Author:Philip Wester
Story Title:Angel Season IV - The New Slayer
Category:Celebrity (Angel)
Date Of Posting:2001-
Author's Other Stories:Not A Perfect Love

DISCLAIMER: I do not in any way have anything to do with the production of "Buffy The Vampire Slayer" nor do I have anything to do with Angel. I do not own any rights or know any of the cast. This is all fictional. Any similarities to someone's life, dead or alive, is purely coincidental. And if Fox or their lawyers contact me and tell me to stop writing, I will.

          NOTE: The following story is to play out during the fourth season of Angel (the seventh and probably final one for Buffy The Vampire Slayer). I will add parallel happenings as seasons three of Angel and six of Buffy The Vampire Slayer are aired.


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Angel 4x01
--{: New Slayer Rising - Part I :}--

      "Only three more months 'til they let me out on parole for good behavior," Faith thought as she sat in the women's prison ward, looking at a car passing by beyond the walls.
      She then looked around. The same old scene. Women walking around dressed in the ugly orange uniforms that were mandatory in jail.
      Suddenly, four middle aged women approached her. One of them, obviously the leader, walked in front of the others with a superior smirk on her face.
      "Well isn't it little miss Goody-to-shoes," she said and Faith frowned.
      "Leave me alone, Bertha," she said.
      "Who's gonna make me?" Bertha asked cockily. "You?" Faith's fists clenched and so did her teeth. Her face went red and her body rigid. But after a couple of seconds of struggling to hold back, she managed to calm down.
      "Just leave me alone," she snorted.
      Suddenly, Bertha pulled a small and obviously homemade knife from beneath her shirt. She made a swift stabbing motion at Faith, who dodged the blow. But Berthas sidekicks grabbed Faith and the next stab hit Faith right in the stomach.
      "Bl... press... wha... milli... ms o... cill... in..."
      The words were all incoherent to Faith, who found herself being rolled down a long corridor. Blinding lamps hovered in the ceiling above her, so bright that she had to close he eyes.
      "Help me, B..." was the very last thing that she uttered before losing consciousness.
      "We're losing her!!!!"
      A piercing sound could be heard. An EKG registering nothing...


(Opening Theme plays)

REGULARS
David Boreanaz
Charisma Carpenter
Alexis Denisof
J. August Richards
Amy Acker
Philip Wester

CREATED BY
Philip Wester

(End of theme)

SPECIAL GUEST STARS
Eliza Dushku
Brian Thompson as "Lead Demeter"

Written and directed by Philip Wester.



      It was night. Sounds of police sirens could be heard as a teenaged boy made his way down the streets. Suddenly, a loud honking could be heard.
      "Watch out!" a female voice shouted.
      But it was too late. The car hit boy, who was thrown onto the car's hood. The car came to an abrupt stop and the boy rolled over and fell onto the street.
      "Oh my God! Someone call 911!" a male voice exclaimed.
      "It sounds so familiar." the boy uttered before falling unconscious.


      "Where am I?" the boy thought when he awoke in the hospital.
      He looked down at himself. His yellowed asian complexion had gone pale, even paler than it usually was. He looked at his bangs, which were to long they could cover both of his eyes. Yes, they were still there. And blue. However, his clothes... he was in a hospital gown. He looked around and spotted a closet. He walked over to it and looked inside. Yes, they were there. He took them out and then went into the bathroom and changed into them. He threw the gown onto his bed and then reached into a closet and pulled a black and dark green backpack out and threw it over his shoulder.
      "I've gotta sneak out of here before they demand payment." he thought as he quietly crept out of his room and started to casually walk down the hallway.
      "I just want to see him." A male voice could be heard saying as the teen entered the main hall.
      He spotted the exit and was about to leave when someone put a hand on my shoulder. He spun around and was met by a tall and muscular young man, looking as though in his early thirties with spiky brown hair and a wide smile. He wore a black suit and a gray shirt under, gray slacks and black shoes.
      "Hi," he greeted him. "I'm sorry. You're probably wondering why..."
      "Excuse me, do I know you?" the teen asked.
      "Oh, sorry, I'm Angel," the stranger introduced himself and offered the teen his hand.
      "I'm Jamie," the boy introduced himself and accepted Angel's hand. "Jamie Stevenson."
      "I'm so sorry," Angel said. "I'm the one who run you over last night. You were running and appeared out of nowhere at the corner of the street."
      A moment of silence followed as the two stood there, joined by the hands. Jamie then broke the handshake and gave Angel a warm smile.
      "I was my fault," he said. "Sorry. I wasn't looking. Too much in a hurry."
      "At least let me make it up to you," Angel said. "I paid for your hospital visit. Why don't you come back to my office with me? We could go out for dinner with my co-workers."
      Jamie thought about this for a moment. He had nowhere to go. Besides, he didn't seem to be able to recall what he was doing before he ended up at the hospital. All that he remembered was that his name was Jamie Stevenson and that he used to live in San Francisco. The rest was dim.
      "Sure," he said. "Why not."


      "You paid for his hospital bill?" Cordelia groaned.
      She wore a red dress that ended just above her knees and showed just enough cleavage without making her look slutty.
      "Hey, I did hit him!" Angel protested.
      They were huddled in a corner of the main hall while Jamie was with Wesley, Gunn and Fred. Gunn wore a white shirt, a black jacket and a pair of dark blue slacks, whereas Wesley wore a loose black shirt and a pair of tight blue jeans. Fred wore a black skirt that showed little, if not any cleavage, and that ended below her knees. She also wore a matching black unbuttoned blouse.
      "See, I told him he shouldn't drive around with them bad brakes." Gunn chuckled.
      "Gunn," Wesley groaned. "I apologize for that. He always says inappropiate things like that."
      "H-h-h-here," Fred said and offered Jamie a glass of water. "You must be, feel, be in pain after that, that hit."
      "Oh, it was over twenty-four hours ago," Jamie chuckled curtiously, but took the glass anyways. "But I'm thirsty, though. Thank you."
      He drank it all in one single gulp. "Good water."
      "So, he invited you out for dinner with us?" Wesley asked Jamie.
      "Yeah," Jaime sighed. "I don't want to be a big burden or anything, but he was just sooo insistent."
      "He can be like that sometimes," Gunn chuckles. "But most of the time, he's just a big lug good for carrying around in case some bad guy shows up."
      "And why are you so worried, anyway?" Angel groaned. "I paid out of my own pocket."
      "Tacos!" Fred suddenly exclaimed, causing everyone to stare at her. "I mean, we could go for tacos. You know, for dinner."
      "I could go with tacos," Jamie said and smiled at Fred.
      She smiled too.
      "Show of hands," Angel called out. "All in favor for tacos, raise your hands."
      Six hands were raised.
      "Then it's settled," Angel said and smiled.
      Suddenly, the phone rang. Cordelia ran over and picked the receiver up and put it to her face.
      "Angel Investigations," she said. "We help the helpless. How may we help you?"
      There was a brief silence as she listened to the person on the other side of the line speaking.
      "Faith?" she asked. "Yes, we know her. Yes. Yes."
      More silence from Cordelia while everyone looked at her.
      "Oh my God!" Cordelia suddenly exclaim, causing Angel to walk up to her. "Yes. Yes. Yes."
      She hung up and Angel looked at her with concern in her eyes.
      "Faith... she's in the hospital." she said.


      "Faith?" Angel asked as he entered room 314.
      Behind hind trottled Wesley, Gunn and Cordelia. From behind them came Jamie and Fred. They were all carrying tacos.
      "Angel?" Faith asked weakly from the bed in which she was lying.
      She looked like Hell. Her hair was messy, her skin was pale and there were rings under her eyes the size of grapes.
      "How do you feel?" Angel asked as he walked over with a look of concern on his face.
      He sat down on a chair near the bed while the rest of the gang quietly made their way into the room.
      "Like Hell," Faith chuckles weakly. "Some stuck up bitch stabbed me. At least I'll have to stay here for another two days for observation. Which only means two less days in jail before parole."
      Silence.
      "Apparently, I died," Faith suddenly said, which made Wesley's, Cordelia's and Angel's heads all turn to her in attenttion. "Just for a second. My heart stopped beating because of lack of oxygen."
      "But that must mean..." Wesley started saying.
      "That must mean that now, there'll be three slayers!" Cordelia exclaimed.
      "Slayers?" Jamie asked.
      "Er... hm..." Gunn fiddled and took Jamie by the hand. "Maybe you should go now. There's some very personal issues that need to be worked out here."
      "Alright," Jaime said. "I'll just get mighty confused, anyway."
      "Just remember that if you ever need help..." Angel said and smiled warmly at Jamie.
      "I'll call Angel Investigations." Jamie chuckled.
      He turned around and was about to leave when three demons, all big, tall and covered in brown fur, entered the room. Their eyes were green and their teeth were many and all sharp. They had claws that looked to be at least half a foot long each and their legs were so thin it would seem impossible for them to support their owners' bodies.
      "Kill the him!" one of them ordered in a very raspy voice and the other two immediately lunged at Jamie.
      "Aaah!" Jamie exclaims and threw himself backwards, to the floor.
      He crawled away from the demons, into a corner, and could only stare in horror as Wesley, Gunn and Angel started fighting the demons, taking on one each. Blows and kicks were traded and Jamie could've sworn that Angel's face suddenly got contorted for a short while.
      "Enough!" the lead demon exclaimed. "Kill the boy! The others can wait!"
      With that said, each demon flung their opponents across the room. Angel was thrown right into the wall and sank to the floor panting. Wesley hit a table, which was smashed into pieces at the impact, leaving Wesley to fall to the floor among the debris, whereas Gunn was thrown right into Fred, causing them both to fall to the floor.
      "Kill the boy!" the lead demon ordered.
      Cordelia stepped up in front of Jamie and held her fists up. "Move or I'll use my, my Vogue Powers on you!" she warned them nervously. "I have powers you couldn't even dream off! You better not piss me off!"
      "Kill her! Kill them both!" the lead demon barked impatiently and the two minions lunged at Jamie and Cordelia.
      "Waaah!" Jamie cried out in panic and held a hand out to cover his face.
      Suddenly, an invisible force grabbed the two demons lunging at him and Cordelia and flung them backwards, into the air and right into the lead demon, causing all three of them to fall to the floor.
      "Whoa!" Cordelia exclaimed. "What the heck was that?!"
      "They have awakened!" one of the minions exclaimed. "We're too late!"
      "They are going to have our heads for this." the second minions groaned.
      "Let's not dwell," the lead demon said. "Kill them all! What does it matter if they have awakened? He's still new to this. Now kill him!"
      Jamie didn't get much of the situation, but he did get that he was the one who had caused the demons to fly backwards and when the two minions lunged at him and Cordelia again, he made a thrusting motion with his left arm and both demons were once more hurled through the air, this time landing at the lead demon's feet.
      "Damn!" the lead demon growled. "Retreat! We'll finish this later!"
      The three demons stood up and hurried out of the room, leaving Jamie and Cordelia free to go and help the others get up.
      "Uhhh..." Angel groaned when Jamie helped him back to his feet. "What happened?"
      "I'm not really sure," Cordelia said and looked at Jamie. "Are you?"
      "I'm not either," Jamie sighed. "I have no idea of what I just did... or how I did it, for that matter."
      "But they were apparently targetting you," Wesley said and pointed at Jamie. "The dark powers wouldn't send three demons are powerful as those Demeters unless it was for something important."
      "They want to kill him just because he has the power of telekinesis?" Angel wondered.
      "No, it must be something bigger," Wesley concluded. "Maybe a prophecy. A Messiah? Maybe he..."
      "Hello, still in the room here," Jaime said and waved a hand around to catch everybody's attenttion. "And what the heck are you all talking about? Demons? Telekinesis? What is this? A Whackos-R-Us meeting?"
      "Jamie, you have to understand that there's an entire new world out there, beyond the human," Wesley told Jamie. "How else would you explain those... things that came in here. Or what you just did."
      "Well, whatever it was, both they and you must be victims of mistaken identities," Jamie said and sighed. "'Cause I'm not special. My life is meaningless. In fact, I don't even have a life."
      "Jaime...!" Gunn started saying when Jaime turned around, showing his back to everyone else.
      "This is crazy!" he groaned. "I'm outta here."
      With that said, he left, leaving everyone to stare after him.
      "We have to follow him!" Cordelia exclaimed.
      Suddenly, she looked woozy and as if she was going to fall any minute.
      "Right after this vision." she said as a wave of images featuring Jamie started flashing through her mind, filling her body with pain.
      When she finally came to, she noticed that she was in Gunn's arms.
      "What did you see?" Fred asked.
      "I saw Jamie," Cordelia said quietly. "Fighting a demon. One of those Demeters.
      "Are you positive of that it's him?" Wesley asked Cordelia.
      "Yes!" Cordelia groaned as she gulped down the glass of water that Fred had just given her. "I'm vision gal, here. Hello! I think that I know a liiittle more about these things than you do!"
      "Oh, right," Wesley said. "Sorry. I just wanted to make sure."
      "Why?" Gunn asked. "These are just some powerful bad guys with kickass strength out to kill a boy, right? I mean, so what if someone put them up to it? Why are you making such a big thing about it?"
      "M-m-m-m-aybe they fear him," Fred suggested. "His power, t-telekinesis. It's not very common among humans. And he looked like a human."
      Everyone looked at her.
      "But I could be wrong." she said and looked at the floor.
      "No, you're probably right," Wesley said and Fred looked up again, smiling. "His powers, these demons. These are not just any demons. Demeters don't usually like to go out among humans. This boy, er, teenager, must be very important if someone was to send Demeters after them."
      "What makes you think that they were sent?" Angel asked.
      "Well, Demeters aren't actually known for their intelligence..." Wesley said awkwardly and the others nodded in unison.
      Wesley turned to Cordelia. "Cordy, did you happen to see anything that could help us locate him?"
      "I saw a bird," Cordelia said.
      "Not another bird," Gunn groaned. "The last time we went out for a bird, we got attacked by crazed vamp culties."
      "Culties?" Fred asked, confused.
      "Kult members," Angel whispered to her.
      "Oh." she replied.
      "Anyways," Cordelia said to catch everyone's attention again. "This bird was veeery special."


      "It's that one!" Cordelia said and pointed at a sign featuring a big hawk ridden by a young boy dressed in full armor and swinging a golden sword. The words "Mervin's Shop Of Ockult And Fantasy" were written in silver colored letters on the bottom of the sign.
      "A fantasy and ockult bookstore." Wesley mumbled as the four of them walked up to the threshold.
      Cordelia opened the door and the four stepped inside. People walked around, dressed up as fantasy characters, and looked through the merchandise of the small bookstore. One part of the room had a sign reading "Fantasy" hanging down the ceiling. Books, calendars, games and realistic plastic weapons filled the shelves, whereas on the other side of the shop, where a sign reading "Ockult" hung down the ceiling, the shelves were filled by ockult items, like charms and miscellaneous bags and vials.
      "Fascinating," Wesley marvelled. "Some of these things are very powerful if used correctly."
      He picked up a small bag labelled "Denisof Dust". "And it's on sale!"
      "Oh," Cordelia groaned and rolled her eyes. "You act as if this is your first time in an ockult bookstore."
      "Well, it is!" Wesley said and everyone looked at him.
      "But you're a Watcher!" Cordelia exclaimed. "Or at least you were... until they fired you."
      "Let's not open up old wounds," Wesley said. "Well, I was in one before, with Virginia, but I didn't really get around to really look as the goods, as I was pretending to be Angel. And, you know, Angel's Angel..."
      "What's that supposed to mean?" Angel asked.
      "Nothing." Wesley said and tried not to meet Angel's eyes.
      "Let's not forget about the entire important-boy-gonna-die-soon-issue here," Cordelia said. "And if these demons are as powerful as Wesley says they are, they might just wanna throw in some more corpses, just for fun's and show off's sake."
      "There he is!" Fred exclaimed and pointed at a bookshelf in the Ockult section.
      And there he was, Jaime, reading a small book entitled "Hidden Demons".
      "Jaime!" Angel called out as he and his friends rushed over to Jaime's side.
      "Stay away from me!" Jaime exclaimed and held a warning finger out.
      "What do you mean?" Angel asked.
      "I know what you are," Jaime said while looking straight at Angel. "I thought I saw your face contort while you were fighting those... those... those things!"
      "What do you mean 'contort'?" Gunn asked.
      "Don't try to trick me!" Jaime growled. "I know what you are, you know. A demon. A hybrid. A vampire!"
      Angel and his friends all stayed silent as Jaime looked at Angel with disdain.
      "And from what I've read, you're not a very kind species," Jaime continued. "You have no souls and like killing. Not just for food, but for fun."
      "Well, Angel's special," Cordelia said.
      "How?" Jaime asked with suspicion in his eyes.
      "He's got a soul," Cordelia said and Jaime looked at her quizically. "Well, it happened over a century ago. He pissed some gypsies off and they cursed him with a soul."
      "They cursed him with a soul?" Jaime asked.
      "Yeah, gypsies," Angel chuckled. "They have a weird sense of humor."
      "We have to get out of here." Fred said and kept switching from looking at the exit and Jaime.
      "Why?" Jaime asked.
      "Well, I have a power," Cordelia said. "I get these really painful visions of people in danger. And just about an hour ago, I had one of you. In here. The demons will come here for you."
      "Let's get out of here, then!" Jaime said and the five of them left.
      Outside, on the street, was Angel's black '67 Plymouth. They all got in, Angel in the driver's seat, Jaime in the passenger's seat and the rest in the backseat, and drove off.
      "I've still got to come to grips with this," Jaime said quietly as Angel drove them. "So, Angel's a vampire, Cordelia gets visions. Wesley's obviously the braniac judging by the way that he talks. But what about Fred and Gunn?"
      "Well, Gunn is our muscle," Cordelia said and looked over at Fred. "And Fred, well..."
      Fred looked at her.
      "She's simply become one of the gang," Cordelia said, which made Fred smile widely.
      "And what am I?" Jaime then asked. "Why do these..."
      He turned to Wesley in the backseat. "Demeters, you call them?"
      "Yes," Wesley said and nodded.
      "So, why do these Demeters want my head?" Jaime wondered.
      "Well, THAT we don't know yet," Cordelia said. "Kinda still working it out."
      Suddenly, a Demeter jumped out in front of the car.
      "Waaaaah!!!!" Cordelia and Fred exclaimed in unison while Angel stepped on the brake pedal.
      The car came to a halt and the Demeter jumped onto the hood.
      "The boy!" it growled. "Give me the boy and the rest of you can go!"
      "No!" Jaime exclaimed and made a thrusting motion at the demon with his left arm.
      The Demeter went flying backwards, in the air, straight into a tree. Its back arched and its eyes closed open. It let out a grunt and then sank to the ground and remained motionless.
      "Let's hurry back to the Hyperion." Angel said and stepped on the gas pedal.


      "So, we know that at least three Demeters are after me," Jaime said.
      He, Angel, Cordelia, Wesley, Gunn and Fred were all back at the Hyperion, looking through books.
      "And that I obviously have the power of telekinesis," Jaime continued. "Now, the big question is why."
      "Maybe you're a propheszed religion icon," Wesley suggested.
      "Like the Golden Child," Cordelia said and everyone looked at her. "Or not. Just brainstorming."
      "Well, this is fun," Jamie groaned and stood up. "Demons are after me and all we've come up with is nothing, nothing and, dear lord, even more nothing!"
      He paced around the room and spotted a funny looking hammer in a corner. It stood leaned against a bookshelf. The hammer shimmered as if made out of gold, although it was obvious on the rust that it was simple iron.
      "Cool hammer," Jamie said and leaned down and grabbed the hammer.
      "Be careful, it's very..." Wesley started warning Jamie.
      But Jaime was already halfway there. He picked the hammer up in one swift motion and examined it.
      "...heavy." Wesley finished.
      Jamie put the hammer back down on its original place and walked back to the others and took a seat between Angel and Cordelia.
      "Oh dear lord!" Wesley exclaimed.
      "What?" Angel asked.
      "Speak up, man." Gunn said.
      "I think I know where the new Slayer is." Wesley said.
      "Where?" Fred wondered.
      "He's here!" Wesley said and then pointed at Jaime. "He's right here!"
      "I'm a Slayer?" Jaime asked. "Wait... what is a Slayer?"
      "There is always a Slayer in the world," Wesley told Jaime. "She is given the super-strength of the Slayer to protect the world from vampires, demons and other fiends. And when a Slayer dies, the next one's called."
      "Wait, whatever happened to the "girls only"-rule?" Cordelia wondered.
      "It still stands," Wesley said and everyone looked at him. "But there is one exception."
      "E-e-exception?" Fred asked.
      "Yes," Wesley said and took off his glasses. "In every one hundredth generation, there is a chosen one. He along will stand against the vampires, the demons and the forces of darkness. He is the Male Slayer."
      "The Male Slayer?!" Angel exclaimed.
      "When Faith died, Jaime was called," Weley explained. "That must be why the Demeters are after him. They fear him. There used to be an entire order dedicated to the prophecies of the Male Slayer. Each Male Slayer is usually called when something big is going to happen, like an Apocalypse, even if it hasn't even been one hundred Slayers since the last Male Slayer."
      "I'm part a big prophecy?" Jaime asked. "Wow, this is weird. From a nobody to prophecy boy."
      "If I'm right, then we'll have more demons coming," Wesley said and put his glasses back on again and turned to Jaime. "Jaime, you'll have to train hard, hone your skills and learn how to be a Slayer. Or else, you won't last long in the demonworld."
      "But my power, repekinesis or whatever its called," Jaime pointed out.
      "In addition to the strength of a Slayer, each Male Slayer is given a power," Wesley told everyone else. "This is since each Male Slayer has an important destiny to fulfill."
      "Excuse me," a voice said and everyone turned around.
      Standing there were two men dressed in business suits. One of them carried a briefcase marked "Wolfram & Hart".


      "Lawyers," Angel grunted. "What are you doing here?"
      "Oh, we just came to see Boy Wonder," one of the lawyers, a blonde young man with piercing green eyes. "We heard that a new Slayer was in town."
      "Get out!" Angel ordered and morphed into his vamp face. "Or I'll make sure of that they won't be able to find your bodies for weeks."
      "Oh, we'll go," the second lawyer, a black-haired thirty-something man with deep brown eyes said. "But mark my words, we'll be back."
      With that said, the two lawyers turned around and left.
      "Lawyers," Angel groaned. "Worse bloodsucking fiends than any of us vampires."
      "This prophecy," Jaime said and turned to Wesley. "Do you have any books with references to it? Or booklets. Or even notes maybe?"
      "I don't believe that I do," Wesley said. "The prophecies were guarded by the Order Of Carcas, but they disappeared during a religious war two hundred years ago. No one's seen any of them since."
      "The books or the order?" Cordelia wondered.
      "Well, both, actually," Wesley said.
      "Oh." Cordelia said.
      "Can we find them?" Jaime asked. "Is there the slightest chance of locating any of the books again?"
      "We could call Giles," Wesley said. "He's working for the Watcher's Council again. They might have some information about the fact. I'm sure of that they'll be very excited to hear that a new Male Slayer has been called."
      "Just be careful," Angel instructed Wesley. "Tell Giles not to tell the Council right away. They don't exactly play cleanly."
      "I don't suppose they do." Wesley said quietly and left for Angel's office.
      The gang watched as Wesley picked the receiver of Angel's phone up and pulled a book from out of a desk drawer. He browsed through and then stopped and dialed in a number on the phone.
      "Jaime," Angel said and turned to Jaime. "Do you have place to stay while you're here?"
      "No," Jaime said quietly and shook his head.
      "Any family?" Angel asked. "Will anybody miss you if you don't return home for a while?"
      Jaime thought hard to remember. Then he suddenly remembered something "Well, I ran away. I'm sure of that they'll be looking after me, but that's back in San Francisco."
      "Will you stay here, at the hotel?" Angel asked. "With me. I can't let you go out there alone. Not with hordes of demons out for you."
      "Sure," Jaime said. "But where will I sleep? A hotel as big as this one must have hundreds of rooms.
      "You can sleep with me," Angel said and everyone looked at him. "That is, in my room. Well, actually, in my bed, too. It's kingsized, so we'll both fit."
      Jaime got a weird look on his face.
      "Oh, it's so that I'll be able to protect you," Angel chuckled. "Even if they attack at night."
      "I thought vampires slept during the day," Jaime said.
      "Well, Angel's a little special," Cordelia said.
      "H-h-h-he works during the day," Fred said and Jaime nodded. "You know, protecting the innocent, helping the helpless. That's what we do. So he sleeps at night."
      "Alright," Jaime said and Angel looked questionally at him. "I'll stay, in your room."
      He said that while looking directly at Angel. "I guess I'll feel a lot safer with a big lug to protect me."
      Angel looked over at Gunn, who just grinned sheepishly.
      "Oh, look at the time!" Cordelia exclaimed after throwing a quick look down at her wristwatch. "We better get some sleep. I have a feeling of that we'll have a long day of researching tomorrow."
      "You're probably right," Gunn said. "Let's leave four eyes to his work and go home and sleep."
      "Bye, Angel," Cordelia bid Angel goodbye. "Bye Jaime."
      With that said, she and Gunn left the building.
      "Fred, do you want me to walk you back to your room?" Angel asked Fred.
      "No, it's fine," Fred said with an added chuckle. "You and Jaime go ahead."
      She left and Jaime looked at Angel. "So, which room are you in?"
      "Here we are," Angel said and opened the door to his hotel room.
      He and Jaime entered and Jaime looked the room over.
      "Wow," he gasped. "Nice."
      He then looked awkwardly at the bed.
      "This will feel a bit awkward since I sleep naked," Jaime said and turned around to face Angel.
      He just grinned at the shocked expression on Angel's face. "Just kidding. I sleep in my briefs."
      "Boxers here," Angel chuckled. "Well, you're a Slayer alright. Same witty sense of humor as Buffy."
      "Buffy?" Jaime asked.
      "Oh, she's a Slayer too." Angel chuckled.
      "Is?" Jaime asked. "What happened to the die-rule?"
      "Oh, it still stands," Angel said. "It's just a bit complicated. You see, Buffy died six years ago. She drowned. But she was revived by CPR, however, that was enough for the Powers That Be to call upon the next Slayer. And then, Faith, the girl we saw in the hospital, died, too, on the operating table, but only for a few seconds. And since she, too, was a Slayer, you were called."
      "So from now on, there'll always be at least three of us out there?" Jaime asked.
      "Yeah," Angel chuckled. "I told you that it was pretty complicated."
      "And I thought that my life was pretty complicated before I met you guys," Jaime chuckled.


      Angel sat and watched Jaime sleeping. Jaime's blanket had been kicked down to his waits, so Angel could he is chest heave as he breathed.
      "Sweet kid," Angel thought as he sat there, on his chair five feet from the bed, watching. "He's gonna have it hard in this world, that Slayer. I just hope that he'll be able to cope with it."
      Suddenly, there was a loud banging sound against the closed door of the hotel room, as if someone was trying to get in.
      "Wh-wha-wha-what?!" Jaime exclaimed and awoke with a start.
      He threw himself into a sitting position and looked back and forth between Angel the door.
      "Don't worry," Angel reassured Jaime and stood up. "I won't let anything happen to you."
      Suddenly, the door was busted open and a Demeter jumped inside.
      "Kill the Slayer!" it said in a raspy voice.
      Angel vamped out and lunged at the Demeter, grabbing it by the shoulders. The Demeter threw its head backwards, headbutting Angel right in the face.
      "Aah!" Angel exclaimed and backed off in pain.
      The Demeter did a double take and then spun around once before delivering a hard kick right in Angel's stomach, throwing him five feet back. Angel lunged at it again and delivered a punch in its stomach. The Demeter stood tall and grabbed Angel by the shoulders nad swung him over its head. It let go of Angel, who flew straight through the door and into the doorway.
      The Demeter then turned to Jaime, who was pale-faced by now, and started walking towards him. Angel stood up and lunged back inside, grabbing the Demeter by the shoulders and throwing it to the floor. The Demeter got up and lunged at Angel, hitting him right in his stomach with its head.
      "Ouf!" Angel grunted and fell to the floor.
      The Demeter picked him up and threw him, hard, into a wall, eliciting a loud banging sound. Angel slid down to the floor and laid there, motionless. The Demeter kicked him once to make sure of that he was out before walking towards Jaime.
      "Stay away from me!" Jaime exclaimed. "Stay away or I'll..."
      He made a thrusting motion with his hand and one of the drawers of the cupboard that stood behind the Demeter flew out and fell to the floor.
      "Uh-oh," he said as the Demeter reached him and grabbed him by the shoulders.
      "Kill the Slayer," it repeated and grabbed Jaime into a headlock.
      "Let go off me!!" Jaime exclaimed and tried to fight the Demeter off, but it grabbed both of his hands with its free hand and Jaime was trapped.
      "Noo!!!" he exclaimed.
      The arm that the Demeter had wrapped around Jaime's neck tightened and Jaime could feel himself slip into unconsciousness.
      "N-n-noo..." he gasped for breath before losing consciouness.

To be continued...


Angel 4x02
--{: New Slayer Rising - Part I :}--



SPECIAL GUEST STARS
Andy Hallett
Marc Blucas
Bailey Chase
Marti Noxon
Juliet Landau
Jennifer Slimko as Maara

Written and directed by Philip Wester



      "Uhh..." Angel slurred and opened his eyes.
      They widened when he saw Wesley, Gunn and Fred all standing above him. He looked around. He was on his bed.
      "They must've moved me here." he thought.
      "Angel, are you okay?" Cordelia asked with concern in her voice.
      "We found you lying there," Gunn said and pointed over at the spot where Angel had laid.
      "For how long was I out?" Angel asked.
      "We don't know," Wesley said. "We came back a while ago."
      "'Came back'?" Angel wondered.
      "Yeah, it's morning," Fred said.
      "Oh my God!" Angel exclaimed. "A Demeter came in last night and knocked me out. Have you seen any signs of Jamie still being around?"
      "No," Gunn said quietly and Angel started sniffing around.
      "I can't smell any blood," Angel said. "It must have taken him with it. We have to hurry before it kills him."
      "Aren't we forgetting about the whole 'Slayer-strength-thing' here?" Cordelia wondered as Angel got up and the whole group started moving down to the main hall.
      "But he's untrained," Wesley said. "He might not last long, even with his new power. He's not used to it yet and triggering telekinesis can be tricky sometimes."
      "That's why we have to hurry." Angel said.
      "But where?" Fred wondered. "W-w-we don't know where me is."
      "But I know somone who might do." Angel said.
      "Oh no, no, no, no, no, no!" Cordelia begged. "Please! There has to be some other way! There has to!"
      "Yes, yes!" Wesley and Gunn agreed.
      "C'mon," Angel groaned. "It won't be that bad. We won't have to go out and risk our lives or something!"
      "Please, couldn't we do that instead?" Cordelia begged.
      "Come on!" Angel groaned. "Let's do this!"


      "It's even worse than I expected." Cordelia groaned.
      "The pain!" Gunn grunted.
      "You're here, there's nothing to fear, and I know that my heart will go on..." Angel sang, his voice cracking at nearly every syllable.
      Wesley, Gunn and Fred all sat at a table at Caritas, watching Angel sing, Lorne sitting next to Fred.
      "He shouldn't have gone for a song that hard to sing." Wesley said.
      "We'll stay forever this way, you are here in my heart and my heart will go on and on..." Angel finished singing.
      A small round of applause followed and Angel left the stage.
      "So?" he asked Lorne.
      "Wow, that was an interesing one," Lorne chuckled. "I saw some pretty deep stuff there."
      "So, where is he?" Angel wondered. "Please, we have to know fast!"
      "Well, to answer your first question, he is still alive," Lorne said. "Now, to get to where he is, well, that might be hard."
      "Why?" Gunn asked. "A vamp nest? A cult? A girls' boarding school?"
      "No," Lorne said. "He's in Belize."
      "He's where?!" Angel exclaimed.
      "South America." Lorne said.
      "I know where Belize is!" Angel groaned. "What I want to know is how he got there!"
      "Well, I forgot to tell you something about the Demeters," Wesley said.
      "You don't say." Lorne said snottily and Gunn rolled his eyes.
      "What did you forget to tell me?" Angel wondered.
      "Well, Demeters, they have the ability to fly." Wesley said and a sheepish look washed over his face.
      "I didn't see any wings," Cordelia said.
      "This is a different kind of flying," Wesley said. "Demon, magic, remember?"
      "And how are we supposed to get there?" Gunn asked.
      "Oh, we could simply open up a portal," Fred said and everyone looked at her. "Not to another world. To Belize."
      "You know how to open up a portal to Belize?!" Cordelia exclaimed.
      "The instructions were in the Wolf, Ram and Hart books." Fred said.
      "Wait, we still have them back at the Hyperion." Wesley said.
      "Thank God they didn't stay in their dimension like our did." Gunn said.


      "We need to form a circle." Fred said.
      The gang was back at the Hyperion again, in the main hall, accompanied by Lorne. Four lit black candles were placed so they built up a square. Everyone gathered around and formed a circle inside of the square built up by the candles.
      "Do I have to do this?" Lorne asked. "There'll be a Diana Ross concert next week and I don't really want to be lost in the rainforest then."
      "You are the only one who can track Jamie down," Angel said. "Besides, you don't come, I'll come by and sing once an hour, every day!"
      "You've convinced me!" Lorne said. "I'm coming with you!"
      "Now, don't laugh," Fred said and put the Hart-book that she had been reading down.
      Suddenly, she jerked her arms backward and then forward. And then she started flailing her body back and forth.
      "What is she doing?" Wesley wondered.
      "If you ask me, she's snapped." Cordelia said increduosly.
      "Ht prrg hhz!" Fred suddenly called out and reached her arms towards the ceiling. "Wrrs fdp ykl! Mmnqq, wdgg zltpp!!!!"
      Suddenly, a bolt of lightning struck down in the very center of the human circle and then, a swirling black vortex opened up in the ceiling.
      "Jump in!" Fred instructed the others and then jumped upwards.
      The suction of the vortex caught her and she was sucked into it. The others followed suit and when the last voyager, Gunn, had passed through the vortex, it closed up, leaving no trace.


      "Eeekk!!!!" Cordelia exclaimed when she was spitted out by the vortex.
      She landed right on top of Angel and Fred and Wesley and Gunn landed on top of her, shortly after that. Lorne, however, had someone managed to lang in a big thorny bush. The vortex closed up and everyone stood up.
      "My Armani suit is ruined..." Lorne groaned as he got up and started picking thorns out of his suit.
      "Where are we?" Gunn wondered.
      "It appears as if we're inside of a rainforest," Wesley said and everybody looked at him. "Which is a good sign."
      They were, indeed, in a rainforest. Trees over eight feet reached towards the sky, blocking off the sun. The sounds of birds and monkeys could be heard everywhere and big plants covered the ground.
      "Thank goodness the trees block the sun off." Angel said.
      "So, we're here," Cordelia said. "What do we do now?"
      "One of you'll have to sing," Lorne said. "Any volunteers."
      Angel opened his mouth to speak, but before he'd had the chance to say a word, everyone else in his gang had raised their hands.
      "I'll do it!" they akk shouted in unison.
      "Why don't you sing some lines from "Eternal Flame", curly locks?" Lorne asked Wesley and he looked up to look at the curly bangs that ran down his forehead.
      "Alright," he said. "Close your eyes, give me your hand, darling, Do you feel my heart beating, do you feel the same, Do you..."
      "Thank you, that is enough," Lorne said. "I know where he is. Follow me."


      "Ughh..." Jaime groaned as he began to come to.
      He opened up his eyes and saw that he was apparently moving, though he was motionless. He looked around and saw that he was being carried on the back of one of the Demeters, walking through what appeared to be a jungle. Suddenly, the two other Demeters appeared from behind a tree.
      "Well done," the lead Demeter congratulated the one holding Jaime.
      Jaime closed his eyes just enough for him to see, but not for them to see that he was awake and concentrated on trying to hear what the Demeters were saying.
      Since their voices were so raspy, he could barely comprehend what they were saying, but he tried to, anyway.
      "Are you certain of that he is the Male Slayer?" the Demeter carrying Jaime asked.
      "Yes, Deri," the lead Demeter groaned. "Czor and me have been reading into the ancient prophecies of the Slayer. We are certain."
      "Yeah!" Czor said.
      "Alright, then." Deri said and put Jaime down on the ground.
      "This is my chance!" Jaime thought and made a sweeping motion with his left arm at all three Demeters.
      The three of them were swept off of their feet and Jaime jumped to his feet. He started running, avoiding the trees and plants as if he had been doing it his entire life. He had to get out of there. He knew that if he hesitated at a turn, if even once, they would catch up to him and kill him. He could hear their steps, closing in.
      Suddenly, he heard a gunshot. Then another and another. He turned around to see two of the Demeters down with fatal wounds in their chests. The third, the leader, was approaching him.
      "Oh no you don't!" Jamie cried and made a thrusting motion with his left arm.
      The Demeter was throw back, straight into a tree. It was impaled on a small branch, which pierced its back and burst out of its chest, where its heart was. Blood started flowing out as it let out a great howl before closing its eyes and going limp.
      "God..." Jaime panted and sunk to the ground.
      He then looked around, weary. "But... wait... I heard gunshots."
      Suddenly, he felt a jolt of electricity hit him. He looked up and saw a young man, probably in his early twenties, with brown hair pale blue eyes, dressed in army fatigues. He was holding something that had two poles that exchanged charges of electricity.
      "Ugh..." Jaime grunted and felt himself slowly drift out of consciousness, yet again.


      "This is the third time that we've gone lost!" Cordelia groaned. "What now? Are we supposed to sing another song? Another pretty little song?"
      "Wait, I know this place," Lorne said and everyone looked at him with hope in their eyes. "It's the place where we got lost the first time."
      This brought a big groan out of everyone and Cordelia opened her mouth to sing.
      "Yesterday, all my troubles seemed so far away, Now it looks like they are here to stay, of I believe in yesterday," she sang while everybody looked at her.
      "Alright, I've seen it." Lorne said, but Cordelia ignored him.
      "Where we had to go, I don't know, Lorne didn't say," she sang and Gunn rolled his eyes. "He made guided us all wrong, now I long for yesterday."
      "You don't have to be rude." Lorne groaned.
      "What?" Cordelia asked innocently. "I was just singing. It's not a crime for not knowing the lyrics."
      "Let's just go." Angel said and they started moving again.


      "Umm..." Jaime grunted and flickered his eyes open.
      He found himself in a cell with a steel door. He studied the door. It had bars so that you could look it. When he looked out, all that he saw was an empty hallway. He then examined the walls. Brick. And a window with bars. Suddenly, he felt pain. All over his body. And soreness.
      "Wait, demons don't put people in cells, do they?" he thought and made a thrusting motion with his right arm at the door.
      An invisible force beat at it, but nothing happened. He made another thrusting motion, but got the same reaction. Nothing. He then thrust at the bars of the window. Again, nothing happened.
      Meanwhile, in the hallway, four young soldiers were standing.
      "He looked pretty much like a human, Graham." one of them, the brown-haired man that had electrocuted Jaime into unconsciousness, said.
      "Yeah," Graham, a muscular young man, also with brown hair and blue eyes, though his brighter than the first guy's. "But you know how they are, Riley. Some of them can shape-shift. Take vamps for example."
      "I don't even know why we are supposed to guard him," the third, a pale, yet muscular young man with blonde hair and sparkling green eyes said. "It's not like he'll be able to break through that twelve-inch steel door or something."
      "Don't be so sure of that, Bailey," Graham said. "You saw what he did to that Demonter."
      "Demeter." Riley corrected him.
      "Demeter," Graham corrected himself. "Anyway, with those kind of powers, he might prove to be very dangerous if he gets out."
      Suddenly, the steel door flung open and flew right out of its hinges, slamming into the wall in from of it.
      "Oh my God!" Bailey exclaimed.
      Jaime came jumped out of the cell and stared right at the three soldiers in front of him.
      "So, you are the ones who captured me!" he cried in anger so that his face went red. "Why?!"
      The three soldiers say nothing, but instead pointed their rifles, one each, at Jaime.
      "Get back into that cell!" Bailey cried.
      "What are you?!" Jaime demanded. "Demons? Vampires? Warlocks?!"
      "We're humans, of course!" Graham cried.
      "Then why take me?!" Jaime cried in anger. "Why capture me, a freaking human, as if I was some kind of a demon?!"
      "A human?!" Riley mouthed in shock.
      "Don't bullshit us!" Bailey groaned. "How can you have that power if you're human?"
      "Yes, please tell us." A voice said from behind Jaime.
      Jaime did a double take and suddenly stood face to face with a woman with shortcut blonde hair. She was wearing fatigues, though there were stripes on her arms.
      "What are you, some kind of chief?" he asked her.
      "Not that it's any of your concerns," she said and aimed her own rifle at Jaime. "General. General Matthews. Now, tells us, how is it that you can have those powers if you're human?"
      "Because I come from a long line of powerful fighters that apparently don't live past twenty-three," Jaime said and was met by weird looks from all four commandos. "I'm the Slayer."
      "You're the what?!" Riley exclaimed.
      "Slayer," Jaime said and shrugged his shoulders. "Just found out myself yesterday. Look it up. 'Slayer comma the'."
      "We know what a Slayer is," general Matthews said. "But they can only be female. And although you do have long hair and a strangely smallish frame, you are very much male."
      "You examined me?!" Jaime exclaimed.
      "Well, I didn't," general Matthews said and grinned. "But somebody else did. Now, gush. You can't be the Slayer. What are you, really?"
      "Oh, I am a Slayer alright!" Jaime cried so loud that his face went red again. "If I wasn't the Slayer, I wouldn't have these demons coming after me. And soon, there'll be vampires, too. And forces of darkness, from what I have heard."
      "But how can it be?" Riley asked. "Only girls are supposed to be 'called'".
      "Yes, but in every one hundredth generation, there is a male..." Jaime said. "And since I've always been an exception in everything, I just had to go and become the Male Slayer. And get this weird teleki-whatever power."
      "It's obviously lying," general Matthews said. "Kill it!"
      "With pleasure!" Bailey said and fired off a shot.
      It hit Jaime in his upper right arm and he immediately grabbed it in pain. He made slow prying motions with the fingers of his left hand over his wound and managed to get the bullet out. Blood started streaming out and he hurriedly grabbed it and squeezed it tight to stop the bleeding.
      "Kill it!" general Matthews cried.
      This time, Jaime was ready. He made a quick swinging motion with his good arm and the rifles of the three male soldiers went flying to the floor. Jaime then made a quick double take and did another swinging motion at general Matthews, sending her rifle flying to his feet. He bent down, picked it up and then made a gesturing motion at one of the other rifles. It flew straight into his open hand and he held them both out, aimed at both directions. He nodded at general Matthews and she got the cue. She raised her arms and so did the three soldiers.
      "Now, you're gonna tell me where the exit to this hellhole is or I'll send you all flying!" he cried as blood continued streaming down his wounded arm.
      "I'll show you." Riley said, which caused both Graham and Bailey to drop their mouths open in shock.
      "What are you doing, Finn?!" general Matthews demanded. "This is mutiny!"
      "No, this is awakening!" Riley said. "I thought we had changed. I thought we had gotten beyond this. But I guess that the spirit of the Initiative always will be with us."
      He walked up to Jamie and then unbuttoned his army jacket.
      "Stay away from me!" Jaime cried.
      "Please, trust me," Riley said. "I want to help you."
      Jaime scanned Riley's face for a moment and then studied him closely. Then he nodded. "Alright, then."
      Riley torn a piece of the left sleeve of his army jacket off and tied it around Jaime's wound. The fabric quickly turned red, soaking with blood, though the bleeding did stop after a short while.
      "He's a human for god's sake!" Riley cried at general Matthews. "Only humans bleed red blood and heal slowly. And I'm helping him out of here!"
      With that said, he grabbed Jaime by the arm and started leading him through the hallway, towards general Matthews.
      "On your face!" Jaime ordered and general Matthews had to lay face-down while the two of them passed.
      They crept through the big camp and finally reached the exit and exited into the thick jungle.
      "Why are you helping me like this?" Jaime asked Riley as they continued walking as fast as they could, away from the camp. "You'll have to stand Court Marshall if they catch you."
      "I thought they had changed," Riley said quietly as they walked deeper and deeper into the jungle. "But they haven't. They're just interested in how to use demons and their powers for military causes. And you were almost sacrificed because of that."
      "Maybe you can come and work for the guy that's helping me," Jaime chuckled.
      "Maybe I will," Riley chuckled. "What does he do?"
      "Oh, he helps people," Jaime said. "He runs this detective agency that specializes in paranormal cases. By the way, what did they do to you?"
      "You don't really wanna know." Riley chuckled quietly.


      "Don't tell me, another song?" Angel groaned when Lorne opened his mouth to speak.
      "No," Lorne groaned. "I just thought that you'd like to know that I've located the missing person."
      "Where?" Fred asked.
      "There." Lorne said and pointed behind some bushes.
      And there he was, Jaime, walking slowly with a piece of fabric tied to his left arm. And he appeared to be talking to somebody.
      "Hi, ya'll!" he exclaimed when he saw the others and ran up to them. "I'd like you all to meet..."
      Riley arrived and stared at Angel.
      "Angel?!" he exclaimed.
      "Riley?!" Angel exclaimed.
      "I take it you two have met?" Jaime grunted.
      "Yah," Cordelia said. "If you can call fighting almost to the death over a girl, who happens to be the Slayer who died and started this whole multi-Slayer-thingie."
      "Which Slayer?" Jaime wondered.
      "Oh, Buffy," Cordelia said. "Short, blonde, strong for a human."
      "Anyway, we've got to hurry out of here," Jaime said and looked around wearily. "Some commando guys captured he. Riley here was with them. He though I was a demon. But he helped me escape when he found out that I was human, so he's cool. We've got to get out of here before they catch us."
      "Alright, for a circle, everyone." Fred ordered and everyone formed a circle.
      Fred pulled four black candles out of her pants pocket, lit them and placed them in a square around the circle. She then took her place and opened up the Hart-book that she had lugged around the entire jungle.
      "Alright, prepare yourself," she warned before starting to chant. "Hrrtz hhmm plrrz. Blrrt, pttl, ddsg. Kggh llbmv vdgd... dfgw!!"
      There was a crack of thunder and a swirling vortex appeared over the group. It sucked all of them in and then closed itself.


      "Waaaaahhh!!!" Jaime cried as he, as the last man out, was spitted out by the portal and landed on top of everyone else.
      The portal closed up and everyone got up to dust off their clothes. They were back at the Hyperion again and Riley looked the place over.
      "Well, I've done my job, so I'll just go ta-da." Lorne said with a big cheerful smile and left.
      "Ever been to LA, Riley?" Jamie asked Riley cheerfully.
      "Not really," Riley said. "I had a mission here once, but I didn't get much time to look around."
      "Angel," Jaime said and turned to Angel. "Riley risked his life for me. He quit his job and can now be Court Marshalled. Could he join us?"
      "Us?" Angel chuckled and smiled widely. "There's an 'us' now?"
      "Well, I figured so," Jamie said and shrugged his shoulders. "I mean, Vision Gal, Knowledge Boy, Muscles, Soul Vampster, Rocket Scientist and now, Slayer. Why not include Soldier Boy, too?"
      Angel looked Riley over. Riley frowned and then smile.
      "Alright, then," Angel said. "You're both hired!"
      "Wait!" Cordelia protested.
      "Don't worry, you'll all get to keep your old salaries." Angel chuckled.
      "No, it's not that," Cordelia said. "Although that was good. It's a vision!"
      With that said, she started flailing with her arms as a new wave of painful, scull-splitting images ravaged her. Gunn caught her before she hit the floor and carried her over to a sofa. After a while, Cordelia finally calmed down and Wesley brought her a glass of water.
      "What did you see?" Angel asked.
      "A massacre," Cordelia said weakly and took a zip out of the glass of water.
      She then gave it to Fred, who put it down on a nearby table.
      "It was awful," Cordelia continued. "There were bodies everywhere. Definitely a vamp-job. All victims had neck-wounds."
      "Where?" Angel asked.
      "Downtown, at an airport, in a gate," Cordelia told the gang. "Guess that the vamp must've been coming here by plane."
      "Let's hurry." Wesley said with a determined look on his face.


      "This will be hard," Cordelia whispered as the gang moved down through the gates of an airport, all dressed ib big fluffy jackets, probably hiding their weapons beneath them. "It won't be easy to fight off vamps in a public airport."
      "Everyday's a challenge." Gunn chuckled.
      "Now, which gate exit was it?" Wesley asked Cordelia.
      "Gate 56." Cordelia said.
      They reached it shortly and found dead bodies lying everywhere, wounds with blood running down them on all of their necks.
      "We're too late." Fred said quietly.
      "I can smell the blood..." Angel said quietly while sniffing around.
      "Well, duh!" Cordelia groaned.
      "Not that," Angel said and looked in the direction of an exit. "A stronger smell. All of these people have been drained. I can smell someone full of warm blood. We have to hurry!"
      The group started running, towards the exit, and soon reached it. Angel sniffered around and pointed at two glass doors. They exited the airport and Angel sniffed around some more.
      They kept running, block to block, until they reached an alley.
      "Uh-oh..." Cordelia said quietly at the sight which greeted them.
      Standing there was a group of five vampires, all male, all with their game faces on. They all wore dark clothes and stood ready, as if expecting Angel and the gang. Angel stepped forward and sniffed around a little more.
      "Strange..." Angel said quietly.
      "What is?" Gunn wondered.
      "I can't smell blood on them," Angel whispered to the gang. "They haven't been feeding."
      "Then who did?" Jaime wondered.
      "Well, I did, of course," a female voice said behind the gang and everyone made a double take to face the owner of the voice.
      "Drusilla?!" Cordelia exclaimed.
      Standing before them was Drusilla, her hair long and black, her clothes, a dress, as black as her hair and even her nails had been painted black.
      "I take it you've met before?" Jaime whispered to Wesley.
      "Yes," Wesley whispered back. "Angel, back when he didn't have a soul, killed her family and drove her mad. She is very dangerous."
      "Oh, I'm not crazy," Drusilla said and shook her head a little to regain her human face. "But I'm dangerous, you bet."
      "What do you mean 'You're not crazy'?" Gunn wondered. "We've seen you. And you are crazy."
      "Was crazy!" Drusilla snapped. "Past tense."
      She started approaching the gang, walking briskly and not swaying like she usually did. Her eyes were intense, as if concentrating on something.
      "I found a good little doctor," Drusilla mused and stopped about six feet away from Jaime, who was in the back. "He gave me some medicine and did some bad mojo and poof, I was cured! Do you know what that means?"
      "No more voices in your head?" Cordelia asked.
      "Oh, the voice are still there," Drusilla smirked. "Only now, I can read them better. I know exactly what's going to happen and when it's going to happen. And now that I'm no longer insane, I'm going to be a better fighter!"
      "Whoa-oh," Cordelia said. "That didn't sound good."
      "Why the massacre?" Angel wondered. "Why deliberately drawing us to you? You knew that we'd come looking."
      "Oh, it was to show you my new self," Drusilla laughed, apparentely amused. "But today is not a day for fights. Today is someone's birthday. Or have you forgotten that?"
      "A birthday?" Wesley wondered. "Angel, do you have any idea of who she is talking about?"
      "I don't remember anyone having their birthday today..." Angel mumbled.
      "Oh, not mortal birthday," Drusilla chuckled. "Vampiric birthday, day of siring! Today, on the 27th of October!"
      "Wait..." Angel mumbled. "It can't be..."
      "Who?" Wesley wondered.
      Suddenly, someone walked out from behind Drusilla. It was a female, but her face was vamped-out so it was hard to tell how she really looked like. She shook her head a little and regained her human face. She was a young woman, looking as if twenty of age. She had long wavy and curled hair and piercing green eyes. She wore a light blue dress, a purple shawl with letters and symbols written on it resting on her back.
      "Those letters..." Wesley mumbled.
      "Hello, Angel." the young woman greeted Angel.
      "Maara!" Angel exclaimed.
      "It's Romani!" Wesley suddenly exclaimed and Gunn looked at him questionally. "It's the language of the gypsies!"
      "Oh, how perceptive of you," Maara chuckled and.
      "Who is she?" Fred whispered to Angel.
      "She is the reason why I have a soul..." Angel said quietly.
      "She's what?!" Riley exclaimed.
      "Have you not heard of the Gypsy Curse?" Maara chuckled.
      "Of course we have!" Cordelia groaned. "Orb of Thesulah, weird words, some mumbo jumbo light and poof, a soul!"
      "But has he told you why he was cursed?" Drusilla mused.
      "Actually... no." Wesley said.
      "Oh, his girlfriend Darla brought him a gypsy princess," Maara told everyone. "They fed off her and then threw her dying body away. However, her tribe was outraged and cursed him with a soul."
      "Then... you must be..." Fred said in realization.
      "I am the very same gypsy princess," Maara chuckled. "You see, Drusilla here found me and was kind enough to sire me. I planned to join Angelus and his army, but then my people cursed him with a soul. So I went my own way."
      "Until now?" Jaime asked.
      "Yes," Maara chuckled. "Because something's coming. A darkness that has been foretold and Angel's a part of it. And so am I and Drusilla."
      Suddenly, she reached out with her right arm and pointed directly at Jaime. "And so are you!"
      "This must be why you were called." Angel whispered to Jaime.
      "I deducted that!" Jaime whispered back.
      "A darkness, you say?" Gunn asked Maara. "What kind?
      "An apocalypse, of course." Drusilla chuckled.
      "Of course." Cordelia grunted with sarcasm. "I was so wondering when one of them would finally pop up."
      "So, what's this apocalypse gonna be like?" Gunn asked. "Like, some plague or something? Fire? Invading giant cockroaches?"
      "Oh, you see, not even we know that," Maara chuckled. "Those old prophecing geezers could never speak clearly. So, we don't actually know what's going to happen. Only that there's an impending apocalypse and the vampire with a soul, the cause of his soul and his sired, plus the Male Slayer, are going to be involved."
      "In other words, us," Drusilla chuckled.
      "So, what now?" Gunn wondered. "You gonna kill us all?"
      "We can't kill pieces of the puzzle, now can we?" Drusilla chuckled.
      "Just mark out words," Maara said. "We'll be back! Let's go, boys."
      The five vampires behind the gang started moving, but Jaime turned around and prepared himself for combat.
      "Don't," Angel whispered. "We're outnumbered and you're untrained. We could never take them all. Especially not with Drusilla against us. She may not look it, but she is very strong."
      "Smart, Angel." Drusilla chuckled.
      The gang parted and left a path for the five vampires to pass. They all walked past the gang without any commotion and soon, they, Drusilla and Maara we walking away, slowly disappearing out of sight.
      "Don't you just hate apocalypse prophecies?" Cordelia asked coyly. "They tend to spoil your happy mood."
      "Let's get back to the Hyperion," Wesley said. "We have to check the Scrolls of Aberjian."


(Ending Theme plays)

Executive Producer
Philip Wester

Co-Starring
BerthaMELLISA ALLEN
Bertha's henchman #01DARLA WARREN
Bertha's henchman #02CLAIRE WHITE
Screaming WomanNADJA KZESKINSKI
CzorKEVIN THATCHER
DeriHANS CHRISTIANS HENDERSEN
Anonymous Vampire #1ALFRED NOBELL
Anonymous Vampire #2DAMIEN OLAR
Anonymous Vampire #3JACK MUNRO
Anonymous Vampire #4PATRICK NARSHE
Anonymous Vampire #5DANIEL TATE

Edited By
Philip Wester

Main Theme By
Holly Knight
Cami Elen
Jymm Thomas

Performed By
Darling Violetta

Casting By
Philip Wester

Script Supervisor
Philip Wester

Script Coordinator
Philip Wester

(End of theme)

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