A New Beginning

By Paige Aarhus

Disclaimer- I don't own any Buffy characters. These disclaimers are so boring. Just don't sue- they're not mine.

Author's Note- Dedicated to Serena. Convinced me to write this, told me I didn't suck at writing. Thanks!

Giles' body thumped to the floor. Buffy stared at him, an odd look on her face. Human memories flashed through her mind, and she gave a small smile, knowing that she had stopped them. She felt her human face slip into place, a deceptive, deadly mask. A vampire's best weapon. She smiled and licked the blood off her lips.

"Well done," a voice rang out in the still library, and solitary clapping was heard. She didn't need to turn around to know who it was.

"Well, I planned for something more...painful. But I was hungry," she drawled. She turned slowly to face her lover. He was directly in front of her, and pulled her into a fierce kiss.

"Mmm...bad slayer tastes so good...I don't think anyone's ever had it like this," he grinned.

They kissed deeper, and Angel tasted blood in her mouth, and he knew that this was by far the most notorious, brilliant thing he had ever done. No one had ever changed a slayer before. Ever. In fact, he barely had- she had remained tough to the end. She was still tough.

Footsteps. They both heard them through more-than-human ears. Buffy pulled away from Angel, listened carefully.

"Oh shit. It's one of the Slayerettes. What are we gonna-" she cut herself off as Xander walked through the door of the library.

Xander Harris took in the scene in front of him. A distressed looking Buffy stood a feet away from Angel, next to the body of-

"Giles! Oh God!"

Buffy made up her mind. Giving Angel a wicked, unseen-by-Xander grin, she backhanded him in the face as hard as she could. He went spinning to the ground, snarling in confusion and delayed fury. It took him two seconds to figure out what she was doing, and he gave a smirk.

"Aww...you didn't like my present Buffy," he said sarcastically, leering at her. She feigned hatred and glared at him.

He was up in an instant, and sent her spinning into a table, grinning the whole time in game face. She kicked him in the head, and screamed at Xander to help Giles. No fair if he jumped in with weapons. Xander jumped from where he had been standing, frozen, and knelt at the fallen librarian's side.

Buffy and Angel fought. He went flying into a wall, she crashed into a bookcase with an audible crack. Her newfound vampiric strength made her a formidable opponent, but he sensed her holding back. Keeping her human face on.

Restraining herself.

At last, after several bruises and much broken furniture, Angel knew it was time. A horrified Xander was standing, getting ready to jump in with a stake and a cross. Angel punched Buffy in the jaw as hard as he could, earning himself a cry of real pain. He caught her before she fell, and held her by her wrists.

"Parting is such sweet sorrow, lover," he whispered, and kissed her once. He shoved her hard into the floor, and took pleasure in another cry of pain as she landed heavily on her side. Xander didn't see her smile as she went down.

Angel crashed through the window and vanished into the night.

Xander was at Buffy's side in an instant.

"Buffy. Oh God...he got Giles...Giles is dead..." Xander choked, and gave half a sob.

"No!" Buffy wailed, and crawled to his side. She sobbed, swallowing laughter. She touched the marks on the side of his neck, and lowered her head. Xander's heart went out to her.

Fifteen minutes and many concealed giggles later, a tear-stained Buffy climbed to her feet. She shook her head slowly, as if to assure herself this was all real. She turned to Xander.

"I have to...go find him," she said huskily to Xander, and turned away.

"Buffy." Xander tossed her a stake. "Do it for Giles. And be careful. Don't get killed," he said quietly.

Buffy came out the same window Angel had.

"Call the police," she said on her way out. She made it five meters before bursting out laughing. Evil demon or not, she could still find things hysterically funny.

"For Giles..." she managed before a fresh burst of laughter. She knew Angel was there, behind her. She heard him chuckle.

"Good job, Buffy. Nice plan," he smirked, before pulling her into a kiss. "But next time, I get first shot...you know, you really turn me on when you're in pain..."

"I wanted to save Xander...for another night. Something better than just draining. Painful...like you and me were," she spoke slowly, took pleasure in her plans.

"Besides, we can't have them all find out about their dearly departed slayer just yet," Angel smiled.

And that was how it started.

Part Two

THE HUNTING

After two days, Xander was certain that Angel had killed the Slayer. He wept for his first love, with Willow and even Cordelia. And he swore that Angel would die at his hands. He was a ghost- he wasn't at school, he was never outside. He couldn't figure it out. Buffy only came out of hiding to discover her dead watcher, then she left again. And how could she be alive? Willie said that Angel and Spike had gone after her- so why were Angel and Buffy still alive?

He was confused and miserable and hateful. He wouldn't be around Willow, or Cordelia, and his high-strung girlfriend finally left him alone, and hung around nicer, less crazy people. Although she had often wished Buffy had never even been born, she secretly liked the Slayer. And she missed her. But not like Xander. She wondered angrily if he would be doing this if she died. Her lips thinned angrily for an instant, and she made her decision. She went on smiling and laughing with her friends.

People died. Far more people than ever before- at least three a night. Rookie cops quit. Just quit, found new careers. Seeing the grisly murders, they decided already that law enforcement on a hellmouth was not for them. People's throats were ripped out, glassy eyes staring accusingly but never naming the killer. Killers.

Buffy and Angel. They had been together for three days before finally, they were discovered in an alley. A dead prostitute lay in a pool of her own blood, and they were making out in a dark corner, sharing more blood.

"Okay, what the bloody hell is going on here?" a voice snapped angrily. Buffy broke away from Angel regretfully and turned slowly, glaring at a set of ivory teeth and platinum hair.

"You're kinda interrupting something," she said sweetly.

"Angelus! What the hell are you doing?" Spike roared. First he leaves to find Dru and torture the Slayer, then he finds Angelus and the Slayer gone, Dru is off in her own little world, he doesn't see either of them for three days, and now they're making out?

His game face came on in less than a second, and he readied himself for a fight and a good killing.

"Spike...I'd like to introduce you to my lady friend Buffy," Angel said lightly, indifferently.

"We've met," he snarled.

"Have we?" Buffy's game face slipped on, and she snarled even more fiercely at him, a challenge.

Spike didn't notice anything but the face.

"My God Angelus! You changed a slayer!" he was too stunned to say much more, but he clapped Angel on the back and looked the Slayer up and down.

"I told you...good blood is bad now...dark and shiny...with a love..." a soft, singsong voice drifted to them as Drusilla strolled to where the three stood. She leaned into Spike's ear and whispered secretively, "I can hear her friends screaming...like deer and they're running and hunted..." she giggled, and said louder "and no one will wipe up the blood, and the golden chariots are gone to the heavens, and parrots..." she was gone in her own mind, and Spike sighed.

"You just had to kill all of her family, didn't you, mate?" Spike growled to Angel quietly. Angel gave a "who, me?" shrug, and turned back to his Buffy. They were getting a little too close for Spike's comfort. He was in the mood for hunting and killing, not watching Angel suck face with a new love. At least it wasn't his Drusilla though.

"Angel. Angel...ANGELUS!" Spike lost his temper. Angel just laughed quietly against Buffy, and ignored the enraged vampire.

Drusilla shrieked.

Surprised, everyone turned to her.

"Oh no!" she cried, semi-hysterical, "that bad BAD teacher! She goes into a new place that I cannot reach! She will destroy our family! Spells and gypsies..." she hissed quietly to herself.

"Drusilla, what are you talking about baby?" Spike asked, confused.

"The bad teacher...she searches for needle-words...to break up our happy home..." Drusilla burst into tears and collapsed in the alley.

Buffy and Angel were gone. Heading towards the school. Spike started after them longingly, but at another of Drusilla's wails, he knelt beside her.

"Oh Christ."



Jenny Calendar concentrated at nothing but her computer screen. Ever since Giles had died, she thought of nothing but the curse. And him. She felt her ancestor's blood and lust for vengeance course through her veins. She would restore his soul and be there to watch him suffer as he realized he killed his lover and her watcher. She would watch him pay for what he did.

She gave a yell of triumph. Her spell translated over the computer, and she felt that much closer to revenge. And Giles, for some reason.

"Jenny," Buffy's voice surprised her, and she jumped. She was shocked. What was Buffy doing here?

"Buffy. I've gotten a spell for you...for Angel..." she trailed off. Her plans were somewhat spoiled now. Buffy would be there for Angel. Would she forgive him, or kill him?

"Yeah, I heard." She saw confusion play across Jenny's face. She fingered a small, glowing glass orb. She felt uneasy power within it. With all of her might, she threw it into the wall and watched with satisfaction as it shattered and Jenny shrieked in surprise.

"Oh, Jenny." Buffy sighed, as Ms. Calendar protested angrily, "You broke us up when he was good. And now, you're trying to break us up when we're..."

Her face changed into it's true form, and Jenny stared in horror, shaking her head in disbelief.

"bad."

"No. You're not...you're..."

"Buffy."

Jenny ran. She made it all the way to the door, before running into Angel with a thud. He was laughing.

"NO!"

He stared at her in mock seriousness. "Yes," he frowned like an adult telling a child to go to bed.

She kicked him in the groin. He snarled, Buffy snarled, and she ran.

Again, she only made it to the end of the hallway before she crashed into Angel. Again. How the hell does he do that?

He threw her into a wall as hard as he could, and she fell to the floor, stunned. Buffy strolled slowly up to Angel. She glanced at Jenny for a second.

"One."

She and Angel kissed, and the teacher slowly came to her senses.

"Two," murmured Angel.

Jenny stared at the two of them, looked for a weapon, and ran.

"Three."

It started out as a stroll. Jenny was sobbing in frustration and fear, there was nothing to fight with and nowhere to run. She sprinted, they walked. She would die as Giles had. Alone and in the dark. She had only one comfort- the computer. They hadn't touched it. If only Willow found it before they, did, she could do something. Jenny would not die in vain.

"No. I won't die at all," she panted to herself, and reached the door. It was locked, but she smashed into it as hard as she could and it opened. Wincing and holding one shoulder, she kept running.

Buffy and Angel picked up the pace. They separated, Angel ran straight after Ms. Calendar and Buffy ran to the trees, watching.

Ms. Calendar had hope. She might make it now, she was outside and there was a road just behind her. She ran as fast as she could, ignoring her pain and her aching lungs. She looked behind her for an instant, and saw Angel running after her. She didn't look long enough to see Buffy, just to see how close her pursuers were.

She was almost at the road now, maybe 50 feet away. She could see cars, close enough to scream at, but she could barely breathe. She had hope now, she KNEW she would make it...

Buffy tackled her from behind and she went down with a scream. She felt cold arms lift her up, and suddenly, the cars were moving away from her and the world was spinning upside down. She hit the ground hard on her stomach, and the world faded from light to dark and light again. She realized dimly that she had been thrown, and no one would see her. Buffy was at her side.

"Hey teacher. You get an A for effort anyway," Buffy said demurely, smiling.

"But an F for escape tactics. It's over," Angel finished, and joined Buffy. Ms. Calendar struggled to stand.

"No, really. Don't trouble yourself," Angel said as he kicked her hard in the side. She groaned in agony.

"After all," said Buffy, "You've been working all night to destroy a picture-perfect couple."

"If we could be in pictures," Angel said, thinking out loud.

"Now it's time you had a rest," Buffy grinned.

They pulled her to her feet roughly, and she screamed. She was terrified.

They loved it. Buffy was first to bite, and Angel couldn't resist following her on the other side. Ms. Calendar cried. Tears ran down her face, and she felt a dying weakness set in. They held her up. The whole world was fading again, and then, it went black.

"Mmm. Tastes good," Buffy growled happily. The two laced hands and walked into the night.

The End