Disclaimer: Nope, don't own 'em and most likely never will. Besides, if I did, there wouldn't be fan fic because everything would be absolutely perfect.
Summary: Conner, after beating Angel to a pulp, but not killing him yet, is going to pull an Angelus...so to speak. He is going to inflict the worse kind of torture on Angel...he will kill his beloved.
Rating: PG-13 for future graphic description, but if you watch the show you can read this, unless otherwise noted.
Spoilers: Ats 1/2/3 and Buffy end of season 5 and all of season 6.
Timeline: Between 'Angel' "The Price and A New World" and 'Buffy' "Entropy and Seeing Red"
Genre: Romance after a few chapters. First though the setting and problem has to be set. Then the angst and occurs and hopefully the B/Aness occurs.
A/N: Be patient with the B/A stuff. Give me a couple of chapters. Also, I update quickly if the ideas keep flowing and as of now, my teachers are complaining I'm 'drifting off in class'. So stay tuned for fun chapters especially over the weekend.
A/N: Also, as always ** stands for italics and stands for someone's thoughts.
A/N: NOTE: I double-checked and fund out that I was spelling Connor's name wrong. Previously I spelled it C-O-N-N-E-R and it is supposed to be spelled C-O-N-N-O-R, so I changed it.
Feedback: If you want, it lets me know that it's being read. I'd like it but no seriously cruel flames please. I don't like that...Duh!
Enjoy!
"Alright Cordelia, I'm sitting now answer my question!" Angel was in the middle of a mired of emotions. Confusion, apprehension, horror, and down right fury over the fact that Cordelia wouldn't answer any of his questions.
"Okay. You remember when Conner said he was gonna take from you what Angelus took from Holtz? Well you see he tried and before you get in a huff he failed. Now…" Cordelia's mouth was working on overdrive and she was finally stopped when Angel grew unable to wait any longer.
"Cordelia, damn it, WHO did Conner try to hurt and WHO is bringing my son back to me?!
"BUFFY! Okay? Your SON just tried to murder your beloved BUFFY! Happy now? Ya know I tried to make it an easy blow, tried to be the comforting friend and helpful companion…but NO! You had to do what you do best and act like a crazed fool whenever your mind can't stand whatever many number of thoughts that fill your head with the WRONG ideas!" Cordelia was pissed! I knew this was gonna happen, *She* enters the picture and all hell breaks lose. He loses his mind, goes all mopy wopy or becomes MR. CRANKY and goes on a 'who can I piss off today' spree.
Angel didn't speak to anyone after that. He just stood up, and wordlessly climbed the steps to his room and shut the door behind him.
Six Weeks before Connor's Abduction
"Ms. Frost" Wesley greeted as he entered the office. "I trust that everything was taken care of to your liking?" At her nod Wesley continued on, "I'm glad. Now, if you'll just sign here our business together will be completed." As Ms. Frost signed the papers that ended her contract with Angel Investigations Wesley kept going on about specific details of the case and how they were eventually resolved. Ms. Frost looked up from her papers, giving Wesley a smile as he excused himself and whispered to Cordelia to go into the office while their client finished signing the papers. Now's my chance, thought a deluded Ms. Frost.
"It was very nice working with you Ms. Frost." Cordelia was getting very good at her employee-client relationship lingo and chitchat. But while Cordelia always seemed to have the presence of mind to handle any kind of conversation, she had no idea that anything like what Ms. Frost said next was going to come her way.
"So? That Angel? He's cute."
Cordelia also learned that the customer or client in this case is usually always right, except of course in a business like theirs where clients who were naïve and stupid could easily be killed, then, the client wasn't right. So, going on with her pre-programmed responses Cordelia's answer was "Oh, yes of course." Then she thought about what Ms. Frost had just said and quickly backtracked. "What? Huh? Angel?"
"Oh, come on! He's gorgeous and you know it! So? Is he single? Probably not, with a body like that…he's probably got women drooling all over him."
"Ha! Yeah, women…Angel! That's a laugh! God knows what he'd do to himself if he betrayed his resurrected goddess!"
Now, Ms. Frost was beyond confused, "Resurrected Goddess?"
Cordelia was completely oblivious to the fact that she was revealing the personal details of her ensouled vampire best friend to a practical stranger. "Oh, Buffy!"
"Buffy?"
"Buffy "It's All About Me" Summers. Slayer to the stars, master of heartache disaster and keeper of Sunnydale home of the troublesome Hellmouth. And indecently the love of Angel's un-life."
"Sounds serious. So where is this Buffy chick?" I am going to be honored for this. What a stupid little girl.
"Past tense. Over and done with even though it never will be. They broke up like eight kagillion times and now they spend their lives apart getting all mopy and sappy, playing out that whole tortured love scenario and making everyone want to heave."
"Listen, Cordelia, I know I'm new to the world of demons and supernatural phenomenon but didn't you say 'resurrected'?"
"Yup! Sure did! See, that's another darling side of our precious Buff. She died once and CPR revived her and then she died a second time like oh I don't know, maybe a little less than a year ago and anyway her Wicca pals and rag doll friends did some dark mojo and brought her back from the dead…again! Anyway so we're so beyond stuck with her…it's like she's never leaving and at one point I thought that was great because nobody around here wanted to see that shell of a boss like that again."
"Shell of a boss? I'm not following."
"Oh, he went into mega depression when she died" and after a quick second thought added, "the second time. Went off to some monastery and got all broody and meditaty on us and was there for months and tried to get over the fact that his quote unquote soul mate bit the big one. It nearly destroyed him. But as you can see, now that he knows she's alive and kicking still down in ol' Sunnyhell he's all better. So to speak. Anyway, that's the dish on Angel."
"Wow! I think I'll stick with a less full past kind of a guy, but thanks." Ms. Frost stood up to shake hands with Cordelia and continued on with pleasantries, "It was nice working with you and thank you again…all of you." With that, the young woman got her things together and exited the door to the Hyperion hotel.
On her way down the street the inquisitive woman pulled out her cell phone and dialed the first number on her speed dial. A voice on the other end picked up and she changed to a deeper tone of voice and said, "It's me. I've got something for him, put him on." You could hear the person who answered the phone talking to someone who quickly got on the phone, "Yes?" The woman spoke again, "Mr. Hotlz, I did what you asked of me, I know another weakness." And the woman who the crew at AI came to know as Ms. Frost reiterated everything she had just been told by a loose-lipped Cordelia and Holtz's response was, "Excellent…I have a plan."
Dizzy. So Dizzy. Where is the light going? I can't see. It's all fading. Is that Willow? "BUFFY! BUFFY WAKE UP!"
I'm trying Will, but I can't. I'm sorry.
OUCH! Pain! Such pain. Sharp pain to my head. Black…darkness. And Buffy passed out as Willow veered off the road screaming for the Slayer to wake up. But the poison had started to take it's effect on the Chosen One and Willow was helpless as her friend slumped all the way to the floor of the car and the back hatch of her mom's old jeep was popped open as a quick Connor sped away.
Willow jumped out of the driver's side and watched, as Connor quickly became a dot in the distance as he took to the streets of LA. The ex-Wicca then turned around and ran to Buffy and shook her as hard as she could and screamed her name at the top of her lungs but to no avail, Buffy wasn't coming around any time soon. So, Willow got back into the drivers seat and took off driving the six blocks to the Hyperion hotel and Angel Investigations.
The red head barely parked before she was out of the car and raced around to the back and opened up the hatch. She grabbed at Buffy's arm but wasn't strong enough to get her into the building without dragging her and in the process hurting her best friend. So, Willow burst through the doors of the hotel and saw a man whom she didn't recognize passed out on the floor of the far corner of the lobby. She looked around and saw a now blonde Cordelia also passed out on the floor but closer to Willow. She ran over to her and gently rolled her over.
"Cordelia wake up! Cordy! Cordelia!" Each time Willow said the woman's name her tone grew harsher and more frustrated until finally the seer started to come around. When Cordelia looked up at Willow she didn't recognize her for a second and then it all came back. "Willow?"
"Yeah, it's me. Are you alright?" Cordelia nodded and then Willow looked pointedly over at the man unconscious at the fall wall. Cordelia looked over to where Willow was staring and a look of panic overtook the ex-queen of Sunnydale's features as she rushed over to her boyfriend and like Willow shouted his name until he too came around.
"Princess, are you alright?" Groo was worried about Cordelia, as she was worried about him. They embraced and separated at Willow's "I hate to break this up, but we've got an unconscious Slayer and a runaway kid."
"What! You lost Connor?!" Cordelia shrieked at he top of her lungs.
"I didn't lose him Cordelia! It's a long story but before I can tell it I need you to help me get her out of the car and in here!"
Cordelia got up off the floor with Groo in tow and she turned to him and said, "Honey this is Willow," and then turned to Willow and said, "Willow, this is Groo."
"Formal introductions later Princess, we must go save someone!" With that statement Cordelia and Willow watched Groo's marching form as he traveled to the jeep parked outside the hotel with the girls following closely behind.
Willow was getting protective, "Be careful with her!" Groo looked curiously at her as if saying with a look 'I would never drop a damsel in distress'. Then they got Buffy inside and laid her down on the couch. Cordelia got icepacks for herself and Groo and Willow was about to explain when Gunn and Fred walked in. They took one look at the scene in front of them and then Gunn said, "What'd we miss?"
"So, she didn't say she got hurt in the fight with Connor?" Gunn really wanted to be scouring the streets of LA for the lost boy so Angel wouldn't lose it again when he found out that he no longer had the whereabouts of his son. But with Angel gone, Lorne looking for the lady who could do the mojo to close the Quortoth portal and Cordelia and Groo out of commission with massive lumps on the noggins, he was the one in charge right now and needed in case something else could possibly go wrong.
"No, no she said it was too easy…almost planned. She said she wasn't…wait, she said something about her back being sore. Yeah, she said it was itchy and stiff and she had a shooting pain there but couldn't remember why!" Willow was talking very fast because she was very upset. "In the car, I remember she said 'My back' and then passed out!'
"Just like that? Out of the blue, 'My back' and then passed out?" Fred chimed in helpfully and curiously. This didn't sound that abnormal but then again…with this group anything was possible.
"Vadere venenum" Willow whispered the words very softly as if not knowing she was thinking out loud.
"What did you say?" Gunn wasn't sure because he didn't like to hang around for any kind of magic that happened around here but that sure as hell sounded like something 'spell-like'.
"Vadere venenum. It sounded like a spell. It's Latin…I think. It means basically poison activate." Willow's tone was filled with confusion and if you listened closely there was a hint of fear on her friend's part. Buffy and spells don't mix.
"POISON!" Cordelia who had been listening but not commenting Gunn has it under control and my head really hurts. She decided that now would be a good time to speak up. Cordelia suddenly had an idea. She stood up and walked over to an unconscious Buffy.
"What are you doing?" Willow asked worriedly.
"I'm checking her for knife wounds. Connor had this knife that released a poison, if she got cut…" she didn't bother to finish her sentence and just continued her way over to the couch where Buffy was lying, just barely breathing. When she got there, she crouched down into a squatting position and rolled the Slayer so she was on her back. She used one hand to keep her there while she used the other one to lift up her shirt a little so her back was partially visible. Sure enough when Cordelia did, she heard a gasp from Willow and an "Oh god" from Fred.
Along Buffy's back was a foot long cut that traveled across her back. It wasn't bloody now, but was filled with a clear liquid and the surrounding area of the cut was bright red. It was infected and Buffy's body was definitely not taking well to the poison because when Cordelia pulled her hands away and laid Buffy back down on the couch on her back, she moved them to take her pulse. Cordelia's face was wearing a sad expression as she informed them that it was weak but…it was still there.
"How do we cure her?" Willow asked panicky and trying not to let the tears that were welling up in her eyes escape.
"We need to find Connor and get that knife, the antidote is in the knife itself. We find the knife we find the cure." Gunn informed the shaking red head. "And we will find the knife!" Cordelia added reassuringly, "Because we will find Connor."
"I'm going to call Tara, maybe she can come up with something. Can I use your phone?" She asked the question looking at Cordelia and she nodded toward the office. Willow walked over to the office, shut the door, and dialed the number and listened to the phone on the other side, ring.
