The Zeppo And The Beast
© Jessica Knorr, 1999-2001
www.geocities.com/Area51/Quadrant/6706
RATING: PG 13
CONTENT: Violence, language. Standard "Buffy" stuff.
SPOILERS: You can bet there will be a couple for "Passion", and the second season up to that. This rewrites said episode, and starts just after Angelus killed Jenny's computer.
SUMMARY: Angelus and Xander switch bodies…to stake Angelus' body would kill Xander. To stake Xander's body would…probably still kill Xander(hypothetically, anyway). What's a Slayer to do?
DISCLAIMER: Buffy Summers, Xander Harris, Willow Rosenberg, Cordelia Chase, Rupert Giles, Jenny Calendar, Daniel Osborne, Angelus, Spike, Drusilla and everyone else in the Buffyverse belong to Master Whedon and crew. I'm only borrowing, will return in condition they were received. Except Spike and Angelus, you can't have them back.
They walked through the dark, deserted halls together. All six. Nothing had been disturbed, as of yet, but after their target paid their leader a small visit earlier that night, she'd had a feeling of dread that something was going to happen, bigger than him telling her mother they'd slept together. Slayer, slayerettes and Watcher fell in step through the caliginous school. Cordelia shivered slightly, Xander held his arm around her shoulder. Willow and Oz, recently declared a couple, stalked side by side with various weapons at their disposal. Buffy and Giles, Slayer and watcher, led the way. They stopped suddenly at Buffy's gesture. She prodded her mind through the dim recesses, reaching out.
"There's someone here," she whispered, reaching back to get a stake concealed in her belt. The slayerettes readied their implements and followed behind. All hearts were beating, tense, on alert for anyone or thing that could be waiting to lunge out. There were faint but audible sounds coming from further down on campus. Buffy listened closer, they all strained. There were footsteps, screams and crashes.
"What's going on?" Willow asked fearfully. There was a loud scream and rushed footsteps rang through the corridors. Two sets of footfalls, and another loud scream. There was yet another loud crash, and a figure lit up in the opposite window. Giles' eyes widened behind his wire rimmed glasses at the sight of the woman running. The others gasped at the sight of her pursuer.
"Let's roll," Xander breathed, already circling around to get to her before her stalker did.
***
Jennifer Calendar ran at full speed through the high school, looking behind her every few seconds. Angelus, the vampire stalker who was the one causing her to be in such a panic, was no where to be seen after she'd wheeled the maintenance bin in front of him. Before she could look ahead, she rammed straight into a cold, rigid body. Angelus laughed sinisterly, his game face on and his fangs gleaming in the dull light from outside.
"Jenny," he chuckled, holding her in a death grip. "This is where you get off." He raised his fingers to her mouth to stop her quivering. Then he put his hand on her chin, and just before he fully snapped her neck, something came flying into his mouth, held there. It stank and burned. Garlic.
"Her train isn't slowing down, and you're caught on the tracks," Xander jumped on his back and shoved the stinking herb further into the vampire's throat. Angelus smoked, choked and wriggled in pain. He tried frantically to pull the Harris boy off, but Xander held.
"Xander!" Cordelia screamed. "Get off before he kills you!" Without noticing, his wrist snaked a little close to the demon's mouth. Angelus found this and dug his fangs into Xander, drinking the blood that was mixing with the garlic. Xander screamed in agony and fell back, the herb half bitten in his bleeding hand. Angelus spit out the remaining part and hacked up, coughing, laughing and growling all at once. When he finally righted himself, having given Oz whiplash with his long duster in the process, and glared at the group, Xander's blood still trickling down his chin.
"Oh I'm going to kill every one of you, one by one, like I killed your uncle, just for Harris' stupid mistake," Angelus snarled and gave Xander a hefty drop kick in the side of the head. Cordelia tried to grab his leg but he just stepped on her elbow. Buffy ran forward, stake in hand, and plunged down. She caught only air and had a millisecond to counter before Angelus gripped her by the throat, heaved her to eye level and threw her back to Giles and Jenny. Oz and Willow stood by with crosses up, beginning to move forward. Angelus giggled insanely and bared his fangs. He spat once again, trying frantically to get the garlic out.
"Well you should do it quickly, 'cause we're all gonna be around to see you get staked," Xander hissed. The slayerettes turned their heads to the technopagen, who was presently being cradled by Giles, to see if she was all right. Angelus reveled in the thought of killing them all right then but took his chance and retreated. Buffy lifted her head and found his spot presently vacant, the air free of Bad Vibes that he and every other twisted, soulless demon of the Hellmouth threw off.
"Ms. Calendar," Willow squeaked out, trembling from the presence of the vampire. "What-what were you doing here so late to make…him come after you?"