Title: Death in the Balance Author: Phoenixflame (mrtrainor@att.net) Rating: PG-13, approaching R in some parts. Disclaimer: Joss Whedon, Mutant Enemy, and Twentieth Century Fox own Buffy the Vampire Slayer. I don't. Neither do I own Highlander, it's owned by Rysher and other people I know nothing about. Angel is also owned by all those who own Buffy. 'Nough said. Summary: An old enemy has returned, and an ancient enemy of Slayers has risen once again to claim his bride. Authors Notes: This was formerly Dawn of Armageddon. As time passed, I became increasingly irritated with it. Faith became a favorite character of mine, and I no longer wanted her to be the psycotic Immortal bitca I'd portrayed her as. Then 'Angel' began, and there was the Initiative.... Yes indeed, what about the Initiative? And what about Whistler, and Dru? And what about the impending new season? So I figured Dracula into it somewhat as well. After getting a lovely hardcover and annotated version of Dracula in an auction, I decided to put my knowledge to the test. Especially my new knowledge of how NOT to do a Buffy/ Highlander Crossover. Here it is. I hope I don't disappoint anybody. "Sleep, my beauty..." In an old mansion on the edge of town that had once belonged to the former Mayor of Sunnydale, a dark haired man kept watch over the bed of a college girl. But this was no ordinary college girl, and the man was not a man. Neither did he use any conventional means to watch the lovely girl. A single sheet of obsidian sat against one wall. Before it stood a man dressed in unrelieved black. He watched the dark surface, seeing something only he could see. "Soon, you will be mine. Such a lovely creature..." Extending his hand, he caressed the face of the girl that shone in the mirror. Entranced, the man who had once been Vlad Tepes watched over the sleep of the girl who lay within the arms of sleep. "Slayer..." *** It was dark in the abandoned lab, and filled with cobwebs. Nothing lit the silent Initiative now. Demons roamed the corridors of the government installation, sealed in by the military technichians. They fed off each other, but somehow they had not found their way into the silent lab to feed on what lay within. A sharp intake of breath suddenly sounded out. Then a piece of rubble moved aside. Sitting up, the woman who had lain beneath the rubble stared around in the darkness. Standing, she moved through the darkness, hands extended. Finally, her hands met the wall, and she scrabbled. A panel of plastic neatly hidden by a thin layer of concrete came away. Reaching into the compartment, the woman pulled out a flashlight, and turned it on, setting it down nearby. Then the woman pulled out the baldric, and the sword hung on it. Shrugging off her lab coat, the woman pulled on the baldric. In the process, her hand encountered tubes in her neck. Grimacing, she yanked them out. Electricity played around the wounds, healing them within seconds. Strapping the sword on, the woman drew it, and set it down before her. With ruthless efficiency, she strapped two Bowie knives onto her forearms. Then she picked up the sword in one hand, and the flashlight in the other. Walking through the lab, she spared no look for the corpse of her comrade, or the pieces of the former cyborg commando. Entering a small room, she knelt beside a ruthlessly destroyed corpse, and ran her hand down his face. "Adam..." Then the woman stood, and left the room, and the lab. Stalking through the cave, she emerged on a hill, high above Sunnydale. Maggie Walsh lifted her face to the sky, eyes cold. "Buffy Anne Summers, you will pay for what you've done." *** Summer in Sunnydale was hot, and sticky. This summer, though, it was unusually hot. You could fry an egg on the sidewalk. And Buffy Summers, the current Slayer, was excercising at the behest of her mentor and former Watcher, Rupert Giles. She was punching and kicking at air, pausing briefly ever so often to wipe the sweat off of her face. Fortunately for her, she was wearing jean cutoffs and a sports bra. "Giles, how long do I have to keep this up?" she asked the elderly man, who was calmly fanning himself with the morning paper. Giles looked very unusual in khaki shorts and a white t-shirt. "Hmmm?" said Giles. "Oh, five more minutes. You may want to drink some water." He tossed a water bottle sitting on the table at Buffy, who easily caught it in midair, squirted half of the water on her face, and chugged the rest. Scowling, Buffy tossed the water bottle in Giles's general direction Without looking up, Giles caught the empty bottle, and set it on the table. "Oh yes," he added "You may want to practice with the kurri knife today. It's a very useful weapon." "Great." mumbled Buffy. "Why can't we practice in the nice, air-conditioned comfort of Mom's house?" she asked. "Because the sweat is good for you." Giles replied. "Pushing your body to the extreme is an excellent way to improve your fighting technique, and your body's survival abilities. Besides, you're quite out of practice." Buffy grunted, and flopped down in one of the plastic chairs set down around the patio table. "You don't have to rub it in, you know..." "Yeah, but what amusement could we get from you toiling away, though?" Xander's voice cut in cheerfully. "Besides, you look really great, all sweaty..." "Xander!" Anya protested, worming past her boyfriend and down the stairs. She was dressed in a miniskirt and a skimpy bikini top. "You're supposed to be looking at me." she pouted. "And boy, am I ever!" Xander grinned happily, and somewhat lecherously at his girlfriend. Following Anya down the steps, he planted a kiss on her cheek. "I've got not one, but two beautiful and sweaty young women dressed in skimpy clothing in my presence! I'm a happy guy!" Xander, for his part, had grown more muscular during the summer. Giles had been teaching the young man self defense, while the two toyed around with the idea of opening a dojo of some sort. Buffy picked up the long knife that lay on the table, and began swinging it through a series of practice moves. "I'm so happy for you." she panted, swinging the knife to point briefly at Xander before placing it back on the table. "Like riding a bike." she remarked to Giles. "Indeed." Giles commented drily. "I believe you're done for today. However," he added, holding up one finger. "I do have someone bringing in a trident tomorrow." "Joy." groaned Buffy. Mopping the sweat off her forehead with one, hand, she started towards the door into Giles's flat. "Now to find something to eat..." *** Night fell over Sunnydale. In the small town, it always seemed to come too soon for the inhabitants tastes. Ryan had finally been given free rein by his master to hunt that evening, and he was hungry. His first victim was now residing in a dumpster, and the second, now that his thirst was slaked, he was hunting. She was a pretty little brunette, no doubt coming from a busy night of clubbing. Her boytoy was firmly in the grasp of Melissa now, though, most likely dead. The girl decided to take a shortcut, into the graveyard. Ryan grinned, and gave chase. What he didn't notice was the slim blonde girl following him. And what neither Ryan or the girl noticed was the grey wolf perched on the wall of the cemetary. Or the red-haired woman who lurked in the shadows, watching the blonde with hatred in her eyes. *** Buffy was not having a good night. After three long weeks of no vampire activity at all, she had killed five, and her patrol wasn't even halfway finished. Ducking to avoid the vampire's punch, she kicked him, punched him, flipped him over, and staked him. The girl he was pursuing was long gone, without so much as a thank you. "Geez." muttered Buffy. "It wouldn't hurt them once in a while to say thank you, would it?" Retrieving her stake, she slipped it into the custom holster on the inside of her leather jacket, and continued through the graveyard at a leisurely pace. Suddenly, something caught her eye. Fur. On the wall of the graveyard. Turning to face it, she stared. It was staring at her already. Unaware, she drifted forwards, drawn by its eyes. Then she heard somebody, calling her name. Jerking out of her trance-like state, she turned away. "Buffy?" called Xander. "You in there?" "Yeah, I'm in the cemetary. There's..." Buffy turned back to look at the wall. The wolf was gone. "Xander did you see...?" "See what?" Xander asked cheerfully, jogging up to her. "Nothing." Buffy sighed. "Come on, I want to finish my patrol. I promised Willow I'd meet her and Tara at the Bronze." "Sounds good to me. Anya said she'd be kinda busy tonight anyway. Which is kinda why I'm out here." Buffy had to laugh. "Then let's get busy." Pulling out a stake, she twirled it around before placing the end in Xander's hand. Arm in arm, the two continued their hunt for vampires, demons, and other things that lurked in the night. *** "So my bait failed." Dracula sat back. "Ah, well. There will be other nights, and now I have more ready access to her when she dreams." He frowned. "But these friends of hers... Troubling. And the red-haired woman will be trouble." He turned. "Come forth, Juliana." The door opened, and a young woman dressed entirely in black entered. She knelt before Dracula, and kissed his hand. "Milord?" she breathed, her voice husky. "I want you to watch this hunter, the one who hunts the Slayer. Kill her if she threatens my plans." Juliana smiled, showing her fangs. "It would be my pleasure, Lord Dracula. What of the others hunting in the town?" Dracula shrugged. "The strong and cunning will survive. As for the Slayer's allies... They are expendable. They are lunch." "As you will, milord." Juliana rose, and glided out of the room in small yet fast steps. Dracula turned back to studying the painting that hung over the fire. It was a painting of a beautiful lady, gone now for fifty years after a loyal tenure of service. "Ah, Mina. The hunt begins again." He smiled, and his eyes flashed yellow. "The Slayer will be mine for the taking." *** The Bronze was alive, and bouncing with activity. Friday night was band night, and the Dyslexic Marsupials were energetically cranking out some very bad heavy metal. The teenagers and college students below didn't seem to care, however. The dance floor was crowded with people jamming to the music Buffy roamed the second level of the Bronze, searching for vampires and something to do. Riley was going to get back on Monday, Willow was busy moving in with Tara, and Xander was out on a date with Anya. Giles was off searching for a new set of wheels. He had been grumbling about the lack of Citroens in the local dealership. Sighing in frustration, Buffy increased her pace. *Not a single vampire to be found. No friends, nada.* Speeding up her pace, she stopped, noticing a man leaving the Bronze, his arm around a high school girl. *The night just got a heck of a lot more interesting.* Buffy thought, a predatory grin crossing her face as she headed for the steps down to the first floor of the Bronze. The vampire led the girl out into the alleyway, towards the shadows. His hand clenched tighter on the girl's arm. Confused, she struggled against him. "Hey, let me... Oomph!" The last was said as the vampire slammed her back against the wall, and pushed her hair aside. His game face slid on, and he bent down to bite her neck. "Hey, ugly!" The vampire growled, and started to turn. He was greeted with the heel of one midnight blue ankle boot, and went flying across the alley. The girl shrieked, and fled out of the alley. Standing up, the vampire advanced on Buffy. "Slayer." he hissed. "That's right. And you get a lovely party gift..." Buffy ducked a sloppy punch, and kicked him in the midsection. Avoiding another punch, she punched him hard, driving him into a wall. He was ready for her though, and slammed her back against the opposite wall. Buffy stood there for a minute, reorienting herself. As she did so, a red dot appeared on her dest. It centered on her heart. Unaware, Buffy moved forwards. The dot kept its pace with her. The vampire lunged. As he did, a hole appeared in his midsection. Buffy took advantage, and darted forwards, driving the stake in her hand through his heart. Buffy frowned, and stuck the stake back into her jacket. "Now that was weird." she commented. "Oh well. Shrugging, she headed back into the Bronze. On top of a warehouse across the street, Walsh cursed, and began to take apart the sniper rifle. "Excuse me." a breathy and thoroughly pissed voice said. A punch caught Walsh off guard, and sent her reeling. Drawing a sword out of her trench coat, Walsh rolled backwards on the roof, facing her attacker. "Vampire." hissed Walsh. "Very good!" The vampire stalked forwards. "You're been interfering far too much, human. Our master isn't happy. So I'm afraid it's time for you to die!" Taking out a gun, the vampire fired once. That was all it took to take down Walsh. Her corpse slumped to the ground. Juliana sighed. "Much too easy." Turning, she stalked away. A few minutes later, Walsh gasped, and came back to life. Sitting up, she retrieved her sword, and went about the business of packing up the sniper rifle. *** The sun shone down through the skylight of the Sunnydale airport. Buffy was wearing a white sundress with cherries scattered here and there on it. She stood near a gate, waiting for Riley. Willow was with her, wearing a denim bucket hat, khaki pants, and a t-shirt that read "Honk if You Love Clannad" on the front. "So, are you looking forwards to Riley coming back?" Willow asked. "Yeah, I guess." Buffy frowned, and fidgeted with the keys she held in her hand. Riley had entrusted his car to her when he had gone back to Iowa. Fortunately, the Slayer had passed her drivers exam the previous year thanks to her boyfriend. "I guess?" Willow frowned slightly. "That's pretty... Ambiguous." "Ambiguous?" Buffy looked at Willow, her eyebrows furrowed in confusion. "You mean my words swim under water?" "No, that's amphibious." Willow smiled mischeviously. "I'm going to have to get you a word a day calender for Christmas, aren't I?" "I knew what you meant!" lied Buffy, an innocent expression on her face. "Really!" Willow opened her mouth to speak, but was interrupted from a shout. Buffy turned to see Riley coming towards her, waving. "Buffy!" The two kissed. Buffy pulled away first. "So how was your trip to Iowa?" asked the Slayer as they hurried to get Riley's luggage. "Great. I saw the family, hung out with some old friends. Graham's transferring to Iowa University to finish his bachelors degree." Riley put his arm around Buffy. "I've got to take you out there sometime, meet the folks. You haven't lived till you've tasted my Mom's cornbread." "Sounds good..." Buffy frowned ever so slightly. *See his parents? I don't know if I'm ready for that...* She threw a quick glance at Riley's face. He was asking Willow how her summer had gone. *Why do I feel so uncomfortable around Riley anyway?* she wondered. "Buffy?" She was startled out of her revery by Riley. "Oh, sorry, drifting off." Buffy smiled reassuringly at Riley. "How was your summer?" Riley asked her. "You know, same old, same old. Slay, sleep, eat, hang out." Buffy waved her hand vaguely. "Sounds like a bucket of fun." Riley grinned at her. "I'm going to go get my luggage." He hurried away. "What was that?" demanded Willow, crossing her arms and turning to face Buffy. "What?" Buffy asked indignantly. "That wierd vibe between you and Riley." "What wierd vibe?" Buffy shot back. "I don't know, I'm just feeling uneasy around him. It'll probably pass." Willow opened her mouth to say more, but Riley came up behind Buffy, hauling a bulging suitcase. "You ladies ready to go?" he asked. "Yeah, let's go." The three made their way out of the airport to Riley's car, making small talk. Riley tried to put his arm around Buffy, but she shrugged it off uneasily. He didn't try again. The car ride to the campus was accomplished in silence, broken only by Riley asking Buffy more pointed questins about her summer, and her deflecting them with mumbled answers and monosyllabic replies. Finally, much to the relief of the three fearless vampire hunters, they pulled up in the parking lot closest to Stevenson Hall. They got out of the car. Riley caught her arm. "Hey, Buffy, do you want to do something tonight? It's been a long summer after all..." "I don't know... Look, let's set up a date for Tuesday night, okay?" Buffy suggested. Riley scrutinized her. Finally, he said "All right. I'll call you around six, and come pick you up. Sound good?" "Fine..." Buffy kissed him on the cheek, and watched as he got into his car. Willow came up to stand beside her. "Just uneasy?" Buffy frowned at her. "Wills, shut up!" She hit Willow on the arm playfully. The two stuck out their tongues at each other, then mock pouted all the way back to Buffy's dorm room. *** Sometime later in the day, after the sun had sunk out of sight beyond the horizon, Willow and Tara were preparing to perform an excercise that they had attempted months ago. But this time, they were determined to suceed. Actually, they knew they would suceed. So they were trying something somewhat different... Tara held a pewter ewer full of sand gathered from the Sunnydale Beach in both hands as she carefully poured a circle of sand on the floor of her apartment. Both she and Willow were dressed in white shifts. Tara's hair was pulled back tightly into a ponytail at the base of her neck. When Tara was finished pouring the sand, Willow stepped over the line. In each hand, she held a rose at the peak of it's bloom. One was crimson red, and one was white. Laying them down in the center of the circle, she sat down opposite Tara inside the circle. Both extended their arms, grasping their hands together. Closing their eyes, both witches inhaled, then exhaled. Concentrating, they slowed their breathing, then settled into a light trance. They both breathed in unison, their faces calm and set. The line of sand on the floor lit up with a white glow. Aware of it, Tara and Willow began to lifted their joined hands. Slowly, the red rose began to move with their arms, moving to stand vertically on the floor. Then it floated up into the air, starting to rotate slowly. It floated up to nose level with Tara, then stopped. One by one, each red petal was plucked neatly from the blossom, floating upwards and around in a spiral. The other petals joined it, one by one. Soon, only the stem floated in midair. Willow and Tara let their arms descend slowly. The stem settled down next to the white rose. Then, as the two witches raised their arms, the white rose began to rise upwards, spinning as it got higher into the air. It too was plucked of all petals by the joined minds, and the white petals joined the red ones. Some of the petals began spiralling downwards, holding just above the floor. The others followed, hovering at various heights. All of the petals hung there for a moment, then began to rotate again. Slowly but surely, they spun. Little by little, they sped up, until they blurred around Tara and Willow into a dome of pink. Subtly at first, but then with more power, they began to glow. Willow and Tara opened their eyes, and let their arms dropped. The petals slowed. But now, all of the petals had turned pale pink, spiralling around the two witches, just inside the boundary of the circle. Willow broke the silence first. "It's beautiful!" she whispered. "Yeah." Tara smiled at the redhead. "We did it!" Remaining where they were, the two girls watched the spiralling rose petals in awe. Nothing seemed to be able to destroy the serenity within their circle. The gunshot sounded like thunder in the confines of the apartment. Willow and Tara's head whipped around to look at the bullet zooming towards Willow. Their eyes glowed, and the rose petals dropped to form a circle around them. The bullet stopped dead. A small whirlwind rose on the other side of the room, disturbing a few floppy disks on the computer desk. They slid to the floor with a clatter. The bullet dropped to the floor. Standing in the open doorway, Walsh stared at the bullet lying on the ground. She looked up at Tara and Willow. With a cry, Willow extended her hand. The gun was wrenched from Walsh's hand, then vaporized. Standing, the redhead staggered out of the circle, before collapsing next to the bed. Tara stepped out of the circle, towards Walsh. "What are you?" Walsh demanded, her eyes wide with sudden apprehension. Tara just extended one hand. "Be thou beast or plant or earthborn, I bar thee from this place of peace!" cried out Tara. Walsh screamed as she was thrown out of the apartment. "I'll be back." she swore angrily. "You'll see. Then you'll all pay for what you did to my Adam." Turning, she fled. Recovering from her shock, Tara fled to Willow's side. The redhead was getting up off of the floor. "Willow! Are you all right?" the blonde witch asked, her face worried. "Yeah, I'm fine. Just a bit dizzy, that's all." Willow clutched at Tara's arm. "Does this mean we call Buffy?" *** One by one, and two by two, each member of the group filtered into the apartment. Invited by Tara and Willow, Spike passed through with them, a cocky look on his face. Riley was conspicuously absent. "Neato, Christmas lights!" Xander enthused. "Maybe I should put some up. Set a mood for..." "Sex." Anya finished promptly, throwing an arm around Xander's waist, and snuggling up to him. Spike made gagging noises. "Guys, this is serious!" Willow's voice cut through the hubbub. "Professor Walsh was here." There was dead silence, then Buffy spoke. "Willow, that's impossible. She's dead." "She was here." Tara said, shaking her head. "Looked pretty alive to me." "Great. More Hellmouthy fun." Buffy grouched. "Why can't people stay dead around here?" She turned to face Spike. "And why are you here?" "Entertainment value." Spike replied. He was lounging on the couch, watching the proceedings with amusement. "And I say, if the bint came back from the dead, kill her again." Buffy ignored his suggestion. "What did she look like?" "Like Professor Walsh." Willow shrugged. "Except with the whole psychotic thing going on." "That's impossible. Last time I saw her, she was doing zombie duty on Adam's assembly line." Buffy shook her head. "Maybe she wasn't quite dead, and the government brought her back. I don't know." She turned to Giles. "Any ideas?" "Well, if she's alive again, I don't see what the problem is." Spike cut in. "Kill her." Once again, he was ignored. "Perhaps its a fetch." Giles shrugged. "Or a golem of some sort. It could be any number of things. "I don't know..." Willow shook her head. "The whole vowing revenge thing..." "Her aura was human." Tara cut in. Everybody looked at her. "But kind of... Augmented somehow. Different." She looked nervous. "What do you mean by augmented?" Giles asked her. "I-I..." Tara stammered under the weight of everybody's gazes. "I don't know, she was just..." She spread out the fingers on her hands, and stared down at them. "I don't know." she finished meekly. "Buffy, I suggest you find her as soon as possible." Giles said. "Then what?" asked Buffy. "Kill her? Look Giles, as far as I know, she's human. I don't kill people Giles, I kill monsters." "I didn't say that." Giles sighed wearily. "Take the tranquilizer gun, and search all the likely places." "Like the abandoned Initiative tunnels?" Buffy turned to face Spike. "You worked with Adam. Is there another way in?" "How should I know?" demanded Spike. "Just take a weapon, hunt the git down, and kill her. That's my solution." He looked pleased. "From what I saw of her, didn't like her much, even when she was a zombie..." "I'm sure you'd just love that." Buffy replied sarcastically. "Bloody Hell, Slayer, she tried to off you using a bunch of halfwitted demons, and she builds a super demon. Let's not forget that super-lackwit demon almost turned your boyfriend into a puppet. I'd off her just for trying to kill you." Spike took a drag of his cigarette. "Hell, I'd off her for doing nothing, just for the fun of it." "Of course you would." Buffy replied, crossing her arms. "But that's not the point! She went after Red. If I were you, I'd take a sword to the bint, and get it over with!" Spike threw down his cigarette, and crushed it under the heel of his boot. "Spike, just tell me where it is." Buffy demanded, hefting the crossbow. Spike shook his head in disgust. "Bugger it. The other entrance to the lab is in the cave where you found Adam." "Thank you." Buffy turned around to face Giles. "I'll patrol. If I don't see her, I'll take the tranq gun, and do a little searching down in the tunnels." "Take the kurri knife." Giles instructed her. "There's a possibility that the tunnels may not be deserted of demons yet." "Right." Buffy looked at her friends. "I want you guys to keep indoors tonight, okay?" she asked them, her voice soft. "Proffessor Walsh is out for blood." Wordlessly, everybody nodded. Turning, Buffy hurried out of the apartment. Tara and Willow linked hands, and glared at Spike. "What?" he said. The smoking cigarette suddenly went out for no apparent reason. Spike growled in disgust. *** Buffy watched the shadows warily. Nothing moved to attack her as she entered the tunnel leading to the secret lab behind room three fourteen. Looking down, the Slayer saw footprints in the mud. Her eyes narrowed. Grasping the tranquilizer gun tighter, she cautiously moved towards the door. Shoving it aside with all her strength, she came face to face with Maggie Walsh. Who was wielding a sword. Moving almost mindlessly, instinct guilding her, Buffy brought the tranquilizer gun up to block the blow. The sword embedded itself in the barrel of the gun. Walsh and Buffy stared at it for a minute. Then Walsh thrust the gun towards Buffy, turning to run. Buffy gave chase. The tunnels wound around corners, and finally, the two ended up in the huge command room/ lab that was the center of the installation. Walsh whirled on Buffy, drawing a pistol. "Stay where you are, Summers. You've caused enough trouble. Taken away my boys, destroyed my laboratory..." "Professor Walsh, put down the gun." Buffy directed, eyes focused on the sleek pistol Walsh held. "And then you killed my Adam. My precious boy." Maggie's face twisted. "Oh yes, you're going to pay. When Aza-Toth comes, you'll all pay. In two days time, my little baby will be born into this world. This time you won't interfere..." "You're sick, Professor Walsh." replied Buffy, watching the gun warily, trying to figure out how to dodge the bullet, or put something between her and Walsh. There wasn't much to use as cover... "No." Walsh smiled, a very cold and calculating smile. "I've waited centuries to fulfil my dream. The perfect life form. You're not going to stop me now!" "Oh, but I am, creature." A breathy and sweet voice cut in. "You see, you've interfered with my master's plans once to often." Buffy glanced back. A dark-brown haired woman dressed in black leather pants and a silk shirt of the same color stood there, holding a pistol. "Who are you?" demanded Buffy. "The Master's right hand." Juliana replied. "Your doom." She fired the pistol at Walsh. Buffy watched in fascinated horror, which allowed Juliana to make an escape. Shaking herself from her shock, Buffy chased after her. Some time later, in caves she didn't even recognize, Buffy slowed. A discarded pistol lay on the floor. Buffy stared at it, then around. Nothing was in it but rock. Rock, and mist. Her blood began to flow fast, charged with adrenaline. One hand went to her stomach as it began to ache strangely. "Who's there?" she demanded. "Come on, I'm having a really crappy night. If you'd just quit stalking me and get the dying part over with, I'd be really happy..." "Would you? You enjoy the hunt." The mist coalesced into a man. A very darkly handsome man. Buffy stepped back from him. "You felt me." the man said. When Buffy didn't reply, he said "Allow me to introduce myself. I am Count Dracula." "Count whatsit?" Buffy looked startled at both the transformation, and the strange allure of the vampire before her. "No, I didn't..." she lied. In a moment, Dracula moved to stand behind her. Buffy didn't even try to stop him, and couldn't. He bent over to speak into her ear. "Our kind calls to one another." Dracula whispered into Buffy's ear. "We are so alike... We hunt. We kill. You are so much more powerful than you realize, Slayer." Buffy opened her mouth to speak. "Be silent." Dracula ordered. Her mouth snapped shut. "I have not seen another since Mina that has captured my eye so. You will be my consort, my hunter, my princess of the darkness." Smiling, he opened his mouth, revealing fangs. "But first, a taste of whats to come..." He brushed aside her hair. Buffy shuddered. "So, you have already been tasted." he hissed. "Angel..." "He let you go. I will not make the same mistake. Have you ever wondered why the victims of vampires don't struggle?" Dracula bit down. Buffy went tense, her eyes wide, mouth falling open. Then her eyes sagged shut. *** The apartment Willow and Tara shared was lit by the glow of the computer screen. Willow sat in front of the computer, holding a disk in one hand as her computer booted up. Finally, she inserted the disk, and opened the files on it. Her face lit by the glow of the computer screen, Willow read through the disk. She had decoded it during the summer, when she had gotten bored. After a few more hours, fueled by worry for her friend, she cracked the code, and began to read. *** Within one of the few labs that hadn't been ransacked by demons, a lone figure worked feverishly on the work she had begun a year ago, then discarded in unwarranted anger. Maggie Walsh bent over the sterile table, her face focused. The blood in the vial was still good. That meant well, since it was the only samples she had, and they were very expensive. Slowly, she dripped some of the chemicals she'd prepared earlier that day into the vial. *** "This pinnacle... This wonderous creation is more than I have ever dreamed of. I have created what Frankenstein failed at, what the golem-builders of Warsaw failed at. I have created a medium between demon and human, with all the strengths inherent in both. No human being can destroy what I have created with my own two hands in this lab. It will be safe... Safe from everything on this world. My own son, born of tears, blood, and cold hard science." *** The fluid blended with the blood. Walsh smiled, and moved to the table that held the corpse of Adam. Wielding a syringe, she plunged it into Adam's arm. *** "And yet Adam still remains imperfect. Even with all my research, I find that something is lacking. Perhaps my research into the more occult, into an attempt to fuse magical and technological aspects into a single being will hold fruit." *** It took so little effort to insert the petri dish into the machine. Then the vials. Maggie Walsh's finger hovered over the button to activate for a single moment. *** "One wonders, will this new life-form bring forth destruction, or rebirth? This is all I have worked and studied for hundreds of years. Striving with the occult, and striving along with the inventions of this new age to complete. The purpose of the lies, the treachery. I will be the Mother of Creation, Shiva the Destroyer, and the Judge of Humanity..." *** Exhaling softly, Walsh let her finger descend onto the button. A glow lit the tube from within, then the sound of liquid pouring into the tube could be heard. Maggie Walsh's lips curved in a triumphant smile. *** Willow stopped at that point. *Maggie Walsh is insane.* she realized. *But if she suceeds in what she has planned...* Seizing a notebook, she scribbled down some quick notes, ejected the floppy disk from the drive of her computer, and left the apartment, headed for Giles. *** It had been a complete day, and Buffy was still missing. "We have to call Angel." Willow said. "Buffy would have checked in by now..." Giles picked up the phone, and began to dial. The others kept studying the printouts Willow had given them on Walsh's plans to build a new lifeform. *** "Watch... And learn." "The butterfly grows from the catterpillar, the tiny little insect that can be crushed easily. Frogs grow from tadpoles, and children are born from their mothers. You will be born from the Slayer... The Queen of Darkness from a girl. Do you understand? I see you do. Then why do you refuse? It is a gift I will give you, one that only you are worthy to accept. Do not refuse it!" "We are both hunters, as are the vampires. If we cannot hunt, we wither away and die. You feel your blood every night, aching to kill. But more than that, you must have sport. The vampire must be worthy of you... So too must the demon, or even the man! If there is no challenge... Then there is no sport." "Your blood reeks of the need. What have you conquered recently, Slayer, that makes you bored when you hunt down my kind?" *** Candle sconces lit a single long stone table that sat in the center of the chamber. Buffy sat at one end, in a priceless red silk gown, her hair pulled back to elegantly frame a ruby in a choker at her throat. Half the food on her plate was uneaten, and she stirred restlessly. "See?" Dracula had only a single silver goblet in front of him. "Even now, you eat less. Little by little, you are becoming more than human, beyond the comprehension of those who have come before. Soon, you will become so much closer to my kind than human. You will be the perfect warrior... With all the strengths the human race has to give you, the gifts of the Slayer, and the strengths of the vampire race." Standing, Dracula moved down to Buffy's end of the table, extending his hand to her. Buffy slipped a hand into his, and let herself be led out of the room, down some steps, and into a garden at the back of the castle. The garden was lit by lamps placed around, hidden from sight by statuery and greenery here and there. Most of the statuery and stone benches scattered about were worn with age, having sat there for a long time. Dracula led Buffy to one of the benches, and had her sit down. Then he sat down beside her, and brushed her hair aside to inspect the two holes in her neck. Buffy didn't move as she stared out over the gardens. "Yes, it would be so fitting to turn you into one of my kind... But you would be weak, as Mina and Lucy were, ruled by desire for blood and violence. For this purpose, I will give you a gift that some dream of, have devoted their lives to." Dracula held out his left hand. "Do you see this, my Queen?" he asked. "It is called the Methuselah stone. It will make you into an almost invulnerable creation! There will be no more perfect fusion... Slayer and Immortal." Holding it out, he directed "Take it in your hands." Buffy reached out, and took the sphere of crystal from Dracula's hands. Staring at it, entranced, she cupped it in both hands. "Speak the words fiat lux." Dracula hissed in her ear. "Fiat..." Buffy hesitated, what little resistance she had draining away from her slowly. Her lips shaped the word. "Lux." Light sprang up around her, shoving Dracula away. Backing away, he watched as the light shone around, on, and within the girl on the bench. Finally, she collapsed. Dracula smiled, and scooped her up in his arms. "It is done." he hissed. *** Walsh watched as the zombified demons moved about, manipulating the fragile cocoon that held her creation within itself. The zombies set the cocoon on top of the makeshift dias formed by the pile of the roof debris. The other nine zombie demons were busily clearing steps up onto the dias. Opening the tome she held, Walsh studied the symbols. The zombies were putting the finishing touches on a replicate of one of the symbols within. Ascending the dias, she stood before one that sat next to the cocoon. Smiling gently, Walsh knelt, placing her hand in the sticky demon blood that was being used as a paint. "What this world would seal away, be a tool for its release... With the blood of the Slayer, with my blood, let the key come forth..." The symbol the demons painted even now on the flat metal sheet around part of the cocoon shone luridly as Walsh looked up at it. "Aza-Toth." she breathed. *** Tara spread out a map on the floor, and sat down across from Willow. "This... This should help the finding spell." she stammered. "Okay..." Willow picked up the jar of sand, and raised her empty hand, which happened to be her right hand. Tara raised her hand to meet Willow's, and the two girls formwed a cup with their hands. Willow poured the sand into their palms. "Hecate we call upon thee. Show us the way, great Goddess. Show us where the Slayer is..." Willow and Tara's voices mingled, chanting with fervor, minds cast out in a seeking. Tara moved slightly, and dropped her portion of sand under the bed. Willow dropped hers on the map. The sand swirled on the map, hanging in a cloud... Before collapsing all over the map, and seeping into the carpet. Both girls stared at it in silence. Willow was the first to speak. "This happens every time!" complained Willow. "We just can't find anything!" Tara frowned. "Maybe she's being concealed by magic." she suggested. "You mean, kind of a don't look at me field?" Willow sat up. "Oooh! All we have to do is check the entire town for who's trying not to have any interference whatsoever, and..." "Exactly!" Tara perked up. "All we have to do is this..." *** Silence. She lay there in silence, breathing softly, staring at the ceiling, idly counting the cracks. Her mind felt like it had been wrung and hung out to dry somewhere. *How did I get here?* Buffy wondered. Slowly, she sat up in the huge bed. Glancing around, she took in her surroundings. The decoration was Victorian, from the four poster bed with black and maroon sheets and curtains to the wooden sparse wooden furniture scattered around the room. Buffy stood, and fingered the white nightgown. Someone else had dressed her in it, lain her in the bed. Suddenly she stumbled. The cave. The strange vampire. Dracula. The lessons. "My god." Catching herself on the window sill, she ripped the curtains apart, and stared at the woods outside. They looked different. "Where am I?" The door opened, and she turned to face it. Her mind suddenly felt fuzzy again, disjointed. Dracula stood there. He beckoned. Of its own will, her body drifted forwards as Buffy frantically fought to regain control. Whatever compelled her kept slipping through her fingers, thought, and away from her. Dracula caught her hand, and kissed it. His fangs brushed across the back of her hand, and inside of herself, Buffy shuddered. Then everything was blissfully white, fuzzy. Not thinking at all anymore, Buffy followed Dracula from the room obediently. He led her through the corridors of the castle, down, down, and into the great hall. Servants brought a goblet, a sword. A strange brooch with a piece of crystal embedded in it. Suddenly, all thought and free will returned. Buffy caught her balance on the table, swaying. "Stop this." she hissed. Dracula looked amused. "I would not dream of forcing you now, my Dark Queen." he murmured, starting to walk towards her. "Stop." Buffy shut her eyes in desperation. "Don't call me that! I'm not your slave!" She struck out blindly, only to find her wrists seized. Snarling, she attacked. Dracula swept her feet out from under her, and pinned her against himself, arms holding her tightly. "Never a slave." Dracula breathed in her ear. "You are mine, and I am yours, as it was with Mina. I have crafted you from raw clay into something more, molded you into a creature that will see millenia!" "No!" Buffy fought, but her legs wouldn't work. "I won't... I'm not..." Dracula released her, and she backed away, ending up with her back against the stone wall. Dracula didn't approach her. Instead, he extended one hand, and held the index finger nail of the other above the big vein in his wrist. "The darkness within you calls, my Queen." Dracula smiled. "Your gift, that of the shade and shadows is made of darkness, crafted of it to fight darkness. In the end, all succumb to their gift, their curse. You must be more..." "Stop it! Shut up!" Buffy clutched her head. "Leave me alone!" "I will not." Dracula smiled. "Do not tell me you are not tempted. Abandon all, and gain all. You can be so much more..." His nail descended, ruthlessly slashing open his wrist. Buffy stared at it, mesmerized by her own will. The dark longing within her scared her, drew her, screaming for an end to fighting the darkness. "I won't... Won't..." Her feet carried her forwards though, and she stood before him. Lifting his wrist, she hesitated for a moment more, then lowered her mouth to the wound. Darkness on wings. Strength. Unyielding age. Buffy soared through herself, augmented by blood, called by it... Suddenly, within her, she saw it. The light, from the Methuselah Stone. Her friends. Her family. *They need me!* Her head wrenched up. Grabbing Dracula, she threw him away from her, and backed away, shaking with anger, glaring at him in hatred. "Get out of Sunnydale. Leave me alone." she snapped angrily. Dracula studied her, then smiled grimly. Suddenly, the castle began to fade. Startled, Buffy watched as everything but the contents of the table vanished. They sat on a long log. And her clothes were hanging over a branch of a tree. Perplexed, Buffy stared around. Wiping her mouth on the back of her hand, she grabbed her clothes, and stepped into some bushes to get dressed. *** "Maybe we're going at this the wrong way." Willow considered, staring at her latest idea for finding Buffy. "What do you mean?" Tara asked. She was putting the finishing touches on refining another divination spell. "Well," Willow got up from her computer chair "Walsh knows we'd be looking for Buffy, right? So what if she found some way to block our spells?" Tara cocked her head to the side. "You mean, kind of a deflecting barrier?" "Yeah!" Hurrying over to her chest of supplies, Willow unlocked it and started digging through it. "So what we've got to do is look for Walsh, and she should lead us to Buffy!" *** "You know where she is?" Giles sprang up, upsetting the base of his portable phone. He fumbled with it while he listened to Willow. "Give me the address, we're taking my car there... Yes, Xander and Anya are walking. Good." Finally, he hung up, and began to bustle around, searching out supplies, crossbows, and weapons for the Slayerettes. Then, almost as an afterthought, he grabbed the phone to call Xander. *** Juliana heaved the tunnel covering aside, and entered the basement. "Since this is where the Immortal bitch that the Slayer hates is, the Slayer will come here." she muttered, her tone snide. "The Slayer comes, they both die in a blaze of glory!" Working quickly, she attached a charge to the gas line. "I eliminate, escape, and I'll be in the Master's bed by sunrise!" "Wrong." Juliana whirled, then gasped at the sudden feeling of puncture through her heart. "You dust, I defuse, I de-louse this place." Juliana dropped into a pile of dust on the floor. Buffy stepped over her, examining the complicated wiring. Setting her face in a cold mask, she whirled around, and made for the steps leading out of the sub basement. She growled when a Fiore demon blocked her path. Drawing the sword from Dracula's castle, she charged. *** The little group entered the foyer of the frat house. It seemed to be falling apart around them. Plowing forwards, they stopped. "Oh Goddess." whispered Willow, staring at the symbols carved and painted around the dias that took up the center of the frat house. Then there was no more time for thought as Walsh's captive legion of demons closed in to attack, and gas poured out of containers set on the floor for the unwary demon hunters to trigger the second they moved. *** As the demons charged, and the demon hunters fell into a circle aroud their fallen comrades, a single form appeared in the back, a sword flashing. One moment the blade was clean, then in became covered with the ichor of the demons it slew. The wielder fought with a wild grace and style, relying on instinct to guide her. Demons who thought they were sneaking up behind her found themselves victims of the wielder. Brushing blonde hair back from her face the wielder transferred the sword into one hand. Pulling her hair back, she revealed her face. That of Buffy Summers, the Slayer. "In three minutes, this place is going up in a ball of flames, Walsh." Buffy called out. Busy on the makeshift dias, Walsh laughed. "You don't get it!" she told Buffy mockingly. "We'll all die, and he'll come forth. My own dear boy... You can't stop me. You and all your pathetic friends are going to die. I'll be the mother of the Messiah..." "No, you're not." Buffy began to ascend the steps. "Because, you see, I'm going to stop you." "There's a bomb in the basement!" Tara shouted as green light blossomed between her fingers and around a pendant worn around her neck. "Three minutes left until detonation!" "There's a what?" Willow demanded. Turning around, she screamed at Buffy "Buffy, we can't stay here! There's a bomb!" "I have to!" Buffy shouted back, increasing her pace. "If I don't, we'll be as good as dead anyway!" "Buffy what are you doing?" Willow screamed after her. "Get everybody out of here!" Buffy shouted. Drawing the rapier from under the cloak she'd been given by Dracula, she charged up the steps to meet Walsh. Buffy's rapier met a fine steel saber. Without missing a beat, the two began to ruthlessly fight, stabbing and dodging, parrying, slashing, and doing anything to force an opening. "Two minutes, Summers." Walsh's saber darted forwards again, parried easily by Buffy. "You can't get out of here alive!" "I will." Buffy slashed again, opening a cut on Walsh's arm. She didn't have time to notice when lightning bolts sealed it shut. Walsh was already aiming for Buffy's throat. The two sword blades locked. Buffy and Walsh stood there for a minute, trying to force the swords towards the others neck. Buffy gritted her teeth. "I've got a promise to keep!" The fine Spanish rapier buried itself in Walsh's throat. Pulling it back out, Buffy jammed it into the woman's stomach. Stepping back, Buffy watched the woman fall. Then she turned, and dashed up to the top of the dias. Drawing the kurri knife, she slashed at the symbols, upsetting braziers, and cutting through delicate cables. Then she felt it. The whole house seemed to tense. Buffy shut her eyes. "Angel..." The word seemed to float through the air, in the stillness. Then the world exploded around her. *** The small group watched in numb shock as a fireball erupted from the house, seeming to reach into the heavens. Xander let out a strangled sound, and made as if to run towards the house. Anya caught him, and he sagged in her arms. Willow huddled there, shivering. Tara held her tightly. Tears ran down the faces of both witches. Giles lay still on the grass, unable to see the final act of bravery that his charge had performed. Buffy Summers, Slayer, teenage girl, consort of vampires and his pupil, were dead. And the world seemed to still for minutes on end, as if in observance, acknowledgement. And then reality returned, as sirens sounded in the distance. The days ahead would be hell indeed. *** Silence... The cold darkness around her was so cold. The surface she lay on was smooth, and felt like ice beneath her naked back, raising goosebumps on her dead skin. There was a faintly antiseptic smell in the air, combined with the smell of formaldehyde an other chemicals. Somewhere, the soft hiss of cooling gasses within the steel tomb could be heard. Then there was sound once more as she opened her eyes, and then... A single breath then another. The woman stared at the ceiling of her steel tomb, into the darkness. Buffy Summers shuddered as she was reborn. The End The next story, Keeping the Balance, will chronicle what exactly happens to our loyal gang of demon hunters. Or maybe the Meanwhile in Los Angeles story will be next. Who knows. Stay tuned!