Taming the Muse Prompt 13, Masquerade, BtVS, PG

[thismaz]

I had never heard the expression 'Bait and Switch' but the ever reliable Wikipedia came to the rescue: A bait and switch is a form of fraud in which the fraudster lures in customers by advertising a good at an unprofitably low price, then reveals to potential customers that the advertised good is not available but that a substitute good is.

Title: Masquerade
Fandom: BtVS
Prompt: #13 - Bait and Switch
At: tamingthemuse
Warnings: Implied character death.
Rating: Pg
Summary: Angelus comes home and he has plans. What if he'd really been as clever as he should have been?
Otherwise known as playing with the conversation between Spike and Angelus, when Angelus first comes back to his family in season 2.
Notes: Some dialogue borrowed and adapted from BtVS Episode 2:14. Innocence, Part 2





Masquerade

The delight was real, but underneath was a sliver of dread, sullying Spike's image of the happily reunited family. There was something about the way Dru's attention kept straying towards her sire - it worried Spike. Stuck in this damned wheelchair it wasn't like he had much to offer her - all parts may be present, but they weren't exactly fully functional. He took a deep breath, pushing his doubts away and sat back to enjoy Angelus' account of how he came to be back with them. He was right - Spike didn't believe it the first time. But when Angelus went into the details of his night of passion, describing the Slayer's loving surrender and the soul's capitulation to bliss, his cynical eyes held a gleam of wonder which was somehow more convincing than mere words.

Dru was absolutely delighted by the stupidity of gypsy magic, for not catching that loophole - it was all very well to curse someone to suffer, but the idea that the spell would be nullified if the victim overcame its purpose was just clumsy, in her opinion. She danced her delight across the room, landing in Spike's lap and his worries dissipated in the face of her obvious devotion.

Angelus was still lounging back against the table basking in the afterglow of his returned freedom, Dru's arms were around Spike's neck and all was right with the world. Joseph and Amanda returned with carry-out over their shoulders and Spike's spirits rose further as he played the polite host and offered Angelus his pick. That earned him a flash of a smile and he began to feel better, washed by the warmth of Angelus' gaze. It wouldn't be easy - him being fully grown into his independence over the last one hundred years, but there was something comfortable about allowing the old patterns to re-establish, too. Disabled as he was, it was difficult to keep the minions in line and Angelus always did enjoy playing the paterfamilias. Spike wouldn't mind shedding the load of leadership for a while.

"We'd be gone by now, if it weren't for this bloody chair," Spike explained. "We only came for Dru's cure - thank you for that by the way," he added, sarcastically.

Angelus frowned for a moment. "If it had been up to me, you would've just had to ask," he said. "I'd apologise, but really, I wasn't myself."

Spike felt Dru shrug and he followed her lead. "Not a problem, mate. We know it wasn't you. It's so good to have you back now, though. In fact, it's bloody fantastic!"

Dru got up and skittered away down the room, twirling her happiness. Spike watched indulgently and shared another smile with Angelus. He would not remember how, on the first night of his turning, Angelus had shown him that Dru would always be Angelus', never Spike's. He'd had a hundred years since then - more time than Angelus ever had with her. What did it matter that the first 20 years were supposed to be the formative ones, when habits and attitudes solidified in the undead brain. It didn't matter that Angelus had had the breaking of her, he, Spike, had had the mending. She loved him, not Angelus. And, if he wasn't mistaken, Angelus had someone else to play with now.

"So, Sire," he asked, rubbing his hands together and sitting back in his chair. "What about this Slayer problem, then? Does she know you're back yet?"

Angelus' smirk reappeared, giving his handsome face more character than it held in repose. "No, and I don't intend to inform her," he said.

That was unexpected and Spike allowed his puzzlement to show. "So, what, you're going to continue playing the house broken puppy?" He asked, incredulous of the proposal. "'Cause I've got to tell you, it made me sick to my stomach seeing you being the Slayer's lap dog. I mean... I know you haven't been in the game for a while, but we still do kill people. Sort of our raison d'etre, you know." He was pleading, but he didn't care. This wasn't what he'd expected from his former mentor.

Angelus shook his head in mock disappointment. "Spike, my boy, you really don't get it. Do you?" He laughed. "Be patient. She doesn't know I'm back. She thinks I'm her precious Angel." He sighed, a deep, smug, nostalgic sigh. "Just like Kathy, she'll let me in and then..." He trailed off and his smirk became a full-on smile. "I guarantee you by the end of the night she won't be anything resembling a threat."

Spike blinked, momentarily blinded by memories of other times, other cities, other hunts, when that smile had flashed out signalling Angelus' glee. "Isn't that a bit... Unsporting?" He asked.

"Unsporting?" It was Angelus' turn to sound incredulous. "There's no such thing. And if there were, it wouldn't apply to us." His use of the word 'us' sent a thrill through Spike, although he found his temper tested by Angelus' next words. "You've tried to kill her, but you couldn't. Look at you. You're a wreck! She's stronger than any Slayer you've ever faced. Force won't get it done. You gotta work from the inside. To kill this girl..." His voice softened, taking on an almost indulgent note. "To kill this girl, you have to love her." He stepped up to Spike's chair, grabbed him by the shirt and bent down to drop a kiss on his forehead, before stepping back and jumping up to sit on the table, totally relaxed, totally in charge.

Spike burst into laughter, shaking his head. "You do what you like. But, I'm just checking, you are going to kill her, aren't you?"

Angelus' expression darkened. "Oh, yes! She made me feel like a human being. That's not the kind of thing you just forgive and forget." He paused, smiling again, as if savouring his next words in advance. "I'm going to go and talk to her," he said.

Spike looked up at him, eyebrows raised. "You're going to talk her to death?"

"I'm going to talk her into death."

*****

From the shelter of a thick clump of bushes Spike and Dru watched Angelus walk across the park towards the Slayer. With every step his gait changed, became more hesitant, and his shoulders sagged as he hunched in upon himself. Spike knew that if he were able to see Angelus' face, his eyes would be heavy lidded and sorrowful and his mouth turned down at the edges. He watched as Buffy turned, some internal sense recognising the approach of a vampire and her body tensed, before relaxing as she recognised the figure approaching her. Angelus walked up to her and paused, hesitantly, a few feet away. She gazed up at him, her relief at seeing him shining in her eyes as clearly as her love. She closed the gap between them, her body language asking a question, even if he couldn't hear her words. Angelus shrugged, looking even more hang-dog. When she paused, he nodded and lifted his right hand, stroking the back of his forefinger down her cheek in a tender caress. Whatever he said in reply appeared to satisfy her and she lifted her face in invitation. Spike watched as Angelus bent down to gently kiss her up-turned lips. Her arms went around his shoulders, hugging him tightly to her and he buried his face in her neck.

Soon they would have a new sister and Spike would no longer be the youngest. But most importantly, Angelus would have his new obsession close, which meant he'd leave Dru alone.

Word count: 1,276

Comments

[jans-intentions.livejournal.com]

Mmmmm, I liked this one. It made total sense of Angelus' obsession for Buffy.

[thismaz.livejournal.com]

Thank you. I always thought his way of dealing with Buffy was a bit lame - not to mention stupidly inefficient.

And you obviously got here, so you should probably ignore my previous post on TtM? *g*

[sparrow2000.livejournal.com]

"Joseph and Amanda returned with carry-out over their shoulders" Snerk..

Very nicely done. So many fics with Angelus are so in your face with the rape and pillaging that it's easy to forget just how Machiavellian the character was. And the whole persona of being head of the family was all the more chilling for its cosiness

"I'm going to talk her into death." Shiver!

[thismaz.livejournal.com]

*g* Thank you. I am so glad you 'liked' him.

[lit-gal.livejournal.com]

Oh yeah... the return of the creepy master vampire who actually IS scary. This is how Angelus should have done it on the show!

I caught one typo.

Does she know your [you're] back yet?

[thismaz.livejournal.com]

*g* Thank you so much. But if he had, we'd have only had 1 1/2 series.... so probably just as well he was a bit slow, when it came to taking out Buffy.

And thanks for the catch - caught and mended.

[lit-gal.livejournal.com]

Oh, I don't know. Buffy versus Kendra or Buffy versus Faith (not to mention Buffy versus the other Scoobies) would have been mighty entertaining. However, I still think this version strikes closer to the characterization of Angelus we see throughout the series. He was a little bit of a coward, and a whole lot of manipulative.

[thismaz.livejournal.com]

Oh no, poor Kendra, she wouldn't have stood a chance. Angelus, Spike, Dru and Buffy against Faith though... A Faith not embittered by being seen as Buffy's inadequate shadow... A Faith with Giles as her Watcher... No maybe not... but with the other Scoobies... And Wesley wouldn't last long... or maybe he would grow out of his rigidity, as Giles did...

No! I'm not writing it!

Roll up, roll up, bunny in need of a good home, roll up.

[texanfan.livejournal.com]

As clever as Angelus can be, you've got wonder why this wasn't the way it went down. would have worked.

[thismaz.livejournal.com]

Thanks. It probably would, because she didn't realise when she saw him, twice, before Jenny exposed him. Interestingly, Xander was worried about something from the moment he saw Angelus in the school, while Willow was merely hesitant.

[smwright.livejournal.com]

Nicely chilling and... very Angelus.

I believe every word he says.

[thismaz.livejournal.com]

Thank you very much, I was worried about writing Angelus, so I'm glad it summoned up a chill.
*laughs* Well most of the words he says are rearranged from the original episode, so there is established precedent for believing him *wink*

[kidcyclone.livejournal.com]

I always love a good piece about Spike and the 'Fam, and this was great! I confess I root for the vampires, so I love the idea of Angelus being able to masquarade as his souled self and dupe the Slayer until it was too late. The possibilities of a Slayer-turned-vampire are intriguing to me... thanks for this! Great characterization and dialogue...

[thismaz.livejournal.com]

*g* Thank you so much. I remember when I saw season 2 for the first time, I couldn't help thinking that there was no way Angelus could have failed to kill her, if he had really wanted to.
And he was a tricky, manipulative creature, so why he went and gave that away in the school corridor.... But then the series would have ended after 20 episodes, so just as well.
Hmmm, a turned slayer could be interesting. Does the 'spark' that makes her 'special' stay with her or does it pass on to the next slayer with her death?
Thanks for stopping by and commenting.

[brunettepet.livejournal.com]

Chilling. If Angelus had been more subtle, it could easily have gone this way. These four could cut quite the bloody path through Sunnydale.

[thismaz.livejournal.com]

Thank you. I'm glad it created a chill.
Wouldn't they just have created havoc? I've never read a convincing story where it happened, but that might be because of my choice of OTP *g* I do enjoy imagining it though.

[sentine.livejournal.com]

This is delightfully chilling, and somehow very nice to see the bloody family get along so well ;)

[thismaz.livejournal.com]

Thank you very much. Yeah, getting on as well as such a dysfunctional family could *g* I'm so glad you enjoyed it.

[annegables.livejournal.com]

Very, very cool. Angelus obviously had this planned for Buffy as he was following the same idea that he did with Dru - send them crazy and then kill them.

[thismaz.livejournal.com]

I do like my Angelus with a bit of intelligence and cunning. I never could understand why he threw away the advantage he had in that episode. Thank you. I'm so pleased you enjoyed it.

[ares132006.livejournal.com]

Sigh...how different would the show have been if Angelus had been successful in his plans. But, this being Buffy's show, it wasn't meant to be.

Really, an evil genius such as Aneglus should've prevailed where others had failed.

Great piece.

[thismaz.livejournal.com]

*g* Wouldn't it just. A short series with a rather anticlimactic end, as far as the main concept was concerned.
Angelus never killed a slayer. Strange that. I suspect he was too sensible to go after them, most of the time. Meanwhile, Spike bagged two. *g*
Thank you. I'm so glad you enjoyed it.

[ares132006.livejournal.com]

I wonder about that. Angelus never killing a slayer. He said he avoided them, he never did say whether he hadn't killed one. Think about it, if Angelus had been known to kill a slayer he would've been at the top of the Council's list to be killed, at least, even more so than he was. Spike, however, is always the bragger, never caring about who knows or not. Actually, caring about who knows about his exploits.

A demon like Angelus, one of the most vicious vampires the Council had known, would've killed a slayer or two in his time. If not, then he was being careful, feeling free to carry on decimating Europe without too much interference from the Council. ;0)

On the other hand, wouldn't the Council have sent Slayers against Angelus because he was such a monster?

[thismaz.livejournal.com]

That's an interesting theory. And one of the nice thing about fan fiction is that you can play with any idea that isn't explicitly stated in canon (and you can even twist them, if it fits the story).
However, personally, I have to differ. I think the Council knew about the deaths of all their slayers, at least in modern times (meaning, since the dark ages). Alternatively, even if one was born in an out of the way place and never located by the council, Angelus's unlife was well documented, at least until he went into hidding with his soul.
If the council didn't know all of Angelus's doings, they would know if he killed a slayer. It was one of the first things Giles said of Spike, but he never said anything similar about Angelus.
Darla and Angelus were not overly cautious, but they were careful and the way Angelus talked when he told Spike about slayers, suggested that he wouldn't run away from one if she found him (*g* well, he didn't did he?) but he wouldn't go looking for her either.
Also, the Council didn't seem to send the slayer to places, rather the watcher relocated to where the slayer was. I've always wondered if which potential actually got called, didn't have as much to do with where she was living at the time, as who she was?
All of which doesn't mean Angelus never did kill a slayer. Those are just my reasons for tending towards the belief that he didn't.

[ares132006.livejournal.com]

And one of the nice thing about fan fiction is that you can play with any idea that isn't explicitly stated in canon (and you can even twist them, if it fits the story).
And have conversations about those ideas. :0)

I think the Council knew about the deaths of all their slayers,

I think so too. However, I'm sure there would've been slayers who appeared to die of an accident or just plain disappeared, their watchers none the wiser. Angelus would've been devious enough to despatch a slayer who got in his way and make it look enough like an accident or whatever so that he wasn't implicated. This is only a theory. I'm leaning towards what was said on the show and Angelus saying he wouldn't go looking for slayers but he wouldn't run from them, either.

Does this mean we are in agreement? ;0)

[thismaz.livejournal.com]

Yeah, conversations are fun.
Yes, there would always be slayers who were killed but unknown vampires, you are right. Angelus could have been one of them. There is certainly no reason why you can't have Angelus with a slayer on his record, although I think if you wrote it, you'd need a line to explain why that was an unknown fact.

I'm leaning towards what was said on the show and Angelus saying he wouldn't go looking for slayers but he wouldn't run from them, either.
Sorry, I think I gave a false impression there. He didn't actually say that, so clearly. That was just the implication that I took from his tone.
The actual exchange I was thinking of went like this:
Angelus: You've got me and my women hiding in the luxury of a mine shaft, all because William the Bloody likes the attention. This is not a reputation we need.
Spike: Oh, I'm sorry. Did I sully our good name? We're vampires.
Angelus: All the more reason to use a certain amount of finesse.
Angelus: No. A real kill. A good kill. It takes pure artistry. Without that, we're just animals.
Spike: Poofter!
Angelus: You can't keep this up forever. If I can't teach you, maybe someday an angry crowd will. That... or the Slayer.
Spike: What's a Slayer?

And we are certainly not in disagreement. Maybe in debate? *g* Thank you for the conversation.

[ares132006.livejournal.com]

Ah! Thanks for the correction. I hadn't gone to look at the transcripts - lazy old me.

It does appear, from this conversation, that Angelus was a lot more careful, and clever, in the way that he went about things - mayhem and bloodletting. Even then he got a reputation, careful or no.

Debates are good. Thanks for the chat.

[thismaz.livejournal.com]

And thank you. I enjoyed it.