Crawford Street, Sunnydale January 18th 1998
Spike, Drusilla and their minions materialized outside their mansion lair with the last of the Judge parts, thanks to that Albanian shaman transporting them here from Europe. William the Bloody then snapped his fingers and the undead worker bees quickly carried everything into the abandoned old mansion, without a word.
Westworld facility, summer of 1999
At DELOS, Jareth was working with a demon's dead body and fusing the robot parts from 'Ted Buchanan' into the corpse. "Hmm. Where'd you get that body, Jareth?" Ethan asked, looking on in interest.
"Let's just call it a 'gift' from the Mayor of Sunnydale, Ethan, from around 18 months ago. I used my powers to weaken the demon back then. I didn't want the Slayers to die at that point, after all." Jareth laughed, darkly evil.
{ Plus, depending on what the Powers get up to... } Jareth had figured out by this point that two of The Powers That Be had plans for him and Xander. { Well, it never hurts to stack the deck in your favor, after all. }
"This army of yours, which you mentioned before - are they going to be zombies, Jareth?" Ethan frowned.
"No, Ethan. A zombie can't follow orders very well, and they're hopeless with people. No... think of them as replicants, but with longer life spans and with Slayer powers. Also, able to think and take orders."
"Really? Replicants?!" Ethan had a puzzled look.
"Blade Runner is, after all, one of my favorite movies, Ethan," the demon grinned.
Abandoned mansion on Crawford Street, Sunnydale January 18th 1998
Drusilla and Spike watched the minions carrying the Judge's parts in boxes. Then Spike lit a cigarette and put it in his mouth. "Home sweet bloody home, luv." He grinned, blowing out smoke from his mouth. "Marvelous, innit? Now the fun can *finally* start, once Big Blue is put back together again!"
"Spoike, I don't want the Judge to harm my Kitten," Drusilla told him in a pouty and worried tone of voice.
Spike rolled his eyes. { What's with her concern over that blasted whelp? } "Well, just my opinion – but that kitten needs to be de-clawed, Dru!" He chuckled wickedly. "Oy, what's the delay? How come Humpty Dumpty ain't put back together again?" Spike then growled at the minions.
"Sorry, sir. I, uh, apparently we're still missing one or two parts," one of the undead told him nervously.
"WHAT?!" Spike roared furiously.
"Shhh, Spoike-y, it's alright," Drusilla crooned comfortingly, nodding her head. "We'll find them, soon. Miss Edith says so!"
"Really, luv?" Spike glanced at her, before yelling at the assembled vampires, "WELL? You heard her! Go find them missing parts, before I bleeding well eviscerate the lot of you!" The undead scattered in fear as Spike grumbled under his breath, "Bloody incompetents, this is taking forever..."
Weatherly Park, Sunnydale January 19th 1998
The following night Kendra and Xander were out fighting vampires at the local park, while the others were at the school library working on how to destroy the cursed book that had recently been found. Both Slayer and the former Gunslinger grunted, and dusted, and kicked and punched...
At the Bronze, nothing was happening - because the place was shut down for the evening, and no one had arranged for Buffy's seventeenth birthday party to take place there. Thus, somewhere upstairs, the Powers were growing more and more irritated as things went more and more off-script. Well, all but two of them, anyway!
Meanwhile, both Angel and Buffy had come to pay Count Orlok a visit at the abandoned old mansion. They had no idea Spike and Drusilla were currently in the mansion's basement, asleep and not making any sound. Likewise, they didn't know Spike's minions were desperately looking for the last two pieces of the Judge! The Slayer and the ensouled vampire simply snuck into the mansion via one of the first floor windows, making their way through the empty lair.
{ Where is everyone? } Angel asked himself in concern, before the Count appeared before them. The other vampire obviously wasn't happy to see them, as Buffy whipped out a stake and moved into a combat stance.
"What are you two doing in my home?" Count Orlok demanded, staring at the unwelcome visitors.
"Well, y'know, doing the whole 'friendly neighbor' shtick - asking how you've been, welcoming you to the neighborhood, that sort of thing," Buffy quipped, getting ready to attack.
"Uh-huh. And the fact that you live on the other side of town, which is nowhere *near* this neighborhood, means what exactly?" the Bela Lugosi lookalike replied, causing Buffy to frown and glare at him.
"Where's Spike and Drusilla?" Angel asked.
"They're not home at the moment," Count Orlok told him with a sudden grin. "Well, I haven't seen them since they left for Greece and then arrived back, anyway. So, who knows what those two idiots are up to right now?"
"So, I take it you're not a fan?" Buffy asked, only semi-jokingly.
"That Spike, he keeps smoking in the library when I tell him not to. No respect for anyone but himself – and his sire," Count Orlok sighed. "But Drusilla is very lovely and cute, you have to admit."
Buffy snorted, while Angel said nothing. "Don't tell me you have a thing for the loony type?" she asked derisively.
"Hardly. SoCal valley girls are more my type." The vampire smirked at Buffy's grimace. "And just for the record? It's been a long time, Summers." The Count smiled in a friendly way.
"Wha-?" The Slayer was taken by surprise by this. { It sounds like we've met before, somewhere? No way, I'd have remembered someone with a face *that* ugly... }
"It's me, Summers. Billy Fordham." The Count grinned.
"WHAT? Ford? Is that really you?!" Buffy instantly had a look of shock and horror on her face, before she shook her head. "No way! You can't be -"
"Can't I? Yeah, I know I look... different, nowadays. Meaning, if you're wanting proof? I still have those old photos of you, the ones during that ninth grade beauty contest. I'm guessing your threat to kill me if I ever showed them to anybody is still valid?" the former Billy Fordham interrupted with a slight smirk.
"I – you – Ford? That's really you?" Buffy choked out in horror. "But, but you look like – what *happened* to you?"
"It's a long story, Summers. It started back when I was first diagnosed with brain cancer, actually..."
Back at the park, both Kendra and Xander finished off the last of the vampires. "We make a pretty good team, Xander," the Jamaican Slayer panted, trying to catch her breath. She didn't want to admit it, but after a good fight like that, she was feeling rather hungry - and something else...
"Thanks, Kendra, I totally agree. You're great! I've got to go meet up with Cordy, though, we made plans for a date tonight. See ya later!" He waved and took off towards his car.
{ What does he see in that girl? } Kendra wondered to herself, trying to repress unwelcome feelings of jealousy.
Back at the mansion, Count Orlok was still talking to Angel and Buffy. In the basement, Spike and Drusilla were still asleep. None of their minions had arrived back yet, or at least Angel couldn't feel their presence anywhere close by...
{ I don't like this, } Angel thought to himself, as Count Orlok gestured for them to follow him. { What's this guy up to? Buffy knew him when he was alive, but that doesn't mean anything now. I just hope she can keep that in mind... }
"Ford, what are you up to?" Buffy demanded, as she and Angel followed her former fifth grade crush.
"Giving you two the nickel and dime tour, of course. Didn't you say you wanted to do the whole friendly neighbor thing, Summers?" the Count asked with a smirk. Buffy almost growled, as Angel got ready for an unexpected attack but the Count just kept walking. "Come on, we'll head for the ballroom first. And you might want to be careful – I booby-trapped the entire place before Spike and Drusilla showed up, it's why they haven't tried to dust me yet. Trust me, you won't like the unexpected surprises!"
Over at the library, Giles and Jenny finally removed the magic that was protecting the book from being destroyed. "Whew! That took longer than I expected," the technopagan exclaimed tiredly.
"So the book is safe to get rid of, now?" the Willow-bot asked.
"Yes, Willow. It won't blow up into a million pieces and kill us all," Jenny replied with a smile.
"Thinking that would be of the bad," the Oz-bot said in a typically laid-back, neutral tone of voice.
"Well, duh!" Cordelia exclaimed. "So, can I go now? Xander and I have a date scheduled for tonight, you know!"
"Yes, um, very well; f-far be it from me to interrupt your, errr, social schedule," Giles said, looking annoyed.
{ What, is Mister British Flag Boxer Shorts all annoyed that his plan for Buffy's surprise birthday party totally fell through? Well, who cares about that? } Cordy thought to herself snippily. "Okay, then, I'm outta here. I'll see you all tomorrow!"
The gang watched Cordelia leave, before heading out of the library and down into the school basement. While Xander was still driving to the school, Kendra was slaying one of Spike's vampires on her way back to the Watcher's home. And back at the Crawford Street mansion Count Orlok, Buffy and Angel were having a face-off in the ballroom.
"So, this whole 'Count Orlok' gig? Doesn't really mesh with the boy I had a crush on, when we were little kids. So can I still call you Ford, or what?" Buffy asked. She was still feeling kinda wigged after not having seen her old friend in a very long time, and then suddenly encountering him like *this*!
Count Orlok grinned. "If you want, Summers."
Angel *really* didn't like this, now. He loved Buffy, but he wasn't sure if he could trust her to be able to distinguish between her friend and the vampire standing before them. "So how long have you been a vampire?" he asked, getting right to the point.
"Since Halloween," the Count told him.
"Who did it? Who killed you?" Buffy wanted to know, suddenly looking angry. "Was it Spike? No, wait, that can't be right – what you said before...so who was it?"
"How I ended what I am today doesn't matter anymore at this point, Summers," Count Orlok shrugged. "What matters is where we go from here. I have the home ground advantage -"
"Whereas we outnumber you two to one," Angel completed for him. "Plus, over 240 years old, and I have a Slayer on my side."
"Yeah, I heard about that. It's quite the topic of gossip around town, actually. You should hear Spike going on about the mighty Angelus, de-fanged by a curse and love for – what did he call you again, Summers? Oh, right; Betty-Louise Plotnick, or something like that," the vampire shook his head.
Buffy looked extremely insulted, while again Angel said nothing. Back at the school, the Scooby Gang headed to the school furnace to burn the book. Giles opened the furnace door and threw the book inside with a heavy sigh, before slamming the door shut.
"Well, that was fun," Oz noted blandly.
"Yeah, well. With the book gone, at least we don't have to worry about it falling into the wrong hands anymore," Jenny replied, glad that the book was destroyed. "Come on, let's go."
Moments later the Scooby Gang exited the school basement, and so they failed to see Xander pull up in his uncle's car in the parking lot. Cordelia didn't, though. "Over here, Doofus!"
"Hey, sweetheart," Xander said with a smile, after getting out of the car and moving to hug her.
"WHOA!" Cordelia immediately put up her right hand to ward him off. "Your clothes – they're ruined! What the heck happened?"
"Them's the perils of vampire Slayage, honey. Supremely high risk of clothing damage, thanks to them wacky vamps wanting to kill you," Xander shrugged, smirking slightly.
Cordelia looked ready to throttle him. "Do you have any idea how much that outfit cost me to buy for you? And you trashed it, like almost immediately?!"
"Well, sorry if saving my own life was a higher priority than making sure the new duds survived intact," Xander told her, starting to frown.
"Damn it, Xander, don't you get it? I wanted for us to go to the movies together tonight! Wag The Dog is playing at the Sun Cinema, and Aura told me it's an okay comedy for couples to go see. I wanted people to see me hanging off your arm, and be *envious* of you! But that's not gonna happen now, with you looking like *this*!"
Xander shrugged. "Okay, so what's the plan? I go home, get changed, and meet you there?"
"Ugh. No, forget it," Cordelia huffed in annoyance. "I'm totally not in the mood now. I swear, this town – I'm really starting to hate it, y'know?"
"I know," Xander nodded, as he came closer and this time, Cordelia allowed him to hug her tight. "But look at the bright side, Cor; at least it's never boring around here!"
Neither of the two teens ever heard Jareth's howl of laughter, when he was informed of the conversation later on by his two robot spies...