Legal Stuff: 'Buffy the Vampire Slayer' concept, logo & characters are (tm) & (c) Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation, basically belonging to them, Joss Whedon, and Mutant Enemy (Rrrr...Aargh...). They were created by Joss Whedon. "I'll Stand By You" belongs to the Pretenders, and I thought it very much appropriate for the situation (but I did cut out a little bit...I blame the cover band...you'll see what I mean...). 'There Can Be Only One' is an otherwise original work that is (c) Fox Lee 1999, AKA Shade. I'm responsible for the MacFarlanes/Demonslayers and Magret, so that would make them (c) me, too. Any similarity between events/characters in this story and in real life (yeah, that happened to me and my vampire boyfriend just the other day!) is purely coincidental and unintended (so deal with it). If you like this story and want it posted on your page, lack of frequent e-mail access prompts me to say 'please do', so long as you don't edit any bits and make sure my name's on it along with these messages. If you do re-post it, please e-mail me to let me know. Also, special thanks to those who helped me out via the Bronze posting board, particularly '7'. Synopsis: Buffy Summers, Vampire Slayer, is looking forward to spending her summer vacation as peacefully as possible. But it isn't long before a mysterious new girl, tied strongly to Angel's barbaric past, appears in Sunnydale, posing a danger to both the Slayer and her boyfriend. As the 'Demonslayer' seeks to fulfill her age-old destiny and Angel copes with more painful memories of his past, Spike takes advantage of the situation with a sinister plot that may well prove disastrous for them all...
Last edited: Saturday, April 10, 1999
Timespan: I was just going to say that this takes place after Angel returns from Hell (which hasn't happened yet in Australia). Of course, then I saw 'Becoming' part 1, realized that the references to a still-living Kendra would now make absolutely no sense, and got royally pissed off. Plus, it's got to fit in during Buffy's summer vacation. So what say we just stick it in an alternate universe where Angel never went evil again, hey?
Author's note: I've had to take a few liberties with Angel and his demon, since I don't know Joss' vampire lore in its entirety. If I've directly gone against an established vampire trait, please let me know so I can fix it up. And another thing; I live in Australia, so my colloquialisms/slang/whateva may sound odd. Not my fault. And, relating to Cordy's holiday, hardly anybody in Australia actually uses the word 'g'day'. It's just used far too often on postcards. And koalas actually aren't a very common sight, particularly in cities.
E-mail: Compliment me, criticize me, yell at me, insult me...heck, I don't care. The place to send it all is cyberslayerfox@yahoo.com. If that doesn't work properly (it ain't my fault) try fox_lee@hotmail.com.
Gimmicky Promo Stuff: Keep an eye out for my first 'Buffy' fanfic, 'Atherlae', in which Angel is affected by the bite of a strange wolf-like creature (no, it's not Oz) and turns against his friends. Also, coming soon, a decidedly out-of-the-ordinary school dance in 'A Night To Remember'. Also out now are my two 'Buffy' songs, 'Angel' and 'If I Could Touch You', as well as the poem 'Just Once'. Yay! Anyway, enough pre-story garbage, let's start already...
There Can Be Only One
I
"It's official; everybody hates Buffy Summers."
Rupert Giles, librarian, Watcher, trainer and mentor, looked disdainfully up at his 17-year-old protégé as she threw her arms up in an exaggerated gesture that he guessed (it was badly over-acted) was supposed to represent hanging herself.
"What sort of demonic conspiracy have you uncovered this time, Buffy?" Giles inquired. In answer, the deceivingly delicate-looking, blonde-haired teenager slammed a brightly-printed pamphlet down on his desk.
Warily, Giles picked it up and read from the cover. "'Wilderness Adventure Camp - the only way to spend the summer'."
"Forget that happy little Hellmouth thing," Buffy snorted. "Who needs it when I've got dear Principle Snyder to continually thwart my obviously childish and irresponsible teenage behavior - the above including mainly vampire vanquishing and world-saveage?"
"Maybe it isn't too late to nip this in the proverbial bud," Giles suggested. "We could convince - "
"No such luck," Buffy cut in. "Snyder already talked it over with Mom. And doesn't she just luuuurve the idea of me 'having serious fun, making new friends, and gaining hands-on experience for life'. And I can't back out. I owe her a favor after Willow and I kind of set the kitchen on fire."
"I'm sorry?" Giles raised an eyebrow.
"Hey, making fried ice cream is harder than it looks, okay? It makes Slaying seem like a cakewalk." Buffy sighed and slumped into a chair, a dispirited yet quite attractive heap. "This is going to be disastrous."
"I don't see that it'll be all that bad for you, Buff," Xander Harris, one of Buffy's closest friends, put in from his perch atop the checkout counter. "I mean, it's the rest of Sunnydale that's going to be up to our armpits in vampiric activity while you do that 'swinging over the mud pit on a rope' thing."
Before Giles could interrupt, thereby once again demonstrating his impatience with all things even mildly humorous (and all things Xander), the library's doors swung open. Willow Rosenberg, the straight-arrow friend of Xander and the Slayer, made her entrance in an unusually sunny sort of mood. "Hiya, Buff! Hi Giles! Hey Xander!"
"What're you so happy about?" Buffy raised an eyebrow.
"You won't believe it," Willow grinned.
"Try me," Buffy responded flatly. "At the moment, I'll believe just about anything."
"You'll never guess who's going to spend the entire summer vacation hundreds of miles away!"
"You're joking. Not - "
"Hi, everybody," Cordelia Chase, both ice and fashion queen of Sunnydale, chirped, prancing in. "Guess who's going to spend the entire summer vacation in Paris? Ooh - Paris! Think of the clothes! Think of the men! Think of the shopping opportunities!"
"Think of the frogs' legs," Xander grimaced. The teen was more than a little downcast to hear that his girlfriend was leaving, but his ego wouldn't have been able to cope if he'd let it show.
Cordelia made a face. "Spare me your cynicism, you commoner. The style of Paris is completely beyond your ability to comprehend."
"Did I just hear a word of four syllables leave the mouth of Cordelia Chase?" Xander dramatically grabbed his chest in a mock-heart attack. "Be still my heart! Better check your books, Giles, 'coz I think the apocalypse is upon us!"
"Why do I surround myself by the kind of people who would joke about the end of the universe?" Giles rolled his eyes.
"Job perk," Xander quipped. Upon realizing he had been ignored (again), he turned to the others, serious again. "I'm gonna take it that neither of you ladies has heard the good news?"
"Oh?" Willow raised an eyebrow quizzically.
"Oh, it's nothing, really," Buffy replied, displaying the offending brochure. "It's just that for you guys, it's three days 'til summer vacation. For me, it's three days 'til camp hell-hole."
"They're not..." Willow stammered. "...I mean, they wouldn't..."
"Oh, but they would. And they are."
"But they can't send you away!" Cordelia protested. "You're the Slayer!"
"Oh, that's a brilliant strategy, Cordy," Xander nodded patronizingly. "We'll just tell that to Snyder, and he'll be happy to let Buffy stay. Of course, he'll probably have us all committed, but at least we'll still be in Sunnydale..."
"Xander, please," Giles interrupted. "We must at least be serious about this."
"Right," Buffy put in. "I'm pretty sure the vamps will be."
"So what's the best way to get you out of this?" Xander mused. "We could break both your legs and put you in a cast...'cept that might seriously affect the 'Slayer' thing, too...ooh, what if we infect you with some kind of disease?..."
"Xander."
"Fine, just a suggestion."
"Ooh!" Cordelia's hand shot up. "Ooh! I have an idea!"
"Goody."
Ignoring Xander's snide remark, the girl continued. "You could run away."
"Cordelia, I'm not going to..."
"Actually," Giles cut in, thoughtfully stroking his chin with one hand, "you know, that might just work...with a little moderation, of course."
"Say what?!"
"No, hang on, I see where he's coming from," Xander grinned. "Buff, you agree to go along with everything. You're a happy little camper. Your mom is told that Giles happens to be a camp counselor, so he offers to drive you there. But meanwhile, at school, we slap on a few bandages and ever-so-sadly inform Principal Snyder that you've unfortunately sprained...uh, something...and are unable to attend."
"From there," Giles put in, "You simply find a place where you can lay low whilst still carrying out your duties."
"Like Angel's place?" Buffy's eyes lit up.
"I believe that would be suitable."
"So it's settled, then?" Xander looked around the room for confirmation. "Anybody who's got a problem, speak now or forever hold your peace."
Silence.
"Perfect," Xander beamed. "Sunnydale gets to keep its Slayer, the Buffster gets her alibi. What could possibly go wrong?"
II
"Hang a right up ahead," Angel instructed.
"You'd think, when you consider how long you vamps have been around, that you'd find a better way to get from 'point A' to 'point B' than the sewer subway here," the Slayer commented as she made the turn, feeling a decidedly intense dislike for the rather unpleasant trip she had to make for her weekly check-in.
"Don't blame me," Angel shrugged. "It isn't my fault that vampires have such... sensitive...skin."
"Which way?" Buffy asked as they reached a three-way-intersection. Buffy thought as a rather offensive looking clump of God-knew-what floated past her foot, After all, if it hadn't been for her Watcher's insistence that she check in at the library every Monday before sundown, she and Angel would still have been curled up together discussing life, immortality, and how they were going to go have an all-night party at The Bronze when Buffy 'got home'.
"Huh?' Apparently, Angel's concentration had been wandering. Probably to the Queen-size beanbag that they'd had to vacate when they'd suddenly realized it was time to leave. "Oh. Straight ahead, Buff. Then right again."
It was Monday afternoon, beginning the second week of the summer vacation. All in all, the plan to keep Buffy in Sunnydale had been fairly effective. According to the reports of Willow, Xander, and Giles, nobody suspected anything. However, in the back of her mind, she still found herself wondering when instead of if something would go wrong. It was all working out too well. The only real problems they had encountered were Buffy's reluctance to check in each afternoon and the vampire's repetitive memory lapses when it came to food shopping. After all, Buffy had pointed out, while a healthy balance of whole blood and plasma might be fine for some people, seventeen-year-old girls had 'other' tastes. And, to top it all off, vampiric and otherwise supernatural activity around Sunnydale had been fairly close to zilch.
"That's the door, up there," Angel indicated, pointing to a metal ladder that trailed up the wall to a round, hinged cover. Nodding, Buffy climbed up and pushed, only to find the door slammed back down from above before it had opened more than an inch.
"What gives?" Angel inquired from the base of the ladder.
Buffy shrugged, then called, "Hey, guys, What's goin' on up there?"
"Shhh!" Willow's voice reached them as a low whisper. "Just hold on for a second!"
At that moment, above ground, Buffy's best friend was hurriedly dragging a large rug into place over the manhole-style entrance they had placed behind the library stacks for Angel's convenience. She succeeded in doing so the second Principal Snyder turned the corner and advanced.
"Exactly what are you doing here, Miss Rosenberg?" Snyder inquired, raising an eyebrow suspiciously. "And what was that noise?"
"Uh...I was just getting some books, Sir...uh...for...Summer School, Sir," Willow replied, a little too hastily. "...Mr. Giles said it was okay...and I just, uh, dropped some of them...I'm sort of clumsy today, Sir...late night... studying, of course..."
"I don't see any dropped books, Miss Rosenberg," Snyder said accusingly.
"Well, gee, Sir, I guess I must've picked them up, then," Willow concluded. "What do you know?"
"Well...I suppose so..." Still slightly suspicious but unable to wrap his brain around Willow's logic as fast as she had come up with it, Snyder turned to leave, and the girl bent down to move the rug.
"You're a bright girl, Rosenberg," Principal Snyder suddenly said, turning back just as Willow snapped back into a standing position and appeared absorbed in a book she had hurriedly ripped from the shelf (ironically enough, Count Dracula). "It's a shame to see you socializing with a troublemaker like Buffy Summers. Mark my words, I can see her pulling you down."
"Oh...uh...I wouldn't worry about it, Sir," Willow said, a little louder than usual in order to cover up the infuriated noises she heard coming from the tunnels below. "I really only hang around her for... well...comic relief. You know how it can be..." Just go already, she thought impatiently.
"Oh, she's gonna get it for that one," Buffy muttered. Angel grinned.
"Hhm...I suppose," Snyder turned away again, and, for safety, Willow waited a little longer this time before she bent down.
"One last thing," the Principal spun back to find Willow ever-so-innocently inspecting some call numbers. "If you see Mr. Giles anywhere, tell him I'd like to see him. Couldn't find him anywhere. That will be all, thankyou, Miss Rosenberg."
Briskly, Sunnydale High's Principal exited the library. Breathing an obvious sigh of relief, Willow pulled away the rug and hauled open the round door.
"Sorry, Buff. You know how Snyder gets."
"I do? I thought I was just 'comic relief'..."
"Oh come on. You don't really think I meant it, do you?"
"Weeell..."
"You'd say anything to get Snyder off your back, too," Willow pointed out.
"I guess."
"Enough with the deliberations already," Willow grabbed her friend's hand and motioned for her and Angel to follow. "Giles says he has something 'interesting' to tell us...if only we can find him..."
"Follow me," Buffy grinned, assuming lead. "I think I know where he is."
Sure enough, when Buffy entered Giles' office and bent down to look under the desk, she found her Watcher. "They still teaching the 'duck-and-cover' method, Giles?"
"A grown man," Angel shook his head in mock-sorrow. "It's disgraceful."
"Vampires, demons, ghouls, - all these are but a trifle," Giles scrambled out from his undignified hidey-hole, dusting off his characteristic tweed. "Uh, no offence, Angel. But only a fool doesn't avoid Principal Snyder when he can."
"Hey, you don't see me debating it," Buffy conceded.
"I can't believe he's here in the holidays," Willow said. "He so needs a hobby."
"He's got one," Buffy replied, taking a seat on Giles' desk-cum-shelter. "But during the summer vacation, I'm not around for him to torment. So, Giles. Interesting story. Do tell."
"Oh, right. Of course. Let me warn you, this may come as a shock."
"Giles, my life consists of juggling a job where I have to battle countless demons and a relationship with an twice-antique vampire. I'm pretty sure I can handle it."
"Yeah, speak up! I'm sure we're all dying to hear the latest adventures of...Librarian-Man! Righter of wrong cataloguing, defender of helpless nerds, and avenger of those inconsiderate people who fold the corner over as a bookmark!" Xander waited a few moments for a reaction to his (as usual) over-dramatized entrance, then feigned disappointment at the room's silence. "What, no standing ovation?"
Willow rolled her eyes. "Hello, Xander."
"Fine, if that's the way you feel..."
"Excuse me," Giles interrupted, "but, ah, story, interesting, may come as shock...remember?"
"Fine, fine," Buffy lifted her hands to silence her friends. "Xander, shut up, will you?"
When silence had once again been achieved, Giles began his story.
"Everybody present knows the location of my apartment, yes?"
Nods all round.
"Then you just as likely know that it is located only one block from a large park, which is a popular feeding ground for vampires and is quite often included as a part of Buffy's watch. It happens that I was forced to cross this park last night - engine troubles - and was ambushed by several of them. Not a pleasant situation to come back to after a busy day at work, as you well know. Now, I was managing to hold my own against my assailants - "
"The vamps were beatin' the stuffing outta you, huh?"
"Please, Buffy, let's not go into detail at the moment."
"He got decked," the Slayer whispered to Angel as Giles continued. The librarian glared at her sideways as he caught the remark.
"As I was saying, the fight was drawing to a close when I found several of the vampires destroyed by a third party - naturally, I expected it was you, Buffy."
"Ever noticed that nothing ever goes the way you expect it to in Sunnydale?" Xander inquired.
"Of course, it was not," Giles went on. "It would appear, Buffy, that Sunnydale is currently playing host to a second slaying individual."
Buffy raised an eyebrow. "Kendra?"
"I could do without that," Angel commented, unconsciously rubbing one of the many spots where he'd been testament to the replacement Slayer's skill. And bad temper.
"Another thought that crossed my mind," Giles replied. "But no, it wasn't Kendra. For one, she was white, and she spoke in an entirely different accent - Australian, I think."
"She spoke to you?"
"Not to me, Willow. She spoke to them."
"And said?"
"And said, 'this is the MacFarlanes' revenge'. Nothing more."
There was a momentary silence as the room's various occupants processes the information. Buffy was the first to break it.
"We should try to find her."
"Agreed," Giles affirmed. "She does seem to be on our side, but it's always better to be sure."
"Meantime," Willow reasoned, "I run a search or two over the Internet...whose revenge was it again, Giles?"
"The MacFarlanes'."
"Don't bother." It was Angel.
"Say what?" All eyes turned to the vampire.
"I said, 'don't bother'," he repeated, turning his face away, something Buffy had come to recognize as a sign of guilt from her boyfriend. "I can tell you anything that the Internet can about clan MacFarlane. More."
"Like?" A minute after the question, Willow realized it was quite tactless.
"Like the looks on their faces when they died."
Angel abruptly left the office, rapidly disappearing amongst the stacks.
"Great," Xander scowled. "Disappear on us. That'll help. He just couldn't have filled us in first, could he?"
Buffy glared at her friend as she sprang from the desk and followed Angel. "Stay here, you guys. I'll talk to him."
How very appropriate, Buffy thought as she ran to cut the vampire off at the concealed entrance/exit of the 'Angel-access' tunnel, that the tunnel entrance be located between the' horror' and 'teen romance' sections. It's my life, only in alphabetical order. The Slayer caught up with her boyfriend just as he pulled the manhole-like cover of the door open.
"Angel, don't run from it. It won't help."
Sighing, the vampire let the door fall shut, and slumped down onto a stepladder that stood by the shelf. "It does, Buffy. Maybe not in the long run - maybe it won't change anything - but it does help. I just...I don't want to be around you. Whenever something like this comes up, Whenever I have to relive all the suffering that was my fault, it's like I can do anything but look into your eyes. I'm so ashamed."
"You punish yourself so much over the past," Buffy gently pointed out, "but you did what you did because of the demon. It's not who you are anymore."
"The demon I chose to harbor," Angel retorted bitterly. "What is it you don't get here, Buffy? I can't just forget it. I made the choice."
"A choice between life and death," Buffy responded, adamant. "If it'd been phrased, 'die or become possessed by a bloodthirsty demon', you would've responded differently!"
"Stop it!" he jumped to his feet and grabbing her roughly by the shoulders, shocking her as his face suddenly took on its feral, vampiric appearance and his voice was undertoned by a fierce growl. "Stop it! Stop trying to justify my past! I don't! Why do you?"
There was a pause. The vampire released his hold, and slumped back down, staring at the floor with his head in his hands. Kneeling in front of him, Buffy took his face in both hands, ignoring the brow ridges and furrows and fangs that were slowly forming back into Angel. She kissed his forehead, gently, and lifted his face to look into his eyes.
"Because I love you," she replied simply.
Without a word, he grabbed her and hugged fervently. She felt him bury his face in her hair and breathe deeply, not speaking but just holding her with a passion she could plainly feel. She returned it with equal strength, knowing that right now, he needed more than anything to know she felt the same way. And she did. After all the times they had nearly lost each other, all the times that their lives tried to tear them apart, she knew better than anything that she did.
"Enough with the 'sweet nothings' already," An irritated Xander promptly shattered the moment from the far end of the row of shelves. "In case you two haven't noticed, we've got clan to learn about."
"Yeah, of course," Angel got to his feet, releasing his girlfriend. "Let's go, Buffy."
She stopped him. "This is gonna be hard for you, Angel. There's no rush. If you aren't up to it..."
"I'll be fine." He smiled a little, if sadly, and grasped her hand. "I've got the best kind of support."
Back in Giles' office a few minutes later, Buffy, Willow, Xander and Giles anxiously awaited Angel's story.
"The first time I heard the name MacFarlane was a long, long time ago," the vampire began, his voice strangely low and quiet. "I had been...changed...for less than three years when it began. I had traveled to Scotland with Darla, after a vampire she'd sired had caused some...suspicion...back home in Ireland. It was there that I met the MacFarlane clan."
The fiery-haired, well-built young man urged his cantering horse onward in relentless pursuit of the cloaked rider in front. The woman was not without skill, Liam knew, but she had not the abilities to match his own. Gradually, Liam's gelding caught up with the one in front. Reaching over from his saddle, he snatched the reins, sharply pulling both horses to a halt.
"Let me go, Liam," she ordered, hood falling back to reveal thick red hair and a sharply-lined, strikingly attractive face that was effectively a more feminine mirror of his own.
"You are going to see him again, are ye not?" the man demanded. "This dog, this Angelus? Can ye not see how bad he is for ye?"
"Angelus loves me, and I him," she replied, tossing her wine-colored locks defiantly. "I'll not let ye stand in my way."
Liam MacFarlane turned the gelding sharply and blocked his sister's path. "If ye be too blinded by a handsome face to know trouble when ye see it, 'tis a brother's duty to open yer eyes."
"'Tis not your choice to make, Liam. Stand aside."
"I'll not let ye go!" He grabbed her arm and pulled her face close to his, as if hoping that their family resemblance would hold some sway over his tempestuous sister.
"Watch me!" She retorted, twisting with considerable strength. Crying out in surprise, Liam was thrown from the saddle, pulling away with him the cloak his sister had been wearing. Before the young man could react, she had kicked her horse into an all-out gallop, bold red streaming dramatically in the wind as she disappeared down the track.
"Caitlin!" he called helplessly, scrambling to his feet. "For God's sakes, flee him! Caitlin!"
"So you turned this Caitlin woman into a vamp," Xander concluded, "and Giles' sword-happy little friend isn't just howling for any old blood. She's after yours. Y'know, some people take these family grudges waaaaay too far."
"Then we must find her," Giles stated. "If we organize search parties, we can - "
"I don't think we'll have to," Angel interrupted. "I think she'll come to us."
"Then there's no real problem," Buffy concluded. "I stick with you for a while, which I would've been doing anyway, and we wait for this mystery MacFarlane girl to show up."
"It sounds suspiciously simple," Giles muttered.
"So did your plan to get me off of the camp hell-hole list," Buffy pointed out, "but it seems to be working fine."
"It's only been a week," Xander reminded her. Then, he turned. "But I reckon they're right, Giles. If she's so intent on finding Angel, why not let her?"
"I suppose..."
"Giles, relax," Willow put in. "If you're that worried, I can pull some birth records off the Internet, and see if I can find a MacFarlane who can be traced to Caitlin or Liam."
"Try the name 'Skye'," Angel suggested. "That was the name of the last MacFarlane I faced."
"Meantime," Xander cut in, "Cordy sent us a postcard. Express Air Mail."
"Bet she's gonna gloat," Buffy muttered.
"I wouldn't be so sure," Xander sorted through his jacket pockets until he turned out a slightly crushed postcard. A postcard that pictured a sunny, ideal-tourist-attraction style beach, and the brightly printed words, 'G'day from Australia'.
"Wait a sec," Buffy snatched it from him. "I thought Cordelia was going to France."
"Huh. Oh, that's the beauty part, Buffy, - so did she!"