Meanwhile, Mistoffelees glanced around the graveyard the vampire was leading him through. "Hey, are you sure this is the right short cut?" he asked, nearly tripping over a tomb and feeling panic creep up his throat. Seize the moment, sure. This was only looking like more and more of a bad idea.
The man leading him turned to smirk and Mistoffelees' stomach dropped further. "I-I think I should start getting back... get home and all that," he started to stammer and the man stopped suddenly in from of a mausoleum.
"Ever been in one of these?" he asked, prying the door open and Mistoffelees considered making a run for it right then. This was just getting too creepy.
"I really should get home," he started but the vampire grabbed him by the arm and all but threw him into the place. Yelping, Mistoffelees whirled on him. "That's not funny!" he said, aware that panic was starting to show in his voice.
"I need to get home," he said, starting to back up as the vampire advanced.
"Is that what you think?" the vampire drawled and Mistoffelees realized his back was pressed against the wall. Another form appeared in the doorway, this one looking like a young catholic schoolgirl.
"Is this the best you could do?" she asked the other man already there and Mistoffelees looked between them and the door. There was no way he could make it.
"He's fresh," the other protested and the girl shook her head.
"Too small. I'm not sure there's enough blood in him to make a good meal. Hardly enough to share."
Mistoffelees' eyes widened and he yelled as loud as he could, hoping someone would be around, or even get the other's distracted for a moment. Both of the vampires turned and jumped and he attempted a break for it, getting his arm caught and pulled backward.
Grids stepped inside, "Well, this is nice. It's a little bare, but a dash of paint, a few throw pillows... call it home!" She moved around the coffin in the center of the mausoleum, drawing the vampires' attention.
Tugger followed her in and nearly cried out when he saw Mistoffelees in the hold of the woman, whose face had twisted and changed. She let go of the shorter teen abruptly, shoving him away and turning her attention to Grids instead. Mistoffelees hit the ground hard, and crawled away quickly before attempting to stand, Tugger helping him up.
"Tugger, get out of here." Grids instructed as the male vampire closed in.
"They're not leaving yet," one of the vampires growled.
"Okay, first of all, what's with the outfit? Live in the now, okay? You look like DeBarge!" They closed in on her and she glanced at the female, "Now, we can do this the hard way, or... well, actually there's just the hard way."
"Who the hell are you?" the female vampire demanded.
"Wow, you mean there's actually somebody around here who doesn't know already? That's a relief. I'm telling you, having a secret identity in this town is a full-time job."
The vampire growled as Tugger started pulling Mistoffelees toward the door but the male vampire started moving past Grids on the way to stop them.
Grids let out a huff of breath as she pulled the make-shift stake from earlier out of her jacket and slammed it into the Vampire's chest, barely glancing at him as he fell and turned to ash. She looked at the female vampire, "See what happens when you roughhouse?"
Mistoffelees and Tugger both gaped at the sudden pile of ashes with the female vampire shrugged. "He was young and stupid."
Grids glanced past the vamp to where they still were, "Tugger! Go!"
Tugger nodded and started dragging Mistoffelees with him on the way out as the female vamp advanced on Grids.
Grids took a ready stance to face her. The vamp lunged at her, attempting to tackle her down. Grids dodged, aiming a kick at the vamp's side The Vampire parried, and they continued to fight up and down the cramped space.
Grids finally managed to kick the other into the wall, "You know, I just wanted to start over. Be like everybody else. Have some friends, y'know, maybe a dog... But, no, you had to come here, you couldn't go suck on some other town."
"Who are you?" the vampire demanded, back hitting the wall hard.
She blinked, shaking her head, "Don't you know?"
A hand abruptly wrapped around her throat, lifting her from the ground. "I don't care," a voice growled.
Grids gasped, her hands coming up to pull at the hand on her throat as she kicked out at her attacker.
The vampire behind her, hefted her higher before throwing her at the wall before turning to the other. "Darla," he growled. "You were supposed to be bringing an offering for the Master. We're almost at the Harvest and you dally with this child?"
"We had someone!" Darla protested. "She's already killed Thomas... Luke, she's strong.
Grids carefully started to get up, her head spinning from where she'd hit it slightly. She managed to gain her feet, though she was a bit off balance.
Luke glanced over at her before waving Darla off. "You go. I'll take care of the little girl."
Grids steadied herself for any blows, but opted to make the first move this time. She aimed a kick for his chest, landing a solid one.
"You are strong," he said before punching her in the jaw and slamming her into the ground. "I'm stronger."
She gasped, but stumbled to her feet again, backing away and u the stairs toward the exit.
He grinned before shoving the top of the tomb with all his might at her.
She jumped, landing on her hands on the edge of the coffin and cart wheeling over it to kick the vampire in the chest, knocking him down. Grids scooped up the stake from the floor and lunged at him.
He grabbed the stake before it got to him, squeezing it until it splintered. "You think you can stop me? Stop us?" he asked before punching her back hard. "You have no idea what you're dealing with."
Her lower back hit the edge of the coffin and she rolled off of it onto the floor, carefully trying to get up but her back hurt and her legs weren't working as quickly as she needed them to.
Smirking, he came to stand over her, starting tin intone. "And like a plague of boils, the race of Man covered the earth. But on the third day of the newest light will come over the Harvest… when the blood of men will flow as wine…when the Master will walk among them once more… the world will belong to the Old Ones…" he said as he back handed her when she tried to stand, sending her right into the tomb.
She landed on her back in the crypt, shrieking slightly as she came face to face with the body before falling completely silent, trying to hear where the vampire was. She couldn't hear him and carefully started to lever herself up again. This was not going well...
Suddenly he reared up on the edge of the crypt, smirking down at her. "Amen," he drawled, diving down for her neck. She struggled, trying to knock him off of her.
He grabbed for her throat and pulled back with a scream as his hand came into contact with the silver cross around her neck. Hissing, he drew his hand back abruptly as it burned him. She kicked out with both feet, sending him out of the crypt. She stood, leapt out of the tomb and bolted. He growled, watching her go and looking down at the burn on his hand, scowling.
Grids paused when she was most of the way through the cemetery. Hearing a growl she took off in that direction.
A vampire had Mistoffelees pinned down, going for his neck even as he was trying to hold them back and was attempting to find the leverage to kick it. "Hey!" As the vampire looked up, Grids landed a solid kick to its face, knocking it off of Misto. The Vamp glared at her, but took off running.
Mistoffelees pushed himself up, trying to shake the dirt off him with shaky hands, but it wasn't working.
Grids looked around, not seeing any other vamps in the immediate area, but also not seeing Tugger. She took off again, seeking out the other teen. Still swaying slightly, Mistoffelees followed her. "Tugger was over that way," he said, pointing to the side of where she was heading.
She nodded, glancing at him and changing direction, looping around in the hopes of cutting any Vampires off.
Tugger was knocked out cold, being dragged away by a pair of vampires. Mistoffelees got there first, letting out a little cry so their attention went to him.
Grids caught the two vampires off-guard, knocking them away from Tugger and snapping off a dead branch from a tree. She whirled, slamming it into the chest of one of them, watching as the other took off running.
Mistoffelees sank down next to Tugger, who was starting to wake up. "Are you okay?" he asked quickly.
"Man..." Tugger's voice slurred. "Something hit me..."
"Something," Mistoffelees agreed.
Grids moved over to them, "Are you two alright?"
Mistoffelees looked up and nodded, though he looked unsure and Tugger just stared at her. "You're pretty... did I mention you're pretty?"
Mistoffelees glanced down at him. "Something hit you hard didn't it?" he said, though somewhat affectionately before looking back up at Grids. "Tell me you're going to explain this?"
She swallowed, "We should go talk to Coricopat. He said he was going back to his library."
Blinking, the shorter nodded, trying to get Tugger to stand. "Alright. We should get inside anyway."
Grids leaned down to help get Tugge to his feet, "Yeah, pronto."
o.o.o
Coricopat descended the stairs, picking up books and adding them to the stack in his arms as he spoke, "This world is older than any of you know. Contrary to popular mythology, it did not begin as a paradise. For untold eons demons walked the Earth. They made it their home, their... their Hell. But in time they lost their purchase on this reality. The way was made for mortal animals, for, for man. All that remains of the old ones are vestiges, certain magicks, certain creatures."
"And vampires," Grids supplied.
Mistoffelees swallowed hard from where he was sitting, pulling his legs up to wrap his arms around them. Tugger was pacing the floor behind him. "Okay, this is where I have a problem, see, because we're now talking about vampires. We're having a talk with vampires in it."
"I think I need to sit down," Mistoffelees murmured.
Grids glanced at Misto, "You are sitting down." Her attention turned to Tugger, "What did we see earlier then? Oh, right, those weren't vampires, those were just guys in thundering need of a facial. Or maybe they had rabies. It could have been rabies. A-and that guy turning to dust? Just a trick of light."
Tugger glared at her. "I..."
"So vampires are demons?" Mistoffelees asked, recovering slightly.
She sighed, "Sorry, Tugger. That's what I said when I first saw one."
Coricopat cut in, answering Misto, before anything more could be said, "The books tell the last demon to leave this reality fed off a human, mixed their blood. He was a human form possessed, infected by the demon's soul. He bit another, and another, and so they walk the Earth, feeding... Killing some, mixing their blood with others to make more of their kind. Waiting for the animals to die out, and the old ones to return."
"So what's a slayer?" Tugger asked.
"As long as there have been vampires, there has been the Slayer. One girl in all the world-"
Grids rolled her eyes, "He loves doing this part."
Coricopat frowned at her, "Alright. The Slayer hunts vampires, Griddlebone is a Slayer, don't tell anyone. Well, I think that's all the vampire information you need."
"Whoa," Mistoffelees started to protest, having been looking at Coricopat strangely through the entire speech.
"Except for one thing. How do you kill them?" Tugger asked, overpowering whatever Mistoffelees had been about to say.
"You don't. I do," Grids spoke firmly.
"But," Tugger protested and Mistoffelees reached over to lay a hand on his arm.
She shook her head, "But nothing. You almost got yourselves killed."
"This is probably the dumb question, but shouldn't we call the police?" Mistoffelees asked softly.
Coricopat arched an eyebrow, looking up from the book he was perusing, "And they'd believe us, of course."
"I-I," Mistoffelees stammered. "We don't have to say vampires. We could say it was just... a bad man. Or... something." He wilted against the back of the chair.
Grids shook her head again, leaning against the study table, "They couldn't handle it even if they did show up. They'd only come with guns."
"You have no idea where they went?" The Watcher glanced at her.
"I looked around, but soon as they got clear of the graveyard, they could have just, voom!"
"Vampires can fly?" Tugger asked, startling back.
"No...they can drive," Grids replied, looking over at him.
"Oh," Tugger said, drawing back.
Mistoffelees frowned. "I don't remember hearing a car though. And it's not like we were too close to any roads."
Coricopat narrowly kept a slight note of sarcasm out of his voice, "Let's take an enormous intuitive leap, shall we, and say they went underground."
"Vampires really jam on sewer systems. You can get anywhere in the entire town without catching any rays," Grids explained before looking back at the librarian, "But I didn't see any access around there."
"Well, there's electrical tunnels. They run under the whole town," Tugger offered.
Coricopat didn't look up from the book still, "If we had a diagnostic of the tunnel system it might indicate a, a meeting place, it would, uh... I suppose we could go to the building commission."
Grids just stared at him, "We so don't have time, if what I've been hearing so far is right."
"Um, guys?" Mistoffelees said, raising his hand. "There could be another way?"
That finally did draw the Englishman's attention, "Oh? And what might that be?"
"Computer," Mistoffelees said, glancing around and noticing the one behind the librarian's desk and rising to go over to it.
"I..." He blinked, glancing at Grids and Tugger before following Mistoffelees. Tugger trailed after them as the other teenager sat himself at Coricopat's computer, pulling up the internet and with a few strokes pulling up the map of the electrical tunnels.
Grids shook her head as she looked at the map, "Well, it runs under the graveyard..."
"I don't see any access though," Mistoffelees commented.
Cori spoke from where he was standing behind the teens, "So all the city plans are just open to the public?"
"Um," Mistoffelees glanced back at him. "Well, in a way. I sort of stumbled onto them when I accidentally... decrypted the city council's security system."
Tugger glanced at him but didn't look surprised in the least. "Someone's been naughty... again."
Coricopat's lips quirked upward slightly in amusement at that, "Well-"
He was cut off as Grids straightened, turning away from the computer, "There's nothing here, this is useless!"
"I think you're being a bit hard on yourself," the librarian replied.
"You're the one that told me that I wasn't prepared enough. Understatement! I thought I was on top of everything, and then that monster, Luke, came out of nowhere..." She trailed off, her mind going back to the mausoleum and the layout of the small building.
"What?" Tugger asked as Mistoffelees scowled at the plans.
"He-he didn't come out of nowhere. He came from behind me. I was facing the entrance, he came from behind me, and he didn't follow me out. The access to the tunnels is in the mausoleum! God! How did I not see that?"
"So, what's the plan then?" Tugger asked, almost bouncing on the balls of his feet. "We saddle up right?"
She shook her head, "There's no 'we', okay? I'm the Slayer, and you're not. This is deeply dangerous."
"I knew you were going to throw that in my face," Tugger muttered, crossing his arms over his chest.
"Tugger, please. You could get yourself killed."
"I'm inadequate. That's fine, I'm less than a man. Everyone knows it."
"Grids," Mistoffelees said slowly. "I'm not terribly anxious to go into a dark place full of the monsters I thought weren't living under my bed but I want to help. I need to help."
Coricopat leaned over Mistoffelees' shoulder to look at the computer screen, resting his hand on the desk, "Well, then help me. I've been researching this Harvest affair. It seems to be some sort of preordained massacre. Rivers of blood, Hell on Earth, quite charmless. I'm a bit fuzzy, however, on the details. It may be that you can wrest some information from that dread machine." He paused realizing he was getting no response. Looking around he took in their expressions, "That was a bit, um, British, wasn't it?"
Grids managed a bit of a smile, "Welcome to the New World."
He returned the smile a bit sheepishly, before turning back to Mistoffelees, clarifying the meaning of 'wresting information from the dread machine', "I want you to go on the 'Net."
"Oh!" Mistoffelees said, considering his proximity and turning quickly back to the computer. "I can do that."
Coricopat straightened, "Perfect."
Grids started heading for the door, "Then I'm out of here."
Her Watcher's voice stopped her for a moment, "Do I have to tell you to be careful?" She turned to look at him for a long moment and then slipped out.
Mistoffelees watched her go before returning his gaze to Coricopat. "So, what do you want me to look for?"
"Anything out of the ordinary. Check back-issues of the local paper if you can get access to that, I'll see if there's anything further to be found in the stacks as regards this Harvest."
"I, alright," he said, as Tugger wondering out. "So, is the aversion to computers a British thing, a librarian thing, or a you thing?"
He looked up from the shelves he was going over, seeking a particular volume, "What?"
"Well, you called the computer a dread machine. So, why don't you like them?" Mistoffelees asked, clicking through back issues of the Sunnydale Times.
"The smell." He plucked the book off of the shelf, moving over to settle by the desk.
That stopped Mistoffelees short for a moment. "Huh?"
"The smell," Coricopat repeated, opening the book.
"You ... computers don't smell," Mistoffelees said, glancing at the computer as if to reassure himself of that.
"I am well aware of that. Smell is the most powerful trigger to the memory there is. A certain flower or a, a whiff of smoke can bring up experiences long forgotten. Books smell. Musty and, and, and, and rich. The knowledge gained from a computer, it has no, no texture, no, no context. It's, it's there and then it's gone."
For a moment Mistoffelees just stared at him. "I... Oh. Well, on the other hand, you can use the computer for reference and find things quicker. I mean, sure, old dusty tomes are great for most things but when you need speed..."
"Not everything is available on the computer. And books don't give out when there's a power outage."
Mistoffelees grinned faintly. "Very true. But that's why they should work together, right? The ability to have the pros of both while hopefully cancelling out the cons. I really should teach you how to use the computer... you do know the basics right?"
"I do. We have other things to deal with right now."
"I meant later," he said softly. "I'm still fairly certain there's going to be a later... right?"
"There...should be," Coricopat sighed, nodding more decisively, "Yes, there will be."
"G-good," the teenager managed, though his hands were shaking slightly as he tried to type.
The librarian paused for a moment, moving over and resting a hand on the teen's shoulder, "It will be alright."
"C-come on, I just found out vampires are real. I mean, sure, in hindsight, damn does that explain a lot but..." he clasped his hands together. "They're supposed to be in stupid books, not walking around my hometown."
Coricopat knelt down beside Misto's chair, "I'm sorry, I suppose Griddlebone and I forget that not everyone is accustomed to thinking about them as real."
Mistoffelees glanced down at him, surprised. "I... I'll be fine. As soon as I convince my body it can stop shaking, I'll be just fine."
He nodded very slightly, "Is there anything I can do to help?"
"I don't know. Do you have anything you ever do to help? Does it ever get too much for you?" Mistoffelees asked, holding his hands tighter.
He sighed, "Sometimes. Honestly, I haven't done much in this regard beyond research in some time..."
"I-I, oh," he said softly. "It's just... why here? What did we do to deserve this?"
"You didn't do anything to deserve this. It's never a matter of that. It's..." He considered whether there was a way to explain that wouldn't worsen the situation and finally just shook his head.
"I mean, not just me," he floundered. "But the town. We've had so many problems and I suppose it makes sense now but... why here? I mean, it's California! Why do vampires come to the sunniest state?"
"Well...how much of an answer do you want to that?"
The teenager blinked. "All of it?"
"Sunnydale is located at what can best be described as a magical convergence zone. Creatures of all sorts are drawn here."
"That... hell," he murmured.
"It's...well, most of them prefer the dark, and the sun is rather constant around here at least…"
"You said creatures of all sorts," Mistoffelees said faintly. "So... it's more than just vampires isn't it?"
The Englishman nodded slowly, "I'm afraid so. At this point it's vampires, but...looking at the records of this town, it hasn't always been just them."
"What else?" Mistoffelees asked softly.
"I...It's probably nothing to worry about now. Some of the records are a good century old."
Mistoffelees looked down. "So, it's always been like this here?"
"As far as I can tell. There's been an increase in the activity recently, but it seems that it ebbs and flows around here."
"So, it can be assumed Sunnydale always will be dealing with things like this?"
He nodded slightly, "In some capacity or another."
The teenager took a deep breath. "If we fight them, will it help?"
"That is a difficult question to answer in some ways. It won't stop them coming, but it may save a life. So...I suppose that yes, it will."
"Alright then," he said softly. "Not just today, not just now, I want to help. And I want to keep helping."
"I don't know that that's a wise decision."
"Why not?" Mistoffelees asked.
"It's extremely dangerous. Griddlebone has been trained, and is training for her part of it and I have several years of experience for this. We can't in good conscience put anyone else at risk."
"Doesn't living here put me at risk?" he asked softly. "Would you rather I sit and twiddle my thumbs and wait for something like last night to happen again? Which, okay, it wouldn't, because I really hope I learned from that, but the point is, living here is dangerous. The kid in the locker room yesterday? Is still dead and I bet he didn't believe in vampires until a minute before his death anyway. Besides, I'm young. Train me then if that makes you feel better but I'm not sitting around and waiting for whatever goes bump in the night decides it's my turn." He paused at the end of that, taking a deep breath. "I..."
Coricopat rocked back on his heels, studying the young man before him for a long moment. He finally nodded, rising, "Very well. I can always use the help."
"I..." Mistoffelees blinked and nodded. "Alright." Some part of him couldn't believe he'd managed to say all of that, mean it, and convince the other. "So, helping at this point means research right?"
The librarian rose, nodding, "Yes, at this point it means research. Anything we can find regarding this Harvest will be of help."
"Alright," he said. "Research is good. Despite what I just said, I'm not sure I can stand yet anyway."
That earned him a slight quirk of Coricopat's lips as the older man turned back to his books. Mistoffelees watched him before returning to the computer, trying different search engines to see what the Harvest was supposed to be.
Welcome to chapter three, in which we finally attempt a whole battle scene! And then there is much talking. ((Your song for the chapter: "Calliope!" by the Veils.