She was running blindly, Martha was. Running through the dark and dangerous alleys of 15th century Germany from two people she thought of as friends. True she'd only been aquatinted with them for a short time, but they were nice! They were her age, and they were nice. Xander seemed so sweet; the kind of guy she might've gone for in the past. And Willow was crazy adorable. She and Martha were really getting on.
But the girl's hands sparked fire, and Xander tortured a man for information. Yeah, that man was a vampire, Martha reasoned, but he was still a man.
The sky had opened up, and the rain was wet and cold. The shocked and, quite frankly, scared young woman slipped on the mud, hitting her head against the closest wall. The last thing she saw before blacking out, was the outline of a man reaching for her. And the last thing heard was an inhuman growl.
-
"Welcome mortals." A handsome man in lavish robes greeted them. He spoke with an unnaturally deep and resonant voice. "We are your God Setesh."
Buffy looked around the room they were in. It was small, but clean, consisting of an opulent bed, a magnificently carved desk, and decorated with gorgeous things. Setesh too, was adorned similarly. The most elegant and fine piece of jewelry being the gauntlet that covered his left hand.
There was something frighteningly familiar about his demeanor, Buffy noted, the holier-than-thou-because-I'm-a-god of it. But the voice, that was different. Glory never talked in such a way, and that fact allowed the Slayer to be cautiously optimistic.
"You don't look like a god," she said conversationally.
"Um, Buffy," The Doctor placed a restraining hand on her shoulder. She glared at him. "Yeah, never mind. Go ahead. I'll just stand here. Good luck." He gave her a thumbs up and a winning smile.
Setesh chuckled. "You would do well to listen to your friend. He's right to fear Us."
"Because you're a god?" Buffy clarified. Setesh nodded. "Have you ever heard of Glorificus?"
"Should We have?" he asked, amused.
Buffy grinned. A true god or goddess would know that name. Illyria did when they met. She/It was greatly amused that the vainglorious Glory was killed by a mere slayer.
"So Doc, what is this guy?" she asked.
The Doctor stared at Setesh with cold eyes. "He's a Goa'uld. A parasite that takes over your body, leaving you a prisoner in your own mind. Unable to do anything, other than watch, as the Goa'uld commits horrors with your hands. You feel what they feel, hear what they hear, and see what they see. All but the the most willful souls are driven mad by the experience."
"So, not a god?"
"No..." Before the Doctor could say anything else, Buffy pulled out a knife, and with surprising speed and strength, threw it at Setesh. She watched, dumbfounded, as her weapon bounced harmlessly off of a forcefield that surrounded him. "But they do possess impressive technology. One might even go so far as to call it godlike. It's how they convince the less advanced races of their supposed divinity."
The Goa'uld laughed. "We have nothing to prove to the lesser species. Our godhood is evident in your surprise little girl. Kneel before Us, and We shall forgive this assault."
Buffy rolled her eyes. "If I had a dollar every time someone asked me to kneel before them..."
"...You'd be a whore?" Setesh asked with a wicked smirk on his face.
The Doctor winced. "Ooh, that's just uncalled for."
Buffy snarled, and leapt forward, intent on ripping this ass a new one. She was stopped suddenly by a crippling agony in her head. Tears of pain ran down her cheeks as she stared at the angry glow emanating from the hand in front of her face.
-
"Dammit!" Xander yelled, coming to a halt. "We fraking lost her!"
Willow stopped next to him, out of breath. "Y'know you sound like a dork when you use fictional swearwords, right?"
"Not the issue Will."
"Nope, not even remotely. But if I don't make inane comments right now, I just might give into the panic and worry." She looked at her best friend who was staring blankly at a wall. "What are you doing?"
He stared for a few more seconds before vomiting all over the ground. "Making myself sick," he gagged. "I just tried to use that telescopic feature my eye has. Not fun, what with the one eye zooming forwards and the other not. Not to mention the x-raying."
Xander shut his right eye, and tried again. The nausea was less, but still present. He swayed slightly. Willow held him steady.
"Are you okay?" she asked.
Xander shook his head, his face ashen. "I found her. God Willow. Call Buffy. Now!"
Willow pulled out her cellphone.
-
"Stop it!" the Doctor demanded, moving towards them. "You'll kill her!"
Setesh smirked at him. "Step again, and it's assured. But let it not be said that We are a heartless Deity. We will release her."
"And in return?" the Doctor asked harshly.
"We only want you to love Us. As We love you."
The incredibly awkward silence following that sentence was thankfully interrupted when the song, "Sk8er Boi", by Avril Lavigne belted out it's cheerfully annoying (To certain people, though not the Doctor. He was rather fond of the tune.) and upbeat chorus. Setesh quirked an eyebrow, then reached down to his quivering and shaking victim.
Buffy stirred. "No..." she protested weakly, thinking he would torture her again. Fortunately, the would-be god was only interested in her cellphone.
"What manner of device is this?" he asked, intrigued. "Clearly you are not of this world. You're knowledge alone proves that, but this," he held up the now silent phone, "Is remarkable. A small music box. Tell Us how it works, and We give you Our..."
"Oh knock it off with the "majestic plural"!" the Doctor screamed in exasperation. "You're not exactly a monarch at the moment, in case you hadn't noticed!" He rolled his eyes. "Every time I run into one of your lot, it's always something."
Setesh placed the phone on his desk, and stepped over the recovering form of Buffy. Thanks to her slayer healing, she was faring much better than she let on. As soon as the Goa'uld's back was to her, she opened her eyes and gave the Doctor a wink.
It was an effort not to wink back, but the Doctor managed. He turned his attention to the angry being before him and sneered impressively. "Yeah?"
"You will not speak to your God in such a manner!" he said dangerously.
"Or what?" Amusement and distain were evident the Doctor's voice. "You'll cow me with your scary flashy eyes, is that it? Or maybe you'll just whammy me with your nish'ta, hmm? Sorry, but I'm immune." The Doctor looked Setesh straight in the eyes, conveying anger and hate and absolutely no fear. "I've fought your kind before, and I'm still here. But some of you're mates aren't, are they? Ever wonder what happened to Thanos? Or Ishkur? How about Romulus? Did you even hear about him on this planet, with it's buried Chappa'ai; out of touch with the rest of the System Lords?" Setesh seethed at the Doctor. "No, I suppose you didn't. You were never important enough, even before Ra left this world. But still you think yourself a god. Not your fault really. It's your genetic memories. You have absolutely no choice." His eyes turned sympathetic. "I pity you."
Setesh's eyes flared in response, an expression of utter rage twisted his handsome features. "You dare? You dare pity me?" Breathing heavily, the Goa'uld stepped back and raised a jeweled palm at the Doctor. "I will flush out your insolence in a wave of pain!"
"Right. Sure you will," the Doctor said sarcastically as Buffy bashed Setesh in the back of the head. "We need to hurry. That won't keep him down for long." He pulled out his sonic screwdriver and used it to find the time traveling device. Once they got what they came for, the Doctor headed up the stairs.
Buffy followed him. "Wait!"
"What?"
"What are we gonna do about him?" She stuck her thumb behind her, gesturing to Setesh.
"Nothing. We don't have the time." The Doctor tossed Buffy her cellphone. "Look."
She did. There was one missed call. Buffy called her voicemail and listened to it.
"Buffy? It's me, Willow. I don't know why you didn't answer (I hope you're okay!), but we really need you're help. It's Martha. She saw me and Xander kill some vampires and had a total wig! She ran off Buffy! And when Xander tracked her down using his new eye... God, Buffy! She got taken by the Master!"
Buffy dropped the phone and stared at it in horror.
-
"Wake up!" Someone slapped her in the face. "Wake up!"
"Ugh! I'm up!" Martha looked around, she was in a cavern of some kind. "Where..?" She froze when she saw her captors. An appropriate term, for she was indeed captive.
"...Are you?" an amused voice finished for her.
He was hideous! Terrifying would also be an appropriate description. With pointed ears, pale skin, and a face that seemed to be fashioned of pure evil. It was wrinkled, this face, not with age (At least not as men reckon it), but with experience and wisdom and hate and malice and a plethora of other unpleasant concepts. His teeth were stained pink, and were too long and sharp. His hands had not nails, but claws. He smelled of long dead things. But all those, frightening as they may be, paled in comparison to his worst feature. His eyes, blood-red and pitiless and without mercy. They stared at her with such callous and inhuman interest.
Martha cringed and thought of her mother.
"You're in my home," the monster informed her before bowing deeply. "Welcome. Do you know what we are?" He asked, referring to himself and the beautiful blonde woman in the nun's habit standing over her.
"Vuh-vampires."
He smiled, pleased. "Very good."
"Master," the woman begged, impatient and anxious, staring at Martha hungrily, "Please let me have her."
He chuckled softly and gave the woman a fatherly pat on the shoulder. "Patience my dear. Patience. You are young, and there is much you need to learn. Manners for one," he chided gently, before turning back to the terrified human. "My name is Heinrich, and this is Laura."
Martha, using the wall behind her, unsteadily got to her feet, and curtsied nervously. "Huhhow do you do?"
Heinrich nodded appreciatively. "Oh very good. See Laura? Manners. So, what's your name?"
She swallowed heavily, not loving the way Laura's eyes watched her neck. "Martha, sir."
"Martha," he repeated, tasting it on his horrid lips. "What an unusual name. And why are you here Martha?"
"Be.. because you've brought me here?"
He chuckled wryly. "True, but what I meant was: Why are you still alive?"
Martha leaned heavily against the wall and made a brave attempt at controlling her fear. "Because you haven't killed me yet."
Heinrich again nodded appreciatively. He was impressed by this Negro's demeanor, the way she hadn't panicked when faced with her death.
"Quite right. And do you know why I would chose to spare your life, when my lovely Laura so wishes to end it?"
She shook her head. "No sir."
"I am an old vampire Martha, and have much power. I see things. Things unnoticed by the weaker, and the younger." Heinrich cocked his head to the side, studying her. "Do you know what I see when I look at you?" She shook her head and he smiled a terrible smile. "Neither do I."
Twenty feet above, Xander and Willow were plotting a rescue. They'd used Xander's eye to follow Martha and the Master to some caves outside of town.
"Okay, it's the Master, but so what?" Xander asked. "It's 400 years ago, he couldn't possibly be as tough as he was back in high school and I'm so kidding myself." He slumped, looking through the floor. "Man is he fugly. Seriously, how old is he?"
Willow shrugged. "How's Martha?"
"She's fine. The Master doesn't seem too interested in eating her yet. The vamp chick next to him, however..." He snapped his fingers in sudden realization. "You're magical."
The redhead quirked an eyebrow. "Okay."
Xander held out his hands excitedly. "I think I've got something resembling a plan that doesn't end with us all dead." A big grin broke out on his face. "Oh, yeah! Plan!" He started looking all around the ground. "There are about 15 vampires wandering around the sewers, but I don't think they're guards. We might be able to sneak in there."
Willow frowned pensively. "How?"
"The cloaking spell. The one you used on us when we were in the museum!"
"Yeah, and if you'll recall, that didn't exactly work out so well."
Xander nodded. "I get that, but remember what van Statten was collecting? I guarantee he was using alien tech to beef up his security!"
Willow caught on. "Holy crap, you're right! That's why it was so hard keeping my fields up!" She got a very insulted look on her face. "That dirty cheating cheater! Using alien tech to...to.. Broadband!"
"What?"
"He invented broadband. Practically. Or his company did anyway. I bet aliens invented it, and he just stole the idea!" Willow scowled, her face turning red in inarticulate indignation. "Ooh, that... that! Gah!"
Xander sighed. "Will, the cloaking thing?"
Willow took a cleansing breath, held it for five seconds, then exhaled. "Right. Yeah, okay." She thought for a bit, then frowned. "I don't know if it'll work. My cloak blocks us from sight, but it won't dampen noise, or hide our scent."
Xander deflated. "So what are you saying? We can't do anything?"
Willow smiled as her phone rang. "Not necessarily."
"Willow? What's going on?" Buffy demanded as soon as the other woman answered.
"You got my message?"
"You can't hear the worry?"
"Is that Buffy?" Xander asked.
Willow rolled her eyes. "Who else could it be?"
Xander blushed. "Right, yeah. The past. I forgot."
Willow sighed in exasperation. "Where are you?" she asked Buffy.
"How the hell should I know? I'm following the Doctor. He said he's got a lock on your cellphone with his blue flashlight thing. ("It's a sonic screwdriver, not a flashlight!" the Doctor protested.) So what's the sitch?"
And Willow told her of Xander's idea, and how she thought it wasn't feasible. Not without a little slayer help anyway.
"You can't be seen by the Master because he meets you in the future, but he wouldn't know us. So Xander and I are going to rescue Martha, while you make one whopper of a distraction, okay?"
Actually, it wasn't. Buffy had no intention of letting her friends face a vampire as powerful as the Master without her. She'd just wear a hat or something. And if, by pure accident of course, she managed to kill him? Oops. Buffy told Willow they'd discuss it more in person. Meanwhile, Xander was to keep an eye on Martha.
"I don't understand," the Doctor said once she hung up. "(And it's not often I'll admit that.) but you say Martha's been kidnapped by a centuries old vampire lord called the Master?"
Buffy and the Doctor were running full speed. Well, the Doctor was anyway. Buffy had to slow down so he could keep up. In fact, she was getting a little frustrated. Unfortunately, the Slayer had no way of tracking down Willow and Martha herself, so she was stuck.
"Sound's like you got it to me," she grunted.
"Yeah but, who calls himself, "The Master"? Bit pretentious, don't you think?"
"But, "Doctor" is okay?" Buffy asked sardonically.
"Yep," he said blithely.
She didn't feel like arguing. "Whatever."
The Doctor stopped, pointing his sonic screwdriver this way and that. "You're sure he's a vampire, this Master. You don't think he could be anything else?"
Buffy gave him a funny look. "Pointy ears, pointy TEETH, fruit punch mouth. That all adds up to vampire in my book." She cocked her head curiously. "Why?"
"No reason," came the nonchalant response. "Just thinking about a funny coincidence." The Doctor calibrated the sonic screwdriver. "Well, I say 'funny', but it's more like tragic. Actually, it's not tragic so much as odd. Which is just a synonym for 'funny' isn't it? Doesn't matter. I was just being silly." It beeped faster when he pointed it left. "Oh look." He said with a smile. "We go that way." Then he was off.
Buffy watched him go for a minute, trying to figure him out. She shook her head, deciding that smarter people have probably tried and failed, and hurried after him.
"Fruit punch mouth?" the Doctor questioned once she caught up. "What's even mean?"
-
The man opened his eyes for the first time in a long while. There wasn't much time. He rose to his feet and quickly looked for a way to die. Long has he been the slave of a mad creature. Unable to speak, move, or even breath on his own. Only now, while the demon within him still slept, was he finally free to take blessed control of his destiny!
Frantically, the man rummaged through the opulent and beautiful desk before finding a knife. He held the blade with shaking hands over his heart, knowing the wound must be one the monster couldn't heal. With great relish he did command those hands to end his tortured existence.
But they didn't. Instead, they put the knife down, and the man heard a contemptuous laughter. It was too late! He was again a prisoner.
You are mine, the demon told him, Now and forever.
The man screamed within his cage. A silent and futile gesture of torment, pain, and madness.
Setesh adjusted his robes, and left his room in pursuit of the ones who dare lay an unwanted hand upon his person.
Father Adolphus humbly approached his god in the main hall. "I have news my Lord." The Goa'uld paused and gave his slave all due attention. "The bishop and his woman, I know where they went. I overheard them as they left the church. The woman spoke of the Master. I believe she speaks of the one the vampires follow. It is said they now refer to him as such."
Setesh considered this new information. "It is so, my servant. Of course, I was aware of such things already." Adolphus nodded, confident in his lord's omnipotence. "But I wished to see how well you served." Setesh smiled and placed a gentle hand upon the man's brow. "I am pleased, and you will be rewarded."
Father Adolphus smiled rapturously. "Thank you Master."
"Now go," Setesh commanded. "Summon my soldiers, my Jaffa. Together, we shall raid the old vampire's den and capture the insolent man and his whore of a woman!"
The slave ran to do his master's bidding. He stopped before a building neighboring the church. Opening the door, Adolphus cried out, "Wake up! Stand at attention! Our master demands it!"
Very quickly did the men fall in line. One by one they stood for his inspection. The would-be god entered the building and smiled at the sight of so many warriors. He counted thirty. True, it was not exactly an army, but each soldier was chosen for his might and renown on the battlefield. Setesh lured them all from their former lords with his mind controlling nish'ta, and though their minds were dulled by it's effects, their prowess for war remained untouched.
Each of his Jaffa (For that is what he considered them to be, though they lacked the larval Goa'uld and accompanying gestation pouch. After all, did they not fight and die by his command?) gripped his staff weapon tightly and stood a little taller when Setesh passed them. He stopped before his First Prime.
"Johan, are my men at the ready?"
Pride glinted in the man's eyes when he responded. "See for yourself my Lord." He turned to face them. "Jaffa! Kree!"
As one, they saluted Setesh and shouted, "WE LIVE AND DIE FOR OUR GOD!" They held their staffs before him. "HE WHO PRESIDES OVER THE DESERT!" The staffs were then slammed on the floor. "HIS GLORY AND MIGHT IS THAT OF THE SANDSTORM! LAYING WASTE TO ALL IN IT'S PATH!" The Jaffa stood at attention again. "HAIL SETESH! HAIL SETESH! HAIL SETESH!"
The Goa'uld smirked. It was good to be a God.
-
Martha did her best not to quail under the intense scrutiny of the Master Vampire, but she was only human. And a vampire is a human's natural predator. Her composure cracked, and she began to tremble.
"Where are you from, Martha?" Heinrich asked finally.
"Luh-London. Sir."
"And yet you speak perfect german. Most impressive. Especially for one of savage descent."
"Thank you sir."
"Speak some the Queen's english for me now. It has been too long since I've heard it."
Unfortunately for her, she WAS speaking english! The TARDIS telepathically translated all language for it's passengers and anyone they interact with. The only reason Heinrich heard german, was because that was the language he was speaking.
Martha thought furiously.
"Well?" the ancient vampire asked. "My patience, though great, is not limitless."
Panic threatened to steal her mind, and she tried to stall for time. "Wuhwhat do you want me to say?"
A delighted expression formed on the Master's face. "Wonderful! How extraordinary! You truly can speak two languages!"
The poor woman almost collapsed with relief. The TARDIS, god bless her, must've realized she didn't want to speak german anymore!
Heinrich smiled. "How very interesting. Tell me Martha. What do you know of the body?"
She swallowed. "You mean like medicine and stuff?" Martha knew quite a bit about medicine. She just wasn't about to admit it to him. "Leaches are good for what ails you?"
He chuckled. "Actually, that's a falsehood. Leaches are terrible for you. The fact you humans keep using them is just plain funny."
Martha didn't really know how to respond to that, other than screaming and running for her life of course. But doing that would obviously end her death, making the act kinda moot. Instead, she simply settled for staring at him in fear and disgust.
"But I digress," the Master continued. "No my dear, I do not mean medicine. I am referring, specifically, to the body and it's own inherent language. Separate from spoken word, and universal in it's conveyance."
The demon leaned in close, and Martha smelled the metallic taint of blood on the breath he used to speak.
"Do you know what your body has told me Martha?" he whispered to her before pulling back. She said nothing, though the racing of her heart was telling enough.
The Master pulled back and gave her a smile that, on another face, might've been endearing, but on his, it was simply terrifying.
"Since you are reluctant to speak, why don't I explain myself." He took a deep breath. "I know that you have lied to me Martha. I don't blame you really. What creature in their right mind would cooperate with someone that's going to kill them? I wouldn't. Regardless, when you spoke what you claim is your native tongue, I saw how frightened you were. Naturally, I assumed it was because of me. But then I also saw the surprise you felt afterwards. You no more expected to speak english than I expected a Negro to know two languages."
The Master cupped her chin gently, forcing her to look in his eyes.
"Why is that, I wonder? Why were you so surprised Martha? And please. Be thorough. The longer you speak, the longer you live."
An interesting thing happened to Martha during the Master's speech. It was after the bit about cooperating with your killer that she realized something. He was, in fact, going to kill her. And do you know what? He wasn't the first being that wanted to. Not even close. She'd been in terrible situations before, and the Doctor always came through for her. No reason to believe otherwise now. Her cellphone was on, and she'd bet anything that at this very moment her friend was tracking it.
She smiled at the Master. He was right. The longer she stalled him, the longer she'd live. And if she did her job right, she'd be living another sixty to seventy years!
"You're very clever sir," Martha told him honestly. "But you wouldn't believe the truth if it came up and bit you. No pun intended."
The Master blinked at her sudden change in demeanor, and quickly reassessed the situation.
"Did you know that a vampire retains all knowledge of the life they've led?" he asked carefully, wanting to see her reaction.
Martha swallowed nervously, despite her newfound confidence. "Yes sir, I did know that."
She was telling the truth. "Then what's stopping me from making you one of us?"
He permitted a small smirk to show on his face as she shuddered at the thought.
Martha answered his question. "Because you haven't done it yet," she told him.
The Master laughed, and the sound of it almost caused the brave young woman's legs to give out.
Without warning, the demon grabbed her by the throat and nestled his cheek against hers and spoke directly into her ear. "You seem to misunderstand me, my dear," he told her sinisterly. "The reason you still live is because I wanted to know something about you. Something that would be lost in your rebirth as a vampire." Martha felt the coolness of his flesh against hers, and resisted the urge to shove him away. She stayed calm. The Doctor will save her. She just needed to stay alive long enough to let him.
"What... what would that be?" she dared to ask.
He pulled back from her in surprise. "Why isn't it obvious?" She said it wasn't, and the Master sighed. "I wanted to see you afraid. In fear, you see, a person is at his best, or worst. Afraid, a man can face his fear and flourish, or run from that terror and be shamed. And you are so afraid." The Master licked her cheek, tasting that fear in her sweat, and Martha fought back the revulsion that consumed her. "I wanted to see what you'd do."
Martha looked him directly in the eyes. "And?" she wondered.
The Master smiled. "And now I know."
With that, he pulled her head back and bit into her neck.
She screamed.
-
"Jesus!" Xander exclaimed. "We're out of time! He's draining her now!"
Willow fought back the panic those words brought her, and desperately tried to think. She pulled out her cellphone. Buffy. Buffy would know what to do.
She dialed the first three digits of Buffy's number when it hit her. Martha has a phone too! Willow called that instead.
-
The Master stopped drinking and stared at Martha, bewildered. "What in the world is that noise?" He listened closely before coming to an odd conclusion. "I think your stomach is making music."
And sure enough, "Take Me Out" by Franz Ferdinand was emanating from around her midsection.
He looked at her. "This is very strange," the old vampire told her. The music stopped. The Master listened for a bit, then shrugged. "Oh well." He leant back in for seconds.
-
"Hit redial! REDIAL!" Xander shouted.
"I'm working on it!" Willow said testily.
-
The music resumed and the Master dropped the now weak and dizzy Martha on the ground.
"Will you stop that! It's very irritating. Not to mention disconcerting!"
She giggled deliriously. "Sorry. But I think it's for me." Martha pulled the phone out of the bigger on the inside than on the outside pocket in her dress and answered it. "Hullo," she answered dreamily.
"Martha!" Willow yelled into her phone, causing Martha to wince and pull hers away from her ear. "Ohmigod! Are you okay?"
Before Martha could reply, the Master took the phone from her and stared at it in fascination.
"Hello? Martha?" Willow's voice echoed throughout the cavern. "Are you still there?"
"Who is this?" the Master demanded cautiously, putting the phone to his ear as Martha did.
"Who's this?" Willow asked.
"I am Heinrich Joseph Nest," he responded politely.
"Uh.. Hold please." Willow covered the receiver with her hand. "It's the Master!" she hissed to Xander, who shrugged uselessly. Willow glared contemptuously at him.
"To whom am I speaking?" the Master repeated.
The redhead put the phone back to her ear. "I'm Willow."
"And how are you doing this Willow? I remind you. I am in possession of the lovely Martha. If you wish no harm to come to her, you will answer me."
Xander made his 'I got an idea!' hand gestures. "What?" She whispered.
"Tell him you're a witch!" He whispered back.
"Ooh, good idea!" And so she told him.
The Master considered this information. It was true that this appeared magical, yet he felt nothing. No familiar tingle at the base of his spine telling him of the magic's presence. He gave Martha questioning expression.
"Your friend says she's a witch. Am I to believe her?"
Martha shrugged. "Only if you don't wanna end up on fire."
"She is able to do this?"
"I saw it happen earlier today. She torched a vampire just by looking at it."
He stared at her, looking for any sign of deception. Martha stared back, confident in Willow's witchy status. The Master decided to believe it.
"Martha is your servant?"
"Yes?"
Xander glared at her. "Don't say it like a question!" he hissed.
The vampire lord frowned. This witch did not seem so certain. And there is the matter of the other voice he heard.
"Might I inquire as to who else is with you?"
Willow put her hand over the phone again. "Don't give him your real name!" she warned. "It's bad enough he got mine."
Xander nodded, and she put the phone on speaker. "I am... Uh... I am Ufgood of Nelwyn." Willow gave her best friend a disbelieving look. He shrugged. "I too am a witch. Sorcerer! I meant sorcerer."
Willow began wondering how to explain to the Doctor why his friend was dead.
The Master did not believe for one second these two fools to whom he was speaking were anything even remotely competent. Voices from nothing and burning vampires not withstanding. But it might be a good idea to humor them.
"So, mighty Ufgood of Nelwyn, and Willow the Witch. What can I do for you?"
"You could give us our friend back," Willow told him seriously. "Before I do something bad to you."
"Yeah!" Xander chimed in.
It was all he could do to not laugh aloud at the bluff.
"I see. That would truly be unfortunate. Where shall I leave her?"
"Outside the entrance to your lair."
The Master frowned. "You know where that is?"
"Oh sure," Willow said earnestly. "Witch, remember?"
The location of his lair was a protected secret. Known only to members of his Order. If this Willow was indeed aware of such things, then perhaps his followers were not so loyal after all.
"Yes, of course. I shall leave Martha upon the steps of the mausoleum."
Xander smirked. "That'd be a neat trick, what with you being in a big cave clear across town from the cemetery."
So they did know where he was. A shame. He quite liked it here.
"And are you outside my entrance waiting for her?"
Willow and Xander looked at the cave entrance. "Nope.", "Oh hell, no!" they replied simultaneously.
"We're scrying you right now. In our crystal ball. Oh yes," Xander said in what he thought was a cool and confident manner.
"We don't use crystal balls." Willow muttered under her breath.
The Master said nothing. For long minutes did Xander observe him staring at the phone, fearing the demon would smash it.
But he didn't. Instead, the Master replaced the phone to his pointed ear, and resumed his questioning.
"You are able to perform crystallomancy?"
Xander smirked. "Yes, and as a matter of fact, I'm looking at you right now."
"You're lying!"
"I can prove it," the former one-eyed adventurer said. And Xander accurately described what the Master was wearing, the positioning of everything in his lair, and in a cold voice, Martha's condition.
The old bastard couldn't believe his pointy, evil, ears. "That's impossible!" he stubbornly declared.
But Xander wasn't finished. "And in case you're thinking it's the talking thing that's letting me see you, allow me to mention the buxom, yet delightfully evil blond vampire nun you sent away for wanting to eat my friend. Before you decided to get a taste," he amended.
Martha laughed weakly, and for a second, she thought he was going to break her neck. But when that didn't happen, she gamely soldiered on. "I just realized something. That vampire that got lit up was probably one of your lot."
The Master glared at her, then left to confirm her story, taking the phone with him.
Xander grabbed Willow's phone, then put it on hold. wanting a chance to talk to her without the Master listening in. He held up a placating hand before she could protest. "Relax Will. Bat-face went off to check up on those two vamps that got away. He's not even using the thing."
Willow's eyes lit up. "He left Martha alone?" Xander nodded. "Finally!"
She concentrated real hard.
"Martha?"
The woman jumped as much as a person that had a least a couple of pints of blood sucked out of them could jump.
"Willow?"
"Don't talk out loud. I'm using telepathy."
'I gathered,' Martha thought. 'Why didn't you do it before?'
"You weren't alone. Listen. I'm not sure how long we have, so I'm gonna tell you the plan." When she was done, Willow warned that she may make contact again, and if the Master or someone else was present, she couldn't react to it. Martha said she understood, and Willow broke off the connection.
-
"We're getting closer now!" the Doctor shouted.
'Finally!' Buffy thought as they approached the edge of town. She pulled a sword and stake from nowhere, and hoped this time the Master wouldn't kill her.
-
Setesh led his troops through the streets of his town. It was small and out of the way, but it was perfect for concealing he and his followers from those that would challenge him before he was ready.
He smiled when his Jaffa located a vampire.
It took three of them, but they were able to restrain it long enough to use his ribbon device on the foul beast. It didn't take long for Setesh to learn everything he wanted.
With a flourish, he staked the demon and the Goa'uld strode regally towards the caves beyond the town's border, his slaves following obediently behind.
