Chapter 19 Check…mate!

"See, that's bad parenting. You should've been taught your manners!" Angel parried another blow with his sword. He saw a flash out of the corner of his eye and saw Katie standing there alone. Two down, and one to go, he thought. He was about to strike the fatal blow when another flash caught his attention. Angel turned just in time to see his glowing sister fall to her knees with Mohra blood on her hands. She looked in his direction, whispered, "Help me!" and then collapsed.

"KATIE!" He went to go help his sister when the demon ran his sword through Angel's chest and roundhouse kicked him in the side of his head. Angel fell to the ground stunned, dizzy and on the verge of consciousness.


Katie woke up and pushed herself into sitting position. She felt like she had been hit by a truck, and the pounding in her head was so loud that she could practically feel it throughout her body. She closed her eyes and hoped the pounding would go away. She took a deep breath and could feel the oxygen inflate her lungs. After a couple more deep breaths, her lightheadedness subsided, but the pounding only intensified. Wait a minute! She thought with a start. Lub-dub, lub-dub, lub-dub. That was no pounding. That was her heart beating! She was alive! She opened her eyes and examined herself. The cut on her wrist was gone as were all of her other wounds. She squinted at another bright light, the sun. Sunbeams had begun to flood the alley with light. She stared at the golden rays and felt the sun's warmth on her skin for the first time in over two hundred years.

She looked back down the alley and saw Wesley and Cordelia still unconscious against the wall and Angel lying with a sword through his chest. She picked herself up off of the blacktop and stumbled toward her brother's body. She felt extremely uncoordinated and ungainly with her vampire grace and stealth gone. She tugged Angel with all her strength and barely moved him. She saw the sun slowly filling the alley and knew she had to get him to the only shady spot behind a large dumpster near Cordy and Wes. The girl pulled the sword out of Angel's chest and grabbed hold of her brother's collar. She was exhausted by the time she dragged Angel out of danger from the sun. He was beginning to stir and she shook him hard.

"Angel! Wake up!" she pleaded. "Please, you have to wake up! Liam! Angel!"

While she was preoccupied, Katie failed to detect the remaining Mohra creeping up behind her. It kicked her in the side and she found herself sailing back to the middle of the alley. Landing on her back, she writhed and gasped for breath. The demon walked up and stabbed downward with his sword. Katie rolled out of the way with millimeters to spare. She grasped a fallen sword and staggered to her feet. She gripped it with all her human girl strength and swung hard. The sword hit the demon's chainmail and the blow reverberated through the metal, causing Katie to loose her grip. She suddenly felt the demon's fist tighten around her throat and she was lifted off the ground. She kicked at the demon with her feet and clawed at its arm with her hands, but the grip remained firm. It carried the girl and pinned her up against a sunbathed wall. She could feel her mind beginning to shut down from lack of oxygen. She fought off the wave of unconsciousness that was threatening to wash over her.


"Angel! Wake up! Please, you have to wake up! Liam! Angel…" Angel heard his sister's pleading cries. He tried to open his eyes and let her know he was going to be okay, but he couldn't. He opened his eyes just enough to see Katie's form kneeling over him, and then a shadow loom behind her. In an instant, he heard her groan in pain and the sound of metal hitting metal. Angel summoned all of his strength to open his eyes and then sat up. The scene that lay before him was like something out of a nightmare. His sister was pinned up against the wall and struggling to be released from the demon's grasp. What was worse was that the wall was completely sunlit. Even if Angel had been in perfect condition, which he was far from at the moment, he would have been ashes by the time he reached Katie. Angel was powerless. He crawled over to Wesley and shook him violently, his eyes never leaving Katie who seemed to be going limp. The former Watcher opened his eyes and stared groggily at Angel.

"Wes, I need your help! The last Mohra has Katie, and I can't help her!"

Wesley shook his head to clear the fog and looked in the direction Angel was staring. He tried to make out the situation, but everything was a blur. There were several Angel's leaning over him. Wesley tried to sit up, but fell back onto the pavement and slipped back into the black oblivion.

Oh Katie! I can't lose you. Please, I can't lose you! Angel sobbed and pleaded in his mind. Only a miracle could save her. He wiped a tear from his cheek and tried to calculate how fast he would be able to get to her and whether he would make it before he completely burned up. I'm not going to let you die. I WILL save you, Katie, or die trying. Angel knew he would die even if he did manage to get to her. He would not be able to get into shade quick enough afterward. There was no way he would be able to recover from burns that severe. He pulled himself into standing position and took one last look at his family with sorrow filling is dark brown eyes. Good bye, Wes and Cordy.


No, not like this. Don't let it end like this. Katie thought as she felt the darkness closing in. She felt herself go limp and her eyes close. Suddenly, she felt a surge of power, more power than she ever felt before, run through her. It was like an electric current the caused all of her nerves to come alive. It was similar to when she unleashed her vampire power, but she was human now and something just felt different. Her dark intense eyes flew open and she looked at the Mohra demon with determination and confidence flashing in those eyes.

"I'm not done yet!" Katie snarled. Her lips curled into a small smile as she gripped the demon's wrist with both hands and squeezed. She arched her back and planted her feet against the wall. Pushing off as hard as she could, Katie propelled herself and the demon backward. With the demon slightly off balance, she wrenched herself free of its grasp. Still holding onto its wrist, Katie spun and flipped the demon over her shoulder and onto the pavement. Instantly, the demon was on its feet. The girl blocked several of its blows with more grace, speed, and power than she ever thought she could possess. Growing tired of the fight, Katie unleashed a series of powerful kicks and punches on the demon warrior. Performing a perfect back handspring, she grasped the handle of a broken dagger and rammed it into the ruby red jewel.

"CHECK…MATE!" she said through gritted teeth to the disappearing demon warrior.


Angel was poised to rush into the sunlight when a brilliant flash of light stopped him in his tracks. It was more of a pink hue than the earlier flashes, and it didn't go away. Instead, it surrounded Katie and then seemed to fade, but never fully disappeared. He saw Katie's eyes fly open and in a flash, almost too quick for him to see, the Mohra demon was on his back on the pavement. The fight that ensued was brief, but as graceful as a dance. Katie moved with more grace and speed than she had ever exhibited before. I have only seen one other person fight like that, Angel thought as he stared in amazement. The two dueled in the sun-filled alley until the demon disappeared in a white flash.

Katie turned and faced her brother, the pink glow intensifying once again. She seemed to freeze in that moment of time, yet changes were happening. They started out subtle at first and then became more noticeable. Katie grew taller and began to develop more womanly features. Her facial features matured. Within moments, the glow faded and there stood a 5 foot 7 woman.

"Katie!" Angel yelled. Katie stared at her new body and noticed that her pants were a few inches too short and her shirt was a bit too tight for her new chest. She then looked over at Angel who was standing on the edge of the last shadowy spot looking at her with concern written all over his face. Cordelia had begun to regain consciousness and Wesley was leaning upright against the wall trying to make sense over the scene he had just witnessed.

"Angel!" Katie cried as she ran over to her brother with smoothness and grace. They wrapped their arms around each other and sobbed in relief.