Becoming One(Part 10)

["Pat Kelly"]

Freddy Kruger is a character created by Wes Craven and is the property of New Line Cinema as well as the entire Nightmare on Elm Street series. Not mine. Best horror flicks of all time. Enjoy.

A NIGHTMARE IN SUNNYDALE


The lights in Jake's bedroom were off. Candles were lit all around the room. The flames flickered showing the various objects that he had on display. A Freddy Kruger poster hung on his door. A glove with five razors sat on his bureau. All seven films were on his shelf, along with a doll, a dirty brown hat, and red and green sweater.

Playing in his VCR was the original film. The one that started the series. Started his obsession. His friend sat beside him, looking nervous.

"This is crazy."

"Why? You scared?" Jake asked, amused.

"Course not, it's just -"

"Ssh. This is cool. Right before Tina bites it."

The TV showed Tina, the first victim, staring down an alley at an approaching Freddy.

"Please God."

He held up his gloved hand. "This.is God."

Jake focused his attention back on his task. He dropped a magazine clipping of Freddy into a bowl, and a piece of the sweater. He bought the original outfit at a recent auction, it had cost him, and his parents' credit cards a lot of money.

"He's the best horror villain of all time, man."

"Yeah, yeah he is. Isn't this.dangerous?"

"Look, I got this book that said that if people believe in something enough, even something in a movie, it can take on a life of it's own."

"But.he's just a guy in messed up latex."

"Maybe, but the name Freddy Kruger scares everybody in some way. He's etched in my mind. Every night I go to sleep." He knew he sounded nuts, but he was beyond caring.

"So you wanna make him real? Come on, Jake."

"If you don't believe, get out. I won't stop you."

"No.no.I'll stay."

Jake closed his eyes, and began to chant the words from the book. He had become fascinated with the occult. And that coupled with obsessing over a teenage-killing maniac, was not a good mix.

"Bring forth the essence of the being." Jake lit a match, and started burning the contents of the bowl. Smoke started to rise. "Let him enter reality. Let his evil leave the fictional realm, release him from his prison."

The wind picked from outside and the candles blew out. The movie was still running.

"I brought something back from my dream." Nancy said on screen, holding Kruger's hat.

It all stopped after a minute. And both boys jumped up, looking around the room frantically.

"Didn't work." His friend sighed in relief.

"Guess not." Jake said, almost sadly.

"See you tomorrow? Gotta get home."

"Yeah, tomorrow."

"Sleep tight." He said sarcastically.

"Funny."

***


An hour later, Jake went to sleep frustrated. He knew it wasn't going to work, but still.

In the middle of the night, he woke up hearing a screeching sound. He reached over to his bureau, and turned on the lamp.

The glove.was missing. He got out of bed quickly.

The TV came on. Little girls in pure white dresses were jump roping in a park. And singing.

"One, two Freddy's coming for you,

"Three, Four better lock your door,

"Five, Six grab your crucifix,

"Seven, Eight better stay up late,

"Nine, Ten never sleep again."

He went over to the TV, and checked the VCR on top of it. No tape. This dream was different. He didn't feel.in control. He went to turn the TV off, and a gloved hand reached through the screen, and grabbed his shirt.

He was staring face to face with his obsession.

"You wanted me, Piglet. Well, Freddy's home."

"But. this isn't Elm Street."

"You watch too many movies."

The last thing Jake saw was razor blades coming at his eyes.

***


"So what's the up?" Buffy asked Giles and Willow when she entered her ex-watcher's home.

She had just come back from the college campus. That was not one of her top things to repeat. Trying to explain why you were not attending classes for a little over two months was not easy.

But together with her mother, doctor and nurse testimonials explaining her situation, she had cut a deal. She would study with a tutor to catch up on the stuff she missed. Which wasn't so bad, except that wasn't it. She'd have to attend courses over the summer so she'd have all the necessary credits to not repeat her freshman year.

But besides that, it was amazing how great she felt. She was back. Whole and complete. She could hold Willow again. Ever since she got back, using Willow's own blood to help her come back, they were closer. In every sense of the word.

They just couldn't place how. Something about the spell Wesley provided them with, maybe. Oh, well. It wasn't like it was a bad thing. Plus, they had other things to worry about. Like dealing with Angelus, who had gone into hiding. Nobody liked that at all.

Willow handed her a newspaper. "A gift? Really, Will." She said sarcastically. The red head smirked a little, but quickly looked worried. Buffy took the hint, and read the headline on the front page. "Teenage boy found murdered. Not to sound uncaring, as I am kind of desensitized, but what else is new?"

"The reporter doesn't go into many details, but.he does say that the eyes were.removed. And there were carvings."

"Where?"

"On his chest. Like razors." Willow said quietly.

"So that rules out vamps, right?"

"And leaves us an endless supply of various demons to consider." Giles said.

"Something.doesn't seem right." Willow added, sounding unnerved.

Willow was going full-speed into the magick area. She still trained herself, although not with the Goddess, sometimes it was with Buffy. She was more attuned to, well, everything. And it scared her somewhat. Add to that that she still felt residual effects from Buffy's slayerness, and had no idea why, she was rushing to get a grip on everything.

So much had happened to her during the time that Buffy was gone. She had become different. Not in a bad way, just.different. More independent, she was realizing that there was more purpose to everything she did, and everything she would do.

But even as independent as she had become, she thanked whatever forces had helped her to get Buffy back, because she needed her. That was the one thing she was clear on.

"As in?" Buffy asked her.

"Not sure. Just a feeling."

"Maybe you should visit the morgue. See if -" Giles started.

"Oh no. Giles, Willow and I are not going to go snooping around in a morgue. You're the reason they say romance is dead, you know. Sending us to places like that."

"Do you have to be romantic everywhere you go?"

"Maybe." Buffy said, pulling Willow to her, and giving her a quick kiss.

"Then what do you suggest we do?"

'Tell him, Will.'

'Duh! Why didn't I think of that?' Willow sent back, seeing what Buffy had in mind.

"I hack into the medical examiner's files and get the autopsy report. I may have been real witchy lately, but I haven't forgotten how to use a computer."

"Plus, it's safer." Buffy added. "Where's your laptop, Will?"

"It's in the closet upstairs. I kept it here.while you were gone.I."

'It's okay. I'm right here.'

Giles watched as Willow nodded to what he assumed was a silent exchange. He was happy, extremely happy, that Buffy was safe, and that Willow had her back. Any parental figure would be. But he was also envious of them. Of the deepness, and the unspoken feelings they shared with one another. He didn't know if he'd ever feel that. He hadn't had enough time with Jenny.

He had shut himself off to the hope of ever finding companionship again, which was probably a bad mistake on his part, but he'd have to live with it. He made his own choices, and he couldn't blame anybody else for them. And he most certainly couldn't hold Buffy and Willow's happiness against them.

"I'll," They looked at him, "I'll go get it."

***


Nikki Coleman was an intern. Sunnydale was the only place in the world that offered internships for a morgue. But she was studying forensics/pathology, so it was a good place to learn. She had a pretty strong stomach. She had seen a lot of gruesome stuff come in, and she had dealt with it. She could handle anything.

But the new one that had come in.was weird. The pathologist had found no fingerprints, no real sign of a struggle; and whatever or whoever had done it, had fun. Of course she wasn't supposed to know that, but having access to the computer system helped. It was all part of the learning process.

Besides, she had assisted the pathologist before. She would've found out anyway. Eventually.

The guard had left her alone while he ran home to check on his kids. They had been sick lately. So she was left alone with drawers of dead bodies. They never seemed to run out of those. And it was exhausting.

She could doze off for a few seconds. It wouldn't hurt.


A few seconds later, she opened her eyes.

"I guess sleep doesn't want me."

"I want you." A deep voice said that echoed across the walls.

"Who said that?"

No answer.

Then there was a banging. In the storage room. She got up cautiously, and walked into the room. It was quiet, and then.there it was again. It sounded like it was coming from inside one of the drawers.

"But that's impossible."

"Nicole." The voice said her name. How'd it know her name?

The noise started again, and she went over to the drawer she thought it was coming from. Frightened, but curious at the same time, she opened it, and slid out the tray.

Laying on it was a man, about twenty-five years of age. If she remembered correctly, the funeral was in a few days. They were going to give the body to the funeral home tomorrow so they could prepare it. As she was about to push the tray back in, she heard a tearing sound.

Looking down at the man's chest, she was horrified at what she saw. One by one cuts were being made. Jagged ones. When they stopped, she felt sick. They were words.

'DO YOU WANT TO DIE, NIKKI?'

Her mind was telling her to run, but her body wasn't reacting. And that was a mistake. Because the dead body sat up on the tray, and cold hands reached for her. She stumbled backwards into a sitting position against the opposite wall of drawers.

Then all the drawers flung open, one right after the other, and bodies in all types of decay were crawling out. They were making their way towards her. They were everywhere. Moaning and saying her name.

She did what any frightened, unable to move person would do. She closed her eyes, and screamed. And then.silence. Tears streaming down her face, she opened her eyes. There was nothing there. Except the man towering over her, who was moving his fingers, his razors, tauntingly.

"What the hell?" She recognized this guy. Where had she seen him before?

"You think you can handle death? Think you've got the stomach for it?" Kruger lifted her up by the throat so his gloved hand was at the same level as her stomach. "Only one way to find out."

He rammed his hand into her stomach, his razors piercing her skin, and laughed evilly as she lurched from side to side. She couldn't feel the stomach wound, but she could taste the blood bubbling up in her mouth. She watched it spill to the floor.

"Sorry. You fail, bitch."

The guard came back, and rushed in when he heard the commotion. He saw Nikki's body in the air, hanging. Before he could go over, and before he registered the blood and other.things that were spilling to the floor, she was thrust across the room and into the computer, which smashed to bits.

***


"I can't get in." Willow said, as Giles and Buffy watched her.

"What do you mean?" Giles asked.

"The system must be down, because I'm not getting anything." She was puzzled.

"Happy now, Giles? Looks like we're off to the morgue." Buffy said, moving towards the door. "We'll bring you back something nice. Oh, wait. Forget I said that."

"Be careful."

"Always."

Willow was still shutting down her laptop. 'Wait up.'

'Forgive me, Miss Slowpoke.'

'I'll get you for that.'

'I hope so.'

Willow blushed as she followed Buffy out the door.

***


When they arrived at the morgue, there were cops everywhere, and they had put crime scene tape around the outside of the building. Buffy and Willow watched as a cop, young by the looks of him, came running out and vomited on the grass.

"Get the feeling we missed something?" Buffy asked Willow.

"Yeah and I also get the feeling I'm glad we missed it."

"If I didn't have to do this, I'd be turning around right now, but there's two things we have to figure out."

"What happened -"

"And how to get inside to figure that out."

Willow thought about it for a second.

'Don't talk and don't make a lot of noise or else this isn't going to work, okay?'

'You're the boss. Are we playing Jedi Mind Trick?'

'Something like that.'

Buffy watched her whisper a few words, and then Willow motioned her to start moving towards the morgue. She was amazed at the amount of ability Willow had managed to tap into. How powerful, magickly, she was. She was glad and worried at the same time.

The gladness was that they had both pretty much figured out that Willow was meant to fight along side her. That she could be in all aspects of her life. And most importantly, that Willow finally realized how gifted and special she was. Something Buffy had been telling her for a long time.

The downside was that Willow was fighting along side her. She couldn't keep her safe anymore. Actually, Willow could probably protect herself better than Buffy ever could. But still, the risks were higher.

She felt Willow's hand on her arm as they continued to walk.

'It worries me too.'

Buffy smiled at her, and they saw a cop staring in their direction. Only he didn't see them. So they kept walking, squeezing past people, praying the spell would hold. They got inside, and looked around.

The chalk outline of the body was on the floor; fresh blood still sitting there as the photographers took pictures. They saw a woman in medical scrubs come out of a side room. One of the cops walked up to her.

"Anything?"

"Except extreme brutality? No. The most damage was done by the.opening of the stomach, but that wasn't what killed her. Although it would have if the killer was patient. The impact from hitting the computer, and the amount of force, well, it broke her neck. Not to mention caused several lacerations around the facial area.

"Excuse me, she was a friend and."

"It's okay, doctor. We'll call you if we need anything more."

Buffy and Willow looked at each other.

'I guess we know why I couldn't use the computer.'

'It's probably the wrong time to bring this up, but why are we assuming demon? Okay, a part of me is just saying that so we can get out of here.'

'We should still.check. Just so we can tell Giles and all.'

Buffy nodded reluctantly, and they made their way into the side room. On a table, covered by a white sheet, lay a body. They were both waiting for the other to remove the sheet. Together, they both went over, and pulled down it down.

"Jesus." Buffy said aloud.

"Oh my God." Willow said, putting a hand to her mouth. Then she realized something, and whispered. "The spell's broken."

"Then we have to.hurry." They both stepped up to the body to get a closer look. "Well. I've seen enough."

"Wait." Willow was focused on something. "It looks like after he.opened her.he did one continuous cut up her chest."

"What's your point?"

"They look like razors."

"Like the last."

They heard people moving. Like they were leaving. They poked their heads around the door, and saw two guys heading their way. They saw the back door in the other direction, and then watched as the two men were stopped momentarily by one of the photographers.

"Make a break for it?" Buffy asked.

Willow nodded, and they did.

***


Later, back at Giles' house, everyone was there. Xander and Oz were watching TV on the couch, Cordelia had her face buried in Xander's chest so she didn't have to look at the screen, and Buffy and Willow were talking with Giles.

"I know this is gonna sound weird, but I've seen that before." Willow said.

"The person?" Giles asked.

"No, the cuts. The way she died. I've seen it too." Buffy agreed.

"Dare I ask how?"

They shrugged, and spoke in sync. "Don't remember."

"Certainly helpful."

A loud scream caused the three of them to look in their friends' direction. Buffy walked over to the TV, and watched as girl on a bed flailed around, trying to escape an unseen force.

"What are you guys watching?" She asked.

"Nightmare on Elm Street. Of course it's TV so they edit most of the language, and then there's horrible lip-syncing -" Xander started to rant.

"But it's still a classic." Oz cut him off.

"Is the killing over?" Cordelia asked, her voice muffled.

Xander grinned at Oz. "Yeah, it's over."

She looked up just as four, long razor-like cuts sliced the actress' stomach, and blood began pouring out. Cordelia promptly hit Xander. "Jerk."

Buffy kept replaying that in her mind. Razors, slicing, blood, body.

"No way."

"What is it?" Giles asked.

"I know this is going to sound crazy, bordering on insane even, but I think I know where I've seen the cuts before."

"No way." Willow echoed.

"Will one of you explain?"

"Freddy Kruger."

"The villain from those horrid eighties films?"

"The very same. The cuts look like it was made by his glove-knife thingy." Buffy said.

"Whoa. Are you saying Freddy's real and killing? You know, the scary thing is, that doesn't sound as crazy as it should. Damn Hellmouth." Xander said.

"Let's not jump to hasty conclusions." Giles said.

"Right. It could be a copycat, some horror film buff." Willow said.

"That would be Scream." Oz added.

Giles had picked up the newspaper off of his coffee table. " 'Jake Wilson was found on his bed, apparently murdered, in the early morning hours by his parents. Police searched his room thoroughly, and found little that would explain the reason for the teenager's death.

" 'However they did find an extensive collection of Nightmare on Elm Street merchandise, paying homage to the eighties slasher villain, Freddy Kruger. There has been no evidence to support any connection between his love of the films and his death.'"

"There's your answer." Xander said.

"What?" Willow asked.

"Just some crazed kid who -"

"There's one problem, Xand. He's dead, and there's been another murder. Unless he staged his death, and let's not forget remove his eyes -" Buffy began.

"I get the point. But it's just not possible."

"I didn't think vampires were possible, not to mention werewolves, but hey." Oz said.

There was dead silence, which was eventually broken by Cordelia.

"Anyone want coffee?"

***


Rob Nachan sat in his bed that night. Jake was dead. After they had done that spell, or whatever it was. Sipping his eighth can of coke, he forced his eyes open. He hadn't believed it would work, but it had. He knew it. And he wasn't taking any chances.

Freddy had left him alone, but it would be his turn soon. A cat screeched in the alley outside his window, and he almost jumped off the bed.

"Keep it together.keep it together."

He was on guard constantly. This was Sunnydale. It wasn't a town out of a horror film. This kind of thing wasn't supposed to happen. He felt guilty as hell. He should've stopped Jake. Shouldn't have left him alone. That's how Freddy won. There was strength in numbers.

He wouldn't fall asleep.he wouldn't fall asleep.

"Rob, man, get up."

His eyes were playing tricks on him. It couldn't be. Jake was standing at the foot of his bed.

"Everyone thinks you're dead."

"That's their problem. Come on, I wanna show you something. It's awesome."

Rob got out of his bed, and followed Jake. His friend opened the bedroom door, and they went out into the hallway.

Except it wasn't the hallway. It was outside. They stood in front of a chipped, white picket fence. Rob's vision went from the overgrown front yard, to the dilapidated house.

"Nancy's house." He whispered.

"I know. Isn't it great? Come on."

Rob heard laughter in the wind. Little girls' laughter. He shook his head.

"Wuss." A flash of lightning suddenly interrupted the darkness of the sky. "You wanna get caught?"

Jake started to run for the front door, and Rob followed. They ran inside, and the door shut behind them. They stood in the foyer, and Rob looked at around the dark house. The windows were boarded up; the stairs were there, that led to Nancy's bedroom, it was all like the movie.

"Now what?" He asked.

"How long can you survive?"

"Huh?"

Jake turned around. His eyes were missing, and blood dripped from his empty sockets. His stomach showed where Freddy made his cuts, and they started to bleed.

"You left me to die."

"I didn't.I didn't know."

"You were my friend."

"Jake could use some company." That was Freddy's voice. Rob looked around frantically. When he looked back at Jake, Freddy was standing in his place. "True friends stick together, Rob."

He pushed Freddy as hard as he could, and ran up the stairs. Their consistency changed, and his feet got locked in place. His balance was off, and he struggled to stay still.

'Think, damn it! Gotta get free.'

He pictured himself strong. His legs powerful. Concentrating, he pulled his feet free, and the step broke. He was about to fall so he grabbed the railing. He finished getting up the stairs.

"Where are you?"

"One, two Freddy's coming for you." A girl's voice said.

He turned into Nancy's room, and looked around for any way to escape. The window. He dove out. And fell, and fell, and fell.

"Wake up! Wake up!"

Rob shot up in bed, sweating. He went to pull off his sheets. They were.red and green.

"You can't escape me."

The sheets wrapped in a circular motion around his body, slowly, moving from his legs and going up, suffocating him. Crushing his lungs. He felt his bones break.

"Please let me go! Please!"

Those were his last words.

***

It was late at night when they all were researching to try and figure out just how Freddy became real. There were different variations on 'making fantasy into reality' incantations, but something was missing. They required a lot of energy and preparation to pull off.

"We're all agreed that it was probably Jake who caused this to happen, correct?"

"Yeah." They all said.

"And he was probably messing with one of these spells." Willow said.

"I get that much. But how can one kid, who was probably just screwing around, do something like that without help? It just seems.too easy." Buffy said.

"I really could care less about how he did it. Let's just kill him." Cordelia said.

"You can't kill Freddy." Xander said.

"They did it in the films."

"And then what happened?"

"He came back in the next one."

"Well, that's not exactly true." Oz said. Everyone looked at him. "In the sixth one, they brought him out of the dream plane and finished him off."

"What about -" Xander started.

"The seventh one doesn't count. Different storyline."

"How did they bring him out?" Giles asked.

"They held onto him as they woke up. It's a long shot." Oz said.

"It's one more shot then we had before." Buffy said. She turned to Giles. "Break out the sleeping bags."

***


"Okay here's what we're gonna do." Buffy said when they got everything ready. They moved Giles furniture to the side, and laid blankets and pillows out on the floor.

"Me, Willow, and Oz will go to sleep. The three of you have to stay awake in case it looks like we're in trouble. And if it looks one of us has him, wake us up. Man, I can't believe we're doing this."

"Why can't I go in?" Xander asked.

"Do you really want to?" Willow asked.

"I wouldn't let you anyway." Cordelia told him seriously.

"We'll be counting on you to get us out. Besides Oz's surprisingly extensive knowledge of this stuff might come in handy." Buffy said.

"Oh." Xander said masking his disappointment.

"Sleeping pills." Oz said handing Buffy and Willow each one.

"You're sure you want to do this?" Giles asked.

"We don't have a choice." Willow said.

The three of them laid down, and within fifteen minutes, were fast asleep.

"I can't believe they have to risk themselves like this again." Xander said.

"What are you talking about?" Cordelia asked.

"Don't you remember? Freddy goes after your soul."

***


"Where are we?" Willow asked as she looked around the boiler room.

"More importantly, where's Oz?" They started to walk forward looking at the steaming boilers and the chains that dangled from the ceiling. "Wait. If he separated Oz from us -"

"Why didn't he split us up?"

"Welcome to my playground." Freddy's voice told them.

They both held onto each other a little tighter.

***


"Damn." Oz said quietly.

He should have expected this. This was Freddy's turf, and he made sure Oz was isolated. He was in the middle of nowhere, in a field, where strangely enough; there was a bright sun out.

Oz's only hope was to envision himself with Buffy and Willow. Slip past Freddy temporarily. He'd be a goner by himself.

Then, within a blink of an eye, the sunlight was gone, and the night came. And so did the full moon. He dropped to his knees.

"Bring the doggie out to play." Freddy said.

***


Xander felt helpless. Ever since he graduated, he had gone from one problem to the next. Job after job, lost to Angelus, ended up in a cast, and now three of his friends were on their own against a dream-hunting, child murderer. And he wasn't allowed to do anything about it.

What good was he? He even felt responsible for Cordelia's situation. It seemed that ever since she had become his girlfriend, she had developed his lifestyle. Her family riches disappeared, and the life she was used to was taken away. So, she tried to make it own her own, barely managed, and now she was stuck back here. She had come back to him. Why?

Everyone had a purpose except for him. An ability. A strength. Something that made them part of the group. Even Cordelia. She had an inner strength, an ability to rationalize something down to its simplest form when everyone was about to lose it. What was he? A distraction. A demon punching bag.

Cordelia walked over to him. And slapped him.

"What was that for?"

"I know self-pitying when I see it. Knock it off. And pay attention." Her gaze went down to Oz, who was shaking a little. "Should we wake him up?"

"Not yet. If he really starts moving then -" Giles was rubbing his eyes. Xander saw the struggle he was having. "Giles, you need sleep."

"As much as I want to, I can't."

"We'll watch them. We're the younger generation here. Got more energy."

"He's talking about Kruger, Xander."

"Oh. He never goes after adults. He has his boundaries you know. You'll be safe. Besides, I'm sure he's got his hands full."

"I really should." Giles yawned.

Cordelia started pushing him up the stairs. "Go to bed. We'll wake you if there's real trouble."

***


Buffy and Willow kept walking through the boiler room. They ran across a catwalk, and a long set of metal steps. Wherever Freddy was, he wasn't showing himself. They heard screeching on one of the pipes.

"Show yourself, asshole!" Buffy screamed.

'Where the hell is he?' She asked Willow silently.

'I don't kn -'

'I'M HERE.' Freddy's voice said, penetrating their heads.

They grabbed their heads in pain, and ran to the bottom of the stairs. They ran to the right, and stopped when they saw a large furnace. Willow reached out and touched it. It was cold.

"What happens to witches, Willow?" Freddy's voice taunted.

Willow didn't speak, and Buffy was worried. "Will?"

"They get burned." She answered softly.

"Correct, bitch."

The furnace door swung open and a fire started inside. The flames were huge. Before Willow knew what was happening, she was flung inside.

"No!" Buffy screamed, and without thinking, dove in after her.

Freddy now stood in where Buffy and Willow had been. He shut the furnace door.

"I'm just getting warmed up." He laughed, and vanished.

***


Oz was transforming. His werewolf side was taking over. And there wasn't anything he could do to stop it.

He looked up through half animal, half human eyes, at an approaching Freddy. The man took off his hat, revealing more of his burned face.

"Nice doggy."

"Don't come near me." Oz growled.

"Can't let a wild animal run free."

A spiked collar appeared around Oz's neck, and a long pole came out of the ground, to which he found himself chained. The ground changed, and he was now sitting atop coals, and a fire raged around him.

"Hungry?" Freddy asked. Out of the fire came the forms of Buffy, Willow, Xander, Cordelia, and Giles. "Eat up."

"No."

"Oz." The voices of his friends called to him.

"They want you to. They're begging for it."

"No!"

He transformed completely now, and his feral form snapped the chain, and went right for Freddy.and sunk his teeth into the killer's arm. Freddy screamed, and Oz vanished into nothingness.

***


Giles laid in his bed, restless. Turning to his side, he came face with Jenny. More specifically, her body. He jumped out of bed, horrified, and saw Angelus standing over her.

"What do you think, Rupert? Should I turn her head to the left or to the right?"

"You monster."

Giles charged him, and began punching him. Hard and furiously. All his pent up hatred was coming out. And all Angelus did was laugh. Somehow Giles found himself holding a stake.

With single-minded determination, he drove it home. Angelus looked down at it and then back up at him. The vampire's form changed, into Freddy Kruger.

"Good aim." He grabbed Giles by his throat. "No one's safe from me."

Giles was tossed onto the bed, and Jenny got on top of him. Her broken neck made her head sit at a strange angle. She pushed her hands onto his throat.

"You never were good enough for me."

"No.this isn't you.it isn't you, Jenny." Giles gasped.

He used his knees to lift her up, and then threw her backwards off the bed. He felt himself being forced down, and he disappeared into the mattress.


***


Xander and Cordelia saw their friends' bodies lurching and moving wildly. Cordelia was on the verge of full-blown panic, and Xander wasn't handling it much better. He tried to shake them, but they weren't coming awake.

"Wake up! Snap out of it!" He yelled. Cordelia ran over and tried slapping Buffy in the face, but that didn't work either. "Get Giles!"

She ran upstairs.

'Do you want to be responsible for killing your friends? Come on Xander.'

Cordelia came running back down. "He's doing the same thing."

"I'm going in."

"No you're not."

"I have to."

"There's four of them against one of him, and they're still getting beat. How much better do you think you'll do?"

"I have to do -"

Buffy, Willow, and Oz stopped moving, and they stopped arguing.

"God.are they dead?"

Xander closed his eyes, and bent down to feel Willow's pulse. He smiled in relief. "No."

"Then what the hell is going on in there?"

***


Buffy and Willow landed in a hallway. Actually, they crashed through a window.

"Are you okay?" They both asked at the same time.

"Your friends thought they could save you. Thought they could wake you. But you belong to me now." Freddy's voice said.

Before either of them could respond, Oz came crashing through another window. Followed by Giles.

They all rushed over to one another. Oz was human again.

"Thank God you're okay." Willow said to Oz.

"What are you doing here, Giles?"

"Xander said.it doesn't matter now. How do we capture him?"

They all looked at Oz. "Each of us has some power, some strength. If we work together, and hit him hard enough, we can grab onto him. Once we do that."

"You won't get the chance. I'm forever." Freddy said, standing at the end of the hallway.

"If you're so sure of yourself, why don't you come and get us?" Buffy asked.

"As you wish." He said, now behind them. Buffy spun around, and he sliced her arm. Willow's arm was cut too. "Two bodies, one nice, juicy soul. Delicious." He said licking his lips.

"Get him!" Giles yelled.

Oz and Giles went to grab him, but he knocked them back.

"Five, Six grab your crucifix." A little girl's voice said, eerily.

Buffy and Willow both pulled their matching crosses off their necks, and held them up to his face. He recoiled, and covered his face with his hands. Buffy kicked his glove off his hand, and Willow caught it and put it on.

"You're not so tough without this."

She moved in to attack him with it. Her hand turned around involuntarily, and the blades were coming at her eyes. Oz tackled her to the ground, and yanked the glove off her hand. It flew back onto Freddy's.

"Wanna try again?"

"He knows we're powerful together. He tried to get to us separately, but we beat him. We saw past his tricks." Buffy told everyone. "And he knows he can't beat us until he wears us down. Until we feel like giving up. So don't."

Freddy grimaced, opened his mouth, and blew. They all flew down the hallway, and through an open door.

***


"Come on, guys. You can beat him." Xander said.

He saw cut marks on Buffy and Willow's arms. He was scared. He couldn't wake them up and couldn't help them. How much longer would they have to wait?

***


Buffy stood.somewhere. She couldn't see a thing. It was misty and there was thick fog. She could barely see in front of her. If what Freddy said was the truth, and it would make sense, she and Willow were sharing a soul, so she couldn't be far away.

That explained a lot, actually. The reason why he couldn't separate them, the reason they had matching cuts, and the reason for their new closeness. Now, they were connected mind, body, and soul.

And Freddy was after them for it.

"Willow! Giles! Oz! Can you hear me?" She yelled into the fog.

She walked forward. Standing in place was not a good idea. She had to find her friends. As she continued, the ground under her started to loosen. And then it completely gave way.

She fell into water. Deep water. Then a hand started pushing her down. As much as she tried, she kept getting pushed farther and started gasping for air.

"What's the matter? Water got you down?" Freddy asked.

Damn him for finding her fear. Flashes of the Master and her death entered her mind. And then his hand jerked away.

"Let her go!" It was Willow. Buffy heard a noise, then Freddy scream, and then Willow called to her. "Buffy, swim up!"

Buffy fought to swim to the water's surface, and she saw Willow reach for her.

"Grab my hand."

She did, and together, they pulled her out of the water. Willow immediately wrapped her arms around her.

"Thanks.how did you."

"Magick."

"Gotta love it. We're never gonna find Giles and Oz in this."

They stood up, and Willow called out. "He's hiding in here! We gotta get rid of this. On the count of three, think about getting through the fog.

"One,

"Two,"

"Three." Freddy said, reaching out and grabbing Willow, and pulling her into the fog.

What they did was enough, though, because an archway formed, and Giles and Oz came running down the clear pathway.

"He has her." Buffy told them.

Then more of the fog cleared, showing more of a path. "Follow the breadcrumbs to the Witch." Except they weren't breadcrumbs, they were drops of blood.

They looked at one another, and ran down the path.

***


They ended up at a house, and the only thing visible was the door. Buffy opened it, and they were about to go in when something jumped out and tackled Oz. His werewolf form.

"Meet your better half." Freddy told him.

"Go!" Oz yelled to Giles and Buffy, struggling with the wolf.

"No. That's what he wants."

"Find her!"

Giles steered Buffy inside, and the door shut behind them. She looked down at her chest, where a golden cord protruded outward. It was her connection to Willow.

"Shame if that broke." Freddy said in front of them, dangling his razors over it. "Then she's mine."

"No way in hell."

She assumed battle stance, as did Freddy. Her eyes told Giles to go find Willow. He reluctantly followed the cord, leaving Buffy alone with Freddy. She sweep kicked him, but he jumped out of the way.

"Is that all you've got, bitch?"

"You kidding? I'm just getting started."

***


Giles ran into a large room. Willow was in the center, tied to a large, wooden stake that was situated vertically over a boiling pot of water, and a fire. She was gagged.

"Hang on, Willow. I'll cut you down."

She shook her head and mumbled something he couldn't understand. Then, surrounding them were people in conservative, black and white dress. They were Puritans.

"Kill the sinner! Burn the Heretic!" They chanted.

"Religion. The ultimate sin." Freddy's voice echoed through the room.

"Lower her!" The crowd shouted.

Giles tried to reach her, but they forced him back.

***


"You may be forever now," Buffy said to Kruger, "but you know the difference between movies and reality?"

Freddy took a swing at her, and she dodged to the side and kicked him in the groin.

"Once I kill you, you aren't coming back in a sequel."

"You haven't won yet."

He quickly recovered, and opened his mouth. A tongue flew out, and latched itself around Buffy's throat. She started to choke, and tried to pull it off. Seeing the cord that connected her to Willow, she grabbed it, and wrapped it around Freddy's neck.

The tongue unlatched itself, and Buffy let the cord down. She grabbed his head, twisted, and he dropped to the ground.

She knew he wasn't out, but it gave her time to get to Willow. With that in mind, she ran along the cord's path.

***

'Relax. You can get out of this. You're in control.' Willow told herself.

She pictured the stake she was tied to being swung past the pot. Slowly snapping the rope used to lower her. She felt it start to move slowly. She had her eyes closed, but she could tell it was working because there were gasps from the crowd.

The rope was tearing; people were starting to panic. Willow felt herself fall, and the stake stuck vertically into the ground. There were screams, and then.nothing. She opened her eyes, and the only other person in the room, was Giles.

"Little help?" She asked.

He rushed over, and began to untie the ropes. Buffy came running in, and the cord vanished.

"You're okay." Buffy said, and began to help Giles untie.

"Where's Freddy?"

"I distracted him for a minute but -"

"You're finished." His voice called to them.

Just as the ropes fell away, and Willow walked free once more, Freddy dropped from the ceiling, his arms elongated, and landed on top of them. His arms wrapped around the three of them, and they were smothered in red-green fabric.

Freddy was looking directly at Buffy and Willow as he was crushing their bodies.

"Give us a kiss." He flicked his tongued in an up and down motion. "Your soul is mine, Piglets."

Just then, Oz and his werewolf half, came crashing through the wall, struggling. Freddy got distracted, and loosened his grip. The three of them worked together, and pushed him off.

Oz rolled into the pot of boiling water, knocking it over, and pushing his werewolf into the fire underneath. It burned, howling. The pot spilled its water all over Freddy, who cried out in pain, holding his face.

"Grab him!" Buffy yelled. The four of them rushed and tackled him to the ground, holding on as tight as they possibly could. "Get us outta here, Will."

Willow closed her eyes, and.

***


Xander and Cordelia both nearly jumped through the ceiling when their three friends shot awake. They all got up immediately, and started looking around.

"Did you get him?" Xander asked, grabbing a knife he got from the kitchen, off of the table.

"We had him." Oz said.

"Then where is he?" Cordelia asked.

As she asked that, dropping out of thin air and landing at their feet, came Freddy's form. But he wasn't doing anything. He was curled up, and his skin started to melt away, his form disintegrating. Into an angry, slimy, green, clawed demon.

It sprung up, snarling. And it tackled Buffy to the ground. Without thinking, Xander jammed the sharp knife, into the demon's back, piercing its heart. It shrieked, and burst into flames, vanishing.

For a few minutes, no one spoke. Buffy and Willow embraced, finally realizing how close they came to losing each other again. They broke apart, and went up to Xander.

"You saved our lives." Willow told him seriously, and then hugged him.

"Well done." Giles said warmly.

Oz simply patted him on the back.

"That's two I owe you, Xand." Buffy said. She hugged him tightly.

He smiled, but didn't know what to say. He didn't have to. Maybe he wasn't so useless after all.

"We're all alive, great, but one question." Cordelia said, breaking the moment, as she was known to do. They looked at her. "What the hell.was that?"

***


Underground, in the Master's old lair, Angelus sat on the ground, speaking with a cloaked figure.

"We have provided all the help we're willing to give. A minion is dead. I hope the distraction and loss was worth it."

"All the preparations are almost finished. After I collect the last items, all that's left is waiting for the proper time to come. Then you and your minions can come through."

"Our arrival must occur or we will have to wait another thousand years. See that it is not interrupted."

"It won't be."

The figure vanished, and for the first time in his incredibly long existence, Angelus was frightened.


"When I held that gun, I felt an incredible surge of power. Like God must feel when he's holding a gun.." (Homer J. Simpson)

"You've been fighting evil here for three years, and I've helped some, and now we're supposed to decide what we want to do with our lives. And I just realized that that's what I want to do. Fight evil, help people. I mean, I think it's worth doing. And I don't think you do it because you have to. It's a good fight, Buffy, and I want in."

"I kind of love you."
(Willow Rosenberg, Buffy Summers, BTVS)

"Don't.."
"What? Don't love you? I didn't know I got a choice in that."
(Angel, Buffy Summers, BTVS)