Author's Note: Well, so far no one has found any canon-mistakes in chapter 3, so here's hoping things will keep getting better. ;-)  Anyway, I've updated my personal homepage to include the first 3 chapters of this story. Those who are familiar with my homepage know I always create title pictures for my stories, so if you want a peek at the one I made up for this story, go visit my homepage (I'd like to include the URL here, but somehow ff.net always messes up the whole chapter when I do that. Check my author's page here at ff.net for the URL)

And now on with the show!

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Chapter 4: Generational Gap

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"That kind of sparring usually leaves me hurting for days," Angel answered. "I might be dead, but I ..."

He stopped and Faith immediately identified the frown on his face. Something had caught his attention, something that had slipped past her Slayer senses, but couldn't escape Angel's nose. Sense of smell was one area where Slayers simply couldn't compete with vampires. One of very few, thankfully. She started looking around, hoping to spot whatever had gotten up his nose.

His eyes locked on a spot and Faith's eyes followed, seeing the service entrance door slightly ajar and the barest glimpse of a face in the shadows behind it. A young, female face.

"We have a visitor," Angel said calmly, but his stance immediately changed in readiness for combat.

A heartbeat later the face was gone and Faith's sharp ears picked up the sound of footsteps quickly receding down the service corridor. Without another word Faith, Rona, and Amanda started moving in the same direction. Angel and the other four went out the main doors just as fast. They knew the layout of this hotel like the backs of their hands. They would cut off their little intruder.

"Vampire?" Rona asked as the three of them sped through the door and down the corridor.

"Don't think so," Faith answered. "No tingling."

"Burglar then?" Amanda chuckled. "Boy did she pick the wrong building tonight."

Faith smiled at that. She lived for the thrill of the hunt, the high of fighting for your life (and that of others, usually) against monsters that made normal people cringe in fear. Sometimes, though, she couldn't quite shake that little naughty part of herself, the one that reveled in being stronger than anyone else around. She was still being hit on a lot (though not quite as often anymore as in her teenage years) and there was a thrill in showing the big wanna-be tough guy looking to score on you just how far out of his league he was.

They wouldn't hurt the intruder (unless she happened to be something other than human after all), but there was nothing to keep them from having a little fun, was there?

She was busy wondering why they hadn't yet managed to catch up with their prey when the sounds of a scuffle reached them from the larger corridor beyond. A moment later the three of them exploded out into the relative open of the lobby and froze for a moment, not quite able to believe what they saw.

Angel, Violet, Georgia, Allison, and Maliya had managed to cut off the intruder, who was currently busy fighting against all four of them.

And holding her own.

Well, not quite. She was taking a lot more damage than she was dishing out and while her movements showed definite signs of combat training, she was clearly fighting more with her heart than her head. Most amazing, though, was her speed and strength. A normal person wouldn't even have seen the likes of Angel or a Slayer coming at her, not to mention block their attacks and lash out with some of her own. This girl did, though.

Rona was about to enter the battle, but Faith held her back. "Hold on for a second! I wanna see what this kid can do."

Faith had no doubt that the others were thinking the same as her. This girl couldn't be human, not normal human anyway. She couldn't be a vampire, either, as none of them had gotten that characteristic tingling in their belly. She could presumably be some other form of demon, but in all her years as the Slayer Faith had never seen a demonic species capable of this kind of damage while retaining a human form.

Which left a possibility she wasn't quite prepared to consider yet. Diana had died a few months ago. Was it possible ...? No, not yet! No getting her own hopes up just yet!

Apparently Angel's thoughts closely mirrored her own, for the brooding vampire had quietly retreated from the fight, now observing instead. He had positioned himself right in front of the main doors, just in case their mysterious visitor tried to make a break for it, but apart from that he might as well have been watching a golf tournament.

Leisurely strolling over, Faith stood next to him.

"So what's your take, big guy?" she asked. Angel had nearly three centuries of experience in measuring people at a glance. It was not a skill he was proud of, having picked it up during his sadistic psycho killer years, but it did have its uses. Especially when faced with a complete unknown such as this girl.

"She's human," he answered, his dark eyes remaining on the subject of their little conversation. "There is something extra about her, though. Not sure what it is yet."

"You don't think ...?" Faith left the sentence unfinished.

Angel shook his head. "She doesn't feel like a Slayer, no."

Taking a deep breath, Faith squashed that little ember of hope that had flared up inside her despite her best intentions. It would have been too good to be true.

"What about the physical stuff?" she continued asking.

"Her strength is formidable, if not quite up to yours or that of the others. She's a fraction faster, though. Her basic combat style seems to be military, special operations kind, but with a lot of self-taught stuff added to it."

Faith put her attention back where it belonged, just in time to see the kid starting to go under. No matter her strength and speed, she was up against four experienced Slayers and that was too much for anything short of a Hellgod to handle.

"Okay, let's call a break here," Faith said loudly, causing her four sister Slayers to back off. They knew each other well enough not to need any words, each of them picking a strategic position that left their little intruder completely surrounded and without a single avenue of escape.

The girl in question was still on her feet, but one arm was cradling her side where Faith guessed a rib was broken. Blood was trickling from a split lip and her jaw was already beginning to swell. For all that, though, there was a look of spite and defiance in her brown eyes, one that Faith knew only too well. It said, "I don't care who you are, no one can kick my ass". Faith had had the exact same look in her eyes during her first few years as the Slayer.

"Remind you of someone?" Angel asked, a half-smile on his face.

"Shut up!"

Faith had learned better since her days of youth. No matter how strong and tough you were, there were always some who'd kick your ass and make it look easy. Whether they were cloven-handed vampires, giant rocky beasts, or super-powered preacher-types. It was a lesson Faith had learned the hard way. A lesson this girl apparently still needed to be taught.

Faith grinned. She loved teaching that kind of lesson.

"There's one thing you gotta ask yourself, kid," she said, moving towards the girl with a cocky sway of her hips. "Do I feel lucky?"

She stopped only when they were within arm's reach of each other. "Do you?"

The girl didn't say anything, but instead lashed out with blinding speed. Faith blocked it on reflex, the strength behind the blow surprising, but nothing she couldn't handle.

"I guess you do," she grinned.

The girl attacked again, exploding into a flurry of kicks and punches. Faith blocked each and every one of them without ever losing her grin or going on the offensive herself. The girl was already worn out from fighting four of her sister Slayers, she couldn't have too much left. You'd never know it from the way she tore away at her opponent, though. This girl really needed to be taken down a peck or two, Faith mused.

"The way I see it," Faith began in a casual tone while keeping up her defense, "you didn't really know what you were getting yourself into here, kid. Which leads me to think that you're either some kind of burglar whose having a really bad night, or someone sent you here without giving you the full lowdown on who exactly you were being sent after."

At the end of the sentence she pushed the girl's latest punch aside and, noting her opponent was slowing down a lot, gave her a hard shove directly to the chest, sending her down on her tailbone with an audible thud.

"Tell me if I'm getting warm here."

"Bitch!" As expected the girl surged back up, now clearly enraged and not thinking clearly anymore. Faith knew the type. She'd been the type.

The fight, such as it was, lasted about three more minutes. By then the girl was worn out and could barely stand, even though Faith had hit her all of two times. Mostly she had worn herself out trying to score a hit on the older woman.

"Let's wrap this up, shall we?" Faith said, now moving in for the kill.

Five seconds later it was over. The girl was flat on her back, being held down by Faith's boot pressing down on her throat. She was still moving, there was still fight left in her, but not enough to make much of a difference anymore. Faith couldn't help something of an appreciative smile. This girl was good. If she hadn't been roughed up by the others and had a few more years of experience under her belt she might have been able to give as good as she got, maybe more.

As things stood, though...

"Now, I realize I haven't really asked you these questions before, but I think it was somewhat implied by my kicking your ass. Who the fuck are you and what are you doing here?"

For a long minute the girl simply glowered up at her and Faith was about to start telling her about Angel and his two centuries of torture experience, but something unexpected happened instead. The girl suddenly broke into a smile.

"Is this the way you welcome all your long-lost daughters, mom?"

Stunned silence filled the room.

TO BE CONTINUED