Chapter 2
The next evening they each woke up at the same time, just as the sun was going down. After they put their clothes on and got ready they went back outside to do some patrolling. The ground was still soaked from the downpour that they'd gotten earlier and the air was cold with a slight breeze that tossed her hair about in a chaotic dance of beautiful blonde. The night sky was still painted with dark thunderclouds that lit up with magnificent shades of yellow and white; casting long, devious shadows off the already gloomy headstones.
It had been only about thirty minutes when they caught sight of the first predator of the night. With their stakes ready they went to get a better look of the vampire that had just risen from the soft and moist ground. He was clad from head to toe in a dark dress suit with a white undershirt and a tie but was covered in mud that had started to dry out. His face was set to that of a demon and he let out a few furious growls as he walked aimlessly around the cemetery. Buffy had been in the same situation herself not too long ago.
She watched on with a new feeling for the vampire breed that she hadn't felt before. The newfound emotion could only be expressed in one word--pity. The man that stalked around had once been a person; as had she; and he had a life; like she had once had.
Angel looked down at Buffy because he could tell that she was feeling an inner turmoil. He could relate to her better than anyone. He was also a vampire that knew the difference between good and evil. A hard thing to live with.
"Lets do it already", she said as she stepped forward and brought her stake up in an attack position. It was time for her to do what she did best, and now she did it even better. She had to admit that being turned into a vampire had come with a few advantages that included being able to think like a vampire and better anticipate their upcoming moves. Another of these pluses was that she was stronger, fast and smarter than she would ever have even thought about being before.
She was within a few feet of the monster before he even noticed her presence. Angel stood off in the shadows (waiting to see how her new fighting abilities were). The beast whipped his body around to face her and he spread his feet apart to shoulder length to get the best balance possible. His face would have been frightening to anyone whom didn't know what he was but she was an expert on the subject.
"So much power", he said to himself. "Are you ready to die little girl?"
She damn near chuckled at what he said. "Wrong thing to say junior."
Her face quickly changed to her new fighting face. The defined lines in her forehead and the fangs that filled her mouth made her appear like she'd never been human at all. She then got into her fighting stance, stake in hand, and ready to dust the vampire and put him out of his misery.
He made the first move, probably because he underestimated her. He sent out a punch that started out at his side and moved around at full arm's length. It was a sorry punch and she reacted to it accordingly. She put up her defending arm so that his inner joint caught on her forearm. She then whipped her arm around quickly so that his arm was tucked away tight in her armpit. With one smooth tug on the joint his elbow hyper extended then broke with a satisfying crunch that she could feel as well as hear.
His moans of agony got her blood lust excited and her mouth began to water profusely. This was a feeling that she'd become quite familiar with over the past three months and she was getting much more successful at suppressing it. She pulled the stake up and took just a moment to feel the grain of the wood on her fingers. She plunged the point into his heart with more than enough force to complete the routine task. The expressions of surprise, fear, and pain all wrapped around his demonic face like a blanket that would cover a small child having a horrible nightmare. Only hours after coming back into the world he was facing death once again. The monster began to disintegrate to dust, starting with the very top of its head and slowly working it's way down. Soon there was no skin, just bone, and then there wasn't even that. Now he was just a pile of dust that was quickly tossed away by the breeze and scattered along the wet and green grass of the surrounding graveyard.
"Dust to dust..." She said under her breath in an envious tone. She'd gotten so caught up the emotion that she felt that she had actually forgotten that Angel had superhuman hearing. He stepped out of the shadows that kept him concealed, not really sure what he could say at the moment to ease the pain. He knew from experience that it was just one of those things that she was going to have to work through on her own and that no one could do it for her. Although, he planned on staying with her for a while just for a crying shoulder.
"We need to keep patrolling", she said as she desperately resisted the eye contact that he was searching for. She was more than well aware of the fact that Angel's big dark eyes were more than enough to make her want to share her every feeling. She wasn't going to let that happen.
A snapping sound came from a shadow not too far away and both Buffy and Angel heard it. It was the sound of a branch breaking off of a tree. Someone was hiding and watching them. It was hard to pick up on any scents because of the recently fallen rain and the recently extinguished vampire that still hung heavy in the air.
Why do I get the very distinct feeling that just when I thought that my life--my after life couldn't get any worse...?
Her thoughts were cut short by a clapping sound coming from the same shadow. The clapping sound wasn't so much applause, as it was a bit of bantering. Whoever was out there was mocking them. It was more than obvious that whatever was going on wasn't going to be good. Buffy knew that if her heart still worked it would be in her throat right now. Fate just seemed to be throwing her every curve ball imaginable and she really didn't want to know what was coming next.
"I liked that a lot", a girl's voice rang out like a gunshot on an otherwise silent night. "You had Good technique and form. The style was a bit different than I've ever seen though."
It was a voice that neither of them could recognize. The both stood motionless for a few moments before a gust of wind gave them an opportunity to find out that the girl that was speaking wasn't a vampire of a demon. She was a human. She was a--
"I've come for you Buffy. Having Angel here is just an added bonus I suppose."
She stepped out of the shadows to show that she was wearing a pair of red caprice pants and a white t-shirt. Buffy would have usually stopped to think about how cute the outfit was. This girl was obviously still in high school. It was obvious now whom she was.
She was a slayer.
She was a new slayer that was there in Sunnydale for the sole purpose of dusting the vampire named Buffy. Good luck with that one.
"My name is Jennifer Longheart and if it isn't already obvious I am the new--" she was cut off.
"Slayer", Buffy finished for her with a straight face that held no emotion.
The next evening they each woke up at the same time, just as the sun was going down. After they put their clothes on and got ready they went back outside to do some patrolling. The ground was still soaked from the downpour that they'd gotten earlier and the air was cold with a slight breeze that tossed her hair about in a chaotic dance of beautiful blonde. The night sky was still painted with dark thunderclouds that lit up with magnificent shades of yellow and white; casting long, devious shadows off the already gloomy headstones.
It had been only about thirty minutes when they caught sight of the first predator of the night. With their stakes ready they went to get a better look of the vampire that had just risen from the soft and moist ground. He was clad from head to toe in a dark dress suit with a white undershirt and a tie but was covered in mud that had started to dry out. His face was set to that of a demon and he let out a few furious growls as he walked aimlessly around the cemetery. Buffy had been in the same situation herself not too long ago.
She watched on with a new feeling for the vampire breed that she hadn't felt before. The newfound emotion could only be expressed in one word--pity. The man that stalked around had once been a person; as had she; and he had a life; like she had once had.
Angel looked down at Buffy because he could tell that she was feeling an inner turmoil. He could relate to her better than anyone. He was also a vampire that knew the difference between good and evil. A hard thing to live with.
"Lets do it already", she said as she stepped forward and brought her stake up in an attack position. It was time for her to do what she did best, and now she did it even better. She had to admit that being turned into a vampire had come with a few advantages that included being able to think like a vampire and better anticipate their upcoming moves. Another of these pluses was that she was stronger, fast and smarter than she would ever have even thought about being before.
She was within a few feet of the monster before he even noticed her presence. Angel stood off in the shadows (waiting to see how her new fighting abilities were). The beast whipped his body around to face her and he spread his feet apart to shoulder length to get the best balance possible. His face would have been frightening to anyone whom didn't know what he was but she was an expert on the subject.
"So much power", he said to himself. "Are you ready to die little girl?"
She damn near chuckled at what he said. "Wrong thing to say junior."
Her face quickly changed to her new fighting face. The defined lines in her forehead and the fangs that filled her mouth made her appear like she'd never been human at all. She then got into her fighting stance, stake in hand, and ready to dust the vampire and put him out of his misery.
He made the first move, probably because he underestimated her. He sent out a punch that started out at his side and moved around at full arm's length. It was a sorry punch and she reacted to it accordingly. She put up her defending arm so that his inner joint caught on her forearm. She then whipped her arm around quickly so that his arm was tucked away tight in her armpit. With one smooth tug on the joint his elbow hyper extended then broke with a satisfying crunch that she could feel as well as hear.
His moans of agony got her blood lust excited and her mouth began to water profusely. This was a feeling that she'd become quite familiar with over the past three months and she was getting much more successful at suppressing it. She pulled the stake up and took just a moment to feel the grain of the wood on her fingers. She plunged the point into his heart with more than enough force to complete the routine task. The expressions of surprise, fear, and pain all wrapped around his demonic face like a blanket that would cover a small child having a horrible nightmare. Only hours after coming back into the world he was facing death once again. The monster began to disintegrate to dust, starting with the very top of its head and slowly working it's way down. Soon there was no skin, just bone, and then there wasn't even that. Now he was just a pile of dust that was quickly tossed away by the breeze and scattered along the wet and green grass of the surrounding graveyard.
"Dust to dust..." She said under her breath in an envious tone. She'd gotten so caught up the emotion that she felt that she had actually forgotten that Angel had superhuman hearing. He stepped out of the shadows that kept him concealed, not really sure what he could say at the moment to ease the pain. He knew from experience that it was just one of those things that she was going to have to work through on her own and that no one could do it for her. Although, he planned on staying with her for a while just for a crying shoulder.
"We need to keep patrolling", she said as she desperately resisted the eye contact that he was searching for. She was more than well aware of the fact that Angel's big dark eyes were more than enough to make her want to share her every feeling. She wasn't going to let that happen.
A snapping sound came from a shadow not too far away and both Buffy and Angel heard it. It was the sound of a branch breaking off of a tree. Someone was hiding and watching them. It was hard to pick up on any scents because of the recently fallen rain and the recently extinguished vampire that still hung heavy in the air.
Why do I get the very distinct feeling that just when I thought that my life--my after life couldn't get any worse...?
Her thoughts were cut short by a clapping sound coming from the same shadow. The clapping sound wasn't so much applause, as it was a bit of bantering. Whoever was out there was mocking them. It was more than obvious that whatever was going on wasn't going to be good. Buffy knew that if her heart still worked it would be in her throat right now. Fate just seemed to be throwing her every curve ball imaginable and she really didn't want to know what was coming next.
"I liked that a lot", a girl's voice rang out like a gunshot on an otherwise silent night. "You had Good technique and form. The style was a bit different than I've ever seen though."
It was a voice that neither of them could recognize. The both stood motionless for a few moments before a gust of wind gave them an opportunity to find out that the girl that was speaking wasn't a vampire of a demon. She was a human. She was a--
"I've come for you Buffy. Having Angel here is just an added bonus I suppose."
She stepped out of the shadows to show that she was wearing a pair of red caprice pants and a white t-shirt. Buffy would have usually stopped to think about how cute the outfit was. This girl was obviously still in high school. It was obvious now whom she was.
She was a slayer.
She was a new slayer that was there in Sunnydale for the sole purpose of dusting the vampire named Buffy. Good luck with that one.
"My name is Jennifer Longheart and if it isn't already obvious I am the new--" she was cut off.
"Slayer", Buffy finished for her with a straight face that held no emotion.
