Angel: Season Six, By Angel-Angelus
Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters from the Angel universe. Any original people that may have fallen into this universe, well, they might be mine, can't remember though. Oh, and by the way, I don't own the universe. Joss and his "peeps" (if they can be called that) own everything.
Feedback: Please Please Please Please Read And Review!
Author's Notes: This is only the first part of this chapter/episode. I was writing it and was like "OMG! This is really long." So I decided to split it up, so I could post it earlier, and so it wasn't such a big chapter. Now, I hope that this chapter is good. I put a lot of work into it, and hope you all like it. There may be a few parts that don't make sense, but they will either at the end of this section, or by the end of the actual chapter/episode. Again, please read and review. ENJOY!
Summary: Angel and his team have received their mission. Now, they must choose how to start it. As they settle into somewhere familiar, they learn that there is a new person in town, one who slays vampires in a very unique way…
Angel Season 6 – Episode Three: Starting Over
Sherry was walking quicker than she usually would. She didn't plan on staying out so late. It was almost one in the morning now, and she had to walk the dark, dangerous streets of L.A.
Los Angeles. The place she had come to become an actress. It was quite obvious how well that had turned out. Now she was working a dead end job, and baby-sitting for her only friend. Tonight, her friend had stayed out three hours later than said, and now she had to walk home in the darkness of Los Angeles.
Sherry was coming up on an alley and she realized that it could be a shortcut. It should be, because it cut straight to the street on the other side, and that would save her walking up a few more blocks to get around. Deciding to try this alley out, Sherry turned down it. It was a lot darker than the rest of the street, but Sherry was in a hurry. She started to walk a bit quicker. Something inside Sherry told her that this wasn't a safe place to be. Her heart started to pound in her chest as she got the feeling someone was watching her. Suddenly, every shadow scared her, and she thought that someone was going to jump out of them at her. Looking over her shoulder, she saw that her fears had been realized.
Behind her, two figures were advancing down the alley. Now Sherry was truly afraid. She broke into a run, hoping to make it to the end of the alley. As she got just passed halfway, Sherry saw there was a fence just ahead. Sherry got to the fence, and decided that she was going to try and climb it. As she started, Sherry looked behind her, and saw the figures, were within a few feet, then… they stopped. Sherry thought she was going to make it, when she felt a hand grasp around her ankle, and pull her to the ground with superhuman strength.
"Now where do you think you're going?" a male voice asked her. Sherry looked up and saw a man looking at her, but there was something wrong with his face. He had an overly large brow, and ridges. Also, he had sharp pointed teeth. Thinking that it was some strange cult that had caught her, Sherry's mind began to wander at the horrors that might be done to her.
"Please," Sherry pleaded, "Let me go. I just want to go home. Please."
"Let me think about that," the man said, "Umm… no. We've been following you for a little while now, and we haven't fed yet." Sherry gulped. She had no idea these men meant by "fed," but she had a feeling that she wouldn't be alive when they finished with her.
"But I didn't do anything!" Sherry pleaded to the man.
"Exactly," came the reply, "So you won't be missed." Sherry sat up, and pushed herself back to the wall, where she wrapped her arms around her legs in fear. By now the other men had joined them.
"What are we waiting for?" one of the men that arrived asked.
"I want you two to watch me kill her." The first man told the other two. The two men got looks of sadness on their faces.
"But… but I thought we were all going to share." The second one asked.
"Shut-up," the leader said. With that, he turned towards Sherry, and started to advance towards her. Then, suddenly, there was a flash of bright light, and five people stood around Sherry.
"Whoa!" came the cries from the three men. "Where the hell did you just come from?"
The five people were Angel, Spike, Gunn, Wesley, and Illyria. They quickly recognized the three men as vampires.
Spike, deciding to have a little fun, said, "What are you talking about? We've been here the whole time, you just showed up." The three vampires glared at Spike with utter contempt.
"You five just made the biggest mistake of your lives," the lead vampire told them. The other two assembled behind him. They obviously thought this was just a group of weak, petty people.
"Some of us are already dead," Angel told the vampire as he and Spike adopted their vampire face. "Now we are going to send you beyond that." The looks of the three other vampires went from looks of enjoyment, to looks of pure fear in a split second. Then they were all against the wall, as Angel, Spike, and Illyria hit them with all their force.
"I am tired of talk," Illyria said, "I will now do some violence." With that, she leapt at the lead vampire. He recovered the quickest of the three and blocked Illyria's first two strikes. He didn't anticipate her third, as he blocked the initial punch, and took an elbow to the face, breaking his cheekbone. The vampire fell to the ground, clutching his hurt face. The other two, seeing how strong Illyria was, decided to run. As they fled to the street, they were tackled by Wesley and Gunn, who had just realized that his wounds had been healed.
"Leaving so soon?" Gunn asked as he hit the vampire in the face repeatedly, "Because the party's just getting started. Wesley, instead of pummelling his vampire, hit it once, and looked around for a makeshift stake. He saw that there was a piece of wood that would work, so he leaned over, grabbed the stake, and thrust it straight into the vampire's heart, dusting it. Wesley looked over and saw Gunn was still pummelling his vampire. Giving a little whistle, Wesley tossed his stake to Gunn, who caught it and quickly staked the vampire.
During this time, Illyria had been beating the lead vampire with all her might. Spike and Angel decided that it was finally enough, and they pulled out a stake, and ran the vampire through.
Illyria looked at them and asked, "Why did you do that, I was experiencing some enjoyment."
"You were enjoying beating that vampire into a bloody pulp!" Spike asked Illyria, who only looked at him in a confused manner.
"You don't approve?" she asked him.
"No, I think it's perfectly fine, I'm just glad you couldn't do that to me."
"I could do it now if you'd like." She answered him.
"What the hell were those guys, and how the hell did you guys get here?" Sherry asked from the ground, obviously still very afraid.
"It's ok now," Angel told her offering her his hand, which she refused, standing up on her own. Angel shrugged it off, and continued, "As to what they are, you're better off not knowing. Now, you'd best leave, and stay away from this alley." Sherry didn't question Angel, and she just ran out of the alley. Wesley and Gunn walked back, and rejoined the rest of the team.
"I think we've done quite well," Gunn said, "Haven't been back five minutes, and we've already dusted three vamps."
"You mean we haven't been in L.A. EVER for five minutes," Wesley corrected him.
"Oh, right," Gunn said, "We're dead."
"I think I'm going to stop counting how many times I've died," Spike said.
"What, can't count that high?" Gunn teased Spike.
"I'll have you know I can count quite high, Mr. Lawyer Boy." Spike said.
"What is to happen to us?" Illyria asked. Everyone looked at her, for she had spoken randomly, and none of them had even thought of that.
"Well," Angel told the team, "We should first find a place to stay, then begin making a name for ourselves."
"Where are we going to stay though?" Gunn asked. The team thought for a moment, until Wesley spoke up.
"We could head back to the Hyperion, we did buy it."
"But aren't we dead?" Gunn asked.
"Not to the city of Los Angeles, only to the demon population and the Senior Partners," Angel said. "So, any objections?" When no one said anything about going to the Hyperion, Angel nodded and said, "Well, lets get started."
Aaron sat at the bar, and he downed another shot of whiskey. He had only done three, so he was still feeling fine, for he could do at least six before feeling anything. The bar he was in wasn't that great of a place. It had a bar, tables with nothing on them, and there was a small kitchen in the back, but that was all.
Aaron's watch beeped, and he saw that it was two o'clock. She'd be getting off now. The stools around Aaron were all full except for one. There were many different types of people sitting at the bar. Male, female, blonde, brunette. A lot of variety. Aaron, he was a blonde, with hair at about two inch's, and green eyes. He was of medium build, and stood just short of six feet. He wore a long trench coat, which many suspected was to hide something. There had been quite a few people who approached him, thinking that it was drugs that he carried, but it wasn't.
Aaron felt a tap on his shoulder, and he didn't even bother turning around to see who it was, or what they wanted.
"Hey, buddy," the person that tapped him said, "Get your ass out of the seat, because me girlfriend needs a place to sit." Aaron just ignored the man, until he put his hand on Aaron's shoulder in an attempt to pull him off the stool. In the blink of an eye, Aaron spun the man around, and put him in a painful arm-lock. Aaron then shoved into a table, knocking over some people's drinks. As if nothing had happened, Aaron turned around again and sat down.
The bartender looked at Aaron and said, "I think you should leave, I've got some angry customers." Aaron looked at the bartender, and didn't move.
"Get out of that seat and face me!" Aaron heard someone yell at him. Aaron spun around, and saw that the men whose drinks had been knocked over were standing up, and were very angry.
Aaron leaned against the counter, and said, "I'm sorry about the drinks, I'll be gone in a few."
"You'll be gone alright," one of the men said, "But your body will still be here." Aaron cocked an eyebrow at the man, and when a woman exited from behind the counter, and walked out the door, Aaron hoped up, and proceeded to walk out the door. The two men followed Aaron.
When Aaron got to the door, he turned around and told the men, "Don't follow me, because you will be in the most excruciating pain of your life if you do." The men saw that there was a fire in Aaron's eyes, so they backed off, and let him exit the bar. Aaron looked down the street and saw the woman was walking away from the bar.
"That's her for sure," Aaron said. He walked quickly and quietly, slowly gaining ground of the woman. The street was completely empty except for the two of them. When the woman turned down another street, also empty, Aaron caught up to her. He quickly put his arm around her waist and led her across the street.
"What the hell! Get off me!" the woman yelled at Aaron, but she couldn't break his grip.
"Stay calm, and act like we are on a date." He told her.
The woman looked at him disgusted, and said, "Get off me! Leave me alone!" She continued to try and shove Aaron off, but to no avail.
"I'll be gone soon," he told the woman, "I just need to save you quickly."
The woman looked at him and told him, "I don't need saving, you creep. There is nothing to be saved…" Suddenly four vampires jumped out, and surrounded the two of them. "Oh my god!" The woman screamed.
"Told you I was going to save you," Aaron said, his voice calm and steady.
"Look at this," one of the vampires said.
"We get two instead of one," another finished for him.
"You don't get jack," Aaron told the vampires, who laughed.
"And why do you say that, stupid man?" asked the third vampire.
"Because I say so." Came the steady reply from Aaron. The next second, Aaron let go of the woman, jumped up, and kicked on of the vampires in the head, knocking it back. As he landed, he pulled out two beautifully crafted pistols, and pointed them at the vampires.
The vampires laughed and said, "What are you gonna do, shoot us, cop boy?" one of the vampires asked. "Go ahead, try it." The vampire stepped forward, a huge smile on his face.
"Sure," Aaron said as if receiving a present, accepting the invitation. He aimed one of the pistols, and shot the vampire through the heart. The vampire exploded, effectively dusted. The other two vampires eye's opened wide in shock.
"B-but that's not supposed to kill us," one said.
"Rules change," Aaron informed him, and he quickly fired two shots into the vampires' hearts, dusting them as well. The fourth vampire finally managed to get up, rubbing his head. He looked around at the piles of dust, confused, until his gaze was drawn to Aaron. Aaron shrugged as the vampire looked at him, confused, for Aaron only had a gun, and there were no stakes lying around. Then Aaron shot him, and he was confused no more, as he exploded into dust.
Aaron put his guns away, as the woman he just rescued asked, "What were those things?"
"Vampires," Aaron responded. His vice had gotten back its calm and steady tone.
"Vampires!" the woman gasped, "Are you crazy? Vampires aren't real!"
"No, they aren't, and people just always turn into dust when you kill them." Aaron told the woman, who looked at him. Suddenly, Aaron gasped, and put his hand to his head, as what looked like a massive migraine came to him. A few moments later, he was back to normal, and he looked at the woman.
"You're safe now. I must go." With that he ran, and when he was in full stride, jumped and pulled himself up the balcony-ladder complex of an apartment building to the roof, and continued to run along the roofs.
"Where the hell is this place?" Spike asked, growing impatient from walking all over Los Angeles.
"We're almost there," Angel told him, as he turned down another street.
"Good, because the sun is going to be rising soon," Spike informed Angel. Angel looked to where the sun was slowly creeping over the horizon. It was going to be a nice day, but if they wanted to stay for it, they'd have to make it to the hotel before the sun reached them.
Turning down another street, Angel said, "There it is." Spike and Illyria stared at the hotel, not thinking it looked like much, but Angel, Wesley, and Gunn looked at it completely different. To them it was home. They had lived there for three years, and so much had happened. The Hyperion was full of memories. There were good ones, bad ones, and memories with Fred and Cordelia. This pained both Angel and Wesley a bit more than Gunn, for they were the ones who had truly lost them.
As they entered into the front courtyard, Gunn asked, "What do you think the chances are that someone else moved in?"
"I don't think they could have," Wesley said, as they approached the door. "We own the place, and we didn't sell it."
"Lets hope your right." Gunn said, as Angel opened the doors, and the five of them entered the hotel. It looked exactly as it had that day when they had left for Wolfram and Hart. Everything was left here. They took their personal possessions, and nothing else. The front desk still seemed as if they were operating a business.
"This was where you guys used to operate?" Spike asked. It was hard to tell if he was amazed, or disgusted.
"There is a strange smell to this place," Illyria said, oblivious to anything else, as she looked around for the smell.
"Just ignore it, the smell's always been there… right?" Gunn asked more than stated. He looked to Angel and Wesley for confirmation, but they both seemed off in their own worlds. They were most likely thinking about the memories of this place. Deciding to be the first one to do something, Gunn walked over to the front desk. He went around to the back, and opened up some of the drawers. Inside he found many papers that belonged mostly to Fred and Cordelia. The rest of the team followed Gunn, and came down to stand in front of the desk.
"Are you sure we should've come back here?" Gunn asked, "There is so much… pain."
"We have no other place to go," Angel told Gunn, "Besides, we've gotten through worse."
"This is where we got through worse though," Gunn retorted.
"And this is where we will continue to!" Angel snapped at Gunn. Gunn backed up a bit, and put his hands in front of him defensively.
"Chill Angel, I'm just saying what I'm thinking," Gunn told Angel.
"Sorry, Gunn," Angel apologized. "I'm going to go and check my room." Angel then turned away and started to walk up the stairs. The other four just watched him go, thinking it best to let him. Angel reached the elevator, pressed the button, and took the elevator up to the second floor.
When Angel reached the second floor, he walked into room 217. This room held the most history for him. In it he had started his stay at the Hyperion, and four years prior to this day, he had stayed in this room again. It was his room. No other room on the hotel suited him like this one. Angel walked into the bedroom, and looked at the bed. It was the same bed where he and Darla had slept together, and created Connor. Memories flooded back to Angel about Connor. He remembered when he was a baby, and how he and Cordelia had laid on a bed, much like this one, and had talked about Connor's future, and, Angel laughed, about getting a boat.
Angel then remembered when Connor came back from Quortoth, and tried to kill him. For ten minutes Angel just stood there, staring at the bed and reliving all his memories of Connor.
"Angel?" Wesley asked, as he slowly opened the door and looked inside. He saw that Angel was just staring at the bed, and he seemed to be in deep thought. Wesley walked up to Angel and laid a comforting hand on his shoulder.
"They're all gone," Angel told Wesley, "Cordelia, Darla, Connor, Fred. All of them. They've all gone."
"But we haven't," Wesley told Angel. "We live on, so we can continue their fight, and Connor, he isn't gone, he just can't remember who you are."
"No, he can," Angel said, turning and looking at Wesley. "When you and Illyria came to Vail's home when Connor was fighting Sahjahn, you broke the Orlon Window, and regained your memory. The spell also affected Connor. He remembers everything, and he understands what I did. But," Angel sighed, "He doesn't want anything to do with me." Wesley looked at Angel, a look a hurt on his face.
"I'm so sorry Angel, I've caused you so much pain," Wesley tried to apologize, but Angel stopped him.
"Just leave it. Lets go talk to the team," Angel said to Wesley, ending the conversation as he walked out of the room. Wesley looked at the bed, and after a few moments, followed Angel back to the main floor.
"You are such a bloody git!" Spike yelled across the room. The elevator dinged and Angel and Wesley stepped out.
"I'm the git? You're the git!" Gunn yelled back at Spike, "Just give up an accept defeat!"
"Accept defeat!" Spike said to Gunn, as if it was the most horrendous thing ever, "I'm not the one who's lost!"
"Guys!" Angel yelled at Gunn and Spike. "What are you arguing about?"
"Well, it's com-" Gunn started, but Spike cut him off.
"Charlie boy here thinks, as do you, that astronauts would beat cavemen if they were to get into a fight."
"Not this again Spike, we don't have time for this," Angel scolded Spike.
"Well, sorry mate, I didn't mean to try and have a normal conversation with someone. Maybe I'll go and brood like you," Spike proposed to Angel, who just glared at Spike.
"What are these astronauts?" Illyria asked, "Are they some sort of demon?" Spike tried to keep his laughter quiet, but he couldn't.
"Yah right!" he laughed at Illyria, "They're big, white, helmet-covered demons!" Angel only shook his head, and he and Wesley descended the stairs. Wesley walked over beside Illyria, and turned to face Angel.
"Alright, team, we have to make a game plan." Angel said to everyone.
"What are these astronauts Spike speaks of?" Illyria quietly asked Wesley as Angel started to speak again.
"They are humans that travel into space. Nothing to amazing really," Wesley responded to Illyria.
"How do they reach space?"
"They take a rocket, and fly up there."
"Can this same power be applied to shifting dimensions?" Illyria asked.
"No, it uses physics, not mystics," came the reply from Wesley.
"So, what do you think we should do?" Angel asked the team. Spike and Gunn thought for a few moments, and Wesley realized that he hadn't heard anything of what Angel had said.
"I think we should do what we've almost always done," Gunn said, "Help the helpless."
"Aye," Spike said. "Although I haven't done much of that with you guys, I think we should."
"What do you think Wes?" Angel asked Wesley.
Wesley thought for a second, and then said, "I agree. Our main priority should be to help the helpless. But, we should also look for info on the Senior Partners. We'll need whatever we can get if we're going to stop their apocalypse."
"Good point," Angel said. "So, it is agreed. We help the helpless, and try to avert the Senior Partners' apocalypse." Spike, Gunn, and Wesley all answered in the affirmative. "Good." Angel walked over to the filing cabinet, opened it up, and started taking out all the files.
"What are you doing?" Gunn asked.
"We don't need these files," Angel told him, "We just take money from the people who are willing to pay, no files."
"Why not?" Spike asked.
"It'll leave a paper trail for the Senior Partners to follow," Gunn said. "We want to try and stay under their radar, so the less paper work, the better." Angel nodded, agreeing with Gunn. After Angel had emptied the cabinet, he put all the files onto the desk, and looked at his team.
"This isn't going to be easy," Angel said, "starting over. We have no connections to the demon world, and we have no one that can trust us. We need to be careful, and stick together." The team nodded to Angel, who looked out the front door. The sun had come up, and it was definitely going to be another sunny day in Los Angeles. "The day has started, let's make the best of it."
Aaron walked into his small apartment room. It was not a nice place at all. It had a bed, a nightstand, table, fridge, stove, and dresser. Only the bare necessities were there. Aaron walked over to his dresser, which was on the far wall, across from his bed, and pulled out his pistols. He laid them on the dresser, and opened the top drawer. Inside, were four full clips, and twelve full cases of bullets. The bullets weren't normal lead bullets, they were unique.
Instead of lead, the bullets were tipped with special wood. The wood was carved to a spike, perfect for staking vampires. The wood, after being carved, was dipped in a mystical liquid that would harden it, and stop the wood from catching fire when the trigger was pulled. The tips were then placed on a normal shell filled with gunpowder, and sealed.
Taking the clips out of the pistols, Aaron replaced them with the full ones in the drawer. He then walked over to his bed, and placed one of the pistols on the nightstand, easily within his reach. The other he put into the dresser. Finishing that, Aaron picked up a case of bullets, and proceeded to fill his empty clips. When he finished this, he put them in his dresser. He closed his dresser, and then walked over to the window. It was going to be a nice day today. It always seemed to be a nice day in L.A. Too bad he rarely saw it. His time was the night, when vampires and the like were afoot.
Deciding it was time to get some more sleep, Aaron walked over to his bed, and laid down to get some sleep.
He woke up a few hours later at a scream. Reaching out instinctively for his pistol, Aaron shot up and aimed at his door. It was still closed. The scream had come from outside in the hallway. Deciding to investigate the scream, Aaron opened his door and peered out into the hallway. There, he saw a man trying to drag away a woman. She was screaming for help, and when she saw Aaron, she screamed out for his help.
"Help me! Please!" She screamed at Aaron.
The man turned to face Aaron, and said, "Don't get into this, it's not your business."
"Lets make it my business then." Aaron said to the man, as he stepped out into the hall and approached him. The man shook his head, and reached into his jacket, pulling out a gun.
"I said stay out of this," the man threatened Aaron. "I will kill you if I have to." Aaron continued to advance towards the man, not slowing at all. "I'll do it!" the man warned Aaron, his finger tightening on the trigger. Aaron stopped. He was about seven feet away from the man. The woman looked at Aaron, and her eyes pleaded with him to help her.
Aaron sighed, and said, "Let her go."
The man laughed at Aaron and said, "Or what? You'll run at me so I can shoot you?" Just as he finished the sentence, Aaron leapt at the man, grabbing his arm before he could pull the trigger, and breaking his wrist.
"I could do that instead," Aaron told the man. He then grabbed the man, walked him to the stairs, and threw him down them. He then turned around, and walked right passed the woman, not even acknowledging her presence. She was about to say something to him, but he slammed his door before anything could be said.