A/N: Hello, I am RynoRaikage, though I must apologize as I refuse to give away my real name. This is for my safety, as well as for the safety of others, though I cannot claim that I am a saint. This story is currently posted at a rating of T. This is because that anyone who has ever watched or read Buffy: The Vampire Slayer and/or Angel knows that this is not a docile topic, so if you are looking for a light read, this won't be the story for you. True, it is a love story, as the genre suggests, and I admit that I won't be describing in horrific detail the parts about what comes out of people's stomachs, or what happens as blood oozes from their bodies, because quite frankly, that all creeps me out. I can barely get through an episode of Bones and CSI: Crime Scene Investigation without getting sick, but I also love forensic shows. It's a little screwed up, but hey, that's me. Anyone, I hope that you enjoy this series. I will try to remain constant and update at least twice a week, hopefully more, and I believe that anyone who reads this story (at least until the part where the romance takes a large part in the story) will enjoy it. I will give fair warning as to when the chapters go 'M' rated for those who wish to read, but not imagine, and I am still debating about whether I will include those chapters in this, or offer them ont he side as 'M' rated shorted stories, but will actually be chapters. If you have an opinion, please let me know, because I will take it into consideration. Reviews are always appreciated, but I'm most grateful that you are reading my story. Anyway, please continue...
Disclaimer: I do not own Angel or Buffy: The Vampire Slayer.
Prologue
Riley stepped out of her appartment, adjusting the collar of her black leather jacket around her neck. She looked around outside, her eyes narrowed in suspicion when she heard the screams from down the alleyway. She closed her eyes, finding her center and silently rolling her eyes. Nights never stopped, not in New York. Riley was grateful that soon, she would be leaving for Australia. It wasn't any place fancy, but it had to be better than New York. Not that she didn't love getting a good several dozen slays in a night, but just for once, she'd like to have seen a different choice of scenery.
Riley stepped down from the steps, making her way down the alleyway. She had stepped out from the back of a grungy old appartment, the one she was sad to call home. She wasn't a cheap person, not poor like some of the people in this part of New York, but she wasn't extremely rich, either. Still, she knew where her job was best done, and it definitely wasn't in Times Square.
Although I have had several fights there, Riley thought, but didn't say. She had a philosophy that talking when going out to patrol was as bad as jumping out in front of the vampires and pleading for them to kill her.
The truth was that eight months ago, Riley had undergone the most amazing feeling. One moment, she'd been just an ordinary high school senior playing soccer in the middle of a game. She'd been ready to send the ball into the net when she suddenly felt this feeling run through her, a certainty, a strength unlike anything she'd ever known. Her entire mind went calm, and she knew that there was nothing on this planet that could stop her. Then, as she went through with her kick, she and everyone else, were surprised to see her kick the ball so hard that it went straight through the net and flattened when it hit the closest tree, which was almost fifty feet away. Afterward, she'd gone straight to the doctor with her coach, who was concerned that she might have been using steroids. In spite of Riley's arguments that she would never do that, she had no idea why she had this strength and sudden understanding of herself, a new confidence. It wasn't until three days later when she was coming off of the field from practice that she was given an answer, when a man with glasses and wearing a black suit had approached her, along with a girl with wavy black hair and a very exposive top and tight leather pants.
The two people, a man named Rupert Giles and a girl named Faith, took Riley home and explained there that she wasn't just any girl, but had a special purpose, a destiny. Not sure what they were talking about at first, Riley listened as they told her that she had been a Potential Slayer, but now had the Powers of a Slayer inside of her. This had made everything in Riley's past make more sense, things that she'd avoided for so long that she had almost forgotten, such as freaks in black robes with no ideas trying to chase her and kill her. However, her skill with a soccer ball and improvisational skills had allowed her to run throughout New York. She'd never ditched them completely, not until the day she found herself feeling completely different.
Now, eight months later, Riley was certain of only one thing: She was a Slayer, and that meant kicking the butts of any demons that she came across.
Giles had recomended that Faith stay with Riley for a month to show her the ropes, and the ropes she showed her. Riley had taken martial arts right along with soccer, but her training with Faith opened up a whole new world to her. She was stronger than she'd imagined, faster than she'd thought possible, and everything seemed to come so easily. When Faith finally sent her out against a vampire for the first time, it had taken Riley only a few minutes before the guy was dust. Strangely enough, the world of vampires and demons had come as no surprise to her. She'd known about these creatures on a subconscious level for years, since the mysterious death of her parents, which left her an orphan who had to fend for herself. After a month, Faith left New York and Riley, but by then, Riley was ready to defend the streets of the Bronze by herself. Her strength only grew with experience, as did her confidence. She knew she was a good Slayer, but each kill made her remember it.
Still, Riley couldn't wait to get out of here. Tomorrow, she would be getting on a plane and going to Australia, where the Watcher's Council had "summoned" her. She knew very little abotu them, only what Giles had told her, which wasn't exactly encouraging: that they were pompus, arrogant pain in the asses. There were very few of them left, only half a dozen. Apparently the others had been blown up in some explosion during a big fight that resulted in "the one Slayer" becoming the "1,500" Slayers. Giles had offered to let Riley work for a organization that Faith, Giles, and a half dozen other Slayers, including the original Slayer, a girl named Buffy Summers. Riley had chosen to decline, deciding that she wanted to do this on her own, the way she'd always been. In spite of herself, however, she really liked Faith. She reminded her a lot of herself, an older version of herself. Faith was 21, and Riley had no idea how old Giles was, but Giles was what was known as a 'Watcher', the guides given to Slayers. Riley didn't have one, and she was actually grateful for it.
Riley walked down the street, completely aware of the stake slid in between her pants and back, where it was easy to access. Riley had a silver chain hung around her neck, which laid against her semi-exposed neck. Underneath her leather jacket, she was wearing a white tanktop and blue jeans. It wasn't the toughest or coolest look known to the kids in New York, but it was what Riley felt comfortable in, and if she was going to pummel the daylights out of the undead, well, she wanted to be comfortable.
Riley kept walking, completely attuned to the forces at bay. She passed a couple pinned to the wall, making out vigorously, and she rolled her eyes. Not that she was opposed to it, but passion tended to attract vampires. This was one of the reasons why she refused to allow herself to get involved with anyone, it would endanger them. Plus, she was eighteen with a career as a vampire killer. It didn't exactly fit the profile of 'attractive.' Though Riley knew that she wouldn't be considered ugly by any man. Practically perfect in sizing around the body, Riley had long brown hair that was only slightly wavy, and laid flat against her back. It came half-way down her back, and complimented her ice-cold, blue-grey eyes. She had had her fair share of requests and invitations, but she had no interest. Her only concern was getting out of New York, to some place that she could consider sane.