Disclaimer: I don't own Angel or any of the characters on the show or any monologues from the show that I might use. So, please don't sue.

A/N: So…this storyline has been in my head for sometime now. I always thought the AI crew could use some big help and that Angel deserved to be human. He deserved to be happy and be a hero. Call me overly optimistic or naïve, but I really wanted him to have a happy ending.

Anyway, enough of my foolish rambling, on to the first chappie.

(P.S. – I am going to update my other stories, relax. I have about 3 chapters of T.S. ready. I want to have 6 chapters ready before posting the next chapter up. Please put up with me.)

"So do we have a plan?" Spike asked.

"We fight," Angel said simply.

"A bit more specific?" Spike shot back.

Angel walked forward, "Well personally, I kinda wanna slay the dragon."

Chapter I: A New Face

"All I wanna do is some serious damage," Gunn panted out. A hand on his wound, he walked forward unsteadily and slowly, blood pouring out in streams of red.

"You're gonna see a whole bloody hell of damage, Charlie-boy," Spike answered him with a dark smirk. The blood on his face slowly trailed down his cheeks with the rain giving him a more dangerous look. Spike turned back to the demon horde that was running closer.

"Let's raise some hell," Angel said darkly. He raised his sword up and began running toward the mass of demons. Spike followed him in a quick pace while Illyria walked behind them in s swift pace. Gunn hobbled as best he could behind her.

As the two sides of the war reached to about 15 feet within each other, Angel heard a small snap! sound from up above but ignored it, concluding that it must have been one of the demons who had made the noise. He continued to run forward until Illyria said something that made him stop.

"The creatures are not moving," she said flatly. "Neither is the falling water moving."

Angel slid to a halt about 5 feet away from the demons to find that she was right. Spike stopped beside him for a moment before walking up to the closest demon. The raindrops around him moved aside as Spike walked forward.

"Bloody 'ell, little blue over there's correct," Spike exclaimed incredulously He walked around a stout, red horned demon wearing black rags carrying an axe that was raised up with both arms. Spike stared at the demon amazed and walked around him until Spike was face to face with the demon. He raised his hand and pointed a single finger between the horns of the demon. "I wonder if…"

"I wouldn't do that if I were you," a young, feminine voice spoke out from behind all of them. "You don't know if they'll stay frozen if you move one."

The remaining A.I. team spun around to look behind, Spike removing his hand and Gunn moving slower than the rest. Gunn began to sway and started to fall. Before the A.I. team could realize it, a small person had caught Gunn from landing hard on the solid ground. Angel, Spike, and Illyria ran quickly to his side only to find a young girl with black hair pulled up with a pair of silver chopsticks that looked dangerously sharp. Gunn started gasping for air as blood continued to pour out from his fatal wound.

"You're hurt pretty badly," the girl murmured. "Let's see if little me can help you."

While she was talking to Gunn, the group around the two watched the young girl. She could not have been more than 15, yet the features on her face spoke differently. Frown lines appeared on her forehead as she looked at Gunn. Her eyes were dark, small nose, and a frown was placed on her lips. The girl was wearing dark jean jacket, with a black shirt underneath and a pair of tight black jeans with black low-heeled boots. She looks like a miniature Faith before she was reformed, Angel thought.

The girl started to pull something out from the sleeve of her jacket only to be stopped by the tip of Angel's sword at her throat.

"Whoa, hold up for a minute," the girl held up both hands. "I'm just gonna cut his shirt open so I can look at his injuries a little better, 'kay? I'm not gonna hurt anyone. I'm gonna do the opposite, I'm gonna try to heal him."

"Why should we believe you?" Illyria questioned the girl, her gaze sharp and piercing.

"Because if I wanted to hurt anyone I would've done so already," the girl stated matter-of-factly. "Look can we hurry this up. I wanna save him before he dies."

Angel watched her carefully for a moment before lifting his sword away. "One wrong move and we won't hesitate to kill you," he said threateningly. The girl nodded and reached back into her sleeve to slowly extract a small, thin dagger. Gunn began to breathe lightly, a sure sign that he was slipping.

"Hold on for a little more," she murmured soothingly. She sliced open his shirt easily and parted the sides to reveal a bruised and bloodied chest. She slipped the dagger back into her sleeve and looked down at the man. Large cuts oozed blood but a large wound above the right kidney oozed the most blood. Placing a pale hand over Gunn's heart and another hand underneath his head to raise it up a bit, she said quietly, "I need you to open your eyes for me Gunn. I promise to make everything feel better."

His eyes fluttered open and his gaze was caught in hers. "That's right," she muttered. The hand over his heart began to glow a soft green light. The gang around them watched in amazement as the cuts on Gunn's chest began to heal and close up, leaving no trace behind. The large wound on his right healed more slowly than the others, but also healed without a mark.

On the floor Gunn gasped as he felt warm heat spear his veins. It didn't hurt, but it didn't feel comfortable either. "Relax and breathe in," a warm voice told him. It reminded him of honey dripping from a spoon. He could sense no malice from the voice, only comfort. Gunn felt a small hand behind his head and one on his chest.

Spike watched as the little girl take a deep breath before taking her hands off Gunn. She scooted back a few feet from the group and started coughing violently. He watched as blood came out of her mouth as she continued to cough and dotted her hands crimson red. Angel had kneeled down beside Gunn and slowly sat him up.

"You okay, Gunn?" he asked.

"Yeah, I think so," Gunn said slowly. "How did this happen? I know I was one foot in the grave, but then the next thing I knew I felt like I was being tossed into hot water like a vamp in sunlight."

"The girl…" Angel started. He looked up to find her wiping her hands with a dark emerald handkerchief that was soon stained with blood from her hands. Her eyes were closed, blood on her lips, and her chest heaving up and down, trying to catch her breath. She opened her eyes to find everyone looking at her in a questioning way and shook her head.

"I know you have questions," she said, wiping the blood away from her lips. "But right here and now is not a good choice to have a conversation. I don't know how long they're going to be frozen for; maybe a minute more or even a few days, we're not having this conversation here. Let's go somewhere else."

"You mean run like scared little girls," Spike spoke back sharply. He didn't like this new girl, just like he didn't like new people.

"You wanna stay and die?" she shot back.

"Better to die in battle than die as a coward," he said grimly. She opened her moth to say something but closed it quickly.

"How about a compromise?" she proposed.

"What do you have in mind?" Illyria asked.

"You can kill the first wave of attackers and I'll finish the rest," she said. The girl looked at the A.I. team one by one, starting with Illyria and ending with Gunn. "Look, I know you don't know me and you're wondering who I am and why I'm here. I don't have time to answer any of that just yet. I will tell you that there are masters here at work, the people who sent these demons after you. You kill them, and these demons die. Do you want to stay here and fight these pawns or do you want to go after the big guys?"

"How do we know this ain't a trap?" Gunn asked her.

"You don't," she answered. "But since I obviously healed you from dieing at the hands of those flippin' wounds you had, I think I earned a little trust. What do you need to know about me that's gonna convince you to trust me a little?"

Angel stood up from the ground and watched her closely. She seemed honest enough, a little too young though. The fire in her eyes told a different story, one of conviction, passion.

"Your name," Angel asked her. She blinked in surprise, not expecting the question.

"Adelaide, Addie for short," she answered. "Can we go now? I think I saw the dragon move."

"You think you can walk Charlie-boy?" Spike asked Gunn and offered a hand.

Gunn took his help up and brushed himself off. "I haven't felt this good since…ever. But I think I'm gonna need a new shirt."

"Yeah, sorry about that," Addie said sheepishly.

"No harm done," Gunn said carelessly. "Besides I think I value my life more than my shirt. Thanks by the way."

"No problem," she answered back. Addie picked herself off the floor and checked the area around her in case she dropped anything. "So are we ready to go?"

"Where will we be going and how will we get there?" Illyria asked, tilting her head to the side.

Addie smirked. "We're traveling through me, and we're going to see the Oracles."

TBC

A/N: So how do you think of the first chapter? PLEASE REVIEW! I'd love to have your opinion.