Angel only managed to regain some semblance of thought after Connor was already long gone. The vampire with a soul was racked with fear, but he wouldn't let that control him. Connor was his son, Lania was his lover, and Angel would have to protect them, by whatever means necessary.
Gunn and Fred offered to kit up and go looking for Connor, but Angel refused, saying they would have better chance of finding him when they were strong and able.
"Angel, we have no chance of getting in, grabbing him and her, and getting out alive, not the three of us." Gunn said wearily, after what felt like a lifetime of discussion.
"Gunn is right, we need cavalry." Fred agreed.
"So we'll get some." Angel said simply, reaching for the phone and dialling a number he could still recall perfectly, despite the fact he hadn't dialled it for a very long time.
He waited patiently while the line connected, while it rang out, and then eventually it was picked up. The young polite voice sounded exactly like he remembered, and he spoke.
"Buffy, I need your help."
Hundreds of miles away, in Sunnydale, Buffy was holding the phone receiver in her hand, her eyes glazed over with shock. Nevertheless, she pulled herself together, cleared her throat, and spoke, very aware the whole of the Scooby Gang could hear her every word.
"Angel, what's up?" She asked softly.
"A lot actually. I need you to come out here ASAP."
"Why?"
"It's a really long story. I'll explain when you get here." Angel promised.
"Do you just need me, or the gang?"
"As many people as you can bring." Angel answered.
"Expect me by morning." Buffy told him.
"Thanks Buffy, I really owe you one."
"You can sing my praises when I get the job done." Buffy said firmly. "I'll see you in a couple of hours."
"Ok, bye."
"Later." Buffy hung up, and turned to her faithful followers, who were looking at her with nothing short of curiosity.
"Guys, we're goin on a field trip."
Connor hid in the shadows, his heart racing with fear and adrenalin, his eyes wide with terror and paranoia. He slowly made his way to the Wolfram and Hart offices, amazed by the towering mass of glass and concrete.
The glass doors were locked before him, but he was not going to give up now, or ever. He raised the hilt of his sword, and smashed the glass with it, shattering it into a hundred tiny pieces. He slid in through his makeshift door, and stood in the dark foyer, waiting for his eyes to grow accustomed to the lack of light.
"What took you so long?" A cold female voice asked from a shadowy corner. The lights blazed into life, and Connor had to raise a hand to his eyes, the light stinging.
"Where is she?" Connor demanded, not wanting to participate in any form of small talk.
"Who, the slayer? Or should I say…your girlfriend?" The woman stepped into the light, and Connor recognised her as Lilah.
"Take me to her, now."
"Soz lil man, no can do. See, the thing is, we only want her. You, well we didn't think you'd play Joe Hero. But seein as how you're here now, the more the merrier, right?" She grinned a wicked grin. Connor unsheathed his sword, and adjusted his grip.
"Where is she?" He asked again, looking more deadly this time, with the sword in his hands.
"I'll take you to her." Lilah said, and began to walk briskly across the foyer, and through another set of glass doors. Connor followed her, down many flights of stairs, and along a narrow corridor, which led to a door that Lilah unlocked. They walked through the door together, and Connor glanced round the dingy room. The only light was provided by a solitary light bulb.
Connor eyes fell on Lania, who was tied mercilessly to a wooden chair in the centre of the room. He ran to her, and knelt in front of her, taking in the bruises and cuts on her face, and the bloodstain of her shirt. He removed the gag from her mouth, and kissed her passionately, so glad to find her alive.
"Aw, isn't that sweet?" Lilah drawled. She grabbed Connor by the shoulder, and yanked him back, sending him sprawling across the dirty floor. "Don't worry, your girlfriend is fine. Well, apart from the nasty lil stomach wound. But she won't die or anything."
"She better not." Connor warned, getting to his feet, his hand still holding his sword. Lilah's eyes rested on the shimmering blade for a moment, and she looked at Connor.
"Wow, I must say kiddo, you did come prepared. But, I'm a pacifist. I don't like weapons."
"Tough." Connor snapped.
"Either you give it to me, or I get my friends…" She clapped her hands, and twenty people emerged from the shadows. "…To take it from you, and then kill her with it. It's your choice."
Connor looked round at the ring of warriors. He was confident that he was a good fighter, but he could never defeat twenty people single-handedly. Reluctantly, he handed the sword to Lilah, who flung it over to one of the twenty, who promptly broke it over his knee.
"You see Connor, we're trying to convince your slut here to join our side. But she's a tough little cookie, and we're having trouble persuading her." Lilah told him, as she circled him like a bird of prey. He curled his hands into fists, but did not hit her, not just yet.
"See, we've tried torturing her, but that doesn't work, and we don't wanna kill her, cuz then all our hard work will be useless. But you, on the other hand, she won't bear see you hurt, will she?" Lilah hissed, grabbing Connor's long hair, forcing him to raise his chin, and she slid a knife under it, so it was pressing against his throat. He could no longer see Lania, but he could feel the anger emanating from her in torrents.
"You don't like this, do ya Slayer? I'll give you something, he is very very attractive." Lilah purred, and licked Connor's neck. He tensed, but couldn't struggle against her grip.
"Touch him again and I'll kill you." Lania vowed bitterly, but Lilah laughed low and long in her throat.
"Ooh, someone's possessive. Tell me, why do you care so much for him in the first place? I mean, you met him on his first day in this dimension, and two months later, you were screwing him. What makes him so special?" Lilah asked. Lania offered no answer. "Is it cuz he's the bastard son of two vampires? Was it fun banging a freak, just like yourself?" Lilah spat. Connor closed his eyes, thinking hard, trying to make a plan to get Lania, and himself out of there.
"You're beggin for some serious torture." Lania hissed, tugging at the ropes around her wrists.
"Well just means we can't ever let you outta that chair then lil lady. Now, how to make you crack…" Lilah murmured softly, thinking to herself. Suddenly, she smiled widely. "I know!" She pulled the knife away from Connor's throat, but before he could react, she plunged it into his stomach. His eyes widened in pain, but he didn't cry out. Lilah slowly dragged the knife from the wound, and flung Connor to the ground at Lania's feet.
"And that's just the beginning." She promised.
Connor lay bleeding on the floor for a while, his breath coming in short gasps, his hands clutching his stomach. His lip was cut and stinging, his cheekbone bruised. Lilah stood over him, and grabbed his long hair, forcing him to stand, and lift his chin. She laughed at him.
"How the mighty have fallen. Listen, Connor, you can leave right now if you want. There's no-one keeping you here." Lilah told him, letting him go, smart enough to realise that he wouldn't start a fight.
Connor looked to Lania, seeing her tied in that chair, helpless. Their eyes met, and he knew what she was about to tell him. She wanted him to go, to live, to leave her there alone.
With one last long, despairing look into her eyes, her beautiful pained eyes, he turned on his heel, and left.
Back at the hotel, Angel had just finished filling Buffy and the whole gang in on Connor, Lania, and the situation they were in.
"Buffy, I know this has nothing to do with you, but I can't do this alone. I can't leave my son out there." Angel begged.
"I'm on board here. But I'm thinkin, the sooner we weapon up, the better. We can't guarantee that we have a lot of time." Buffy suggested. The others nodded their approval, and began gathering weapons.
At that moment, the door was flung open, and Connor came stumbling in, blood all over his hands. He nearly collapsed on the floor, and Angel rushed to him, pulling away his clasped hands to reveal a heavily bleeding wound.
"God Connor, what the hell happened?" Angel asked. "Some help here!" He called to the others. Willow kneeled beside him, and inspected Connor's wound.
"I can't heal it, but I can stop the blood." She offered.
"Anything." Angel agreed. Willow placed her hands over the wound. Within seconds, the blood stopped, although to the eye the wound appeared to be open, and was obviously causing Connor a lot of pain.
"Con, what happened?" Angel asked again, helping Connor to his feet.
"They have Lania. They're torturing her." Connor murmured.
Across the room, Angel's eyes met Buffy's, and they both knew there wasn't much hope.
At the Wolfram and Hart office, Lania was screaming in pain.