and trying to pick up the scent while ignoring the horrible smell that came up every time he moved.
He sniffed at each of the grates, hoping he wouldn't have to go all the way back. His jeans scraped at his legs irritatingly and his hands were caked in whatever covered the walls. He investigated grate after grate but could smell no signs of Angelus or Darla and he was getting reasonably angry and frustrated.
"I swear when I find Angelus I'm gonna-AHH!" Connor shouted as he crawled off the wall and landed in the sewage below. He shrieked and picked himself up. He was soaked in slime and mud. Looking up he saw that he was back at the three tunnels. His nails dug into his palms as he felt his pulse quicken. He threw back his head and screamed in frustration.
He kept screaming until he heard an eerie laughter behind him and he cursed himself for letting his guard down. He spun around and saw Angelus step into the moonlight streaming through the gutter.
"I gotta say, junior, you are horrible at hide and seek. I mean I didn't even know we were playing and I still found you first," Angelus said. Connor raised his left arm and fired a stake, but Angelus caught it and threw it into the street above. "You're gonna have to do better than that, kid," the vampire mocked.
"Oh yeah? How's this?" Connor asked and fired the crossbow. Angelus dodged.
"Ok you really need some discipline. Did that Holtz bastard teach you nothing?" Angelus sneered. Connor shouted and fired his other stake which Angelus spun away from. "You seriously think you can beat me that way? You really are pathetic."
Connor lifted his soaked pant leg and discovered the stake he had strapped to his calf had fallen off at some point. He growled in anger.
"Looking for this?" a soft female voice said from behind him. Connor didn't have to look to know who it was. He turned and faced Darla, holding his stake like a trophy. She began to walk towards him slowly, her feet sloshing in the muck. "You know you really shouldn't leave your toys out," she said, stopping inches away from the teen.
"Yeah, 'cause, you know, it could be dangerous," Angelus added, circling around to stand beside Darla. Connor snarled at his parents and made a grab for the stake, but was stopped by Angelus who caught his wrist and hurled him against the wall of the tunnel. Connor gagged as some of the slime entered his mouth.
"Ah, ah, ah, you can have this back when you've earned it," Darla said. Angelus returned to her side.
"Yeah, and shower up. You smell like shit," Angelus said, grinning. Connor spat and gagged before looking up.
"No worse than how you smell," the teen retorted. Angelus became angry and his face became its demonic mask. He rushed his son and nearly landed a punch, but Connor was catching on and dodged out of the way just in time so that Angelus's fist slammed into the wall and caused several cracks to form. Angelus pulled his hand back and cradled it with a hiss. He looked up at Connor. Connor rushed at him and slammed his father's head to the wall. There was a crack and the tunnel walls began to split dangerously and water began to leak through, soaking the battling two.
"Now you see what happens when you horse play? Look at what you've done," Darla scolded in a very motherly way. Angelus ran to her and scooped her up.
"I'll deal with you later," the younger vampire growled to Connor before racing down the left tunnel. Connor thought about following but decide that this search might be best left abandoned. He was soaked and cold and the others would kill him when they found out.
Connor spun around and took off back towards the Hyperion as the water level grew at an alarming rate. His jeans sagged on him so that he had to hold them up with one hand as he ran and his wet hair slapped his face. He heard the wall crack some more.
"Shit, shit, shit," was all he could think to say as small waves of water now lapped at his legs. He was no longer sprinting but wading as the water threatened to reach his waist. All Connor could think about was not getting lost and getting the fuck out of there before the wall broke completely.
There was suddenly a loud cracking sound followed by a rushing noise. Connor groaned and turned to see a wave of water crashing towards him. He spun back a round and waded several more steps quickly before diving under the water as the wave filled the tunnel nearly to the top.
Connor resurfaced for breath and vomited as some of the water entered his mouth and slid down his throat. He pulled himself into the Hyperion basement and pulled the grate over the hole.
"Shit," he whispered and stomped up the stairs, his clothes dripping on the floor. Wesley came down the stairs dressed in his pajamas. He stayed over sometimes even though he had his own apartment and now that Angelus was back he probably thought it would be a good idea for the group to stay together.
"What's going on? Connor, what on Earth happened to you?" the English man asked, seeing Connor, battle scuffed and dripping, standing in front of the basement door.
"Um…" was all Connor could manage before Cordy ran halfway down the stairs and stopped when she saw Connor and gave out a shriek that sent Gunn and Fred running in as well.
"What's going on?"
"What happened?"
"Is it Angelus?"
The group babbled like a flock of geese a child had just thrown a rock in the middle of. Connor looked at them nervously, not wanting to tell them what had just happened, but they would probably figure it out eventually anyway. Connor sighed to himself and took a deep breath.
"The sewers are flooding. I was fighting Angelus and…" he was cut off by Wesley.
"Angelus!? I thought I told you not to go looking for him until we had more knowledge on what was going on," the English man said sternly. Connor's eyes narrowed but he looked away.
"I was just trying to help," he growled quietly. Wesley looked at him and seemed to decide that this hadn't been entirely his fault.
"I understand and your intentions were good, but putting yourself at needless risk is not going to help anyone," Wesley said a little softer.
"Yeah, we need the whole team in one piece to handle this," Gunn added. Connor looked up.
"Ok," he said finally.
"Now, tell us what happened," Wesley said, taking a seat on the couch, followed by Gunn, Fred, and Cordy. Connor nodded.
"Well I was hoping to find where Darla and Angelus were staying, but I couldn't, the sewers were to confusing, but Angelus found me. Me and him started to fight and I ended up slamming his head thru the wall of a tunnel, on accident of course. Then he ran off with Darla and I came back here and now the sewers are flooded and I still have no idea where they are," the teen explained quickly and had to take a few deep breaths afterwards. He looked around at the blank faces of the adults staring at him.
"Well it was a noble effort and I'm afraid there's nothing we can do about the sewers. We'll just have to wait and see what happens. Until then, Connor I suggest you take a shower and change into some fresh clothes. And everyone else, let's go back to sleep. We will be needing our rest," Wesley said after a short, uncomfortable pause. The others just nodded dumbly and began to walk up the stairs to their rooms.
Connor watched them go before going up the stairs to his own room for a shower.
~*~
Connor walked out of the steaming bathroom with his towel wrapped around his waist. He walked towards his bed where he had lain out a fresh pair of pants since he didn't sleep in a shirt and didn't wear pajamas. He was surprised to see the calm form of Cordelia sitting leisurely on the edge of his bed.
"Um…Cordy?" Connor asked as if not sure he was seeing correctly. A cold breeze made him painfully aware of his current condition but he didn't move even as the goosebumps appeared on his body.
"You know they don't hate you," she said as though continuing an already begun conversation.
"What?" Connor asked, now sure it was Cordy but still confused. Why was Cordy in his room and why wasn't he moving?
"The others. They don't hate you. They're just cautious is all. Angel has been a friend to all of us for a long time. He saved Fred from Pylea and even though he's made mistakes, he's always been there for us," Cordy continued.
"I know," Connor said, thinking of how much Angel must mean to Fred and how much he meant to Cordy. But this wasn't Angel. This was Angelus, though Connor didn't really care for either.
"I just wanted to let you know. They really do care about you, Connor. Why else would Wesley freak out that you left on your own?" Cordy pointed out. Connor thought for a moment and decided Cordy was probably right. If any of them, besides Cordelia, cared about his well-being at all it would be Wesley. After all, he had tried to save him when Connor was a baby.
"You're right, Cordy, thanks," he said with a small grin. Cordy grinned back and stood up.
"Good night, Connor," she said and started to walk past him towards the door. Connor gently took her wrist and stopped her.
"Um, Cordy? I was wondering…well you don't have to but…would you stay with me tonight?" Connor asked, blushing slightly. Cordy smiled and kissed his cheek.
"Of course, but one condition," she said.
"What?"
"Put your pants on first." She grinned. Connor smiled and kissed her back.
"You got it."
To be continued…
Aw how sweet. Anyways, I hope you guys liked this chapter I did my best to make it longer so please review so I will be motivated to write more. How am I supposed to tell if you guys like or hate the story if you don't tell me? Ok well byez.
