-'Enter Sandman.'-
Pairings: a little angst for right now, something more substantial later.
A/N: Don't ask me about Giles' little speech at the end, he didn't know that Buffy hadn't killed Angelus when she had the chance. All he knows is that they had sex, causing Angelus to get free. That's from canon. I got it from buffyworld.com, but cut it down a bit. Which reminds me, thanks to buffyworld.com for episode summary and quotes.
A/N2: God knows you can't write more unless you get reviews.
Disclaimers: I don't own anything relating to Buffy, Angel.
Timeframe: S2 AU "Innocence," you know the episode after Buffy sleeps with Angel.
Dedicated to the ones you can't save, and to the ones you can.
///////////////////////////////
Xander sat back in his chair. "So your saying, that, as time goes on, the changes that happen will differ more than what you could actually tell me."
The man sat with his mouth agape staring at Xander.
"What?"
The man shook his head. "Damn I just never thought that you'd actually get it."
Xander deadpanned. "The confidence in the room is aspiring."
"Not only will things be different, YOU will be different. I have no way to know how or what changes will happen to you. This," the man gestured at the dark room, "could jumpstart several different magics that you were exposed to and WILL be exposed to. God knows what could happen."
Xander raised an eyebrow. "And that's better than the alternative?"
The man stood up to leave. "Anything is better than the alternative."
Xander stood up to follow, but the man turned and had one final piece of advice. "You can't win their battles for them, Xander, You're gonna need to fight your own."
////////////////////////////
Xander raced down the stairwell. Buffy could hold her own against any vamps, but the others would need backup. He was just lucky that he hadn't run into any...
"Kill him!"
...Vamps.
He turned to see four vampires start to chase after him. 'I don't have time for this,' thought Xander. He reached for his belt and threw his incendiary grenade. He pulled the pin and threw it as high as he could up the stairwell. "HOT POTATO!"
The leader of the vamps screamed as the canister released its gelatinous gasoline and ignited. The flames reached the fire detector, setting off the sprinklers.
/////////////////////////////////////
The sprinklers rained down on Buffy. She turned to face Angelus, when suddenly he appeared from behind and knocked her down.
Angelus returned to the shadows. Buffy got up only to face a bodiless voice. "You know what the worst part was, huh? Pretending that I loved you. If I'd known how easily you'd give it up, I wouldn't have even bothered."
Buffy spun around trying to pinpoint the speaker. "That doesn't work anymore. You're not Angel."
"You'd like to think that, wouldn't you? It doesn't matter. The important thing is you made me the man I am today!"
Angelus dove at her. Buffy pivoted and kicked him in the face. He blocked her next swing and punched her in the face and chest. He grabbed her arm and swung her around to throw her, but she regained her balance. He kicked her in the face causing her to fall to the floor.
Angel walked over and shouted. "Is this anyway to treat your lover?"
He was interrupted by a series of shots to the side by a submachine gun holding Xander Harris. Xander rushed from the corridor and used short, controlled bursts to scare him off. "Yeah, I'd say that's about the right way."
Xander turned to help Buffy up. "You okay Bu-OMPH"
He got knocked down by a very pissed of Drusilla. "Naughty kitten bit daddy. Mummy's not going to give you any treats."
Xander elbowed her in the face, and rolled to his feet. "I would think of something clever to say," he spit out some blood and raised his MP5, "but then you'd..."
Drusilla knocked the gun out of his hands and threw him to the floor. "Hey!" He got up and faked a right jab while sweeping her legs out from under her. "Don't _fuck_ with my guns you crazy bitch."
///////////////////////////
Angelus picked himself up. The boy was able to injure him, but 'lucky for me, guns don't kill vamps.' He ran over to help Drusilla deal with Xander when Buffy walked into his path.
He smiled and walked slowly towards her. "What is it little Buffy?"
Buffy kneed him in the chin, "That." and then delivered a series of punches to his torso and face.
////////////////////////
Xander was getting his ass handed to him. He ran across the corridor, only to be cut off again by a very annoyed vampiress. He fought tooth and nail to defend himself against Drusilla, but the insane vamp kept on coming. She grabbed his wrists and twisted his arms back, causing Xander to hiss in pain before breaking her grip and dodging another attack. He took his Desert Eagle out from the back of his jeans and aimed it at the undead attacker.
Drusilla grabbed the barrel of the gun, just as he was tensing to fire and tore it out of his hand. She backhanded the boy, sending him flying into the opposite wall. "Tsk, tsk kitten, Mummy has to teach you a lesson now."
Xander felt three of his ribs break. He looked over to where his attacker steadily walked over to his feet and dragged him up by the collar.
She pulled Xander's hair back, exposing his neck and vamped out. "Don't worry now, we can give you..." she stopped for a second and looked into his eyes. "Its all different now. You've gone forward and backward."
Xander felt her grip tighten and felt a voice in the back of his head followed by a cold, prickly sensation along the base of his spine.
///////////////
The man looked Xander in the eyes and said, "You have to let go."
//////////////////
Xander felt the cold flow down his spine into every pore of his body. Drusilla flinched back as his eyes burned a feral yellow. "Aww, my kitten is friends with a puppy."
Xander growled and launched into the offensive. Drusilla leaned back into a classical fighting stance only to be tackled by Xander. She rolled over and flipped Xander into the air. Xander landed behind her and snap kicked her face into a display case. Her face morphed and she screamed for blood. Xander growled his acceptance and charged again.
Druscilla dodged his attack and brought about another blow to Xander's head. Blood blurred his vision as he growled and leapt to his feet. He rushed the vampires again and delivered a frantic uppercut followed by a left jab to the side and a roundhouse kick to the mid section. She screamed and flew towards him. He caught her by the wrists and flung her thought the nearest window.
He heard a scream and ran off in search of Buffy.
///////////////
Buffy lunged at Angelus. The master vampire grinned and lunged right back at her. She grabbed his arm and threw him into a display window. He crashed through the glass, but immediately straightened back up, breaking the top pane and the frame of the case as well. She followed up and kicked him in the face and again in the chest. He stood and grinned as she let loose her barrage of kicks and punches. "Oh, Buffy, you know how I like it."
She had enough and let loose an elbow jab to the face followed by a ferocious kick to the chest. She pulled out a stake and got ready to finish the job.
Angelus straightened up and faced her. Buffy 's face grimaced and darkened, but after a second, she lowered the stake and just stared at him.
Angelus smiled and walked forward. "You can't do it. You can't kill me."
Her anger took over and she screamed with all of her pain and self-anger and kicked him extremely hard in the crotch. Angelus howled in extreme pain and collapsed to his knees. Buffy turned her back on him and walked away. "Give me time."
/////////////////////////////////
Xander rounded the corner to see an empty corridor. A display case had been broken and there was broken glass and blood everywhere, but no dust.
/////////////////////////////////////////
Giles pulled his ancient car up to 1630 Revello drive. He looked over at his charge before turning off the engine. For several seconds, there is only silence in the car.
Giles decided to break the ice. "It's not over. I suppose you know that. He'll come after you, particularly. He... he's likely to strike out at the things that made him the most human. The rest of us, but mostly you."
Buffy looked down at her shoes. "You must be so disappointed in me."
Giles shook his head. "No." Buffy looked up at him with unshed tears. "No, no, I'm not."
Buffy didn't listen to him. "But this is all my fault."
Giles sighed before continuing. "No. I don't believe it is. I know that you loved him. And...he...has proven more than once that he loved you. You couldn't have known what would happen. The coming months are gonna, are gonna be hard... I suspect on all of us, but... if it's guilt you're looking for, Buffy, I'm not your man. All you will get from me is, is my support, and my respect."
Buffy smiled at him through her tears.
//////////////////////////////
Xander watched the conversation from behind the tree. He picked himself up and grabbed his gear. He absentmindedly rubbed the back of his neck and the base of his spine. He didn't know exactly what happened to him or what still was going on, but he remembered the last thing the man told him.
He sighed. "I can't win their battles for them." Resigned, he turned down the street and started the long walk home.
'Wonder what I'll friggin dream about tonight.'
///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
Words and Music by James Hetfield, Lars Ulrich and Kirk Hammett Copyright © 1991 Creeping Death Music (ASCAP) International Copyright Secured All Rights Reserved
Say your prayers, little one. Don't forget, my son, To include everyone.
Tuck you in, warm within. Keep you free from sin, Till the sandman he comes.
Sleep with one eye open, Gripping your pillow tight.
Exit: light, Enter: night Take my hand, We're off to never-never land.
Something's wrong, shut the light. Heavy thoughts tonight, And they aren't of Snow White.
Dreams of war, dreams of liars, Dreams of dragon's fire, And of things that will bite.
Sleep with one eye open, Gripping your pillow tight.
Exit: light. Enter: night Take my hand, We're off to never-never land.
Now I lay me down to sleep, Pray the Lord my soul to keep. If I die before I wake, Pray the Lord my soul to take.
Hush little baby, don't say a word. And never mind that noise you heard. It's just the beasts under your bed, in your closet, in your head.
Exit: light, Enter: night Grain of sand
Exit: light, Enter: night Take my hand, We're off to never-never land.
Pairings: a little angst for right now, something more substantial later.
A/N: Don't ask me about Giles' little speech at the end, he didn't know that Buffy hadn't killed Angelus when she had the chance. All he knows is that they had sex, causing Angelus to get free. That's from canon. I got it from buffyworld.com, but cut it down a bit. Which reminds me, thanks to buffyworld.com for episode summary and quotes.
A/N2: God knows you can't write more unless you get reviews.
Disclaimers: I don't own anything relating to Buffy, Angel.
Timeframe: S2 AU "Innocence," you know the episode after Buffy sleeps with Angel.
Dedicated to the ones you can't save, and to the ones you can.
///////////////////////////////
Xander sat back in his chair. "So your saying, that, as time goes on, the changes that happen will differ more than what you could actually tell me."
The man sat with his mouth agape staring at Xander.
"What?"
The man shook his head. "Damn I just never thought that you'd actually get it."
Xander deadpanned. "The confidence in the room is aspiring."
"Not only will things be different, YOU will be different. I have no way to know how or what changes will happen to you. This," the man gestured at the dark room, "could jumpstart several different magics that you were exposed to and WILL be exposed to. God knows what could happen."
Xander raised an eyebrow. "And that's better than the alternative?"
The man stood up to leave. "Anything is better than the alternative."
Xander stood up to follow, but the man turned and had one final piece of advice. "You can't win their battles for them, Xander, You're gonna need to fight your own."
////////////////////////////
Xander raced down the stairwell. Buffy could hold her own against any vamps, but the others would need backup. He was just lucky that he hadn't run into any...
"Kill him!"
...Vamps.
He turned to see four vampires start to chase after him. 'I don't have time for this,' thought Xander. He reached for his belt and threw his incendiary grenade. He pulled the pin and threw it as high as he could up the stairwell. "HOT POTATO!"
The leader of the vamps screamed as the canister released its gelatinous gasoline and ignited. The flames reached the fire detector, setting off the sprinklers.
/////////////////////////////////////
The sprinklers rained down on Buffy. She turned to face Angelus, when suddenly he appeared from behind and knocked her down.
Angelus returned to the shadows. Buffy got up only to face a bodiless voice. "You know what the worst part was, huh? Pretending that I loved you. If I'd known how easily you'd give it up, I wouldn't have even bothered."
Buffy spun around trying to pinpoint the speaker. "That doesn't work anymore. You're not Angel."
"You'd like to think that, wouldn't you? It doesn't matter. The important thing is you made me the man I am today!"
Angelus dove at her. Buffy pivoted and kicked him in the face. He blocked her next swing and punched her in the face and chest. He grabbed her arm and swung her around to throw her, but she regained her balance. He kicked her in the face causing her to fall to the floor.
Angel walked over and shouted. "Is this anyway to treat your lover?"
He was interrupted by a series of shots to the side by a submachine gun holding Xander Harris. Xander rushed from the corridor and used short, controlled bursts to scare him off. "Yeah, I'd say that's about the right way."
Xander turned to help Buffy up. "You okay Bu-OMPH"
He got knocked down by a very pissed of Drusilla. "Naughty kitten bit daddy. Mummy's not going to give you any treats."
Xander elbowed her in the face, and rolled to his feet. "I would think of something clever to say," he spit out some blood and raised his MP5, "but then you'd..."
Drusilla knocked the gun out of his hands and threw him to the floor. "Hey!" He got up and faked a right jab while sweeping her legs out from under her. "Don't _fuck_ with my guns you crazy bitch."
///////////////////////////
Angelus picked himself up. The boy was able to injure him, but 'lucky for me, guns don't kill vamps.' He ran over to help Drusilla deal with Xander when Buffy walked into his path.
He smiled and walked slowly towards her. "What is it little Buffy?"
Buffy kneed him in the chin, "That." and then delivered a series of punches to his torso and face.
////////////////////////
Xander was getting his ass handed to him. He ran across the corridor, only to be cut off again by a very annoyed vampiress. He fought tooth and nail to defend himself against Drusilla, but the insane vamp kept on coming. She grabbed his wrists and twisted his arms back, causing Xander to hiss in pain before breaking her grip and dodging another attack. He took his Desert Eagle out from the back of his jeans and aimed it at the undead attacker.
Drusilla grabbed the barrel of the gun, just as he was tensing to fire and tore it out of his hand. She backhanded the boy, sending him flying into the opposite wall. "Tsk, tsk kitten, Mummy has to teach you a lesson now."
Xander felt three of his ribs break. He looked over to where his attacker steadily walked over to his feet and dragged him up by the collar.
She pulled Xander's hair back, exposing his neck and vamped out. "Don't worry now, we can give you..." she stopped for a second and looked into his eyes. "Its all different now. You've gone forward and backward."
Xander felt her grip tighten and felt a voice in the back of his head followed by a cold, prickly sensation along the base of his spine.
///////////////
The man looked Xander in the eyes and said, "You have to let go."
//////////////////
Xander felt the cold flow down his spine into every pore of his body. Drusilla flinched back as his eyes burned a feral yellow. "Aww, my kitten is friends with a puppy."
Xander growled and launched into the offensive. Drusilla leaned back into a classical fighting stance only to be tackled by Xander. She rolled over and flipped Xander into the air. Xander landed behind her and snap kicked her face into a display case. Her face morphed and she screamed for blood. Xander growled his acceptance and charged again.
Druscilla dodged his attack and brought about another blow to Xander's head. Blood blurred his vision as he growled and leapt to his feet. He rushed the vampires again and delivered a frantic uppercut followed by a left jab to the side and a roundhouse kick to the mid section. She screamed and flew towards him. He caught her by the wrists and flung her thought the nearest window.
He heard a scream and ran off in search of Buffy.
///////////////
Buffy lunged at Angelus. The master vampire grinned and lunged right back at her. She grabbed his arm and threw him into a display window. He crashed through the glass, but immediately straightened back up, breaking the top pane and the frame of the case as well. She followed up and kicked him in the face and again in the chest. He stood and grinned as she let loose her barrage of kicks and punches. "Oh, Buffy, you know how I like it."
She had enough and let loose an elbow jab to the face followed by a ferocious kick to the chest. She pulled out a stake and got ready to finish the job.
Angelus straightened up and faced her. Buffy 's face grimaced and darkened, but after a second, she lowered the stake and just stared at him.
Angelus smiled and walked forward. "You can't do it. You can't kill me."
Her anger took over and she screamed with all of her pain and self-anger and kicked him extremely hard in the crotch. Angelus howled in extreme pain and collapsed to his knees. Buffy turned her back on him and walked away. "Give me time."
/////////////////////////////////
Xander rounded the corner to see an empty corridor. A display case had been broken and there was broken glass and blood everywhere, but no dust.
/////////////////////////////////////////
Giles pulled his ancient car up to 1630 Revello drive. He looked over at his charge before turning off the engine. For several seconds, there is only silence in the car.
Giles decided to break the ice. "It's not over. I suppose you know that. He'll come after you, particularly. He... he's likely to strike out at the things that made him the most human. The rest of us, but mostly you."
Buffy looked down at her shoes. "You must be so disappointed in me."
Giles shook his head. "No." Buffy looked up at him with unshed tears. "No, no, I'm not."
Buffy didn't listen to him. "But this is all my fault."
Giles sighed before continuing. "No. I don't believe it is. I know that you loved him. And...he...has proven more than once that he loved you. You couldn't have known what would happen. The coming months are gonna, are gonna be hard... I suspect on all of us, but... if it's guilt you're looking for, Buffy, I'm not your man. All you will get from me is, is my support, and my respect."
Buffy smiled at him through her tears.
//////////////////////////////
Xander watched the conversation from behind the tree. He picked himself up and grabbed his gear. He absentmindedly rubbed the back of his neck and the base of his spine. He didn't know exactly what happened to him or what still was going on, but he remembered the last thing the man told him.
He sighed. "I can't win their battles for them." Resigned, he turned down the street and started the long walk home.
'Wonder what I'll friggin dream about tonight.'
///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
Words and Music by James Hetfield, Lars Ulrich and Kirk Hammett Copyright © 1991 Creeping Death Music (ASCAP) International Copyright Secured All Rights Reserved
Say your prayers, little one. Don't forget, my son, To include everyone.
Tuck you in, warm within. Keep you free from sin, Till the sandman he comes.
Sleep with one eye open, Gripping your pillow tight.
Exit: light, Enter: night Take my hand, We're off to never-never land.
Something's wrong, shut the light. Heavy thoughts tonight, And they aren't of Snow White.
Dreams of war, dreams of liars, Dreams of dragon's fire, And of things that will bite.
Sleep with one eye open, Gripping your pillow tight.
Exit: light. Enter: night Take my hand, We're off to never-never land.
Now I lay me down to sleep, Pray the Lord my soul to keep. If I die before I wake, Pray the Lord my soul to take.
Hush little baby, don't say a word. And never mind that noise you heard. It's just the beasts under your bed, in your closet, in your head.
Exit: light, Enter: night Grain of sand
Exit: light, Enter: night Take my hand, We're off to never-never land.