The vampire leapt at the young girl standing in front of him. They traded blows for a while, but the vamp's superior strength overpowered the 13 year old. He forced her to the ground and lent over her.
Angel offered his hand down to the Potential he had just defeated. " Nice try" He told her. "But if I had been a normal vamp you would be dead right now."
He turned to the rest of his class. "Okay. Who's next?" he asked. Most of the girls surrounding him looked shocked at how quick the fight had been. They shook their heads as he looked around the room for another volunteer.
Angel was here to train the Potentials in what an actual vampire fight would be like. He couldn't do that if none of them would fight him. He was about to choose someone at random when a small voice piped up from the back of the room.
"Can I have a go?" Kendra asked the large vampire who was instructing them. She thought she could see a few gaps in his style, which she could use to beat him. She walked to the centre of the room where Angel was standing.
Angel smiled down at his young friend. So Kendra thought she could beat him did she? Well she could TRY. "Sure, come on then," he said to her.
The two took up their fighting stances and began. Angel lunged at Kendra, but she easily evaded him. Then she struck out with a kick aimed at his legs. And scored a hit.,/p>
Angel was surprised. The child had actually misbalanced him. He turned the sprawl into a flip and regained his stance.
Kendra smiled to herself. He had fallen at her strike. None of the older kids had made him lose balance. She decided to play it simple, and wait for a gap in his defence.
Angel paused for a millisecond. And Kendra took her chance. She leaped up and hit the vampire full on with a powerful spin kick.
Angel felt himself flying backwards, and tried to rebalance again. But it was no use. Before he knew what had happened he was lying on his back, with a tiny 5 year old holding a stake poised above his heart.
Angel carefully raised his hands to admit defeat. Kendra climbed off his chest and he stood up.
He addressed his class "And that" he told them "is one way to defeat a vampire attack. Good work Kendra." The others girls applauded and looked slightly in awe of the small child who had just defeated a vamp who had to be nearly 3 times her size.
Angel dismissed his class, reminding them to be here the same time tomorrow. Then he went off to ponder how the child had beaten him. He wouldn't fall for the same strategy twice. That was sure.
Kendra looked after the souled vampire. She hoped she hadn't hurt his feelings. He was her friend. She didn't want to make him sad. She shrugged it off. He was just peeved because someone had beaten him. Faith got like that too. She went off to find her friends.
Angel sat alone in his dark room, thinking about his defeat. No Potential had ever beaten him in spar before. And the first time he was defeated it was by a small child. That stung his pride. But it also made him very glad Kendra was his friend. If she wasn't, and that had been a real fight, well he would be a pile of dust by now.
In fact he could just imagine Kendra in the place of many of the girls he had killed as Angelus. If only they had been able to fight like her. So many lives would not have been lost, if someone had just staked him before he regained his soul. Thinking of his terrible past deeds brought a lot to the surface. And set him imagining.
What would Kendra be like when she was older? What about Buffy and Faith? Willow and Oz?
He smiled at the images that appeared in his head. Buffy would still be headstrong. Faith defiant. Kendra, well her he imagined as wholely dedicated, nothing swaying her from the tasks that life sent her.
And all of them, he imagined, would be fiercly competitive. That thought saddened him. He hoped his imagery was not too close to the truth. A friendship could be ruined by competition. He knew that from experience. He had lost so many friends in his human life. He hoped his young friends would remain so. Friends. Forever. And he hoped he would be there always, to guide them and train them.
He shook of the melancholiness that had hit him at the thought of the young ones being older. They weren't. Right now they were fun loving 5- year olds. And he was going to make the most of it.
Angel went off to find his friends. Luckily they were inside so he could join them. They welcomed him eagerly and they began their game.
He smiled contentedly as he raced around after the girls and Oz, playing big- bad vamp. They were young and fairly innocent. And he was going to get the most out of it. Play while they still wanted to.