Chapter 33
Buffy and Angel walked around LA. Actually Angel walked, Buffy was carried. About a mile back her ankle had given and Angel had to catch her before she hit the ground. All around them destruction from the rain of fire was devastating. Cars, buildings, sidewalk stands, all on fire or now charred ruins. Buffy and Angel's wounds were starting to heal. Most of them had been closed for a while. Buffy had ripped her bandage off her neck. She said it was pissing her off, making her feel like a weakling. Of course now that she was being carried because she could barely walk wasn't helping.
Thoughts of Connor and her friends swam through her head. She wondered how Cordy and Xander were doing. They were too far away to walk to them. Wes and the others had taken the car so Buffy and Angel had been forced to walk home. She wondered what was going on in Sunnydale. Faith was probably handling the situation with Spike pretty well. After all, Buffy had helped train the girl. Connor was probably worried sick. When they got to the Hyperion, Buffy would call him and Dawn and let everyone know that she was ok. That they were all ok. At least she hoped they were all ok. No one knew where Fred was and Buffy had lost track of Lorne, Gunn, and Wesley when she had run off to help Angel.
Angel looked all around him. The destruction was massive. But most of all, he was worried about Buffy. When her ankle had given out and she had fallen, Angel started to worry if this was going to be too much to handle. Buffy was one of the best, no she was THE best, and if she was too injured to fight this thing, where did that leave everything and everyone else.
"Angel, put me down." Buffy said.
"You can't walk." He replied, grasping her tighter.
"I need to try."
"Are you sure?"
"Positive. We've only got a few more blocks left anyway."
Angel looked at her tentatively and then gently set her down. She took a few ginger steps and then gave him a small smile. With a confidence that made her shine, Buffy stood up straight and walked. Of course she had a limp, but even that made her look more gallant. Angel smiled and walked after her.
"So the basement was filled with bodies?" Dawn asked. Everyone was cleaning up the living room from Dawn and Connor's little battle with whatever it was that was attacking them.
"Apparently." Willow said.
"And Spike could've sired countless others and buried them around town. And we're waiting for him to do what, exactly? Do something crazy?"
"It's not that simple."
"Shouldn't we stab him through the chest? Isn't that what we do when these things happen?" Anya asked.
"Look, Faith knows what she's doing." Willow said.
"Well, Xander, knows what we're all talking about. I mean, he's always been part of the 'Spike is evil' faction."
"Listen, we've got a house to put back together before Buffy gets back."
"Fine. You guys keep your heads buried in the sand, but I think we should prepare ourselves for the possibility that William the Bloody is back."
"Anya!" Willow said, getting angry.
"Sorry."
"Hey Dawn, why don't you go upstairs and check on Connor? He ran out pretty fast after we talked to Xander about what was going on in LA."
"Ok." Dawn walked upstairs and knocked on Connor's door. There was no answer. "Connor?" Still nothing. She turned the knob and the door opened easily. "Uh oh." Dawn looked around the room. The window was open and a few of Connor's clothes were strewn around the floor. The night breeze outside blew the curtains around. "Oh crap!" She ran back downstairs. "He's gone!"
"What do you mean 'gone'?" Anya asked.
"As in not up there. Clothes on floor and window open. Gone."
"You don't think he would try to go to LA?" Willow asked. "Do you?"
Dawn walked to the front door and looked out. The van was still there. "He didn't take the van."
"We should tell Faith."
Dawn nodded and walked upstairs. She opened the door slightly to Buffy's room. Faith was crouching on the floor tying Spike into a chair.
"We're gonna get to the bottom of this. We just can't take any chances." Faith said.
"Don't.. Make it tighter-the knots'll give. I get free, someone's gonna die." Spike said.
Dawn knocked lightly and opened the door. "Hey Spike. Um, Faith?"
"Yeah?" Faith asked, standing up.
"We need to talk."
"What's wrong?"
"Connor's gone."
"What?"
"We think he may have headed to LA."
"Great! Buffy's going to kick my ass! The house is a mess and we've lost her son. Try calling up to LA and let them know that Connor might be on his way. I'll patrol around and see if I can find him. I think you're right though. He's probably headed to LA to try and help his mom and dad."
Dawn nodded.
Connor stuck out his thumb. He had seen this done on movies and Dad had explained to him what they were doing. Hitchhiking. Connor liked that term. Mom had also explained that it wasn't a smart thing to do. People were killed because they had been picked up by a serial killer. Well, Connor was willing to take that chance. He had a feeling that things were bed in LA and it could somehow be connected to him. Xander had called and said that a big demon had risen up from the ground where Connor had almost been born. Things had been REALLY bad that night. It's the place where it had all come together at one time. Right now all Connor wanted to do was get to LA and 1. Help his mom and dad and 2. Figure out why he was here.
A silver car pulled up beside him. Connor hopped in the passenger's seat. It was a pretty red haired girl. She said she was headed to LA and that's as far as she was going. Connor smiled and told her it was his destination.
"You looking to be a big time actor?" she asked.
"No. Looking for my parents." Connor said.
"Oh. Did you know that it's a war zone up there?"
"Yeah. That's why I'm going." He looked out the window and watched the scenery pass by him as they sped on towards LA.
Buffy and Angel walked in just as Gunn said, "So we just wait because we don't now what Angel or Buffy would or wouldn't do?"
"Would we do what?" Buffy asked.
"Buffy! Angel! You're hurt." Fred said.
"We'll be.. Let's talk about it in the morning." Angel said as he and Buffy headed upstairs.
"Guys wait! Willow called and said Connor's missing."
Buffy stopped and turned to look at the girl. "What?"
"Yeah. You need to call her. She said he might be headed up here."
Buffy half ran, half limped to the phone and dialed her house. Nobody picked up. "They're not there. Probably out looking for him." She looked at her husband. "He'll be ok. I know he will. He's our son."
"Try Dawn's cell." Angel said, moving towards her.
"Right. Good idea." Buffy dialed her sister's cell phone. "It's turned off! God, what if something awful happened to him! He thinks he can take care of himself, but he's got so much to learn."
"I know. Come on, let's get some sleep. Fred can watch the phone. Fred?"
"Of course I can. I'll come get you as soon as we hear anything." Fred said with a smile.
"Ok. Sleep. Sleep good." Buffy said. She started to walk, but again, her ankle gave and she nearly collapsed. Angel gave her her dignity and caught her before anyone noticed it was her ankle. He swept her up into his arms, causing her to groan, and carried her upstairs.
Once they were upstairs and in their underwear, injury inspection began. Angel's neck was closed, but far from healed. He had a few bruises here and there over his chest and back, but other than that he was fine. Buffy however had taken the brunt of the attack because of her anger. Not only was her ankle sprained, she had three broken ribs, a severely split lip, and a sprained elbow that she held tightly to her stomach. The corner of her eye was bruised, but it wasn't too noticeable. Angel bandaged her up the best he could and laid her in the bed in one of his shirts. It was easier to slip on her than anything else she owned.
She slept most of the day while Angel was downstairs rummaging through his office. Cordy and Xander walked in holding hands. They entered the office and looked at Angel.
"Hey man." Xander said. "You ok?"
"Fine." Angel said distractedly. No one had called from Sunnydale with news of Connor.
"You don't sound fine." Cordy said.
"Connor's missing."
"Oh. Oh God, I hope this doesn't have anything to do with last night!"
"Last night? I don't think we should talk about last night."
"Yeah. The fact that this hell-beast you're all looking for crawled up out of the ground in the exact spot where your son was almost born and your Slayer wife almost died seems precisely what we should be talking about right now."
"Same spot?"
"Yeah."
"It could just be a coincidence." Xander said.
"Strange things happen." Angel said.
"Like a Slayer giving birth?" Cordy asked.
"What are you.. You think Connor's connected to this evil thing?"
"Me? God no. He's a sweetie pie."
"Then why are you telling me?"
"Because he came by earlier and asked what was going on. We told him what we knew. He believes it's his fault this thing's here. He just stormed out.
"Who stormed out?" Buffy asked.
"Buffy!" Xander turned around and looked at his best friend. She stood in the doorway looking incredibly small and beaten in sweat pants and a T- shirt. "Oh my God! Are you ok?" He rushed up and hugged her frail form. She winced, but hugged back.
"Baby, I thought you were sleeping." Angel said.
"Dreams kept me awake." She looked him dead in the eye and he knew what she was talking about. The Beast beating her.
"What happened?" Cordy asked, hugging Buffy gently.
"Big demon thing. Don't want to talk about it." She looked at Angel. "Any word?"
"He's in LA. He went to see Cordy and Xander." Angel said sadly.
"I'm going to call home again." Angel nodded and watched her limp into the front desk area.
"Is she going to be ok?" Cordy asked.
"Give her a couple of days. She'll be fine." Angel said.
"What happened?" Xander asked.
"Not now Xander."
"Damn it Angel, I don't care if you're her husband! She's my best friend. I was there when you weren't. I'm pretty sure you can tell me what happened to her."
Angel looked at the man stunned. Xander wasn't usually so straight forward. Finally, the vampire nodded and told them to sit down.
Connor walked into Lilah's office, shoving Gavin out of the way. "I have questions." Lilah smiled at him. "Connor. As if the last few hours haven't brought enough surprises. You nearly threw us for a loop here, kiddo. Sneaking in the building.. you really are like your old man, aren't you?"
"It's time to find out."
"Are you saying what I think you're saying?"
"I want to know why I'm here. What I am."
"Timeless question. And one we're more than happy to help answer. We have an in-house lab. We'll do a few easy workups: psychological, physiological, neurological.. And focus on exactly who or what you are." Behind Connor, two security guards entered. "Then we'll slice you open and start poking around."
Connor whirled and dropped both guards with one punch. Then he seized Lilah by the throat and slammed her up against the wall. "I've got a different idea."
"I'm open to any suggestions."
"That demon you're seeking? I think I'm connected to it. I want to find out how."
"Sure. No problem. Gavin, why don't you get our young friend a copy of your report, then we'll sit down and have a nice non-violent conversation."
Suddenly, the lights went out and the building trembled on its foundation.
"It's here." Connor said.
Lilah walked over to her desk and picked up the phone. "It's probably just an aftershock. They sometimes make the power go out." The phone was dead and she looked over at Gavin. "Try a walkie."
Gavin nodded and took a walkie talkie from one of the downed security guards. "This is Gavin Park to the front desk, over. Come in, front desk."
There was a pause and then, "This is the front desk, Mr. Park. We've got some kind of.. oh, no! Oh, my god!"
"Tell him to stop whining and make a report." Lilah said.
"Send backup! Somebody, please.." The guy was cut off by a strangled scream.
"I told you." Connor said. He headed for the wall and took a short sword from a display case.
"Go downstairs and check it out." Lilah said to Gavin. He hesitated. "Gavin, ask yourself this question: what are you more afraid of? A giant murderous demon.. or me?"
"I'll be right back." The little man ran out.
Lilah looked at Connor. "You have any idea what this thing wants?"
"Everybody dead." Connor took the sword and walked out, leaving Lilah alone. After a second she followed with a gun. Connor hated guns. His mother had been shot by one and nearly died. He chose to ignore it for right now.
"What exactly is this thing?" Lilah asked as they made their way through the chaos.
"I don't know but I think it's been following me around."
"And you're just going to kill it?"
"Gonna try."
Lilah stopped. "And we're heading towards it right now?" She waved. "Best of luck."
Connor walked on thinking about how cowardly the woman was. No wonder mom and dad hated her. He sighed and moved on. It was pretty much inevitable that he was going to be grounded for running away and now pulling this. If he didn't get killed that is. Actually, no matter what he did he was going to be killed one way or another. If he lost to the Beast, he would be killed. If he got out of this, his mom and dad and everyone in Sunnydale and LA were going to kill him.
Shaking his head, Connor moved silently and cautiously among the dozens of dead Wolfram & Hart employees, looking for the Beast. He paused and surveyed the carnage. Eviscerated people were lying where they were killed, draped across furniture and countertops. Great swaths of blood dripped from the walls. Suddenly he heard gunshots coming from close by and headed in that direction. Connor entered the room where the shots had come from, sword held high, and attacked. He brought the sword down on the Beast's back but the blade snapped in two. The Beast turned to him, smiling.
"Connor.." It punched Connor with one massive blow to the chest and sent him rocketing across the room where he impacted one of the building's cement central support columns. He hit with such force that the column shattered and buried Connor under chunks of concrete and steel re-bar.
Buffy sat on a stool behind the reception desk talking to Quentin Travers. She had talked to Faith and found out things were getting bad in Sunnydale. Faith had been trying to reach the Council to find Giles, but they wouldn't put her through. Actually, they refused to acknowledge her as a Slayer. So Buffy had decided to call herself. They didn't really like her there either, but they listened when she talked.
"I need to find him as soon as possible. He's not answering any of his numbers." Buffy said.
"Mrs. Summers, the Watcher's Council does not keep track of our lapsed employees. Ever since Mr. Giles pulled up his stake in Sunnydale, we've not made it our business to follow his every move." Quentin said.
"You don't have to get all British and dodgy, Mr. Travers. I know you have ways of finding him."
"Well, I suppose if you feel the matter's urgent, we can look into it."
"I'd appreciate it. Thank you."
"Not at all. Good day."
Buffy hung up the phone and sighed, putting her head in her hands. Fred looked over from the computer. "Nothing?"
"No. I hate how British they can get."
Fred nodded and went back to work on the computer. Gunn looked through a book, tapping his pencil on the book. Buffy finally got agitated and shot a hand out to stop the pencil. "Can you not do that?"
"Oh! Sorry, it helps me think." Gunn said apologetically.
"Sorry. Didn't mean to snap."
"It's ok. We're all on edge."
"I'm ready to crackle pop myself. The last 24 haven't exactly been normal. We're all tired." Cordy said.
Angel deadpanned. "I wonder why." He kicked a sleeping Lorne who sat up and looked around.
"Just.. just meditating on the problem. Yeah, asking the inner Lorne for a little backup." He said.
"We're assuming it's a big connect-the-dot that Connor and the devil-y guy have this alley in common but isn't this alley right behind Caritas.. or at least what's left of it?" Gunn asked.
"Yeah, that whole block is a big fat interdimensional happenin' hot spot."
"Except this thing didn't emerge from a portal so much as a pothole." Xander said.
Wesley walked in and Gunn looked up. "Oh, good. More bad news."
"Can you just try to get along? He was your friend." Fred said.
"Heavy on the 'was'."
"You know where it is. The Beast." Buffy said as Wesley walked down into the lobby. She walked out and leaned on Angel.
"Inside Wolfram & Hart. And so is.." Wesley started.
Gunn cut him off. "That answers a lot of questions. They're probably having a big sit-down, breaking bread."
"It's killing everything that moves in there."
"I've heard worse news."
Wesley looked directly at Buffy and Angel. "Your son is trapped inside."
"WHAT!?" Buffy asked.
"Oh, my god! Connor?" Xander asked.
"Why would he be in there? I don't understand." Cordy said.
"There's lots of things I don't understand. We're going in after him." Angel said.
"Won't be easy. The building's locked tight. There's no way out." Wesley said.
"But I bet there's a way in." Buffy said.
"You're not going." Angel said.
"Why the hell not? He's my son too."
"I don't care. You're hurt."
"I'll heal. That's my son in there. I'm not losing him again."
"And I'm not losing you either."
Buffy hauled off and punched Angel hard. He went flying back and landed on his back. "I'm going in." She stood up straighter and walked up the stairs to get changed.
Buffy and Angel walked around LA. Actually Angel walked, Buffy was carried. About a mile back her ankle had given and Angel had to catch her before she hit the ground. All around them destruction from the rain of fire was devastating. Cars, buildings, sidewalk stands, all on fire or now charred ruins. Buffy and Angel's wounds were starting to heal. Most of them had been closed for a while. Buffy had ripped her bandage off her neck. She said it was pissing her off, making her feel like a weakling. Of course now that she was being carried because she could barely walk wasn't helping.
Thoughts of Connor and her friends swam through her head. She wondered how Cordy and Xander were doing. They were too far away to walk to them. Wes and the others had taken the car so Buffy and Angel had been forced to walk home. She wondered what was going on in Sunnydale. Faith was probably handling the situation with Spike pretty well. After all, Buffy had helped train the girl. Connor was probably worried sick. When they got to the Hyperion, Buffy would call him and Dawn and let everyone know that she was ok. That they were all ok. At least she hoped they were all ok. No one knew where Fred was and Buffy had lost track of Lorne, Gunn, and Wesley when she had run off to help Angel.
Angel looked all around him. The destruction was massive. But most of all, he was worried about Buffy. When her ankle had given out and she had fallen, Angel started to worry if this was going to be too much to handle. Buffy was one of the best, no she was THE best, and if she was too injured to fight this thing, where did that leave everything and everyone else.
"Angel, put me down." Buffy said.
"You can't walk." He replied, grasping her tighter.
"I need to try."
"Are you sure?"
"Positive. We've only got a few more blocks left anyway."
Angel looked at her tentatively and then gently set her down. She took a few ginger steps and then gave him a small smile. With a confidence that made her shine, Buffy stood up straight and walked. Of course she had a limp, but even that made her look more gallant. Angel smiled and walked after her.
"So the basement was filled with bodies?" Dawn asked. Everyone was cleaning up the living room from Dawn and Connor's little battle with whatever it was that was attacking them.
"Apparently." Willow said.
"And Spike could've sired countless others and buried them around town. And we're waiting for him to do what, exactly? Do something crazy?"
"It's not that simple."
"Shouldn't we stab him through the chest? Isn't that what we do when these things happen?" Anya asked.
"Look, Faith knows what she's doing." Willow said.
"Well, Xander, knows what we're all talking about. I mean, he's always been part of the 'Spike is evil' faction."
"Listen, we've got a house to put back together before Buffy gets back."
"Fine. You guys keep your heads buried in the sand, but I think we should prepare ourselves for the possibility that William the Bloody is back."
"Anya!" Willow said, getting angry.
"Sorry."
"Hey Dawn, why don't you go upstairs and check on Connor? He ran out pretty fast after we talked to Xander about what was going on in LA."
"Ok." Dawn walked upstairs and knocked on Connor's door. There was no answer. "Connor?" Still nothing. She turned the knob and the door opened easily. "Uh oh." Dawn looked around the room. The window was open and a few of Connor's clothes were strewn around the floor. The night breeze outside blew the curtains around. "Oh crap!" She ran back downstairs. "He's gone!"
"What do you mean 'gone'?" Anya asked.
"As in not up there. Clothes on floor and window open. Gone."
"You don't think he would try to go to LA?" Willow asked. "Do you?"
Dawn walked to the front door and looked out. The van was still there. "He didn't take the van."
"We should tell Faith."
Dawn nodded and walked upstairs. She opened the door slightly to Buffy's room. Faith was crouching on the floor tying Spike into a chair.
"We're gonna get to the bottom of this. We just can't take any chances." Faith said.
"Don't.. Make it tighter-the knots'll give. I get free, someone's gonna die." Spike said.
Dawn knocked lightly and opened the door. "Hey Spike. Um, Faith?"
"Yeah?" Faith asked, standing up.
"We need to talk."
"What's wrong?"
"Connor's gone."
"What?"
"We think he may have headed to LA."
"Great! Buffy's going to kick my ass! The house is a mess and we've lost her son. Try calling up to LA and let them know that Connor might be on his way. I'll patrol around and see if I can find him. I think you're right though. He's probably headed to LA to try and help his mom and dad."
Dawn nodded.
Connor stuck out his thumb. He had seen this done on movies and Dad had explained to him what they were doing. Hitchhiking. Connor liked that term. Mom had also explained that it wasn't a smart thing to do. People were killed because they had been picked up by a serial killer. Well, Connor was willing to take that chance. He had a feeling that things were bed in LA and it could somehow be connected to him. Xander had called and said that a big demon had risen up from the ground where Connor had almost been born. Things had been REALLY bad that night. It's the place where it had all come together at one time. Right now all Connor wanted to do was get to LA and 1. Help his mom and dad and 2. Figure out why he was here.
A silver car pulled up beside him. Connor hopped in the passenger's seat. It was a pretty red haired girl. She said she was headed to LA and that's as far as she was going. Connor smiled and told her it was his destination.
"You looking to be a big time actor?" she asked.
"No. Looking for my parents." Connor said.
"Oh. Did you know that it's a war zone up there?"
"Yeah. That's why I'm going." He looked out the window and watched the scenery pass by him as they sped on towards LA.
Buffy and Angel walked in just as Gunn said, "So we just wait because we don't now what Angel or Buffy would or wouldn't do?"
"Would we do what?" Buffy asked.
"Buffy! Angel! You're hurt." Fred said.
"We'll be.. Let's talk about it in the morning." Angel said as he and Buffy headed upstairs.
"Guys wait! Willow called and said Connor's missing."
Buffy stopped and turned to look at the girl. "What?"
"Yeah. You need to call her. She said he might be headed up here."
Buffy half ran, half limped to the phone and dialed her house. Nobody picked up. "They're not there. Probably out looking for him." She looked at her husband. "He'll be ok. I know he will. He's our son."
"Try Dawn's cell." Angel said, moving towards her.
"Right. Good idea." Buffy dialed her sister's cell phone. "It's turned off! God, what if something awful happened to him! He thinks he can take care of himself, but he's got so much to learn."
"I know. Come on, let's get some sleep. Fred can watch the phone. Fred?"
"Of course I can. I'll come get you as soon as we hear anything." Fred said with a smile.
"Ok. Sleep. Sleep good." Buffy said. She started to walk, but again, her ankle gave and she nearly collapsed. Angel gave her her dignity and caught her before anyone noticed it was her ankle. He swept her up into his arms, causing her to groan, and carried her upstairs.
Once they were upstairs and in their underwear, injury inspection began. Angel's neck was closed, but far from healed. He had a few bruises here and there over his chest and back, but other than that he was fine. Buffy however had taken the brunt of the attack because of her anger. Not only was her ankle sprained, she had three broken ribs, a severely split lip, and a sprained elbow that she held tightly to her stomach. The corner of her eye was bruised, but it wasn't too noticeable. Angel bandaged her up the best he could and laid her in the bed in one of his shirts. It was easier to slip on her than anything else she owned.
She slept most of the day while Angel was downstairs rummaging through his office. Cordy and Xander walked in holding hands. They entered the office and looked at Angel.
"Hey man." Xander said. "You ok?"
"Fine." Angel said distractedly. No one had called from Sunnydale with news of Connor.
"You don't sound fine." Cordy said.
"Connor's missing."
"Oh. Oh God, I hope this doesn't have anything to do with last night!"
"Last night? I don't think we should talk about last night."
"Yeah. The fact that this hell-beast you're all looking for crawled up out of the ground in the exact spot where your son was almost born and your Slayer wife almost died seems precisely what we should be talking about right now."
"Same spot?"
"Yeah."
"It could just be a coincidence." Xander said.
"Strange things happen." Angel said.
"Like a Slayer giving birth?" Cordy asked.
"What are you.. You think Connor's connected to this evil thing?"
"Me? God no. He's a sweetie pie."
"Then why are you telling me?"
"Because he came by earlier and asked what was going on. We told him what we knew. He believes it's his fault this thing's here. He just stormed out.
"Who stormed out?" Buffy asked.
"Buffy!" Xander turned around and looked at his best friend. She stood in the doorway looking incredibly small and beaten in sweat pants and a T- shirt. "Oh my God! Are you ok?" He rushed up and hugged her frail form. She winced, but hugged back.
"Baby, I thought you were sleeping." Angel said.
"Dreams kept me awake." She looked him dead in the eye and he knew what she was talking about. The Beast beating her.
"What happened?" Cordy asked, hugging Buffy gently.
"Big demon thing. Don't want to talk about it." She looked at Angel. "Any word?"
"He's in LA. He went to see Cordy and Xander." Angel said sadly.
"I'm going to call home again." Angel nodded and watched her limp into the front desk area.
"Is she going to be ok?" Cordy asked.
"Give her a couple of days. She'll be fine." Angel said.
"What happened?" Xander asked.
"Not now Xander."
"Damn it Angel, I don't care if you're her husband! She's my best friend. I was there when you weren't. I'm pretty sure you can tell me what happened to her."
Angel looked at the man stunned. Xander wasn't usually so straight forward. Finally, the vampire nodded and told them to sit down.
Connor walked into Lilah's office, shoving Gavin out of the way. "I have questions." Lilah smiled at him. "Connor. As if the last few hours haven't brought enough surprises. You nearly threw us for a loop here, kiddo. Sneaking in the building.. you really are like your old man, aren't you?"
"It's time to find out."
"Are you saying what I think you're saying?"
"I want to know why I'm here. What I am."
"Timeless question. And one we're more than happy to help answer. We have an in-house lab. We'll do a few easy workups: psychological, physiological, neurological.. And focus on exactly who or what you are." Behind Connor, two security guards entered. "Then we'll slice you open and start poking around."
Connor whirled and dropped both guards with one punch. Then he seized Lilah by the throat and slammed her up against the wall. "I've got a different idea."
"I'm open to any suggestions."
"That demon you're seeking? I think I'm connected to it. I want to find out how."
"Sure. No problem. Gavin, why don't you get our young friend a copy of your report, then we'll sit down and have a nice non-violent conversation."
Suddenly, the lights went out and the building trembled on its foundation.
"It's here." Connor said.
Lilah walked over to her desk and picked up the phone. "It's probably just an aftershock. They sometimes make the power go out." The phone was dead and she looked over at Gavin. "Try a walkie."
Gavin nodded and took a walkie talkie from one of the downed security guards. "This is Gavin Park to the front desk, over. Come in, front desk."
There was a pause and then, "This is the front desk, Mr. Park. We've got some kind of.. oh, no! Oh, my god!"
"Tell him to stop whining and make a report." Lilah said.
"Send backup! Somebody, please.." The guy was cut off by a strangled scream.
"I told you." Connor said. He headed for the wall and took a short sword from a display case.
"Go downstairs and check it out." Lilah said to Gavin. He hesitated. "Gavin, ask yourself this question: what are you more afraid of? A giant murderous demon.. or me?"
"I'll be right back." The little man ran out.
Lilah looked at Connor. "You have any idea what this thing wants?"
"Everybody dead." Connor took the sword and walked out, leaving Lilah alone. After a second she followed with a gun. Connor hated guns. His mother had been shot by one and nearly died. He chose to ignore it for right now.
"What exactly is this thing?" Lilah asked as they made their way through the chaos.
"I don't know but I think it's been following me around."
"And you're just going to kill it?"
"Gonna try."
Lilah stopped. "And we're heading towards it right now?" She waved. "Best of luck."
Connor walked on thinking about how cowardly the woman was. No wonder mom and dad hated her. He sighed and moved on. It was pretty much inevitable that he was going to be grounded for running away and now pulling this. If he didn't get killed that is. Actually, no matter what he did he was going to be killed one way or another. If he lost to the Beast, he would be killed. If he got out of this, his mom and dad and everyone in Sunnydale and LA were going to kill him.
Shaking his head, Connor moved silently and cautiously among the dozens of dead Wolfram & Hart employees, looking for the Beast. He paused and surveyed the carnage. Eviscerated people were lying where they were killed, draped across furniture and countertops. Great swaths of blood dripped from the walls. Suddenly he heard gunshots coming from close by and headed in that direction. Connor entered the room where the shots had come from, sword held high, and attacked. He brought the sword down on the Beast's back but the blade snapped in two. The Beast turned to him, smiling.
"Connor.." It punched Connor with one massive blow to the chest and sent him rocketing across the room where he impacted one of the building's cement central support columns. He hit with such force that the column shattered and buried Connor under chunks of concrete and steel re-bar.
Buffy sat on a stool behind the reception desk talking to Quentin Travers. She had talked to Faith and found out things were getting bad in Sunnydale. Faith had been trying to reach the Council to find Giles, but they wouldn't put her through. Actually, they refused to acknowledge her as a Slayer. So Buffy had decided to call herself. They didn't really like her there either, but they listened when she talked.
"I need to find him as soon as possible. He's not answering any of his numbers." Buffy said.
"Mrs. Summers, the Watcher's Council does not keep track of our lapsed employees. Ever since Mr. Giles pulled up his stake in Sunnydale, we've not made it our business to follow his every move." Quentin said.
"You don't have to get all British and dodgy, Mr. Travers. I know you have ways of finding him."
"Well, I suppose if you feel the matter's urgent, we can look into it."
"I'd appreciate it. Thank you."
"Not at all. Good day."
Buffy hung up the phone and sighed, putting her head in her hands. Fred looked over from the computer. "Nothing?"
"No. I hate how British they can get."
Fred nodded and went back to work on the computer. Gunn looked through a book, tapping his pencil on the book. Buffy finally got agitated and shot a hand out to stop the pencil. "Can you not do that?"
"Oh! Sorry, it helps me think." Gunn said apologetically.
"Sorry. Didn't mean to snap."
"It's ok. We're all on edge."
"I'm ready to crackle pop myself. The last 24 haven't exactly been normal. We're all tired." Cordy said.
Angel deadpanned. "I wonder why." He kicked a sleeping Lorne who sat up and looked around.
"Just.. just meditating on the problem. Yeah, asking the inner Lorne for a little backup." He said.
"We're assuming it's a big connect-the-dot that Connor and the devil-y guy have this alley in common but isn't this alley right behind Caritas.. or at least what's left of it?" Gunn asked.
"Yeah, that whole block is a big fat interdimensional happenin' hot spot."
"Except this thing didn't emerge from a portal so much as a pothole." Xander said.
Wesley walked in and Gunn looked up. "Oh, good. More bad news."
"Can you just try to get along? He was your friend." Fred said.
"Heavy on the 'was'."
"You know where it is. The Beast." Buffy said as Wesley walked down into the lobby. She walked out and leaned on Angel.
"Inside Wolfram & Hart. And so is.." Wesley started.
Gunn cut him off. "That answers a lot of questions. They're probably having a big sit-down, breaking bread."
"It's killing everything that moves in there."
"I've heard worse news."
Wesley looked directly at Buffy and Angel. "Your son is trapped inside."
"WHAT!?" Buffy asked.
"Oh, my god! Connor?" Xander asked.
"Why would he be in there? I don't understand." Cordy said.
"There's lots of things I don't understand. We're going in after him." Angel said.
"Won't be easy. The building's locked tight. There's no way out." Wesley said.
"But I bet there's a way in." Buffy said.
"You're not going." Angel said.
"Why the hell not? He's my son too."
"I don't care. You're hurt."
"I'll heal. That's my son in there. I'm not losing him again."
"And I'm not losing you either."
Buffy hauled off and punched Angel hard. He went flying back and landed on his back. "I'm going in." She stood up straighter and walked up the stairs to get changed.
