Doesn't Anyone Stay Dead Around Here?
Chapter 12
Once a sufficient amount of Blair's blood had collected in the bowl, Doc turned and moved towards Abe, obviously intent on repeating the action. The man blanched as the knife-wielding demon approached him. Blair's cries had trialed off to whimpers.
As Doc faced Abe, fully turning his back on Spike, the vampire began struggling with his chains, trying to break their hold yet keep them from rattling at the force he was applying. Even though Spike was winning the battle to keep his movements quite, Doc spun and his tongue flicked across the room again. Dawn saw his intent and cried out to warn her friend.
"Spike!"
The surprise vampire rolled, just barely avoiding being hit. From the sharp whistle through the air over him, he could tell that this time Doc had not intended a gentle tap like he'd given Dawn earlier. This time he was out for blood. *I guess both figuratively and literally,* Spike thought wryly.
"You can't escape." Doc reprimanded him in a deceptively soft voice. "Besides, I wouldn't want you to miss the show."
"Considering the outcome last time you were involved, can't say as I'm all that excited to catch the show, Doc." The vampire wrinkled his nose and pointedly turned his head away from the air through which the demon's tongue had just passed. "You might want to invest in some tic-tacs, though."
"I'm not talking about the Hellmouth or its assorted creatures." Doc turned his back on the vampire once more and quickly sliced Abe's stomach. The cameraman could not contain a small cry as the pain registered.
Doc held the bowl under Abe's cuts and as the blood flowed into it, he looked over his shoulder. With a nod in Dawn's direction, he said, "I'm talking about bleeding the girl a soulless demon fights so hard for. Too bad there are no towers to push you off of this time."
Abe felt a chill go down his spine as the vampire narrowed his eyes.
"You know how I got my name, old man?" Spike practically growled the question.
Doc simply raised an eyebrow, apparently nonplussed by the predatory threat underlying the question. "I believe I did hear something about that once. It is due to your incessant desire to fight against your own kind by the Slayer's side and follow her around like a love-sick puppy that you are called 'Traitor,' is it not?"
"Back in the day," Spike began, ignoring the demon's taunt, "I had a bit of a penchant for torturing blokes with railroad spikes. Haven't done it in a while, but I'd wager it's just like riding a bicycle. Touch the girl and you'll find out."
"I don't think you'll be in any position to make good on that threat by the time we're finished here," Doc said mildly before turning his attention to the bowl that was collecting Abe's blood. Deciding that he had gathered enough, he turned in Dawn's direction.
Blair had been struggling to follow the events around him. As it was, between the blood loss and the strangeness of the situation, he was nearly hysterical.
"What the hell is going on here?" he demanded, his voice strong yet pitched higher than he wanted by fear.
"Just another ritual blood letting on the Hellmouth." It was Dawn who replied dryly, her eyes never leaving Doc. Some of Spike's earlier comments, along with a vague feeling of familiarity from her surroundings caused a piece of the puzzle to click into place. She realized they were in the old high school, the one Buffy and Co. had blown up during their graduation ceremony. "Although, considering our location, I'd say this one is a lot closer to the actual Hellmouth than most."
Though she had been speaking to Blair, she now directed her comments at Doc. "I wasn't kidding when I told you I wasn't the Key anymore. You can bleed me all you like. I won't be opening any dimensional portals. And certainly not the Hellmouth."
"HELLMOUTH?" Blair's cry was ignored all around.
Doc leaned close to Dawn and whispered conspiratorially. "Guess what? I don't need the key. Just three human sacrifices. Our…" he paused, searching for the right word, "history, while fun, is unimportant. Watching you bleed, knowing your blood will help summon the only demon to ever kill your sister…"
Dawn's eyes widened and her face paled even more. He couldn't possibly mean he was going to resurrect Glory! *Wait, when I talked about Buffy's death before, he was clueless. Why?* Dawn's thought's raced through her head. She could only surmise that the demon preparing to cut her open wasn't talking about his recently departed hellgod.
"Knowing that your blood, so much like hers, helped to open the Hellmouth and raise Aurelius…that's just a bonus." As he finished his whispered rantings, he flicked his wrist back and forth, neatly slitting Dawn across the abdomen. Hardened by the events of the past year, she had already promised herself she would not give him the satisfaction of seeing her cry this time. Although surprised by the violent act, Dawn managed to swallow her scream before it escaped her lips.
Only Dawn and Spike had been able to hear all of Doc's tirade. Abe had heard some, but the two men were still generally clueless as to the hows and whys of their situation. Blair continued to demand answers, while everyone else continued to ignore him.
However, Dawn still had some questions, and as Doc concentrated on catching her dripping blood, she mouthed one word to Spike over Doc's shoulder: "Aurelius?"
"The Master?" Spike scoffed. "Sorry to tell you, mate, but he's dead. As in dust and little, bitty bone fragments, courtesy the Slayer."
"If you only need three sacrifices, why's he here?" Abe spoke, lifting his chin to indicate Spike.
"He's a little present for the Master. I believe killing disobedient childer was a favorite pastime of his." As he answered, Doc strode across the room and, setting the bowl down, picked up some candles and placed them in a large circle around the three tied to the poles.
"Children?" Abe asked, confused. "He needs human sacrifices to call your father? Haven't you folks ever heard of calling collect?"
"No, you pillock." Spike rolled his eyes. "You wanted to know about vampires, but you don't know what childer are?"
Dawn sighed; even she knew the answer to this one. "When a vampire makes another vampire, the second one is called a childe, with an 'e.' 'Childer' is the plural of 'childe.'" She paused, suddenly realizing the implications of Doc's words and looked at Spike. "I thought Dru was your sire."
"She is, Bit," Spike explained. "Angelus was her sire. And Darla was his. Right bloody bitch, she was. Be glad you never met her." He shook his head to keep himself on track. "She was the favorite childe of Aurelius, also known as the Master."
"You're a vampire! But, but, t-t-they don't exist!" Abe exclaimed. Sure, it had been fun to imagine that they were looking for vampires, but he hadn't really thought they would find any!
"You're a right thick one, aren't ya?" Spike smirked at the stunned man. He shifted into his game face. "You break into my crypt, steal my blood, go poking around the Slayer's asking questions about vampires, and you didn't think we were real? What the hell did you think you were doin', mate?"
"Spike, stop scaring the tourists," Dawn admonished, convinced that the shaking man was about to wet himself. "Save it for someone who deserves it."
"Sorry, Nibblet." Spike shook his head and his features melted back to their familiar, human guise. He rattled his chains once more, all the while knowing it was futile. "Speaking of those who deserve it, where'd the wanker I'm going to kill go?"
Doc reemerged from the shadows in which he had been working. In one hand, he held the bowl and a scroll; the other contained a small glass sphere. When Spike saw it, he swallowed forcibly and swore softly.
"Balls."
tbc
++++++++
A/N: Thanks for the gracious and positive reviews. Feedback (in the form of glowing praise or constructive criticism) is always appreciated. If you notice any glaring errors, please let me know; I'm pretty picky, especially about grammar and continuity. I hope you're enjoying reading my story as much as I'm enjoying writing it.
Chapter 12
Once a sufficient amount of Blair's blood had collected in the bowl, Doc turned and moved towards Abe, obviously intent on repeating the action. The man blanched as the knife-wielding demon approached him. Blair's cries had trialed off to whimpers.
As Doc faced Abe, fully turning his back on Spike, the vampire began struggling with his chains, trying to break their hold yet keep them from rattling at the force he was applying. Even though Spike was winning the battle to keep his movements quite, Doc spun and his tongue flicked across the room again. Dawn saw his intent and cried out to warn her friend.
"Spike!"
The surprise vampire rolled, just barely avoiding being hit. From the sharp whistle through the air over him, he could tell that this time Doc had not intended a gentle tap like he'd given Dawn earlier. This time he was out for blood. *I guess both figuratively and literally,* Spike thought wryly.
"You can't escape." Doc reprimanded him in a deceptively soft voice. "Besides, I wouldn't want you to miss the show."
"Considering the outcome last time you were involved, can't say as I'm all that excited to catch the show, Doc." The vampire wrinkled his nose and pointedly turned his head away from the air through which the demon's tongue had just passed. "You might want to invest in some tic-tacs, though."
"I'm not talking about the Hellmouth or its assorted creatures." Doc turned his back on the vampire once more and quickly sliced Abe's stomach. The cameraman could not contain a small cry as the pain registered.
Doc held the bowl under Abe's cuts and as the blood flowed into it, he looked over his shoulder. With a nod in Dawn's direction, he said, "I'm talking about bleeding the girl a soulless demon fights so hard for. Too bad there are no towers to push you off of this time."
Abe felt a chill go down his spine as the vampire narrowed his eyes.
"You know how I got my name, old man?" Spike practically growled the question.
Doc simply raised an eyebrow, apparently nonplussed by the predatory threat underlying the question. "I believe I did hear something about that once. It is due to your incessant desire to fight against your own kind by the Slayer's side and follow her around like a love-sick puppy that you are called 'Traitor,' is it not?"
"Back in the day," Spike began, ignoring the demon's taunt, "I had a bit of a penchant for torturing blokes with railroad spikes. Haven't done it in a while, but I'd wager it's just like riding a bicycle. Touch the girl and you'll find out."
"I don't think you'll be in any position to make good on that threat by the time we're finished here," Doc said mildly before turning his attention to the bowl that was collecting Abe's blood. Deciding that he had gathered enough, he turned in Dawn's direction.
Blair had been struggling to follow the events around him. As it was, between the blood loss and the strangeness of the situation, he was nearly hysterical.
"What the hell is going on here?" he demanded, his voice strong yet pitched higher than he wanted by fear.
"Just another ritual blood letting on the Hellmouth." It was Dawn who replied dryly, her eyes never leaving Doc. Some of Spike's earlier comments, along with a vague feeling of familiarity from her surroundings caused a piece of the puzzle to click into place. She realized they were in the old high school, the one Buffy and Co. had blown up during their graduation ceremony. "Although, considering our location, I'd say this one is a lot closer to the actual Hellmouth than most."
Though she had been speaking to Blair, she now directed her comments at Doc. "I wasn't kidding when I told you I wasn't the Key anymore. You can bleed me all you like. I won't be opening any dimensional portals. And certainly not the Hellmouth."
"HELLMOUTH?" Blair's cry was ignored all around.
Doc leaned close to Dawn and whispered conspiratorially. "Guess what? I don't need the key. Just three human sacrifices. Our…" he paused, searching for the right word, "history, while fun, is unimportant. Watching you bleed, knowing your blood will help summon the only demon to ever kill your sister…"
Dawn's eyes widened and her face paled even more. He couldn't possibly mean he was going to resurrect Glory! *Wait, when I talked about Buffy's death before, he was clueless. Why?* Dawn's thought's raced through her head. She could only surmise that the demon preparing to cut her open wasn't talking about his recently departed hellgod.
"Knowing that your blood, so much like hers, helped to open the Hellmouth and raise Aurelius…that's just a bonus." As he finished his whispered rantings, he flicked his wrist back and forth, neatly slitting Dawn across the abdomen. Hardened by the events of the past year, she had already promised herself she would not give him the satisfaction of seeing her cry this time. Although surprised by the violent act, Dawn managed to swallow her scream before it escaped her lips.
Only Dawn and Spike had been able to hear all of Doc's tirade. Abe had heard some, but the two men were still generally clueless as to the hows and whys of their situation. Blair continued to demand answers, while everyone else continued to ignore him.
However, Dawn still had some questions, and as Doc concentrated on catching her dripping blood, she mouthed one word to Spike over Doc's shoulder: "Aurelius?"
"The Master?" Spike scoffed. "Sorry to tell you, mate, but he's dead. As in dust and little, bitty bone fragments, courtesy the Slayer."
"If you only need three sacrifices, why's he here?" Abe spoke, lifting his chin to indicate Spike.
"He's a little present for the Master. I believe killing disobedient childer was a favorite pastime of his." As he answered, Doc strode across the room and, setting the bowl down, picked up some candles and placed them in a large circle around the three tied to the poles.
"Children?" Abe asked, confused. "He needs human sacrifices to call your father? Haven't you folks ever heard of calling collect?"
"No, you pillock." Spike rolled his eyes. "You wanted to know about vampires, but you don't know what childer are?"
Dawn sighed; even she knew the answer to this one. "When a vampire makes another vampire, the second one is called a childe, with an 'e.' 'Childer' is the plural of 'childe.'" She paused, suddenly realizing the implications of Doc's words and looked at Spike. "I thought Dru was your sire."
"She is, Bit," Spike explained. "Angelus was her sire. And Darla was his. Right bloody bitch, she was. Be glad you never met her." He shook his head to keep himself on track. "She was the favorite childe of Aurelius, also known as the Master."
"You're a vampire! But, but, t-t-they don't exist!" Abe exclaimed. Sure, it had been fun to imagine that they were looking for vampires, but he hadn't really thought they would find any!
"You're a right thick one, aren't ya?" Spike smirked at the stunned man. He shifted into his game face. "You break into my crypt, steal my blood, go poking around the Slayer's asking questions about vampires, and you didn't think we were real? What the hell did you think you were doin', mate?"
"Spike, stop scaring the tourists," Dawn admonished, convinced that the shaking man was about to wet himself. "Save it for someone who deserves it."
"Sorry, Nibblet." Spike shook his head and his features melted back to their familiar, human guise. He rattled his chains once more, all the while knowing it was futile. "Speaking of those who deserve it, where'd the wanker I'm going to kill go?"
Doc reemerged from the shadows in which he had been working. In one hand, he held the bowl and a scroll; the other contained a small glass sphere. When Spike saw it, he swallowed forcibly and swore softly.
"Balls."
tbc
++++++++
A/N: Thanks for the gracious and positive reviews. Feedback (in the form of glowing praise or constructive criticism) is always appreciated. If you notice any glaring errors, please let me know; I'm pretty picky, especially about grammar and continuity. I hope you're enjoying reading my story as much as I'm enjoying writing it.