So, this is my new project that I'm working on, a challenge prompt requested by Bellavision. This is set after 'Not Fade Away' (lol, again) and is meant to go for around 70 chapters. That's more than twice the chapters I usually write, so we'll see how we go.
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It was a nice, cool, quiet night in Los Angeles.
It was just a shame that for young Chloe Morgan, she was unable to appreciate the beautiful night due to the fact that she was in a bad side of town and something was stalking her from the darkness, cutting off her means of escape and trapping her.
It had all started when Chloe had been in town with a few friends, having a few drinks together, when upon heading home, she decided to take a shortcut and go through a small series of alleys. That's when she noticed she was being followed and every attempt to escape had been thwarted. Now she was left alone in the middle of nowhere, unable to see any exits, as heavy footsteps approached.
A man stepped out of the darkness before her. He was well-built, looking to be in his mid-thirties and could even be considered good looking if it wasn't for the fact that his face currently looking misshapen. Were his eyes really glowing yellow?
"Please, what do you want with me?" Chloe asked, backing away from him, "I could give you money if that means you'll let me go."
"I don't want your stinking money," the man growled, "I just want you."
"Please, please, no, please let me go," Chloe pleaded, crouching against the wall, as the man towered over her, "I'm a good girl. I don't deserve this. I don't want to die."
The man grinned, fangs flashing in the dark, as he lifted her up to her feet with one hand, pinning her to the wall, as he bared her smooth, pale neck to him and he smirked, leaning in close and opening his mouth wide.
"Eating out is great and all, but in a back alley?"
The man let Chloe go, whirling around with a primal growl of anger, as another man stepped out of the darkness. And this one was good-looking, with short, spiky black hair, intense brown eyes and dressed in a black shirt, slacks and a three-quarter length black leather coat. He was unfazed as he approached the disfigured man, who snarled and strode towards him with the intent of murdering him.
"I mean, it just shows you really don't know how to treat a woman for dinner."
"I'm gonna tear you apart!"
The good-looking man simply punched him, dropping him to the ground from the blow. Chloe slowly rose to her feet, transfixed by the scene before her, as the disfigured man scrambled to his feet, letting loose with a wild swing. The second man easily blocked the attempt and struck him again, knocking him down once more. Her attacker groaned, struggling to get up, only to get kicked in the stomach, which flipped him over onto his back. Then, Chloe watched in surprise as the second man withdrew a wooden stake from his coat and plunge it into her attacker's chest. But that was nothing compared to when her attacker burst apart into a small pile of dust.
"What the…how…I mean…uh…what just happened?"
"It's best if you hurried home," he replied, "Never know how many more are out there."
Chloe nodded and hurriedly left the arena, as Angel watched her go. Once she was gone from sight, the vampire with a soul turned and left in the opposite direction, coming out onto the street where he had parked his car. Sliding into the driver's seat of the Plymouth, Angel let out a sigh he didn't need, as he started the car and pulled away from the curb. It had been four months since the battle against Wolfram and Hart and ever since then, things had changed. People were starting to notice the things that went bump in the night, starting to realise what awaited them in the mean, dark streets of Los Angeles. It didn't make things easy for Angel, made it less so by how few there were in his team to continue the battle to help the helpless. Both Gunn and Illyria had died in the that fateful battle, the latter sacrificing her life to destroy the majority of the army and give both Angel and Spike a chance to escape. After recovering at the Hyperion, the vampires were joined by Connor, who assisted them in hiding from the Senior Partners and when they began venturing out to help the helpless, the trio were joined by former detective Kate Lockley. She had still been living in Los Angeles, helping those who had between the cracks and partially honing her vampire dusting skills. Together, these four were all that stood between the people of Los Angeles and the Senior Partners.
Arriving back at the Hyperion, Angel pulled in and entered the hotel, finding that the lights were on, but nobody was home. Thankful to have some quiet time alone, Angel grabbed himself a mug of blood and headed upstairs to his dark room, where he removed and tossed his coat and shirt aside, before settling down into his armchair, preparing to go into full brood mode. From behind him, a figure crept forth in the darkness, silently drawing a wooden stake as it inched closer towards Angel. The vampire finished his mug and set it down on the arm of the chair.
"I'd stop if I were you."
The figure stopped in its tracks, stake paused in mid-air.
"Let me guess, the Senior Partners sent you to kill me?" Angel said, still sitting in the armchair.
"It is their wish," came the reply.
"Tell them to wish harder."
Whirling around, Angel flung the mug at the intruder, catching him off guard. Moving swiftly, Angel grabbed the intruder's stake hand, holding it away as he threw a punch with his other fist. Bringing the intruder's wrist down to connect with his knee, Angel was able to disarm the would-be assassin, who responded with a blow of his own that knocked the vampire away. Angel caught his balance, as the intruder stepped out into the shard of light coming in through the window from the streetlamp, revealing a Mohra demon. He drew a short sword and charged, but Angel sidestepped his attack, pointing his foot out and tripping the Mohra up. He was flipped onto his back, as Angel knelt by his head, stabbing the stake into the Mohra's forehead jewel. The demon cried out when the jewel shattered and he vanished in a flash of light, as Angel headed over to his shattered mug, picking up the broken handle.
"Damn, and that was my favourite mug, too."
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The club was packed and booming. Music blasted from the loudspeakers, sending everyone on the floor into an alcohol-infused frenzy. Everyone, which included a certain Buffy Summers, who was enjoying her first night off in a long time. Ever since the activation of every single Slayer in the world, Buffy had been working endlessly to seek them out and train them against the forces of darkness, building up an entire army. Eventually, she settled down in Rome with Dawn and Andrew, continuing the training, which meant that Buffy had very little time to herself. That also included having a boyfriend. She had been single for a very long time now, but often found that she didn't have time to commit to one. Besides, who would want to date the Numero Uno Slayer who spent all her time training noob Slayers to fight vampires?
And speaking of vampires.
Even though she was out enjoying herself, Buffy was still keeping an eye out for any baddies and had just now found one, a tall, good-looking man prowling the crowd, a hungry gleam in his eyes. Buffy rolled her eyes as he neared. It was her night off. Why couldn't the undead do the same? And why did it have to be the good-looking ones?
Buffy watched closely as the vampire chatted up a young woman, smiling and flirting with her, before leaving the crowd with her. The Slayer waited a few moments before following after them, as they left the club and headed towards one of the nearest back alleys. After making sure her stake was secure in her jacket, Buffy entered the alley, just as a short scream broke the night. Pushing into a run, Buffy tackled the vampire, knocking him away from the woman, as she ran terrified back to the club. The vampire snarled as he got to his feet, his golden eyes flashing in the dark.
"Can we make this quick?" Buffy asked, "It's my night off."
The vampire growled and moved for her, but she easily blocked his attacks, before kicking him in the stomach, giving her some space.
"I mean, I've been really looking forward to this, having been working so hard training the noobs," Buffy continued, "I just wanted some time to myself. Is that too much to ask?"
Ducking the vampire's fist, Buffy slammed her own into his jaw, staggering him, then swung the stake for his heart, but the vampire recovered quicker than she expected, smacking her hand aside and punching her in the face. Whirling around with a high kick, Buffy clipped him on the temple, flipping the vampire over onto his back. She tried again with the stake, but once again, the vampire thwarted her, catching her wrist and holding her stake at bay.
"I've been waiting for you," the vampire grinned.
He threw her wrist aside and rolled back onto his feet, twisting with a kick that Buffy blocked, as she shoved his leg aside, exposing his back and she staked his heart.
"So is the club," Buffy replied to the dust.
She tucked the stake away and was about to leave the alley, when another vampire stepped in her way, blocking the exit. However, he wasn't the only one, as several more vampires materialised out of the darkness, surrounding the Slayer. However, she was nonplussed by the numbers and even had a bored look on her face.
"Okay, now I'm starting to get annoyed. You all have three seconds to leave or you can all say hello to Mr Pointy."
The vampires growled, all advancing on her, as Buffy sighed.
"Fine. You'll be regretting this."
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