Illyria the Slayer

By Shannon Hearn

Angel and the rest of the Fang Gang are owned by Joss, Sorry.

Prologue:

The story so far up to this point.

Angel and his crew Survived the battle with the forces of the Wolf, Ram and Hart after they slaughtered the Circle of the Black Thorn. But during the battle, the Sub-T demonic community was revealed to the world. Angel has been picking up the pieces as he has been hooked up with Agent Riley Finn of the Demon Initiative who has been put in charge of learning what new Sub-T threats are starting to emerge in the world. Add to this that During the Battle Illyria put a fraction of her essence into Gunn to save his life, but thanks to the Powers that Be, Illyria has started to merge some of her personality with that of her human Shell Fred and has felt power she has never felt before during her need to avenge Wesley's death.

Angel and his Werewolf girlfriend Nina are working through their issues and Angel's isolation from the world. But during the last few lines of my previous story; Nina hasn't still not told her family that she is a werewolf yet and has been dreading it.

Illyria has started to feel that she is loosing her self but has found solace in learning through her warrior pride that there are other warriors out in the world called Slayers who in her eyes can fight on par with her, thus she sees them as being equals on the battlefield. An effect of this on Illyria's state of mind comes through when she asked one of the Slayer's named Vi to keep an eye on Gunn while he is in the hospital as Illyria's new merged physiology started to assert itself and her feelings for Gunn have started to flood to her as she caring about him. Also this new boost of her physiology has given her a bad case of B.O., which has made her promptly shed her warrior cat suit and bathe and wear human clothing. Now forced to feel human, she is still haunted by the fact that she failed to save Wesley and has decided to move in with the Slayers to find herself. This is where our story picks up.

Part 1,

Illyria stood before the large five-bedroom house that lay near UCLA. For a human structure it looked like the rest providing shelter for its occupants, but for the neighborhood it was situated it was mainly for scholars and educators with their families. But this house was different; it housed the Warrior beings known as Slayers and Watchers.

"Hey Illyria, I hope that you don't mind sharing a room with a few of the Potentials, because we are kinda full in here." Jo-Anne the Slayer, the future mate of the dark haired half-breed's son Connor said as Illyria felt the book bag she was carrying.

"I do not mind sleeping with other beings, all I request is a place were I can view the outside." Illyria said as she walked through a puddle on the sidewalk.

"So you give you the bed closest to the window." Jo-Anne said moving next to Illyria carrying another bag of stuff that they had gotten from Winifred's room.

"Correct." Illyria said as she slowly moved up the three steps of the night strewn house and stopped at the door as she turned towards Jo-Anne as she came up the stairs with another Slayer named Kennedy.

"Jo-Anne, the Slayer... I wish to thank you and your kind for coming to the Half-breeds and My aide." Illyria said as Kennedy opened the unlocked door the suburban house.

"Illyria, that is what Slayers do, come to people's aid." Jo-Anne said as she let Illyria into the well furnished but open house. "Well welcome to shay de la Slayer." Jo-Anne said as Illyria moved through several pieces of furniture noticing that there were several boxes stacked up throughout the place.

"Sorry about the mess, we were kinda of setting up the place when Jo-Anne's friend Connor called for help." Kennedy said as she looked around the room and noticed that Illyria was petting one of the plants.

"This plant likes the light of the false sun." Illyria said as she started to caress the leave of the plant some more. "The Song of the green, I thought I had lost the ability to hear it." Illyria said as she started to move around to the other plants by the window.

"Illyria," Kennedy said as she moved over to Illyria. "I placed a spell on them so that some of the other Slayers could hear the plants so that they could water them." Illyria looked down at the plant as she could almost hear it stretch to caress her hand with its leaf.

"Then it is not me who is hearing this?" Illyria said somewhat taken down notch.

"Illyria, the spell is something I picked up from my friend Willow while she was tending her garden." Kennedy said as Illyria looked at her.

"This friend Willow must be a powerful being to be able to hear the Song of the Green." Illyria said looking at Kennedy.

"Yes she is, listen once you are settled how about I tell you a little about her, okay." Kennedy said as Illyria moved over and picked up a spray bottle and gave the plant she was petting a spritz of water to it.

"That sounds good Kennedy the Slayer," Illyria said as she placed the bottle down by the plant and started to follow Kennedy and Jo-Anne down the hall.

"That sounds good, Illyria, but if you want to fit in around here, please just call us by our names, and by not our names then "the Slayer." That is only used when we announce ourselves in a formal sense. Around here it is pretty casual." Jo-Anne said as Illyria tilted her head to the side and studied her in a bird-like manner.

"But you are Slayer, among my people it is a sign of respect to be addressed by your title." Illyria said stating her views of the world.

"Well among Slayers, we tend to be impromptu, and tend to view each other as equals. So here is an piece of advice, be nice for just a little bit, you will be amazed by what you can get information wise before you have to use force." Jo-Anne said as she opened up the door to one of the rooms and entered to see three girls sitting on a bed telling war stories in loose fitting sweat garments and t-shirts.

"... And as I came into that cave this big old hoken beastie decided that it was going to do some wall crawling." A girl with dark skin and long blond hair braided up into a long pony tail sat telling of the battle she had been in using her hands to act out how she and the creature she had fought. "Well I stood perfectly still deciding to let it come to me." The girl said as her youth pointed out that she was no more than probably eighteen.

"Well did you do the stand very still and listen with all your senses, or do the act on instinct, Aisha?" One of the other girls said as she lying on her stomach listening to the thing play out.

"More like I knew where it was at. So I threw up into the ceiling of the cave my battle axe and hit is squarely in the chest." Aisha said continuing with her story. "I had to step out of the way so the thing didn't land on me."

"A simple tactic to use when your opponent can move on various surfaces." Illyria said as she set one of her bags down on the bed closest to the window. "Strike them while they are on a surface above you so that gravity will bring them down. I slew an Suz' Abbey demon the same way." Illyria said as several of the girls turned to look at her.

"So did you slay it the same way that Aisha did?" One of the girls who had short cut black hair said.

"Yes, but I used a battle blade of mine." Illyria said as she looked at the warrior who had been telling the story.

"So what, same tactics the beastie died, so what." Aisha said looking over Illyria attempting to figure out how to size her up.

"I had to dismember it before I chopped its head off." Illyria said doing a showdown with Aisha.

"Oh," Aisha said, "so you dismembered it, so how many limbs did the thing have?" Aisha said with a look of wonder on her face as she attempted to deduce what type of creature needed to have its limbs chopped off.

"Forty." Illyria said coldly.

"Oh," They all said at once as Kennedy decided to introduce Illyria to her fellow roomies.

"Everyone this is Illyria, she will be staying here a few days." Kennedy said as the girls got up off their beds and moved towards Illyria.

"Hi, Illyria I'm Chloe," A girl with dark hair no older than Sixteen shook Illyria's hand. Illyria just looked at how the girl was shaking it and replied back in almost a similar manner. "Over there as you can tell are Aisha," Chloe pointed over the dark skinned one who had been telling over her hunt. "Over there," Chloe continued to point as Illyria followed the young warrior's finger to where another girl was sitting cross-legged with a wooden sword in her lab, wearing some sort of blue robe that was done in an elaborate style that from Fred's memories pointed to that it was oriental like the girl. "Suzuka, or Suz as everyone calls her, but she hates it." Chloe said kinda of giggling in the process.

"So Illyria, that's a Balkans name." Suzuka said looking at Illyria's features.

"Balkans???" Illyria said with curiosity.

"Yeah, history tends to be my hobby," Suzuka said getting up off of the bed and moving over to Illyria. "Illyria happened to be a name of a country in the Balkans back in Roman times. It is said that fierce warriors who had served in the Roman Empire had come from there. Also there is a myth that they took their name from an Ancient Demon God, that came from Edina the mother of all monsters." Suzuka said as Illyria hung on every word. Illyria felt a twinge of respect as she remembered Edina. Edina had not been forgotten but was known in this time. Illyria's name had become the name of society of warriors in this people's history. Maybe this is what the Oracles had been trying to tell her. That in finding herself a new path, she would learn of her past.

"Suzuka, I would like to learn more of these Illyria people." Illyria said looking at her fellow roommates with interest.

"Okay, I have tons of books on world history and other things. Your free to take a look at them if you like." Suzuka said as Illyria moved over to her.

"I would be glad to." Illyria said as she moved over to one of the beds. "Is this where I am going to sleep?" Illyria said deciding to use some tact among her new sisters.

"Yes, you can take that bed. I mean no one likes it due to it being directly in the sunlight. But..." Chloe said as Illyria right then and there decided to strip all of her clothes off her body revealing a very naked frame before them as she opened one of the bags and pulled out the nightshirt that she had been sleeping in the previous night.

"Okay, she doesn't wear any underwear other than a sports bra." Aisha said seeing how far the blue lines on Illyria's skin actually went.

"Illyria..." Suzuka said moving up to Illyria. "

The next time you decide to do that, give us some warning or at least do it in the bathroom. Because we... Um don't want to see your naked form in front of that open window." It took Illyria a moment or two to realize what she did.

"Ah, casual Nudity is a taboo in this culture when done in a public place. I will attempt to keep my nakedness concealed." Illyria said as she started to blush in embarrassment.

"Illyria, listen I heard that you are a Slayer that spent some time in a Hell Dimension; is that true?" Jo-Anne said looking at Illyria as Illyria took a pillow and covered her legs with it.

"Yes, Fred or the name I went by before my change to this form, spent almost five years in the Hell dimension called Pylea. During that time I was stripped of most of my garments, no underwear and lived in a cave after I escaped from being a slave." Illyria said as she sat down holding the pillow like a shield. "I was nearly mad when Angel found me living in cave that I called my Tree." Illyria said as Fred's memories started to spark inside of her.

"It was so lonely. So cold. It felt like death and I started to write on the walls of the cave to stay sane." Illyria looked at the rest of the girls in the room.

"Living in Hell." Man I can't even believe to fathom what happened to you.

"Fear, pain, death, madness, loss. I saw them gut and eat a girl no older than ten for an evening meal. I can still hear her screams as they cooked her alive to keep the juices fresh." Illyria said as she reached into the tote bag and took out the Animal idol, Flagellum, the Destroyer of realms and started to stroke its head.

"After Angel rescued me, Wesley and Gunn who had found a human village located us and for the first time in five years, I wore clean clothes..." At this time Illyria was crying... "I had forgotten what soft was against my skin after being forced to wear a sackcloth garment against my skin."

"So the entire nudity thing is just you attempting to fit back into the human world." Aisha said seeing how Illyria was behaving.

"Um, yes... Well kinda it took me awhile to adapt to the human world the first time, now since I have Demon Essence in me, it's a little hard for me to act like me." Illyria said as a Texas twang came from her voice.

"So in other words, you are screwed up for a second time." Suzuka said as she readjusted her bed kimono.

"I take offense to that Slayer. If I chose to I..." Illyria said in a full demon queen bitch mode, and then she stopped herself realizing what she had done. "Sorry." With that the Texas twang returned as Illyria started to bite her lip and curled up her knees to sandwich the pillow between her legs and her chest.

"It's okay, Blue... Adjusting to superpowers and emotional messiness is something that Slayers have a thing or two knowing about." Chloe said as she moved by Illyria. "So, what feminine products do you use? I noticed that you don't have any hair in your lower region when you sat down a moment ago, I was wondering because your legs look really great and I want to get my legs that way." Illyria realized that telling the truth would be the best thing to start with, that and finding out what Chloe had for dinner as she regurgitated her previous meal in the nearby trash pail by the door after Illyria told her how the hair over her clothed body was removed by bacterial means as it was eaten off while wearing her skintight warrior vestments.

TBC,