Ms. Hunter Ash
a BTVS & Dark Shadows crossover
an insane soap opera
rating: PG13
pairings: Buffy/Quentin, Xander/Anya, Willow/Tara, Giles/Angelique
# # #
Angelique ran her fingers through the
chest hair on Giles with a smile and traced the paths left where
weapons and accidents had left scars.
“It’s been a long time since
someone cared for me like this,” she said softly.
“Their loss,” Giles said.
“There are quite a few scars here,”
she commented.
“Yes,” Giles agreed. “Appendix
removal, wounds from demon claws and from knives.”
“Knives?”
“I lived on the streets when I was
young,” Giles said. “That period when I rebelled and was working
on becoming a rock star. London could be rough in the neighborhoods
I roamed. Then black magic and summoning of demons. I’ve told you
about this.”
Angelique nodded. “And your Council
found you.”
“Yes, and turned me into a
mild-mannered librarian,” Giles said.
“You are anything but that!” the
vampire protested.
“I broke their conditioning over
time,” Giles replied. “I’m buying this place, by the way. Want
to help make it livable with some decorating suggestions? My tastes
run to books and weapons, as you know.”
Angelique laughed. “I’d be
delighted.”
She kissed him again as her body melded
even closer.
“I should talk with Barnabas
tonight,” she said softly.
“Later,” Giles mumbled.
# # # #
Willow put a suitcase down on a bed
upstairs and Joyce looked around the room.
“It might be a little dusty,” the
witch said. “Giles wants to fix the place up.”
“I can understand that,” Joyce
said. “It’s like something out of a Hammer movie. One of those
where the castle hasn’t really been lived in for awhile.”
“Yeah,” Willow agreed. “He said
he wants to lose the brooding Lord Byron atmosphere.”
Joyce laughed softly. “I hope this
won’t last long, honestly.”
“Yeah, having danger from two
different directions is stressful,” Willow agreed.
“Well, one positive note, I can
ensure you all eat a little better,” Joyce suggested. “Rupert is
too thin.”
“Yeah, he lost weight when he
was…dying because he was becoming a vampire,” Willow explained.
“He hasn’t put any of it back on.”
“Is Angelique…feeding from him?”
Joyce asked as she sat down on the bed. “His neck is bandaged.”
“He said she wasn’t,” Willow
responded. “More like a…love bite.”
“It’s confusing,” Joyce said and
sighed. She looked at the suitcases and shook her head.
“Hey, why don’t you try and take a
nap?” Willow suggested. “Unpacking can wait.”
Joyce nodded. “Good idea.
This…illness and treatments make me tired.”
“We’ll keep Dawn downstairs,”
Willow offered.
“Thanks, tell everyone I’ll be down
a little later.”
# # # #
Angelique’s eyebrows rose when she
stepped into the backyard of the mansion and saw Quentin and Buffy
sparring with swords. She walked over and sat down in a lawn-chair
next to Barnabas as he watched.
“That’s… I’ve never seen him
with a sword before,” she said.
Barnabas nodded. “He held one to my
throat once. It was when I first met him, before you returned to
Collinwood in the 1800s. He distrusted everyone. He thought I was
there for part of the inheritance of the place.”
“Of course,” Angelique said. “And
it was a time when gentlemen did learn the sword.”
“And scoundrels,” Barnabas said
with a slight smile.
“Barnabas…”
“I’m not talking about it,” the
vampire responded. “Julia sees Roxanne as a threat despite my
rejection of the girl. I can’t change the past.”
“You have before,” Angelique
pointed out.
Barnabas frowned. “Could that be what
she’s wanting?”
“I haven’t a clue what she’s
wanting,” Angelique said.
“She can’t,” Barnabas protested.
“The room with the portal was destroyed and that was an alternate
universe. I doubt using the I-Ching to project myself across time
would work in this case. If something happened, I might not be able
to get back and return to her.”
“Its possible she’s thinking that
unconsciously,” Angelique said after a moment. “Could she also
want a little freedom?”
“What do you mean?”
“You hate being a vampire, Barnabas,
she doesn’t,” Angelique commented.
Barnabas sighed. “I know. I think it
was what she wanted all along, especially after her injections could
no longer give me respite from the curse. You think she wants
to…spread her bat wings a bit?”
“It might be a possibility,”
Angelique said. “She devoted her life to you for how many years?”
“And my displeasure at being a
vampire hampers her truly exploring all her vampiric powers,”
Barnabas said thoughtfully. “Do you remember when you were preying
on me?”
“Of course, why bring that up?”
“Just listen for a moment,” he
urged. “What was my response when you would sink your fangs into
my neck, especially at first?”
“You protested, begged and screamed,”
Angelique answered. “Why?”
“Did I ever want you to bite me?”
“No, even when you were dying you
fought against it,” Angelique said.
“You know Tom Jennings preyed on
Julia. The first time was violent after that…”
“She wanted the bite and him,”
Angelique ventured and Barnabas nodded.
“It wasn’t until after I staked him
that she was grateful she wasn’t dying,” Barnabas said. “Some
of my victims were the same, two of them sought me out to be bitten
again even when I was fighting the thirst and didn’t call them.”
“And she has a man with her that
would kill for her,” Angelique said softly. “One who would be the
perfect day guard.”
“Yes,” Barnabas whispered.
“Go home, Barnabas,” Angelique
urged. “Before things go too far, before there’s too much
between you both.”
Barnabas chuckled. “Did you ever
think you’d be urging me to repair a relationship with someone
else?”
Angelique frowned and then smiled.
“No, I never did. My suggestion stands, go home to your wife. If
you stay, you’ll likely lose her.”
“I owe Tara and the others,”
Barnabas said softly. “I can’t abandon that. Because of me my
entire family was nearly destroyed in 1795, I’ve worked to ensure
the family continues. Now Nicholas Blair is pissed off at me again
and is out to harm the people here.”
“They can deal with Nicholas,”
Angelique said.
“And the world was almost turned over
to the old gods,” Barnabas pointed out.
“So, you’re adopting them as an
extended family?”
“Look at Quentin watch Buffy and
remember that I changed Tara and I’ve bitten Willow twice and ask
that again.”
“You’re right,” the vampire witch
said after they watched Buffy and Quentin cease the sword play and
begin cleaning their blades. “You’ll lose Julia, Barnabas.”
“Your curse was that I never rest and
any that love me would die,” he said softly. “Julia did die but
perhaps the underlying part of the curse was that I wouldn’t find
love with someone for long, vampire or not. I don't know what I'll do
except try to get her back.”
“Yes,” Angelique agreed.
“Barnabas, I’m sorry. I don’t know how to break the curse. I
haven’t a clue how I did in that other time-band where I was
killed.”
“I know,” Barnabas said. “It’s
done. Let’s try and save our new family and then I’ll see where
things lie after that.”
# # ##
Quentin winced when he saw a vampire
hit Buffy with a right cross. By the sound it probably would have
taken anyone else's head off, he thought. He was tempted to try and
jump in for help but Buffy had been adamant, he was to stay in the
doorway of a tomb with a large cross in hand and not move no matter
what happened.
Buffy ducked another swing and came up
under the vampire's swing with her stake ramming into his chest. The
Slayer turned and ran away from the last two vampires reaching for
her.
Before Quentin could figure out what
she was doing Buffy jumped onto a tombstone and backflipped behind
said vampires. She came up with a stake in each hand from a slight
crouch and staked both of them through their backs.
Quentin began applauding and Buffy took
a bow with a grin.
"Very impressive!"
Buffy spun with stakes in hand.
Quentin moved back into the doorway.
Buffy's eyes narrowed as Glory stepped
into sight from the shadows of a tree.
"Thanks, ready to give up?"
the Slayer quipped.
Glory laughed. "Well, we could
really cut down on the time if you just tell me where the key is.
Then I don't have to smash your face in."
Quentin frowned when Buffy laughed.
"Well, I did have bbq the other
night, I probably should get the work-out in... or to...whatever."
The Slayer ran forward and bounded onto
her hands, her feet coming up under Glory's chin, sending the
hell-god flying into a tree.
"Quentin, run!" Buffy yelled
and dashed forward to hit Glory before the goddess could get up and
then the Slayer was running and caught up with Quentin.
"Come back here, bitch!"
Buffy grabbed Quentin's arm and pulled
him into a tomb and partly closed the door. "I know this
one..."
"Where are you?" Glory
yelled. "How dare you hit me! You got grass stains on my skirt!
Do you know how hard those are to get out?!"
Buffy pulled up a flagstone and then
another.
Quentin's eyes widened at the sight of
a ladder heading downward.
"Get down here," Buffy urged.
"This tunnel leads to the sewers."
"Somehow this isn't what I
imagined as a first date with you," Quentin said softly and
climbed down the ladder.
Buffy pulled the flagstones back into
place and froze on the ladder as she listened.
"Where the hell did she go?"
she heard Glory yell. "Does she have super powers like
disappearing?"
Buffy climbed down quietly.
# # ##
Barnabas smiled as he walked with
Willow and Tara. The new vampire was amazed with the sights and
sounds and Barnabas felt better being out with them.
"How would you two like to go to
LA tomorrow night?" he asked.
"Sure, what's up?" Willow
asked.
"I can start guiding Tara in her
new talents, limitations and how to hunt for blood," Barnabas
said. "I can't do that very well in Sunnydale with those
soldiers on high alert at the Bronze."
"I d-don't know about hunting..."
"It may save your life and those
around you," Barnabas said gently. "When we are
starved...we lose control. My first night out after 130 years I
attacked the man who freed me and drained a cow. The entire cow."
"Oh wow," Willow said softly.
"And I didn't mean for that to rhyme with cow."
Barnabas chuckled as his eyes darted
around, ever vigilant for soldiers and other vampires and demons.
"Do you think you can go home
soon?" Willow asked.
"I don't know," Barnabas said
as he lost his smile. "It doesn't feel like it. Right now I'm
focused on Tara and the rest of you. Nicholas is still a danger in
addition to that creature Buffy tangled with."
"Well, I'm very glad you haven't
forgotten me!"
Willow and Tara spun with their hands
at the ready to throw energy as Barnabas raised his cane into both
hands.
Nicholas Blair was standing in the
middle of the street they had just walked down.
He looked very confident and energy
danced across his hands.
"What do you want, Nicholas?"
Barnabas demanded.
Nicholas Blair laughed. "That
would spoil the fun if I told you!"
"Barnabas!" Tara exclaimed.
The vampire looked around and
swallowed. Approaching them from all directions were zombies in
various stages of decomposition.
"Run!" Barnabas said sharply.
"What?" Willow demanded.
"No time for magic, run!" he
urged.
The three began running where the
zombies were the least in number.
"Why are we running?" Willow
yelled.
"Zombies don't have blood to drain
and wolf bites won't do much against them either," Barnabas
said. "With Nicholas standing there you two couldn't take on the
zombies and him."
"Okay," Willow said and the
three stopped suddenly. "Oh wow, that's a lot of zombies in
front of us and behind us."
"Can you two get over that fence
into the alley over there?" Barnabas asked.
"Yes," both girls answered.
"Let's go, you two first!" he
said.
Willow scampered over the fence first
followed by Tara.
Barnabas started over the fence when he
felt something sting him in the shoulder and he fell to the pavement
as his eyesight began failing.
"Very good, pick him up and bring
him along before they attempt magic," he heard Nicholas say.
Barnabas felt someone pulling him up
and then he was hit very hard across the jaw and then he was being
kicked in the ribs.
"Vampire! Enough! Bring him!"
Barnabas drifted into darkness.
# # # #
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