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*****
Buffy walked aimlessly, finally stopping to sit
on a park bench. She pulled her leather jacket together
just a bit tighter to keep out the slight chill of the New Orleans
winter. She was worried, but she didn't
want to admit it to anyone. Everybody else was handling this
whole situation really well, but Buffy could
not shake the feeling that she was about to lose her best friend.
"Something about this whole thing just
feels wrong," she thought as she looked around the deserted park.
She had come to rely on her
instincts in the years she had been the Slayer, and they were screaming
at her now that someone
would wind up dead before the week was through. "Well, of course
someone will be dead," she
admonished herself. "Willow will kill Lestat and then we'll all
go home for Christmas. Piece of cake,"
she told herself with much more confidence than she really felt.
She just prayed that they were coming
up with a nice, sane plan so that she would still have her best friend
when Christmas came.
*****
"Okay, Giles. Here's what we're going to do.
I'm going to find his house and sneak up on him
during the day. I'll be there when he gets up, and I'll just
stake him," Willow said impatiently, tiring of the
endless strategizing.
"Willow, that's madness, and you know it.
You'll do no such thing. We have to think of a way to bring
him to us. That way, you'll be fighting on your own terms," Giles
answered.
"Well, he's not going to come to us on his own,"
Willow said thoughtfully. "I think David Talbot is the
key. If we could somehow convince him that we're saving Lestat
from himself, he might help us by
bringing Lestat to us. Pandora said that he's not in agreement
with Lestat on this, right?"
"That's what she told Dru," Giles answered wearily.
He was only in his early fifties, but he already felt
old. "It's probably all of these years as a Watcher," he thought
to himself.
Willow, on the other hand, still had the energy
of a sixteen-year-old. "Okay," she said, springing to
her feet. "You stay here and rest awhile, and I'll go find Xander
and the Legacy members. Derek knew
David, too, right?" she asked and then smiled when Giles nodded.
"Good. I'll get him to help me figure
out a way to convince David to help us. I don't really need to
kill Lestat. I just need to stop him from
opening the Hellmouths. Then I'll close them for good.
We do have that ritual, right?" she asked,
panicking slightly.
"Of course we have the ritual," Giles answered.
"All we have to do is stop Lestat from opening them
until Christmas. You can't perform the ritual until that night."
"Does Lestat know that's when I can do this?" Willow
asked.
"He shouldn't," Giles responded, "but that doesn't
mean that he doesn't. We'll have to be on guard
between now and then. If he knows, he'll try to beat the clock
by opening them before you even have
the opportunity to close them."
"Gee, thanks for the impending doom thing, Giles!"
Willow exclaimed. "I will stay on guard, and I will
stop Lestat, so you don't have to announce the coming destruction."
"All right," Giles smiled. "Go on. I
need my rest. I'll see you in a few hours."
"Okay," she said, giving him a quick hug as she
headed out the door to find her husband.
*****
The used bookstore looked deserted, even though
the sign in the window clearly stated that it was
open. Entering curiously, Xander and his boss, Nick Boyle, called
out to find an employee to talk to. A
young woman emerged from the back room when she heard their voices
and smiled at them. "Hello,
gentlemen. I'm sorry. I was in the back, sorting through
some new arrivals. How may I help you
today?"
Xander glanced at his boss and then back at the
woman. "Oh well," he thought to himself. "We
might as well give it a try." Then he spoke aloud, "I know this
is going to sound strange, but do you
have any books on vampire prophecies? Old or new; it doesn't
really matter."
"Hmm, vampires you say? Let me see.
I know we have books on werewolves and some on ghosts
and stuff. We had a couple of F.B.I. agents in here a couple
months ago who were looking for books
about some particular demon. It was some really obscure old guy.
I don't even remember the name
now," the sales person answered, looking through the listing of books
to find any about vampires.
"Did you have any books for them?" Nick asked curiously.
"Actually, yeah. We sold them our last one.
Anyway, here we go. I guess we have a whole
section. As you can see, we mostly get business for old romance
novels," she said, indicating the rows
upon rows of said genre. Leading them to the vampire section,
she asked, "Are you guys in town for
the vampire convention?"
"What?" Xander asked, confused.
"The vampire convention. Every year there's
this huge convention of vampire fans here. They come
here because that Anne Rice woman lives here. This year they
decided to have the main convention
on Christmas Day, but at night of course. They're going to meet
the 25th in some plaza. There are
flyers posted all over town. I just figured that's why you wanted
the books. Sorry," she said, blushing
slightly.
"No problem," Nick reassured her. "Thanks
for the help."
"You're welcome," the woman answered. "Just
bring the books up when you're ready to check out.
I'll be up at the desk.
Nick and Xander perused the books, then picked out
the two most promising ones and paid for
them. As they left, they saw a flyer for the vampire convention
on the light post outside. Tearing it
down, Xander folded it up and put it in his pocket. He was getting
an idea in his mind as to what Lestat
would do, and he was not liking the image he found there.
*****
December 23, 2012
7:00 pm
New Orleans, LA
Lestat, David, and Armand sat in the park, relaxing
after their meal. They had hunted early, so Lestat
would have more time to perfect his plan. As he lounged on the
park bench he spotted a piece of
paper on the ground. Picking it up, he read it quickly and then
burst out laughing. "Oh, this is too
perfect," he informed his companions.
"What?" David asked warily, not sure he liked Lestat's
idea of perfect.
"This," Lestat smiled, showing him the flyer he
had picked up.
"'Vampire Lovers' Convention'," David read.
"Lestat, what are you planning?" he asked.
"Christmas Day and a plaza full of pathetic mortals
who wish they could be like us. What better
setting could I find for the ritual?" he asked, a wicked note to his
voice.
"Lestat..." David began, his voice taking on a persuasive
tone.
"Ah ah ah, David," Lestat warned. "Remember
Louis."
"Fine Lestat," David said angrily. "If you're
so intent on performing this insane ritual you can do it
without me. I will not be party to you destroying the world.
Do you have any idea what this city will be
like if your idiot plan works? It will literally be the mouth
of hell. You say you've been there. Do you
really want that?"
"Yes, David, I do. And if you have a problem
with that, you can join the mortals, including the child
Slayer, in their deaths on Christmas."
"Fine!" David roared. "I guess I'll see you
in hell," he added, then turned his back on the best friend
he had ever had and walked away.
*****
December 23, 2012
7:30 pm
New Orleans, LA
"So, I think he'll make his move then," Xander finished,
pointing at the flyer laying on the table.
"Vampire Lovers' Convention," Angel read, picking
it up. "Why then?"
"Because he needs to kill a hundred and one people
for the ritual to open the Hellmouths to work,"
Willow explained, looking up from the book she was studying.
"A hundred and one?" Buffy yelped. "In one
night? Why doesn't he just plant a bomb or
something?"
Willow laughed. "That's what I asked," she
told her friend. "I guess he has to kill them individually.
So, he has to kill a hundred and one people in one night. It
would be nice and convenient if they were
all in one place."
"What else does he have to do?" Melissa cut in.
"He has to kill the last one then turn him or her
into a vampire. Then he has to stake the vamp and
recite some strange incantation. Something about the ashes of
the evil causing evil to reign. And then
the really unpleasant part happens. I guess the earth is literally
supposed to open up and unleash
demons and whatnot. Let's just say it won't be a fun day."
"So, we're sticking with the idea that this is not
good," Buffy said. "Okay, I can deal with that. How do
we stop him?"
"We perform our ritual first, well, faster.
We'll probably both start around the same time."
"Then that's good, right?" Melissa said. "You
don't have to kill a hundred and one people, do you?"
"No, I have to collect the ashes of ten vampires
and then perform the ritual by mixing them with dirt
and saying something about the demons returning to where they belong.
Then the Hellmouths are
supposed to close. Right Giles? I'm not exactly clear on
all the details yet."
"You're going to get clear, though, right?" Spike
interrupted. "I do not want demons overrunning this
world. There are plenty of us here now."
"I quite agree Spike," Giles said. "Don't
worry. She'll be clear when the time comes. Right now,
there's not much the rest of you can do. I suggest resting.
Willow and I will work on memorizing the
ritual. Don't worry," he repeated. "We'll stop him.
We'll save the world...again."
*****
December 23, 2012
9:00 pm
David Talbot roamed the streets of New Orleans looking
for something to destroy or someone to kill.
The rage had been building in him since he left Lestat and he knew
that he needed to direct it
somewhere before it exploded and he wouldn't be able to control it.
Spotting a kitten that seemed to be
lost, he decided killing it would probably be the best way to dispense
with some of that rage. He stalked
the kitten slowly, staying far enough away for it not to notice him.
The kitten stopped and David
prepared to lunge in for the kill. Then, suddenly, the kitten
was no longer on the ground where it had
been. David looked up to see that it was cuddled safely in the
arms of a peroxide-blonde vampire.
"Sorry chap," the other vampire said to him.
"Dru wants a pet. Her husband's busy saving the world
and whatnot so I decided to come out and find her one. This kitten's
hers. Go find a rat or something if
you're hungry."
"Oh, I'm not really hungry," David answered in his
soft British voice. "I just need to kill something. I
suppose you'll do," he added, lunging at the other vampire.
And then, out of nowhere, there was a tiny blonde
woman in his path. She stood stock still in front of
the other vampire and kicked out as David came flying at her.
He went flying backwards, stumbling into
a park bench and breaking it with the impact. "What the hell?"
he thought, looking wildly about. In the
moment of disorientation, the blonde took the opportunity to come to
stand over him, planting her foot
squarely on his chest to pin him to the ground.
"Who are you and what do you want?" she demanded,
anger flashing in her blue eyes. "And what
the hell were you trying to do to my husband?"
"Husband, huh?" David thought while he took in the
situation. "She's not a vampire, though.
Interesting." Then he found his voice and answered her, "Name's
David Talbot. I'm sorry. I had a fight
with a friend of mine tonight and I was angry. I wasn't thinking
straight. I apologize."
"You apologize," the other vampire drawled in a
slightly different British accent. "Oh, good for you.
Can I kill him anyway?" he asked the blonde woman who had David pinned
to the ground.
The woman thought for a few moments and then smiled
wickedly down on David. "No William," she
decided. "We can use him. Otherwise, I'd let you.
He'd deserve it for trying to kill you. Now," she said,
turning her attention back to David, "will you cooperate and
come with us, or am I going to have to
introduce you to my litte friend here?" she asked, wielding a stake.
"I'll cooperate," David said quickly. "And
I do apologize for trying to kill your husband. I was just
angry."
"Right," she answered succintly. "I'd suggest
shutting up before you make me angry. It's not a pretty
sight. Just ask William."
"She's right chap," he said, pulling David to his
feet. "She is not a fun person to be around when she
gets miffed."
"So your name's William," David said, looking at
the blonde haired vampire. "And what's yours
ma'am?"
"It's Spike to you," the vampire answered, pushing
David forward to get him moving. "And my wife's
name is Melissa."
"Spike, huh?" David said, his mind going through
the list of vampires Lestat had told him about.
"Spike, as in William the Bloody who tortures his victims with railroad
spikes?"
"Tortured," Spike answered. "Past tense.
I don't do that any more. But yes, that would be me."
"But Lestat said that you were involved with some
woman named Drusilla."
"I was. Now I'm not. It's not such a
difficult concept to understand actually," he responded. "Anyway,
shut up. Just keep your mouth shut until we get back to the hotel."
Then he turned to his wife.
"Melissa, pet, I thought I told you to stay there," he said.
"And I thought you knew I'm not very good at taking
orders," she answered playfully. "I was bored.
So I decided to follow you. Good thing I did, too. You
were about to become supper for a baby vamp.
How pathetic is that?"
"I was waiting to reel him in before I dropped him,"
Spike answered defensively.
"Yeah, right. Whatever you say. Let's
just get back to the hotel so we can get this nightmare over
with," she said, speeding her pace and dragging David with her.
"All right, but I was going to win! He wouldn't
have killed me!" Spike called to her retreating back.
"Oh bloody hell," he swore. "Who am I kidding? He would've
dropped me like a fly. How
humiliating!" Then he ran off to catch up with his wife.
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