CHP 2 - L.A. Angel season three.
I ran down the dark alley after the vamp I'd just stopped from drinking a couple he'd pulled off the street. He dodged around a corner and I stopped to listen before running after him. Right into the trap. Four more of them stepped out of the shadows and started at me. I grabbed hold of the fire escape ladder above my head and swung to kick two of them in the face. Letting go and landing, I dropped low and swept the feet out from under the third and staked him immediately before stepping up into a high kick that sent the fourth flying onto a broken pallet laying by the dumpster, staking himself. The one who was running from me ran back up and kicked for my head, but it wasn't there. I dropped below his kick and grabbed his leg, bringing him down to the ground, rolling him onto his stomach and staking him. The two I'd kicked were up by this point and started toward me. Suddenly I was grabbed from behind by another vampire that'd come up the alley behind me. While I was trying to get a hold of his head, the other two kept coming closer.
A dark shape dropped down from the rooftop behind them grabbing them both by the neck and taking them down with him. The one grabbing me stopped to look at them, giving me the chance to twist and elbow him in the neck before grabbing his leg and dumping him on the ground while I dove for my stake. We got up at the same time and he started slowly working his way in on me. Uh oh, looks like he actually knew what he was doing and wasn't all big on the super speed and strength like most of these newbie vamps were. He led with his left hand and knee at the same time and tried to snake his foot around my leg for a grapple move. Looked like a kendo style. We squared off for a good two minutes before he made a mistake. He made me mad. He rope-a-doped me leading with his left and swung around with his right and clocked me right in the nose. I stepped back and then right back with a strong right kick he ducked past and then I did a spinning round house kick throwing him right onto the same broken pallet his buddy got staked on before. I looked around to see how the guy who was helping me was doing just in time to see him dust both vamps at the same time.
"You alright?" I asked him. He looked at himself quickly before nodding affirmative. "I'm Jake."
"Angel. You're bleeding." I put my hand to face and looked at it then licked my lips tasting blood.
"Yup, looks like. Probably broken... again."
"What were you doing fighting all those vamps at the same time? Did they attack you?"
"Yeah, after I chased that one from the street he ran me into their trap. I wasn't expecting it because where I'm from I guess I'm the only one doing the chasing. I guess that trap was probably for you. Thanks for helping out." I waited for a second looking at him until I was sure.
"You're a vampire too." I started edging to my right and put my hands out to be ready for the attack I couldn't perceive yet. He made no move whatsoever.
"Yeah, but I've got a soul. I'm one of the good guys. Why else would I be killing my own kind?" It was quiet for a moment while I tried to figure out if I could believe him or not.
"Alright, sorry I accused. You're the first vampire with a soul I've met, so pardon the surprise and skepticism."
"No problem. It's kind of what I do. Come on with me back to the office and we'll get you cleaned up and maybe you could give me a hand." He led the way back to the Hyperion. He let me use his bathroom and as I was cleaning up I heard him talking to a few other people about me. I heard them ask about what happened and he told them that I was good. One of them asked him if I was a demon of some kind and then Angel said not that he'd ever heard of. I thought that was a pretty good entrance line for me so I went out into the lobby.
"Nope, I'm not a demon. Sorry to disappoint." Everyone turned to look at me.
"I'm Jake and I'm just in town for a week chasing after a former employer of mine who decided it was a good idea to send a demon to try and kill me. I just happened upon that vamp I chased into the alley."
"Nice to meet you, I'm Cordelia and this is Wesley and that's Gunn. I heard you gave them a run for their money, do you do that sort of thing a lot?"
"Well, a little over a year ago was the first time I'd ever seen a vampire, but they tried to kill me so ever since I've been kind of on the lookout for them."
"The first time you saw a vampire you killed them both? Wow, no wonder you know what you're doing."
"To tell the truth I got saved by a blond beauty who said she did it all the time. I don't know, there's just something about a girl that saves your life. Ever since I've kept learning all I can about demons, vampires, magic, you name it. I figure, if I don't fight them who will?" There was silence for a few seconds before Angel spoke.
"You know Buffy." A statement not a question and he had kind of a strange look on his face.
"How'd you know her name? Did she save you too?"
"Actually she killed him first. They used to date." Cordelia, full of useful information, seemed kind of eager to get away from the subject.
"So have you seen her lately? I mean since she made her little... trip." Angel seemed thoughtful.
"I didn't know she went anywhere. I haven't seen her since actually. I did send her a thank you card in the mail though, if that counts. I got her address from a buddy of mine who's a cop." Everyone was really quiet and looking both at me and Angel. Angel looked at nobody but the floor. Finally he seemed to be putting a weight off of his shoulders and he looked up and at me. Then he shook his head and walked behind the counter to pick up a file that he opened up and then pulled out a picture to show to me.
"Have you seen this thing around since you've been here?" He handed me the picture of some kind of a demon I'd never seen before.
"Nope, sorry. What kind of a demon is that anyway?"
"That's what I was looking for when I found you. It's called a dresla beast and it's from a different dimension, so it's no surprise if you haven't heard of it. And no offense, but it's still out there and we've still gotta catch it." This last was spoken mostly to the rest of his team. They gave each other a look and then started to go grab they're gear and head for the door.
"I'll come along, if it's alright with you guys. Maybe I can lend a hand. Repay the favor." So I followed the crew out to Angel's car that I guess Cordelia and them had been using. I sat in the front and the other three got in the back with Angel driving. I asked him how we were going to track it.
"Well, that's the tough part. Last time we did this we had a psychic hunter helping out."
"Do you remember what he said it sensed like? In his head I mean?"
"Not really, something like hunger or fury."
"Alright, give me a minute." I centered myself, locked myself down and then opened myself up. I picked it up almost immediately. "That way."
"How do you know that, are you psychic?"
"A little bit. I've got some telekinesis but mostly just a reading of feelings and strong thoughts sometimes too. I use it mostly against my opponents as far as seeing what their next move will be."
"Sounds like it comes in handy" Angel seemed to still be a little preoccupied. I wondered how serious he and Buffy had been. Maybe if we got a moment alone we could talk about it. So it went as I kept telling him directions as we tracked the dresla closer to the warehouse district. Finally I knew we were close. I didn't realize how close until he dropped off the roof onto the back of the car. Cordelia screamed and Gunn let out a shout as he backhanded it in the face. Angel spun the car around and gunned the engine trying to hit it with the car. I stood up on my seat and then jumped as the dresla dodged to the right of the vehicle. My jump turned first into a kick as I nailed it directly in the chest and then a roll as I came to my feet ready to finish it off. My kick had sent him flying off course to hit the wall of the building on the corner of the intersection. He seemed like he wanted to get up but wasn't able. As I was waiting for it to get up without getting any closer in case he was faking, the rest of the gang ran up behind me. Angel stepped in next to it and picked it up by the neck and then twisted it sharply to break it.
"Good job, Jake." Cordelia seemed almost as happy that it was dead as she was not to have had to break a nail doing it.
"Quite a good job, we might as well have stayed home for this one." Wesley seemed less happy and more relieved that it was done. We got back into the car and headed back to the hotel. I decided it would be best to wait until we got back and maybe had some time to ourselves before asking about Buffy anymore. When we got back to the hotel the gang more or less scattered. Wesley and Gunn headed home almost immediately, and Cordelia stuck around for about twenty minutes trying to chat me up before she decided she'd see me again and went home for the evening. Angel and I went into his office to talk a little bit him with his blood and me with coffee.
"So how long did you and Buffy date?" I tried to lead it off slowly to eventually work around to what I really wanted to know. He saw right through me.
"Buffy and I haven't been together for three years. We could never work as a complete couple anyway." We started talking about history, I went first as mine was shorter. I didn't tell him everything, but I told him what I thought he needed to know and maybe a little bit more for realism. Then it was on to recent history. I told him about what I did now for work. I was basically a bounty hunter, tracking down specific demons, vampires or other criminals and killers for paying customers, specifically the rich paying customers. Before a year ago I'd mostly dealt with the human criminals; a killer, rapists, kidnapping recovery was my specialty. After my brush with the underworld I began doing as much research as I could about everything I could until I realized one day that there really wasn't anyone fighting the war. If no-one else is going to do it, I thought, might as well be me.
I upped my training and dug into my savings for some serious stuff dealing with magic and other, more physical, training. I even flew to Tibet to study for six months straight on my psychic training. I would have kept studying except for a vision one of the priests there had while I was in the monastery. I was told only part of it, but what I learned chilled me to the core. Buffy was going to die. According to them there was nothing I could do, but I left anyway and went back to sunny-dale where I watched her from the shadows beat up some vampire in the cemetery. That was after the day they told me she was going to die, so I figured she was still okay and they were wrong. I didn't go back; instead I started getting serious about fighting and magic, trying to combine the two. I found out the hard way that some things worked and others didn't. finally I got to the point financially that I couldn't just study anymore I had to work too. I came here on personal business after the last guy I did a few jobs for decided not to pay me for the last one and instead tried to kill me with another demon. I lived and came here to settle up.
He asked me if there was any way that he could help and I told him I thought I could handle it, but thanks. What I wanted to know about was Buffy. Where did she go, I asked him?
"She Died"
I ran down the dark alley after the vamp I'd just stopped from drinking a couple he'd pulled off the street. He dodged around a corner and I stopped to listen before running after him. Right into the trap. Four more of them stepped out of the shadows and started at me. I grabbed hold of the fire escape ladder above my head and swung to kick two of them in the face. Letting go and landing, I dropped low and swept the feet out from under the third and staked him immediately before stepping up into a high kick that sent the fourth flying onto a broken pallet laying by the dumpster, staking himself. The one who was running from me ran back up and kicked for my head, but it wasn't there. I dropped below his kick and grabbed his leg, bringing him down to the ground, rolling him onto his stomach and staking him. The two I'd kicked were up by this point and started toward me. Suddenly I was grabbed from behind by another vampire that'd come up the alley behind me. While I was trying to get a hold of his head, the other two kept coming closer.
A dark shape dropped down from the rooftop behind them grabbing them both by the neck and taking them down with him. The one grabbing me stopped to look at them, giving me the chance to twist and elbow him in the neck before grabbing his leg and dumping him on the ground while I dove for my stake. We got up at the same time and he started slowly working his way in on me. Uh oh, looks like he actually knew what he was doing and wasn't all big on the super speed and strength like most of these newbie vamps were. He led with his left hand and knee at the same time and tried to snake his foot around my leg for a grapple move. Looked like a kendo style. We squared off for a good two minutes before he made a mistake. He made me mad. He rope-a-doped me leading with his left and swung around with his right and clocked me right in the nose. I stepped back and then right back with a strong right kick he ducked past and then I did a spinning round house kick throwing him right onto the same broken pallet his buddy got staked on before. I looked around to see how the guy who was helping me was doing just in time to see him dust both vamps at the same time.
"You alright?" I asked him. He looked at himself quickly before nodding affirmative. "I'm Jake."
"Angel. You're bleeding." I put my hand to face and looked at it then licked my lips tasting blood.
"Yup, looks like. Probably broken... again."
"What were you doing fighting all those vamps at the same time? Did they attack you?"
"Yeah, after I chased that one from the street he ran me into their trap. I wasn't expecting it because where I'm from I guess I'm the only one doing the chasing. I guess that trap was probably for you. Thanks for helping out." I waited for a second looking at him until I was sure.
"You're a vampire too." I started edging to my right and put my hands out to be ready for the attack I couldn't perceive yet. He made no move whatsoever.
"Yeah, but I've got a soul. I'm one of the good guys. Why else would I be killing my own kind?" It was quiet for a moment while I tried to figure out if I could believe him or not.
"Alright, sorry I accused. You're the first vampire with a soul I've met, so pardon the surprise and skepticism."
"No problem. It's kind of what I do. Come on with me back to the office and we'll get you cleaned up and maybe you could give me a hand." He led the way back to the Hyperion. He let me use his bathroom and as I was cleaning up I heard him talking to a few other people about me. I heard them ask about what happened and he told them that I was good. One of them asked him if I was a demon of some kind and then Angel said not that he'd ever heard of. I thought that was a pretty good entrance line for me so I went out into the lobby.
"Nope, I'm not a demon. Sorry to disappoint." Everyone turned to look at me.
"I'm Jake and I'm just in town for a week chasing after a former employer of mine who decided it was a good idea to send a demon to try and kill me. I just happened upon that vamp I chased into the alley."
"Nice to meet you, I'm Cordelia and this is Wesley and that's Gunn. I heard you gave them a run for their money, do you do that sort of thing a lot?"
"Well, a little over a year ago was the first time I'd ever seen a vampire, but they tried to kill me so ever since I've been kind of on the lookout for them."
"The first time you saw a vampire you killed them both? Wow, no wonder you know what you're doing."
"To tell the truth I got saved by a blond beauty who said she did it all the time. I don't know, there's just something about a girl that saves your life. Ever since I've kept learning all I can about demons, vampires, magic, you name it. I figure, if I don't fight them who will?" There was silence for a few seconds before Angel spoke.
"You know Buffy." A statement not a question and he had kind of a strange look on his face.
"How'd you know her name? Did she save you too?"
"Actually she killed him first. They used to date." Cordelia, full of useful information, seemed kind of eager to get away from the subject.
"So have you seen her lately? I mean since she made her little... trip." Angel seemed thoughtful.
"I didn't know she went anywhere. I haven't seen her since actually. I did send her a thank you card in the mail though, if that counts. I got her address from a buddy of mine who's a cop." Everyone was really quiet and looking both at me and Angel. Angel looked at nobody but the floor. Finally he seemed to be putting a weight off of his shoulders and he looked up and at me. Then he shook his head and walked behind the counter to pick up a file that he opened up and then pulled out a picture to show to me.
"Have you seen this thing around since you've been here?" He handed me the picture of some kind of a demon I'd never seen before.
"Nope, sorry. What kind of a demon is that anyway?"
"That's what I was looking for when I found you. It's called a dresla beast and it's from a different dimension, so it's no surprise if you haven't heard of it. And no offense, but it's still out there and we've still gotta catch it." This last was spoken mostly to the rest of his team. They gave each other a look and then started to go grab they're gear and head for the door.
"I'll come along, if it's alright with you guys. Maybe I can lend a hand. Repay the favor." So I followed the crew out to Angel's car that I guess Cordelia and them had been using. I sat in the front and the other three got in the back with Angel driving. I asked him how we were going to track it.
"Well, that's the tough part. Last time we did this we had a psychic hunter helping out."
"Do you remember what he said it sensed like? In his head I mean?"
"Not really, something like hunger or fury."
"Alright, give me a minute." I centered myself, locked myself down and then opened myself up. I picked it up almost immediately. "That way."
"How do you know that, are you psychic?"
"A little bit. I've got some telekinesis but mostly just a reading of feelings and strong thoughts sometimes too. I use it mostly against my opponents as far as seeing what their next move will be."
"Sounds like it comes in handy" Angel seemed to still be a little preoccupied. I wondered how serious he and Buffy had been. Maybe if we got a moment alone we could talk about it. So it went as I kept telling him directions as we tracked the dresla closer to the warehouse district. Finally I knew we were close. I didn't realize how close until he dropped off the roof onto the back of the car. Cordelia screamed and Gunn let out a shout as he backhanded it in the face. Angel spun the car around and gunned the engine trying to hit it with the car. I stood up on my seat and then jumped as the dresla dodged to the right of the vehicle. My jump turned first into a kick as I nailed it directly in the chest and then a roll as I came to my feet ready to finish it off. My kick had sent him flying off course to hit the wall of the building on the corner of the intersection. He seemed like he wanted to get up but wasn't able. As I was waiting for it to get up without getting any closer in case he was faking, the rest of the gang ran up behind me. Angel stepped in next to it and picked it up by the neck and then twisted it sharply to break it.
"Good job, Jake." Cordelia seemed almost as happy that it was dead as she was not to have had to break a nail doing it.
"Quite a good job, we might as well have stayed home for this one." Wesley seemed less happy and more relieved that it was done. We got back into the car and headed back to the hotel. I decided it would be best to wait until we got back and maybe had some time to ourselves before asking about Buffy anymore. When we got back to the hotel the gang more or less scattered. Wesley and Gunn headed home almost immediately, and Cordelia stuck around for about twenty minutes trying to chat me up before she decided she'd see me again and went home for the evening. Angel and I went into his office to talk a little bit him with his blood and me with coffee.
"So how long did you and Buffy date?" I tried to lead it off slowly to eventually work around to what I really wanted to know. He saw right through me.
"Buffy and I haven't been together for three years. We could never work as a complete couple anyway." We started talking about history, I went first as mine was shorter. I didn't tell him everything, but I told him what I thought he needed to know and maybe a little bit more for realism. Then it was on to recent history. I told him about what I did now for work. I was basically a bounty hunter, tracking down specific demons, vampires or other criminals and killers for paying customers, specifically the rich paying customers. Before a year ago I'd mostly dealt with the human criminals; a killer, rapists, kidnapping recovery was my specialty. After my brush with the underworld I began doing as much research as I could about everything I could until I realized one day that there really wasn't anyone fighting the war. If no-one else is going to do it, I thought, might as well be me.
I upped my training and dug into my savings for some serious stuff dealing with magic and other, more physical, training. I even flew to Tibet to study for six months straight on my psychic training. I would have kept studying except for a vision one of the priests there had while I was in the monastery. I was told only part of it, but what I learned chilled me to the core. Buffy was going to die. According to them there was nothing I could do, but I left anyway and went back to sunny-dale where I watched her from the shadows beat up some vampire in the cemetery. That was after the day they told me she was going to die, so I figured she was still okay and they were wrong. I didn't go back; instead I started getting serious about fighting and magic, trying to combine the two. I found out the hard way that some things worked and others didn't. finally I got to the point financially that I couldn't just study anymore I had to work too. I came here on personal business after the last guy I did a few jobs for decided not to pay me for the last one and instead tried to kill me with another demon. I lived and came here to settle up.
He asked me if there was any way that he could help and I told him I thought I could handle it, but thanks. What I wanted to know about was Buffy. Where did she go, I asked him?
"She Died"