Another day, another dolla- wait . . .
Sorry, I'm running out of clichés. Standard disclaimer applies.
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Degrees of Separation
Xander stared at the castle before shaking his head in disbelief and staring some more.
The universe is out to get me. There is no other possible interpretation.
The castle didn't look the same as he remembered, but some sense told him it was the same. After all, an embodiment of chaos didn't have much use for a constant form.
The first time it visits the Americas, and it has to pop up here in Sunnydale. Wonderful.
He turned around and reentered his apartment, making his way to his bedroom, and opened the trunk at the foot of the bed setting the folded cloak on top aside before carefully extracting polished armor: breastplate, spaulders, enchanted gauntlets and helmet, greaves, and boots. Well practiced, it took less than ten minutes to get fully geared up. The last things he grabbed as he went out the door were his shield and the Mourneblade from their place beside the door.
Before his first fight with Adam, he'd have had to go looking for his rings, too, but given the advantages they gave him while remaining low profile; he simply didn't take them off anymore.
Hunger Whispered up from his side where the Mourneblade was sheathed. Will to Power/Will to Slay. Hunting?
The sentient demonic sword was, as ever, ready to fight. "Hey, Xander-" The man in question turned to look at Buffy who was staring at his armed and armored form. "Um, did I miss something?"
Xander blinked in surprise and looked at the clearly visible castle. Oh, I have such a bad feeling about this. If Buffy couldn't see it, then it was being deliberately hidden. That meant one of two things. Either its here for me, and the invisibility thing is a hint to come alone, or its here for someone else, 'someone else', in this case was likely Buffy, and whoever's in charge over there thinks he's hidden.
Some days it just wasn't worth the effort to crawl out of bed. "Just going to do some training, Buff," he said.
"Wearing that? All that?" she asked. "Are we expecting another Adam or something?" she asked somewhat apprehensively. Given that Tara still couldn't look at him without turning absolutely white with fear of the magics he'd unleashed in that battle. . .
"Nah, nothing like that. I just need to keep in practice, and for that I need to occasionally get out of the apartment and exercise in full plate."
"Oh, okay," Buffy said, and bit her lip apparently trying to decide whether she should say something before visibly deciding against it. "Have a good day," she called over her shoulder as she left.
Xander momentarily felt guilty for lying to her, but . . .
If that castle is what I think it is. . . she is not prepared.
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It was easier than it should have been to make his way into the castle that was far bigger inside than it looked. Such was the benefit of being formed of pure chaos. Whoever commanded the magic of this place, if it was commanded at all, had become terribly lax. That argued, in turn, that it was not his adopted persona's father in charge.
That would make things of so very much easier. Shifting his form to that of a simple fog, he drifted through the halls of the ancient building, senses tuned until-
Impossible. Buffy stood before a vampire. One of this world's demonic kind. Her expression almost blank. She was fighting the vampire's compulsion, but not quite able to overcome it.
"So you saw the one I sent you to find? The one who has made it so difficult for me to enforce my will upon this place? And you let him leave?" the undead scum was fairly frothing at the mouth.
Buffy answered haltingly, as though she was sleep talking, voice untouched despite the war of emotions on her face, "He was armed with powerful weapons and armor. You told me not to endanger this place unnecessarily. His magic is powerful enough by itself."
This was just not on.
Xander allowed himself to reassume a human form just inside the doorway, transferring his magic from maintaining his mist form into a powerful counterspell. The mind control magic shattered like glass, and the vampire physically recoiled as the backlash of the severed magic hit him. It was all that saved him from Buffy's wrath.
Twice he evaded blows before casting a glamour that made it appear as though he'd transformed himself into a bat. Buffy tracked the bat, while the Vampire backed off.
Until Xander teleported behind him. Another counterspell and a quick shift into an arm bar, the underpowered demonic vamp unable to escape the hold stopped him from escaping nicely. "Hey, Buffy, lets play a game." Xander suggested to the visibly enraged Slayer. "Six degrees of Separation. Me and this scrub. Care to point something out to him?"
The blond slayer's rage was swallowed immediately by anticipation. "Six degrees is way too easy; all I need is three," she said, her eyes turning their gaze to the vampire's face. "The Dracula wannabe on the floor there imitates the real Vlad Tepes Dracula. Dracula was the father of Adrian Farenheight Tepes. You dress as Adrian Tepes, aka Alucard for Halloween."
The figure on the floor had managed to turn even paler than the average vampire, and, by the end of the game had even begun whimpering. Xander sneered down at it as he drew the Mourneblade feelings of Thirst! and Strike the Killing Blow! tingling up his arm. "Correct. I think I'll take my family's property back now, charlatan."
What passed for the revenant's spirit at least dulled the weapon's hunger for a time, given that he himself didn't need to borrow any of it to heal. At least the filth was good for something.
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As if the name didn't give that one away to any fan of the Castlevania series. For those of you not in the know, Alucard of the Castlevania universe in the Dhampir son of Dracula and his wife Lisa and a longtime ally of the Belmont clan.
And that's it. I have to work again tonight, so I is going back to bed.
