Disclaimer: Buffy the Vampire Slayer and all characters are copyright and trademarks of WB, David Greenwalt, Joss Whedon, 20th Century Fox, and others.
Chapter 7: The Morning After
Dear Buffy,
I've talked to you on the phone since I left and there's something I can't say because my phone got smashed by a really testy demon. Buffy, I love you. I need you to be prepared if I don't come back. I might not make it back, BUff. There're things that I want you to do and they start here. Live. Last time I was in Sunnydale, you compared yourself to Cookie dough and maybe we were both cookie dough. I'm ready and I need to touch you and feel you and be with you, not just sex (but that too). I assume Connor didn't go back to L.A. like I asked him to...I see something in them, Buffy, something that makes them like us. But they're cookie dough too. I just wrote this to tell you that I'm almost done baking and I want you to enjoy me, if I get back.
Love,
Angel
Buffy read the note over and over, trying to get any hiddne meaning or any message that might suggest where he was or how the search was going. The message filled her with warmth and dread, it wasn't as if she didn't know the love was there, but to hear him say...or write it was something else entirely. She was near tears before she heard the door shut and Faith walk in.
" What's up, B?" Faith asked, " I heard slay-boy went on the rampage last night. I miss all the good things." she chuckled.
" Yeah, he was acting like mini-you." Buffy said, sniffling, " He found out about some things and decided to rearrange Kennedy's face. He's a powerhouse and a good fighter, I should see where he learned it."
Faith leaned over, reading Buffy's note, " Yeah, we should check on that. Buff, what's with the note?" she asked, slowly, reading the note.
" Angel." Buffy said simply.
Faith nodded, " Nuff said. Me and Robin just wanted to check in. We're leaving to keep the feds off our asses. If they see us somewhere else, it'd take the heat off seeing us here." she smiled, " We're taking a trip to London. Seems like a nice...rainy...depressin...Hell, don't know why we're going there, I just need a change in scenery."
Buffy nodded, " Any chance you can tell me when you'll be back?" she asked.
" Nope. Hard to tell, B. You know me, I'm a free spirit." Faith smiled.
Buffy chuckled, " The freest. Just check in, there's something scary going on and we don't have any info on this 'Titan' guy, or thing." she said, walking to the terrace.
Faith nodded, " So, where are, you know, the other people?" she asked.
" Giles already left for London with Andrew and Slayerettes, Connor and Austin went for breakfast, Xander, Willow, and Dawn went to the mall and I'm just hanging out." Buffy said, still looking out onto the town.
" Connor?" Faith asked.
" Passing through." Buffy said.
Faith chuckled, " Well, we're gonna hit the road. Later B." Faith said, leaving.
Connor and I sat at a table in Cafe' Lauteraze, staring at each other. I wanted to kiss him and hug him and...but if I did, I'm not sure I'd be able to handle him leaving. I wondered why he was here and not in L.A., college started in a few days. So many questions, but the first had to be...
" Why are you back here?" I asked.
Connor smiled, " It's your birthday, and despite you giving Kennedy a facelift, it's been going great. I had to give you a present and I really missed you." he said openly.
I nodded, " Given. It's the gift part that I'm not clear on. Is the gift you?" I asked, " I mean, not that I'm unhappy with you as a gift, but maybe one that I didn't have to retur..."
Connor smiled and put his hand in his pocket, " No. This is your present." he said, sitting a box on the table.
I looked at the box, not sure what to say or do, " I..." I mumbled.
" What?" he asked.
" Cliffnotes version, I'm worried what's in the box." I chuckled.
He leaned in, " You shouldn't be scared, when I hurt you, you'll want it." he smiled.
I smiled too and snatched up the box, " Waiting for that." I grinned, opening the box and finding a gold cross. I instantly loved it. It was simple, yet...special, " Thank you so much." I said excitedly.
" Don't thank me yet." he smirked. I smiled at him, but there was something strange about him, something that scared me. He didn't seem like the Connor I knew, I'd never seen that look in his eyes. I kept smiling, not sure of what was wrong, but something was off.
Dawn searched the mall for Austin and Connor. She'd been up all night trying to find a way to explain herself to Austin and to get Austin back on her side. It had been a while since the incident at the house and had happened and everyone had moved on. There was something different about Austin since she'd run into him here again, he seemed to be going through things that he didn't have to go through alone. Dawn really needed her best friend because later tonight, she'd be going on a date with Carlos and there were many butterflies. As pretty as the butterflies were, she needed them to be gone. Dawn suddenly bumped into someone and immediately thought back to Buffy bumping into Austin and got excited! Her excitement turned to shock when she turned to see Janice, her and Austin's old best friend.
" Oh, excuse me....I'm sorry." the girl said. Dawn was shocked, not only by the girl's appearance, but by the fact that she didn't seem to know Dawn.
" Janice?" Dawn asked in disbelief.
The girl smiled at her, " No, you must be mistaken. My name is Charity." she said, turning to walk away.
" NO!" Dawn said quickly, causing the girl to turn back, " I...uh, you look like a friend I used to know." she said, trying to shake off the girl's shocking appearance.
" I really should be going." Charity said angrily.
Dawn felt an urge to reach out and grab her, but stifled it, " Are you sure..." she started.
" Dawn." I said behind her, " What're you doing?" I asked, noticing her with her hand outstretched.
" Janice." Dawn said, turning to see that the girl was gone, " Janice was here! I swear!" she said in shock.
" Calm down." Connor said, running up to us.
I looked around, then back at Dawn, " Are you sure?" I asked.
" Didn't this 'Janice' die?" Connor asked.
" With all the things you've seen, you don't believe her?" I asked carefully.
Connor shrugged, " Where is she then?" he asked.
Dawn looked at us, then shook her head, " I don't know. When you came up, she...disappeared." she said, looking back.
" Maybe it was a sign." Connor said.
" Maybe..." I said, turning to leave, but I stopped. I looked up at the t.v. and it showed a head laying on the ground and the body a few feet away from it! I almost threw up, " I guess they don't censor anything here." I said, still glued to the scene. Apparently someone had been killed in the most inhumane way possible. The caption was " Couple found brutally murdered in the park." and underneath it, it said that there was a trail of blood that lead to the sewer, then stopped. Pieces and chunks laid everywhere. It was creepy. There were parts and things, but not enough for a whole couple. I shrugged to Connor and Dawn, " Looks like I'm slayin it up." I said, staring past them at the crowd that had gathered around the horrifying scene.
" I think we should get Buffy." Dawn said quickly, " Besides, we don't have the faintest idea where it is."
Connor smirked at me, " I think you might just be right, we should be able to cover it." he smiled.
" That's two to one." I said, grinning at the thought of beating her, " So you in or out?" I asked.
Dawn sighed, " Can we at least call Buffy." She asked.
" Sure, but we have no time for a briefing, the sun is going down and soon whatever it is will feed." I said certainly.
Connor nodded, " He'd right. We need to be there for the...whatever it is." he flinched.
" What is up with you?" I asked, then turned to Dawn, " He seems different, doesn't he?" I asked skeptically.
Dawn nodded, " Yeah. Maybe it's the trip." she said.
" I'm standing right here." Connor said angrily, " And I'm fine, I'm just a little weary."
" Weary?" I asked.
" Can we go now?" he asked.
I nodded and put my hand on Dawn's shoulder, " It's okay if you don't want to go. If I was a non-super-powered person, I wouldn't want to go either." I said, trying to not make her feel bad.
Dawn looked at me and nodded, " I'm going." then she pulled out her shiny pink cell phone and dialed Buffy's number, " Buffy?" she asked through the phone. She told Buffy what we were doing and of course she disapproved, but Dawn finally convinced her that we were going whether she approved or not. Buffy reluctantly agreed and said that she, Xander and Willow would meet us there. Also that Faith, Robin, and most of the slayers were gone. With that, we swept away, trying to reach the tunnels before the sun went down. We found ourselves in the worst part of the sewers and it stunk of corpses and blood. Dawned covered her nose and almost threw up, as did I, but Connor seemed unphased by the smell and the looks of the tunnel. I looked at him in disbelief and he moved on.
" What is that smell?" Dawn asked.
" Blood and Corpses." I asked.
" NO. No, there's stuff." she said, sniffing the air, she bent down and looked into the sewer water.
" Dawn, what is it?" I asked.
" Something's..." but before she could finish, something grabbed her and dragged her under and soon I felt something grab me and I slipped under the surface. I tried to keep my mouth closed and my eyes closed, but it was hard and my eyes met the murky water. We came out a few miles down the tunnel and somewhere between the surface and the end, miles below, I passed.
I heard a scream and opened my eyes tos ee Dawn chained to the floor! Connor was unconscious and something was moving around.
" So curious." A voice said from the shadows, " A male. There are a lot of female ones, but this one is speical. He is like Summer, doomed." the voice said.
I looked around, trying to find a place to escape, " Oww, ok. Who are you and why are you eating people?" I asked, hitting myself in the head, " Dumb question, you're a demon."
" It is curious that you, of all people, would come here with him." the voice said. Without even saying, I knew he was talking about Connor, " I've heard the stories."
I moved my arm and realized I was chained too. My arm moved around and snapped back, breaking the chain, " Whaddya mean? Stories about what?" I asked.
" How your parents threw you out...how you tried to save them as they screamed and died." it said, sweeping past me.
" Did you kill those people? Did you tear them apart?" I asked, " Or did you chain them to the floor and talk them to death?"
" Never! Not all demons are bad, we're made to be, but some of us decide for ourselves" it said quickly, " I drink only what they discard. I refuse to hurt people."
" Don't tell me your a vampire with a soul, it's really not hot anymore." I said, feeling something behind me and I turned to see only darkness.
" I know what you are." Dawn said, rising to her feet and fighting the chains, " A Gnarl." she said, her eyes darting behind me.
I ducked and sidekicked him, " I thought you didn't hurt humans." I asked, looking down at the anorexic demon.
" That was true, but I won't let you hurt me." it said, looking up at me.
" I'm not gonna hurt you if you tell me the truth." I sighed, " What's killing those people?"
" Them." the Gnarl said, looking past me at the gang of Turok-Han that had appeared in the tunnel.
I groaned, " What's with people looking past me? Everytime that happens, something worse comes after me!" I said, racing to Dawn and breaking the chain, " Wake Connor up!" I said, bracing myself for the impact of four Turok-Han. She raced to him and the Turok-Han rushed me, clawing and scratching, causing me to fight back. I moved as quick as I could, but one finally caught me! It slammed me into the wall and I slid down against it. Connor had awoken and was now helping fight the Turok-Han, but one was going after Dawn and I was busy with two at the moment. Dawn backed into a corner, searching for a weapon and the Turok-Han brought up his hand and swung at her, missing when the Gnarl tackled him to the ground! I kicked my Turok and flipped him over, punching the other one in the face and sidekicking the first into a wall, but I couldn't stake them because in all the ruckus, I'd lost my stake!
" AUSTIN!" Buffy said, launching the Scythe at me. I grabbed it and immediately felt the power and I quickly decapitated a Turok and lunged it into another's heart. dawn got the attention of her Turok by pounding it's head and it turned to her, fangs arched and ready to bite! The gnarl had it's foot, but the Turok slid from it grasp and dove at Dawn, but above Dawn the sewer opened up and a burst of light shone down on her and the Turok, causing it to burst into ashes! I couldn't take my eyes off Dawn. The light...she was bathed in it...and she...it made her angelic. That was the moment I knew she was meant to do something big. The last ray of light shone on her and Willow and Xander peeked down from above. I looked to Connor, who snapped the last Turok's neck, and he smiled. I knew something was wrong. I didn't say anything, I just looked at Buffy, who smiled and I smiled too.
" Anybody hurt down there?" Xander called.
" Yeah, cause Xander's first," Willow chuckled, " and I'm aid."
" Yeah." Buffy answered, " Everyone looks healthy and...wait, a Gnarl!"
Dawn and I stepped in front of her, " No." Dawn said, " He protected me."
" What?" Buffy asked, looking past us, " Really?"
" Shocked me too, but yes." I said, smiling back at him, but he was gone, " They sure are quick."
Before anyone could answer, some of the slayerettes came bustling through the tunnels. They stopped at the sight of all of us standing there, not moving. I smiled and twirled the scythe, " I can see why you like this thing." I said quickly.
Buffy reached out and grabbed it, " Yes, very useful. I'm thinking of naming it." she smiled.
" I like Fred." Dawn said.
" Me too." Willow smiled from above.
I shook my head, " More of a Mr. Sharp Deadly." I said, looking at the rest of the group, " See, a last name gives it honor." I chuckled.
" I agree." Xander giggled above, helping Slayerettes out of the tunnel, " Things like magical slayer-making axe thingys need honor. Not sure if I even have honor, do I have honor?"
" Absent when they gave that out?" I asked, to which he nodded, " Don't worry, you saved the world more than once, that automatically gives you honor." I said encouragingly.
" I hear what you're sayin and I like it." Xander smiled, his eye darted past me, " Something's up with him." Xander said, directing the comment at Connor.
" I got that feeling too." I said indifferently.
" Does it itch?" Dawn said, entering the conversation.
I scoffed, " No...sometimes, but no. I'd just like to ignore the whole thing." I said sadly.
Buffy, Willow, Xander, Dawn and I all looked at each other and noticed everyone had already left. Connor came up behind me and squeezed me and the girls chuckled and crawled up the ladder.
" You first, I want the good view." Connor smiled. I smiled and climbed the ladder nervously, followed closely by Connor.
Connor and I were about to start...rekindling, but he stopped when heard the t.v. come on. I looked from him to the t.v. and he crawled off me.
" Turn it up." he said, handing me the remote and heading onto the terrace.
I did as he asked and turned the volume up. The news had a breaking announcement, in italian, and I caught every other word. Apparently someone had been found severely beaten in the park just out of town. I waited intensely for a picture or a name and an explanation on how Connor knew all this. I didn't have to wait long for Connor's picture to pop up on the screen and I turned to the terrace to find no one. My mind went into a whirl! I stopped long enough to hear them say that he was alive and I headed into the living room to get Buffy and the gang.