But the sweet theft to reveal,
To be taken, to be seen,
These have crimes accounted been.’
It was a full week before they were ready to take Sahjhan on. Faith and Angel had met the following day and between them they’d worked out a daily training schedule for Connor that consisted of practising various fighting techniques and learning as much as possible about the Timeshifter.
Unlike the rest of the Granok demons, Sahjhan was corporeal, which was a good thing because he could be attacked, injured and killed, but also a bad thing because like all Granoks he possessed super powered strength and durability. In fact he’d kicked Angel’s ass before in a one on one fight, so they weren’t taking his fighting skills lightly.
On top of that he was a skilled practitioner of the dark arts, able to open dimensional portals to wherever and leap around through time and space. Faith really hoped that Sahjhan wouldn’t have time to get up to any of his magical tricks because Connor didn’t have any sort of counter to them, although Angel had gotten Wes to place some sort of ward over the kid so that at least he couldn’t be zapped out of the ring, sent off to Quor’toth again or some other shitty dimension. And finally, the demon liked to talk, quite incessantly, witty one-liners, useless trivia, that sort of thing. According to Angel it could be quite distracting.
Meeting Connor for the first time, well in her current memory anyway, was interesting. He was different than she’d expected, more friendly and naive and open than she would have thought any half demon son of Angel’s could be, somewhat like an eager puppy dog. She assumed that was the effect of the reality shift; there was nothing even remotely negative or bad-assed about this reset version of the boy, he was the polar opposite of raging and psychopathic.
In fact, if Faith hadn’t known any better, she would have assumed that he was just a very polite, rather cute, totally innocent and normal teenage boy. Despite the shyness, he was certainly all boy, giving her lots of wide eyed glances and shy leers when he thought no one was watching. Still, he was unworldly enough to blush and stammer and shuffle around whenever anyone noticed his attraction. Faith thought it was pretty cute and kind of endearing and it made her even more determined that the boy should come through his encounter with the Granok demon with all of his bits accounted for.
So, while she and Angel had worked with him on the physical side of things, both arm to arm and weapons training, the boss had brought Wes into the mix to help with the background info and magical side. Now that everything had come to a head, Angel had dropped a lot of the covert stuff. Okay, so he wasn’t exactly being Mr. Open and Honest, and was still employing the odd cover story here and there, but now that the Amazon crew were in the know and given that everyone could end up having their memories returned to them soon anyway, there wasn’t too much point in being all discrete and undercover. He obviously had no intention letting on that Connor was his son, but the rest of the stuff, about Vail and Sahjhan; he was being pretty up front about.
Still, getting Wes to handle the research was a risk. Angel had muttered something about some sort of scroll and the chance that Wes might put two and two together and come up with the fact that Connor, the son of a vampire with a soul, was actually Angel’s son. He was already pretty wary of his boss’ motives these days, particularly in regard to Vail. But on the other hand, the ex-Watcher was the most qualified and astute person to use when research and prophecies and protection wards were called for. It just meant that the vampire had to walk a tightrope in terms of sharing and withholding info.
This hadn’t made him the best of company. He was even more tense, paranoid and grouchy than usual and seemed very anxious about Connor getting hurt, and about his own chances of being outted. So, as much as Angel would have liked to have done so himself, he’d ended up leaving most of the training sessions to Faith. After Sunnydale, Faith had some experience working with untrained, super powered teenagers, although Spike and Buffy were both more qualified than she was. Still, how difficult could it be?
Pretty difficult as it turned out! During the first session, Faith quickly realized that Connor had all of the strength but none of the grace or skill of an experienced warrior. In fact he’d been down right clumsy and awkward. It was if the reset had not only wiped out any recollection of past physical confrontations, but also his body memories, how to move, how to respond. His coordination had seemed no better than a five year old.
But he’d been a quick learner. She’d taken him through a range of basic drills, getting him to repeat them over and over again, hoping to replace his stolen memories with a new set of instinctive responses. He’d been able to memorise the moves and quickly add speed and strength to their execution. Before long he’d learnt enough individual moves that they’d begun to put them together to create simple sequences.
Two days ago Faith had brought Lisa and Leslie in with her so that Connor could start to put his moves together, go head to head with each Slayer. At first it had been slow, awkward and rather painful to watch. Connor was over thinking each move and had been a beat behind the girl he was fighting against. He’d been embarrassed and annoyed when he got taken down and apologetic and shy when he won a skirmish, quickly conceding any leeway he may have made. He was fighting with his head, not his body, letting his thoughts and perceptions get in the way of his natural abilities and his learnt moves.
Finally Faith had got pissed off with him and stormed over, cussing him out in front of the girls, calling him a baby and a brat and a pussy, who couldn’t win a fight if his life depended on it. The dressing down had flicked on some sort of light in Connor’s head, finally, and anger had torn through his body, flooding it with adrenaline and leaving a cold, calculating gleam in his eyes. He’d flown at Faith, and she’d had to put every ounce of her preternatural strength, speed and experience into play in order to avoid being stomped into the ground.
He hadn’t beaten her, well not exactly, but only because she’d timed herself out, letting Lisa take over while she backed herself up against the wall and slid down to the ground, panting from exertion and covered in bruises and bumps. She’d had a front row seat as Connor had whirled and kicked and spun and punched and flipped and run rings around the young slayer. Faith wondered if he even registered the substitution as Leslie stepped into the arena from behind him, delivering a cheeky punch to his shoulder as she did so. It was the only time she managed to get her hands on him.
The boy fought like poetry in motion when he stopped thinking and set his body free. It was a beautiful thing to watch. He was at least as strong as a Slayer, although given his newbie status, Faith figured his strength and agility would eventually outstrip hers. And when he really let himself go, he was wicked fast. Still, whether it would be enough to defeat Sahjhan was anyone’s guess.
Faith certainly hoped so, cos either way that they’d find out within the next half hour. Angel pulled his sedan up to the curb, and they all got out. Wes had accompanied them, despite Angel’s reluctance, pointing out they he was the only one who had any shot at countering Sahjhan’s spells and charms if he decided to pull them out of his bag of tricks. Angel couldn’t very well argue with that, but he’d descended into an even deeper pit of sullen broodiness and had done little more than grunt at them on the drive over.
When they got to the entrance, they didn’t wait to be ushered in or announced. Angel opened the main doors and barged his way through and down the corridor to the front room. The Kith’harn demon stationed at the door obviously valued its life, because it quickly scuttled out of the vampire’s way, pressing itself up against the wall as inconspicuously as possible. Connor startled when he saw it, recognising the demon as the same breed that had attacked him and his parents months earlier. The two eyed one another warily as Connor passed, but neither made a move towards the other. Instead the boy hurried after Angel, pausing as he approached the open door to Vail’s receiving room and screwing up his face.
“Wow, this place smells like a retirement home!” the boy said.
Angel ignored him, but Faith and Wes looked at one another and grinned. Given Vail’s age and state of health, Connor had unknowingly hit the nail on the head.
Seconds later they’d crossed the threshold and Connor got his first look at the old sorcerer. The kid would make a useless poker player that’s for sure.
“Oh, lord!” Connor said in a loud aside as he pulled an ‘eek’ face. “Take a look at him will you?”
“Welcome, Angel,” Vail rasped. “I've been waiting for you. And this charming creature must be Connor. What a pleasure to make your acquaintance young man.” He grimaced and adjusted one of his med lines. “I see you’ve brought along two of your minions,” he added, nodding in the direction of Faith and Wes. “The worrisome ex-Watcher and one of your little Slayer whores if I’m not mistaken.
Angel growled and clenched his fists. “Shut up you old bastard, enough with your insults and fake pleasantries. We won't be staying long. Let’s get on with it shall we?”
“Yeah,” Connor strode forward confidently, fearlessly facing the old demon down, “Let me tell you how this is gonna work. I’ll fight this Sahjhan thing and kill it, and then we’ll walk. You come near my family again, and I'll slit your throat.” He paused and flicked his finger across his throat. “And if that doesn't kill ya, I'll chop your whole head off. And if that doesn't work, I'll, I'll just keep... stabbing you till you bleed to death. Understand?”
Vail shuddered and touched his hand to his own throat, before nodding thoughtfully. “I do.”
Angel in the meantime was looking at Connor in shock and admiration. “Right Vail, seems like my, ah Connor is ready for action. So where is Sahjhan?”
“Right through there,” Vail rasped out as he pointed to his left.
Everyone wandered over to inspect the adjoining room. A broad arched entranceway, framed by a pair of thick pillars, took up one whole wall of the octagonal room. It seemed rather formal, tiled in red and white like the receiving room with panelling and paper on the walls. A large chandelier hung from the centre of the ceiling, and several illuminated niches were set into the walls, the soft light displaying the large, ornate vases in each alcove.
A solid wooden table sat in the middle of the room. There was no sign of Sahjhan, but Faith recognised the urn that dominated the table. It was surrounded by a small selection of weapons, a couple of axes, two daggers, one straight and the other curved like a jambiya, and finally a wicked looking flanged mace. She and Wes circled the small room, checking it out for any hidden traps or doorways, while Angel was giving Connor some last minute advice.
“Listen Connor, he's gonna talk to you,” Angel said earnestly, his hand on the boy’s shoulder. “Don't let him distract you. Don’t take your eyes off him. And whatever you do, don’t …”
“Dude, you're starting to freak me out,” Connor interrupted him nervously. “I’ll be fine. Really!”
“Yeah big guy,” Faith chipped in, “Leave him be. The kid’s got this covered. Come on, time to let him get the show on the road.” She snagged Angel’s forearm and began pulling him back towards the receiving room. Angel shrugged her off and lifted his hand, signaling he wanted a moment more. Faith took the hint and followed Wes out of the arena and over to where Vail stood watching impatiently.
“Sorry,” Angel said quietly to Connor, “I know you’ll do great. Go get him.” He reached forward as if to hug the boy, but paused at the look of discomfort on Connor’s face and just sort of patted his shoulders. Grimacing a little in embarrassment, Angel croaked out “Sorry,” shook his head, cleared his throat and stepped back. “Go kick his ass,” he said firmly, before turning away and striding over to join his team just beyond the entranceway.
Connor walked around the table studying the weapons. Suddenly he glanced up, a startled expression on his face as he seemed to look directly at Angel.
“He can't see or hear us anymore,” Vail said.
“What? Why not?” Angel said angrily.
“Just a little precautionary measure. I can't risk Sahjhan getting loose. He has a nasty habit of trying to kill me. I’ve erected a simple barrier, impermeable of course, but much like a one way mirror, viewable from our side only.” Vail smiled nastily, “But don't worry. Your boy is very brave. I'm sure he'll do you proud. In fact I’m counting on it.”
Angel clenched his fists. He could still see his son, and hear his soft footsteps, but to not be able to leap to his rescue if something went wrong was terrifying. If anything happened to him, he’d tear the old bastard’s head from his scrawny shoulders.
In the other room Connor stood next to the table, facing the urn. “OK, so ‘Open sesame’. Or whatever,” he said as he reached out and gently prized the lid off the urn.
At once, a silvery smoke emanated from the vessel, drifting across the table and drawing together nearby, gradually taking shape and solidifying into Sahjhan. The Granok demon looked around, quickly spotting Connor and noticing the lid of the urn, still in his hand.
“Thank you, mortal, for releasing me from my cursed prison.” Sahjhan bowed low. “In gratitude, I grant you 3 wishes.”
Connor’s eyes widened. “Really?” he said excitedly.
Sahjahn chuckled and shook his head. r32;”Nah. I'm just messing with you.”
“Oh.”
“I do appreciate it, though.” The demon said, stretching his neck. r32;”Ahh... that urn wasn't exactly a day at the spa. I owe you one.”
“Right. Well, before you start trying to kiss me, I should probably tell ya... you and I, we're, uh...supposed to fight,” Connor admitted.
“Is that right?” Sahjhan asked, then continued after Connor’s nod of confirmation. “Now, why would you want …?”r32; He stopped and peered thoughtfully at Connor. “Ah, you're him!”
“Yeah. I'm me. Hi.” Connor finger waved, “You can take a moment, if you want.” r32;He pointed to the table. “There's some weapons and stuff over here if you think you'll need them.”
“Thanks. So, long time no see. How did Quor’toth work out for you anyway?”
Connor frowned and shrugged, “Great thanks,”
“Well then, I guess we’d better get down to business,” Sahjhan said as he pulled back his fist and punched Connor directly in the face.
The boy went flying across the room. In the outer room, Angel threw himself against the invisible barrier in concern, while Faith and Wes stepped up either side of him. From that angle they had a good view of the look of shock and confusion on Connor’s face.
Slowly, Connor pulled himself up and faced Sahjhan again. The demon smirked as he threw another couple of swings at the boy, both of which missed as Connor managed to duck out of the way. The kid took advantage of Sahjhan’s frustration and let rip with a shot of his own, hitting him in the face. But for his efforts, he took a big hit to the kidneys, followed by another to the face that had him flying again. As Sahjhan approached the downed boy, Angel snapped and grabbed Vail by the front of his tunic.
“Open the door,” he growled, “Now!”
Vail wheezed and clicked his fingers. But instead of the barrier dissipating, the old sorcerer held that little glowing cube of his, the Orlon Window, in the palm of his hand. The threat was implicit and Angel backed up quickly.
“Maybe the boy just needs a little helping hand,” Vail wheezed. “The return of certain memories and skills might be very helpful to him right now. What do you think, Daddy?”
Angel cringed as out of the corner of his eye he saw the look of confusion and suspicion colour Wes’ expression. He sighed and turned back to the barrier. Faith moved towards him and put a hand on his arm.
“It’s five by five big guy,” she said, “Don’t give up yet. Connor can still do this on his own. There's no point bringing back the past if we don't have to.”
Angel nodded and they both turned to watch the action in the next room just in time to witness Sahjhan kick Connor in the ribs, which sent him sliding across the floor. Sahjhan strode after him, a menacing look on his face. He grabbed Connor by the lapels and lifted him into the air before slamming him down on the table. The kid groaned, a look of shock and pain on his face. But as they watched, they saw that look change to one of anger and determination. It was a look Faith had seen before. Things might get interesting now.
Sahjhan had his hands around the boy’s neck when suddenly Connor reached up and grabbed the Granok demon’s throat, squeezing and pushing on it until Sahjhan finally released him. Confidently, Connor drew his legs back and thrust his feet solidly into Sahjhan’s chest, knocking him across the room. Quickly he rolled off the table and turned so that he was facing his foe. Muscles taut, fists clenched, eyes narrowed, his entire body screamed Connor’s sudden willingness to take this battle on. And win it.
Angel looked to his left, checking to see whether Vail still had the Orlon Window, certain that he must have returned Connor’s past reality to him, so abrupt was his son’s obvious change of attitude and stance. But both Vail and Wes stood as they had the last time he’d cared to look, both utterly focused on the astonishing spectacle taking place before them. The cube was still clenched in Vail’s hand, the golden light pulsing softly between his wrinkled fingers.
Shaking his head in confusion, Angel turned back to the fight, just in time to see Connor land a huge left right combination on Sahjhan. The demon teetered but quickly regained his footing. Not quickly enough though. Connor delivered a solid spinning side kick to Sahjhan’s chest, continued his spin to pick up an axe off the table and swung the weapon at the befuddled Timeshifter’s head, slicing it clean off.
Panting, Connor stood over Sahjhan’s body. With a slight whooshing noise, the barrier between the two rooms disappeared and the sound of cheering and whistling reached the stunned boy’s ears. He looked up to see Faith barrelling towards him and Angel and Wes following close behind. Everyone had big smiles on their faces, and the boss man seemed to have surprisingly shiny eyes. Connor was swept up in their hugs and backslaps and words of congratulations.
“Whoa!” Connor said excitedly, “Did you see that? I went a little hard-core there for a second. That guy made me really cranky.”
“You were amazing. Are you all right?” Angel asked, trying, but failing to keep the pride out of his voice.
“Yeah. I guess. I don't really like people touching my neck, you know?” Connor replied, rubbing his throat.
“Awesome job Junior,” Faith joined in. “You really kicked his ass. Just like I knew you would.”
“Yes, Master Connor,” Vail said from the doorway. “It appears you were able to vanquish my foe for me seemingly without any prior knowledge or experience. A most impressive feat indeed. I am indebted to you.” He paused and inclined his head in Connor’s direction. “Perhaps a reward would be in order. Here, catch!”
With a malevolent look in his eye, Vail tossed the Orlon cube across the room in Connor’s direction. It sailed through the air, heading towards the boy’s right side, and the hand that still held the axe. Tired and laxed out after his victory, Connor was unprepared for the airborne missile. He tried to turn and get his left hand up, but Faith was standing next to him and they got tangled. The cube was falling, short of Angel’s desperately outstretched hand, heading for the ground where it would undoubtedly smash open, releasing its destructive secrets.
At the last moment Wes, who was standing a little apart from the other three, dove forward, his cupped hand sliding between the cube and the tiled floor with only inches to spare. The occupants of the room stood, stunned and silent, waiting with baited breath to discover the outcome.
Wes lay totally outstretched on his stomach. Triumphantly he raised the fully intact cube in his right hand, scrambling to his feet to show off his prize. He was grinning wildly, a look of satisfaction lighting up his face.
“Wow,” Faith said, “Great catch Wes!”
“Yes, thank you Faith,” he replied, “The consequence of many, many years spent fielding out on a cricket pitch. De rigueur you know, for public school English lads such as myself.” He paused, looking thoughtfully at the glowing cube. “You know, there has been an awful lot of fuss made about this little trinket. You seem quite concerned about its contents Angel.” He lifted his head and stared warily at his boss.
“No, its of no consequence to me Wes.” Angel denied. “I don’t know what you’re going on about.”
“Hmm, I’m not sure that I accept your reassurance. See, after our last run in with Vail and your temporary guardianship of this pretty box, I decided to do some research. The results were fascinating.”
“What, what do you mean?” Angel asked, clearly uncomfortable with Wes’ conversation.
“I discovered that an Orlon Window, for that is what this little cube is, is a device that stores the original events or memories of a reality that has in some way been altered. And it got me wondering, why would you be so concerned about the state of this one little cube? What could it contain that would get you so on edge?”
“I … I … it’s just some harmless little bauble. It’s nothing to us Wes, to who we are.” Angel pleaded. “Please, just give to me and I’ll get rid of it, destroy it.”
“It means something to you alright, doesn’t it Angel? I thought as much. I already knew about the deal between Vail and Wolfram and Hart, that they paid him to oversee a large-scale reality shift. That the deal went down on the very day you lead us through their front doors. I thought maybe they’d done something, changed our memories so that they could manipulate us into joining them.”
Wes began walking up and down as he shared his thoughts, rolling the cube between the fingers of his right hand. “But no, I realised that if that were the case, then you would have no knowledge of the spell. But you knew the minute that Vail mentioned what this little gadget was back in June, you blanched whiter than normal when he explained its purpose. No, the spell is yours, the price of your contract with the devil perhaps.” He turned to face Angel again. “What did you do Angel? What have you done to us?”
“It wasn’t like that Wes,” Angel begged. “I did it to protect someone I love, to protect all of us. I would never deliberately hurt you or the others, trust me.”
“But that’s the trouble Angel, I don’t think I can trust you, not when my life is a lie, a lie that you wrote.”
“Wes, what...what are you doing?” Angel’s voice was full of despair.
The ex Watcher held the cube up as if to throw it on the ground. In the background Vail was softly cackling, his face lit up with anticipation. Wes hesitated, mesmerized by the look of misery on Angel’s face, the look of confusion on Connor’s. Faith stepped forward and gently laid her hand on Wes’ arm, staying his action. He glanced at her. Her gaze was full of sympathy and understanding, silently asking him questions that he didn’t want to consider. Was he doing this for the right reason, or simply for revenge? Would this action bring healing or more pain? Would it reveal the truth or just bury it beneath acrimony and grief? If so, was he no better than Angel?
Slowly, he lowered his hand, passing the cube to Faith. He raised his head, staring at the slumped form of his boss. The vampire seemed to have aged 50 years, his face was damp with tears and lined with what looked like regret.
“I still want to know,” Wes said firmly, “The whole story, unedited. You will tell me or I’ll be back here to negotiate with Vail. And by the looks of it, he’d be only too happy to share.”
“Agreed,” Angel murmured, “Just not here, not now.” His eyes flicked across to Connor. Wes caught the quick glance and the hunch that had been percolating in the back of his head, rumbled and rolled over.
“Well,” Vail wheezed, “After a promising start, this has been somewhat of an anticlimax. How disappointing I must say. Nevertheless lad,” he nodded in Connor’s direction, “I am grateful for your execution of that accursed demon. I believe I will relieve you of this ‘harmless little bauble’” he said, snatching the Orlon Window out of Faith’s hand. “Don’t pout Angel, it’s unbecoming of a man of your status. I shall keep it perfectly safe, should you have need of it in the future.”
Angel eyed Vail darkly, but kept his mouth shut as he ushered everyone out of the room, out of the building and into the car. They were silent as Angel drove them back towards Wolfram and Hart. They may have escaped Vail’s subtle threats, but it was impossible to outrun their own poisoned thoughts; the regrets, suspicions, questions and concerns that flooded the air with tension as the car raced smoothly through the night. Connor may have defeated Sahjhan, but for Angel, the evening’s events had felt more like a defeat than a victory.
His life was a lie, his relationships grounded in the shifting sands. Wes’ accusations had certainly revealed the tenuous state of faith his best friend had in him, in his actions and decisions. It was time to come clean, to lay the facts out on the table, to do the big reveal. Angel could only hope, that at the end of the day, Wes, Fred, Gunn and especially Connor, would be able to forgive him, and that they would give him the chance to rebuild the relationships that would be so badly damaged by his perceived betrayal.
If they couldn’t, Angel didn’t think there would be any point in going on.
In the end, a simple phone call had diverted his big reveal. They’d only just trooped their way back upstairs, all of them, even Connor, glumly following him, his unspoken intent to get the worst of it over and done with guiding them back towards his office. The call had been from Giles, the note of panic in his voice colouring and overriding his prosaic message. He’d rung just to let them know that there’d been a couple of incidents, blah, blah, blah. Maybe some help with research if he could spare it; Wes, maybe the scientist, Fred was it? And Faith’s name was mentioned too.
Angel let it all wash over him, his head, his long dead heart, both in a whirl. Were the fucking Powers joking? How much could a formerly evil, partially reformed, somewhat brooding vampire take? First Vail, and now this. He didn’t know the details, had tuned the watcher out. But the one thing he had heard was enough to stop him in his tracks. Somehow, someone had snatched his Slayer, right from under their fucking noses. Buffy had been taken.