"Who was that?" asked Cordelia looking around. "It sounded like-"
"Regan," finished Angel.
The two ran up a flight of stairs and ran toward the room that Angel had let Regan use. When they reached the room, Regan was standing in the hallway, closing the door behind her.
"What happened?" Angel asked, sounding as worried as he looked. "Are you okay?"
"Yeah, I'm fine," Regan answered after taking a deep breath. "I'm not so sure about the room, though."
"Why? What happened?" asked Cordelia, beginning to feel frustrated at the elusive way the girl answered questions.
"Oh, nothing, really. A couple of Meenies snuck into my room and it caught me off-guard. That's why I screamed."
"They're in there now?" asked Cordelia, suddenly wishing she a weapon of some sort, preferably anything with a blade.
"Uh, yeah, but they're not exactly whole."
"You killed them? Alone?" Angel asked. Then, responding to Regan's nod, he asked, "How do you kill them when it's just you there? It took the group of us to kill only a few of them. How are you alone managing to kill these things?"
Regan looked down at her hands briefly before answering, "It's easy to kill something when you don't have anything to lose by dying yourself."
There was a pause when neither Angel nor Cordelia knew what to say. Regan certainly couldn't have added anything to her answer, so she, too, remained quiet. Regan began to walk away, but Cordelia stopped her. "What did you mean by that?" she asked Regan.
"Exactly what I said. I lost everything even before I left Quor-Toth. Death now just doesn't seem that bad anymore."
Cordelia could see the tears forming in Regan's eyes before the girl turned and walked away.
Cordelia looked at Angel. "I think maybe I should go talk to her."
"So now she's all nice. When did you decide she was trustworthy?"
"When I saw how much she's hurting."
~~~
Still feeling angry because of Regan's visit, Connor decided to work off some of the energy by hunting. His usual alleys produced an unusually small amount of vampires, so he began to walk wherever his feet took him, killing whatever was stupid enough to get in his way.
While Connor walked, Regan penetrated his mind, and he found that the only way to make it go away was to stab something. Finally, after over an hour of uninvited thoughts, Connor decided to think about Regan and get it out of his system. The sooner this was over, the sooner Connor could resume chasing after Cordelia, not that it had ever done hi many good before.
Cordelia knew how Connor felt. He didn't hesitate to tell her. . . and even if he had, he had to admit that it was obvious anyway. But the way Cordelia played with his mind made him angry. One minute she would be flirting with him, kissing him. . . sleeping with him, and the next minute she would be pushing him away, telling him that what she felt for him was certainly not the same as he felt for her. She constantly confused him.
Not like Regan. Connor always knew where he stood with her. She never lied to him, never led him to believe she cared only to throw ice on him. She was always honest and told him everything. . . Except when she became associated with the Greerimeen demons. Or. . . especially when she became associated with the Greerimeen demons.
Now that Connor thought about it, he realized that Regan hadn't even tried to pretend nothing happened, not like she could for long anyway. But she had still come to him and told him when she became pregnant. The same day, actually. Connor still remembered when he's first seen Regan that day. Her hair had been wild and out of place, and her eyes had been red and puffy, telling Connor immediately that she'd been crying, and her usually pale cheeks had been flushed, her right cheek donning a fresh bruise. He had seen her and run to her and wrapped his arms around her. She clung to him only for a moment but tightly. After stepping back from him, she'd looked into his eyes and Connor knew right then that things had changed. He just didn't realize things would be changed so drastically in what was definitely the wrong direction.
It was then that Connor realized that what Regan had said was true. He didn't give her the chance to explain. He'd just turned his back and left. But then Connor remembered why he didn't need an explanation: Greerimeen demons impregnate anyone without her consent.
And so it stayed. Regan betrayed him. There was nothing else to think about.
~~~
Regan left the hotel holding back tears. It was bad enough that Cordelia had seen her almost cry. She wouldn't let anyone else see it too.
Not really sure where she was going, Regan just walked. She wrapped her arms around herself, wishing she had though to bring a jacket with her before storming out of the hotel. "That's what I get for all that careful planning," she muttered to herself before she bumped into someone.
"Oh, I'm sorry," she said. "I wasn't watching where. . ." Regan's voice trailed off when she looked up.
"I thought I told you to stay away from me," Connor said, vicious anger clear in his voice.
"Connor, I wasn't looking for you. I was just going for a walk."
"So you just happened to be walking around where I-" Connor's voice trailed off as he looked around. "Where am I?"
"That's what I'm talking about," said Regan, sounding quite exasperated.
"What?"
"You! You jump to conclusions all the time. You hear or see something and you assume the world is against you."
"Because one time I thought you were coming after me, after a whole series of you attacking me and showing up out of nowhere? That's really-"
"It's not just now, Connor," she said quietly, but firmly. "You do it all the time. Even in Quo-"
"Don't even mention that. Not now, not ever again." Connor made to turn around and walk away, but Regan still had something to say.
"Connor, you ass! It's always about you; what you need, what you want. You weren't there when I needed you!"
"That was your choice!" he shouted, not caring who on the streets heard him.
"I didn't have a choice!" Regan shouted, even louder than Connor had, before saying more calmly, "There wasn't a choice."
"There's always a choice."
Connor turned and walked away from Regan, leaving her alone for the second time.
~~~
Cordelia had followed Regan, but when she got to the hotel lobby there was no sign of her. Cordelia searched the grounds around the hotel and then the hallways and various empty rooms. Still she could not find Regan. After half an hour and still no Regan, Cordelia bumped into Angel.
"How'd your talk with Regan go?" He asked Cordelia.
"I didn't have one," replied Cordelia somewhat dryly. "She's gone."
"What do you mean she's gone?"
"I mean she's gone! Not here! She left."
"Regan left?" came Fred's voice. Fred had walked into the room at the wrong time and her expression clearly showed worry. "Do you think those got her?"
"No, they didn't get her," Regan said after walking completely through the back doors. "She just felt like going for a walk."
"Regan," said Angel sounding relieved, but also slightly frustrated, "you should tell us when you leave. How are we supposed to protect you when we don't know where you are?"
Regan responded, "I don't need your protection," as she walked farther into the hotel. "I need your help. There's a difference."
"I don't understand," Fred said slowly. "I thought that's what you needed our help with, protecting you."
"Well, it's not. I can protect myself from what's coming, but I need your help killing it."
"How does that work?" asked Cordelia. "I mean, if you can't kill this thing on your own, how can you protect yourself from it? That doesn't make a whole lot of sense."
"That," began Regan, "is a very detailed and complicated story. One that involves the bundle of evil joy that's coming trusting me completely."
"And just why exactly does he trust you?" Angel asked slowly, eyeing Regan suspiciously.
"Well, the answer to that is so easy and simple and yet. . . not so simple all at the same time." Regan was definitely beginning to feel nervous and she wasn't doing anything to hide it.
"How?"
"Oh, well. . . how?. . .um. . .well, I kind of. . . work for him. . .But in a completely double agent sort of way," Regan added hastily when expressions and actions of outrage suddenly exploded in everyone in the room.
"I think now would be a good time to fill us in on who you really are," Angel said, very coldly, his expression showing nothing in the way of compassion.
"The demon that's coming. . .everyone knows him as Tobey. Connor. . .he knows I work for Tobey. But like I said, I really was only pretending to work for him. It was more that I'd pretend to be working for him, but really I was gathering information for the good guys. That's how I met Connor. He was beating up the bad guys while I was pretending to work for them."
"How did you get away from him?" asked Fred. "It doesn't make sense that he would let you chase after the good guy, trying to get together with him, while he thinks you're the bad guy."
"Tobey hates the Greerimeens. When I told him they were after me, he let me run. . .on one condition: that I would lead him here, to this dimension. So he's on his way. I'm not sure when he'll be here. He didn't tell me. But it'll be soon, and that's why I need your help. I'm going to lead him here to you when he comes, and then we'll all attack him, hopefully surprising him enough to give us the advantage."
"How do we know you aren't double crossing us? You could be here to gain our trust so that when this Tobey thing comes with an army, you'll know everything about us and we wont stand a chance."
Regan looked at Angel, desperation clear on her face. "You don't know what he's like. He'll kill his most loyal worker if he thinks that person is even considering helping one of his enemies across a path. Do you really think I'd put myself in a position like that if I didn't think I could actually do some good?"
Cordelia began to doubt Regan, but only for a moment. She was fairly certain Regan told the truth. It was then that she knew she had to talk to Regan alone. But given the circumstances, Cordelia wasn't sure when that would happen. All she knew was that it had to be soon.
"Regan," finished Angel.
The two ran up a flight of stairs and ran toward the room that Angel had let Regan use. When they reached the room, Regan was standing in the hallway, closing the door behind her.
"What happened?" Angel asked, sounding as worried as he looked. "Are you okay?"
"Yeah, I'm fine," Regan answered after taking a deep breath. "I'm not so sure about the room, though."
"Why? What happened?" asked Cordelia, beginning to feel frustrated at the elusive way the girl answered questions.
"Oh, nothing, really. A couple of Meenies snuck into my room and it caught me off-guard. That's why I screamed."
"They're in there now?" asked Cordelia, suddenly wishing she a weapon of some sort, preferably anything with a blade.
"Uh, yeah, but they're not exactly whole."
"You killed them? Alone?" Angel asked. Then, responding to Regan's nod, he asked, "How do you kill them when it's just you there? It took the group of us to kill only a few of them. How are you alone managing to kill these things?"
Regan looked down at her hands briefly before answering, "It's easy to kill something when you don't have anything to lose by dying yourself."
There was a pause when neither Angel nor Cordelia knew what to say. Regan certainly couldn't have added anything to her answer, so she, too, remained quiet. Regan began to walk away, but Cordelia stopped her. "What did you mean by that?" she asked Regan.
"Exactly what I said. I lost everything even before I left Quor-Toth. Death now just doesn't seem that bad anymore."
Cordelia could see the tears forming in Regan's eyes before the girl turned and walked away.
Cordelia looked at Angel. "I think maybe I should go talk to her."
"So now she's all nice. When did you decide she was trustworthy?"
"When I saw how much she's hurting."
~~~
Still feeling angry because of Regan's visit, Connor decided to work off some of the energy by hunting. His usual alleys produced an unusually small amount of vampires, so he began to walk wherever his feet took him, killing whatever was stupid enough to get in his way.
While Connor walked, Regan penetrated his mind, and he found that the only way to make it go away was to stab something. Finally, after over an hour of uninvited thoughts, Connor decided to think about Regan and get it out of his system. The sooner this was over, the sooner Connor could resume chasing after Cordelia, not that it had ever done hi many good before.
Cordelia knew how Connor felt. He didn't hesitate to tell her. . . and even if he had, he had to admit that it was obvious anyway. But the way Cordelia played with his mind made him angry. One minute she would be flirting with him, kissing him. . . sleeping with him, and the next minute she would be pushing him away, telling him that what she felt for him was certainly not the same as he felt for her. She constantly confused him.
Not like Regan. Connor always knew where he stood with her. She never lied to him, never led him to believe she cared only to throw ice on him. She was always honest and told him everything. . . Except when she became associated with the Greerimeen demons. Or. . . especially when she became associated with the Greerimeen demons.
Now that Connor thought about it, he realized that Regan hadn't even tried to pretend nothing happened, not like she could for long anyway. But she had still come to him and told him when she became pregnant. The same day, actually. Connor still remembered when he's first seen Regan that day. Her hair had been wild and out of place, and her eyes had been red and puffy, telling Connor immediately that she'd been crying, and her usually pale cheeks had been flushed, her right cheek donning a fresh bruise. He had seen her and run to her and wrapped his arms around her. She clung to him only for a moment but tightly. After stepping back from him, she'd looked into his eyes and Connor knew right then that things had changed. He just didn't realize things would be changed so drastically in what was definitely the wrong direction.
It was then that Connor realized that what Regan had said was true. He didn't give her the chance to explain. He'd just turned his back and left. But then Connor remembered why he didn't need an explanation: Greerimeen demons impregnate anyone without her consent.
And so it stayed. Regan betrayed him. There was nothing else to think about.
~~~
Regan left the hotel holding back tears. It was bad enough that Cordelia had seen her almost cry. She wouldn't let anyone else see it too.
Not really sure where she was going, Regan just walked. She wrapped her arms around herself, wishing she had though to bring a jacket with her before storming out of the hotel. "That's what I get for all that careful planning," she muttered to herself before she bumped into someone.
"Oh, I'm sorry," she said. "I wasn't watching where. . ." Regan's voice trailed off when she looked up.
"I thought I told you to stay away from me," Connor said, vicious anger clear in his voice.
"Connor, I wasn't looking for you. I was just going for a walk."
"So you just happened to be walking around where I-" Connor's voice trailed off as he looked around. "Where am I?"
"That's what I'm talking about," said Regan, sounding quite exasperated.
"What?"
"You! You jump to conclusions all the time. You hear or see something and you assume the world is against you."
"Because one time I thought you were coming after me, after a whole series of you attacking me and showing up out of nowhere? That's really-"
"It's not just now, Connor," she said quietly, but firmly. "You do it all the time. Even in Quo-"
"Don't even mention that. Not now, not ever again." Connor made to turn around and walk away, but Regan still had something to say.
"Connor, you ass! It's always about you; what you need, what you want. You weren't there when I needed you!"
"That was your choice!" he shouted, not caring who on the streets heard him.
"I didn't have a choice!" Regan shouted, even louder than Connor had, before saying more calmly, "There wasn't a choice."
"There's always a choice."
Connor turned and walked away from Regan, leaving her alone for the second time.
~~~
Cordelia had followed Regan, but when she got to the hotel lobby there was no sign of her. Cordelia searched the grounds around the hotel and then the hallways and various empty rooms. Still she could not find Regan. After half an hour and still no Regan, Cordelia bumped into Angel.
"How'd your talk with Regan go?" He asked Cordelia.
"I didn't have one," replied Cordelia somewhat dryly. "She's gone."
"What do you mean she's gone?"
"I mean she's gone! Not here! She left."
"Regan left?" came Fred's voice. Fred had walked into the room at the wrong time and her expression clearly showed worry. "Do you think those got her?"
"No, they didn't get her," Regan said after walking completely through the back doors. "She just felt like going for a walk."
"Regan," said Angel sounding relieved, but also slightly frustrated, "you should tell us when you leave. How are we supposed to protect you when we don't know where you are?"
Regan responded, "I don't need your protection," as she walked farther into the hotel. "I need your help. There's a difference."
"I don't understand," Fred said slowly. "I thought that's what you needed our help with, protecting you."
"Well, it's not. I can protect myself from what's coming, but I need your help killing it."
"How does that work?" asked Cordelia. "I mean, if you can't kill this thing on your own, how can you protect yourself from it? That doesn't make a whole lot of sense."
"That," began Regan, "is a very detailed and complicated story. One that involves the bundle of evil joy that's coming trusting me completely."
"And just why exactly does he trust you?" Angel asked slowly, eyeing Regan suspiciously.
"Well, the answer to that is so easy and simple and yet. . . not so simple all at the same time." Regan was definitely beginning to feel nervous and she wasn't doing anything to hide it.
"How?"
"Oh, well. . . how?. . .um. . .well, I kind of. . . work for him. . .But in a completely double agent sort of way," Regan added hastily when expressions and actions of outrage suddenly exploded in everyone in the room.
"I think now would be a good time to fill us in on who you really are," Angel said, very coldly, his expression showing nothing in the way of compassion.
"The demon that's coming. . .everyone knows him as Tobey. Connor. . .he knows I work for Tobey. But like I said, I really was only pretending to work for him. It was more that I'd pretend to be working for him, but really I was gathering information for the good guys. That's how I met Connor. He was beating up the bad guys while I was pretending to work for them."
"How did you get away from him?" asked Fred. "It doesn't make sense that he would let you chase after the good guy, trying to get together with him, while he thinks you're the bad guy."
"Tobey hates the Greerimeens. When I told him they were after me, he let me run. . .on one condition: that I would lead him here, to this dimension. So he's on his way. I'm not sure when he'll be here. He didn't tell me. But it'll be soon, and that's why I need your help. I'm going to lead him here to you when he comes, and then we'll all attack him, hopefully surprising him enough to give us the advantage."
"How do we know you aren't double crossing us? You could be here to gain our trust so that when this Tobey thing comes with an army, you'll know everything about us and we wont stand a chance."
Regan looked at Angel, desperation clear on her face. "You don't know what he's like. He'll kill his most loyal worker if he thinks that person is even considering helping one of his enemies across a path. Do you really think I'd put myself in a position like that if I didn't think I could actually do some good?"
Cordelia began to doubt Regan, but only for a moment. She was fairly certain Regan told the truth. It was then that she knew she had to talk to Regan alone. But given the circumstances, Cordelia wasn't sure when that would happen. All she knew was that it had to be soon.