Xander growled and stepped nearer, and Cordelia shrieked. "Don't come near me!" she cried, pressing up against *Angel* of all people. She couldn't believe that her boyfriend, the one boyfriend she was actually beginning to have actual feelings for, had turned into a vampire. No way! But the proof was there, coming right for her.
"Get away!" she shrieked again as Xander continued, steadfast towards her and Angel.
Xander tore his attention from Angel to look at Cordelia with sad eyes. "I'm *not* going to hurt you," he said softly. Then he shifted his gaze back to Angel. "Let her go, and then we'll fight. It's me you want to get back at."
"Yeah, I really want to get you back, I do," Angel mused. "But you see"-he tightened his hold on Cordelia, and she stiffened-"if I kill her in front of your eyes, imagine what it'll do to you." Angel looked down at Cordelia's neck and wished that he hadn't eaten a two (was it three?) teenage girls just a half hour ago, when he was on the prowl. But he could still kill Cordelia if he really, really wanted to. "It'll kill you too."
Xander's eyes narrowed, but he kept his cool at an inhuman level. "I said, *let her go*."
Angel looked up to the sky, as if deliberating whether or not he should follow Xander's order. Then he looked at Cordelia, then at Xander, and the back to his victim. Then he grinned.
"No," he said simply, and then moved to sink his fangs into Cordelia's neck.
Xander was top of him before he even had the chance to move a centimeter towards her neck. Together, the three of them fell, Cordelia screaming for help. Xander was vaguely aware of her, and moved quickly enough to wrench her away from Angel's grip and then to drag Angel to the other side of the fenced- in backyard.
Buffy & Co barely had time to round the corner when Cordelia ran around it first, slamming into Buffy full-force. The two teenage girls bounced off each other, and Cordelia was the one to recover first.
"Ohmigod *Xander's a VAMPIRE*!" Cordelia screamed, grabbing on to Buffy and shaking her.
"Cordelia, Cordelia..." Buffy said, trying to sooth the poor girl, but she would not calm down. "*Cordelia*!" Cordelia snapped out of it and looked, shivering, at Buffy. "We know!"
Cordelia jaw dropped to the floor and her eyes grew twice their normal size. "WHAT? My boyfriend's a vampire and you *knew*? How come nobody told me? Am I not important? Do you know what kind of a shock this is? Ah, ah, ah..." Cordelia took some deep breaths, trying to calm herself down.
The rest of the gang looked worried as Buffy tried to explain to Cordelia what exactly Xander's situation was. Cordelia listened with wide, dull eyes, and seemed like she was about to cry.
"Where's Xander?" Willow asked after Cordelia had wiped away her tears and they had all calmed down.
"He's"-sniff-"fighting Angel in the backyard."
"*What*?" Buffy asked, incredulous. "Xander might *die* and you've been here whimpering to me about *you*? Have you not changed?" With that, Buffy brushed the Slayerette off and ran around the corner, hopefully soon enough to save her friend's hide.
Xander let out a yelp of pain as Angel grabbed him by his shirt and slammed him into the wall of the Chase house. The force of the hit sent a shudder through his spine, but it was quickly gone. Enraged, Xander kicked Angel hard in the chest, and the older vampire let go of the younger one, Xander sliding to the grass and crawling out of the way.
Xander didn't even get to his feet before Angel tackled him and they began to roll around on the ground, getting the occasional kick or punch in. There were a lot of sharp, jagged rocks splayed around the yard to keep the intruders out and to prevent the family dog from running away (as though the mile-high ivy- climbed walls didn't), so Xander and Angel suffered several nasty scrapes on all parts of their bodies.
*It could be worse*, Xander convinced himself as he ignored another blow to his stomach. *It could be wood*.
Idiot her-she had forgotten her stakes. Oh well, she was just going to have to beat him into a bloody pulp until he ran away.
Buffy marched steadfastly towards the two men who were duking it out on the ground. Vampire or not, Xander was not a match for Angel, and she was. She was the Slayer, Angel a Vampire, and it was finally obvious to her as to what she should do. What she should've done so long, long time ago.
With decisive strength, Buffy reached out and yanked Angel off of Xander, throwing him against the wall. Stunned, Angel slid down the wall, and Buffy was heading towards him when someone grabbed her roughly by the arm.
". . . the hell do you think you're doing?" Xander shouted at her, practically dragging her against him. Buffy gave him an astonished look and then proceeded to open her mouth and try to explain.
"No, wait, I don't want to hear it! But I want *you* to hear *this*. This is *my* fight, and I'm going to fight it, dammit! You had about fifty million chances to kill Angel, and zip-zero-nada, you didn't. So now it's *my* turn, and *back off*."
Buffy was going to argue with him, but the Slayer-Sense in the back of her mind told her not to push Xander's already strained limits. "Alright," she told him. "But-"
Angel decided he was done waiting and that action needed to be taken. He slammed into Xander, completely ignoring the Slayer, and continued his interrupted fight.
He was losing and he knew it.
That was possibly the only thing he knew. Xander was so engrossed in the fight that he was only vaguely aware that Buffy had left the two brawling vampires alone, but she and the others were still somewhere near. They were only fuzzy perceptions at the back of his mind, while whatever was left concentrated on the fistfight.
It's not like he was losing on purpose, although it was very much his fault. The fact that Angel had 200+ years tucked under his belt and Xander had one night didn't really matter-Angel was up to full strength and he was not. He hadn't drunk the blood, he still had the aching, yet surfaced-healed wound, and while battling Angel he had to keep the demon inside quiet, because it was beating down his doors of willpower. The angrier he got, the more control the demon had over him, and Xander was angry.
And scared, and even more angry. He could already see that Angel was going to win, and he lose. But he was not going to ask Buffy for help, and he would do anything he could to not lose, except...
There was one way, one *sure* way for him to win, but Xander didn't want to do it. He was afraid that if he did it, he might not be able to *un*do it, and he would be lost forever. But he couldn't let Angel win, let Angel win and go and do some more evil stuff. So he would have to make a sacrifice...
God, he never thought he'd actually be making a sacrifice for anything or anybody. He never seen himself as that kind of person. But, he had been through a lot of changes...
They all knew that it was rude, sick, and disgusting to watch this fight, but they couldn't help it. Xander had been hinting for centuries that he was going to end Angel, but they had never truly believed it. Now that it was two vampires against each other in a definite fight-to-the-death, their eyes were glued to the scene, not one able to tear their gaze away.
"He's going to die," Willow mumbled to herself, not even noticing that she and Cordelia, enemies to the last, were hugging each other in fear that the one thing they both loved might be gone soon. "He hasn't a chance."
"I know," Cordelia mumbled back, her grip on Willow's arm tightening as Xander took a hard blow to the head. "I know."
"I can't *believe* he won't let me help him," Buffy said with clenched jaws and fists. Her way of expressing her fear at the moment was through anger. "I swear, if he doesn't get better... I'm going to jump in there anyway. He can't expect me to just *sit* here. I have to-" her voice choked up and she couldn't finish her sentence.
The three girls and the boy sat there, trying to find a way to get through this, when Angel tripped Xander and got on top of him. The older man grabbed a fist full of Xander's hair
*my god he's going to rip his head off* Buffy thought
and moved his arm back to yank...
"NO!" Buffy screamed, completely disobeying Xander and running towards the two.
He was going to pull the bugger's head off, going to pull it off and watch everything turn to dust, when he received a well-aimed kick in the manly parts.
With a grunt, Angel let go of Xander's head and rolled off to him. No sooner than in a second was he picked up by the folds of his jacket and throw over the backyard fence into the front yard.
Having thrown him, Xander ran and took a flying leap over the fence, landing right before the crumpled heap of Angel. He grabbed his jacket again and threw him onto the top of the pointy, sharp, chain-link fence.
Angel screamed in pain as his wrist was impaled by all the little bits of metal atop the fence. They were quickly out, thought, as Xander kicked his legs and sent him over the fence, Angel landing on his face in a pile of dog manure.
Now he was picked up by his back, and flung back into the yard. His head rammed into an obstacle, and looked up to see his face dangerously close to a chip of oak. He quickly scrambled away, intent on trying to find a way to get away from this newly motivated creation of his.
But it was futile. Someone grabbed him by the hair and yanked his head up, turning his head around in almost a full Exorcist twist, had he not moved his body also. Xander loomed over him, with a sparkling grin filled with sparkling fangs and the glow of the sheer kill in his eyes. "I knew I was going to be there when you died," he chuckled, tightening his grip on Angel's scalp. "I just didn't know I'd be the one to do it."
With that said, he lifted Angel up off the floor by the hair. Closing his eyes, Angel moaned and prayed to whatever merciful God there was. But it was no use. Xander intended to finish what he had begun.
With a grunt, Xander picked him up and threw him into the center of the oak tree. The large, spindling branches on the tree went right through Angel's body, impaling him to the oak. In the center of it, one large, thick branch stuck straight out of his heart, and Angel reached out to touch it with one weakening hand.
"Damn," he whispered incredulously before he turned to dust in the wind.
"Get away!" she shrieked again as Xander continued, steadfast towards her and Angel.
Xander tore his attention from Angel to look at Cordelia with sad eyes. "I'm *not* going to hurt you," he said softly. Then he shifted his gaze back to Angel. "Let her go, and then we'll fight. It's me you want to get back at."
"Yeah, I really want to get you back, I do," Angel mused. "But you see"-he tightened his hold on Cordelia, and she stiffened-"if I kill her in front of your eyes, imagine what it'll do to you." Angel looked down at Cordelia's neck and wished that he hadn't eaten a two (was it three?) teenage girls just a half hour ago, when he was on the prowl. But he could still kill Cordelia if he really, really wanted to. "It'll kill you too."
Xander's eyes narrowed, but he kept his cool at an inhuman level. "I said, *let her go*."
Angel looked up to the sky, as if deliberating whether or not he should follow Xander's order. Then he looked at Cordelia, then at Xander, and the back to his victim. Then he grinned.
"No," he said simply, and then moved to sink his fangs into Cordelia's neck.
Xander was top of him before he even had the chance to move a centimeter towards her neck. Together, the three of them fell, Cordelia screaming for help. Xander was vaguely aware of her, and moved quickly enough to wrench her away from Angel's grip and then to drag Angel to the other side of the fenced- in backyard.
Buffy & Co barely had time to round the corner when Cordelia ran around it first, slamming into Buffy full-force. The two teenage girls bounced off each other, and Cordelia was the one to recover first.
"Ohmigod *Xander's a VAMPIRE*!" Cordelia screamed, grabbing on to Buffy and shaking her.
"Cordelia, Cordelia..." Buffy said, trying to sooth the poor girl, but she would not calm down. "*Cordelia*!" Cordelia snapped out of it and looked, shivering, at Buffy. "We know!"
Cordelia jaw dropped to the floor and her eyes grew twice their normal size. "WHAT? My boyfriend's a vampire and you *knew*? How come nobody told me? Am I not important? Do you know what kind of a shock this is? Ah, ah, ah..." Cordelia took some deep breaths, trying to calm herself down.
The rest of the gang looked worried as Buffy tried to explain to Cordelia what exactly Xander's situation was. Cordelia listened with wide, dull eyes, and seemed like she was about to cry.
"Where's Xander?" Willow asked after Cordelia had wiped away her tears and they had all calmed down.
"He's"-sniff-"fighting Angel in the backyard."
"*What*?" Buffy asked, incredulous. "Xander might *die* and you've been here whimpering to me about *you*? Have you not changed?" With that, Buffy brushed the Slayerette off and ran around the corner, hopefully soon enough to save her friend's hide.
Xander let out a yelp of pain as Angel grabbed him by his shirt and slammed him into the wall of the Chase house. The force of the hit sent a shudder through his spine, but it was quickly gone. Enraged, Xander kicked Angel hard in the chest, and the older vampire let go of the younger one, Xander sliding to the grass and crawling out of the way.
Xander didn't even get to his feet before Angel tackled him and they began to roll around on the ground, getting the occasional kick or punch in. There were a lot of sharp, jagged rocks splayed around the yard to keep the intruders out and to prevent the family dog from running away (as though the mile-high ivy- climbed walls didn't), so Xander and Angel suffered several nasty scrapes on all parts of their bodies.
*It could be worse*, Xander convinced himself as he ignored another blow to his stomach. *It could be wood*.
Idiot her-she had forgotten her stakes. Oh well, she was just going to have to beat him into a bloody pulp until he ran away.
Buffy marched steadfastly towards the two men who were duking it out on the ground. Vampire or not, Xander was not a match for Angel, and she was. She was the Slayer, Angel a Vampire, and it was finally obvious to her as to what she should do. What she should've done so long, long time ago.
With decisive strength, Buffy reached out and yanked Angel off of Xander, throwing him against the wall. Stunned, Angel slid down the wall, and Buffy was heading towards him when someone grabbed her roughly by the arm.
". . . the hell do you think you're doing?" Xander shouted at her, practically dragging her against him. Buffy gave him an astonished look and then proceeded to open her mouth and try to explain.
"No, wait, I don't want to hear it! But I want *you* to hear *this*. This is *my* fight, and I'm going to fight it, dammit! You had about fifty million chances to kill Angel, and zip-zero-nada, you didn't. So now it's *my* turn, and *back off*."
Buffy was going to argue with him, but the Slayer-Sense in the back of her mind told her not to push Xander's already strained limits. "Alright," she told him. "But-"
Angel decided he was done waiting and that action needed to be taken. He slammed into Xander, completely ignoring the Slayer, and continued his interrupted fight.
He was losing and he knew it.
That was possibly the only thing he knew. Xander was so engrossed in the fight that he was only vaguely aware that Buffy had left the two brawling vampires alone, but she and the others were still somewhere near. They were only fuzzy perceptions at the back of his mind, while whatever was left concentrated on the fistfight.
It's not like he was losing on purpose, although it was very much his fault. The fact that Angel had 200+ years tucked under his belt and Xander had one night didn't really matter-Angel was up to full strength and he was not. He hadn't drunk the blood, he still had the aching, yet surfaced-healed wound, and while battling Angel he had to keep the demon inside quiet, because it was beating down his doors of willpower. The angrier he got, the more control the demon had over him, and Xander was angry.
And scared, and even more angry. He could already see that Angel was going to win, and he lose. But he was not going to ask Buffy for help, and he would do anything he could to not lose, except...
There was one way, one *sure* way for him to win, but Xander didn't want to do it. He was afraid that if he did it, he might not be able to *un*do it, and he would be lost forever. But he couldn't let Angel win, let Angel win and go and do some more evil stuff. So he would have to make a sacrifice...
God, he never thought he'd actually be making a sacrifice for anything or anybody. He never seen himself as that kind of person. But, he had been through a lot of changes...
They all knew that it was rude, sick, and disgusting to watch this fight, but they couldn't help it. Xander had been hinting for centuries that he was going to end Angel, but they had never truly believed it. Now that it was two vampires against each other in a definite fight-to-the-death, their eyes were glued to the scene, not one able to tear their gaze away.
"He's going to die," Willow mumbled to herself, not even noticing that she and Cordelia, enemies to the last, were hugging each other in fear that the one thing they both loved might be gone soon. "He hasn't a chance."
"I know," Cordelia mumbled back, her grip on Willow's arm tightening as Xander took a hard blow to the head. "I know."
"I can't *believe* he won't let me help him," Buffy said with clenched jaws and fists. Her way of expressing her fear at the moment was through anger. "I swear, if he doesn't get better... I'm going to jump in there anyway. He can't expect me to just *sit* here. I have to-" her voice choked up and she couldn't finish her sentence.
The three girls and the boy sat there, trying to find a way to get through this, when Angel tripped Xander and got on top of him. The older man grabbed a fist full of Xander's hair
*my god he's going to rip his head off* Buffy thought
and moved his arm back to yank...
"NO!" Buffy screamed, completely disobeying Xander and running towards the two.
He was going to pull the bugger's head off, going to pull it off and watch everything turn to dust, when he received a well-aimed kick in the manly parts.
With a grunt, Angel let go of Xander's head and rolled off to him. No sooner than in a second was he picked up by the folds of his jacket and throw over the backyard fence into the front yard.
Having thrown him, Xander ran and took a flying leap over the fence, landing right before the crumpled heap of Angel. He grabbed his jacket again and threw him onto the top of the pointy, sharp, chain-link fence.
Angel screamed in pain as his wrist was impaled by all the little bits of metal atop the fence. They were quickly out, thought, as Xander kicked his legs and sent him over the fence, Angel landing on his face in a pile of dog manure.
Now he was picked up by his back, and flung back into the yard. His head rammed into an obstacle, and looked up to see his face dangerously close to a chip of oak. He quickly scrambled away, intent on trying to find a way to get away from this newly motivated creation of his.
But it was futile. Someone grabbed him by the hair and yanked his head up, turning his head around in almost a full Exorcist twist, had he not moved his body also. Xander loomed over him, with a sparkling grin filled with sparkling fangs and the glow of the sheer kill in his eyes. "I knew I was going to be there when you died," he chuckled, tightening his grip on Angel's scalp. "I just didn't know I'd be the one to do it."
With that said, he lifted Angel up off the floor by the hair. Closing his eyes, Angel moaned and prayed to whatever merciful God there was. But it was no use. Xander intended to finish what he had begun.
With a grunt, Xander picked him up and threw him into the center of the oak tree. The large, spindling branches on the tree went right through Angel's body, impaling him to the oak. In the center of it, one large, thick branch stuck straight out of his heart, and Angel reached out to touch it with one weakening hand.
"Damn," he whispered incredulously before he turned to dust in the wind.