A/Notes: This is set during Season 2 when Angelus is roaming around Sunnydale and set a short time after the Scoobies have revoked Angel's invitation to their houses. This is a very black comedy and is for Charity, with special mention to Betsy for being a genius and naming both the story and the creature.
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~Part: 1~
Angelus moved silently through the dark shadows, the thrill of the hunt was something he'd never tire of and tonight it was especially sweet. Tonight he was going to feast on the most tender and succulent piece of flesh that Sunnydale had to offer, the sweet little virgin redhead who was barely a few feet away from him. Willow. Tomorrow her name would be wailed in sorrow and the pain would tear the Slayer apart, devastate her and leave a gaping wound in the Scooby Gang that would never heal.
A feral grin graced his demonic features as he stepped out of the darkness and he lengthened his stride, following the unsuspecting girl as she made her way through the practically deserted streets to her home. Licking his lips in anticipation, Angelus could almost taste the blood, feel it flooding his mouth, hot and delectable. She would scream, he was certain of that, was looking forward to hearing it, and maybe he'd let her run for a while, get her heart pumping to spice her blood with adrenaline. The blood would surge then, when he caught her and his teeth pierced the succulent, sweet flesh of her throat, perhaps she'd struggle and even better, she would scream. His yellow demon eyes fluttered in ecstasy at the thought of her tears and he dropped his head down, growling low in his throat.
It was a growl that reverberated about the empty street and Willow stopped walking, her throat tightening with panic as her body stiffened in fear. The rumble continued, hitching in a snarl and she spun to find Angelus barely twenty feet away, his lips pealed back to bare his teeth. Blanching, she started to back away, but for every tiny step she took he would stride forward until he was close enough for her to truly fear and that was her downfall. With terror being the motivating force, Willow turned in an attempt to run away, but she stumbled and crashed down onto the pavement.
"You know, I just love women who fall at my feet," Angelus chuckled from above her as Willow scrambled on the pavement, twisting about to fix her wide, terrified green eyes on him and he leaned over her, grinning like some feral Cheshire cat.
"Angelus..." Willow managed to whisper, her breath coming in shallow pants as she realized how dire her situation was. Shaking, she began to slowly inch away from his towering form on her hands. "Please...please don't..."
Barely had the words escaped her mouth before his fist tangled in her long hair, snapping her head sharply back and bringing tears of pain to her eyes as he dragged her into a sitting position.
"You can beg, Willow," he purred her name against her ear, sending shivers down her spine as she struggled to breathe and he rubbed his cheek against hers before his sharp fangs scraped down over the pale flesh, drawing blood. "Won't do you any good...but coming from you..." he pulled back and wetted down his lips, his hooded golden eyes boring into hers. "It's such a turn on..."
"Please..." a single tear trickled down over her bloodied cheek and she closed her eyes, knowing it was useless. That malevolent chuckle rumbled above her and she felt a rush of movement as his fingers tightened in her hair, yanking her head back and baring her throat. "Oh god..."
The fatal bite never came. Instead there was a strange stirring of the air and Willow was splattered with a cool viscous fluid while Angelus' fingers fell away from her hair, letting her fall back against the hard pavement. Stunned, Willow opened her eyes only to be confronted by the vampire standing above her with a gaping wound in his chest and he was just as stunned as she.
Angelus dropped his head down, convulsing slightly as he raised his hand to the cavernous wound and the twisted mess of spindly ivory that was protruding from it, blood dripped from the pale foreign bones and they began to twist and turn in his chest. With a strangled cry of agony, he dropped to his knees, holding his hand in front of his chest as blood poured from the wound, dripping down over Willow and she screamed out in fear. The ivory was folding in on itself, closing into a tight fist and disappearing deep into the cavern of his chest. Beneath him, Willow twisted and turned, crawling out from between his knees and staggering to her feet.
"Willow..." Angelus whispered, dropping one hand down to the pavement to steady himself as he continued to bleed. For a moment their eyes met, the golden glow of the demon locking on the terrified green of the girl before him.
But Willow broke the gaze, staring into the darkness beyond him where a creature was moving, slowly crawling away and leaving a trail of blood behind it. Whatever it was it had obviously been the one that had attacked him and inadvertently saved her. Taking a step back, Willow once more glanced down at the mortally wounded vampire only to find his golden eyes still fixed on her. Without a second thought, she turned her back on him and ran.
Willow ran like the devil himself was on her tail, chasing her through the night. Somewhere, above the pounding of her heart and the rasp of her frantic breathing, she thought she heard footsteps and it made her frenzied flight even more terrifying. The streets became a blur as she ran blindly to the closest safe haven. By the time she reached Giles' apartment complex, she could barely breathe, the night air burning in her lungs as she flung herself at his door.
"Giles! Giles!" she screamed, pounding on the door, petrified that he wasn't home. However the door swung open and she fell into his arms. "Oh Giles, thank god, I thought he was going to kill me and then this...this thing shot him or something and he was bleeding and...and it was just...I thought he was going to kill me!"
"Willow?" Giles asked, ushering her into his tiny apartment and kicking the door closed behind them. For a moment he simply held her trembling form, holding her in a tight protective embrace, one hand stroking her hair, trying to soothe the terrified girl. "Willow, it's alright, you're safe now," he murmured, pulling back and paling at the sight of her ashen face splattered with blood. "Here..." he said softly, guiding her over to his sofa. "Sit down..." he urged, easily pulling her down and reaching out to push the hair off her face, easing his own mind that she was in fact unhurt. "Tell me what happened, who was trying to kill you?"
"Angelus," she whispered hoarsely, her eyes filling with tears of terror and her face paled even more, the scarlet of his blood merging with her own in the grazes that his fangs had made. "I was walking home by myself," she frowned and shook her head, the tears spilling down her cheeks. "It was stupid, I shouldn't have done it...I know that...but I didn't think that he'd...that he'd..."
"Shhh," hushed Giles, pulling her close and letting her sob against his shoulder. "It's alright now, Willow, you're safe here. He didn't hurt you, did he?"
She couldn't hear him, too consumed by what had just happened.
"And he would have killed me...he was so close...and...and..." she hiccupped through the tears and pulled back from the Watcher, her eyes wide in bewilderment. "This thing, I don't know what it was, a demon or some type of creature, it shot him or something...there was a great big gaping hole in his chest. He couldn't survive that, could he? I mean that's the deal with vampires, right? You pierce their heart or cut off their head and poof, they're dead...right?"
"He was attacked? By another demon?" asked Giles, frowning over the turn of events, uncertain of why some other demon would try to kill a vampire that had a veto against the Slayer. After all it didn't quite make sense unless the attack was personal. But any thoughts of the other creature were soon forgotten as his concern once more focused on the frightened girl sitting next to him. For the first time he noticed the gashes on her cheek and he reached out, carefully running his fingers across her blood splattered cheek. "Willow, are you alright? He didn't hurt you, did he?"
"No," she said quietly, shaking her head.
"Oh, thank god," Giles said, pulling her to him and holding her tightly.
The quiet sanctuary of the apartment was annihilated as the door exploded, splintering into a thousand pieces as it was kicked from the security of its locks and hinges. As the pandemonium of noise and debris cleared, there on the threshold stood Angelus, unscathed ~ as if the encounter with the creature had never happened.
Willow screamed, grabbing at Giles in terror as he rose to his feet, standing over his young charge.
"You're not welcomed here, Angelus," his voice was low and threatening while he had every confidence in the spell they had all cast to revoke the dark haired vampire's invitation to their homes.
"Love," Angelus stated, spreading his arms wide and smirking at the duo. "Has given me wings..." the smirk fell away as his dark eyes dropped down to lock on Willow and he stepped over the threshold. "And an all access pass."
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