[Disclaimer] I dont own Buffy or Angel. And if I did, would you believe me?
[A/N] Sorry if Holtz is a bit OoC, but I wasnt quite sure how to portray him... oh well.... I want to thank all of those who have been sending me positive feedback! Im addicted to the stuff, and your comments are what makes me want to write! Thanks guys! You know who you are! And also, nobody is *forcing* you to read this. So if you don't like it, dont read it, and don't review it.
Angel watched Gunn sit on the floor, playing Dawn in a tough match of Mario Kart. He found it hard not to laugh at his jerky body movement, as if mabe he jumped up and down in place, the cart would move faster. His eyes traveled to Wesley, sitting at the dinner table with Giles, discussing the battle that would begin any day. Buffy and Willow were in the kitchen with Fred and Tara, cleaning the mess frm dinner. He paid close attention to the door, waiting for Cordy to come back inside. Maybe she had seen something else in another vision that would help them. Together, they decided they wouldn't tell anybody about the vision, as it didn't really help anything and there was no need to worry everyone. As is on cue, the front door opened, and Cordelia walked in. He noticed Connor wasn't with her. "Wheres the baby?" He asked.
"He's with Dawn." Cordelia stated before sitting down on the couch. "She needed some cheering up. Having a bad day I guess."
Angel nodded, then lowered his voice, "Anything new?" He asked.
Cordelia shook her head no. "Im beginning to think maybe I just imagined things. Why would the powers send such a cryptic message at such an important time? It doesnt make sense."
"Maybe-" Angel was interrupted by a scream outside. He jumped up and ran to the front door, with Cordelia, and Buffy hot on his heels. As he stepped outside, his unbeating heart sunk. Dawn was gone. And so was Connor.
*****
Inside the house, Fred paced the floor. It had been an hour and a half since Wes, Gunn, Cordy, Angel, and Buffy had left looking for Dawn and Connor. No word from them yet. How would anyone know that Connor was in Sunnydale? Why did they take Dawn? Fred looked up as the front door opened and the gang came trudging in. Had they found them? By the depressed and angry looks on their faces, she knew the answer. Angel threw his sword to the ground angrily.
"We have to think here." Wesley said, "Maybe-"
"No think." Angel interrupted. "We need to find them." He shot Wes a pained looked. "I have to find him."
Buffy sat on the loveseat, head in hands. "Why cant we be normal?" She said, "Why cant I give Dawn a normal life! She shouldnt have to live through this..." She stood, "Im going back outside. Maybe something came up."
"You shouldn't go alone." Angel said, "I want to find them too but-"
"You dont know what its like, Angel! Thats my sister out there."
"And thats my son!" The words left his mouth before he could stop them. The room was silent for a few moments while Buffy processed this new information.
"Your son." She said, "You lied to me. More than once. You left me because you couldn't give me a normal life." He voice began to crack. "You told me we couldn't have kids. Couldn't be normal. But you just wanted to get out, didnt you? Get away and have a child with her. Queen C." Buffy gestured to the brunette standing next to the vampire.
"No, Buffy. Not Cordelia..." He took a breath. "Darla."
*****
Buffy gazed into nothingness as she tried to think. Darla. He had a child with an evil vampire bitch. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Cordelia trying to comfort Angel. She saw her touch his arm and hug him. And in a sudden rush of rage, she hated them both. They lied to her. Angel left her, for Darla. And now Cordelia. And she should have known Cordelia couldn't change. She was still Queen C, lying and decieving. Buffy stood up and looked at them both. "Im going to find my sister, with or without you."
*****
"Dont listen to her, Angel." Cordelia said as she softly touched Angel's arm. "Shes just upset." She got no response. "Angel, dont worry about-"
"Im not worried about her." He said as he looked at Cordy. "I dont care at all right now. I just need to find him, Cordy. I need..." Angel stopped talking. He knew if he spoke again, his voice would crack.
Cordy stood on her toes as she hugged Angel. "We'll find him." She whispered.
"Im going to find my sister, with or without you." Buffy said.
Cordelia and Angel turned to look at her. Cordelia opened her mouth to speak, but no words came out. Images danced in her head, blurs and colors. "Angel." She said, "Its a vision. Dawn is with Connor. At Sunnydale high. Theres a woman there. And Holtz. Holtz has Connor."
"Holtz." Angel repeated the name once before grabbing is sword and running out of ths house.
*****
"What the hell is going on here?" Buffy demanded as she and Cordelia walked down the street. They couldnt see Angel, but they knew where he was going.
"Holtz is a vampire hunter." Cordy explained, "Back in the day, Angel killed his family. Now he's back, and hes pissed." Buffy said nothing in return. "Buffy?"
Buffy didn't look at her. "You lied to me." She said finally.
"Yeah. I needed to. It was for Connor's safety-"
Buffy stopped walking and faced her. "You did it because you could. Why are you even here? This is about my sister and his son."
Cordelia was hurt. This was a side of Buffy she hadn't seen before. "Just because I didnt give birth to him doesnt mean I dont love him!"
"You dont know what thats like."
Before she could stop herself, Cordelia punched Buffy. Not a Queen C slap either. A strong right hook, like Angel had taught her. "Listen, CryBuffy." She spat angrily, "Youre feeling a bit dejected and I understand that. But dont you EVER question my love for that child."
Buffy held her face in disbelief. She shot Cordelia a mean glare before continuing towards the high school.
*****
"Who are you?" Dawn asked the tall, dark man.
"Im a friend of Angelus." Holtz said.
Dawn looked nervously around the charred library. "Angelus is dead." She said, "Hes gone. Angel is here now and hes good. So let me go now, before he comes here and finds you. Please, if you let me go now, I wont tell him or my sister."
Justine slapped the girl across the face. "Shut up." She hissed, "I dont feel like listening to your whining."
"You two did a good job." Sahjhan said from the shadows. "Im not needed here anymore." He slipped into the darkness and was gone, leaving Justine and Holtz alone with the frightened girl.
"What do you want?" Dawn asked softly.
"I want Angel." Holtz replied simply. "And you're going to help me achieve this. Because once your sister finds out I have you, she'll come. And once Angel finds out I have your sister, he'll come. I already have his son."
"Then youre really dense. You have the wrong kid. Vampires cant have children. Thats Cordy's baby."
"Youre right, vampires cant have children. Which makes this child all the more valuable."
"Do I finally get to meet this infamous Angelus?" Justine asked.
"Yes, hes just dying to meet you." All eyes turned to the sound of Angels voice. He looked pissed. He swung his sword fiercely and the sound of the blade cutting air could be heard. "You made a mistake, coming back to haunt me. You made a bigger mistake taking Dawn. And now you have made the biggest mistake possible by putting your hands on my son." Before another word could be spoken, Justine attacked him with a sword of her own. Every one of Angel's advances were defended or matched with one of her own.
With a slip of his foot, Angel lost his balance, and Justine impaled him with her sword. She grabbed a stake out of her jacket and was about to press it to his heart when a kick to her wrist knocked it away. Angel and Justine looked up and saw Buffy, extremely angered.
"So youre the idiots who went after my sister." She said as she kicked Justine again, square in the rib cage.
"Well, Im Buffy, and you two are dead." Justine jumped to her feet and a battle ensued.
As Angel staggered to his feet, Cordelia appeared before him. "Don't move." She said.
"What?" Angel asked, and Cordelia's hand shot forward, grabbed the sword and yanked it out in one swift motion. "Cordy." He said, but she ignored him. She didn't even bother to clean the blade before taking the sword and going after Holtz.