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Thinking quickly, Angel stuck his hand out, taking the arrow in his palm. He hissed as he pulled the arrow from his hand, while Gunn and the others watched in disbelief
"What the hell are you playing at here?" Angel growled, "Think about who that could have killed"
He threw the bloodied arrow down, as Alonna moved over to Gunn. He pulled her behind him, before raising his crossbow at Angel
"I don't need no advice from some upper-class white dude that's dead"
"Unbelievable," Angel said, "This is what you do? You hunt vampires?"
"I'm gonna let you go," Gunn said, "but come here again, don't expect any long goodbyes"
He motioned to his team and they left the building, as Angel checked his palm, then removed the stake from his shoulder, before heading off
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"Gee, look at you," Cordelia commented, "You look like-"
"Like I've been beaten and stabbed," Angel finished
She was patching up his injuries, while Wesley was going through the photos
"Well, David Nabbit will be pleased to get these back," he said, "Oh my. Now that can't be right"
Angel leaned over to have a look
"It's upside-down"
Wesley turned the photo around, the horrified/interested/puzzled look still on his face
"That still doesn't look right. It seems very uncomfortable"
"Well, Nabbit obviously got his rocks off on it," Cordelia added
Both Angel and Wesley gave her a strange look, as the vampire got up, before slowly putting his shirt on. Cordelia helped him gently, as he winced in pain slightly
"Are you going to go visit those street kids?" Wesley asked
"Yeah. They're gonna get themselves killed," Angel replied, "They've been doing this for a long time. It's something they've been pushed to"
"So, you're gonna try and talk to those kids?" Cordelia asked, "I can see that going down well. I mean, they did try to kill you last night"
"But they let me go…after I saved their leader's sister"
"Angel, like you said, they've been doing this for a long time, killing vampires and other evil. Then you show up, all good and so forth. To them, it's like a 'give me a break'"
"I'm not gonna leave them there like that"
He went to the elevator, wincing slightly in pain
"Yep, he's gonna get himself killed," Cordelia said, hands on her hips, "I can see it happening"
††††††††††
"How we doing on supplies?" Gunn asked
"We should be fine for a couple more weeks," replied a hunter
"Charles, about that vampire," Alonna started
"Uh, Alonna, let's not talk about the vampire"
"Why not?" Angel asked, walking into the room, "I thought I wasn't that bad of a guy. I'm quite good company, once you get to know me"
"No thanks," Gunn said, holding a stake, but not in a threatening pose, "Now beat it"
Angel ignored him, walking around the place and looking at the weapons and accommodations. He stopped by a crossbow that had an arm bracing attached to the stock
"Nice"
"I did that myself," Gunn said, sounding pleased with himself, "Still working on it"
Just then, canisters smashed through the windows and began spewing out smoke. Gunn ordered the crew to leave, as he grabbed a sword and stood by Angel, waiting for the first of the vampires to attack. However, none came
"It's a diversion," Angel said, "Go!"
He was unable to leave to help the hunters due to sunlight, as Gunn raced outside, just in time to see Alonna getting grabbed by two men decked out in thick black clothing, balaclavas and gas masks. They bundled her into a van, closing the doors and racing off, as Gunn jumped onto the back of the van. He was able to see the blood on his sister's body, as a fist smashed through the glass, knocking Gunn off the van. He groaned, looking up as the van swung around a corner and vanished
"Alonna"
††††††††††
Gunn and his crew loaded up their weapons into the truck and took off. Earlier, Gunn and a few others had found where the vampires' nest was. The same vampires that they had been fighting against for the last year or more. This meant that if they could wipe out the entire nest tonight, then the war would be over. But Gunn was slightly more interested in finding his sister. She had been in vampire hands for the past several hours. Angel had left their place earlier, disappearing before Gunn returned
"Whoa, wait here," Gunn said when they pulled up, "I'm gonna scope the place out. If I'm not out in ten minutes, come in guns blazing"
"Got it"
Taking a crossbow, Gunn headed into the building, surprised to see it empty. However, he didn't let his guard, as he searched the place
"Charles, you made it"
Gunn lowered his crossbow, as Alonna stepped out before him, a smile on her face
"Hey there, big bro"
Gunn's smile faded, as Alonna walked over to him, full of confidence, grace and power. It was then he realized what had completely happened to her
"No, no way"
"Oh don't worry. It's okay. I'm not upset," Alonna said
"Alonna, no. I was supposed to protect you," Gunn said
"Now I can protect you big bro. Just like the time when we were in that derelict building several years ago. Where you could jump a wide gap on the third floor and no one else could. And I wanted to be just like you, so I tried to jump it, but luckily you were there, watching me and you caught me before I could fall to my death"
"This wasn't how it was supposed to be," Gunn said
"I'm faster and stronger. I've got no responsibilities, no feelings, nothing but a sense of awesome power," Alonna smiled
Gunn raised his crossbow, but Alonna smacked him across the room, making him lose hold of his weapon. Gunn rolled to his feet, seeing Alonna right before him
"Now it's my turn, big bro. My turn to protect you. Say goodbye to everything you knew"
She vamped out and leaned in for the kill
"Goodbye," Gunn whispered
Alonna stepped back in shock, as she turned to dust. Gunn dropped the stake he was holding, as his crew showed up. As well as the nest of vampires
"Kill them all," growled the leader
"Let's not be rash about this," Angel said, showing up, "I've got an idea. We walk away from this. You vamps leave this city and never come back. You do and I'll kill you all"
"Fool," said the leader, "Who do you think you are?"
Angel walked over to him
"The name's Angelus"
He staked the leader, before facing the vampires and hunters
"So, how about it? Or do you all want to die here?" Angel asked
Slowly, the vampires left first, then the hunters left
††††††††††
A few days later, Gunn was back in the vampires' former nest, standing on the third floor and overlooking the city
"Enjoying the view?"
He turned around, seeing Angel beside him
"What you doing here?"
"Lurking…professionally"
"She was the reason, man, the whole reason," Gunn said after a minute
"Even if we lose the reason for fighting, we kept fighting," Angel said, "It's important to keep fighting the good fight. I can help in that"
"I don't need no help"
"I might"
Gunn looked over at Angel, but saw he wasn't there. He looked around, but couldn't see Angel anywhere. With a small smile on his face, he turned back to the view
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