Disclaimer: As always, Angel the series and all of its characters belong to Joss Whedon and its various networks and production companies, NOT ME. Please don't sue me, I'm not making any money off of this. It's just mindless fun.

Rating: PG- 14

PS: Again, as with all of my stories, my mistakes are my own. I don't have a beta.

[Thoughts are in italics, speech is in quotation marks, "". Okay?]

Fast Forward

By: Sensue

Chapter 6: Eidetiker

Red Dragon (Third in the Hannibal Trilogy)

"I've always had a feeling…you were an eidetiker." –Hannibal.

"I'm not a psychic…" –Will Graham.

"…Not psychic…you're more akin to artistic imagination. You're able to assume the emotional point of view of other people, even those who might scare or sicken you." –Hannibal.

Four Hours Later (Hyperion Hotel)

"Alright, so you are all pretty much telling me that there's no way to get Connor back," Angel said gravely as he paced the small office almost knocking over Fred, Spike, Lorne, Wesley and Gunn in his aimless march, "okay. Why was Cordy so upset? I don't understand. Why did she say that 'he' warned her? Who warned her? And if they did warn her that her parents were going to kidnap Connor, why didn't she tell me? Or at least prevent her parents from visiting--."

Lorne had to cut the poor man off, sorry the poor vampire off; He was starting to get louder and louder and Lorne did not want the Princess, or the children for that matter, to hear him go off. "It was Nicky," Lorne answered at least one of his questions, "that little boy is very special, Angel. He's always been special; similar to an eidetiker."

"Lorne, man. What the hell is a edi-taker?" Gunn asked, "Does that mean that he can read minds? 'Cause that's sort of freaky."

"No, I mean his an Empath, like me. He's able to assume the emotional point of view of other people, without needing them to sing, like I do. He can feel what others can feel. Of course, I've had more practice reading auras, more so than emotions. I'm from a hell dimension full of warriors who don't feel anything, but hungry. Hey don't look at me like that; It was a good joke. Ok, ok…I'll further explain. I don't need people to sing to see their auras, I can just see them. Nicky can do the opposite. He can just be around people and know how they feel."

Wesley was puzzled, "Why didn't you say anything before this? If you had noticed it, this empathy, why didn't you at least tell his parents?"

"It's not my place. I can't just go around and tell you all what the other is capable of. It takes away personal privacy, and in all honesty, even though I knew he had the gift; I didn't know that he was that good at differentiating other people's emotions so soon. I mean, he's only five years old. When I was younger, I felt I was different, but I didn't know why or how I was different. I was trying to save him from those kinds of feelings until he was a little older, old enough to understand his gift. I swear if I'd known that he was getting stronger, I would've told Faith and Robin. I wouldn't have let Nicky suffer feelings of alienation and, as your fellow associate mentioned, being called a 'freak' just because he's different." Lorne gave Gunn a severe glare as he said this.

"Sorry." Gunn blurted.

"An Empath? Ok, Nicky's an empath. I can deal with that." Angel stopped his pacing and looked the desk he was standing in front of, as if it held all the answers.

"Well, since we are talking about the children, I might as well tell you about Cathy as well," Lorne began.

"Cathy?" Everyone in the office stopped what they were doing and looked up at Lorne. Angel looked at him hard, starring deep in his eyes, "What about Cathy?"

"Well, our little princess, jr. really is Princess, Jr. She's a seer, like her mommy, except her gifts will come to her a little differently. If you all remember, before Cordy was turned into a part-demon, her visions were so painful that they were going to kill her in time. Now that she's got a little demon in her, she can tolerate them without pain. Now, Cathy will also get visions in the form of 'flashes,' but she can only see them after direct contact with something that is associated with the vision. Ok, how do I explain this? Oh…Have you ever seen the show Charmed? If you haven't, Spike can tell you, he's watched that show before. I've seen him. Well, since Angel and Wesley are shaking their heads, I'll explain a little. It's a show about three witch sisters that have powers. One sister can freeze time, another can do something they call 'orb', but basically the girl's a teleporter. But, the third sister can see the future. She can, for example, touch her classmate's book and see that she's going to be attacked by demons later that evening. That sort of thing. Now, Cathy's power hasn't activated yet, but once it does, she's going to be extremely powerful, like her mommy."

"Do you think that she'll be in pain? Cordy was in pain. I don't want the lit'l bit to hurt. I want her to stay a little girl. She's got to stay a lit'l bit." Spike seemed very upset by this. Come on, he looked to the ceiling, you make Dawnie grow up, now you're doing it to Miss Lucy [Cathy]?

"Oh. Don't worry about that. Our little Princess has a tiny bit of demon in her, like her mommy and daddy. But, just enough to keep her from getting hurt when she gets the vision flashes. And as she gets older, she'll get more powers. She's a very strong girl, Angel. She'll be fine." Lorne explained.

"Wow. Genetically, Cathy has got to be absolutely one of a kind. Well, so is Connor, but at least both of his parents were vampires. That's sort of the same species so, even if it's technically impossible to have a vampire baby, it's not impossible genetically. But Cathy, she's got two different demons in her--" Angel stared at her, "Ok. I'm going to keep my thoughts to myself now, before I say something really stupid. Hey, I know what I CAN say that would be stupider… Got any weed?"

[That was from the episode "Spin the Bottle" when they all got turned into teenagers. I almost died laughing when I heard her ask Wesley that question. It was a funny situation, but I would have never thought that she would do drugs. That's why I included it here. ~Sensue]

Wesley turned red at that, while Gunn laughed out loud. Spike and Angel just looked at each other, shrugging that they had no clue. Angel let them laugh, he knew that they needed some kind of release or they would burn out, but they really needed to get back to business. His son was in some kind of a horrible hell dimension that they had no way of entering to perform a rescue. He truly was at his wits end. He couldn't think of anything that he could do. He could go to Wolfram and Hart and torture another lawyer, but if Lindsay had told Spike that there was no way that they could open the door to Quar'toth, then it was almost a hundred percent the truth. He remembered how persuasive Spike could be if he put his mind to it. There was no way that Lindsay could've lied. He sat down abruptly in the chair and put his head in his arms; his son was truly lost.

He sat there for a little while contemplating the changes that his life had taken in such a small amount of time. His only son was kidnapped by his wife's parents, his wife was a complete wreck guilt racking her into such a state, his daughter was going to be a seer like her mother, and his nephew is an Empath. Now, what? Angel thought desperately.

A light touch startled him from his dark thoughts. He looked up quickly, doing a double take. "Faith, Robin? What are you doing back? How'd you know?"

"We got a call telling us to high tale our asses back to L.A. and that you needed me, us, you needed us. Did you find anything? Can you get that fucking portal open or do we kick some ass?" Faith asked.

"Listen, I can't really go over this anymore or I'll go insane right now. Wesley can explain it to you. I have to go…somewhere; for a walk or something. I'll be back." With that being said Angel took is black trench coat from the coat rack and walked out of the door.

Angel walked out of home, yes, his home. It was the first time in almost two hundred years that he felt so comfortable in a place that he called it home. Not only did he find a home, but he rediscovered love. It was so strange how he had in so much love with Buffy Summers, had spent three, no actually it was four if you counted the years he had been watching her as she was called, years with her as her 'boyfriend,' but, in all honest, didn't know a thing about her besides the fact that she was the slayer. He thought back at all those years; he didn't even know what her favorite color was or her favorite foods, nothing, he knew nothing about his first love.

He met Cordelia in Sunnydale, spoke with her and only knew that she was sort of Buffy's friend. He actually liked Cordelia better than Buffy's other friends. He talked to her only a couple of times, and in those times, he thought she was funny. He remembered the day that he was waiting for Buffy in the Bronze, when Cordelia ran into him. He really wanted to leave, but he thought that it would be rude, so he did as she asked and sat with her at a table. After only a few minutes, he became comfortable in her presence. So comfortable in fact, that he was actually smiling and laughing at her 'leather Barbie car' joke. He'd always known what a strong person she was and was curious about her, but because of his up/down relationship with Buffy, he'd never really gotten to know her.

Then he moved to L.A. to forget about everything he'd had in Sunnydale. He wanted to start a new life. But the Powers that Be prevented him from being alone, as he planned. They sent him friends in the form of Allan Francis Doyle and Cordelia Chase. Two people who he would previously never even try to talk to. Yet he found himself being drawn to them both. Doyle as a best friend and Cordy, well at first, as someone who needed help. She wasn't fooling him with the 'I'm a famous actress' spiel. Then when Doyle died saving them, he and Cordy got closer. She became his best friend, his confidant, and his link to the PTBs. Unlike his relationship with Buffy, where he couldn't tell her stories about his past for fear of her disgust, he could tell his Cordy anything. Of course, if she found it disgusting, she'd just tell him, and then make fun of him for it for the entire week. He'd never been so close to anyone before, not even Darla, and he'd been with her over 150 years.

Then he'd run into Wesley and found another friend. At first Wesley was an annoyance, his lack of self-confidence hurting not only himself, but the people around him. It was Cordy who had encouraged Wesley to trust himself. Wesley proved himself after Angel had fired all of them in his 'beige period.' He had taken in Cordy and Charles Gunn and created a new Angel Investigations, one without Angel. Thinking back, Angel always thought that Cordy would assume as leader. She had the most experience with the business. But, it was Cordy who made Wesley assume leadership, instead of rightfully assuming that role. In that role, Angel had found a partner in Wesley, an equal who he could trust to take care of the business and his friends when he wasn't able to.

He had run into Charles Gunn in attempt to stop some vampires from running the town. Gunn had been much like a thug back then, only doing what he had to in order for him and his gang to survive. And back then, nothing else mattered. It was funny because Angel himself had thought the same thing. Again, it was Cordy who broke through Gunn's façade; she saw him for who he really was and bound them all with a mission statement. Angel Investigations was going to "help the hopeless."

Lorne was, at first, just an informant. A karaoke singing demon who could read emotions and guide you through the future possibilities. Gradually he became more than that; he became a friend, not just a 'demon that I know.' It was through Lorne and his Pylean background, that Angel had met and rescued a shy Texan girl named Fred. She was quirky, after all she'd spent five years living as a 'cow' in Pylea, but had eventually with constant support from Wesley, Cordy, and Gunn, come out of the superimposed shell she'd placed around herself. They had found an individual who was extremely smart and loyal.

Shortly after that, Darla made her appearance known along with their child. It was strange how not only did that baby had given Darla a soul; he had given her a reason for life. She'd found true love in the form of a little baby boy who she had felt, but never seen.  Darla had sacrificed herself for her son's life, giving him everything that she'd never had for herself: a family who loved him, a life, and a future.

Angel had loved his son more than anything in this world. Through his infant son, he had seen the possibilities that existed with Cordelia. Had seen her soul shining brightly and had seen everything that Cordy was willing to sacrifice for him, for his son. Through that he had found real love that would last a lifetime in her. The powers had nearly taken her from him. THEY were willing to let her die from the visions. Instead, Cordelia had chosen to take in demon aspects and blood. This would allow her to live with being a Seer and stop the pain that had left her suffering in silence for years.

He'd married her. Loved her. Had another baby with her. Started a family neither one felt deserved one. Angel felt that way because of his Angelus days and Cordy because of her own history with his family. The blessed event that had made them husband and wife had also bound their souls together. The curse was no longer a concern for the happy couple, they could live their lives full of love, joy, and wonder without worrying that Angelus would make an appearance and ruin it.

And now, his happy family was torn apart. His son was taken. Angel was not going to give up hope, no matter what anyone told him. He was going to talk to the PTBs himself. And he was going to get their son back. NO MATTER WHAT!

The Conduit

Angel walked into the cavern his wife visited only hours before. He was going to find a way. There was no stopping him. His son was only seven years old. He deserved a childhood. He deserved his family and a future with them. Damn it…I can't lose him, not now.

"I'm here. I'm willing to offer you what you want. I'm willing to give up my soul. I just want my son back." Angel shouted into the rocky area, hearing his voice echo off of the boulders.

"Denied. The champion's soul cannot be taken. It is bound. It does not know what it asks." The voices sounded throughout the cavern.

"Listen to me. I will do ANYTHING, anything that you want. I will give up anything. Just bring my son back. Let him come home. He doesn't deserve this. Just open some sort of portal and let him come home." Angel's voice shook with desperation. His entire body becoming tight, his stance ready for a fight.

"Denied. No one can reenter the Quar'toth without this dimension coming to chaos." The voices seemed unconcerned and unaffected by their champion's plea.

"Then at least you can tell me why. Why did you let that demon take him?"

"We do not interfere with menial lower beings. It is at its meant to be."

"Don't interfere? You can't interfere? YOU ALWAYS INTERFERE! DON'T YOU REMEMBER, YOU ALMOST KILLED MY WIFE WITH VISIONS FROM THE POWERS, FROM YOU! So that I can INTERFERE with evil beings. How is that NOT interference?" His voice began to crack from the intensity and loudness that he was yelling. There was no answer. "Then at least you can tell me, why?  Why Connor? Why did Sah'jan take Connor?"

The voices answered that question, "The boy has the potential to become the greatest champion the world has known. He also has the potential for evil. The path is his alone to chose."

Angel looked deep into the flames, for a moment, quieting to think. "He was going to be a champion? And that's why he was kidnapped? That's why, huh?" He wasn't really asking the conduit, he was talking to himself. His gaze drifted to the stones above him. "Well, I guess that it's all about your champions, huh? Well, you know what I think? I think that you've got so many champions that it doesn't really matter if you allow one to be kidnapped. What's another champion; you've got tons of them. So I guess you don't need me, then. You help me get my son back, or I won't be your champion. I will chose not to. I don't need your mission, your redemption. The PTBs better find a way, a loophole, like you found my seer, or you'll lose two champions today. Unless they do, I won't do anything. Nothing. I'm not going to do anything that they ask me to do. Screw you and screw the magnificent Powers That Be."

His rage was like the living flames before him. He picked up a heavy boulder and threw it in the fire pit that he was standing in front of and as he threw it the cavern echoed his pain, rage and grief. The screams seemingly echoed throughout the city.

To be continued in Chapter 7: Huh?