[ Holo | Location: Sanctuary ]

[prophecy_boy]

He was sure something with the ritual had gone wrong. Not that there was much that could go right, he corrected himself, the sick, heavy feeling that had settled in his stomach so many hours beforehand still refusing to let up. He blinked several times as his eyes adjusted to the change in lighting and scenery; he had gone from a dark warehouse

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[voice]

[slayersidekick]

And look at who the hamsters dragged back in. Not sure if it's possible to say "Welcome Back, it's nice to see you," but hey, you aren't alone here.

[ pause. ]

And there's no way back. Tried that already.

[ willow ]

[ holo ]

[prophecy_boy]

Yet more confusion. Connor wasn't sure how he felt about all of these disembodied voices -- having yet to connect them with the device on the pedestal behind him. Aside from having built himself a vigorous Pokemon regiment with the GameBoy Gunn had passed down to him, technology was a bit beyond him.

Disembodied voices probably meant magic. Figured.

"... what's a hamster?"

[ visual ]

[slayersidekick]

Oh fantastic. Willow just sighs and switches hers to visual so he can at least see her. "Look, Connor-"

Wait a minute.

"How can you not know what a hamster is?"

Because clearly that is the most important thing.

[ holo ]

[prophecy_boy]

He inclined his head towards the pedestal bearing the odd device. It was coming from there, then?

"Kind of happens a lot. Do you eat it?" he asked tersely, sweeping his gaze across the room as he made another pass for an exit. Still nothing.

[ visual ]

[slayersidekick]

"Uh, no. Most people don't eat adorable, furry pets."

Now the hamster aliens, on the other hand, were fair game.

"If you're looking for the way out, pick up the little gadget on the table. It'll open up the door for you. Is someone coming for you yet?"

[ holo ]

[prophecy_boy]

"... oh. Pets." Okay. Right. Most people didn't eat those.

He eyed the device as she directed him, now seeing her image projected on it for the first time, looking surprised as he leaned over to examine it. "Yeah. ... Angel's coming."

[ visual ]

[slayersidekick]

"Oh. Good. He'll be able to tell you all about Taxon."

More than Willow wanted to deal with right then, anyway.

"And you can tell him that your friendly neighborhood Willow kept you company. He knows me, so it's okay."

[holo]

[prophecy_boy]

Willow? That's right. She was the witch that Fred and Wesley had called in to restore Angel's soul, after gang had the brilliant idea to remove it in the first place. He'd never been onboard with that plan, it was reckless from the start, and if he was counting something as reckless, it had to be pretty bad.

"Willow," he echoed, canting his head at her image, more than a little canine in his actions. "I know you. You gave Angel back his soul."

[visual]

[slayersidekick]

"Yeah, that's-"

Wait a minute. Wait just a minute. Willow's look turns supremely confused. If Connor didn't remember anything else about Taxon, why would he remember that? And for that matter she didn't even remember if he'd been around for that.

"Uh... yeah, I did... twice. Once at home and once here, but..."

Her confused frown deepens a little more. "But I don't remember you being there for the one here a-and I didn't know you at home."

If this is another case of timeline confusion, she's going to have choice words for the hamsters. And none of them will be "I hope you have a nice life."

[holo]

[prophecy_boy]

Did she not remember him? That made sense, sort of. He'd spent most of her stay at the hotel locked away in Cordelia's room or running "errands," trying to find a way to intervene and stop the spell. Back when he still thought Cordy had been doing the right thing. A lot of doubts had been seeded that day, he remembered that much.

They had definitely met, though. Willow had called him "androgynous." ... he'd been meaning to look that up, come to think of it.

"You came to the hotel and put Angel's soul back, after we removed it to see what Angelus knew about the Beast."

[visual]

[slayersidekick]

More a case of that-hasn't-happened-to-her-yet. Not that Connor would know.

Willow continues giving him a very confused and wary look. This must be part of her future... Why the hell hasn't anyone else mentioned this?

"Uh... That must've been after I got pulled here." Pause. That probably makes no sense to him. "Okay, first thing about Taxon? Time means nothing. Some people remember things that others don't. This? Good example. You remember something that I guess hasn't happened to me yet. The only time I went to L.A. was to tell Angel that Buffy died. And that was..."

She pauses for just a minute, trying to think. Ignoring the half year she's been here... "Five months before I got pulled here. I think. I'm sorry. I don't remember."

[holo]

[prophecy_boy]

"So even though people are from the same place, they have different memories?"

Connor snorted. Back to the theory of magic being involved. Seemed like a likely side-effected. He disapproved.

"That's gonna get pretty old fast." He folded his arms over his chest, determinedly stubborn. "So if you came here earlier than me..." He paused. Would she take offense to this? Possibly. He didn't stop to consider it further.

"Are you still a witch?"

[visual]

[slayersidekick]

"Yeah. It's really weird, but... that's what I've seen so far."

Oh if Willow knew what he was thinking, she'd have thrown a fit.

Instead, she shrugs. "You kinda get used to it after a while. There are worse things to deal with."

Offense taken? Definitely. Especially since the whole witch gone bad thing is still so recent. Her face creases in a frown of wariness and annoyance. "That's not something I can exactly turn on and off at will, you know. And for the record, I had nothing to do with any of this." Go ahead, hate all you want, Connor. That still won't change anything.

[holo]

[prophecy_boy]

"I didn't think you did, I just..."

If he were being honest, Willow's use of magic had been the first and only time he'd seen it do any good, without any nasty after-effects. He still didn't trust magic, but it had made him begin to think that in the right hands, it might not be completely terrible.

"I just wanted to know. ... it was helpful, before."

Even if Cordelia had been insisting otherwise. He knew better now.

[visual]

[slayersidekick]

Yeah, Willow's just defensive about her magic in light of recent events. She's not even sure her hands are the "right hands" in this case, but she knows she has to try.

"Oh..." She pauses, apologetic. "Sorry, I just... got used to people not liking what I can do."

Long story there, Connor.

"If I did something to help, then... I'm glad. That's all I want to do now."

[holo]

[prophecy_boy]

"... that's good," Connor told her with some hesitation, clearly having trouble accepting his own evolving viewpoint on the subject. "As long as you're careful... maybe it can be a good thing."