Tell me the truth (Angel)

[Akeelah]

Akeelah studied the other girl in silence while she waited for a response, wondering what must be going through the other girl’s mind. Did Angel think that she might be in danger from the huntress now? Akeelah wouldn’t put it past the girl to think that. Even the huntress did not know if she would go that far. Now that she saw….this…she just didn’t know what to think anymore. This was more than just a pride thing. Yes it did bruise her ego somewhat that as a huntress she couldn’t tell who was human and who wasn’t. It was a big issue really but it wasn’t the only problem. As a huntress it was Akeelah’s duty to kill any demon that she came across to protect the innocent. She had thought Angel was one of the innocent and promised to protect her because of that. But if she wasn’t, and she was in fact a demon herself then Akeelah was obligated to kill her.

But even if Angel was a demon did that mean that she was a threat to others? So far she had never seen the other girl attack anyone besides Roman who quite frankly deserved it. What if she was a demon who never harmed a human being before, should she still kill her? And what if she still wasn’t human but wasn’t a demon either, what then, did the same rules apply then? The situation was a little too complicated for her liking. It certainly was too complicated to deal with at this moment, well too complicated to talk about here in any case. That was why she suggested taking this to her place. They could use the time that they were sheltering there to talk and then she could figure out what to do about it then.

When Angel agreed to follow Akeelah nodded in satisfaction, things were going to move along now. “Good, let’s go.” She said, walking over to retrieve her school bag now and, waiting for Angel to come along began the journey to her place. The walk over to her place was not too long from her perspective, after only fifteen minutes in silence they finally arrived at her place. Akeelah’s home was nothing special, just a simple small two story house in a relatively quiet neighbourhood. Akeelah made her way over to the front door and pulled her keys out of her bag. Within moments the door was opened and she signaled Angel to come in with her.

The inside of the house too was nothing particularly interesting. The place itself looked pretty plain, plain white walls, no real decorative style, not even pictures on the walls, nothing that would give off anything about the person actually living in it. Akeelah lead Angel into the living room, offering her a seat on the couch. “Do you want anything to drink? Coffee, tea, water, anything?” she asked the other girl once Angel had sat down. If Angel said yes she would head off into the kitchen and get something for her. If not she would take up the seat on a chair opposite from the couch. For a moment she didn’t say anything, not sure how where to go with this. But finally the girl sighed, might as well get started.

“What are you?” She asked rather bluntly. Might as well just come right out and ask right? There was no other way that she could think to word it so she went with that route, hoping at least that she would get an honest answer.

[Angel McCoy]

Angel followed suit and went to swoop up her own belongings. She paused and took a longing glance at her car which sat alone in the school's parking lot however decided that the walk would be much better to help ease her mind about going with the demon huntress, for right now Angel did not know the other girl's intentions. For all Angel knew, Akee was taking her back to her home to kill her outside of the public's eyes.

Apprehensively, Angel willed her legs to move and she followed Akeelah as the huntress led her to her home. Luckily, Angel was relieved to find the walk uneventful and even though the inkling of fear ate at her, she even found the walk to be peaceful, that was until they reached their destination when the realization that Akeelah was a demon hunter who probably considered Angel to be a threat came back to her.

Taking a deep breath, Angel followed Akeelah into her home where she was taken aback by the bareness of the place. It looked as though no one spent a lot of time here, and although this should not of been a comforting feeling, Angel couldn't help but to feel a tiny tingle of warmth for one positive thing about the experience was at least this was a place that Roman wouldn't be able to locate her.

Following Akee, Angel found herself being led to the living room where she sat herself down on the couch and accepted Akeelah's offer for a coffee. Admittedly she found herself needing an energy boost after the fight with Roman.

As she waited for the huntress, Angel took the time to look around, while doing so she could feel the effects of whatever had come out this afternoon was starting to fade and Angel could feel some of her more prominent features starting to return to normal. When Akee came back with her coffee Angel knew the huntress would be able to see the difference in her appearance once again, she would be able to see Angel was back in her rightful human form.

Angel watched as Akeelah came back with a steaming cup of coffee. She couldn't help but appreciate the warmth that the emanated from the cup, however knew that it was crunch time when the huntress sat down across from her and asked the one question Angel was dreading- "What are you?" she asked Angel quite bluntly, this leaving a girl who normally had answers for everything quite flustered, however, deep inside Angel knew that Akee deserved an honest answer for this, after all she had saved her from Roman's clutches more than once now.

Foolishly glancing around her as though someone was going to pop out, Angel decided it was a safe question to answer. " Alright," she started, " I'm a sorceress." The answer was as blunt as the question asked, Angel waited for Akee's reaction however before adding anything else. It would be best if she gave her explanation in small doses as she knew from experience that it was something Akee would probably want to let soak in.

[Akeelah]

It had been surprisingly easy to get Angel to come along with the huntress to her house. The other girl did not even bother to struggle with her or make a fuss; instead she walked along side Akeelah in silence until they finally reached their destination. Akeelah had to wonder if that was because Angel had no idea just what kind of trouble she might be into. No, Angel probably did have some idea about what could happen to her if left alone with the huntress for too long. That was what people in Akeelah’s line of work did; killing off what they knew weren’t humans. It was in their job description; though Akeelah’s specialty was demon killing that didn’t mean that she wouldn’t kill anything that she thought could be a risk to the rest of the human population. Demon, vampire, anything that wasn’t human was on the list so long as they were a threat. What made Angel so confident that Akeelah would turn on her the second that they were off the streets? Did she have something up her sleeve?

Akeelah did her best to hide the thoughts that were running through her mind while she led the other girl inside her house and offered her a seat, only speaking up to offer her something to drink while she was there. When Angel asked for some coffee left her in the living room to go and make a cup in the kitchen. After getting the kettle started Akeelah grabbed a mug and started fishing around for the coffee, her mind still on the task at hand. What was she going to do with the girl named Angel? If she had to fight her it probably was not going to be easy. But now that she was here in the privacy of her own home she did have an advantage over the other girl. If she had to she could easily keep Angel in the basement and hold her up in there till she could properly dispose of her. There were some weapons down there too that were at her disposal if she needed it. Though with the kind of powers Angel had the girl might just be able to turn Akeelah’s own weapons against her.

Akeelah pulled out the ground coffee beans she gave a heavy sigh. Look at me, already planning the girl’s death before I even give her the chance to speak… she thought. She couldn’t help but feel dirty about that. It was her duty to wipe the inhuman vermin off the face of the earth but the thought of killing Angel because of that didn’t sit well with her. She didn’t even know why that was; sure she had said she would protect the girl but beyond that though the girl didn’t mean anything to her. At most Angel was only a possible lead to Roman, who in turn might be her ticket to the person she was really after, Liam. It wasn’t like the girl was her friend.

Friends….heh…like I would ever have one of those… Akeelah was a loner, and for good reasons too. It was too risky trying to get close to anyone; she couldn’t afford to bring anyone else down with her until her vendetta was finished. Hearing the water reaching its boiling point she took the kettle off, filled the cup and mixing the ground beans with it, adding a little milk and sugar for flavor before heading back over to Angel. Like it or not if she had to do it she would kill the girl, her duties came before her own feelings for the other girl, no matter what those feelings were. But first she had to hear her out.


“Here you go.” She said, passing the cup over to the other girl and returning to her own seat, noticing that the other girl’s appearance had returned to normal. For a moment Akeelah just watched the other girl, thinking of how to go about how to go about her little interrogation. In the end she gave up and asked the obvious question. In silence Akeelah watched Angel’s reaction, eyebrow raised questioningly when she saw the other girl looking around as if half expecting someone else to be eavesdropping. When she finally did answer the question her response was just as blunt as her question.

A sorceress huh? Akeelah had not expected that. Of course Akeelah knew very little about magic beyond the fact that some demons used some form of magic themselves. Humans could learn to wield it to but Akeelah never dabbled in it, it didn’t really go with her line of work. “Sorry, I don’t really know much about magic.” She admitted. “But from what I do know about magic wielders I never heard of anyone changing their appearance just from using it.” Was Angel trying to lie to her? She hadn’t a clue, but if she really was a sorceress as she claimed she was she could probably explain that part to her.

[Angel McCoy]

Angel took a long look at the warm liquid which sat within the cup which Akee had handed her. Paranoia must have been setting in for she found herself questioning even this small gesture of kindness, afterall, Akeelah was a huntress of demons and whatever else lurked in the night, there was no telling what was going through her mind as she sat there across from Angel awaiting an answer.

However little Angel knew about the huntress, she did know one thing about her in which was obvious since the day they first met. Akeelah hated demons and her mission was to exterminate them. For what reason however, that was something she didn't know, this was something that perhaps she never would know weather she lived or not.

Whatever the reasons were, Angel did not blame the huntress one bit. In fact she could feel her own drive to exterminate them (especially Roman) only become stronger since Luke had been taken away from her.

Angel braved a sip of the coffee and took another deep breath as she tried to prepare her thoughts. She wondered where to start and decided it would be the easier answer first.

" To be quite honest." She answered Akee's first question, " I'm not sure why I change, all I know is that when I feel my energy beginning to build up its almost as though my body can no longer handle it so something else takes over."

Angel went on to explain the first time her powers had revealed themselves, it had been the day her mother had been murdered and her sister had been taken away. It had been a day that Angel would remember forever for there was never a day where she would feel as much pain emotionally as she did that day.

" Mostly my powers only ever kick in when I feel like I'm in danger. Like today at the school with Roman. Or then that time at my house, I mean, they're always there, but they're greater when I feel like I'm being threatened."

Angel looked up at Akeelah, surely the huntress would be bound to have more questions for her however she decided she would allow her to ponder this first.

[Akeelah]

Akeelah did not know whether she should be pleased or not after Angel admitted that she was a sorceress. On one hand she felt a sense of relief wash over her, Angel was human, she wasn’t a monster that had to be destroyed, she was just like her. No, not exactly like me she reminded herself. Akeelah never learned how to use magic, most humans did not even believe in such things. So the people that used magic were few and far between. Akeelah’s knowledge on magic and the people who used it was just as vast as those that wield it. Her father had never taught her about these things, he never had the chance to. The only thing that she knew was that demons and other supernatural creatures like them used it. But she did know that humans could master it too. This was the first time though that she encountered a sorceress though and she did not know what to think about it. There was a chance that Angel was lying to her, claiming that she was a sorceress to throw her off. She couldn’t blame her for taking that route, anyone in her spot could probably tell what the huntress was thinking then and if they were smart they would either make a run for t or try to lie. But the way Angel said it and the mere fact that she had come all the way to her home despite everything Akeelah doubted that Angel was lying.

It was too soon for Akeelah to relax just yet, she had to find out all that she could about Angel first. After hearing what Angel said Akeelah would decide from there whether tonight would be Angel’s last. Maybe she should do some research after this to make sure that what she said was true. So she pressed on with her questioning, hoping to learn all that she could to ease her concerns. She waited patiently, watching Angel take a sip of the coffee before she finally answered the question. Akeelah remained silent while Angel talked; listening carefully to what she had to say. She showed no emotion on her face when Angel admitted that she had no idea why her appearance changed though she did feel a little disappointed. Angel’s lack of knowledge there made it a little more difficult to check up on the facts.

But that changed when Angel revealed her past. Akeelah couldn’t help but lower her gaze while Angel talked about what happened to her family. The similarities between her and this girl were a little too much to take. Akeelah already knew that the girl had lost her father, that alone earned the girl her sympathies, but she never knew what had become of the rest of her family. The circumstances might be different but the outcome was the same. They were both orphans and all because someone took the lives of the ones they had cared for. Now that she knew this Akeelah felt even more like an ass. Life was bad enough when you lost the people that you loved were gone, but having the one person you thought you could trust contemplate murdering you on top of that was just too much. It disturbed the huntress how much this fact bothered her too. She was suppose to be calm, cool, and collected. She was suppose to be able to push aside her personal feelings so she could make the right decision, to do her job properly. But lately she was messing up, letting her emotions cloud her judgment. Her anger had caused her to lose to Liam and now with this girl…

“I am sorry.” Akeelah said a little awkwardly, finally looking back at her. “About your family that is.” Smooth Akee, very smooth. she thought bitterly. She really was bad at trying to talk to people she didn’t want to avoid or just hate. Being mean was easy when what the other person thought about her did not matter. What could she possibly say to Angel to make up for forcing her to talk about her past anyway? Akeelah might be able to understand what Angel felt but that did not mean she knew how to make her feel better. But trying to make up for that was not the top priority right now, or at least it shouldn’t be.

[Angel McCoy]

The quiet once again filled the Akee's living room, however this time the tension which was once there leaked out and this time was replaced by something different. Sadness.

Angel did not have to read Akee's mind to feel the pity coming from her, in fact she recieved this quiet grieving a lot when she told her story about her mother, however, never before was she able to openly admit to why her mother had been the target of such a brutal fate.

Staring downwards, Angel could feel the flood of emotions begin to take over as she began remembering her mother's lifeless body after the tragic end. The men who killed her had been cruel and uncaring, they had even went so far as to taking Angel's younger sister. What fate the little one had was still unknown, but she could only imagine the pain and suffering that the terrible men had bestowed upon her.

The silent pain and suffering continued up until Akee spoke. Angel looked up as the huntress apoligized to her. Shocked Angel opened her mouth to speak for there was no need for Akee to have to apoligize, it was the men who should have apoligized.

" This is why I need to kill Roman." Angel spoke very quietly as she managed to control the emotion in her voice. " Luke was the only family I had left. I loved him as though he was my real father and because of Roman he died."

" I know this may sound bad, but I'm grateful in some ways for these powers. Although I have no clue on how to control them properly or even the origins behind them, I know that with them I may have a chance to defend myself with them. And perhaps someday I may be able to extract revenge to those had tore my family away from me."

[Akeelah]

“Don’t be sad about being grateful for your powers.” She said, “I was raised to be live that one should use what they either were born with or learned to their advantage. If I had your kind of power I wouldn’t hesitate to use it if it meant saving my skin or someone else’s.” Angel wasn’t the only one who was grateful for her unusual gift, Akeelah was too. It was Angel’s magic that helped her in their fight with Roman. Akeelah didn’t think that the demon was too powerful for her to take on her own but that didn’t mean that she didn’t appreciate the help. Angel’s powers might just be what they needed in order to take him down. The demon was hard enough to take on alone with man-made weapons, but with magic? Perhaps there was some hope for them if they could pull it off. If Angel trained herself more she could accomplish that goal.

Angel’s reason why she wanted Roman dead was yet another similarity they had. It seemed that the Delowski brothers both had women in their life that wanted them both dead to avenge the deaths of their loved ones. They are both trash that need to be disposed of she thought. It was only natural that Roman was like his older brother in that sense. They were both hell spawns that shared the same blood; it was almost natural that the younger one would follow in the other’s footsteps. She couldn’t allow either one of them to live a moment longer, they were only bound to ruin another innocent person’s life if not destroy it.

“I Don’t know if I can help you find the group responsible for your mother’s death. From what you said I think that group is human. They could be working under a demon but it’s impossible to tell that from what you told me. Sadly I have no expertise in dealing with evil humans.” In fact Akeelah preferred to stay out of other human affairs. She knew that mankind wasn’t always kind to one another, there was always someone willing to hurt others and as painful as that thought was it was not her place to judge them like she did with those that weren’t human. But this time she was willing to make an exception. That was, if she could find some trace of those vermin.

“But I can at least help you with your demon problem.” She said. “I already said before that to your boyfriend that I would help take Roman out. I probably would’ve tried to kill him anyway if I had heard of him before then.” She paused for a moment, there was something else that she was about to say but she had been hesitant to mention before. But now she questioned whether it was right to hold back that information. Before things had been simpler when she hadn’t been too deeply involved but right now things had changed and what Akeelah wanted could potentially conflict with what Angel desired. “There is something I should tell you….I have a bit more of an interest in your enemy beyond just protecting you.” Akeelah sighed before continuing.

“When I was a kid my entire family was slaughter right before my eyes….and the murder, just happens to be the brother of your enemy.”

[Angel McCoy]

Angel looked up quietly thinking about her own first encounter with Roman's older brother Liam. It had been right after Roman had used his power to persuade her to spend the night with him.

A tremor went through her as she thought about that night. First he had been kind, she had no idea what or who he was at that time, she had no clue that it was his power in which she had caused her to open up and leave herself vulnerable to his will. It made her feel quite ill.

However she did learn one thing from that night with Roman. The younger of the two Delowski brothers had the utmost fear for his elder sibling. This was a fact that Angel didn't have to read his mind to be able to tell. Roman was terrified, she could see it when Liam had arrived after that night, and she was able to see the fear when Liam had shown up for their fight at the house the night Luke had died.

Quite frankly, Roman was right to fear his brother. After the research she herself had done on him, anyone, friend or foe would be wise to fear the fire demon.

She herself remembered the night she had taken a walk in the woods. She had no other choice but to rely on her powers to be able to flee away, but this still did not shake the terror that Liam had caused her that particular night.

" I understand." Angel said quietly, she understood all too well the hunger to avenge a loved one, to be the survivor was one of the hardest parts in the world to play for with that came the responsibility to bring justice to that person no matter the cost. " I'll help however I can."

[Akeelah]

Akeelah shook her head. “I am not asking for your help in taking him down.” She said. “Liam is my prey, he killed my family and it’s my duty to take him down by my own hands.” Akeelah had made that vow the night she had lost her family. If he died by someone else’s hands it wouldn’t have the same satisfaction for her than if she ended his life herself. “I am only letting you know about this in case my own desire creates a conflict between us.” How that might happen she had no idea but it was still a possibility that she didn’t want to over look, the first time that she came face to face with Liam she had let her emotions get the better of her and because of that she had lost. The second time around when she teamed up with Adrian to go after Roman the same thing almost happened again. As hard as Akeelah tried to not let herself be swayed emotionally in a fight she knew that it would be hard not to when it came to Liam. Sometimes it felt like the only reason for her to keep living was to take him down someday.

Akeelah forced those thoughts to the back of her mind. As worrisome as her level of control was against that demon now was not the time to think of it. She would deal with it later. “Liam is only one of our problems though, possibly one that will rear its ugly head again if we are not careful but our real problem is the younger brother.” Roman right now was her biggest concern. He was the reason that she had to protect Angel and was just an equal threat to mankind as his sibling. Akeelah leaned back in her chair and ran her hand through her hair while she thought of what to do about the younger brother. Roman was strong but it seemed like she could take her down on her own. It would be a long and difficult battle but it there was a chance that she could win. But with Angel there to help the odds were even greater. She had seen firsthand what the girl was capable of and knew that with her there they could accomplish their goal.

The only problem was the risk that she would put Angel through if she took her along. Akeelah’s moral code refused to let her bring someone into a fight that could put the person in danger. If something happened to tip the scales in Roman’s favor and he took advantage of that to get at Angel, what might end up happening to the girl would be on her hands. “If we have any chance at all to take down Roman we need to build our strength both individually and as a team to increase our odds.” She said. “Roman is tough but not invincible, we both proved that today. I could take him out by myself but it wouldn’t be easy…but if we both take him on together we have even a greater chance at finishing him off. I am sure you would be more than happy to take his life with your own hands so this arrangement would be much better.” Akeelah was certain that Angel would rather join forces with her than just let her do all the work. She could feel the contempt of the demon coming off the other girl, Angel wanted Roman dead but that didn’t mean that she wanted someone else to end his life for her.

“If you want to do this we need to make some preparations first.” She continued. “First I want you to continue practicing your magic skills. They are useful and with more training you could become stronger or discover new abilities that could help out in a fight even more than what you are already capable of.” Akeelah had no knowledge of the magic arts but she did know that practice helped to make one stronger. Angel was strong but it wouldn’t hurt to make her stronger. “But I don’t want you to put all your focus on magic. It’s good to have but if something happens that makes it impossible to use it then you are screwed. So along with that training I want you to learn how to fight in hand to hand combat, assuming that you have no experience in that. If you do already then it doesn’t hurt to sharpen up those skills just in case. We can both train together for that, we will need to anyway so we can learn each other’s fighting style and function better as a team.”

“Training is only half the battle though. In order to defeat your opponent one must know their opponent. We need to learn about his fighting style, his habits, anything that could help us to formulate a plan to take him out.” Akeelah knew little about Roman beyond what she heard from Adrian, Angel, and what little she had seen of him thus far. That could end up being a problem later; it was something that she would resolve before she went to face him again. “I’ll go and see what I can find out about him later on so we can be better prepared when the time comes. Anything else that you might know about him could be useful too.”

[Angel McCoy]

Angel listened intently. She could feel the determination seeping from Akee, and with that she gained an understanding. The huntress had every right to seek and gain revenge for her father's murder. With this, although Angel worried for the other girl, Angel would not stand in her way, she would allow Akee to serve justice, even if only to heal the wound that from Angel's not so long ago past she herself discovered she needed to heal.

In a way, she felt admiration towards the skilled demon hunter. It was not as though she was ever not trained. Luke McCoy had trained Angel plenty enough so that she was able to defend herself- but these training sessions had only been to survive. Never had he condoned Angel taking on those whose powers caused chaos and turmoil to the world. In fact, Luke took that role on himself, he had been the hunter in there family, he and a group of men around town.

She felt the threat of tears once again forming behind her eyes, it was true that Luke was going to be another issue she would have to deal with thanks to Roman. If it hadn't of been for her stalker, Luke wouldn't have been dead and changed into one of those shadows of the night. He would have been there for her, protecting her and this town instead of being against it.

" I'll do whatever it takes to bring him down." She said quietly as she reflected on a furture that would never be. Within her, she could feel whatever it was that fueled her powers silently agreeing with her, and with this it had brought some warmth and comfort. For once, her and whatever it was that emerged finally agreed.

[Akeelah]

Akeelah let out a soft sigh of relief when Angel agreed to work with her into taking Roman out. It was a good thing that things ended up the way they did today. The day had started out with the huntress’s fear that she would have to kill the person she had sworn to protect. But instead the day had end with Akeelah managing to gain an alliance with another potential hunter to take down two of the most dangerous demons that she had ever known. Well, one of them anyway. Roman was their main target for now, as much as Akeelah wanted to bring Liam down as well Roman came first. Liam was the only one that the girl wanted to bring down on her own, Angel didn’t need to be dragged into her dispute with the older brother. But they were probably going to have to face Liam as long as they were after Roman. For the time being they would be fine. Once they started training and gathering information they would be better prepared to take the demon brothers on.

All of that was work that they had to do in the future though. For now there were other things that they had to deal with first. Akeelah’s thoughts drifted back onto the fight they had with Roman earlier that day. Despite the mild victory the girls had a big problem. There were too many bystanders to that fight, many of whom had no knowledge about the seemingly human looking man. So far the cops had not come running to her door but there was no way of knowing yet if she and Angel were in trouble with the law. Their situation would only turn worse if they had more than just having demons on their tail. “I am glad to hear that.” She said as she stood back up. “But all of that is stuff we can do later. Right now we might have a bigger problem than that. We had a lot of people who witnessed what we did today and no way of knowing if anyone of them called the police over that, or if they managed to identify us to the cops if they did.”

Akeelah peered out through the curtains and to her relief there were no signs of anyone or anything watching the house, it was a small relief if nothing else. “Tonight we might be safe but we are going to have to be careful for the next few days. Tonight I’ll pack a few things to take just in case we have to leave. You should probably stay over for the night just to be safe. We will go over to your house first thing in the morning so you can do the same. If you want to stay in that house I should probably move in with you. That way it’s harder for people like Roman to drop in and cause you trouble.” Akeelah didn’t mind having to move out for awhile if it meant insuring the other girl’s safety. It would be easy enough to back for the trip if she needed to. “…we are probably going to have to skip school for awhile too.” Again Akeelah sighed. Going back to school right after all of this was only going to cause problems. They couldn’t do anything until the heat blew off. Just when I finally started going back to school too…