Spanderverse: Dracula

Chapter 10: A Plan or Two

Everyone was gathered at Giles again for an update on the research that had been done for Dracula. Everyone but Anya, who'd had a chance at overtime. Whatever danger was lurking, Anya's priority always remained her bank account. Riley had brought donuts, Giles had made coffee (even he was in the need for caffeine, having not slept well) and everyone was getting comfortable around the living room.

"Raspberry jelly donuts," Riley asked the room.

"Ugh. No, no thanks honey." Buffy said. Everyone noticed she was looking a little queasy today.

"Me! Me! I want the bloody looking donut!" Xander was literally bouncing around the apartment this morning. Apparently he was the only one that had gotten a lot of sleep the night before.

"Geez, Xan. Did you take a peppy pill this morning or what?" Willow wanted to know.

"I'm just, uh, a little excited. I mean, this is when we strategize to defeat the, uh, baddie and all right?"

"Yes, well, perhaps you could sit down. You're making me dizzy," Giles offered. "Let's see what we've found last night. Willow?"

"Like a little research is enough to stop the dark master," and to everyone's sudden funny looks, "Uh, -bator. The Dark Masturbator, that uh, creep."

Tara was giving him an odd look while Buffy was rolling her eyes in his direction. Have to be more careful, Xander thought, no one likes a servant who talks too much.

"Well," continued Willow, "most of it is stuff we already know. The usual vampire hang-ups; crosses, holy water, blah-blah. A lot of the websites we were looking at are about the movies or squicky fan fiction, trying to turn the great evil into some sorta fluffy love-toy. A lot of the sites that actually had information were really repeating from other sites. Basically, regurgitating the Stoker novel."

At that, Buffy excused herself to the bathroom, looking a little too green. On her way she said over her shoulder, "Less of the regurgitate talk, please!" And then she was running to the bathroom.

"Oops. Sorry!" Willow yelled out in Buffy's general traveling direction.

"Well, from what I've been able to find, Dracula isn't too much for crypts and stuff," Riley added, "so I'm thinking we can check out the nice abandoned places around town. I've already stopped at the old Crawford mansion but no go."

Buffy wandered out of the bathroom and retook her seat. She still looked awfully pale, but at least she wasn't green anymore. "What do we got about fighting him?"

Again, Riley spoke up. "From my research, it sounds like he's not much of a fighter. Mostly, he seems to mist whenever it comes to the fisticuffs."

"Are you trying to say the m…the dark, um, that the vampire is afraid of a little fight? 'Cause I'm thinking he's no coward. I mean, not with those awesome powers!"

"Actually, Xan," Tara said, "our research is pretty much in line with what Riley is saying. It seems to be a lot of hypnotic gazes, biting victims, and then taking off. According to the novel, and we have to remember it may not be a 100 accurate portrayal, but he ran from Dr. Van Helsing when they discovered where he was hiding out."

"I'm sure there was more to it than what that hack wrote," Xander replied.

"Oh, probably," Giles said. "But we have to go with the evidence we have. How are you two doing with counter spells?"

"Well, Willow's freezing spell came up a bust. Not that it wasn't a good idea, sweetie."

Willow was looking a little pouty, "Yeah, well. I should have figured it wouldn't be that easy." Turning her attention from her girlfriend, she explained to the assembled group. "Finding the spell was pretty easy actually. I was all excited and everything. Anyway, Tara found this obscure myths website and according to a small passage on it, Dracula's mist form can defy the elements. Not even wind can make him disperse."

Tara added, "We figure with cold being an element, he'd probably shrug it off. Plus, according to the same source, he can summon the elemental forces himself. It's possible he could end up turning our own cold wave back on us."

"Well, of course," Xander replied, "a little cold couldn't stop the, uh, Dracula."

"What about the brides he supposedly travels with? Can they do the things that he does?" Riley wanted to know.

Xander made a 'pshaw' sound; "Like the master vampire would give out those type of abilities to the lackeys."

"Good point, Xander." Giles was rubbing a thoughtful finger over his chin, "Yes, I think it's highly unlikely with his overdeveloped ego that he would share any abilities that make him unique."

It was all that Xander could do not to stroll over to Giles and punch him out. He was incensed that Giles, in fact all of them, were making disparaging remarks about his Lord. They didn't comprehend his mighty powers. He'd had to bite down hard on the inside of his mouth, drawing a little blood, to keep from lashing out at this group of losers. Xander's gaze passed to Buffy. After a few moments she looked up, sensing his stare, but just as quickly looked away. Even Buffy the Great doesn't realize what a privilege the Master is going to grant her. I wish he'd bite me. I mean…

Xander's thoughts were interrupted as his mind returned to the discussion going on around him. Willow was running her god-damned mouth again…

"…he'd rather seduce his way to his victims, instead of just killing. At least, the women victims anyway."

"And with his mental abilities, he's got a way to draw them in." Tara cast her gaze around the room, "He has some telepathic ability and of course, you all know about his hypnosis."

"I can attest to his 'attraction powers'. I mean, lesbian here, and I was still falling into his eyes. Didn't you feel it when he looked at you Buffy?"

"Uh, no, no I didn't. He was just another vamp doing vampy-type things."

Riley was looking at Buffy a little suspiciously and Xander didn't like that. He knew, of course, why Buffy chose to wear that green scarf today. Buffy hadn't worn a scarf in ages, after all. He also knew that he didn't want the others to notice anything, and it looked like Riley was going to cause trouble. Thinking quickly, he tried to draw attention from Buffy.

"See, uh, if the Slayer didn't notice anything, then I'm sure you're making wild assumptions, Will." It was at that moment that a juicy looking spider began crawling up the leg of Giles' table and Xander was rapidly becoming distracted. "Uh, I mean…um, if anyone was going to feel drawn in, it, uh, would have been…" Xander trailed off.

He noticed the others looking at him a little weirdly and realized he hadn't finished his sentence. "Uh, I'm just saying, maybe we're letting all those myths about the, uh, unholy prince, get to us. Over-estimating his powers and stuff." Xander couldn't get his eyes to stop darting toward the arachnid crawling up the table leg. If he didn't react soon, it was going to get away!

"The point is," Giles had drawn attention back toward the other side of the room, "he may go through the motions of a seduction, but like any other vampire, he kills or turns."

Xander clapped a hand over the spider, while the others weren't looking. Glancing quickly around to make sure no one was paying attention, he popped the creature into his mouth. Feeling it wiggle on his tongue, he quickly squashed it against the roof of his mouth and then made slow sucking motions with his mouth. He could feel the tiny bit of power such a simple creature had ebb into him and nearly giggled with the high he received realizing how much better it would all be when he could sink his teeth, or fangs, into something more meaty.

Through the mashed bits of spider sticking to the roof of his mouth Xander managed to get back into the conversation, "Well of course he does. He's a vampire after all. And, the blood is the life."

Xander had said it with such intensity, that everyone was looking at him oddly again. Damn it! "Uh, I mean to them evil blood sucking types, um, I mean."

Giles continued on, "The thing for Dracula appears to be the hunt. The seduction, he wants the victim to basically invite her own demise. He, uh, he needs her to, um, to burn for him in a, uh, rather physical way," he cleared his throat.

"Well, then. We avoid wanting him," Buffy reasoned, "and we win." A little more subdued, she added, "I'm sure we can do that."

"Well, uh, I'll just go out and hunt him down. All the fancy places right?"

"Buffy," Riley said, stepping in front of her, "we know it's you he's interested in getting closer to. You shouldn't be going alone."

"It'll be ok, Riley. I'll be ok. It's still early afternoon and I'll make sure I'm back with you before sundown." Buffy sidestepped him and left Giles' apartment.

Riley wasn't about to let Buffy blow him off again. Too many times she had gone out patrolling without him, and he was getting a little pissed by it. They were supposed to be a team, partners not just in bed, but in everything. "Buffy, wait," he said, taking her arm, "Look, you don't look ok. I'm worried about you, you're too pale and now you want to go out to take on a guy who've you already admitted can put the hypno-hold on you. Well, I just don't think so!"

"God, stop crowding me! I'm fine, alright!" By this time the others had been drawn out into Giles' courtyard by the sudden yelling. "I can handle this on my own!" Again Buffy turned to leave.

Again, Riley grabbed her arm. Getting up in her face, he stared into her listless eyes. Noticing the scarf around her neck, sudden images of every Dracula film he'd ever seen came rushing back to him. He'd never, ever, seen Buffy wearing a scarf around her neck, before. Nodding suddenly in comprehension, he glanced back at the others, and then looked down at her.

Sorry to do this in front of your friends, Buffy, his eyes said. "Take off the scarf, Buffy," his mouth said.

"What? Don't be ridiculous. This outfit is incomplete without it."

"He already got to you didn't he? You're in the Dark Lord's thrall!" Riley was looking shaken up by this sudden realization. At the same time, something in Buffy wanted her to break free and run away from her friends, her lover, hell, this was her family just as much as her mom, and yet she needed to get away from them.

"You've gone crazy! I am not under anyone's thrall. I'm just getting a little sick of you being my babysitter. Hello? Remember which one of us is a Slayer?"

"That's bull!" Riley reached out before Buffy could twist away, and yanked at the scarf. With it falling away from her neck and fluttering to the paving stones of the courtyard, the fight suddenly left Buffy. She fell to the fountain they'd been standing next to, sitting on its edge. To everyone's surprise, even Riley's despite the fact he'd expected it, was two angry looking puncture wounds where her throat met her shoulder. It didn't escape Riley that the vampire had chosen to bite her right where she had a scar from Angel. He didn't say anything though, only took a step back from her, his features having grown as pale as hers were. Buffy hid her face in her hands, misery exuding from her hunched figure.

"Oh, Buffy," Giles said to her. "Why didn't you tell us?"

"Uh, tell what there Giles? It's uh, a scratch, right Buff?" Xander nearly pranced in place where he was desperately trying to figure a way to control the situation. "She didn't want us blowing it out of proportion, right?" He was sending his will over Buffy, trying to force her to go along. Apparently he lacked the mental strength of his master though, because Buffy completely ignored him.

"I don't know why I tried to hide it, guys. I'm so sorry Riley. This voice inside just kept telling me I had to keep it a secret."

Well, nice keeping there you stupid bitch, Xander thought. Then felt immediately guilty: this was to be his Lady once Dracula had his way; he shouldn't be thinking anything but worshippy-like thoughts.

"Mm-hmm. That's 'thrall' alright." Riley said. "When, Buffy?"

"It was last night. I'm not sure how he got in the house, but he was able to mist his way right into my bedroom. I, mean, I know I should have tried to stake him right then and there, but it's like my mind wasn't my own. All I could do was sit there while he bit me." Buffy didn't bother adding that she'd actually been consumed by passion.

"We'll stop by your mom's after lunch," Tara said. Her eyes were full of sympathy. If there was one thing you could count on it was that Tara would never sit in judgement of you. Buffy appreciated the support, "Will and I will do the 'no pulse, no entry' spell."

"I appreciate that, Tara. I'm still afraid though. Mom's there at night while I'm patrolling and with his mental powers…"

Tara rushed over the short distance between them and sat down next to her. Placing a comforting arm around her, she said, "Don't worry Buffy. Willow and I will figure out a way to keep him out for good. He's not going to get to your mother or you again."

"I think your blowing things out of proportion, Buff," Xander said. "He caught you by surprise, that's all. I think we're over selling these, supposed, mind powers."

"I don't know Xan. I really did feel like there was this mental hold over me while he was next to me."

"That figures," Riley added, "I mean, Angel was all dark and broody. Now here comes Drac who probably reminds you a little of him."

Buffy stood up and closed the distance between them. She threw her arms around him and hugged him tight. "This wasn't like that at all, I promise. Angel and me are just distant friends, now. And Dracula and I aren't anything. I'm yours, Riley. I'm going to stay yours."

"Well, you sure can't go up against him again. Not if he already has a hold on you."

"I tend to agree," Giles added. "I'm afraid this is one time when the non-Slayers will have to handle things."

"I don't feel safe going home; he was able to just waltz in. And mom! She's got to leave, too."

"It'll be alright," Giles said, his mind working, "Joyce will stay over here tonight. I'll find Spike later. Tonight, he, Riley and I will look for Dracula. Girls, you'll need to work fast on counter spells. We're sure to need them."

"Anya should go, too. She mentioned to me that she met him briefly back in her demon days. Maybe she can distract him while Will and Tara are spell-throwing." Xander's mind was also racing to think ahead of the group, he smiled at the perfect plan. "And I'll hide Buffy at my parent's place where Dracula can't find her."

Giles broke up the meeting, "Then we have a plan."

"Yes, we do," Xander agreed.

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End Ch 10