“Connor,” Angel whispered sadly as he approached his son.
“I just told you it’s not him,” Gunn said, shaking his head. “Man, you’re slow today.”
“Why do you look like him?” Cordelia asked.
“Because I am him,” the boy smirked. “The defining part of him anyway. All that anger. All that hatred. All the darkness that came with him from Quartoth. You know. That stuff you thought you got rid of when you did your little cleansing in the Hyperion.”
“How did all of that get here?” Angel asked.
“Human beings are like sponges,” the boy said. “They absorb the energy around them. When Connor was in Quartoth, he absorbed the darkness of the place. Cordelia got a lot of it out of him. But once out, it had no place to go but back to its immediate source. Connor.”
“When we made the deal to help your son,” Eve broke in, “we couldn’t leave this darkness inside him. We had to get it out of him.”
“Lucky for you, you had a big interdimensional space in need of dark energy,” Cordelia said coldly.
“That was convenient, yes. This energy is our conduit to the senior partners.”
“This is what you were after,” Angel said. “It wasn’t me. It was the energy. The darkness you took out of Connor.”
“It was both actually,” Eve said.
*
“Other teams have been double teaming Reilly.” Andy Murray , head coach of the LA Kings was addressing his team. Connor was staring ahead as if listening, but thinking about Eve.
That night, Connor played abysmally. He had two trips to the penalty box and, due to his lack of concentration during the pre-game strategy session, he was completely out of tune with the rest of the team. The strategy shift was to have other players clear defenders off Connor so he could score. Instead, Connor stuck with the old strategy of drawing coverage and passing to other players. The Kings lost four to one.
“Yo Reilly,” someone called as Connor was heading out of the locker room. Connor looked back to see Left Wing Luc Robespierre, the teams leading scorer. “Pretty rough game out there, eh?”
Connor nodded. “Yeah. I felt like I was in a trance.”
“Looked kind of brain dead,” Luc agreed. “Heard you had problems with your lady friend, eh?”
“Ex-lady friend.”
“That’s why you played like crap. Listen, kid. Best way to get over someone is to get on top of someone else. Even if you have to grab one of these groupie chicks, just get a girl and get this out of your system. Every major sports writer said we’d have a losing season. But with you, we could take the Stanley Cup. So try to get this behind you, eh?”
“I will. I just need to talk to Eve and figure some stuff out. Plus get all my crap back from her apartment.”
“Connor!” a reporter called to him. “Any comment on the game tonight.”
“I sucked and we lost. Sucks to be Connor Reilly tonight.” Connor pushed past an approaching throng and headed for the team bus.
*
Angel stormed into his office and slammed the door behind him. Cordy opened it, entered, and slammed the door behind her. “What are you going to do about this?!”
“I don’t know yet,” Angel said in a brooding tone.
“You can’t do nothing.”
“I know that. But I can’t exactly let Wolfram & Hart stick all the black energy back into my son. I need to talk to the others about Gunn.”
“What about him?”
“His memory was supposed to be altered. He’s working with the Senior Partners.”
“He’s obviously not himself,” Cordy said. “They probably took some of that evil Quor’toth energy and stuck it into him.”
“Well I’m not a physicist, so I really can’t help with that!”
“Angel, you can’t do that! You can’t trade Gunn for Connor. And who knows where it’ll end.”
“I don’t care where it ends!” Angel shouted. “But yes, I can trade Gunn for Connor. And I’ll do it, Cordelia. I’ll do that and worse. You have no idea how far I’d go to save my son!”
“Angel,” Cordelia whimpered. He was so far from the man she knew. He was so far from the champion who sought to save the world. But, like so many other fathers, the world meant little in comparison to his own child.
Cordy swallowed. “Angel, you have to have faith in your son. Trust that even if all of those memories and all that evil were returned to him, we could still help him. He’s a good person, Angel. Just set everything back the way it was and we can save him.”
“We don’t need to save him,” Angel said with a resolute glare. “I already did.”
“You didn’t save him,” Cordy said. “You gave him a lie. A beautiful lie, yes. But a lie. Now think back over your history. Think back over Connor’s, too. When has any lie, no matter how pleasant or well intentioned, done either of you any good?”
Angel gritted his teeth. Cordy could see him thinking. She could see his resolve cracking. “I need to think,” he said.
*
“The Eagles are running away with the NFC East!” the television in Lorne’s office blared. “But will they only choke in the championships again? Is Connor Reilly a flash in the pan? And yes, the Red Sox finally won a World Series. But it’s been three months already. When are you guys going to shut the hell up about it? All this and more tonight on The Best Damn Sports Show, Period!”
“They’re already writing Connor’s obituary,” Lorne said.
“Someone’s going to kill Connor?” Fred asked.
“I mean show biz obituary, sweetie pie.”
“I’ve definitely been in the demon fighting business too long. Besides, the guy did fall a few stories and hit the ground like he stepped off a stair. Wouldn’t be surprised if we wound up having to stake him or something.”
“No one’s staking my hockey player! Now hush. The fat guy is talking.”
“Which one?” Fred asked.
Former baseball player John Kruk was dictating Connor’s sports obituary.
“I mean, look at the facts. This kid entered the draft, but nobody wanted him. Then, the Kings make him the second highest paid player in the NHL before he’s even played a game.”
“Or turned eighteen,” Tom Arnold pitched in.
“Hang on, because that’s my point,” guest panel member Rachel McAdams interrupted. “He’s eighteen years old and he’s leading the league in assists. He’d probably lead in goals, but he’s drawing double coverage. And, he leads all centers in steals. He’s playing offense, defense, and he’s not hogging the puck. Everyone has a bad day sooner or later. Did the Kings overpay him? Maybe. But let’s not jump on his case and call him a flash in the pan after one bad game.”
“You just like him because he’s cute,” Tom Arnold joked.
“That helps too,” Rachel laughed. “I’m from Canada, so a cute guy who plays hockey well is pretty hot.”
“Still,” Tom Arnold said. “Reilly goes to the combine for every scout in the league and no one takes notice. But then, his agent has a private scouting practice and suddenly everyone’s salivating over him? Can you say steroids?”
“Personally,” Kruk said. “I only have two questions. First, how much beer did they give those scouts and second, why wasn’t I invited?”
“The Krukker does like his beer,” Tom Arnold laughed.
Lorne angrily shut the television off. “Those ignorant, unsophisticated . . . fart heads!”
“They’re just doing their job,” a voice came from the door of the office. Lorne and Fred turned to see Connor. “Which, at the moment, is making fun of the overpaid eighteen year old who plays for the L.A. Kings.”
“I know you’re probably upset,” Lorne said. “But don’t worry. No one’s pulling any endorsement contracts. You’re still my little gold mine on skates.”
“Um . . . cool. But actually I came here to see Fred.”
“Me?” Fred asked.
“No,” Connor joked. “Someone else named Fred. Any idea where he is?”
Fred looked at Connor blankly.
“That was sarcasm,” Connor said. “Yes. You. I was looking for you.”
“Me?” she repeated. “I, um . . . I never talked to a famous person before. Well, not famous outside the field of Physics. Actually, there was a Nobel Prize winning Microbiologist from Harvard once, but I don’t remember his name so he doesn’t count. The point is, I don’t know what I’d say to a famous hockey player.”
“You might start babbling and embarrass yourself,” Lorne teased.
“What do you mean you don’t know what to say to me?” Connor said. “We’ve talked a few times. You took my blood. What’s with getting weird now?”
“You weren’t famous then.”
Connor rolled his eyes. “Can we step out in the hall for a second? I’ll talk and you won’t have to. I’ll just need you to nod or shake your head.”
“What? I don’t get it.”
“Oh for the love of Rudolph Valentino!” Lorne sighed. “Fred, he’s going to ask you out.”
“Hey!” Connor said, annoyed at being preempted.
“What?” Fred asked.
“He’s asking you out!” Lorne said loudly. “You’re kind of slow today.”
“But . . . but why?” Fred asked Lorne.
“Probably because you’re cute as a button. But you should ask him to be sure.”
“I never got that,” Fred said. “I mean, buttons aren’t cute. Why would I want to be compared to a button?”
Lorne sighed. “Fred, don’t leave your suitor waiting. Will you go out with him or not?”.
“He’s not really asking me out.” Fred turned to Connor. “Are you?”
Connor shook his head. “When I was coming up here, I imagined like a million ways that this could go horribly, horribly wrong. I can honestly say this is worse than any of them.”
“I better give you two some privacy,” Lorne said as he headed out of the office.
“Aren’t you going out with Eve?” Fred asked.
“We broke up.”
“So I’m your rebound girl?”
“Okay,” Connor nodded. “This is familiar territory. This is actually one of the million horrible responses I imagined.”
“I’m sorry,” Fred said in a sincerely apologetic voice. “I didn’t mean to be horrible. I just . . . I was in a love triangle thing once and it was definitely the opposite of fun.”
“Eve and I were like . . . a temporary thing. It was . . . I’m not like . . . it’s not a rebound thing. I’m single. I like you. I thought maybe you liked me and we could get dinner or even a cup of coffee. I mean, that’s pretty noncommittal, right? Coffee?”
Fred smiled embarrassedly. “Well, you do have to come and see your agents. I suppose we could get lunch.”
*
“Wes,” Cordy said as she sidled up to the former watcher just outside the Wolfram & Hart building.
“Hello Cordelia. Getting into the swing of things, I see.”
“We need to talk.”
“Of course.”
“If Angel knew I was talking to you, he’d kill me. But . . . Graghhhhhh!!!!”
Wesley quickly grabbed Cordelia as she collapsed. “Vision?”
“First since I got back,” Cordy said.
“I thought they didn’t hurt anymore?”
“Thanks, Wes. That’s very soothing. Why don’t you do less talking and more getting me a hot washcloth?”
A few minutes later, Wesley was sitting by Cordelia’s bed in the infirmary. Angel walked in. “Vision?”
“Yes,” Wesley said.
“Great! There’s people that need help and evil that needs vanquishing. I could really use some time away from here.”
“It’s a bit more complicated than that,” Wesley said.
“What do you mean complicated?” Cordelia said. “He needs help!”
“Who?” Angel asked.
“Spike,” Wesley said.
“Spike’s dead,” Angel answered.
Cordleia looked at him. “He’s in hell, Angel.”
“I’m not seeing the problem.”
Wes sighed. “Angel, he has a soul.”
“I’m still not seeing the problem.”
“Angel!” Cordleia and Wesley shouted.
Angel slumped into a chair. “What do we do?”
“I’ll need some time to configure a plan of action. Once in place-”
“You’ll call Angel,” Cordy interrupted. “Enough with the long windedness already.”
*
Connor blushed as the people came up to him on the street. He was walking with Fred. His equipment bag with two hockey sticks, ice skates, and a puck was slung over his shoulder.
“I don’t get it,” he said. “We were out all day in broad daylight and no one recognizes me. Then night hits, and it’s suddenly autograph time. My wrist is cramping.”
“Already?” Fred smirked. “I thought that usually didn’t happen until after the date.”
“I don’t get it.”
“That’s because I suck at dirty jokes.”
“Oh,” Connor blushed. “I’m not allowed to do that during the hockey season. Might sprain my wrist and land me on the disabled list.”
“Really? Is that really a rule?”
“No!” Connor laughed. “Of course not.” He took Fred’s hand. “Can I walk you to your door?”
“I’m actually going back to the lab.”
“Can I walk you back to the lab, then?”
“I hope you’re not expecting a goodnight kiss,” Fred teased. “I never kiss on the first date.”
“Oh, me neither,” Connor played along. “But the way I see it, this totally counts as two dates. The picnic in the park was the first date and dinner was the second.”
“And I thought we’d spent all this time together because we enjoyed each other’s company.”
“We enjoy your company, too,” a deep voice said.
Connor turned to see a gang of five guys approaching. Oh come on, he thought as he pulled out his wallet. This isn’t even a bad part of town. “Look, here’s the money man,” he said as he moved in front of Fred. “I’ll just toss the wallet to you and we can all go our separate ways.”
“Connor,” Fred whispered as she tugged on his sleeve. He turned and saw two more guys coming from the opposite direction.
“We’re not interested in your money, man. But if it makes you feel any better, I’ll kill you quick. The girl I’ll need to spend some time with to suck her dry.” The head of the gang stepped forward, his face vamped. “Wow. Most people freak the first time they see a vamp.”
“What?” Connor said. It had taken him a moment to register that the face was distorted. Until the vamp mentioned it, the demonic visage seemed completely natural to Connor. “Vampires?” he said as if annoyed by the inconvenience. “It’s not bad enough that there’re zombies, but now I have to deal with vampires.”
Connor dropped the bag from his shoulder and quickly pulled out a hockey stick.
You can do it, a sweet voice seemed to whisper to Connor. You’ve won against worse odds.
The comments reassured Connor despite the fact he was 99% sure it was just his imagination.
“So you’re going to fight then?” the leader smiled.
“You’re threatening to kill me and rape my girlfriend. You’re really not giving me much choice. Of course, if you let her go, I’ll just-”
“It’s cool, man,” the lead vamp said. “I like to play with my food. My mama used to tell me not to. Then I ate her.”
The gang of vamps started laughing. Connor used the moment they gave him to snap the hocked stick he was holding. He shoved one of the pieces into Fred’s hand and lunged for the lead vamp. The vamp backed away, but underestimated Connor’s speed. Connor slammed the makeshift stake into the leader’s stomach and he collapsed to the ground in pain.
The two vamps near the leader jumped forward and grabbed Connor’s arms. He jerked wildly and threw them off.
You’re winning because they underestimate your speed and strength. But they’re catching on. This won’t work forever. You have to act fast.
Connor ignored the voice and turned toward Fred. He was prepared to go to her rescue before he saw her stake one of the vamps behind them. He turned back only to be nailed in the head by a brick one of the vamps had thrown.
Connor’s head ached and his vision blurred for a second. A vamp was charging him. Connor thrust his arm forward and staked it, dust flying around him. The second vamp jumped off a dumpster and drop-kicked him. Connor rolled to his feet. The leader was on his feet again, too. The leader began staggering toward Fred with a combination of rage and lust in his eyes. Connor jumped in front of the vamp and staked him.
Connor glanced back to see the vamp Fred was fighting had her pinned against the wall. She kneed him in the groin, but it just pissed him off. Connor ran for the vamp and slammed his stake through the back of it. He burst to dust.
The last vamp grabbed the brick he’d hit Connor with and charged at the boy again. Fred ducked from under Connor’s arm and slammed her stake into the vamp, dusting him. The brick hit the ground with a thud.
“Come on,” Connor said, putting an arm around Fred. “Let’s go somewhere indoors fast.”
Indoors wasn’t the lab, but Fred’s apartment. She shoved Connor through the door and planted a kiss on his lips. Connor kissed her back, running his hand through her hair. It was silky and smelled so nice. On any other night, he could practically spend the entire night just playing with her hair. But at the moment, other parts of her body were distracting him.
“Isn’t this a little fast for a first date?” Connor whispered between kisses.
“You saved my life. That counts as at least a hundred dates.”
*
“Fred’s not here?” Cordelia said as he sat down.
“Her date with my hockey player must have gone pretty well,” Lorne smiled.
“Connor? Fred’s on a date with Connor?”
“Yeah. They look so cute together with their pretty faces and their silky brown hair and their desperate need of more carbs in their diet.”
Cordelia knew this complicated things. Fred dating anyone wouldn’t sit well with Wesley, who was essential to her plan. Furthermore, it would cause Fred conflicting emotions once everything was in the open. None of this was fair.
Part of Cordy hated Angel for doing this. Another part of her understood all too well. Even now, there was a part of her that was desperate for an excuse to leave Connor the happy and well-adjusted young man he was. But in the end, what Connor said to Angel several months ago was true. You can’t be saved by a lie. Sooner or later, this would come back to haunt them all. The only way to prevent that was facing it head on.
Wesley stepped into the room, followed shortly by Angel and Gunn. Fred, looking a bit disheveled, came soon after.
“I’ve developed a plan,” Wesley said as everyone was seated. “With the help of the mystics here at Wolfram & Hart, we’ve developed a tracking device of sorts for the necklace Spike was wearing when he disintegrated.”
Angel laughed, causing everyone to stare. “Sorry,” he said. “I just can’t think of Spike disintegrating without getting a little giddy.”
“Fred and I will create a portal.”
“A portal,” Gunn groused. “Oh happy day.”
“Once we’ve passed through that portal into the hell dimension where Spike is currently being held, we should be able to track him down.”
“Provided we’re not eaten first,” Gunn said, anxious to punch holes in Wesley’s plan.
“That is a concern, yes. The realm into which we are venturing is the domain of the First Evil. Countless legions of Turok Han will be at its disposal. Untold horrors exist in this realm.”
“And we’re going there uninvited,” Gunn said.
“If Spike has a soul,” Angel said, regretting that he’d even started the sentence. “We can’t leave him there.” He looked at Cordy. “Is there any guarantee that he’ll still have his soul when we find him? The last thing I need to do is go to a hell dimension to find a vampire with Stockholm Syndrome.”
“If my vision is accurate,” Cordelia said.
“Then we’re good,” Angel said as he stood. He left the room. Lorne, Fred, and Gunn followed him.
“How’d the date go?” Lorne asked when they got into the hall.
“It almost went too far,” Fred said.
“You little hussy,” Lorne teased.
“Cut it out. He was really nice. A complete gentleman. He even put the breaks on when he thought we were moving to fast.”
“On the first date?”
“Well . . . he’s really cute. And he saved my life. Plus, it’s been a while since I Kam-Schucked.”
“Wow,” Lorne said. “Talking dirty and Pylean at the same time.”
“I’m a talented girl.”
“Too bad Connor didn’t find out how talented.”
Fred blushed and playfully hit Lorne's arm.
"Don't wrinkle the Armani!" the demon said.
*
Back in the conference room, Wesley and Cordelia were having a much more serious conversation.
“You realize there could be dire ramifications if I make an error.”
“I trust you,” Cordelia said. “For the record, are we talking about Spike’s rescue or the other thing?”
“Both. When do we tell the others?”
“Lorne and Fred?”
“Yes, Cordelia. They would be the others to whom I’m referring. If what you say about Gunn is true, I’m certainly not including him.”
“We’ll tell them when you’re ready.”
“I’m taking a lot on faith. You haven’t been extremely forthcoming, other than telling me Gunn is evil and Angel is hiding something. And let’s face it. Your track record is against you here.”
“Have Lorne and as many other psychics read me as you want. I’m being straight with you, Wesley. Besides, even if I weren’t, you’d know soon enough.”
“I suppose I would. But this is powerful magic, Cordelia. Not something to be trifled with. Why can’t you simply tell me what it is you want me to see?”
“If I told you, you wouldn’t believe me. You need to see this for yourself.”
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