CHAPTER FOUR

Connor heard Lilah nearing Wesley's bedroom door, her phone conversation concluded, and sank deeper into the couch pillows. He felt a bit guilty. Usually he left the apartment when Lilah came over and went out to hunt. But the last few times he had refused to do so. The first time it had been one of those rare southern California rain showers and he didn't feel like getting soaked to the bone. That night, when Wesley was distracted by whatever it was he had been doing in the kitchen, Lilah had called Connor creepy and weird along with some choice comments about his looks. Most of those had sailed past Connor since his whole experience with human women encompassed Cordelia, Fred and Justine. He didn't know that most women didn't go for the pale skinny guys and probably wouldn't have cared if he had.

What he did care about was that he knew Lilah was being condescending and mean to him. He figured he didn't have to put up with that. He hadn't like Lilah even before that. He didn't see why Wesley tolerated her, beyond the obvious. He knew what they did behind that bedroom door. Connor didn't blame Wesley for that. He had enjoyed sex that time with Cordy. He wanted to do it some more if he had the chance but he thought Wesley could find a more appropriate mate.


Connor knew Lilah was the enemy. He knew Wesley was aware of it and he couldn't understand why Wesley wanted to lie down with someone who dealt with demons. It had almost driven Connor out of the apartment for good when he found out Lilah was with Wolfram and Hart. He knew they wanted him to experiment on or use him; Wesley had warned him of it. Wesley assured Connor there were reasons he was with Lilah, which had nothing to do with love. Connor pointed out Father had told him it was a sin to be with a woman he didn't love. Wesley had only given him a pitying look. Connor took that as another reason to not be around when Lilah visited.

Connor knew he should have just left the apartment but he felt like being just as rude to her as she had been to him. He had expected Wesley to yell at him for staying the first time he did so but Wesley never addressed it. So the past few times, he stayed in, watched TV, played with the video game Wesley had given him or laid in his room trying to ignore the noise coming from the other room.

The bedroom door opened. Connor could hear the shower in the master bedroom running and heard the clack of Lilah's heels as she crossed into the living room. He peeked over the arm of the couch at her, ignoring Cops! on tv. He rather liked the show. Wesley thought it was a waste of his time. He grinned at her in a decidedly unfriendly smile.


She flicked one right back at him. "Have fun listening in? Out here pulling your wank?"

Connor just flopped back on the couch, ignoring her. He didn't know what a wank was or why he should want to pull it but he wasn't going to tell her that.

She stalked over to him and  grabbed the stubble that was quickly regrowing over his shaved head. She yanked hard. "I don't want to see you here next time, freak."

Connor just dug two fingers into the flesh between her arm bones and she let him go with a yelp. He leveled his cold blue eyes on her, a slightly maniacal look settling on his gaunt face. He liked that ripple of power surging through him, seeing that he could scare her without saying anything.

Lilah paled. "You're gone next time, you hear me?"

"Next time you're here, I'll show you my collection of trophies from things I've killed," Connor said, even though he had regrettably lost his trophies. His eyes flicked to her hands. "Nice nails, Lilah. Hmmmm, maybe I should add to the trophies."

"Psychotic little bastard," she muttered as she let herself out the front door.

Soon enough the shower turned off and Wesley came out, sitting in the chair across from Connor. "She was worried about a client that got picked up last night."

"I know," Connor admitted slowly. That was confessing he had been listening in. Of course, Wesley knew he couldn't help it, not with his augmented senses.

"I was counting on it. That's why I took a shower. She was dying to make that call. She knew I wouldn't be able to hear over the water running and she has no idea you hear as well as you do. What did she say?"

"Something about the guy who got caught would be hard to defend cause he was caught naked except for a cloak made of human skin from one of those victims we found." Connor made a face.

"Excellent." Wesley looked sheepish. "I mean, that's good since it gives us a place to start looking for a reason for all of this."

Connor wrinkled his nose. "Beyond madness?"

Wesley laughed harshly. "Yes. Did Lilah say anything else?"

Connor shrugged. "Does  Zippy toe tag mean anything?"

Wesley smiled. "I think you mean Xipe Totec and yes, that clears up everything completely.  Help me look up a few things, please, Connor." Wesley headed for the bookshelf, scanning rapidly.

Connor trailed after him. "You're not…mad at me?"

Wesley looked over his shoulder. "About what?"

"Me listening in. I know it's…Father said it was wrong to eavesdrop." Connor stared at his feet, shuffling side to side.

"It's okay. Some people get a vicarious thrill out of being listened to." Wesley smirked.

Connor shot him a puzzled look but Wesley offered no further explanation. He just handed Connor some books and nodded toward the couch.

"Just scan for references to Xipe Totec and his cult," Wesley said.

"Okay." Connor flipped open a book, scowling. "Um, how do you spell that?"

Wesley grinned. "Just look for words beginning with X."

*                                                          *                                              *

Wesley had a bit of trouble convincing Connor to go with him to Sunnydale. Connor didn't want to run into Cordy before she requested to see him again but at the same time he desperately wanted to see her. He also didn't want to deal with Angel who had told Wesley he was there, true to his word about keeping Wesley appraised about the serial killer they were both tracking. Telling the young man there was an endless parade of demons to be found on the Hellmouth helped. Connor seemed thrilled with the idea of demons to kill at will. Wesley understood it was the little things that made Connor happy.

"Have you been here before?" Connor asked, air surfing his hand out the window of the serviceable Honda Civic Wesley had trade his ridiculous excuse for a motorcycle in for.

"I used to be Buffy's Watcher. I lived in Sunnydale then."

"What's a Watcher?" Connor asked and Wesley explained it. Connor looked him over then asked, "Why aren't you her Watcher now?"

"I did a bad job. I had some very big problems back then, mostly me being an arrogant ass," he said, brutally honest.

"Pride, one of the deadly sins." Connor gave him a solemn look. He had that peculiar glint in his blue eyes that he got when he was reciting something Wesley was fairly sure Holtz had drilled into him.

Wesley could see where Angel had made a huge mistake with Connor; probably one Gunn, Fred and Cordy had made as well. He had made it once himself. They villianized Holtz, called him a kidnapper or worse. Wesley had come to see Connor idolized Holtz and death had done nothing to diminish the boy's love for his surrogate father.

"With reason as I discovered. I doubt anyone in Sunnydale will be overjoyed to see me again," Wesley said.

"Then why come here?" Connor slouched more in his seat. "You could have just called and told them what you learned."

"I tried but couldn't get through. This is important. If what I think is happening is real, then more people will die."

Connor nodded. "Do you think…" His eyes flicked over at Wes, a manic look in them. "Think Dad will be upset I'm here?"

"Connor, I think your father loves you and would be please to see you," Wesley said without hesitation.

Connor snorted, rolling his eyes.

Wesley didn't miss that. "I know you don't believe that but it's true."

"I don't care." There was a forcefulness to Connor's words and yet a subtle lack of conviction at the same time.


Wesley didn't respond. He knew that Connor wanted to be angry. Maybe he even needed it. For now, Wesley was willing to indulge him.

*                                              *                                              *

"Who didn't know the frat rush party by moonlight in the quad was a bad idea?" Buffy moaned, dodging a panicking frat boy so she could stake a vampire. A hundred or so teens had turned out for the outdoors party and a dozen or more vampires had somehow heard about it and showed up for the easy pickings. Now there were people and demons racing everywhere.

"I suppose it should have been obvious," Willow said, trying to avoid getting stampeded by drunken teens. "Oh, they got Peter." She pointed to a small, bespeckled teen that was about to get noshed on. Willow rattled off a spell that hurled the vampire away. "No eating my former lab partner!"

Buffy danced away from Willow. Her friends could handle herself, unlike all the other bodies milling about. She wished she knew where this pack of vampires had come from. The last time she had seen this many vampires working together was back in the days when she was facing Spike, Dru and Angelus. How things had changed. Spike and Angel were fighting with her along with Angel's teammate, Gunn. Fred was with Giles researching the skinned bodies while Anya and Xander were off actually talking and trying to determine if their relationship was repairable. Buffy was just glad Dawn was out with Kit. Not only did it get Dawn away from this mess but she was actually making friends her own age.

"Buffy, look!" Willow cried, pointing toward the shadows near the bell tower building. A cat-like creature skulked there. It was nearly colorless and seemed to be almost gelatinous with things moving in it. "What is that?"

"Not a clue."

"Shibojis."

Buffy spun, hearing Angel's voice, her hand flicking out almost casually staking a vampire coming up on her blind side. "What?" Her eyes widened seeing the stricken looks on both Angel and Spike's faces. Angel was holding Spike back as if the smaller vampire wanted to tear off at a run.

"Shibojis, a type of demon. They're good at controlling other demons, make them work for them," Angel said, obviously struggling not to join in the mayhem and suck down a student or two.

"It's calling to you," Buffy said, seeing confirmation in their eyes.

"We've got to get out of here," Spike said, shaking with the effort it took to hold back.

Buffy stabbed a finger away from the demon. "Go!"

Angel dragged Spike in the opposite direction from the creature. Spike regained control of his own legs again and booked on his own. They disappeared into the night.

"We should have asked how to kill it," Willow said, then pointed to a passel of vampires making a break toward a frat house. She looked a bit pained as if trying to make a tough decisions. She whispered, 'Incendi,' and at that word the vampires flambéed.

"Yeah." Buffy staked two more vampires, angling toward where she saw Gunn hacking away. "Gunn!"

He beheaded a vampire then looked over at her. "Yeah?"

"That Jelly-cat is controlling the vampires," Buffy said, nodding toward the creature in case Gunn had missed it. "Angel and Spike had to tear out of here."

"Great. What the hell is that?" Gunn eyed it uneasily, shifting his ax from hand to hand.

"Doesn't matter. Willow and I can handle it if you get our backs."

"You got it." Gunn flashed a wicked grin and surged back into action.

Buffy ranged off, Willow in her wake. "You hang back, Will, let me see if the direct approach works first."

"No arguments."

"Oh, look at this. Can you be drunker?" Buffy waved a hand at a young man racing straight at a wall of vampires who still had a half dozen students corralled. "Let's run toward the people with the hideous faces like it's some frat boy prank."

"Is it me or do college kids get younger every semester?" Willow stared at the boy as she headed for the trapped students herself.

Buffy rolled her eyes. It wasn't as if she and Willow were old-looking but this kid did look all of thirteen. "We'd better save them first. Gives Kitty less to control, too."

Before Buffy could move the young man shocked her by taking out three vampires in rapid succession, moving so fast she could barely track him.

"Wow," Willow muttered, not breaking her stride.

"Yeah." Buffy picked off a few more vampires. "Get these kids out of here, Will. I'm going for Hello Kitty over there."

Buffy didn't wait for a response. She bounded after the controlling demon. She didn't even get into strike range when a protoplasmic lash erupted out of the thing's back and slapped her into the ground so hard Buffy got dirt in her mouth. Spitting, she rolled to her feet as the dark-haired kid took an aerobatic leap at the creature. He got swatted into a tree for his trouble. Buffy, wishing she had a distance weapon on her tonight, tried to maneuver in closer while it was distracted. She almost managed to dodge the lash this time but lost her balance as it clipped her left foot.

The demon, sensing the battle was going against it, leapt up, managing to land on the bell tower roof in one motion. The kid swarmed up the building in a manner Buffy had only ever seen vampires do before.

"How did he do that?" Willow asked, appearing at Buffy's elbow.

"Don't know," Buffy said, favoring the ankle the lash had twisted. She looked for her best way up onto the roof.

A startled cry stopped her momentarily and the kid came sailing over the edge of the building, obviously hurled with considerable force. He wind milled for a second then tucked and twisted like a cat. Buffy backpedaled realizing she was in his path. He landed on his feet, stumbling forward and plowed into her. They both went down in a tangle of limbs. Buffy flung him off, expecting to be tossing a mangled corpse. The kid cried out, surprised.

Buffy stared at him in shock. "How are you not dead? Wait, how did you get up there in the first place?"

The kid shoved back his shapeless brown hair, rolling into a sitting position. "It got away," he muttered, ignoring her questions.

"Way to stick the landing, kid," Gunn said, running up, vampire dust clinging to his sweating, bald head.

The boy's blue eyes narrowed. "You try it."

"You know him?" Buffy said, getting to her feet.

A scream cut off Gunn's reply. They all looked to see a girl moments away from being drained by the last and most persistent of the vampires. A metal flash caught their eyes as an asp sailed in, bashing the creature in the forehead, knocking him away. A dark-haired man danced in and finished it off. The girl glommed onto him, screaming incoherently. He wiggled free, shoved the girl towards some of the few remaining students then ran over to Buffy and her companions.

"Connor! We've talked about this. Any time you feel the urge to leap out of the car while it's still going and run off into the night, you give me warning," Wesley scolded.

Connor looked unrepentant. Buffy's stare switched to Wesley.

"Wesley?"

He smiled at her. "Hello, Buffy, Willow. It's been a while."

Buffy's eyes just widened. "You could say that. You know him, too?" She pointed at Connor.

"He just fell off the bell tower," Willow said, her voice a tight squeak of disbelief.

"I'm fine," Connor said, rolling his eyes as he hopped up.

"But you shouldn't be." Buffy watched him shake off the fall like it was nothing.

"Connor's tough," Gunn said, pacing closer to Wesley, still very much on alert.

"That thing got away. We should be going after it," Connor said ready to chase it down.

"What was it?" Wesley asked, laying a hand on Connor's shoulder to stop him.

"Angel said it was a Shibojis," Buffy said. "It shot out jelly whips that pack one heck of a punch." She rubbed her gut ruefully.

"You can't just attack a Shibojis with a stake," Wesley said, but it lacked the officiousness Buffy had always associated with him.

"Do you know how we do attack it?" Buffy wasn't sure why she asked him. Maybe because for once he wasn't talking down to her.

"A water pistol full of sea water ought to do it," Wesley said. "They can't handle salt...sort of like slugs."

"Water…" Buffy scowled. "I'll have to go back home to get one of those."

"Did you say his name was Connor?" Willow nodded toward the gangly boy.

Buffy looked at the young man again as if seeing him for the first time. How could she miss connecting the boy's name to what Angel had told her. "As in Angel's son?"

Connor rolled his eyes again. "Don't remind me."

"Still mad?" Gunn whispered, forgetting Connor could still hear him. Wesley just nodded.

Buffy reached out to the boy but stopped herself from touching him. This couldn't be Angel's son. He looked nothing like his father, no broad shoulders, no strong features, no dark chocolately eyes. Tall dark and handsome the boy wasn't. He was nearly as thin and girlie looking as Dawn. "Your father had to leave. That demon can turn vampires into puppets."

 "I missed fighting him." Connor's full lips fell into a scowl. "You should have driven faster, Wes."

"I think you're missing the point," Buffy said but Wesley laid a hand on her shoulder. He shook his head.

"Why are you here, Wes?" Gunn asked.

"We found out a good deal about those skinned victims that I figured we needed to share with you."

"Then we ought to get back to Giles and let him know," Willow said.

"I tried to call him but there was no answer. Of course that was hours ago," Wesley said.

"He should be at my place," Buffy said. "Come on, I'll show you the way back in case you've forgotten."


"Someone ought to follow that thing," Connor said, stubbornly.

"In the car, Connor. You don't have the weapons to kill it," Wesley said. The boy opened his mouth to protest but Wesley silenced him with a look. Connor kicked at the dirt but fell in line behind Wesley.

Buffy sidled up to Wes and whispered, "That's really Angel's son?"

"Yeah, I really am," Connor snapped.

"Just a word of warning, Buffy, Connor can hear like a vampire," Wesley said with a smile. "And he can be a bit peevish."

Buffy shrugged sheepishly. "Sorry. I'm still trying to get used to the idea." She kept quiet about the obvious dislike the boy had for his kin. There'd be time to talk about that once Wesley made his report.