Disclaimer: Buffy the Vampire Slayer and all characters are copyright and trademarks of WB, David Greenwalt, Joss Whedon, 20th Century Fox, and others. please do not plagiarize or anything. LOVE YA
Author's Notes: This happens to be a flashback to Not Fade Away, which would happen some time before Chapter 31. It explains some backstory and sheds some light on CAustin. It's sort of like a stand-alone/intermission.
Off the Edges
The phone rang and I picked it up, sighing as I found a quiet spot in my full house. I found myself exhausted suddenly and there was just way too much noise. I picked the phone as quickly as I could.
"Hello?" I said into the reciever.
"Austin?" Giles' voice came through the phone, " Hello, how are you?"
"I'm good. You?" I asked.
"Quite good, actually, but there is a slight problem." he said.
"Does it began with apoc and end with alypse?" I asked.
Giles chuckled, " Some of our gifted witches have sensed a major disruption in Los Angeles. Something quite extraordinary is about to happen." he said.
"Angel and his team are there." I said.
"Yes and they are working with Wolfram and Heart." Giles said impatiently, " A pity, truly a pity."
"So, you want me to check it out?" I asked.
"Yes, and also, there is a slayer there." he said, " I am sending a team to secure the slayer, but I need you to make sure that everything is alright."
"I'm on it." I said quickly.
"Are you sure? It's very last minute, I could fly you there." he said.
"I'll catch a bus. If you need me, catch me on my cell phone." I said, " Later, Giles."
"Goodbye." he said, disconnecting.
The first I thought about was Connor. Something big was happening and Connor was there. I had to see him while I was there. Maybe he could help me understand things and maybe we could finally talk. I grabbed a coat and walked downstairs, seeing all the guys in the living room.
"Hey guys, I'm going out." I smiled.
"Patrolling?" Doug asked.
"No. I'm going to Los Angeles." I said quickly.
"Huh?" Oz asked, standing.
"That's not just going out, that's leaving the town." Kelly said.
"I know...I know, but there's a slayer thing." I said, " Sounds apocalyptic."
"Do want us to come?" Doug asked.
"No, I need you guys to hold down the fort. I shouldn't be long." I smiled.
"Tell Connor we said hi." Kelly giggled.
I nodded and headed for the door. I heard the explosion on tv and braced myself for a few hours on a bus. I sighed and opened the door to see RJ standing outside.
"Hey." he said, standing from his bent position. He held a rose in his hand and chuckled as I opened the door, " I wasn't expecting you to be up yet."
"Me neither." I smirked, " That's sweet."
"Here." he said, handing it to me, " So, want me to walk with you...wherever you're going?"
"Ummm, no. I'm going to L.A. and that's a hell of a long walk." I smiled.
"L.A.? Sounds official." he said nervously, " Is there a reason, or..."
"I have a friend who really needs me." I said.
"I thought all your friends lived here." he said.
I chuckled, " Most, but not all. Now if I only get one that can clean...where's Kyle XY when you need him, right?" I asked.
"Right." he said, " Well, I've got to go to work, but I'll see you when I get off?" he asked.
"It's a date." I smirked. I couldn't help but smile. He made me happy and that's what's important. I was marching off to help with an apocalypse. Sounded scary. It was. But into every generation, a slayer is born. Even though every potential had become kinetic, it still felt like I was the only one. The cold, emotional lonliness that came with being a slayer. I looked back at my friends, knowing that they wouldn't understand. To be surrounded but completely alone. I shut the door and walked away with RJ.
As Connor sat at the table, studying as he sipped his beverage. Connor placed certain events in his mind. He hadn't forgotten that Angel was his dad, but things were hazy. Since he'd run into Angel again, everything was a lot more clear. As he read up, he noticed someone standing in front of him. At first, he assumed it was someone from another table being waited on, but as he looked up, he was shocked to see no one. He sighed and went back to studying. I sighed too, watching him from a distance. I walked outside the cafe and looked back in. As he studied, I found it hard to take my eyes off him. He was my soul mate. I wasn't dumb, I knew that. The cozy appeal of this little cafe was just enough to make me feel at home. He looked up and looked as if he'd seen a ghost and a burst of people surged by and I took the opportunity to run away.
I walked into a bar, isn't that always how the joke starts? Some dolt walks into the bar and next thing you know someone's rolling on the ground naked. Yup, rolling on the ground naked. I was hoping that maybe I'd find the slayer I'd been looking for, but as I looked around the club, I was shocked to see nobody important...except for a certain blonde vampire on stage, reading a love poem.
"Spike. Now you're reading poetry." I whispered.
He halted a minute, then continued, looking around. His eyes stopped at me and he finished the poem, getting applause from the audience. He marched to me and looked me over, " What're you doin' here?" he asked.
"Hi to you too, Will." I smirked
"Bloody Hell, does everyone know my name now?" he said angrily, " Again, what're you doing here."
"Giles sent me." I explained.
"Oh bugger, did he send you to finish the job?" Spike asked, " It's supposed to be my good day and killing you wouldn't be..."
"Chill, not everything's about you." I chuckled, but I stopped, " Wait, kill me? In your dreams."
"Little Mr. Slayer all man-sized now?" Spike smirked.
"Awww, stop it, you're turning me on." I smiled.
"You like it." Spike said, " You think Jr.'d like that?"
"Have you seen a slayer around here?" I asked.
"A slayer? You mean like the one that cut off my hand?" he asked.
"Dana? No, a new one." I said.
"Oh, well then, no I haven't." he said.
"I love the duster." I smirked.
"Where ya goin?" he asked.
"Got a slayer to find." I said, turning to leave, " Bye sexy." I chuckled, leaving Spike in the noisy club.
Angel sat in his office, contemplating what he was about to do. He was in deep thought as he looked around the lavished office and sighed to himself. He looked out the sunny window and thought about the conversation he'd just had with Connor and how he'd whisked Nina and her family away. He hoped Buffy would come, just to say goodbye, but how could she know what he was about to do? Angel wondered where his crew were and shook it out of his mind as one of the vampire guard rolled in, disentegrating as he stopped.
"What, L.A. sunlight doesn't kill vampires anymore?" I asked, twirling my wooden sais back into their holsters around my thighs, " Long time no see."
"Austin?" Angel said standing. He was obviously at a loss for words, then he sighed, " What are you doing here?"
"Not the slayer you expected?" I asked, " I hear there's an apocalypse."
"Buffy knows?" he asked. He face showed more than he thought. The disappointment was enough to break any heart. But not mine. I had felt it and there was something about being a slayer that just didn't let that affect us.
"No. Giles." I said.
"Giles is with Buffy, isn't he?" Angel asked, studying my face, " Or does he think I'm going to end the world?"
"I don't know exactly, on both accounts, but all he said was that there was apocalypse," I looked around, " So, this is the Champions new digs?"
"Look, if you came here to..."
"I just came to see you." I said quickly, " So, you do know about this apocalypse?"
"I'm going to stop it." he said, " Or, start it."
"Can they hear you?" I asked.
"No. A charm." he said.
"Right, where's the entourage?" I asked, " I saw Spike and Illyria back in Rome, but that was a while back."
"They are out, enjoying themselves." Angel said, walking to the window, " So, how's Buffy?"
"Busy." I said quickly, " Angel, when you said start an apocalypse..."
"I'm taking the fight to them." he said.
"To the Senior Partners?! So, the crew's enjoying themselves...because this might be the end." I said, thinking for a minute, " So that dream I had with Wesley and Tara and all the dead people, it's gonna be real, huh?"
"Some of us won't live through it." Angel said slowly.
"Can you wait until I'm out of the city?" I asked
"You have until Midnight." Angel said.
"Angel, don't do this!" I said suddenly, causing him to turn to me, " Think about all the people. You're a champion and what if you die? Have you thought about, I mean really. The crew...Buffy...Connor."
"Does he even know you're here?" Angel asked.
"No." I said.
Angel chuckled, " He's going to be angry." he said.
"Won't be the first time." I said, " Angel, think about this...you can't win."
"It's not about winning." he said coldly.
"Really? What war have you been watching? That's the only thing!" I said, moving closer.
"Maybe Giles got it wrong, maybe you forgot that it's the fight." he said.
"I'm fighting like crazy, but I'm a slayer. I'm tactical, logical, and I think with my heart! And Angel, something tells me that the Senior Partners aren't just going to let this happen! Something bad is coming, I can feel it." I said loudly.
"Then we'll fall." Angel said.
"What about After the Fall?" I asked. He looked at me, his eyes penetrating me and all I could do is sigh, " So, do you know anything about a slayer here?"
"A slayer, that's why you came?" he asked, " I thought you were just visiting. Slayers happen to do that."
"I'm not Buffy. She's a cute girl, not so bright. I'm not the leader of a thousand girls, I'm just trying my hardest to figure out why I'm here." I explained.
"This has nothing to do with Connor?" Angel asked.
"Look, Vengeance is where I need to be. It's creepy and it beckons me...eww, did I just say beckons? Well, it calls me." I sighed, " Connor chose not go."
"You could have chosen to stay." Angel said.
I looked away and back at him, " Can we not discuss this? This isn't about him, it's about a girl." I said.
"It's always about a girl." Angel smiled.
"In your world. This is a first for me." I groaned, leaning on his desk, " It was hard."
"I remember." he said and I looked at him, " Me and Buffy. I remember leaving."
"I miss those days." I sighed.
After talking for a while, Angel and I found ourselves sitting in front of his desk, laughing about all the funny things we had been through. The history we had was great. We had always been around, especially between Buffy and Dawn, or Buffy babysitting Dawn and I, but we had never really gotten to know each other. I looked at him and smiled, knowing that his cool demeanor was only half of him. There was a darker side. Angelus, but that was all behind him, for now.
"You were 'wanted'?" Angel chuckled.
"Yes. It was insane." I laughed.
"So, why aren't you with the rest of the Slayers?" he asked.
I sighed, " I'm not like the rest of them." I said, looking at him.
"Them?" Angel asked.
"The other slayers. The all-girls thing. It's crazy, you would think that making everyone a slayer would connect us, but I don't...I don't feel connected." I said, chuckling to myself, " Maybe it's just me."
"No, it's a slayer thing." Angel smiled.
"Is this gonna be another Buffy 'thing'? cause I'm really not her." I smiled, " Can't stress enough how much I'm not her."
"I know." he nodded. I took the time to stare at him. He was so cute, even for a vampire. In his mid-twenties appearance, he was full of wisdom that came from years of living in the world. Centuries. I wondered what would happen when he was gone...he would be. In a matter of hours, he could die. I wondered who would take his place and could they do a better job? We would all be replaced. If I die, another slayer will step into my place and I wondered if I'd be missed. I wondered would everyone Angel met be sad. Who would really cry, " Austin." Angel said, snapping his finger in front of my face.
"Sorry. I'm filled with these pesky thoughts lately." I chuckled, " So, Harmony...the same Harmony that shot me with a crossbow."
"Yeah..." he said, looking at me.
"It's cool. I'll stake her if I ever come back." I joked.
"Ummm, boss..." Harmony said, coming in with a tray of drinks. Pig's blood and warm milk, " I brought refreshments."
I looked at Angel, who was sharing the same look.
"Hi, Harm." I smiled up at her.
"Look, Austin, I'm sorry about that thing in Rome. I was in a really bad place and I..." she stammered, almost dropping the drinks.
"Look, no offense, but you could have killed me." I said standing with Angel, " Next time I come here, I'm going to stake you while I make you drink holy water. Got it?"
"Got it...but how do I know when you're coming back?" she asked.
"Live in fear." I said seriously, " You should go." I said, causing her to leave quickly.
Angel smirked down at me, " If you're going to get the slayer, you should get out of here before it gets dark. I'm just going to sit and think about some things." he said, walking behind the desk and sitting at his desk.
"It was nice to see you again." I smiled, " Angel, you might lose." he sighed, " But you lived through so much and you're right, it's not about winning. Not anymore. As long as you've changed one person's life, it's worth it."
"Thanks." he smiled.
"That and I've always had the hugest crush on you." I smirked.
"I got that." Angel chuckled, " You're a more honest person than you think."
"Yup, I always tell on myself. You talked to Connor. I better talk to him too." I smiled as I walked to the door, " Later, champion." I said, leaving. As I walked through the luxurious hall, I turned to see something behind me. I turned to walk forward, but there was a suited guy in my way.
"Where do you think you're going?" he said, quickly. He was cute in a 'Mr. Anderson' type of way. He gave me a sense of dread. His easiness made me uneasy. His subtle air of confidence disshelved my confidence, " Excuse my manners, I am Marcus Hamilton. And this is a Biruchan demon. Have fun." he said, punching me so hard I flew backwards!
I sighed, " Why does everyone want to hit me?!" I growled. I was about to get up when something snatched me up! The monster growled in my face as he threw me into the wall and tried to punch me! I ducked and kicked the monster in its face, trying to find something around to kill it with. I reached down to my thighs and picked up my sais, twirling them, " Sla...yer." I smirked, my lip already bleeding. The monster came at me again and I tried to stab the demon, but I lost my sai and it kicked me hard against the wall. The demon tried to punch me again, but I ducked and it got stuck in the wall. I thought quickly and ran to the opposite wall, jumping against it and jabbing my other sai into its skull! As it slumped to the floor, I sighed and picked up my other sai. I thought about going back, but I shook my head and left.
As I walked back to the cafe, I was shocked when I got there and saw that Connor wasn't there. I stood in the cold, trying to think about what this was. I hadn't seen him because he wanted to stay and I loved him. RJ was a love, but Connor was the one. I left him. Why did I? I had gone looking for the new slayer, but came up with nothing. I was put off and that's when I had gathered the courage to go and see Connor. I turned to leave when I came face to face with Connor.
"Why do people keep doing that!?" I panted.
"Your lip is cut, are you okay?" Connor asked.
"I just got into a fight with a demon, nothing serious." I smiled. I couldn't let him know that I had seen Angel before I saw him.
He put his hand up to my cheek, " I knew I saw you earlier." he smiled, " I missed you."
"I missed you too." I smiled.
"Did you come here to see me?" Connor asked.
"Sort of." I said quickly, " Giles sent me. Something big is happening."
"No wonder Angel was here." Connor said to himself.
"I don't think you get what he's doing." I said seriously, " Connor, we don't have time. I'm searching for a slayer and I have to get out of here before Midnight. It's eleven fourty. I have no idea where she is and it takes at least fifty min..." I stopped when I saw something strange, " Do you see the fire in the sky? It's already started."
"Last time that happened..." Connor trailed and looked at me, " What's going on?"
"I miss the apocalypse being that Brad Pitt was off the market." I said worriedly.
"Are you the slayer? He said that you would be here to rescue me, but I got worried you wouldn't come!' a brunette woman said.
"You're her." I smiled, " We gotta go. I have to get you out of here."
"I'll help." Connor said.
"No. Help your father." I said, kissing him, " I love you."
"I love you, too." Connor smiled, running in the opposite direction. As the girl and I ran down the street, a bus pulled up beside us.
"Get in!" Rona shouted from the bus.
We hopped on the bus and I looked around at the girls, " What's with slayers and buses?" I asked, finding a seat at the very back and watching as we left L.A.
"He'll be alright." she said, " I'm leaving my family too."
"I don't know if this is right. I should stay and fight." I said angrily.
"I'm sure others will stay." she said, " One of them."
"Nope. They're all coming with us. Or going with you." I explained.
"My family..." she said.
I looked to the front of the bus and saw them trying to find the best way to get to Vengeance. I looked at the girl and then the back door. As I looked back, the world was disappearing behind us! I looked at her and she nodded. The girl grabbed the door and wrenched it open and I grabbed her arm, " What's your name?" I asked.
"Doesn't matter." she smiled, " I'll watch out for your boyfriend." she said, jumping out the back door and disappearing.
The girls ran to the back of the bus, but it was too late and I stood, flabergasted. I wrenched the door back in place and slid into the seat.
"What happened?" Rona asked.
I didn't say a word, I just turned to the back window and stared out, my hand on the glass, trying to find out why Los Angeles had fallen Off The Edges of the world.
I hope that will bring closer to how and why Connor was absent from the latest chapters. I just thought that the next chapters were not very good at explaining it, so I erased the next few and I'm just going to change things up a little, but the main themes and storylines are going to be there. Thank you for reading. If you want another chapter, I'm really going to need more feedback.