A:N: Thanks again to everyone for their reviews! mendenbar,Elledreamer, Housaholic32, MysticWolf1, Sam, Lilith Lunatic, gopie, Swagman, heartfallen, and Cari7. Please continue to review, I love reviews! And as for reading this before, I have a nasty habit of rewriting stories so you probably have read this before just now it is redone.

Chapter Three

Quick Study

This world will never be
What I expected
And if I don't belong
Who would have guessed it
I will not leave alone
Everything that I own
To make you feel like it's not too late
It's never too late

Even if I say
It'll be alright
Still I hear you say
You want to end your life
Now and again we try
To just stay alive
Maybe we'll turn it around
'Cause it's not too late
It's never too late

No one will ever see
This side reflected
And if there's something wrong
Who would have guessed it
And I have left alone
Everything that I own
To make you feel like
It's not too late
It's never too late

Even if I say
It'll be alright
Still I hear you say
You want to end your life
Now and again we try
To just stay alive
Maybe we'll turn it around
'Cause it's not too late
It's never too late

The world we knew
Won't come back
The time we've lost
Can't get back
The life we had
Won't be ours again

This world will never be
What I expected
And if I don't belong

Even if I say
It'll be alright
Still I hear you say
You want to end your life
Now and again we try
To just stay alive
Maybe we'll turn it around
'Cause it's not too late
It's never too late
Maybe we'll turn it around
'Cause it's not too late
It's never too late (It's never too late)
It's not too late
It's never too late

Connor sat quietly in the library over looking his books. He had several of them opened on the table in front of him along with notebooks full of information that he had taking during class; that seemed important from what he was reading. His finals were coming up soon and he was cramming in studying to prepare for them.

Something seemed wrong though. The amount of people who were dressed in complete black or deep crimson had increased rapidly in the last hour. About ten on his floor that he could see and all were male. They weren't looking at anything in particular. Looking well, more or less glancing, at one thing then moving on to a completely different section.

One of them looked to Connor briefly, his eyes were a strange yellow that disturbed him but the man's eyes didn't stay on him long. Instead they turned at the sound of someone walking up the stairs. Connor didn't bother in looking to see who the person was. Just returned to reading his books and taking the notes he had to take but didn't want to. Praying a little bit that this was a gothic club meeting and not a ton of vampires that wanted him dead for being Angel's son.

A hand came to his shoulder bringing him out of his notes to look at the hand. Black leather gloves, his eyes traveled up the arm to see who the person was but the person's head came along the opposite side of his turn.

"The Studies of English Literature?" A woman's voice questioned him.

He turned his head to the direction the voice came, surprised to see her. She looked younger than he was, maybe seventeen at the youngest, her eyes a strange coloring, one green and one blue but she didn't look to him. Her gaze was focused on the notes and her hand reached around him to move the papers around.

"I thought you were applying for an internship?" He stared at her as she spoke, how'd she know that? Well if she knew some of his friends at school perhaps but then again he'd remember her. "Well, then again, I also thought you would take over the family business. Good thing I never bet on it."

She now turned to look into his blue eyes. She knew he was Angel's son. She had too. A woman adorned in leather and a long trench coat making mention of the 'family business'. Of course she knew who he was.

The only color on her was her skin, eyes and hair. Everything else was black.

She smirked at him her hand running through his hair. He didn't flinch at her touch. She moved to sit on the desk in front of him. "You're more attractive than your father at least. You have you mother's eyes.."

He continued to stare at her. Confusion shot through him like a bullet. Who the hell was she? How did she know who he was and who his parents were?

"Who are you?"

"A creature of little consequence," She smirked off, moving so she could look down at the papers. "God how times of changed. How can you study so much without killing yourself?"

"'Creature'?" Connor questioned her concern mounting up with his confusion as e completely ignored her questions. "So you're not human?"

"Not exactly," She told him solemnly her eyes leaving the notes and books to look about the room at the others. "They aren't human, that I'm certain of, but you knew that already didn't you?"

He went to look at them to at least get a head count but she grabbed his wrist and squeezed tightly.

"Wait," She muttered in a hushed whisper. He looked to her and watched as she moved to where she sat on the table so she could look down at him and keep he'd focus on her. "They won't attack unless I give the order for them to."

"Why haven't you ordered them to then?" He questioned in a hoarse growling whisper while her hand moved up his arm to the back of his head. "Why do you toy?"

"I don't toy," She whispered her nails digging into the back of his head.

He gave a look of disgust then felt a sharp pain in his arm. He looked to where the pain came from to see a syringe sticking from his arm. He looked at it curiously as she drew the blood from his arm. When she finished she placed the syringe inside her jacket with a satisfied smile.

"However," She began after she locked the syringe tightly in her jacket. "You're not the one I'm here to kill."

He raised an eyebrow at her. "I'm not?" She shook her head her smile fading. "Then why are you here?"

"I said I wasn't here to kill you," She stated to him nodding over to the others. "Never said anything about them."

"I thought you controlled them," He looked back to the others then back to her as she shifted so she sat directly in front of him, her eyes never leaving his as she maneuvered her legs so she rested her boots on either side of his chair. "That they didn't do anything with your command?"

She leaned down to whisper: "Not when I decide to protect you."

"Why'd you do that?" He asked her his mind racing. "Because I'm more attractive than my father?"

She chuckled softly letting her hands slip from his head, down his neck to his arms. Jumping off the table she stood over him. He could only stare as her hands moved to his and brought them to her hips. He stared at her in shock of what she was doing. Trying to pull away from her, she squeezed his wrist, telling him to go along with what she was doing, and set his hands on a set of guns.

He looked to his hands. She was packing some heat. Guns, knives, stakes, silver. She had planned this whole thing didn't she? She practically had an arsenal on her.

"No," She stated with a sigh leaning down so only he could hear her. "Because they do want you dead. For a damn good reason but I'd prefer you alive also for a damn good reason too," She pressed her cheek against his. "I hope you still remember how to kill, I know it's been a while."

"I haven't forgotten a thing," He stated with a smirk remembering hunting, killing when he lived in the demon realm.

Gripping tightly to guns she had placed his hands on. Her hands left his to move to the inside of her jacket to grasp two other guns. She brought her head back so she could look at him.

"The question is though; are you any good?"

She smirked. "Watch and learn."

She brought her guns out to the side. He didn't stand, well he really couldn't, just pulled the guns out that she had given him and began to fire.

"Mara!" One of the vampires yelled at her over the gunfire.

She didn't listen or pay any attention to him though. Just fired the guns at whatever moved that was dressed in a dark color. Her eyes changed from husky eyes of humans to dark sinister black that showed she was growing more and more angry about the situation.

Luckily Connor was as good as he boasted. Hitting all the targets he aimed at, turning them into nothing but a pile of ash. With a hard push out of his seat, he stood up beside her, his arms out reached hers so he was careful not get his guns crossed in front of hers. He was still confused over what she had meant and what was happening. She was obviously going against orders but for what purpose? Why was he so important to her and them? He didn't have time to ask though so he kept shooting until he ran out of rounds.

"Got anymore of these?" He questioned her and he dropped them to clang on the floor. She shoved her guns into his hands obviously still holding some rounds.

His bullet struck one that was charging him from the left in the head. The creatures head shot back and he cried out as he turned into a pile of ash. He kept shooting until he ran out again. For all their shooting though seven remained, most of them were joining the fight from the first floor.

The only one who hadn't joined in stood above them on the third floor. Connor could see him, as could the woman they had called Mara. She pulled out several flying stars from her pocket and flung with all her might towards him. He jumped maneuvering his body to avoid the stars and landed on the floor not far from them.

"Ah shit," They both muttered as the man smirked off at them walking towards them.

She removed her trench coat in a quick motion and she spun around so her back faced Connor. His eyes instinctively went to look at the movement. Quickly his eyes fell to the sword that was strapped onto her back and beside it a large narrow pipe.

"Take the sword!" She ordered him while her own hand flung back to grasp the pipe.

He was ahead of her words though; his hand already grasped the hilt of the sword. Unsheathing it quickly, he turned and brought the sword across the first vampire's abdomen. Blood spilled from the wound, the beast's entrails spilled from its body like a strange bloody soup. It cried out and Connor ducked to avoid its sword.

In that same moment, Connor heard another steal weapon become unsheathed. A pole with a blade on the end missed his head and was wrought into the center of the vampire's throat. The head flew back and it shouted in pain while the rest of its body turned to ash. Connor's head turned briefly to look at Mara. In her hands was the pole with a blade on each end.

She had turned in a circle to be rid of the vampire on its way to behead Connor. Her gaze turned to the male who charged them. He lashed out at Connor, crying in anger as he did. Using the desk as a weapon Connor kicked it towards the vampire.

It stumbled over the desk and cried out in agony.

Mara moved quickly, somersaulting over the fallen desk and the vampire. She turned back to him when she landed, bringing the pole down hard to slash at him but the vampire easily blocked it. With the power of that of a god he shoved her weapon aside. Bringing his blade up he tried to strike her from above. She moved her weapon above her head, grasping tightly at a wider angle to hold her position while he brought his down on her.

The blow hurt her body and she sank to her knees listening to him cackle. Her arms began to buckle beneath the weight of his strength.

The vampire gritted his teeth, his eyes became a blood red. He wanted her blood now. He was so hungry and had heard the legend of her blood. How sweet it was to drink from. Now he had a reason to take it from her.

"You fuckin' half-breed! You dare to challenge us?" He hissed at her, her gaze black and bottomless as he brought his boot to connect with her chest in a harsh kick.

The impact of his boot sent her back hurtling into a bookshelf with such force that the shelf shook and books fell on her. He smiled at the sound of shelves breaking and her body crashing to the floor. He walked over to her when she began to move.

"Mara!" Connor screamed as the vampires began to overpower him. He fought them back killing them one after another, they just kept coming though! Nothing was stopping them from coming and they were only attacking him, leaving Mara to the other vampire.

Slowly beginning to regain her senses. Her arms supporting her body, she shook her head in pain. Blood began to seep from several small gashes.

"You're too weak," The vampire told her standing over her. "Little sister. Too fucking weak."

She looked up to him, her eyes forming pits of endless darkness quickly filling with the eclipses. "Bull shit asshole."

A focused ray of darkness smashed into his body. His body curled under the blow as he was sent back over the balcony of the second floor to fall to the first. She got up from where she had fallen, her gaze first falling to where Connor was.

He was fighting with against three vampires. His handle on the sword impressed her. He had defeated several others already. She could tell from the ash that lay scattered in piles across the floor. He spun around slashing at vampires, blocking at their swords and turning to take swipes at their abdomen. His strength was that of the vampires and it surprised them but their agility made it difficult for him to kill them.

With on swift kick he nailed one of them in the head to send him back against the railing. Spinning around he brought the sword down on one's neck decapitating it. The ash whirled around him as he jumped out of the way of an on coming blow. Bringing the sword up he caught the vampire's chin and forced it up through the rest of his head.

Ash clouded the area to form almost a mist before him. Connor looked for the third, his eyes shifting quickly about the second floor. Trying to find where he had disappeared to when he heard Mara give a cough. He looked to her and saw her holding the vampire he was looking for in a headlock. She gave him a smirk before she drove a stake through the vampire's heart. Ash surrounded her and then fell to the floor.

"You're good," She told him with a nod and smile.

"Not bad yourself," He replied with a smirk.

The sound of the glass crashing and people screaming below them on the first floor caused him to break his gaze with her to run to the side of balcony and look down.

Vampires invaded the lower level. Feasting upon the onlookers with no mercy. The vampire that had shouted at Mara stared up at Connor. Blood covered his mouth and ran down his neck. He smiled up at Connor opening his mouth wide to reveal the long vampiric teeth he bared. The teeth were much longer than any vampire he had seen before though. Sharp needles of teeth that at the longest point were at least four inches long. His mouth was wider than any vampires as well, releasing a loud roar of anger up towards him.

Connor turned to look for Mara but only caught a glimpse of her as she ran past him, grasping tightly to her pole before she jumped over the edge of the balcony as if it was nothing at all. He screamed at her, his new memories taking hold and he struggled to fight them back knowing that she was fine. Watching as she landed with a loud thud, breaking a table from the force, yet she was graceful in her ways

Her gaze went about the lower level searching for the longer toothed vampire. He had moved away into the shadows of the bookcases. She could only see the average vampires, five of them circling her, fangs extending longing for a taste of her blood.

She gave a growl as a warning but they didn't heed, charging at her mercilessly. Connor jumped off the balcony, his sword slashed two within seconds, Mara spun with the pole in her hands removing the rests heads with ease.

The ash was everywhere but the vampires had disappeared.

Connor looked to her briefly never lowering his sword. "Are they gone?"

"Yah," She began sarcastically glancing over to him. "Right. What are you a pussy brother?" She screamed out crouching down defensively looking for the other vampire. "Are you afraid of me?"

Connor looked at her confused but his eyes quickly moved to the ceiling. He remembered several of his hunts in the demon realm, that and just about every horror film known to man, was that everything was always up on the ceiling. The vampire smiled at him with a low hiss before it jumped down.

"Look up!" Connor shouted swinging his sword only to be kicked in the head and sent back into a cabinet.

She looked over to him as he slumped over. "Connor!"

The vampire roared at her to bring her attention back to him. Blood dripped from his mouth and covered his cheek. The crimson life source painted his face like an Indians war paint. Before she could do anything he brought his fist across her face sending her to the side. Her body smashed against a bookcase that shuddered from the blow.

"What is there to be afraid of?" He asked her as she jumped back onto her feet. Her lips a brilliant red with the fresh flowing blood that came from her nostrils. "A lowly half-breed? You're a worthless piece of shit. There's nothing to fear from you."

"You should learn look up the meaning of the word fear Vaughn," She hissed at him as they began to circle one another. Her hands holding tightly to her weapon while his eyes simply stared her down. They were two predators fighting the other for rights to the food that lay before them. "Cause one day you'll finally have it and not need to talk about it."

He began to laugh at her. "When will that be Mara?"

"The day I kill you!"

She screamed in agony leaping at him, spinning her weapon around then brought it from the side to strike him. The one called Vaughn reached forward without even moving to grab tightly to the pole just below the blade. Her eyes went wide as he slammed the blade into the ground at an angle. She wasn't prepared for the sudden halt. Her hands slipped and she fell to collide with Vaughn.

Unseen to her was the blade that he had pulled out of his belt that sunk deep into her body with a sickening sound. The blood spilled from her as he twisted the blade in her side then yanked it from her then shoved it in again. Farther and deeper into her body than the first stab.

She gasped, her mouth opened wide in shock, her teeth grew longer in agony and anger at what he had done to her.

Connor eyes opened at the sound of flesh being torn. He could see the vampire stabbing her, the sound that he had once loved now made him feel disgust. So much blood, he couldn't help but scream at the vampire. The part of his memories that had been so fabricated was taking over him. He began to stand only to fall, his leg in pain and he screamed again in both pain and in anger.

The vampire only took delights in Connor's annoyance. "Boy you barely know this bitch!" He shouted at him as he felt her hands grasp to his shoulders for support when he brought his own fangs forth. He knew that the wounds were fatal if she wasn't treated immediately and he could only smile. "Don't believe the lies she spreads."

"She's not the one trying to kill me!" Connor screamed again, blood dripping from his forehead.

"I'll kill you," Mara whispered hoarsely, blood spilling from her lips. "You fucking prick!"

"That day," He began his eyes lusting for her, her blood, and her body. "Will never come you little bitch," He felt her begin to struggle against him. He moved his hand to her head to hold tightly to her hair so she would stop. "You can't fight back. You're too close to death.."

"Father will be pretty pissed when he finds out what you've done."

"Who says he'll find out?"

He tilted his head down as hers began to fall back. His lips pressed against her neck, the feeling of his teeth beginning to puncture her skin made her gasp. Before they could break through her flesh he tilted his head back and roared in pain.

A blade ripped through his body and into her. The strike had come from behind him; he turned his head a bit to look and see Connor. He held the blade by the hilt, gritting his teeth while he held the sword in the vampires. Sweat dripped from his forehead as he held the blade in its position.

Vaughn smiled and laughed looking back to Mara. Her mouth was wide, blood overflowing from her mouth. Her eyes were pained and a white instead of her usual black or husky eyes. Red tears began to flow slowly from them. He smirked at this, and he pulled the knife out of her body and let it drop to the floor then let go of her to push her off the blade that Connor had sunk into both of them. Her body connected with the ground, splashing into a pool of crimson.

He looked briefly down at her before he turned his attention quickly back to Connor. A smirk spread across his face as he spun around. The movement had been so quick that Connor lost his grip on the hilt. Vaughn brought his arm around to grasp the hilt of the sword and he yanked it out of his body.

Connor seemed shocked that the vampire wasn't dead. Any other vampire would have been reduced to nothing but ash after such a devastating blow. Instead the vampire's gaze followed Connor as he moved to get Mara's weapon. All the vampire did was watch him and smile.

"I'm just so lucky today, aren't I?" He questioned Connor, blood trickling from his lips as his wound healed from where Connor had run him through. "To be rid of two pesky mistakes both on the same damn day?"

Connor held the weapon defensively, his gaze traveling to where Mara lay. Her glossy white eyes stared out blankly. As if she were dead. For how little Connor knew about her, he felt a sudden sadness to the loss of her but it left when she began to shake her head at Vaughn's questions and laughed a little at them.

Vaughn looked away from Connor and down at her in disgust and rage. "You act like you've won. You haven't you know that."

She looked to him; her mouth was being drowned in the crimson color of her blood. "I..I have the Five Bloods.."

His eyes grew wide in horror at her statement.

Connor simply looked between the two. He did not understand what she meant by the Five Bloods. He could tell the Vaughn did though. The sheer horror in his eyes when she had stated it had made him become fearful as well.

"Where are they?" He asked her fearfully and forcefully. She laughed even more at him, choking on her own blood as she did. "Mara, where in the hell are they?"

"They're here."

"Where?"

The building shook suddenly and everything seemed to shift. The coloring, the shapes, the sounds, everything. Connor was knocked off balance and collided with the nearby bookcase to fall onto the ground. He looked up to see Vaughn make his way to Mara.

Grasping tightly to her shirt he yanked her up so her upper body was lifted off the floor. "What the fuck did you do?"

"They have mixed," She smirked off at him. "They will bring back the ones now needed. Those thought forever lost in the depths of hell or the clouds of heaven will soon return."

"You little bitch!" He screamed at her bringing out a blade and placing it on the edge of her throat. "Do you have any idea what you've done? You've killed us all!"

"Look," She told him nodding her head up towards the ceiling where a violent wind had erupted.

He slowly turned to look upon the site that took place above him. Two bright balls of light, both shooting lightening from them had begun to raise forth, one arising from hell the other descending from heaven. The one from heaven sparked bright blue lightening streaks while the other from hell sparked great red bolts that collided dangerously with the ball of light from heaven.

The two as they came closer and closer to one another began to grow larger and had wind pick up about them. The wind was almost hurricane force and blew books from the shelves.

Once the balls of light only the size of the fists now they were the size of cars.

Connor stared up at the sight when he heard the door open. He turned to see Angel, Illyria, Spike and Gunn enter the library.

Their eyes immediately went towards the sight that took place above their heads. Staring in awe of the mass of colors and the force. Angel's eyes didn't stay focused on the objects for long. He looked to Connor who stood staring up at the sight as well. He called for him but he didn't hear him over the chaos that was ensuing.

Angel's gaze turned to Mara. Vaughn had left her side for shelter while she lay there. Her head tilted to the side, blood dribbling from her many wounds but they were slowing. She wasn't watching what was happening above their heads. Only laying motionless waiting for it all to end.

The sound of thunder clapping around them made him turn his eyes back to the second floor.

The two lightening balls where giants now, spinning around each other at a rapid speed. The speed only increasing as well as the size until they finally exploded into millions of tiny lights with what felt like a sonic boom. The loudness hurt everyone's ears and their eyes were blinded from the lights. They all turned away, shutting their eyes and covering their ears.

The wind that came from the explosion was a force to be reckoned with and sent them backwards and onto the floor. Grunts and groans came from the sudden wave of wind but all was silent as the lights fell like fireworks on the forth.

Mara smiled softly, whispering from her blood soaked lips. "They've returned."

A:N: Thanks once again for reading! Please continue the reviews! I love them and you know it!