Disclaimer: Buffy the Vampire Slayer and all characters are copyright and trademarks of WB, David Greenwalt, Joss Whedon, 20th Century Fox, and others.
Chapter 8: "Is that what they're calling us?!"
The door to the E.R. burst open and I flew through it, accompanied by Buffy, Dawn, Willow, Faith and Xander! Faith had been gone, but she was now back by popular demand. I raced to the nurse's station and shouted, " My...friend, Connor! He's here!" I yelled at the poor lady. She looked at me confused and spoke italian at me, causing me to look at Dawn and Buffy, " What is she saying?!" I asked frantically.
" She says she doesn't speak english, but judging by our ages, we must be here for the beaten boy." she said, looking past me.
" Ding, ding, ding, tell the lady she's one a prize!" I said impatiently, " Ask her where he is!" I commanded.
Dawn gave me a sour look and asked her, then turned to me, " Critical condition, Room four eleven."
I nodded and raced past all the paitents into room four eleven. I walked to the side of the bed and looked at the severely beaten corpse on the bed and began to cry. He was missing an arm, and a foot. His blood was all over the place, despite being cleaned early. If only I had seen past my only desires, I'd have gotten to him sooner. I raised my head from the floor and noticed that something was wrong. It wasn't Connor. I saw it in his eyes. then my eyes wandered to the orb in his hand, it glowed gold.
" Take it." a dry, scratchy voice said from the bandages.
" What?" I asked unsure of exactly what to say, " You talkin to me?"
" Is there (cough, cough) anyone else in here." the person asked curtly.
" Calm down before I pull the cord." I joked, but his blood pressure went up and began to fade, " I was just being facetious." I said, scared that I had caused it.
" A thing might be useless now, but everything has a place in the future." he said, slumping over. I stared at him and grabbed the orb and a nurse rushed in, pushing me out of the way. They screamed at the corpse and I watched bewildered. This was not him, he was not Connor. Was Connor really in here? I sat in the chair and watched the nurses try and bring him back to life and my eyes bugged noticeably. The tears filled the lower rim of my eye and I pushed myself back in the chair, looking over at the other bed.
" I was wondering when you'd see me." Connor smiled, his lips busted and his face bruised. He had a sling over his arm and I stared at him in disbelief, " Speechless? That's a first." he smiled.
I got up and ran to his bed, hugging him, " Oh my god, I'm so sorry!" I said loudly.
" Why? Did you jump me?" he asked.
" I should have known." I said apologetically, still hugging him.
Connor breathed in, " Still slayer-made." he said, in obvious pain.
" Oh!" I said, letting go. I just smiled at him, " Somebody is gonna die."
" What?" Connor said.
" He didn't just jump you." I said, causing COnnor to gain a look of realization, " No, not that far. He impersonated you. He manipulated us..." I said, explaining the last fourty eight hours.
" Intense." he said, blown away.
" Definitely." Willow said from the door. We both looked up to the gang, smiles etched across their faces, " Anything we can do?"
" Pills, many pills." Connor moaned.
Willow smiled, " I'll get right on that." she said, turning but stopped when Xander began to speak.
" Couldn't you just make with the mojo?" Xander asked.
Willow chuckled, " Well, duh. Why didn't I think of that?" she said, slapping herself softly.
" Maybe you used to cheat off me in high school." Xander joked.
" But you got lower grades, sweetie." Willow said, patting him on the back.
" Oh, right." he said quickly.
" I should tell Giles that Connor's okay." Buffy said, heading to the phone next to the bed, " He's all up in arms, or whatever british people get up in."
" Right, Angel jr.'s gonna be okay." Faith smiled, " I'm going to go back with B and Will. Hospitals and me don't mix, but get well soon."
" I'll be good, you guys should go." Connor said quickly.
I nodded, " You guys should go, we'll be okay." I said, gaining nods from Buffy, Faith, and Willow.
" I'm stickin around." Dawn said, " My best friend's...boyfriend is all beat up. Gonna be here." she smiled. I smiled too and she hugged me.
" I'm watcher and the only other guy, so I'll stay too." Xander said, finding a seat.
Buffy nodded, " I'm gonna check on the slayers and the citadel. I'm hoping Giles doesn't put Andrew in charge again." she said patting Xander's shoulder, " Protect them. We'll be back after we've talked to Giles."
We nodded and the three women walked out, accompanied by Dawn and Xander and I immediately turned to Connor and kissed him passionately, " You coulda called." I said warmly.
" Happy Birthday." Connor smiled, " I guess I missed it. I had a present, but..."
I grabbed my cross, " Got the present. Thanks, it's great." I smiled.
" So, made any new friends." he asked.
" Odd question." I said quickly, thinking of Micah.
I must have frowned or something because he caught a facial expression, " What?" he asked.
" What what?" I asked, hoping he'd drop it.
" You know what what." he said, interrogating me.
I chuckled, " I know that song." I smiled. He frowned and so did I, " Okay. You remember Micah?" I asked.
" The one with the obvious crush on you?" Connor asked angrily.
" Not obvious." I lied, " Not completely. Well, he's...he's...he's my pimp." I blurted.
" What?" Connor asked, rising from the bed slightly.
" Yeah, I've been selling my body for crack." I grimaced.
Connor looked into my eyes and settled back down, " You're lying. You like him, huh?" he asked.
I scoffed, " I just need to know where we're going." I said boldly.
" We?" he smirked.
" Seriously." I said...seriously.
Connor sighed, " I'm staying. To be with you, I'm staying." he said, shifting his sling.
" Connor Angel Reilly, I thought you were happy in L.A. and that you were doing what you wanted there." I said, trying to understand.
" Wow, you used my whole name." he said and I just stared at him seriously, " It is, but what I want is right here."
I sighed, " Maybe you need to want what you need instead of what you want." I said, very confused by myself.
" What now?" he asked.
" I think you should go. I need you to be happy." I said, feeling very justified.
" Maybe I want to stay." he said angrily.
" And..." I sighed, " Maybe you need to go." I said, tears filling my eyes.
" You need to me to be gone." he said childishly, " You don't want to be with me?"
" How can you say that? I love you." I protested, " But if you stay, 'we' are not gonna work." I said honestly.
" Maybe you're right." he said, turning from me," Maybe you're not."
I nodded and walked to the door, " I want you so much, but there is a possibility that if you stay here, you're going to miss out on something you want. And that would doom us." I said, turning to Dawn and Xander, who were just entering the door, " I'll be back, I need a break." I said, leaving.
Willow left Faith and Buffy in the living room, trying to get ahold of Giles. Willow felt a sense of urgency to get to the spells and hurry with it. She immediately checked out her supplies and smiled as she thought back to the spell to make everyone slayers. They were calling it the "Slayer Effect" and it was to be celebrated. Not really. The truth is that it was still hard, just a differnt kind of hard. The thing about changing the world... Once you do it, the world's all different. Willow smiled to herself. She had felt Tara there when the spell took place and she went all Glindna. She hadn't told anyone but Buffy and it was scaring her how clear Tara was. It was how she knew that Anya had died. That spell single handedly renewed her faith in magic and was instrumental in raining on evil's parade, which was always a plus. She smiled and turned back to leave and stopped at the sight of Tara.
" Will." Tara smiled, bathed in white light.
Willow nearly dropped her supplies, " Tara!" she said, running to her, " Baby, I missed you!"
Tara smiled and hugged her back, then said, " Oh, Will, I've missed you so much! I've watched you and..." she cried.
" ...I know." Willow said, nibbling on Tara's neck, " You're...I love you." she said.
" Willow, I saw you. The veiny Willow...then there was Kennedy and the first." Tara said in a jumble.
" Calm down, baby." Willow smiled, " You watched me? You saw veiny me? Oh god, I...I didn't mean it." she panicked.
" It's...not okay." Tara said, looking away," I-i-i-i-It'll be okay." she stuttered.
" Whaddya mean?" Willow asked.
Tara found Willow's gaze once again, " You know what I'm talking about. The war. Sunnydale was only the warm-up." she said cautiously, " what you and Buffy did...it messed things up. What we did messed things up."
willow looked at her nervously, " Tara." she said.
" Yes, will." Tara replied.
" You're wrong." Willow said confidently, " We made a better world and whatever's coming, we're going to face it head on. I love you, but...if that's all you have to tell me is that we're gonna lose, you can go." she said sternly.
Tara looked at her in shock, " Will, what?" she asked.
" Then we'll move on to Cleveland, then to the next Hellmouth, then to the next until we've shut every single one down." Willow said smartly.
Tara smiled, " That's my girl, but you have to start here." she smiled and Willow smiled, " Be careful, there's a bounty on your heads and you're all in danger. I love you Will, blessed be." Tara said, walking from the room.
Willow ran to the door and peered out of the corner, seeing no one.
" will," Buffy asked, causing Willow to jump, " are you okay? you look like you've just seen a ghost." she asked, being joined by Faith.
" Buffy, we're in deep trouble." Willow said meekly.
" How deep?" Faith asked.
" Sunnydale deep." Willow said, giving them dire looks.
I stood at the vending machine, crying. I was crying in anger and happiness and relief and sadness. Obviously I was glad and relieved that Connor was okay, but him thinking I want him gone to date other people is just hurtful. I was deep in a crying session when Xander showed up and hugged me immediately.
" It's okay, he's okay." Xander said, " He could've lost an eye."
I chuckled through tears, " Everything's not okay. I couldn't tell that it wasn't him and Titan is going to kill me." I said hopelessly. Xander said nothing, he just chuckled, " I'm gonna die and you're laughing?" I said, wiping away tears.
" No, you just sound like Buffy." he said, still chuckling. I pouted up at him, " when she was younger, Buffy always thought she was gonna die."
" She did die." I sighed, " So when did she stop thinking that?" I asked.
" Stop? How old will she be in a zillion years?" Xander smiled.
" Old." I smiled, " Don't tell her I said that."
" It's our secret." he said, punching buttons on the vending machine and getting a bag of...things, " These are awesome. I like being your watcher."
" As opposed to..." I asked.
" Being useless." he answered.
I sighed, " No, people without a sense of humor are useless. One eyed, funny watchers who save the world daily are a necessity." I said, hoping he'd finally realize how important he is.
" You sure know how to make a watcher feel important." he said, " Awww, shucks, you made me blush."
" L-O-L." I smirked.
" LOL?" he asked.
" Computer lingo. More suited for Willow." I smiled.
Xander nodded and looked around, " Dark hospital. Still not creepier than Sunnydale."
" Look at the bright side, it's a hole now." I said, walking back to the room with him, " Are there hellmouths in Rome?" I asked.
" Most likely." Xander said, " That would explain some things."
" So, what's the thing about the Immortal?" I asked.
Xander stopped, " Bus crash, stay in London, Identical Buffies, Scotland, and betrayl." he said, " Not to mention some rogue slayers."
" Sucks. Do you think I could meet him? I feel like kicking someone's ass." I said, smiling.
" I'll see what I can do." Xander joked.
Buffy, Willow, and Faith found themselves back at the hospital. I noticed the looks on their faces and figured that something big and mischevious was up. Faith even avoided my gaze. Dawn and Xander looked as out of the loop as I did. Willow sighed and stepped forward.
" I saw Tara." Willow said quickly.
Dawn, Xander and I looked at each other, " As in, you saw a picture of her and..." Xander began.
Willo frowned, " As in she came to me, like back at the Hellmouth, but more corporeal and full of information." Willow said, obviously still scared. We were still shocked as he explained what happened and we were all a bit confused.
" So, what did she mean? Is she alive?" Dawn asked.
" We don't really know." Buffy said, " We're not even sure it was Tara."
" But if it was, then...maybe she's like an angel or something, right?" Dawn said excitedly.
" Doesn't matter." I said, causing them all to look at me, " The information...what'd she say?"
" Doesn't matter?" Dawn asked angrily, " Yes it does!"
I sighed, " I'm guessing something like we're gonna die, right?" I asked.
Willow nodded, " But this had to be Tara." she said confidently, " I felt her. Tara was there."
" So, we're ruling out the First?" Robin asked.
" That dagger thingy kicked its ass, right?" Faith asked, gesturing a stabby-motion.
The room became abuzz with conversations, but Buffy and I looked at each other, knowing what to do, " QUiet!" she said, " we're gonna do what we always do. W're going to find a way to kill this Titan guy and then we've got to worry about other problems. Now whether it was Tara or not, the message was clear." she said.
" What was the message?" Connor asked.
Willow relayed the message, every bit of the conversation and ended with the info the bounty on our heads.
" I knew it." I said figuring something out, " Rome is like a Hell Center, not necessarily a Hellmouth. That's why it's demon central here! I think I know where it is." I said confidently.
" Where?" Connor asked and I turned to him, " I need to help this time."
" No." I said simply.
" What? Do you think I'm gonna let you face this alone?" Connor argued, recieving looks from the others, " Not alone, but...I..." he began.
" I know and that's why you have to go." I said, causing him to scoff and lay back, " Now we know that there is major mojo going on with Rome and...there's..." I looked out the hospital window, then turned to Buffy as if she was reading my thoughts.
" Sewers." Buffy said, The mojo is coming from the sewers. They're coming here, for us, from the Hellmouths."
" Wow, we're like celebrities." Xander said quickly.
" Really dead ones." Buffy said nervously.
" Beats an army of slayers, I think." willow said slowly.
" Faith, Robin, I need you to accompany Connor home. Be careful." I said walking to Connor, " I love you." I said, gazing into his eyes.
" We're taking the fight to Titan?" Xander asked.
" Yep." Willow smiled.
" Anybody not clear on the plan?" Buffy asked.
Dawn raised her hand, " So, what's the next step?" she asked.
" Finding the Titan. And hoping Giles returns soon with the Slayerettes." I said, gazing out the window.
" Why soon?" Buffy asked.
I pointed at the window, " Because it's raining fire!" I said, running and picking up Connor, " Everyone out!" I said, running out. I handed Connor to Buffy, " With your life."
Buffy nodded, " With my life." she said, running.
" Where are you going?" Dawn asked.
" Make sure no one gets trapped." I said, running down to the basement.
As I ran by the vending machine, the Earth shook and faltered and when I came back up, I immediately saw Oz in the reflection. I whirled around and he slammed me into the glass!
" Don't worry, I know how you like it." he smirked.
" You may look like people, but you don't act like people." I panted, " I'm gonna kill you."
He chuckled and sifted into Tara, " I don't act like people." it said seriously, then chuckled, " Kill me? Why are you going to kill me? I want you to try, this should be fun." it said. It released me and threw me into the vending machine, then sweeped around the corner! I got to my feet and dusted the glass from my jacket and ran around the corner, stopping at a face. The cae was cute, chiseled and his green eyes looked straight through me.
" Who are you?" I asked, staring at him.
" I am the Groosalugg." he smiled, " I am here to help the King and Queen."
" King and Queen?" I asked
He nodded, " Of the slayers." he grinned, " Buffy and Austin. The Slayers."
" Right. The Slayers." I nodded, looking around, " Is that what they're callin us?!" I asked, shocked by my new title.
It's getting down to the last two chapters before a new arc and things are gonna get good. And what is up with that orb? And Was that Tara or Titan? Well, if you like what you read, let me know.