Title: New Friends, Old Places

Disclaimer: See prologue.

Rating: PG-13

Author: Supergurl15

Author's Note: Thanks for reviewing guys. Sorry about the wait for the update. (Ha! That rhymes!) Senior year… gah! It's hell, but fortunately hell is getting a lot better. One of my friends is starting a band and asked me to play lead guitar. YEAH! Can't wait… it's going to be AWESOME! So between school, work, and band practice hopefully I'll be able to update a lot more. Don't worry… I promise I won't abandon this fic. I'll finish it if it kills me.

I own nothing...only the plot idea.

Takes place around season two of Angel.

Thoughts and sometimes titles are in italics.


Chapter 11

"Chloe and Angel sure have been gone a long time." Typing in a description and clicking the 'search' button on the main page of the demon database on her laptop for the fifth time that night, Cordelia decided to take a much-needed break and headed over to the donut box. "I hope they're having better luck on finding this demon thing than we are. I got nothing."

"It's almost as if it doesn't even exist." Picking up another text from the enormously tall stack of books on the dining table in Cordelia's hotel room, Wesley began to flip through it aimlessly. It had been over two hours and no one seemed to be getting any closer to finding anything on the demon that Chloe had described.

"Well, I'm not doing any better." Gunn added, setting the book that he had been skimming through on the table before he went over to the counter and the Dunkin Donuts Box.

"Chloe said that they would be back over an hour ago. So either they ran into pretty boy demon guy, or they're making with the smoochies on some abandoned pier, or… park bench, since there probably wouldn't be a pier in the middle of nowhere, Kansas. Sorry, I'm in Kansas but my brain's still in Los Angeles." Cordelia said, biting into her raspberry jelly filled donut.

"What?!" Wesley sputtered; spilling hot coffee all over the research files that were scattered across the table in the room. Gunn remained silent but his chocolate glazed donut slipped to the floor.

"Oh c'mon. Don't tell me you guys haven't noticed the looks Angel gives her when he thinks that none of us are looking." Cordelia placed the donut next to her laptop and nonchalantly sat down in the chair in front of her computer. "I've seen it before. It's the same look that he used to use whenever he was around Buffy, only in a more intense, brooding … wait."

"Cordelia, I think you're reading too much into this. Angel's relationship with Chloe is strictly work related." Wesley paused. "And even if it isn't, what business of ours is it?"

"Aha. So you admit that I'm right."

"I never said that you were right. I'm merely saying that whomever Angel chooses to share a romantic interest in is not our business."

"Please Wesley." Cordelia said with an agitated sigh and a roll of her eyes. "Stop denying the inevitable! I've seen Angel when he gets the doe-y, 'I love you but I can't be with you because of some stupidly unfair hundred year old curse that turns me into Mr. Big Bad, leather pants wearing, evil vampire the moment I'm on happy high' eyes. It's not like I didn't have to put up with it the whole time I was in SunnyHell."

Gunn simply shook his head and went back to researching. Right about now he would rather find inexistent information on a million demons than listen to the two of them argue.

For once in his eight years of living in Smallville Gabe Sullivan was speechless. He had seen a lot of things while working as a plant manager at LuthorCorp, but nothing like the talking monkey man that was advancing on her daughter's friend. He hadn't really thought about it until now, but maybe the 'monkey' was a good thing.

"I have to confess to not have taken this evening's events lightly, Ms. Sullivan."

Chloe frowned, then asked the question that had been burning in her mind. "How did you…?"

"Know your name?" Lloyd smiled broadly and mockingly, "I know all your names. I know where you live. I know that you're a journalism major with a minor in history. I know that your middle name is Alissa. I know where your mother resides. I know all."

"I think that would border on the line of being a stalker and slightly psychotic." Chloe hoped the sarcastic quip would be enough to give her dad the time to escape safely back to the house, but seeing how he was just standing there with a sort of stunned look on his face told her that he hadn't quite gotten the message.

"Or someone in desperate need of a hobby." Angel muttered, knowing that the monkey demon would hear him anyway.

"Amusing, really." Lloyd stopped, turning to look at the 'crowd' of people gathered on the porch. Too easy, and surprise, surprise, it was the girl from earlier. "Looks like we have an audience for the show." He smiled to himself. This would be fun. "Shall we?"

"Why don't you fight your damn shadow, and I go back to my hotel and take a nice, long soak in the tub and try to put the horrors of this day behind me. I just got these rose scented soap petals that I've been dying to try out." Needless to say seeing the demon guy twice in one day was only exceeding in making Chloe even more pissed off.

"They said you were sarcastic. Although, I did not think this much." Lloyd laughed.

They? Who was…? Wolfram and Hart. Chloe realized. If they were involved then so was… Lindsey. He had to have been the one who gave demon boy the information. There was no way he could have figured it out on his own in a couple of hours. Good old Lindsey.

Whatever that thing was it obviously wasn't here to make idle conversation with the locals. Gabe's brain was telling him to go back to the house with everyone in tow but his legs seemed to have a mind of their own. He had to get Chloe away from it... from whatever it was.

"You see, I tend to develop grudges easily. Why do you think I have been after the blood of those that locked me in that Urn, the descendents of those who were responsible for the millenniums of my life that I have missed? I could have been wreaking havoc on the world, but I was trapped in an urn. Do you understand how embarrassing that little tidbit of my life is at a party? And it seems to be a popular conversational topic. Why do you suppose that is?"

"I can imagine." Angel said dryly.

"Angelus." The demon said, like he was greeting an old friend, not a sworn enemy, "Your reputation precedes you. It's a shame we did not meet eighty years ago before you acquired that pesky soul. What if I killed the girl… then we hunted down the last of your cursers' descendents and killed them?"

"Wow. You really do love revenge." Chloe commented sarcastically.

"Lana, go get Sheriff Adams." Clark whispered, the sheriff probably wouldn't be able to do anything, but it was enough to remove the traumatized girl from the scene and offer a diversion while he made use of his powers.

"If anyone goes anywhere," The god whirled around to face Clark and Lana. "You will all be killed." If he hadn't been paying so much attention to the surprised expressions on their faces, and to what was going on around him he would have been prepared when a fist caught him across the chin.

The blow from the vampire was enough to swivel his head completely around.

"A 'no' then?" Lloyd said, wiping dark reddish-black blood from a split lip. "That is a pity."

"Chloe, take the others and get inside!"

Chloe looked at the vampire a moment longer, nodded, then turned on her heel and attempted to usher everyone inside.

"Does no one listen anymore?! Not even to a god?" The demon feigned agitation. "This world truly is a horrid place."

"Do you take my threat for a lie?" All it took was a second for the demon to have Chloe in his arms and his hand anchored around her throat. "How easy would it be for me to snap her neck Angelus? Take her life? You waste your time saving mortals."

"Chloe!" Everyone, including the girl with the broken arm, was off of the porch and into the yard when Lloyd grabbed her by the neck, his hand quickly closing over her windpipe. His malicious smile grew even wider as he watched them. This was most enjoyable.

Every ounce of restraint that Angel had left faded once he saw that the monkey had its disgusting claws around Chloe. Scarlet streams of her blood pooling around its fingertips did nothing but fuel the vampire's rage. Right now he didn't care about anything or anyone else; there was only Chloe. He had to get to Chloe.

In a vampire-like leap, Angel caught the demon off guard and landed a swift kick to god's side causing him to release his grip on Chloe long enough for her to slip away. With her hand she covered the fatal looking gashes on her neck and scrambled off of the ground, away from the impending fight.

"Two children of darkness engaging in battle, against each other. One would say that we should be on the same side, the situation is almost laughable. " The demon god stuck one finger, red with Chloe's blood, in his mouth in an almost mocking way, savoring the taste of her blood. "Give in vampire." He smiled, "Don't tell me you haven't thought of it; killing her, taking her blood. Believe me; it tastes as good as it looks."

"I'm thinking about killing you right now." Angel said seriously, hitting the monkey god across the cheek.

"Chloe. Chloe!" Mr. Sullivan ran over to his daughter, hugging her in a tight embrace. "God, Chloe. Are…? I…? What's going on? Never mind, the most important thing is getting you to a hospital and calling the sheriff."

"N-no." Chloe's hand was still wrapped around her throat trying to staunch the blood flow. "I've… h-had wo-orse, and A-angel..." She said, struggling to form a sentence. God it hurt. It was almost like someone had taken a knife and stabbed her repeatedly in the throat, then rubbed salt into the wounds. Nothing she did would stop the blood from flowing. Maybe her dad was right; maybe she should go to the hospital, but… Angel. She couldn't just leave him with… No. She wouldn't leave him. Not after everything that he had done for her in this godforsaken town. Not her Angel.

Why was she so… dizzy? She was walking somewhere… why couldn't she remember? She felt a pair of strong arms lift her from the ground and her head was rested against a warm, solid chest.

"Mmhmm… Angel." Chloe's voice was almost a content whisper as she closed her eyes in her semi-conscious state, and snuggled closer to the person carrying her.

Clark tensed visibly at his friend's declaration, then laid the unconscious girl in the passenger's seat before turning to go back to the Sullivan house.

He was tempted to go with Chloe and Mr. Sullivan to the hospital, just to make sure that Chloe would be all right; but he was pretty curious about the monkey man and Chloe's friend Angel who the monkey had referred to as a… vampire. But that was impossible. Vampires didn't exist.

Lana cradled the phone in her hand from the safety of the Sullivan's kitchen window as she watched Angel fighting the giant monkey creature. She had to have been imagining things, the man that she had seen earlier in the Talon and at the Kent farm had somehow transformed into… that. Well, she did have a concussion, so maybe…

Did she imagine it? Did she imagine Chloe being held captive, or the monkey's claws gorging into her friend's neck? It seemed real enough to not be a figment of her mind.

What she didn't understand was why Angel was still there? Why didn't he run off like everyone else? She had often noticed that Clark did the same thing whenever some crazed psycho went on a killing spree. He was often the last to leave or he was always the first one to lead the rescuing committee. It was definitely some kind of hero complex thing. Well, he wouldn't have to worry about playing the hero for too much longer, Sheriff Adams was on her way.

"Tsk. Tsk." Lloyd almost laughed at how easy victory had come to him. He couldn't help but marvel at his almost forgotten strength and speed as he held the vampire above the ground with one hand, a wooden cross in the other. He always enjoyed torturing his victims before actually killing them, it was particularly the highlight of a really bad day, and vampires were no exception. "And this is the so called 'Scourge of Europe'?"

"Go to hell." What is it with this guy and crosses? Angel thought, watching the demon's mouth move. He was speaking but Angel was too focused on escaping to understand what he was ranting on about. Spare me the long boring speech and just kill me already. Hopefully Chloe had gotten to the hospital by now. He couldn't bear the thought of losing her. He wouldn't be able to go on.

"I sincerely hope your little girlfriend gets treatment in time, though I doubt it really. She'll lose a lot of blood before she even gets admitted to a treatment facility. I'd give her fifteen minutes, thirty if she's lucky, but very few are."

"If she dies…" He growled warningly. If it wasn't for that damn sword wound that he had gotten earlier, maybe he wouldn't be here waiting for monkey man to kill him. The wound had somehow reopened when he had been fighting the demon god.

"If she dies you'll what, soon join her?" Lloyd waved the cross dangerously close to Angel's face. "You shouldn't be alive for much longer."

"Then stop talking about killing me and kill me."

The demon smiled. Had the vampire given up this easily? A skewed look flashed across his features. What is that…? Lloyd turned his head slowly, examining his back. Smell? He jumped, dropping his captive. Somehow, a witch had slipped past his senses him and managed to set him on fire. That was the only explanation for it. The Powers obviously still had plans for their warrior. Damn them.

In his yelping and screaming haste to get away he didn't notice the tall shadow of a figure standing in the dark.

Gabe took a seat in the tan recliner next to his daughter's hospital bed. This certainly wasn't the first time she had been admitted to Smallville Medical and it probably wouldn't be her last. Her watched her eyes moving beneath her eyelids and leaned back in the chair. He still hadn't been able to figure it out. What was that, and why had it been so insistent on getting his daughter? A chill ran up his spine as he remembered the creature's hideous face. It moved like a primate yet spoke like a human. Could it be the missing link? It sounded off, even as he sat there and thought about the situation. But what did the monkey mean when it called Chloe's friend, Angel, a vampire? It couldn't have actually meant 'vampire' in a murderous, blood sucking, shape shifting, Dracula kind of way. Could it? No, that was just blurring the lines of reality. It was ridiculous. Besides vampires were creatures that only existed in books and movies, obviously the crazed man in the monkey suit had been reading too many of Anne Rice's novels.

The doctor had given Chloe a coagulant, and some morphine for the pain. She was sleeping silently now thanks to the effects of the medication. He tucked the blankets around her in a very fatherly-like motion before leaving the room for the hospital cafeteria. Reaching the end of the hall, Gabe pressed the down arrow for the elevator. A lot of what Chloe experienced shouldn't have happened to any one, especially at such a young age. Few people could be kidnapped, tossed out a mansion window, or almost burned alive without having some kind of nervous breakdown. She almost always worked through it, but he still worried about her. He knew that she often acted like these things didn't affect her, but he knew they did.

What he didn't understand though was what something so horrible would want with his daughter? Or why it would go after his daughter? He still hadn't fully figured out what it was. None of the logical explanations that popped into his head really made any sense. They were sort of contradicted by the monkey's shape shifting and speech. And what was with all this talk of demons?

Angel sat up, his blood leaving deep red stains on the pine green lawn. His side was throbbing, his head was pounding, and he didn't even have to look at his arm to see that the demon had slashed through the borrowed t-shirt and his flesh.

"Are you all right?" The dark haired girl, Lana, was standing over him awkwardly, almost as if she didn't know whether or not to help him up or look at him pathetically.

Slowly, he stood up, wincing as he did so. "Yeah. Uh, thanks."

Lana chewed her bottom lip nervously. What had the monkey meant by 'vampire'? A blood sucking, killing of the innocents monster? Somehow she doubted strongly that Angel fit any of those descriptions. He had saved her life twice already since she had met him and besides, vampires didn't exist. "Maybe you should see a doctor, that's a pretty nasty…

"I'm fine." Angel said, cutting her off before she could finish her suggestion, his eyes searching for the source of the fire that had scared the monkey off. Fire just didn't appear out of thin air. Okay. So maybe it did… sometimes, but there was always a source.

"Mr. Sullivan took Chloe to Smallville Medical Center not too long ago." Lana added, thinking that he had been looking for Chloe.

Chloe. He hoped that she had gotten treatment in time; something about the demon's tone told him that it hadn't been bluffing.

Lana turned away from the Angel, looking at the house to see if it was still unlocked. "I can give you the directions if you want. They should be-"

Her sentence hung in the air once she realized that Angel was no longer standing there. Yep, he definitely had a hero complex.

"I can't believe you guys don't see it, he's got the serious puppy love going on." Cordelia said still looking at her computer screen, waiting for a website on demon gods to load. They hadn't found anything over the three hours that they had been delving through book after book, and the coffee supply was diminishingly very rapidly.

"Cordelia… Angel is-"

"Back!" Cordelia said, quickly covering up the fact that they had been discussing the disheveled looking vampire that had walked through the hotel room's door, and killing any hope of hearing Wesley's statement.

They all watched as Angel ransacked the table looking for… something. He was covered in dried blood and cuts and his shirt was torn. "So, I'm guessing we can put all of this research stuff to rest, since you sort of threw everything onto the floor?" Cordelia paused, but continued when she didn't get a direct answer from him. "Angel, what happened? Where's Chloe?"

"Smallville Medical." Angel said, not interrupting his attempt to tear the room apart in his search to find whatever it was that he was looking for.

"Smallville Medical?" Wesley repeated, trying to recall where he had seen the name. "The hospital we passed earlier, when Cordelia made a wrong turn?"

"Hey, you're the one who said turn right."

"Look, we…" Angel said grabbing a map of Smallville from underneath Gunn's pile of books. "You guys know where the hospital is?"

"That's why you practically ripped the room apart?" Cordelia pointed to the map in Angel's hand accusingly. "There's like a million of them on the nightstand, or you could have just asked!"

"Oh." Angel glanced at the stack of maps on the nightstand sheepishly.

"So." Gunn said finally, walking out of the kitchen with a Coke® in one hand and a plate of nachos in the other. "Is the hospital still accepting visitors?"