-Hello, I hope everybody is sticking with his or her New Year resolutions! I'm sure you may be wondering about the lack of updates. Well, I decided to take a break from writing. But break's over so here is your update. Anyway, I present to you the update of Professions by me, Struggling Hero. Enjoy and reviews are welcomed.
CHAPTER 5: FINDING JOAN
"I'm on my way to Ms. Moonshine Giles" the woman said in her cell phone. The Watcher cut her pleasure stay in Rome short. Apparently, his concern over the scroll had grown the past few days. Faith had already settled and enjoying Rome until Giles called. He needed her to abandon the vacation, get the scroll and go back to Cleveland. She should have gotten the scroll errand over with as soon as she landed so she could have enjoyed the rest of her vacation. That's what putting things off get you.
She is strolling under the moonlit road, her mind on full alert. She had sensed that a vampire was stalking her as soon as she turned into this particular road. Under normal circumstances, she would have already engaged the fiend in a brawl but she had other things to do. She just wanted to find this mercenary and find the scroll so she could go home and see what's the big deal about the stupid scroll.
"Moonstrom, Faith" the Watcher corrected her.
"Whatever" said the raven-haired Slayer and hanged up.
Out of the shadows, in front of her, a vampire appeared. The vampire she had sense finally appeared though there was something about this undead. Its eyes were flashing red. She could sense power from the bloodsucker and it unnerved her a little. The vampire walked towards her and halted. It seems that a little stare down is in order before the fight.
"Well, look who decided to come out and play" greeted Faith.
A guttural growl came from the vampire. "You cannot win, lady. I have been infused with power beyond yours or that of any other Slayer."
Knowledge of Slayers.
This vampire is definitely not a newbie, she thought. He may not be a newbie but that doesn't mean he is going to win. He is going to be blowin' in the wind after I'm done with him, ranted her mind.
The two began to circle each other, sizing each other up in the process. Tired of waiting, Faith charges and unleashed a furious flurry of punches. All punches met their intended mark giving Faith a chance to follow up with a strong kick, taking the vampire down. The raven slayer's eyes widened in surprise as the form of the vampire picked itself up. Faith's barrage did zero to the vampire. Wiping blood off his lips, the vampire gave a manic laugh. Intimidated, Faith lunged once more starting with a right cross but unlike last time, the vampire made an effort to defended himself by parrying the blow with his left. Not letting an offensive opportunity pass by, the vampire launched a right hook catching the slayer on the left cheek. Red started trickling from the Slayer's lips.
"I told you my power reaches beyond yours, Slayer. This is the end of your life's journey" said the vampire.
The vampire began to approach the Slayer. Faith swung with another right to halt his advances but the fiend swiftly dodged. The powerful unholy being attempted to deliver a boot to the stomach. With a Slayer's extreme reflexes, Faith positioned her hands in front of her gut thus catching the blow. Though the blow was blocked, the force of it sent Faith staggering backwards for a few feet. A powerful kick to the chest followed. With her balance in an upset with staggering, Faith was helpless to defend against the blow. Her back ended up grinding against the concrete, tearing her jacket and scratching the exposed skin.
This fight is definitely not going with Faith's expectations. She expected to dust the guy in microseconds but now she's trying to get all the microseconds she can get to recover from the painful beating by the vamp. This vampire is definitely not among the normal everyday vampire. It's clear that this fiend has the superior strength. But that doesn't mean it's going to win. Faith ran her hands on her jacket. After feeling a bump, the girl let out a sigh of relief. She's not completely at the edge; she still has the stake in her jacket. She considered drawing the weapon but quickly decided against it. If she draws the weapon now, the vampire would just wrestle the wood away along with her chances of dusting the fiend. No, she would draw it when that crucial moment presents itself.
Once again the vampire began to approach. Faith waited till he was within distance the quickly flipped herself up, catching the vampire on with her boots in the process. The vampire quickly recovers just in time to catch Faith's right fist. With her right hand clenched by the monsters, Faith unleashed a left...only to be caught with the vampire's other hand. The unholy fiend slammed his head against Faith, making the Slayer go weak in the knees because of the pain. Faith's hands were released from his grip but the vampire was simply switching targets. He lifted Faith into the air and then wrapped Faith's back in a bear hug.
Faith screamed in pain on account of the crushing force her back was under. There was no way she could wrestle her way out of the bear hug. The vampire is too strong. She could punch the vampire's face till he let go but he might just tighten his grip in response. Or she could...
Faith fished out the stake out of her jacket. This was the crucial moment. The fool couldn't see what she was doing because she was in a bear hug position. Her hands were over her head and she was sure that she was looking out her back, not on her hands. Grabbing the stake with both hands, Faith rammed the stake on his back and through his heart. Finding the heart from the back is a little tricky but for a Slayer, it's no problem. The vampires crushing arms disintegrated to dust along with the plunged stake, leaving Faith on the floor.
Faith remained on the floor for a few moments, breathing very heavily. This is definitely something to mention to Giles. Faith stood up but not without pain. She's only a few blocks away from Joan Moonstrom's apartment. Maybe going there is a bad idea. If things between this Joan chick and me gets hot, I would be in big trouble considering how banged up I am, her mind rationalized. No, she would crash somewhere until she regains full mobility without feeling blinding pain. With Slayer healing, it wouldn't take long.
"Eat this" Joan yelled, as she slashed the air with her "fancy" sword. Like before, the sword's tip drew the thin, purple, crescent-shape energy out of the air. Immediately, the energy made a beeline in quick rate of speed towards the demon. The energy sliced through its thick carcass as if it was nothing. The demon is dead, cut in half by Joan's wicked sword.
Joan had been practicing in using the sword's abilities. She went in search of demons to train herself with the sword. Ever since the vampire fight, where the sword unveiled its nifty tricks to her, Joan had wanted to be able use the blade's magickal abilities at her will. A handful of demons were slain by her sword until she gained a satisfying control over the swords abilities. Of course, she wasn't crazy enough to get injured by a demon on purpose to practice the sword's healing powers. Nope. She just stayed at her apartment and cut her palm and practice healing and soon gained a sufficient amount of control over that particular ability. She's practically invincible during a battle for she could just heal herself if she suffers a fatal wound. This very thought made her feel drunk with power.
The mercenary raised her precious blade and stared at it, enjoying how it gleams with the moonlight. She would have to talk to her client again and hear the history of this wonderful sword sometime. She also wondered if the sword has some other surprises she hasn't tap on. Finished admiring, Joan put the sword backs in its sheath and began walking back towards her apartment. She planned to grab something to eat on the way back to her home.
Joan said her thank-you to the baker. Cinnamon bread-roll and a cola -not exactly everyone's dinner stuff but she that's what she wanted. The mercenary made her way to her humble adobe. Making a series of turns and going straight a few blocks, Joan noticed something on the ground: a piece of cloth. Judging from the material, it's from a jacket. There's also some faint splatter of blood on the pavement. From the looks of it, a fight just took place here a few hours ago with a vampire. Some vampire dust sprinkled the pavement just a few inches away from the blood and piece of cloth. Obviously the vampire lost. To whom she guessed to a Slayer.
Something is piqued Joan's interest. The fight obviously gave the girl some trouble. How much she didn't know but a Slayer should be able to dispose the undead with relative ease. Staring at the faint blood marks, Joan walked away from it and looked around the neighboring houses. The injured girl might have crashed on one of these houses. She should help her.
A voice began whispering in Joan's mind. It's that same feminine voice again. She wasn't imagining hearing things when she was fighting the vampire after all. Such sweet, melodious voice. The mercenary couldn't help but listen and feel content. The injured girl isn't any of her business. The girl probably was just having a bad day just like she did sometimes in the past. Joan walked the last few blocks and finally reached her own home.
Joan punched in a private combination of numbers into the security keypad. A brief machine beep and she opened the door. Quickly, she made her way to the kitchen and sat down her dinner. She had learned to cook for herself here because take-out foods eventually started tasting the same to her for she eats the stuff three times a day. With the comforts of her home, Joan no longer needed her denim jacket. She slid out of it and began taking out her bread rolls. Joan went to the living room, taking the bread and cola with her. Turning on the TV, she enjoyed her meal.
It had been a few hours since the Slayer crashed in the empty apartment. He contemplated whether or not he should just go in and kill the wounded Slayer. After a few seconds, he decided against it. It would be foolish thing to do. He might get discovered along with his plans. Still, it was entertaining watching that Slayer fight for her life against the vampire.
The scroll has proven itself. With the scroll, he can infuse a dead being (preferably a vampire) with unreal strength. When the moment arrives, he would use the scroll on numerous vampires. The vampires would protect him while he summons the Princess into this world. Even the army of Slayers in Cleveland will face great difficulty getting through the powered-up vampires to stop him. Of course, he would have to wait till the blonde Slayer is completely under the Princess' will to continue with the plan.
Oh! The fanfic Emptiness Within (which inspired me to start this one) is finally updated. Go check the it out and send the author some nice reviews ok? Awesome story!
That's it for now. Please review and tell me what you think. I'll try to update a bit earlier than usual.
P.S. To those who offered to be my beta, I hope those offers are still good. I'm going to start sending stuff in to you guys. If you don't want to, please say so in my email. Yahoo account, strugglinghero88.
REVIEW PLEASE!