Tim and Tootie were not home less then five days before word reached them that the meat suit Veronica was possessing at the time of her and Tootie's confrontation had been spotted outside a bar in the Athens, Georgia area. No matter how badly they wanted to stay home and be a normal family, they both knew that they had to take any chance to take out the vengeful demon whenever the opportunity arose.
They were on the road before anyone could say a word in dissent. Vicky made her feelings known through a long, low growl as she held a squirming Tammy and Tommy in her arms. She was worried that this hunt was becoming an obsession, even though she had heard the rumblings about Veronica's intentions with her sister and brother-in-law.
Their first stop was Loretta's, but when they pulled up they found themselves in the middle of a titanic battle. The same redhead Veronica possesses that had confronted Tootie in Reno was currently trying to strangle the matronly mentor. Both hunters rushed inside, and Tootie took a shot with the Desert Eagle, barely grazing the woman in the shoulder. She screamed, and the black smoke poured out of her mouth, and fled out an open window.
"Wh…where am I?" the frightened woman asked. She pulled her knees up to her chest and tried to melt into the corner. Loretta went over to her and wrapped her into a big, long hug. She cradled the woman, and rocked her back and forth.
"You're safe darlin'. You're among friends here." she told her. The young woman sobbed and held onto Loretta tightly. "I'm going to take this little one upstairs so she can get some rest. Why don't you two get settled in." she said, helping the young woman upstairs.
Fifteen minutes later, she reemerged in the kitchen to find the hunters drinking steaming hot cups of tea. Tim nodded to a third on the counter, and Loretta gratefully took it. The three sat at the kitchen table, with Loretta facing the two of them.
"You two got here in the knick of time. I thought that evil wench had me this time." she began. "I know that you two are on your way to Georgia, and you still need to go. A friend of mine tells me that there is a Vampire trying to rebuild her nest outside of town."
"Vampires? But I thought they were extinct!" Tootie exclaimed.
"Me too Loretta, you didn't even train us to fight them." Tim chimed in.
"I thought they were too, until I caught wind of this case. Most of the lore used in movies and books is a load of bull." she began. "Crosses and garlic won't repel them, and the sun and a stake to the heart won't kill them either. The bloodlust though, that's legitimate. They also used to be human, so you won't know if it's a Fang until it's too late."
"There's more isn't there? I mean, this sounds worse then that stupid Twilight book series." Tim said.
"That damn moron wouldn't know a real vampire if it bit her on her stupid ass. Real vampires have a second set of retractable teeth that descend when they attack. It's not like Dracula where the incisors elongate, and they damn sure don't shape shift into bats." she began. "The only way to kill them is decapitation. Also, dead man's blood is like poison to them. It won't kill them, but it will render them unconscious for a time."
Loretta put her cup down and went upstairs to check on the formerly possessed young woman. She left the couple in peace to pour over stacks of books on vampire lore and legend. Their minds buzzed and eyes swam at the influx of new information. The more they read, the more confident they became that they could defeat this wannabe vampire queen.
"Babe, all we need is the Desert Eagle, and the world is down one less vampire. After that, we can hunt down Veronica and take her out once and for all." Tootie said, handing her husband another tome.
"Here's my thought honey: we gank this Fang the old fashioned way, and save that bullet for when we really need it. Why waste the bullet, when we can use it on that Blue Eyed Skank?" Tim responded. He saw the look on her face, and knew she hated to admit when he was right. She had briefly told him and the encounter in Reno, and understood her anger. However, he argued that they hadn't survived this long by disregarding their number one rule: Go in smart, or don't go in at all.
Once they felt they had enough information (and were provided two machetes courtesy of Loretta), they headed out for Georgia. The trip was mostly silent, save for a discussion about possibly enrolling Tammy into an all girl private school. She was turning into her mother's daughter, and had a not so secret crush on a boy in her class.
It was all Tim could do not to laugh out loud when Tammy first told them about the boy. She looked so much like Tootie had whenever he was around back in the day that it was freaky. For her part, Tootie had tried to explain that she (Tammy) needed to be patient around the boy, while not so subtly glaring at her husband. Tim had tears rolling down his cheeks and blood in his mouth from biting his lower lip so hard to stop from busting out laughing.
"It's still not funny Timothy!"" she growled at him as they crossed the Alabama-Georgia line.
"I'm not saying a word babe." he said in response, before adding a quiet "Like mother, like daughter." under his breath. His wife heard, and only sighed and rolled her eyes.
They finally arrived in Athens and went to work setting up shop. After getting settled in, they headed down to the coroner's office to check on the latest victim, who was so tore up that identification was next to impossible. They snuck through the hallways until they came across an unlocked supply closet. Tim grabbed two white lab coats to complete their looks. Once in the morgue, they were surprised to come across the medical examiner, though they decided to roll with it anyway.
"Dr. Griffon?" Tootie asked, making sure her ID was showing.
"Yes, and who are you?" he asked, looking at them strangely.
"Hi, we're Drs. McCoy and Young from the C.D.C. in Atlanta. We were called in because of the strange case you have on your hands." she replied with a sincere smile.
"Ah, yes well this is the most bizarre case I've ever handled in twenty-five years." he replies, trying to remember why the Centers for Disease Control was called in. It was a simple animal mauling, and he didn't find any unknown foreign substances in the wounds.
"Yes, on the phone you made it sound like some kind of animal attack. There have been concerns about a new, antibiotic resistant strain of flu being carried by various wildlife in the area. We were wondering if we could examine the deceased." Tim said, heading for the autopsy table.
"Be my guest, please. I've been doing this for a long time, and I've never seen any kind of animal do that much damage before." the doctor said over his shoulder as he walked out of the room.
The couple slid back the sheet and recoiled in horror. The damage was extensive, especially to the throat, sternum, and legs. Tim looked around the wounds, and noticed what looked like teeth marks in and around the jagged wounds. Tootie made an even more shocking discovery: a tooth in the wound on the lower leg, near the femoral artery.
"Look at this thing." she said, holding it up for her husband to see. He took a closer look and held it between his thumb and forefinger.
"That's a vampire tooth. I saw a picture of one in one of the books at Loretta's. We're on the right path, that's for sure." he replied, tucking it into his pants pocket.
The pair left without another word, and arrived back at their motel to figure out their next strategy. After a couple of hours, neither had any ideas, so they decided to head to the nearest bar and have a couple of drinks. They needed to relax a bit to clear their heads and figure things out.
At the bar, they were sipping their drinks and chatting when a dark haired woman, who couldn't be more then thirty-five breezed in, followed by an entourage of four college aged young men.
"A round of Walker Blue and leave the bottle!" she barked at the bartender. She poured the drinks and thumped the bottle on the bar. With a dark look to the young bartender, the woman took the glasses while one of the young men snatched the bottle and they headed for a distant table.
Without moving a muscle, both hunters followed the group with their eyes. They didn't like the looks of the new arrivals, and the bartender picked up on the mistrust in the air. "That's Samantha Manners, the town 'bad ass biker chick'." she began, bile in her voice.
"Appeared out of nowhere about six months ago and all of a sudden the town's frat boys are all over her like stink on shit. It's straight up disgusting." she finished, handing Tim another beer and Tootie another Hurricane.
"So no one's thought to check into her background? That's a little…odd." Tootie began, paying for this round. The bartender just shook her head and put her hands on her shapely hips.
"No one's had the balls to try. Everyone is either in love with her, or deathly afraid of her. She's no good trailer trash is all I know." she replied before turning away to fill another order. Tim and Tootie looked at each other, and decided to head back to the motel. Along the way, they discussed how best to draw Samantha and her nest out into the open.
"I read that vampires mate for life. All we need to do is figure out who her mate is, and she'll come crawling to us. Then, we simply gank her and the rest of the nest." Tim said, pulling into the parking lot.
"Good plan, but you forgot one important detail babe: where exactly is the nest again?" Tootie replied, more out of getting things back on track then exasperation.
"Touché, but I do happen to know where the nest is. While you were in the bathroom, I chatted up the bartender, and she says that it's a badly kept secret that Sami's place is an abandoned farm about ten miles outside of town." he began, a playful smirk dancing on his lips.
"Plus, it seems that Sami and one Brian Scott are usually seen making out outside the bar at least once an hour. I think ole' Brian is her mate." he finishes, getting out of the Charger.
Tootie rolls her eyes and sighs. She hates when he gets the drop on her like that. So, with that latest nugget of knowledge in mind, they slipped into bed, bent on a daylight recon on the nest and getting the drop on them the next night. They had it planned to a 'T', and were ready for any contingency.
Neither slept well however. Ever since Reno, Tootie started having flashbacks to when Veronica nearly killed her. She would wake up in a cold sweat and panting following one of the nightmares, much to the concern of her husband. For his part, Tim tried his best to console her. He knew the psychological scares were still there from that ordeal. Both knew they would continue until Veronica was struck down like the dog she was.
Tootie never verbalized it, but she was fearful that Tim would have to do it alone. Her greatest fear was that Veronica's prophecy about not seeing her children grow up would be fulfilled. She hated to leave her kids and especially her husband like that, but she knew in her heart she would gladly lay down her life for her family.
Tim also was fearful of his wife having that fate. He still remembered the feelings of helplessness and dread when he and A.J. raced to the old elementary school to save her. He couldn't fathom carrying on without her, and if push came to shove, would he be strong enough to? Deep down, he didn't want to find out, now or ever.
The next morning they were up and out before dawn. They made their way to the farm just as the sun began painting the sky. They watched as car after car pulled up to the old farmhouse and disgorged their occupants. Samantha jumped out of a fairly new SUV, followed quickly by a muscular young man, who wrapped his arm around her waist and led her inside.
"I'll be damned, they really aren't afraid of sunlight babe!" Tootie cried in a hoarse whisper. He didn't respond, except to hold up a hand to silence her. He had a plan on how to draw Samantha into the open, and possibly do it during the day.
"Babe, head back to the motel, I'm going to keep watch here. I'll keep my phone on vibrate so if you call me, it won't alert them to my presence."
"Oh no you don't! I'm not letting you take those Fangs on by yourself. We go in as a team, the way it's always been or we pass on the case to a local hunter."
"No damn it! If we both die, who's gonna look after Tammy and Tommy? This way, they'll still have one parent. Get your ass back to the motel! Now!" he barked. She glared at him for a moment, before turning back towards the car. He moved closer when he heard the rumble of the engine and the tires on the gravel.
Inside the house, the others were sleeping in hammocks and on couches. With a dead man's blood soaked machete at the ready, he found his way through until he came upon the master bedroom. In the bed he found Samantha and Brian lying together, cuddled close. Noting the irony of the scene, he silently made his way to the bed, and plunged the blade into Brian's chest.
The vampire didn't scream or cry out, just bared his second set of fangs before whimpering and going limp. Carefully, Timmy pulled him out of bed and threw him over his shoulder, carrying him out of the house and towards the SUV. He tossed the poisoned vampire into the passenger seat, found the spare key and cranked the engine, taking off in a cloud of dust. The roar of the engine was enough to wake the entire nest, who could only watch as the taillights grew dimmer on the highway.
The hunter knew that the nest would wait until sundown to come looking for their leader's boy toy, so he hid in a clearing. He camouflaged the SUV and dusted himself and Brian down with the ashes of saffron, skunk's cabbage and trillium to mask their scent. He continued to poison Brian throughout the day to keep him docile until the big showdown.
The sun was setting behind him, and now he heard the rumble of numerous cars and motorcycles coming from the farm. He had driven in circles before finding the clearing, in an attempt to buy more time. He had also cut himself and bled on several of the trees near the farm to confuse them. It didn't work, as they soon found him and his captive sitting on the tailgate of the automobile. He held the machete to Brian's throat and made his way towards them.
"Looking for him?" he asked smugly. All the vampires glared at him as Samantha shoved her way forward. She stared down the hunter and bared her fangs in anger at him.
"The great Timmy Turner! What an unexpected surprise! I had heard you and your little wife were in town, but I didn't believe it. Now, unhand my man and you and her can go back to your snot nosed brats in one piece." she snarled at him.
He heard a quiet rustling in the thicket to his right, and only smirked in response. He pressed the blade harder to Brian's jugular and made his way closer to the group. Suddenly, an arrow whizzed out of the tree line, striking the vampire closest to Samantha in the chest.
When he sank to his knees, a gunshot rang out, and the bullet struck him right between the eyes, killing him instantly. Tootie walked out of the thicket, a smoking Desert Eagle in her hand. She shot two more of them before they backed off slowly.
"You hunters, always persecuting us! We have just as much right to live as you do!" Samantha roared. Timmy threw her boyfriend at her feet, and when she bent down to help him up, Timmy brought the blade up and sliced through her neck.
"Samantha!" Brian screamed, the blood sickness wearing off as he watched her head roll several feet and blood gushing out of her neck stump. He struggled to his feet, his fangs bared, and tried to lunge at Tootie. All she did was sidestep, bringing the Desert Eagle up to position, and when the young vampire regained his bearings, she put a bullet into his forehead.
He struggled against the power of the spell, but was no match. He collapsed next to Samantha's headless corpse and died. The other vampires snarled at the couple, but turned on their heel and quickly took off.
The couple made their way to where she had hid the Charger in silence. Tim was upset that she disobeyed a direct order to stay out of this. On the other hand, he was eternally grateful he married such a headstrong woman. He knew that without that gun, he stood no chance in Hell of making it out of there alive.
"Thanks for the save babe." he said, kissing her and sliding behind the wheel of the car.
"I couldn't live without you hon. Besides, the kids need BOTH parents in their lives." she replied, sliding into the seat next to him.
The couple made their way back to their motel room, and dropped their luggage. Tim had gone to take a shower while Tootie packed up their gear, and prepared for the long trip back to California. Tim had just gotten dressed and was reloading the Desert Eagle with a fresh clip, when the door blew off its hinges and a blonde haired young woman stepped over the shattered wood and into the room.
"Here's Ronnie!" she shrieked, using her telekinesis to pin Timmy to the far wall of the room, disarming him in the process. She grabbed a stunned Tootie and flung her around the room until she was unconscious. She then sauntered up to Tim and ran her tongue along the curve of his neck.
"It's been far too long my love." she cooed in his ear. He struggled against her power, but couldn't break free. He was sickened further when she kissed him deeply on the lips.
"God you taste better then I thought you would baby." she half moaned once the kiss was broken.
"What the Hell do you want you Hell bitch?!" he growled, continuing to fight against the power. Veronica sneered, and pushed him tighter against the wall.
"I want revenge, pure and simple. Revenge for you and Baldy sending me to the Pit, and especially for this freak…" she snarled, pointing at a fallen Tootie. "…for taking you away from me!" she finished, screaming at him.
Tim could see the butt of the Desert Eagle poking out from under the bed, and wished he could get down, grab it, and shoot her in the head. This had to end, and he wanted the nightmare over in this moment. He was sick and tired of the threat on his wife and children.
Veronica meanwhile had bent down and thrown the knocked out Tootie over her shoulder. She slowly made her way over to Tim, with a vicious smile on her face. They had finally let their guard down enough for phase I of her plan, and now it was time to initiate phase II.
"Take a long, hard look into your precious wife's face. Because it's the last time you'll see it babe. Once she's out of the way, it'll be you and me for eternity my love." she said, caressing his cheek before turning around and walking out the door.
"No! Tootie!" he screamed as he watched the demon and his wife disappear into thin air.
A/N: Read and review. I am so sorry for the lateness of this update. Some personal issues came up and I had to deal with them. Coming up: Tim frantically searches for his kidnapped wife, while she's in for the fight of and for her life. Thanks as always to my reviewers, and to my ultra-awesome beta MisterBlue.
