Angela the Vampire Slayer

Part One

by Kenne Morrison

Disclaimer:  All recognizable character and story elements are copyright Joss Whedon and Mutant Enemy.  This story is for entertainment purposes only.  Not for profit.

Rats scurried from shadow to shadow as the demon made his way through the caverns to where his master was waiting for him.  This particular demon was a servant class specializing in gathering items.  His skin was a pale orange tint and very rough like the hide of a rhinoceros or an elephant.  He was only three feet tall with yellow slits for eyes.  His pointy teeth were crammed together like he had too many teeth for his mouth.  His two horns were sharp and grew from his skull just inches from his ears.  All these features were common features for the Jurgall. 

After scratching the area of his rump near his tall spiked tail, the Jurgall turned a corner into a huge open room.  The room was made of the same earth as the rest of the cavern yet had runes and inscriptions carved into its walls.  There was a tall metal tabard standing in the center of the room with a yellow candle burning a red flame.  The Jurgall's master was standing near the tabard reading from an old leather bound book, his long crooked fingers resting lightly on the pages. 

The master turned glaring at the Jurgall with menacing red eyes from a most hideous face of sharp venomous teeth surrounded by gray mottled skin.  "Well, do you have the item I sent you to retrieve?" He commanded in a tone of impatience that insured a quick reply.

 "Yes, master, its right here."  The lesser demon opened his hand to reveal two feathers of unusual design.  They were black with red specks with white diamonds on the tips. 

"Ah, excellent.  You get to live to serve me another day."  The master replied as his long forked tongue darted out.  The master walked over to the Jurgall and snatched the feathers from his hand.  Turning back to the tabard, the master returned to his task. 

The Jurgall could not help but cower when the master approached him because the master towered over him by at least three times his height.  The master was big even in demonic standards.  He looked like he could not fit inside a doorway if it was any smaller than 9 feet tall, and three feet wide.  The Jurgall stood in the dark corner close to where he entered ready to make a quick getaway as soon as he was dismissed from the master's presence. 

It appeared the master had forgotten that he was there, but the Jurgall knew better than to leave without being dismissed.  Several long fearful minutes passed for the Jurgall, as the master seemed lost in his work.  Finally, the master closed the tome from which he read, and spoke.

 "Soon, everything will be as planned.  I'll be able to rid myself of the Slayer and be ruler of the hellmouth.  I SHALL BE KING!" He bellowed causing his voice to echo throughout the cavern drawing several other Jurgalls into the room.  Several eyes peered from the darkness, as each stood poised for the master's inevitable command. 

"Demons! Attend me!!" the master commanded as somewhere near thirty Jurgall demons appeared in the light cast by the tabard.  They all stood ready to perform whatever task their master commanded that would bring hell to earth.

Buffy was carrying a stack of books from the library that were so high she could not see where she was going.  She almost ran into Willow, before Willow stopped her and started to take books off her stack.  "Buffy, don't tell me you've decided to be Miss Model Student?"  Willow had a way of saying things that always put Buffy at ease. 

"You wish, Willow, but actually these are all for Giles.  He decided since I'm a student here at Sunnydale University to use my student ID to check out books we need in studying up on demonology and the occult.  That way he doesn't have to buy them.  Yay, me.  Doesn't he understand how I hate to look through card catalogs to find the books he needs?" 

Willow had helped Buffy carry the books back to their dorm room.  "Buffy, you were the one that wanted to learn what it means to be 'THE SLAYER', so you shouldn't complain if it requires you to do some actual studying."  Willow gestured with her face to indicate the emphasis on "The Slayer" part.

 "I know, Will, but does it have to be so hard?  I mean, I was up until two this morning cramming for a mid term because I was up all night patrolling after a whole day spent training with Giles.  I swear if I wasn't The Chosen One, I'd just turn in my Scooby badge and go home."  She puffed out her lips at that last comment. 

"Riley still hasn't called, has he?" Her friend consoled.  Riley was supposed to be Buffy's boyfriend, but he left after having a fight with her because she found out he was letting vampires suck blood from him.  It was a little like vampire prostitution because the victim paid to have the vampire suck their blood.  Buffy still couldn't understand the concept.  I mean how can you pay someone to drain you of your blood, something they need to survive anyways.  Sounded like a win-win situation for the vampire and a down a pint of blood for the victim, or donor, since they did the deed willingly.  Riley was a trained demon hunter who used to work for an organization that went bad called The Initiative.  When The Initiative was closed down, he retired from the demon hunting business in order to be with Buffy.  However, about the time things started going south for the couple, his demon hunting buddies invited him to assist them in a demon hunt as a free agent.  Buffy hadn't tried to stop him because she felt like she didn't even know him anymore, however, she had gotten some sense knocked into her about not letting true love pass her by.  She had tried to get to Riley and convince him to stay, but she was too late.  He had already left.

"Hey, no sulking allowed.  Makes buffy into miss cloudy skies." Willow lightly brushed Buffy's hair off her face.  "Besides, you don't need Mr. Rambo, anyways.  You'd probably beat the pants off him if you ever got into a fist fight." 

"Ooh, you probably think if I get over him you might be able to convince me to join you and Tara in a ménage a troi."  Buffy teased treading lightly on the subject of Willow's relationship with the girl she had only met the year before.  Buffy had been the first one to suspect that Willow and Tara's friendship was blossoming into more, but because of Oz, Willow's ex boyfriend combined with the fact that Willow had never shown an attraction to people of the same sex before, Buffy had not said anything to anyone, not even Giles, who seemed to be her confidant as well as her watcher.

"I doubt a ménage a troi would be very exciting with you in it, my friend.  Its quite a damper to be making love to someone and have them scream out 'Angel' or 'Riley' in the heat of passion."  Willow knew she had made a jab as well as a tease in mentioning the name of Buffy's first love as well as her second. 

Angel was a complicated story, and Buffy let the comment slide mostly to prevent from dredging up old memories.  Buffy instead reached out and grabbed the pillow off her bed and threw it at her friend who sat on the bed mere inches away from her.  "Do you ever wonder what your life would have been like if I had not been the slayer and come to Sunnydale?" Buffy asked suddenly.

 Willow thought for a moment.  "No, Buffy, I don't.  I don't think I'd like knowing a world where you and I weren't friends.  How dreadfully awful.  Who'd be my best friend?"  Willow thought about it a second longer as Buffy dwelt on it as well.  Then they started laughing at the prospects of Willow having remained a bookworm nerd and her remaining a clueless lollypop-sucking cheerleader. 

"Oh, I have to run to meet Tara.  We're trying a new spell tonight." Willow replied as she moved to grab some things. 

"Willow, please promise me you and Tara will be careful.  I know you've been practicing Wicca for a few years, but there have been too many times where I've had to visit you in the hospital or had to save you from a backfired spell.  I don't want to have to do it again." 

"We'll be careful, I promise." Willow intoned as she went through the door.

            Falling on her back onto the bed, Buffy let out a sigh.  Being the slayer could be quite nerve wracking at times.  Being a friend could be even worse.

Incantation could be heard as the Jurgall flittered around the cavern.  It had been an hour since the final errand had been run and the final ingrediant had been retrieved.  The master had begun the incantation and the ritual as soon as the Jurgall's had returned.  The Jurgall's were then left to themselves while the master began the ritual. 

Forces of Evil

Forces of Dark

Hear my voice

Hear me Hark

From the realm

From this place

Remove the Slayer

Remove her place

The master recited the words three times before throwing in the final ingrediant, a still beating vampire heart.  Getting the vampire back alive had been what the Jurgalls were assigned to do, but removing his heart before the vampire fell to dust had required a special incantation. 

The master knew that this ritual would work, because it had cost him too much effort and energy to not work.  As the heart hit the copper pot in the center of a fire, flames leaped up from all around the pot and licked the pot cleaned.  The master smiled as he snapped for his demon lackeys to attend him.  If the ritual had been a success, the slayer was gone, never to return.  He had banished her from this earth.  Without a place to banish her to, she was doomed to float ethereally in an abyss between the dimensions.

Tara and Willow had researched the spell.  It was a spell of summoning that was to call someone from another realm to their realm.  Tara had decided that she would try summoning up a demon from the realms of hell to see if she could find out if there was any plans being made by the forces of darkness. 

The circle of protection they had drawn would keep them safe and a soul anchor had been formed to keep the demon from wandering away.  Closing their eyes, Tara began the spell as Willow loaned her strength.  Tara began to sway methodically as she repeated the incantation of the spell.  Willow could feel the room beginning to spin as some energy that they had tapped into began to open the dimensions.  There was a bright flash of light followed by a powerful gust of wind that knocked the girls down as well as breaking the object that Tara was using as a soul anchor in two. 

When the light flashed out, the girls were knocked back hard against the floor.  Willow was the first to regain consciousness and she was uncertain at how long she had been out.  After making sure Tara was okay and waking her up, Willow looked around to see what had been the outcome of their spell.  She was expecting to see some hideous demon laying on the floor anchored to the anchor object.  She was not expecting to see the unconscious form of a young woman no older than her.  The young woman was dressed in a black leather suit with long brown hair tied back in a bun.  In her hand was a wooden stake.