Disclaimers
Buffy and Co. belongs exclusively to Joss Whedon and Mutant Enemy. I claim
them not. However, there are a few exceptions. Anyone who does not belong
to the Buffyverse as we know it, belongs to me except Stephanie belongs to
Ivory (Thanks) and Tom belongs to no one but himself and maybe his current
girlfriend (although there are some differences in his character here and the
real him.). Any allusion to Immortals belongs to Highlander and the
associated people. If I missed anything, please don't be mad.
This story takes place shortly after the events in "Two Slayers Are Better
Than One", a story by Ivory. I did change one fact that will be clear if you
have read the story. I do suggest you read it just so that you will know who
Stephanie is (shameless plug time!). Warning: this story contains an
innuendo of rape. If this is going to bug you, don't read it. Now, on with
the show. . .
Budapest 1898
"Angelus, you are an idiot! You don't think worth a damn!"
Maria Corelli raged as she pushed the much larger vampire against the wall of the cave in which they stood. Angelus growled but did not try to defend himself-such an attempt would be futile and unwise for she was his leader and fully capable of destroying him. On the ground, not three feet away, lay the object of their argument: a young girl, no more than eighteen, arms tightly bound behind her and tears streaming down her terror-stricken face. No more than an hour earlier, Angelus, Maria, and the rest of their pack were feasting on the panic-stricken populace during the aftermath of a strong earthquake. As sunrise approached, the pack parted, agreeing to meet in an hour at their cave. When Maria returned to the cave she discovered that Angelus, always the most ravenous, had grabbed himself a snack. The only problem was that this girl represented trouble.
"Do you know who she is?" without waiting for a response, Maria went on, "She is a Romani healer. Her people will hunt for her and will avenge her death. You must always think of the pack when you go hunting, do not bring unnecessary trouble down on us."
Angelus replied, "What are they to us but our next meal? Anyone who comes looking for the girl will merely be the pack's next tasty morsel. I will hide the girl's body well and all will be well."
They argued for a few more minutes until Maria relented. By this time, it became obvious that the pack had become trapped in the city and it was Maria's job as leader to make sure they had lodging against the deadly rays of the sun so she did not have time to fully argue her position.
"Just be quick about it and I will see you later."
With a gratified growl, Angelus knelt besides his prey. He raised one hand to her cheek and allowed it to stroke downward and explore her body. Seeing what he had in mind made the girl shriek and made Maria sigh in exasperation.
"I really wish you wouldn't play with your food," she said as she walked out in search of the pack.
She gave slight pause in recognition of her gender to extend some pity to the girl. Not much though.
The next evening, the pack which consisted of: Darla, the former leader and Angelus' mate, Damien, consort to the present leader, Thierry, the youngest of the group, Viola, his mate, Damia, Damien's twin sister, Andrew, and Marlana, the great beauty of the group, returned to the cave. Long ago, they decided that there was strength in numbers and together they were unstoppable. They expected to come home and find Angelus asleep. He was always the last to rise and lately it was becoming annoying. When they entered, they saw a note and no Angelus. Darla rushed in, picked up the note, and read it, her voice shaking in pure rage. The note read:
For his crimes against the Rom, Angelus has been brought before the council of Elders and his fate shall be decided there. Leave Budapest and never return or join him.
It was unsigned.
Darla shrieked with sorrow and rage while Maria said simply, "We leave tonight."
Questions, Comments? E Mail me at MCAT781@aol.com. I live for my fans but don't shoot me down. This is my first fanfic.
Springwood, OH 2001
"I don't understand why I have to go with you. I'm going to be bored out of my mind!"
Jackie Corelli-Capone was raging yet again about her, her husband's, and her mother's upcoming trip to California. Normally it would be a big deal but they weren't going to a big, famous city like L.A. They were going to a little, nothing town called Sunnydale just so her mom could see some old friend of hers. Her husband, Tom was no happier about the trip, but he wasn't complaining and, frankly, Jackie's mom was glad of that. She had quit responding to Jackie's question days ago, and Jackie was getting on her nerves.
"It's been such a long time since he's seen me. I wonder if he'll remember?" her mom mused as she packed, taking special care with a small jewelry box.
She snapped out of her reverie as her significant other, poked his head in the door and said, "Sweetheart, are you ready, our plane leaves in a few hours, and I don't want to miss it?"
Maria Corelli replied, "Soon Damien, soon."
Sunnydale, CA
Buffy Summers was tired. There was a strange lack of vampire activity, her friends, Willow Rosenberg and Xander Harris, were sick, and The Bronze, the town's only hangout, was closed. Angel was around some of the time, but he was in such a strange mood that he did not make her feel any better. Buffy rolled over on her bed and sighed, "There has to be something going on." She didn't really care about it though. She hadn't had a lot of energy lately, and she was enjoying the lack of activity. It felt good.
The next day, the Slayerettes met in the library as usual, even though there was nothing to do. Giles, Buffy's Watcher and trainer, stared at his watch and sighed. A little later, Angel came in through the passages under the library and sat down. Buffy was still trying to figure out his strange mood. Everyone talked about this and that and were, in general, bored out of their skulls. Suddenly, the library doors opened and a voice cried out, "Angelus!"
Startled, Angel and the others turned around to see two women and two men standing in the doorway. The one who had spoken was tall with long red hair and flashing emerald eyes. She was elegant on a grand scale and the tone of voice she used, jovial and enthusiastic and of a cheerleader-type quality, completed the look with its contrast. Xander, Buffy, Willow, and Giles were surprised, but Angel's reaction was the strangest of all. He started to steadily back up until his back was against the wall and real fear shown in his eyes.
Buffy immediately took a defensive stance, ready to dust the vamps at any second, but Angel waved her down. "It's OK, she won't hurt you, but she may hurt me."
This did not pacify Buffy but the woman's words did. "I didn't come here to hurt you Angelus, I just came to see you. That's why I sent you that message. I had to see if it were really you."
To her words Angel replied, "Please don't call me Angelus anymore. I go by Angel now."
The woman laughed and said, "I never thought I'd hear you say that. By the way, I told you not to kill that girl. OK, that's out of my system, how are you?"
As a conversation began to ensue Buffy spoke up, "Hey, hello, could someone please tell me who these people are and how they know you?"
"I'm sorry. This is Maria Corelli and Damien Tarossi. She was the leader of the pack I ran with in the old days, and Damien was her lover. I don't know who the other two are."
"This is my daughter, Jackie and her husband, Tom."
To these words Buffy said, "Nice to meet you but why are you here?"
In a softer tone Maria replied, "I came to give him his birthright."
Before Buffy could say anything, Giles spoke up with another question, "Before we even get to the meaning of your last statement I would like to ask a question, only slightly off the subject: How are you and Damien walking around in the sunlight? You entered through the front doors, not through the passages under the library. You had to have been in the sun for at least ten minutes, not to mention every window you passed getting here."
Before Maria could reply, Angel spoke up, "For some odd reason she and Damien have always been able to do that. Not only that, but she can eat real food, although I never saw her do it. That's why she was our leader."
Maria added, "True tale. We were born Immortal and, for some reason, Immortals don't become full vampires. We require some blood of course but nothing else seems to apply."
Finally Xander couldn't stand it anymore, "Whoa, Immortals, vampires walking around in the day, birthrights, leader, will someone tell me what's going on here!"
Maria simply stared at Xander. "Calm down, and I'll explain. First off, Immortals are a race of beings that can't die unless you chop off their head. . ."
Willow interrupted by saying, "Major ick factor huh?"
"You could say that. I was the leader of a pack of Vampires. There were ten of us including Angel's mate, Darla, until Angel was taken by the Gypsies,," Maria continued without missing a beat
Buffy interrupted, "We've met."
"I know, and I know she's dead. I say it's for the best. She was the most unstable of us except for Angel. Getting back to business, let's talk about the birthright which I prefer to call a happy medium."
There was complete silence in the room until Jackie said, "Mom, do you mind if Tom and I leave now? I need some air." She agreed, and they left.
"Sometimes she has a worse attention span than her father. By the way, Angel, she's Damien's, not yours, in case you were worried."
Angel just nodded and kept up with the conversation. Buffy chose not to make a remark.
Maria continued, pulling out a black velvet jewelry box, "This is supposed to belong to you Angel. This ring was passed down in your family for generations. It was supposed to prevent its wearer from becoming a vampire, but all it does is make people like me. It grants a conscience but it also allows the person to live with their past instead of destroying themselves with guilt. The Gypsies plan was probably to make you literally destroy yourself, but obviously that didn't happen. This ring rightfully belongs to you. I have one myself and, trust me, this conscience thing is great. Yes, I have regrets, but they don't rule my life. I've researched and found out that the others have acquired rings of their own. It was destiny that we ran together, we have all found peace. With your ring, you'll be able to walk in the sunlight, and you can eat things other than blood. In addition, it will allow you to regret your actions without crucifying yourself. Most of all, it will grant you some self-control. I know that you no longer hunt because you fear that you can't control the demon, but the ring keeps the demon at bay. You will be able to feed again without killing."
"I won't hunt again. I won't feed on a living soul. People fear us already, why make them fear us more by making them helpless? There are other ways of getting blood."
"You mean your daily trips to the hospital? That's morbid. There are better ways. There are people out there who..."
"I know, there are people who get a high from having a vampire feed on them. I personally think that's sick!"
Maria went on, "One more thing, this ring would allow you the life that I know you want with Buffy, and yes I can tell you love her."
To herself, Maria added, "The look he gives her is the same one that I give to Damien...and once gave to him."
Meanwhile Damien had gone and sat down beside Willow and Xander. Xander immediately pulled Willow a little closer to him, giving Damien a wide berth. Damien gave him a hurt look, but nothing was said about it- it was understood that trust was going to have to be earned. Giles asked for a closer look at the ring while Angel just sat quietly and pondered.
"If I agreed and Buffy and I were together, it would still mean that I'd eventually lose her."
Maria replied, "Not so, you know a Slayer can never be made a vampire. . ."
"What about Step. . . uff." Xander attempted to interrupt but Willow elbowed him in the stomach.
"Not now Xander. Let her live with her illusion."
Maria continued as though nothing had happened. "But they can be made an Immortal. All that requires is a simple transfusion of non-vampire, Immortal blood into her system. She would be an full Immortal. The two of you would be different from any other couple, and you would be together."
"It would be up to Buffy then."
"Just what would my duties be as an Immortal?"
"Well, you'd have to learn to take the heads of other Immortals so that they won't take your quickening."
"Ooh, kinky."
"Be quiet Angel. There'd be less ways to kill her. You'd also have to learn to use a sword or ax."
"Oh, great." Giles was reflecting on what he would have to go through in the training sessions now.
"That's okay Giles, I can teach her."
"Damien, last time you picked up a sword, tights for guys were in style. You're not doing it. I'll teach her."
"Oh great," Giles reflected, "A vampire teaching a Slayer how to kill Immortals. And I thought being a Watcher was bad."
Buffy, a little uncertain about Maria's claim, asked, "I wouldn't be a vampire, right?"
"Right." Maria agreed, and the deal was made: Angel would wear the ring, and Buffy would become Immortal!
Willow spoke up, "Where will you find an Immortal to give the blood, they can't be easy to find?"
Angel began putting the pieces together, "That's why Jackie's here, isn't it?"
Maria replied, "You catch on quick, she'll be back in an hour."
About ten minutes clicked by in silence when suddenly the door to the passageways flew open and Jackie and Tom came flying in with three vampires on their tails.
Buffy quickly flew into action, and two were slain in a fraction of a second. The third was giving her a hard time. He threw Buffy hard against a wall and knocked Angel, Damien, Jackie, and Xander out of the way. He lowered his fangs to Buffy's neck. Two seconds later a stake exploded through the vamp's back and into his heart. He was dust. Everyone turned around and there, with a surprised look on his face, was Tom.
"Okay, okay, I can deal with there being more than one slayer in a generation. Cases like Stefanie's do happen, but one common thread amongst us is that we are all female. Unless there's something you want to tell us Tom, there's a serious problem here.", Buffy was definitely losing it.
"Who's Stefanie?" Jackie asked.
Angel answered, "She was a slayer in the sixties who was turned into a vampire. . . oops."
Maria, looking at Angel, but casting glances at Buffy, asked, "It can happen?"
"Getting back to the story, she still slays to this day. Now, what is going on?"
Suddenly a voice came from the shadows, "He is one of the Two, the Millennial slayers." Everybody turned to the new speaker hoping to get more information. When they did so, a person stepped into the light and a gasp was heard all over the room.
The person who had spoken was Darla!