TITLE: Episode 7-Unlikely Source
SERIES: Faith, Rogue Slayer
AUTHOR: elizafan568
EMAIL: elizfaith568@yahoo.com
FEEDBACK: Yes, please.
ARCHIVE/DISTRIBUTION: This site. If you want to post
on your site, just ask.
SUMMARY: Andrew searches for information; a
heartbreaking confessional in an alley between Faith
and Connor.
SPOILERS: Buffy season 7 and Angel season 5
CONTENT/WARNINGS:
RATING: PG-13
DISCLAIMER: All character are property of Joss Whedon,
Mutant Enemy, etc. I do not own them. Written for fun
not profit.
NOTE: Set post-"Not Fade Away".
Episode 7: Unlikely Source
"Has anyone seen Andrew? He was supposed to help me fix up my room today. It's got no flair at all, which is so not me." Gwen said as she walked down the stairs, into the lobby of the Hyperion. It had been several days since the encounter with Zen and Andrew had been in out of all day every day ever since. Faith and Connor had recovered for the most part but where both kinda down about the whole situation.
"Nope, he's been out since early this morning. Haven't heard from him since." Connor said as he finished off his burger. "Hopefully not getting himself into trouble again." It had become apparent to everyone in the hotel that depression in Connor resulted in him acquiring a huge appetite and a brooding demeanor. Like father, like son.
"Well just great…Can that little nerd get anymore useless? Urgh!" Gwen grunted out as she stomped back upstairs. Connor walked into the back office where Faith and Lorne where seated, eyes glued to the TV. A news bulletin had broken in during the regular programming and whatever it was seemed serious with the looks that Faith and Lorne wore. Connor decided not to interrupt and joined in with them.
"…and there are no witnesses. Once again, five young victims, three men and two women, have been found dead in an alley in east Los Angeles. Authorities are convinced that this massacre was perpetrated by the same individual responsible for the mass murders over the past several days. No clues as to the identity of the suspect have been found except for a message written in the blood of the victims on the alley walls that simply states: On the head of the Second, these lives rest. The FBI is unsure as to the meaning of these words and are fully investigating all leads. More information as it arrives."}
Faith reached over and flipped the TV off and let out a long sigh, taking in everything she had just heard. Connor read the look on her face and could tell that she was thinking the same thing he was. It was Zen. It had to be. Lorne, on the other hand, seemed a little clueless "Am I missing something here guys? Could maybe clue me in?"
"Zen. He's calling me out. No one else it could be." Faith said, the look on her face unchanged, as she got up from her seat and headed to the weapon cabinet.
"Hold on now, princess. You don't know that for certain. L.A. has tons of bad in it. It could have been anything." Lorne exclaimed, quickly following behind her with Connor in tow.
"If you had seen him Lorne…Looked him in the eye like I did, you'd know. He wants me for something, don't know what. But I can't just stand by and let him slaughter innocent people to get to me. I know it's a trap, but I don't have a choice. I gotta find him" Faith said without breaking her stride as she reached into the cabinet and pulled out a broad sword. It was Angel's favorite if she remembered correctly. That thought brought a smile to her face. A fleeting one, but a smile nonetheless. "Ok, say it is him. What do you plan on doing when you find him? Get the hell beat out of you again. You barely touched him last time." Lorne said with more than a little edge to his voice.
"It doesn't matter Lorne. I'm going out and that's the end of it. I have to stop him." Faith replied with a tone that reeked of finality. Lorne wanted to continue his objects but he knew his breath would be wasted. Once Faith set her mind to something, there was nothing anybody could do to stop her.
"I'm coming with you." Connor interjected as he grabbed a battle axe from the chest and followed Faith to the door.
"No. You're not coming. I don't wanna risk you getting hur…I mean, you should stay here in case he attacks the hotel." The excuse was flimsy at best, Faith knew, but she did not want to risk losing Connor. She cared for him too much to risk losing him now.
"If it's you he wants, I don't see him coming here if your out, so I'm coming. You'll need all the help you can get." Connor replied, his voice thick with concern.
Faith hated to admit it but he was right on all counts. She just hoped he didn't get hurt. She couldn't live with herself if something happened to him now. "Alright, I'm not in the mood to argue with you kid. Let's go." Faith said, filling her voice with that false bravado she had perfected years ago.
Lorne silently wished them luck as they headed out. Hoping that they didn't run into Zen. The chances of them surviving another encounter with him where slim to none, and they both knew it.
*********************
This had to be the single craziest thing Andrew had ever done, but he had to do it. Faith needed this if she was gonna make any headway in dealing with this Zen guy. And Andrew needed this to prove, once and for all, that he had a place here…a real purpose. At last he was going to prove himself.
"Hey kid, what are you doing here?" The demon at the entrance to Andrew's source of info asked. Andrew knew his demons and this guy was not one to mess with.
Zen, however, scared him even more due to the simple fact that Andrew had no clue as to his origins or anything else. He hoped that this night, he could make some headway.
"Um…yes…I'm Andrew and I'm here to see Ragnarok. He should be expecting me…I hope." Andrew said with the most nervous voice possible. He smiled, hoping this guy wouldn't tear him in half.
"What's the password?" the demon asked with an edge to his voice. He tensed up preparing for to attack if Andrew answered wrong.
"The password…? Oh yeah, it's Thor's Hammer." Andrew said, fully expecting it to be wrong and to get his head ripped off.
The demon stared at him for a second, seemingly surprised that Andrew had known it. "Very well, you may enter, but watch your step, boy. I'm watching you." He stepped aside, allowing Andrew access to the door.
"Yes, thank you my good man…err…demon. Not to worry, you'll get no problems from me." Andrew said, finding his cheery attitude to be lost on the demon, who turned and turned to ignoring him. Andrew began to sweat as he headed in. He wasn't sure if he'd ever come back out, but there was no going back now. It was time for him to prove his worth…and he meant to.
*************************
Ethan stormed into Zen's chamber, for once, not caring what his anger might bring about in a reaction from Zen. "What the bloody hell are you doing Zen!? Sitting here when time is running out. I may not know the full details of this plan of yours'…this ritual, but I do know time is very short. What are you going to do?"
Expecting a violent response, Ethan braced himself for anything. Instead, however, Zen simply quietly responded in a calm manner that only served to unnerve Ethan more. "Calm yourself, Ethan. Things are on schedule. The slayer should be where I need her to be within the week. Not to worry."
Ethan stood, dumfounded. He wasn't sure how to take that response. He had seen no indication that Zen had been doing anything over the past few days, yet everything was going as he wanted. It didn't make sense to Ethan. Rather than argue the point further, Ethan decided to head out and figure things out for himself. Zen obviously wasn't going to give him anymore information.
As Ethan left, a smirk crossed Zen's face. "Oh, my dear Ethan. You still think your free from harm from me because of that little clause in the Highlander contract. Well, come tomorrow, things will have changed. And you will learn respect."
**************************
Hours of patrolling the back alleys and sewers of LA and nothing to show for it. Faith and Connor had searched a five mile radius of the last murder scene and found nothing. Faith was almost happy about that. She knew that another encounter with Zen, at least as things stood now, would more than likely end with her death. That fact wasn't what was really bothering her, however. It was the danger to Connor's life that she was most worried about. Faith would never forgive herself if she let him get killed. She could not fail Angel again, not ever, but Angel wasn't the main reason, her increasing feelings for Connor was.
"Faith, you okay? You haven't said anything in a while?" Connor asked with a concerned look on his face. His infatuation for Faith was obvious.
Faith smiled in response. "Yeah, I'm cool…just thinking, that's all." It was the best she could do to alleviate his concerns. It wasn't really working.
Connor stopped walking, causing Faith to stop and turn to face him. "Faith…when are you gonna trust me? Really? I can tell something is bugging you and I just want to help anyway I can. I care about you Faith…a lot." Connor said, tired of Faith's walls and their mutual avoiding of the vibes between them. He figured now was as good a time as any to get things out into the open.
Faith was taken aback by Connor's little outburst. She hadn't felt like she was keeping walls up between herself and the rest of the group. At least, not like she used to. "Connor, what are you talking about? I…"
"Faith…please stop. Just stop. Let me in…please. Let me help you." Connor said, pushing the issue. This wasn't something he was just going to let slide. He wanted a truthful response. He cared about Faith too much to just let the possibility pass him by.
Faith knew he was right. She was still keeping up walls. They were smaller walls than before, but walls nonetheless. Her conflicting thoughts and emotions were written all over her face. She wasn't sure what to say or how to respond, so she did what she did best. She said what came to mind, as bluntly as possible. "I don't want anything to happen to you. That's what's on my mind, Connor. If you got hurt or worse, I couldn't forgive myself."
Connor noticed the tears start to well up in her eyes and her attempts to hold them back. "Why? Because of my dad? Because I'm Angel's son?" Connor asked, hoping it was more than just that but fearing it wasn't.
Faith took a step toward Connor and looked him straight in the eyes, baring her soul to the son just like she had to the father. "No, not only cause of that. Because…I care about you too Connor, more than I'm willing to admit I guess. I…I think I have some deep feelings for you and that worries me just as much." Faith was losing her composure quickly as the tears streamed down her face.
"Why does that bother you? Am I that horrible?" Connor asked, feeling the tension start to get to him as well.
"Because if I fall for you…if I do have some real feelings for you…then it will just screw things up for all of us. It always does." Faith said, a torrent of emotion flowing as the last of her walls were coming down. There was no stopping now. This had to come out.
"Why would you..?' Connor started, emotions he had never truly known before beginning to overtake him as well.
"Everyone I've ever really cared about…ever loved, I've only brought horrible pain to, and in a lot of cases, death. I can't let that happen again. Not to you. I like this life I'm starting to build, this thing for you…but…if something does happen between us, it'll all end. I can't lose this,lose you, I just can't." Faith cried, her voicing breaking at the end as she fell to her knees, lost in the sadness of the loss she had convinced herself she was going to feel.
Connor walked over and bent down to her level and held her in his arms, caressing her head. "Faith…you won't lose me. I wanna be by your side…be with you no matter what. I think we can make it work, if your willing to try. Your feelings for me won't hurt me, Faith. It won't drive me away. I care about you too much to let that happen. I…I love you, Faith. I believe I really do. Please, Faith." Connor was in tears now, matching Faith's.
The memory of Angel holding her in that rainstorm in an alley similar to this one those years ago played in Faith's head. Connor grip felt very much the same, but still remained a grip of its own. Faith's fears of horrors a relationship between them would bring were still rampant in her head. The feel of Connor around her, even gave her a strange sense of something. Something she could only describe as hope that, maybe, just maybe, things could work this time. If they didn't, Faith would at least be sure she would be the only one to suffer for it.
"Thank you, Connor." Her voice was barely a whisper as Connor rocked her in his arms. They were entering alien territory for the both of them, an area of complete trust. Only time would tell if things would indeed be different for them this time.
********************
"Well, I have to say Lorne, you really know how to make a girl happy. Your decorating skills are impeccable." Gwen exclaimed, gushing over the job Lorne had done fixing up her room like he had for the past half hour. Lorne was happy to help, but there is only so much praise one guy can take.
"Your more than welcome, peaches." Lorne replied as he took a sip of his signature sea breeze. He had hoped the room decorating would take his mind off the idea of Faith and Connor running into Zen again. It didn't.
Lorne heard the back door to the hotel open and rushed over, hoping it was Faith and Connor coming back in one piece. His expression changed when he realized it was Andrew. "Oh, Andrew, its you. Glad to see you made it back. We were wondering where you've been." Lorne tried to not let on his disappointment that it wasn't who he really wanted to see. Andrew, for his part didn't seem to notice. He looked different, serious for once.
"Where's Faith?" Andrew asked, getting to the point. Again, it was very out of character Lorne noticed.
"She and Connor stepped out, why, what's going on?" Lorne asked, suddenly having his interest peaked by the most unlikely of people.
"We need to find them as soon as possible. I think I know what Zen's up to…and how we can stop him." Andrew said, standing firm. He had proved his worth to himself at last. Now was the time to prove it to the world. He only hoped it wasn't too late.
End of Episode.
