Connor pulled his arm blade back, gasping for air, his eyes still wide with shock. "Dad..."

Angel panted, reaching up and touching his face. He was trembling with what seemed to be fear. He was dirty, his hair was much longer than the last time they had been together. For the first time in Connor's memory, Angel was lacking his customary hair gel.

"What..." Angel shook his head. "What..."

There was a feral growl and the other creature lunged at Connor once again. He was ready for the attack and he punched the beast, sending him to the ground. As the creature hit the ground unconscious, his demonic visage contorted, morphing to Spike's normal face.

"Connor." Angel sat up. "What the hell is going on? What..." He looked around. "Quortoth," he whispered. "We're in Quortoth."

Connor nodded, kneeling down beside Angel. "Yeah. You've been here for two months."

Angel shook his head. "Longer. I think."

Connor nodded again. "Yeah. I know. You know how long?"

Angel touched his forehead. He shook his head again. "No. I just remember...." His eyes grew wide. "Oh God... I've..."

"You've fed on humans," Connor finished for him. "You and Spike."

"What?" Salome finally managed to stand up. "But they're all ensouled and junk."

"Remember how you were?" Connor pointed out. "You were starting to lose control of your demon. That's what happened to them. And they've been here even longer."

Angel glanced at the blade on Connor's arm. "Son..."

Connor shook his head fiercely. "No. Don't even ask me that."

"I've fed off humans," Angel reminded him.

"Yeah." Connor took a deep breath, placing a hand on Angel's shoulder. "You have. But I'm not going to kill you because of it. It wasn't your fault. It was this place."

Angel met his son's sad blue eyes. "Connor..."

Connor held out a hand to Angel to help him to his feet. "You can control it. I know you can."

Angel glanced to Spike. "But what about..."

Connor frowned slightly. He looked over at Salome for a moment. "Well..." He shrugged. "We'll kill him if we have to."

Angel paused. He then nodded. "All right. Sounds good." He shook his head fractionally. "What are you doing here, Connor? I was able to send a message back that you weren't supposed to come. Did you..."

"I got it," Connor replied. He smiled bashfully. "I just ignored it." He looked up at his dad. "We're going to rescue you."

"Bloody hell!" Spike had awoken, rubbing his head. He then let out a growl as his face began to morph into its demonic form.

"Spike!" Angel jumped on him, grabbing him by the front. "Spike! You need to stay with me!"

Spike's face returned to normal and he pushed Angel off of him. "Get off me you poncy git!" He looked around, frowning. "Hey... Where did Slim and the Princess come from?" He then gagged. "Oh.... We've..."

Angel nodded. "Yeah. We have."

"Forget it," Connor said firmly. "It doesn't matter now. What matters is you guys keeping control of your demons."

"We're going to get you home," Salome said. She sighed. "At least, I really hope so..." She shifted uncomfortably. "And it might not even matter, since the Apocalypse is going on back there..."

"Apocalypse?" Angel repeated. "What do you mean 'the Apocalypse'?"

"She means the big bad that is threaten to take over our dimension is doing a pretty good job of doing it," Connor replied. "But we've got a plan. At least I hope we do."

Angel looked at his son, admiration in his eyes. "You've got a plan to stop the Apocalypse?"

****

Starring

Vincent Kartheiser	Anna Paquin	Bret Harrison	Kou Shibasaki	Allison Mack	and Tom Lenk

****

Based on the Characters by Joss Whedon	Created by Emcee

****

 

****

Salome had her eyes closed, hands up in front of herself, feeling the air. Connor was on one side, Angel on the other. "Okay... It's... Hmmm..." She frowned slightly in concentration. "Okay, I think I've got it."

She opened her eyes and looked at her companions. "It comes out in Los Angeles."

"It does?" Connor's brow knit. "Are you sure about that?"

Salome nodded. "Yeah. Pretty sure. I might be off by a few kilometers, but I'm getting a pretty good feel." She cocked her head. "I actually think there's been a Nyazian at work on this fissure before."

"Wait..." Connor looked around. "There used to be a river here."

Spike looked up from his spot sitting a few paces away. "You recognize the place, Slim?"

Connor nodded slowly. "Yeah. I do... It's hard to forget." He smiled softly. "That fissure's going to come out right into the Hyperion Hotel."

Angel frowned deeply. "How do you know that?"

"Salome says the fissures are stationary," Connor replied. He let out a small, bitter laugh. "And this is the one I punched my way through. The one I made the Sluks show me."

"Connor...." Angel started.

"Right then." Connor nodded firmly. He put a hand on Salome's shoulder. "You stay here and get a feel for it." He looked to Spike. "Spike? Can I trust you not to go all demony again on my girl?"

Spike stood up. He looked mildly perturbed. "Yeah. Sure, Slim. I think."

"All right. Watch over her, make sure nothing comes after her while she's doing her thing." He turned to Angel. "You and I will head over to the settlement and start bringing them this way."

"The settlement." Angel looked pensive as he looked over towards the settlement. "Spike and I..."

"You've been killing them," Connor stated bluntly. "Yeah. You have. Now you're going to save the ones that are left by getting them out of this hell hole."

"Connor..."

"I need you, Dad," Connor said, his voice shaking slightly. "I know what you've done, but you've got to get past it now." He looked up at Angel. "Please."

Angel nodded. "Right."

Connor gave Salome a swift kiss. "Be careful, Baby. I'll be back soon."

"Watch your back," Salome called after him as he took off back towards the camp, Angel close behind him.

****

Connor trudged towards the camp, glancing over his shoulder every once and a while to look at Angel. "...It's really not your fault," Connor said quietly. "You know, the killing."

"It is," Angel replied. "I let the demon take a hold of me."

"I'm surprised," Connor said quietly. "That you were able to get passed it. I mean, if you've been here for a while and your demon's been in control that long..."

"It was you," Angel replied. "Seeing you." He looked down. "I remembered who I was when I looked into your eyes."

Connor's cheeks reddened and he looked down. "Well..."

"What's been going on at home?" Angel asked.

"A lot," Connor sighed. "I went back in time and saw Jasmine again... Salome lost her job because the power of the Quortoth overwhelmed her and she destroyed Lorne's club... Andrew has a boyfriend now... Oni's boyfriend died from this demonic cancer he was infected with by Quortoth... A randomly attacking vampire ended a potential pregnancy... And I think Oni might have slept with Wes on the rebound..."

Angel frowned slightly. "I actually meant with the Apocalypse."

"Oh." Connor ran a hand through his hair. "I didn't realize.... Uhhh... There's been a lot."

Angel furrowed his brow. "A potential pregnancy?" He studied his son carefully. "You don't mean..."

Connor nodded. "Yeah. Me and Sal."

"Connor..."

Connor shook his head. "It's all right. We weren't ready for it anyway. And it might not have really been..." He shook his head harder. "Just forget it." He scowled deeply. "There's a lot Apocalypse-y going on. It turns out, one of the Triumvirate of Torment has been hiding out with the Watchers for years and she's actually kind of an okay person, for a hellgod. We've come up with an intricate plan to bring Magnimus down, drag her back here and close the fissures using dangerous and untested magicks."

"Oh." Angel nodded. "All right. Sounds crazy."

Connor shrugged as they entered the camp. "Guess I just take after you then."

"Connor!" Andrew ran up to them. His eyes widened. "Angel!" He looked to Connor. "You found Angel!"

Connor nodded. "Yeah. Well..." He looked over his dad. "He kind of found me."

"How?" Andrew asked, frowning slightly.

Connor leaned closer to Andrew. "Well... He's kind of the thing that's been killing people around here."

"Oh." Andrew's eyes grew impossibly large as he looked back at Angel. "Oh."

"I'm all right now," Angel assured him. He frowned at Andrew's disbelieving look. "Really."

"The fissure's safe," Connor informed Andrew. He grimaced. "Well... As safe as the fissures get. It comes out in the Hyperion."

"Really?" Andrew wrinkled his nose. "That's... A coincidence."

"Tell me about it," Connor sighed. "Anyway, Spike and Salome are back there while Salome gets her mojo running. Are we going to be ready to go?"

"Well..." Andrew sighed. "That's the thing. We've got a bit of a problem."

****

Illyria was thrown back, landing hard on the pavement. She struggled to get up as Magnimus strode to her. "You think you might do better in round two," Magnimus snarled. She kicked Illyria hard, sending her spinning. "You know, the whole revenge angle." She laughed. "But no... Just as pathetic as you ever were."

"I will tear out your heart as I did your sister," Illyria's voice was low and menacing.

Magnimus snickered. "You might want to say that when I'm not kicking your ass."

"Magnimus," Grace said warningly. "This is between you and me."

Magnimus turned to her sister, shaking her head. "Oh no it's not. You made it between you, me, Illyria and--" she gestured to the unconscious Mandy. "The Slayer... When you called them here."

"We can end this," Grace called out. "Go back to Quortoth with me. It'll be like the old days."

"I don't want it to be like the old days," Magnimus replied. She kicked Illyria once again. "Stuck in our world. No one to fight but each other." She raised her head. "The world needs to return to the time of the Ancients. Where warlords wandered the dimensions and quarreled... Don't you miss that, Grandae?"

Grace shook her head. "No. I don't. It was a bloodthirsty time that should never return. The world has changed."

"Not ours," Magnimus bellowed. "We are the Three-in-One. We are pain and strife and eternal darkness."

"I'm not," Grace insisted. "I've changed. The rest of the universe has given up the ways of the Ancient. And I have to! You're all that's left, Magnimus! You're a relic!"

"Nothing ever changes." Magnimus strode to her sister. She stopped in front of her, not raising a hand. She took a deep breath. "Don't you feel it, Grandae? The call of our world? The shadows that are taking over? It's the end of the humans. You've tried so hard to be one of them, but that's over with now. You can never return to them." She brought up a hand, touching Grandae's cheek. "You're a part of me. I know you feel the same. The pull. The hunger for blood and ash and power."

Grace closed her eyes, taking a deep, quavering breath. She shook her head. "No, Magnimus. I don't feel it. Not any more." She pulled away and drew back a fist, hitting Magnimus in the jaw, sending her flying. "And my name is Grace."

Illyria pulled herself to her feet, standing tall beside Grace. "I believe I like you better now."

Grace smiled. "You're not so bad yourself, Illyria." She glanced over at Mandy. "How is the Slayer?"

"This is not a fight for mortals," Illyria said, her crystalline eyes wide. "Shall we attack her together?"

Grace nodded. "That's fine by me."

"Right then."

****

"Everyone take hands," Wesley instructed. He sat in a circle with Oni, Jamie and Lorne. The corpse of the woman was in the center. A mortar and pestle containing the ground up finger bone sat in front of Wesley.

They all took hands and closed their eyes.

"We can still back out," Lorne said, opening one eye a crack. "You know? We can just tell her it didn't work and..."

"Lorne," Wesley's voice a firm. "We're running out of time. We don't have a choice. We have to do this."

Lorne sighed deeply, scowling. "I can't believe I'm going to say this... But I'd rather be in Pylea."

"It will be all right, Krevlornswath," Oni said with a smile. "If this is successful, we will have averted the Apocalypse." She frowned. "Of course, if we failed, it is possible we will just hasten it."

"All right!" Jamie said quickly. "Let's just do this now, before we encourage ourselves right out of doing it."

"Oh." Oni nodded. "Right then."

They all closed their eyes again, their hands joined. Oni took a deep breath. "We call to the power of the Ancients..."

Wesley now took a breath. "...To the gods and warlords of times passed..."

Jamie gripped Wesley's hand tighter. "...To the Three-in-One of the Quortoth, the Darkest of the Dark Worlds..."

Lorne swallowed hard. "...To the eaters of worlds and the slayers of divinity..."

Oni worried her lower lip. "We implore you to restore your fallen one. Complete the Trinity once again."

Wesley opened his eyes. He released Oni and Jamie's hands, picking up the mortar, dipping his finger into it. He used the chalky finger dust to draw a triangle on the corpse's forehead, then tracing a circle around it. "May the Beast that lay sleeping awaken again."

The sound of thunder filled the air as the corpse's eyes snapped open.

****

"What the hell is going on?" Connor demanded as he strode up to the Professor. His lip was curled in a snarl.

The Professor blinked at Connor. "Connor, please calm down..."

"Andrew just told me," Connor's voice remained rough. He pointed a finger at the Professor. "You're honestly telling me not everyone wants to go back to Earth."

"Please." The Professor held up his hands. "I was only telling Andrew what some of the others have told me. I want to go. Believe me. I've been thinking about my wife every day for ten years now. But I can't force them."

"Why the hell would they want to stay?" Connor shook his head savagely. "Do they have any idea what this place is?"

"More than you, Destroyer."

Connor turned to the source of the voice. It was a young man, his head held high. He had almost half a foot on Connor, with broad shoulders. He had several scars across his face. He wore several large pelts around his shoulders and clutched an axe in his hand.

"And just who are you?" Connor demanded, crossing his arms over his chest.

"I'm the Destroyer," he sneered back, cocking his head.

Connor snorted. "Sure you are."

"Nuh-uh." Andrew said, standing beside Connor. "This--" He jerked his thumb towards Connor. "--is the Destroyer."

"Accept no substitutes." Dawn said, nodding firmly.

Connor held a hand up to silence his friends. He took a step towards the young man. "What's your real name?"

"I've been going by the Destroyer for four years," he replied.

Connor rolled his eyes. "Well, I'm not going to call you the Destroyer. And I'm sure as hell no one else around here is going to as long as I'm around, so you better throw a real name at me."

"Thomas," the young man replied with a sneer.

"All right..." Connor nodded. "Thomas." He shook his head. "Are you a complete idiot, Thomas?"

"My crew and I like it here," Thomas replied, waving his axe to gesture to the young men who flanked him. There were about half a dozen. "And there are others. You can't just come in here and tell us to leave."

Connor shrugged. "I think I just did."

Thomas shook his head. "It doesn't work that way, Destroyer. You can't order us around." He moved closer to Connor, staring him down. "Do you think I'm afraid of you? Because the demon traders tell all of those stories about what you used to do? Because the Professor put up some statue of you?"

"I think you should be afraid of me because I lived here for seventeen years with only my father--" He took a deep breath and glanced over at Angel briefly, regretting his choice of words instantly. He shook it off to continue on. "You've been here for... What did you say? Five years? Safe in this settlement."

"It's not safe," Thomas insisted. "We deal with death all the time."

"And that's why you should come back," Connor snapped angrily. "When I killed, I killed because I had to. And when I had the chance to get back to Earth, I took it. And I never looked back. I didn't come back here until I had to save your stupid ass."

"No one asked you to," Thomas hissed. "You didn't have to come back. In fact, it would have been better if you never did."

"Watch your tongue," the Professor growled at Thomas. "Do you know who you are speaking to?"

"I know exactly who I'm speaking to." Thomas glared at Connor. "I'm talking to some punkass, half-vamp mongrel who got scared of the Quortoth so he ran back to his demon daddy."

"Oh that is it--" Andrew took a step forward to attack Thomas, only to be held back by Dawn and Matty.

Connor stared at Thomas in almost amused bewilderment. He shook his head. "I can't believe I was ever as stupid as you were." He circled Thomas slowly, sizing him up. "But you know, I think about it... I was. I only went back to Earth to kill my demon daddy. I planned to come back here."

He stopped in front of Thomas, laughing softly, bitterly. "But the thing is... I didn't know any better. I never knew anything but this life. Hunting, killing... Trying to stay alive. You--" He poked Thomas in the chest. "You've known the other world. Grew up there. And you're honestly telling me you'd rather stay here? Huddled in a cave trying to kill as many demons as you can before they finally get you?"

"You really telling me the other world is any better?" Thomas snapped, looking Connor up and down. "Gord has told us about you."

"Hey, leave me out of this, Tom," Gord called out from the crowd. "I'm going back home."

Thomas ignored Gord's comment, keeping his gaze trained on Connor. "Your life there is just as violent. At least here people are up front about it."

Connor's lip curled in a snarl. "I put my life on the line every day just so people like you are safe."

"Lot of good it did us," Thomas hissed. "We ended up here, didn't we?"

"And now I'm fixing that," Connor replied. "I'm here to bring you home. I demanded the love of my life put her safety on the line to open up one of the fissures to get here. Then I told her to do it again to get back. Both acts of which will probably get her killed anyway." He pointed to Dawn, Andrew and Matty. "I dragged my friends for miles through the cold and storm to get to you." His face was contorted in rage. "I have a half-dozen other friends back at home risking their lives to make sure the world is safe for you to come back to!"

"I--" Thomas looked around at the men behind him. "We-- don't want to come back. It's that simple. We prefer it here."

Connor shook his head. "Fine. To hell with you then." He stalked away. "Anyone who's coming, tell them to get a move on. Forget whatever stuff you have. It doesn't matter. Just get your asses moving."

"Connor..." Andrew trailed behind him. "You can't mean... You're not going to..."

Connor looked back over his shoulder at Andrew. "I can't mean what?"

Andrew shook his head. "You're not really going to... Leave them?"

"I just said I was," Connor replied bitterly.

"They'll die," Matty whispered, shock and horror lacing his voice.

"Yeah." Connor nodded. "They will." He shrugged, stopping. "But honestly... That's not my problem."

"But--" Dawn started.

"I gave them the chance," Connor said firmly. "But they want to stay here. So I'm not going to stand here and beg them to come along. If they want to hang around Quortoth, playing Destroyer, there's not a whole lot I can do to make them go."

Andrew swallowed hard. "You could... I dunno... Knock them out."

"Yeah." Connor sighed. "I probably could. But I don't have the time. I've got a world to save. So they can stay in hell for all I care."

He turned back to Thomas. "Oh, by the way, Tommy... I didn't start calling myself the Destroyer. The demons around here did. And I really don't appreciate some hyped-up asshat biting on it." He turned and began to stride away. "I need to make sure Sal's doing all right. Andrew, get everyone who wants to go ready."

"Connor..." Angel placed a hand on his son's shoulder. "Stop for a minute. Those kids..."

"You can't save them all, Dad," Connor said morosely. "I'm going to worry about the ones I can."

****

Mandy came back around just in time to see Illyria thrown backwards by Magnimus. She gasped for air, pressing a hand to the oozing wound along her hairline. She blinked, reaching for the Pure Scythe with her free hand.

"Both of you!" Magnimus spat angrily, looking at Grace and Illyria as they lay on the ground. "You both remember what it was like in the ancient days. The paradise that was the battlefield..."

"This realm is mine," Illyria insisted, pulling herself back to her feet. She strode to Magnimus, kicking her hard. "I will not have it poisoned by the filth of your Quortoth."

Magnimus staggered backwards. "Really. That how you feel." She released a bolt of lightning, striking Illyria in the chest, causing her to convulse. "And here I thought you were just scared."

She pulled herself back up to full height, her expression one of pure malice. "Your pathetic shell is unable to contain your true essence." Her lip curled in a snarl. "Trapped forever in the body of a human waif. Unable to truly be Illyria... Always Illyria hidden beneath the pathetic mask of the mortal meat sack."

Illyria was on her knees, her hands trembling as she tried to withstand the lightning. She glared up at Magnimus. She remained silent, her gaze venomous.

Mandy finally got her hands around the Pure Scythe. She pulled herself up, charging at Magnimus. She raised the Scythe up to strike.

Magnimus' reptilian hand caught the hand of the Pure Scythe the moment before Mandy was to strike. She held it away. Her skin smoldered under the contact, but she didn't seem to register the pain. "And the Slayer gets back into it." She rolled her eyes, shoving Mandy aside as if she were nothing. "Please. Give me a break."

Mandy hit the ground, whimpering softly.

"Stop this, Magnimus," Grace said firmly. "You don't have to do this. We can end this now."

"I'll end it for you," Magnimus hissed. "You never understood, did you, Grace? You were always too concerned with what others felt... You never embraced it. The beauty of death. The glory of war!"

"I'm sorry..." The beautiful, blonde haired woman strode out of Caritas. She smiled broadly. "Did someone say my name?"

ACT TWO