Thunder rumbled, and lightning dashed across the sky. Angel was heading back towards Angel Investigations, knowing the place would be empty. He was tired and sore from the fight with the last demon. As a slight drizzle started, Angel thought. Doyle had finally asked Cordelia to go to a club, then maybe some coffee. Angel wished them well.
He also felt a slight pang of jealousy as he walked.
A girl gasped for breath, flinching as she ran. God, her ankle hurt so bad. She was going to kill those bastards... as soon as they gave her sword back. She clutched at her shoulder where they had stuck her. With her own sword. What would her great-great-grandfather think of her?
She cried out as she stumbled, fear overwhelming her. She felt a bit faint, maybe it was because of blood loss. Someone grabbed her by the hair, snapping her head back. She cried out and hit her head on the cement. ' Ow!'
' C'mon, Slayer!' One of the men snarled.
Slayer?
A Slayer?
These men were vampires then. The girl gasped in pain and fished in her jacket pocket, taking out a stake. She wasn't a Slayer, but she knew how to defend herself from these creeps. She stumbled to her feet, holding her stake in fierce determination. One of the vampires snorted, and hit her across the face. She stumbled back, but lashed out with her foot. It connected with the vamp's chin and his partner snorted in laughter.
The girl wiped blood from her mouth, and started to run again. But the one vampire grabbed her arm, yanking her backwards. He hit her in the face so hard, her vision went gray. She fell forward, but a pair of strong arms caught her just before she hit the ground. She braced herself for more pain, but she could barely see.
She dimly heard her stake clatter to the ground, as her vision hazed.
The girl felt small in Angel's arms. Anger filled him when he saw what the vampires did to her. She moved, not completely in a faint. Her eyes were half open, and she held her head. Her eyes widened when she saw Angel.
But Angel pushed her away to safety as a vampire lunged at him. The girl hit the floor, clenching her teeth in yet more pain. She wiped her wet hair away from her face, and looked at the fight in front of her. Stakes pretruded from Angel's wrists, and he dusted the vampires without a problem. Angel picked up a sword one left behind, then glanced at the girl's wound on her shoulder. She needed help, or she would die on the streets.
The girl clenched her teeth, not sure if this man was here to help her. But she felt faint from loss of blood. Her knees buckled and Angel caught her before she hit the ground. The girl stiffened.
' It's okay,' Angel said, ' I'm here to help you.'
They limped all the way back to his home. The rain had turned into a slight drizzle. Angel cleansed and dressed her wound as she studied him.
He was (extremely) good looking, with dark eyes and dark hair that stuck up. He was tall, and broad shouldered.
Angel studied the girl, wondering if she was a Slayer. She certainly didn't hold herself like it. Her wavy, dark, brown hair was just above her butt, no bangs. Her skin was flawless and tanned. Her nose ended in a sort of determined arch, but did not point at the sky. She was slim, but her figure told Angel she had to be at least 17. She wore baggy, ripped jeans, with sneakers, a t-shirt, and a jacket.
What caught Angel the most were her eyes. They were such an odd blue, they looked a tad bit lavender.
' So you know what vampires are.' The girl said. Angel smiled to himself.
' I'm very familiar with them.'
' How?'
' One of them killed my family.' Angel said in a tone the ended the conversation. A few minutes later, the girl asked him another question.
' Who are you?'
' I go by Angel.' The girl smiled at his name.
' Victoria.' She replied.
' There a last name for that?'
' Not for you.' Victoria said firmly. Not yet.
Angel got up to put the bandages away. " There's a shower in the other room, just put on anything dry you can find. I don't mind." With that, everyone walked away.
" Thanks." Victoria said, thinking he wouldn't hear her.
' What are you saying?' Angel murmured. The old demon sighed.
' This girl you described, real pretty with brown hair and dark blue eyes? Yeah, she don't like vampires. She's related to Van Helsing himself.'
Angel raised an eyebrow. ' The Van Helsing?'
The demon nodded. ' Yup, his great-great- granddaughter.' This left Angel pondering when another demon asked, ' What's his deal? A male Slayer?'
The old demon rolled his eyes. ' The man's name was Abraham Van Helsing. He was a smart man, but hated vampires with a passion.' Angel listened, even though he knew the story. ' Van Helsing had a wife, and a son. Some vampire drove his wife crazy into a nut house. His son was turned, leaving Van Helsing to dedicate his life to slaying Dracula or something. No one knows. All I can say is that the vampire who drove his wife crazy is still living this day, being tracked down and slayed by Van Helsing's descendants.'
Angel had enough. He left aruptly, striding out. He worried if the old demon's words were true... if Van Helsing's descendants were out to get him.
Angelus wiped a trickle of blood on his chin with his sleeve. He grinned, knowing that Van Helsing's son would awaken in a while. A little present to daddy.
Angelus turned to the cries of Van Helsing's wife. She was sitting in the corner, trembling like mad. She held a hankerchief half way to her chin, staring blankly ahead of her. A deep laugh boomed inside Angelus, but it was nearly day and he had to leave. He mounted his horse, and gathered up the reins.
Van Helsing would know that it was a vampire who had terrified his family when his son awakened. Angelus had drove his wife mad, and turned his son. It was enough for one day.
The vampire laughed, and kicked his horse into a gallop.
Victoria Van Helsing swore as she looked around. She would not leave without it. She sat down, clasping her sword. The cool metal helped her think. Where would it be?
Victoria sighed, and looked even more frantically.The door creaked, and Angel stepped into the room. Victoria stood straight up, pointing the tip of the sword at Angel in an awkward way. She stumbled clumsliy on a pile of books, while Angel tried not to look amused.
' Give me back my book.' Victoria growled, pointing her sword at him. ' Or i'll stick this right through you.' Angel laughed. He suddenly grabbed a sword hanging on a wall. With a clatter, the two swords met and Victoria's was knocked from her hands before she could react. She backed up against the wall as Angel's sword was pointed at her throat.
' Right now, I would be laughing as your head rolled across the floor.' He growled in a threatning voice. He then lowered his sword, and took out Victoria's journal from his pocke, and tossed it to her. He collapsed in his chair, sighing. He only took it to make sure she didn't leave.
Victoria stood there, opening her mouth to think of something to say.
' Y-yeah, well, th-that was a lucky hit.' She stammered, amazed at his skills. She suddenly felt very tired. Her shoulder throbbed, and she ached all over. She sat down, away from Angel.She glanced at him. The door was right there, she was free to go!
' Where did you learn to do that anyways?' She asked. Angel seemed a little surprise that she was still there.
' Here and there. You learn when you're on the streets.' He replied, turning towards her. ' Why aren't you leaving?' He didn't want to get staked when he was in his own home!
' Because...' Victoria said. ' I want you to teach me.'
' Say what?'
' I want you to teach me how to do those things with a sword, teach me how to fight, so I won't be helpless next time.' Victoria replied, raising her head a little.
Angel thought. She could certainly, but she would never be that good. Maybe then he could explain what had happened to him, that he had changed.
' Alright.' He finally said, making Victoria's heart soar. ' It takes dedication though.'
' Fine with me.' Victoria answered cooly back. She needed to be prepared for the day when she finally met the vampire that had put her family's name to shame.
' I have hardly gone without food in my search. I will find this vampire, and make him pay for what he has done. The villagers cast me out, saying that my name is forever cursed. Those fools think that spared ones of a vampire... I do not need them, nor anyone else for that matter. I can only hope that my vengnance is fufilled.'
Victoria cringed at her great-great-grandfather's words. She was reading the journal passed down through the generations, until it had reached her. She flipped forward near the end of the journal, rereading the words.
' I fear that I have failed this quest. I am old, weak, near death. But I do know that descendants will follow me... Hope fills me that they will finish my work. I want this journal to be passed down, until the duty is completed. A faint description follows of a marking on the vampire's bare back. 'Tis a Gryphon, holding the letter 'A'. Celtic symbols surrond the marking. I can only hope that someone will destroy the vampire... May that person's soul fly to the heavens, like my dear wife and son.'
Panic filled Victoria, as it so often did when she read that certain paragraph. She held back tears of frustration, scolding herself. She was being a childish baby.
' But how can I do this?' She sobbed quiely to herself. ' I don't want to disgrace anyone... And I'm afraid to die...' Victoria grew up thinking that death was an honorable thing that came to everyone. She was still afraid though.
Angel couldn't help but listen with his vampire hearing. Sorrow and pitty filled him as he listened to her words.
Cordelia Chase yawned as Doyle unlocked the door to the Angel Investigations building. The night had been great with Cordy.
Maybe this'll work out afterall... He thought with a grin.
' What are you grinning about you goofball?' Cordy asked. She loved the sound of her high heels snapping on the floor.
' Nothin'" Doyle said quickly.
' Maybe we should- Oh, my gawd.' Cordy shrieked, her mouth dropped. Doyle frowned and looked ahead. His mouth dropped.
Angel was in front of some girl, and it just looked... well... like something romantic was going on.
' Angel!' Cordy shrieked. He jumped back.
Doyle laughed out loud. ' Mate, if you wanted some time alone with your girl... you could've just asked instead of suggesting we go out!' Angel raised his eyes brows and looked amused while Victoria blushed furiously.
' It was nothing like that!' She cried. ' He was just teaching me how to hold his sword-' Cordy's mouth dropped even more with a surprising sound.
Victoria blushed even more. ' No! The weapon! Weapon!'
' Guys, we need to talk.' Angel said, pushing his two friends towards the kitchen, leaving Victoria feeling humiliated.
' So... she's like, your enemy's grandaugher?' Cordy asked in confusion.
' Yeah.' Angel answered.
' But she doesn't know that it's you who did all that bad stuff to her family?' Doyle asked.
' No.'
' When are you gonna tell her?' Cordy asked. Angel turned slightly and glanced at Victoria. She started to sit casually on an arm of a chair but missed it completely and crashed to the floor. She got up quickly, clearing her throat, and acting like it never happened. Angel smiled in spite of himself, and turned back to his friends.
' I don't dunno. It's not like she's going to kill me when she finds out. She can barely use a sword.' Angel answered.
' Think of what might of happened if you didn't help her from those vampires.' Doyle said in deep thought. The very thought filled Angel with a slight fear and anger. He shook his head
' But I was there.'
Whew. It's been a while since I've even thought of Angel or Buffy. Hope I did okay. Yes, I did release this story earlier. But i'm making some changes, and editing it. Hope everyone likes it. read and review.