Chapter Six: The First Confrontation with Nero/The Collector

'The weapons cabinet!' Wesley called out, darting past Gunn, Fred and Angel. He grabbed a sword and threw it to Gunn, slid a small blade across the floor to Fred and then dropped another sword beside Angel as he ran past with one of his own.

'What happened to invincible to human weapons?' Gunn asked.

'Wouldn't you feel better having something to protect yourself with?' Wesley shot back. At this remark, Gunn gripped his sword tighter and kept his gaze on Nero. Angel struggled to his feet, and Cordelia stared in shock, trying to hide behind a pillar at the top of the stairs.

As Wesley, Gunn, Angel and Fred formed a semi-circle in the lobby, Nero grinned. He then began laughing softly, almost manically.

'You have something of mine.' He said in a raspy voice. 'I want it back.'

'It has a name.' Angel said through gritted teeth.

'Angel, we can't hurt him.' Wesley whispered to Angel. He turned and gave Wesley a puzzled look.

'What?'

'That's right worthless human; you can't do any harm to me. I am invincible, and nothing forged by nature nor man can cause any damage to me. You cannot win, so hand over the girl.'

'Never.' Angel replied. 'I'd try a thousand times to kill you before handing over my sister.' A low growl escaped his throat, and he still stood his ground.

'Your sister? Well, isn't that interesting. I saved her after you killed her.' He pointed out to Angel, wanting to push his buttons. 'Why would you do that to your sister?'

'It wasn't me.' Angel said again through gritted teeth.

'Oh sure it wasn't… Liar! I saw you do it! Slaughtering your family is not something that you can just say I didn't do it.'

'I did it, but it wasn't me back then. It was Angelus.' Angel told Nero, not wanting to relive the terrible deed.

'Right. And there's such a difference between you two. You're a vampire Angel, start acting like one.'

Angel's expression changed instantly. He was surprised that Nero knew who he was… as Angel, not just Angelus.

'Fine.' Angel vamped out, running towards Nero.

'Angel!' Wesley shouted. 'It's suicide!' Angel swung his sword swiftly in one motion, but Nero ducked. Angel stumbled up the stairs, but with a quick knee-up from Nero he found himself falling back down to the floor. Painfully, he rolled aside before Nero jumped down after him.

A fight broke out between the two, with Angel clearly losing. A punch here, a kick there. A bone breaking here, bleeding and bruising there. Angel survived for longer than Wesley thought he might, until Nero got a hold of his sword.

'Well, looky what I got here.' He raised the sword, swung it and cut deep into the side of Angel's upper arm. He cried out in pain, staggering back and holding his wound with his free hand. Nero launched out with the sword and plunged it deep into Angel's stomach.

He felt it rip thought his skin, and poke out his back. Groaning in pain as he felt blood trickling out, Angel continued to stagger back. Nero reached out and grabbed hold of the handle, and Angel instantly looked up into his eyes.

'Where is the girl?' He demanded.

Angel began breathing heavily. 'I'll never tell you.' His vampire face disappeared as blood trickled from his mouth and nose. Nero ripped the sword from Angel and at the same time kicked him away. He screamed in pain and fell to the floor. Fred rushed to his side, abandoning her weapon. Nero made his way towards Wesley and Gunn, leaving Fred to deal with Angel and a giant gaping wound.

Angel lay on his back, his hand hovering above the wound. He couldn't touch it, nor could he stop it bleeding. His back ached where the sword had poked out and then been pulled out, and he couldn't gather enough strength to sit up. But he could gather the strength to call out to the others.

'Run!' he shouted with all his remaining strength. He tried to look over to where Nero had approached his friends. 'Get out of here now!'

'Angel, we're not going.' Wesley answered.

'It's not safe here. It's too dangerous. Guys, get out.' He groaned under the pressure of his wound. Nothing had ever taken toll on him like this. Nero was so strong, and such force used against a human could easily kill.

'Angel, we're not leaving and that's final. We're not abandoning you.'

'Wes, get Kathy out!' Angel suddenly shouted, catching Nero's attention. He spun around, giving Wesley time to get away and up the stairs. He sent Gunn out to start the car, and figured that somehow he'd get Kathy out so she could be picked up around the back. He took hold of Cordelia's arm and sent her running down the stairs after Gunn.

Nero took very little time to turn and follow Wesley up the stairs. She she's up there now, is she? He thought to himself. Simple.

Angel struggled to get to his feet, accepting help from Fred. 'Run. Now.' Angel instructed, watching her leave the hotel. He, as quickly and painlessly as he could, made his way to Nero. He was already partway up the stairs, so Angel was hurt even more bounding up the stairs. He jumped on Nero's back, grabbing him around the shoulders and neck. Nero threw his shoulders back and Angel dropped to the stairs, rolling back down to the landing.

Angel found that he couldn't move. It just hurt him too much, so he remained still. He watched up the stairs as Nero reached the second floor. He heard Kathy scream, and Wesley shout out for him to back off. Then he heard running footsteps as Wesley charged at Nero, but Nero grabbed him by the arms as he got close and hurled him over the railing. Wesley smashed into the floor below, hearing a crunch as he landed on his right side.

'Aagh!' he cried out loudly, drawing Angel's attention. He looked over at Wesley, who lay struggling to sit up in the middle of the lobby. He was clutching his right upper-arm, on which he had landed on very hard. It was at that moment that Wesley saw Angel, and forced himself to move. He crouched down beside his injured friend. 'Angel…' he began, not sure what to say. The two men were both in excruciating pain, but could do nothing about it.

Wesley looked up to see Kathy hanging from the railing. As Wesley had charged at Nero, Kathy had made a run for it. She'd had to jump over the railing, and Wesley could see Nero standing close to where she was hanging. He left Angel's side and yelled for Kathy to let go.

'You have to trust me!' he shouted. Kathy let go just as Nero was about to grab her wrists and pull her up, and Wesley half caught her with one arm, trying very hard to use his injured arm, but was unable.

All Kathy received from her fall was a twisted ankle, which she had no time to pay attention to. Wesley dragged her towards the door and told her to run. She would find Gunn and Cordelia waiting for her around the corner, and she was told to go with them.

Wesley stayed with Angel. As Angel looked up, he saw Kathy leave.

'Where is she going?' he struggled to speak.

'To safety Angel, she's alright.' Nero appeared beside them, and grabbed hold of Wesley by the throat. He lifted Wesley up, having him gasp for air and try desperately to breath. Nero looked down at Angel before speaking his parting words.

'We will make a trade. The girl for your friend. I want my warrior back.' Nero lowered Wesley to the ground, but did not let go. He led Wesley outside, by the throat, and as Angel looked at Wesley's face he was torn between giving up his sister and giving up his friend.

Author's Note: Ooh… blackmail. I love a good blackmail. I absolutely love writing this, and I hope that people love reading it just as much. I love a good story. There's much more to come though, I promise. Awesome twists and turns, but I won't spoil them yet.

Next chapter: What does Angel do? Does he choose his sister or his friend? What's his choice going to be, and how is he going to get rid of Nero?