Cornelia The Vampire Slayer

by Carycomic

A BTVS/POTA'68 crossover.

Synopsis: What is killing off apes in the night?

Disclaimer: I do not own/profit from any of the recognizable characters/concepts.

Chapter 1.

The two gorillas led their horses through the underbrush, looking for any sign that their missing comrade had passed this way.

"I just don't understand it," said the senior of the two. "It's not like Bruno to desert his post!"

"Maybe he just wanted to get a jump on the big manhunt, tomorrow," replied his fellow scout. "Bag himself a nice trophy head."

"Oh, come off it, George! He's served longer than the two of us put together. No way he would jeopardize a manhunt!"

"I don't know, Dirk. He's facing mandatory retirement after this! So, maybe he wants something more than just a pocket watch as a souvenir."

Dirk's only response was to suddenly hold up his right fist for silence.

"You hear that?" he finally asked.

"Hear what?" countered George, in an annoyed whisper. "It's as quiet as a church out here."

"Exactly!" Dirk whispered back. "It's _too_ quiet. Even the crows have stopped cawing!"

That was not the only peculiarity, however, as suddenly their horses began to whinny and rear in some kind of nervous agitation.

"Whoa! Whoa!" exclaimed George. "Something's got them spooked."

"Yeah," replied Dirk. "And whatever it is, it's straight ahead of us. You stay here and hold on to them! I'll continue forward for a better look."

The slightly younger gorilla was in no position to argue. He just alternated between holding on to both bridles and looking over his shoulder at Dirk. The latter having now unslung his carbine before lowering himself on to his stomach and crawling forward like a fur-covered snake.

Five minutes later, Dirk reached the edge of the underbrush. There, he carefully reached towards the pouch on his right hip. Removing from there -with a slight amount of difficulty, due to his attempts at remaining stealthy- the binocular field glasses that were part of a gorilla forest ranger's standard equipment. He looked through them, using his left index finger to adjust the focusing wheel. And, when he had accomplished that...

...he immediately regretted doing so.

"George! Mount up and ride back to camp for reinforcements. On the double!"

APE CITY (1 HOUR LATER)

"Hi, Mom! I'm home."

Zira frowned at her daughter.

"Cornelia? You're late."

"I stayed after school for some extra credit work. I told you about it, last week!"

"What would you need extra credit for?" her mother demanded. "Your last report card had all straight A's."

Cornelia put her hands behind her back, looked at the ground, and shuffled her right foot on the floor.

"Would you believe I'm trying to up them to an A+?"

"Cornelia!" her mother half-sang in a warning tone.

The sixteen-year-old chimpanzee sighed. "Fine! I was with Cousin Lucius. Helping him write signs for the protest march, tomorrow."

"What protest march?"

"Against the so-called 'hunt', tomorrow. You know as well as I do, Mom, it's really just a plain old slaughter!"

"Oh, Cornelia! How many times do we have to go over this? The humans have to be annually culled or they'll overrun our farmlands."

"You're beginning to sound more like Dr. Zaius every day."

Cornelia's hands flew to her mouth, even as she uttered those words. But, it was too late. Her frustrated thoughts had been verbalized. Instantly putting her mother on the verge of a temperamental display that was sure to bring the house down!

"How dare you. . .?" she began.

The rest of what she intended to say -or, more likely, scream- was cut off by a knock at the door. Or, more accurately, a very frantic pounding upon it.

"Who is it?" Zira yelled, in as polite a tone of voice as she could simulate just then.

"It's Dr. Zaius!" came the impatient response.

Both she-chimps gasped. But Zira got a hold of herself and quickly motioned for her daughter to sit down at her customary place at the dinner table and pretend to be studying. Only then did she open the front door. If only to keep the second round of pounding from knocking it off its hinges!

"Dr. Zaius," she began. "What a pleasant surprise! To what do we...?"

"This is not a social call, Dr. Zira. We have need of your forensic experience down at the Ministry of Science."

Zira tilted her head in puzzlement.

"My forensic experience?" she echoed. "Whatever for, sir?"

"Two bodies have just been brought in from the frontier near The Forbidden Zone. One of them, a gorilla with thirty years' experience in the Forestry Service! He was supposed to be keeping an eye on the humans last night. Making sure they didn't slip past our lines undercover of darkness. This morning, he was found dead near the humans' favorite watering hole. His body rendered positively livid from head to toe... by exsanguination."

tbc