Timeline: Mid season 4, just before 'Apocalypse Nowish.' Just allow a bit more time for these events to happen hehe.
Angel held up the corpse of the demon while Gunn helped to extract the sword.
Wesley yanked his arm out from underneath and a pool of something he didn't
want to guess what it was poured from the now definitely dead body.
"
I suppose one of us should ask the most obvious question – what the hell
is it?"
Wesley gave Gunn a sidelong glance. "I already told you, I've never
encountered this species before."
"
Yeah, right, just like you never let that kid get snatched?"
For a minute Angel flinched inwardly, thinking Gunn was referring to the time
Wesley took off with Connor, his son, but then realised he meant the kid they'd
just missed.
"
Again, I've already told you I couldn't take on all of Wolfram
and Hart's operatives," said Wesley, hackles obviously going up.
"
Okay guys, lets just try and figure out what's going on here. Wesley,
what happened when Lilah arrived?" Angel intervened. He cocked his head
to the side indicating they should head back to the car.
"
No, I'd like to take this with us, if it's alright," said
Wesley.
Angel looked down at the demon, then back up at Wesley, almost saying Do I
have to?
Wesley replied, "Angel, we need to learn as much as we can about these
new demons and this is the quickest way I know about doing that."
"
Yeah, but…" reasoned Angel, looking in distaste at the goo seeping
from the demon.
Wesley gazed at Angel for a long moment.
"
Alright, alright, but you're cleaning the car," said Angel, stooping
and putting a hand under the corpse's arm.
Connor sat down on the bed.
"
You'll have to call him eventually, you know."
Cordelia sighed. "I know, but I'm not ready for that yet. I'm
still a bit spaced from the whole being-a-higher-being thing. Not to mention
the amnesia, then getting back all of my memories at once. Oh, and in case
you've forgotten, the world's about to end. So all in all, not
my best week."
Connor didn't say anything. A few moments passed.
"
Stop it."
"
Stop what?" he replied, a bit bewildered. Living with Cordy could be
a bit unpredictable, he'd learned.
"
Stop giving me the silent treatment!"
"
But…I'm not…" he stopped. "Okay, I'm sorry."
Silence again.
Cordy sighed and stood up. "Look, Connor…I'm sorry. I just…I
think I need to be alone for a little while, sort a few things out in my head.
I know you're trying to help me, but I think this is something I need
to do by myself."
Connor nodded, slightly hurt. He got up to walk out, but Cordy touched his
arm, stopping him in his tracks.
"
Just a little while…okay?"
He realised what she meant.
"
Okay. I'll be back soon."
She smiled and let go of his arm. He ghosted out of the room, leaving her alone
with her thoughts.
Wesley slammed the book shut with an air of finality.
"
It's a Sha'Tan'Uo demon," he said with undeniable relief.
They'd been in the back office for hours, researching what the demon
was and how it could be killed – more efficiently than last time.
The others looked glad that the researching had come to an end.
"
Originates from southwest Turkey, along a series of small island chains there,
and in the mountainous regions on the mainland. No specific date given, however
this edition gives a reference to the demons migrating further and further
away from the immigrants of the islands until they seemed to just disappear.
Several theories have been forwarded, however the one best explaining how they
travelled halfway across the planet is that they mastered trans-dimensional
and portal travel."
Wesley didn't notice, but Fred sunk further back in her chair when he
mentioned portals. Gunn, however, did notice, and found the desk an interesting
place to look.
Angel grinned. "Okay, so how do we kill them…better?"
Wesley shrugged. "Hacking them to pieces appears to be the most effective
method of killing them."
Angel sunk back into his chair. "Alright, back to the drawing board…"
Fred dropped her book, stood up and ran out of the room.
"
Fred?" called Gunn, running after her.
Wesley grabbed the book from where Fred had dropped it and scanned the page
for relevant information.
"
Oh my God…" he muttered.
"
What is it!?" asked Angel, panicked.
"
You actually have to hack them to pieces – that's the only way
of killing them," he said, starting out of the room.
Before he could leave, Fred and Gunn came back in.
"
Uh, guys?" said Fred.
"
The demon's gone," finished Gunn.
The bell rang from the lobby.
Without thinking, Angel went to answer it.
The Sha'Tan'Uo stood there, wounds still gleaming with blood.
Connor stalked down the alleyway, following the vampire that had come out
of the nightclub with a young girl.
He slammed her against the wall, hand covering her mouth so she couldn't
scream.
Connor tapped him on the shoulder, and he dumbly whirled around. Before he
could say anything, a wooden stake was plunged into his heart and he exploded
into a cloud of dust. The girl cowered in terror, eyes frozen on Connor.
"
Hey, it's okay now," he started. The girl continued to whimper.
He was about to walk away when he realised she was looking past him…and
above him.
Connor spun around to be faced with a torso bigger than anything he'd
ever seen in this dimension.
He looked up at the grinning, hideously fanged jaw and tensed to strike out – but
a moment too late. The demon had struck first and sent Connor stumbling down
the alleyway. It went to attack the girl, but Connor frantically grabbed for
some junk nearby, and threw it as hard as he could at the demon's head.
He didn't even know what it was, but it did the job. The demon staggered
sideways, clutching its skull.
"
Get out of here!" he yelled at the girl, and she ran away, shrieking
in terror.
The demon snarled fiercely and charged down the alleyway.
Connor braced himself for the onslaught of the coming attack, and jumped into
the air, swinging his leg around and connecting against the demon's head
solidly. It roared in pain but kept coming. Connor went to punch the thing
but it grabbed his fist and squeezed, making something pop loudly. He didn't
give it the satisfaction of knowing it'd hurt him, he whipped his other
hand around to bring the dagger hidden in a pouch on the small of his back,
and plunged it into the demon's chest. It launched him backwards sending
him tumbling back down the alleyway. He could feel the scrapes burning into
his skin; hear the fabric of his clothing tear.
Connor leaped back to his feet. Somehow, the demon was already there, landing
both of its fists onto his shoulders. He crumbled onto his knees and it brought
its knee into his face, making him fly backwards flat onto his back.
He continued with the momentum of the blow, launching himself backwards and
flipping back onto his feet.
The demon was there, right in front of him again, but this time he was ready
for it. He reached forward and ripped the dagger upwards, making blood gush
from the open wound, and then out when he reached its rib cage.
If the thing was annoyed before, it was insane with rage now.
It grabbed hold of Connor, lifted him into the air and beat him against the
brick wall of the alleyway. He felt the mortar crumble beneath his spine but
couldn't make his arm reach forward and stab them demon.
The dagger fell out of his hand, his right arm now senseless.
The demon threw Connor out of the alley, and onto the small road behind it.
He backed away toward the other side of the street, feeling the blood pour
openly across his face and down his back. The demon started across the road,
ready to finish him off.
Connor didn't see the car until it had collided with the monster, but
somehow it just staggered backwards while the cars hood dented. He fell to
the floor, totally exhausted.
The car door opened, and someone got out. It was a woman, in a leather jacket
and blonde hair.
"
Tough guy, huh?"
The demon growled at the newcomer.
"
Well, if that's the case…" she reached to her side, drew
the gun holstered there, and blasted at the demon.
It staggered backwards, already dazed from being hit by the car. Little torrents
of blood started to pour from the bullet holes the woman kept placing in its
chest.
Finally, with one last gurgle, it fell backwards and with an immense splat,
hit the road, blood and ooze spreading in a large puddle around it.
The woman walked over to Connor, who was struggling to remain conscious.
"
You okay kid?" she asked in an amiable enough voice, considering. He
managed a grunt in response.
Police sirens echoed in the distance.
"
Crap," said the woman. "Listen, you want the cops in on this?" Connor
tilted his head slightly from side to side.
"
Okay then, let's get you out of here." She picked him up and helped
him walk the distance to the car and opened the passenger door when they arrived.
He managed to pull himself into the car.
She slammed the door shut, ran back around to the driver's side and climbed
in.
"
Hey kid," she said as she strapped herself in. "You got a name?"
"
Connor," he managed.
"
Nice to meet you," answered the woman. "I'm Kate. Now let's
get moving."
The Sha'Tan'Uo roared and charged at Angel, who was too surprised
to do anything back. It collided with him and sent him stumbling backwards
into the wall.
"
Angel!" cried Fred.
Gunn leapt forward, still with his home-made axe, and attacked the demon.
"
Never got a chance to do this before," he said as he swung the axe at
the enormous creature. It blocked all of his attacks except the last one, which
sliced its left arm clean off. It howled in agony, and lashed out at Gunn,
sending him sprawling onto the ground. It went to attack him on the ground
but a massive blast shattered the relative silence of the lobby and sent the
Sha'Tan'Uo flat onto its back on the ground.
Wesley walked over to it, put a foot on its chest, cocked the shotgun, put
the barrel to its head and fired again. It exploded with a muffled discharge
and the demon finally lay limp on the ground.
Angel walked over and examined the remains of the demon.
"
Beheading seems to work too," he observed.
"
We have to be certain though," answered Wesley.
"
Dammit," complained Angel, "You've already wrecked the car,
do you have to do the same to the hotel?"
Wesley nodded.
"
Fine," said Angel, dejected, "Let's get it into the basement…"
Fred walked over, looking in shock at the demon.
"
Fred, check on Lorne, see if we have to call in…" he stopped and
turned to Gunn. "Who do we call instead of a doctor for Lorne?"
"
Damned if I know," was the reply.
"
Anyway, go check on him." Fred wandered upstairs.
"
Gunn, come give us a hand with this?" Gunn nodded and headed over to
the corpse.
"
Hey, Wesley," whispered Angel to the Englishman. He nodded and leaned
in closer.
"
Where did you hide that shotgun?"
Wesley just smiled, tapped the side of his nose, and started to haul away the
dead body.