The world was supposed to end in 2004. It didn't. Sure, people died but the Apocalypse was thwarted by a select few. It was not the first time these people stopped an apocalypse but this wasn't your average apocalypse. This was The Apocalypse.

Angel and Spike were the two vampires with a soul. They were both champions in their own right. This is not about the vampires and demons that fought the end of the world. This is about the humans. There were your regular people and your people with mystical power. There was the good and evil and those that blurred the line. There were the lovers and the fighters. They all have a story to tell. It's not all about the vampires all the time.

Hope Shea was one of the humans. She grew up in a little town in Massachusetts. By the time she was nineteen, she had moved to Los Angeles and was attending UCLA. Hope was not a typical human. She had powers that no other had. Standing at a mere five feet tall, Hope's bad side was not something people wanted to be on. She had dark brown eyes, short, red hair and all the right curves in all the right places. She had two tattoos: one was of a shamrock with celtic symbols inside on her left ankle and the other was a small, green lightning bolt on her right wrist. Her style was a mixture of tomboyish clothes and punk rock outfits. She had six earrings in her left ear and four in her right ear. She was by all means a rock and roll girl.

Hope was born with a supernatural ability. She was what people called a "natural born witch". Basically, that means, she was born with the powers of magick. While others had to work at it, she was a natural. She was outspoken, loud and not afraid to say what was on her mind. She was also trained in martial arts and fencing. It was 2004 and the nineteen year old found herself wrapped up in a situation that she could not control.

Hope had been watching the law firm, Wolfram and Hart ever since she started school. She had heard about how the law firm was evil and it amazed her to see that Angel and his gang had taken over the place. They were supposed to be the good guys. Quietly, she watched the gang for months. No one even knew that she existed. No one, except for one person.

It was a warm, sunny afternoon in L.A. Hope had just finished up with her classes and was headed to Wolfram and Hart. One of her professors had sent her there to get some information on how a law firm worked. Hope had a strong distrust for lawyers and the only reason why she was taking that Criminal Justice class was because she had seen way too many episodes of CSI.

Hope was supposed to dress professionally for this internship. The only decent clothes she had in her closet were a knee-length denim skirt and a button-front, purple shirt. Her only shoes that she owned were sneakers. On her feet were a pair of Adidas with the three strips. Inside the stripes were a few stars here and there. She stood at the huge building in front of her. Her heightened Wiccan powers made it easy for her to sense that this place was a harbored of evil.

"You must be the new intern." A man's voice chimed in from behind her. She turned around to face the very well dressed man. He had on a suit and tie. Not that she would admit it right there but he was tall, dark and handsome. "My name's Charles Gunn and I believe you'll be working for me." He extended his hand to her.

"Hope Shea." She nodded as she shook hands with him. "This place is evil." She couldn't help herself. The words just slipped out of her mouth.

"I see you've been doing your research on the place." He nodded at her. "But, don't worry. You're working for the good guys."



"You're part of Angel's crew." She nodded. "Hoping to change this place from the inside." She continued up the steps and into the big office building. She was not going to let him know about her powers just yet. However, that was one of the reasons why Angel hired her to be Gunn's intern.