Work Text:
Title: Crysalis
Author: Angel Negra
Rating: FRT-13
Disclaimer: Joss owns 'Angel: the Series', I just admire.
Spoilers: Season 3 'Baby Connor' arc.
Summary: Steven Holtz - the younger years.
Author's Notes: Sequel to 'Paradox'. Thanks to Kristen for the beta.
For as long as Steven could remember, his father called him evil. A freak child borne of two demons.
"You must learn to overcome this weakness son," his father would say. "Take the Devil's evils and use them against him."
Steven would try. And try. It was never good enough for his father.
"This is a harsh world Steven. You must conquer it, like you must conquer the evil in your soul."
*
When Steven was five years old, his father tied him to a tree and left. The first night, Steven cried until he ran out of tears. The second night, Steven screamed until he ran out of voice. The third night, Steven got a visitor.
The demon was large. It looked at him with a mixture of calculation and curiosity.
"Little thing, are you trapped? Lost your cluster?" asked the demon, sidling closer. It stretched out a hand and touched Steven's face.
Steven bit it. Hard. The demon's blood tasted rotten.
The demon gave a cry of rage and slapped Steven across the face, splitting his lip. "Bastard," It snarled. "Stay there and rot."
Steven licked at the blood on his lip, glad of the moisture for his dry, sore throat.
The cut on his lip tingled. Steven began to feel angry. Angry at the demon, angry at his father, just - angry. He began tugging at the rope that held him, his anger growing as it refused to give. He began throwing himself forward. Harder and harder.
The rope snapped.
Steven fell face forward on the ground. He lay there panting, shaking with leftover anger. Slowly, Steven climbed to his feet, rubbing at his aching stomach, the anger adding its own grumble. He looked around for something to eat.
There. To the side was a small bush of berries. Steven stumbled over and began stuffing the berries into his mouth. They tasted a little funny, but they were something to eat. And Steven was very hungry.
And when a small brown demon crept up to eat some of Steven's berries, Steven's anger flared and he hit the little demon with a rock until it stopped moving. He poked at it to make sure it wouldn't get up again and try to eat his berries. The little demon didn't move. Steven went back to eating the berries. When he was full, Steven sat back, wondering what to do next. He took a deep breath and caught a faint scent. Father...
Standing up, Steven slowly turned around in a circle, sniffing. When he'd figured out where the scent was strongest, he began walking towards it. When Steven stumbled through the brush into his father's camp, Steven's father smiled.
"I knew you could do it, son. I'm proud of you."
Steven felt happy; but he could still feel it. Deep in a dark corner of his heart, the anger burned.
*
Steven was ten the next time his father tied him to a tree. Steven waited until his father was out of hearing range before snapping the ropes. By now Steven already knew which small demons tasted the best and which were the easiest to hunt. He'd even made a blade from a Jor'thoth's tooth. It worked for killing, skinning, de-boning, and carving. Despite what his father thought of it, Steven still liked eating them raw and fresh. It made him stronger, he could feel it.
Steven raised his nose to the wind, sniffing for his father's scent. And froze. Pax. Pax had tried to steal Steven's old baby blanket, the one his father had given him.
Steven's anger burned. Ignoring his father's scent for the moment, he started off after Pax...
*
When Steven was twelve, his father sat him down and showed him drawings of his demonic parents. And then Steven's father told him about the family his demonic parents had killed. It was long and bloody.
Steven was horrified. The idea that he had come from such evil... And Father expected him to be able to *control* this evil? Better to simply use it. Harness this power and destroy the vile demons who created him. Steven's ever present anger burned.
Afterwards, Steven left the hut he and his father lived in. Walking and absorbing. Idly, he fingered his outfit, he was very proud of it. Steven had made the outfit himself. Pax was a Que'bo demon, and their skins made wonderful protection from the sandstorms.
Steven had traveled a good distance from the hut when he heard a cry of pain. Curious, he looked up. A Seelee was trying to capture a young Que'bo for supper. The Que'bo had built a strange defense weapon. It looked to be three pipes clamped together, mounted on a harness that was strapped to one of the Qeu'bo's three arms. The Qeu'bo would load projectiles into it with it's other two arms and fire them at the Seelee, keeping it at bay.
Steven crouched in the bush, pulling out his blade, and watched. Fascinated. The Que'bo's aim was poor, and the Seelee soon managed to herd it away from more projectiles. With a snap and jerk of its beak, the Seelee removed the arm with the weapon. Steven watched where the arm fell. The Que'bo let out a fading cry as the Seelee snapped its beak again.
Steven barely glanced down when the Que'bo's head rolled to a stop at his feet. Steven kept his eye on the Seelee flying away with its prize, making sure it was gone. When he was positive it wasn't coming back, he got up. Stepping over the Que'bo head, Steven headed over to where the weapon had landed. He peeled it off of the Que'bo's arm and started walking home.
*
On his seventeenth birthday, Steven met Kall. Kall was a magic user. Steven's father said that Kall knew of a way to return to the dimension where Steven's demonic parents lived.
Steven felt his constant anger mingle with excitement. "How?"
Kall grinned, condescending and wide, showing rows of pointed teeth in a strong jaw. At that moment Steven decided to kill Kall when he had done his job. "We must follow the Tantalii's river," Kall paused to point. "If you are indeed the Destroyer."
Kall's pause was obviously calculated. Steven knew that. He also knew why. He didn't care. His anger burned, and Steven wanted with every part of his being to return and kill the demon Angelus. Steven's smile could never be as wide, or have as many teeth as Kall's. But it was still enough to cause Kall to take a step back in fear.
Steven started walking towards the Tantalii's river, loading the three barrel stake-launcher on his arm. "Keep up."
End.