Angel, Season 6: 6.11: Training
by filmtheory
Connor grabbed Karl and slammed him hard into the wall. “Tell us about the girl,” he hissed angrily.

Angel put a hand on Connor’s shoulder and eased him away. “We have to ask him nice first.”

“But he’s not going to tell us unless we hurt him,” Connor protested.

“Probably not. But we have to give him the chance.”

“This is stupid,” Connor whined, backing away. He looked absent-mindedly around the shop.

“We’re looking for a girl named Kimberly,” Angel said, showing Karl the picture. “Have you seen her?”

“No,” Karl said. “No, man.”

“She was seen in here,” Angel said.

“Lots of girls come in here,” Karl answered.

“She was seen in here kissing you,” Angel said. “And given that she’s fairly cute and you’re fairly . . . not, I’m thinking it’s weird that you wouldn’t want to tell people that you were kissing a cute girl.”

“I don’t know anything. Don’t I get a lawyer or something?”

“We’re not the police,” Angel said.

“Then I’m not talking to you.”

“Okay,” Angel said, turning to his bored-looking son. “Connor, you can hurt him now.”

“Finally,” Connor said, sounding annoyed at having to wait, but excited that he finally got to hurt a scum bag. He stepped forward, grabbed Karl’s arm, and wrenched it roughly. There was a snapping sound, then a loud pop. Karl dropped to the ground and started screaming.

“Ahhhh! My arm!” Karl looked at the arm and screamed louder. “Ahhh! Is that my bone. Oh my god! What did you do?!”

“Connor,” Angel said in a calm but reproachful voice.

“What?” he answered, throwing his hand sup in confusion and annoyance.

“I’ll tell you what you want to know!” Karl shouted. “Please! Please just don’t hurt me! She started coming in a month ago . . .”

“You’re not supposed to break his arm,” Angel said in a calm, mentoring tone. “At least not right away.”

“Why not?!” Connor protested irritably. “You said to hurt him. That sounded like it hurt, right?” He motioned exasperatedly toward the injured Karl. “And he’s talking, isn’t he?”

“But you’re supposed to work up to that,” Angel said. “You need to use finesse. There’s a formula to this.”

“. . . so they said they’d give me five hundred dollars for each girl I got them,” Karl went on. “I needed the money. I’m sorry. I put an ad . . .”

“You just waste a lot of time,” Connor said, folding his arms petulantly.

“. . . down in Chinatown,” Karl finished.

“What?” Angel asked, looking at the babbling, injured man. “Oh. Chinatown. Right. We knew that.”

“You know that?” Karl yelled.

“Yeah. Actually, we killed those demons and rescued Kimberly an hour ago. We just came here because my son needed practice interrogating people.”

“Practice?! You broke my arm for practice?”

“Apparently you still need practice,” Angel said to Connor, ignoring the screaming Karl. He walked toward the front door.

“I don’t need practice,” Connor protested as they left. “He talked.”

“Oh my god,” Karl wept, holding his arm.

The door chimed again as Angel shoved Connor back inside.

“He said I have to tell you if you keep selling girls to Morhandra demons, we’ll kill you,” Connor said.

“And?” Angel said from outside.

“Oh,” Connor said. “Yeah. If you tell anybody about this, we’ll kill you. And if you warn the Morhandra demons we’re coming, we’ll kill you for that, too.”

“But you said you already killed the demons?” Karl cried.

“Yeah,” Connor rolled his eyes. “But if we hadn’t already killed them and you warned them we were coming . . .” Connor nodded and raised his eyebrows, trying to impress his point, but instead looking comical. “We’d have totally come back here and killed you.”

*

“How’s he coming along?” Cordelia asked.

“Good,” Angel said. “Really good. Has some things to learn about progression. He gets impatient with the finer points of things. But he’s doing well.” Angel kissed her. “How about that other thing?”

Cordy smiled. “Lorne knows a guy who claims he can help. It’s a medallion that’s usually used during an exorcism. It binds the soul to the body while they cast the evil spirits out.”

“Sounds promising,” Angel smiled.

“Oh my god!” a high pitched shriek came form downstairs.

Angel jumped to his feet and ran from the room. He made it to the balcony and looked down to see Fred hug Connor. Connor hugged her back, causing Fred to awkwardly back away.

“So they’re good?” Connor asked.

“They’re great,” Fred corrected.

“So this pretty much makes me like the smartest guy in the world,” Connor said smugly.

“Or it makes me the best tutor in the world,” Fred smiled back.

“Nah. I’m going with I’m the smartest guy in the world. Way smarter than Wesley.”

Fred rolled her eyes. “Don’t start.”

“Good news is happening?” Cordelia said. “We don’t get that here much. Share.”

“Connor scored a combined 2280 on the SAT’s,” Fred said excitedly. “After this, the GED should be easy.”

“2280 is good, right?” Angel asked.

“It’s out of 2400,” Fred said. “So, yeah. It’s good.”

“But don’t they give you a bunch of points just for writing your name?” Cordelia asked. Angel turned and gave her a shut up look. “Right,” Cordy said. “Good job Connor. We should take you to a special dinner. Or maybe let you kill something really big and gross.”

“Like Wesley,” Connor muttered.

Angel heard the comment and couldn’t help but frown. “We need to get him around people his own age right away,” he said.

“Why?” Cordy asked.

“I’ll explain it later,” he answered.

*

“The more I see of their Modus Operandi,” Wesley began.

“Speak English,” Connor complained.

“That was English,” Wesley answered.

“No,” Connor said. “It was Latin. It means ‘way of operating.’”

“If you know what it means, then why are you complaining?” Wesley asked.

“Kid likes to complain,” Gunn interjected.

“Charles,” Fred said quietly, putting a calming hand on his.

“Connor,” Angel said in a scolding voice.

“The Morhandra demons,” Wesley started again. “Were here for a purpose. The girls they requested were not food.”

“I told you that,” Connor interrupted.

“Connor,” Angel scolded again.

“I believe they were a sacrifice,” Wesley said. “Possible reasons for the sacrifice number in the dozens, but in all likelihood, it was-”

“Apocalypse,” Angel said.

“Didn’t we just wrap one of those up in Sunnydale?” Gunn asked.

“Pain in the ass the way they keep popping up,” Cordy added.

“Lorne,” Angel said. “Hit the streets and start digging up info on the Morhandra demons. Find out if any others are waiting to pick up where they left off. Fred, hit the books. Cordy . . . I don’t know. Try to get a vision or something.”

“Yeah,” Cordy said sarcastically. “That’s easy.”

“Connor,” Angel continued. “You and Wesley hit the nest and look it over again.”

“Dad,” Connor whined.

“Connor, stop bitching, whining, moping, and in all other ways being annoying,” Angel shouted. “You know your way around the nest and can take care of yourself in a fight. Wes will notice anything significant in the whole virgin sacrifice, apocalypse arena.”

“Wait a minute,” Connor said. “I scored 2280 on my SAT’s. That means I’m just as smart as Wesley. Probably smarter. So I can handle it alone.”

“Connor, god help me, you are not too old for me to put you over my leg and spank you until you stop acting like a brat. Now cut it out!”

Connor rolled his eyes.

“Sorry for causing a fuss,” Wesley said, not quite sure what the problem was. He looked at Fred. “Perhaps when Connor and I return, you and I could look over the results.”

Both Connor and Gunn rolled their eyes.

“That would be fine, I guess,” Fred said, wishing Wesley hadn’t made the comment in front of the group. She stood and started to leave the room. Everyone else began disbanding as well.

“Um, Fred,” Wes said, catching up to her. “Perhaps after reviewing what we find there, we could . . . go out to dinner. Or something else . . . date-like.”

Fred glanced into the room and noticed Connor paying wrapped attention. She silently cursed his vampire hearing. “We shouldn’t discuss this now. Later. When we’re alone.”

“Of course,” Wesley said. As he turned back to Angel, Connor slammed his shoulder into Wesley, nearly knocking the former watcher over.

“Oh,” Cordy said to Angel. “Now I get it.”

“Angel,” Wesley said. “Could you perhaps enlighten me about something?”

“Man, you are so clueless,” Gunn shook his head.

“Excuse me?” Wesley said.

Gunn pushed past Wesley. “I know what you’re going to ask. And you’d have to be clueless to ask it.”

Wes turned back to Angel. “Do you know what it is I’ve done to instigate Connor’s anger? I mean, he did try to decapitate me in a sewer. If anyone should be holding a grudge, it’s me. What could I have done to upset him so?”

Angel looked at Wesley, half wanting to tell him. In the end, despite the fact that everyone in the office but Wesley seemed to know, Angel decided to keep his son’s feelings a secret. “Gee Wes. You kidnapped him as a child and handed him over to a psycho who raised him in a hell dimension for sixteen years. He might have some hard feelings about that.”

*

“Think that was smart?” Cordy asked as she walked with Angel. “Putting those two together?”

“Connor will behave. He’s been good lately. Much less . . .”

“Homicidal?” Cordy offered.

“Don’t,” Angel said.

“Hey,” Cordy said, annoyed at Angel’s tone. “I’m the one who’s holding back on the I told you so. I told you not to lie to your son. If you’d listened to me, how much of this never would have happened?”

Angel put his arms around Cordy. “You’re right. I wish . . . I wish I’d listened to you. You have no idea how much I wish I’d listened to you.” He put his head on her shoulder and tried not to cry. “You would have been such a good mother to him. And I would have been such a good father.”

Cordy put a hand on his back. “You will be. But the first thing you have to do to get there is talk to him about this thing going on right now.”

“What thing?” Angel asked. “The Morhandra demons?”

“No, dummy,” Cordy said, lightly bopping him on the head. “His crush on Fred.”

“What?” Angel asked. “What would I even say?”

“I don’t know,” Cordy said. “That what he’s feeling is normal. And that it’ll pass. That he’s too young to get hung up on any one girl. And someone’s out there for him. And even when it doesn’t work out with someone, like you and Buffy, thing’s’ll work out with someone else, like with you and me.”

“That’s pretty good,” Angel said.

“Thanks.”

“Cordy?”

“No,” She said, guessing where he was going. “I’m not talking to Connor for you.”

*

“These Morhandra demons, Lorne, they’re bad news.”

“Okay, Floyd,” Lorne said, rolling his eyes. “How much bad news are they?”

“Three c’s worth.”

“Three hundred dollars?” Lorne said, disbelievingly. “Are you crazy?”

“To cross a Morhandra demon, yeah. I’d have to be. But for three hundred bucks, I think I could get a little wild for ya.”

Lorne rolled his eyes. “I only have two sixty on me,” he said. “But I can throw in a free reading.”

“Sold,” Floyd responded. “You drive a hard bargain. But cash up front.” Lorne slid the money over and Floyd started. “Virgin sacrifices weren’t for an apocalypse. And they weren’t the Morhandra’s idea. They were hired muscle to get a portal made.”

“To where?” Lorne asked.

Floyd leaned across the table. “Word is that the Senior Partners were none too happy Angel turned that deal down. They’re looking to kick him where it hurts.”

“So what else is new?”

“What would hurt him most? I mean, really hurt.”

“Quar’Toth,” Lorne said, looking down. “They’re going to try to send Connor back.”

“But you didn’t hear it from me. What you did hear was You're out of the woods. You're out of the dark. You're out of the night. Step into the sun. Step into the light. Keep straight ahead for-”

“Here in the Poppies?” Lorne asked in disbelief. “That’s what you sing?”

“Just bought my kids The Wizard of Oz on DVD,” Floyd said. “Can’t get that damn song out of my head. So what’s my fate?”

“You’ll be a snitch the rest of your life. You’ll live long, amass lots of money, but ultimately be lonely and unhappy. Unless you change your ways. Which you probably won’t.”

“So pretty much the same, then.”

“Yep.”

*

“A portal to Quar’Toth,” Angel said into his cell phone. “What do they want to bring through?”

“It’s not what they want to bring through,” Lorne said over the cell phone. “It’s who they want to send back.”

“Connor. And I sent him right to it.” Angel hung up on Lorne and dialed Wesley’s cell. “Wes,” he said, getting the voicemail. “As soon as you get this, get out of the nest. Make sure you take Connor with you!”

Angel ran to the basement and entered the sewer pipes, heading for the Morhandra nest.

*

Angel ran into the sub-basement of the old concrete factory. “Where’s Wesley?” he shouted to Connor over the maelstrom of sound and flashing lights. Connor was trapped in a corner by a portal.

“Outside,” Connor shouted. “Someone was trying to call him on the cell phone, but he couldn’t get any reception.”

“Connor, we have to get you out of here,” Angel shouted. “This is a portal.”

“Duh,” Connor shouted. “To Quar’Toth. I kind of know what they look like. But what are they trying to bring?”

“Connor!” Wesley’s voice shouted from the stairwell. “We have to get you out of here. It’s a trap!” He stormed into the basement to see Connor in the corner and Angel near the stairs. “Ah. I see you surmised that.”

“What do we do?” Angel called to Wes. “Throw him a rope?”

“No,” Wesley says. “The physics of portals works such that-”

“Less wordy, Wes,” Angel said.

“If we pull him across the portal he’ll be drawn through it. However, the one summoning the portal must be here. Probably on one of the floors above this room.”

“Try to counter the portal,” Angel said as he ran into the stairwell. He ran up one flight of stairs, then sped across the floor to the room above the portal. Empty. He headed back into the stairwell and headed up another flight of steps. This time, he just froze on the stairs and listened for the sound of chanting. Two more floors and Angel heard them. Morhandra demons. It sounded like three of them.

Angel rushed into the room, pulling out his broad sword. He cut the first one down before anyone had time to move. Two vampires jumped onto his back. Angel bent forward, throwing one off. He slammed his sword into the downed vamp’s neck and beheaded him.

Suddenly, the weight of the other vamp was pulled from Angel back. He turned to see Wesley slam a stake into the vamp’s chest. Connor charged forward with his small battle axe. Angel went with him and with a few quick hacks, they dispatched the remaining Morhandra demons.

“Well,” Wesley said. “That was easy.”

“Don’t jinx us,” Angel said. “How’d you guys get here so fast?”

“When you disrupted the incantation, it seems to have weakened the portal enough for us to get Connor around it.”

“Did you stay behind and make sure nothing came through?” Angel asked.

“Well . . . I’m sure everything’s fine,” Wes sputtered.

“Wes,” Angel said, pushing past the former watcher. “How many times go I have to tell you not to jinx us?”

The building shook horribly.

“Earthquake?” Wes asked.

“Or big demon form another dimension,” Angel answered.

Connor pushed past Angel and Wesley. “I’ll go first.”

“Connor!” Angel said, grabbing his son’s arm.

“Dad,” Connor said, cutting off his father’s protest. “If it’s from Quar’Toth, I’ll know how to kill it.”

Connor ran down the stairs with Angel in tow while Wesley lagged behind. Connor charged into the subbasement to find a giant demon, well over ten feet tall, with twenty long tentacles, each with three foot long talons, hunched over.

“What the hell is that?” Angel asked.

“I call it an aqua,” Connor called back.

“Why?” Angel asked.

Connor whipped his lighter out of his pocket and held it up. He snapped it on and held it up to a fire detector. Instantly the sprinklers kicked on and started flooding the room. The creature began screeching horrifically.

Connor turned and headed out of the subbasement. “They hate water. Calling them aqua reminds me what kills them.”

*

“Hey,” Angel said as he stepped into Connor’s room.

“Hey,” Connor said, not looking up from his Gameboy.

“Want to talk?”

“Not really.”

“So we’re back to moody Connor,” Angel said, sitting next to his son.

“I’m just upset about . . . stuff.”

“I doubt you know this, having grown up in a hell dimension and all, but when stuff upsets you, you can talk to your dad about it.”

Connor set the Gameboy down and looked around the room nervously. “I . . . Fred. I kind of . . .”

“You have feelings for her. Romantic feelings.”

Connor nodded and looked at the floor. He looked ashamed.

“Don’t be embarrassed, Connor,” Angel said. “There’s no reason to . . . I mean this is normal and healthy and natural and . . . okay. But, at your age, Connor, it’s . . . you don’t have to get hung up on any one thing. Or girl.”

“But she’s the one I like. I mean, you’ve been around for a while. What do I do? How do I . . . how do I make her like me? I mean people just don’t always like each other. Sometimes you have to do things, right? To make the other person care.”

“Well . . .,” Angel didn’t know what to say. “Flowers are nice. And candy. But, Connor, I think with Fred . . . you know what? Maybe what you need is a girlfriend.”

“I want a girlfriend. I want Fred to be my girlfriend.”

“No, no,” Angel said. “Connor, listen. Sometimes a girl needs to see a guy with someone else and then they realize that maybe they like them.”

“I’m lost. What are we talking about?”

“If Fred sees you with another girl, maybe she’ll realize she has feelings for you and get jealous.”

“And what if she doesn’t?”

“Then maybe you’ll realize that you have feelings for the girl you’re seeing and not Fred. Think about it.” He stood and walked from the door.

“Dad,” Connor called as Angel reached the door. Angel turned and looked back at his son. “Thanks.”

“Anytime.”

Connor sat back for a moment after Angel left. Finally, he picked up the phone and dialed a number. “Hey,” he said. “You always said if I needed to talk to someone I could call you. So I thought I’d . . . you know. Do that.”

Connor listened while the woman on the other end told him he could call her any time. “Thanks, Faith,” he answered.

*

“Ick,” Eve said as she stepped into the subbasement. Men in hazmat suits were collecting a viscous fluid in containers. “This is messy.”

“But effective,” Knox added.

“Yeah,” Eve said. “My plan did seem to work perfectly. Now, we just have to find a scientist who can mix this crap into what we need.”

Knox coughed in annoyance. “I, um, should be able to do that. I’m . . . I’m a scientist.”

“You sure? This is dangerous stuff we’re talking about.”

“Well, yeah. But so was the Veriszia virus. And I managed that okay.”

“Three of your assistants died.”

“Not important assistants,” Knox responded. “Trust me. In two weeks, Angel and his friends won’t know what hit them.”

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