Dark are the Shadows - 12/02/2019

Dark are the Shadows

Ms. Hunter Ash

BTVS/Dark Shadows x-over

rating: PG13

pairings: Anya/Xander, Willow/Tara, Giles/Angelique, Buffy/Quentin

# # #

Buffy looked up with a smile as Quentin stepped into the living room toweling his hair dry. "I think we should burn our clothes. The sewers usually aren't that bad."

"I never thought I'd see Sunnydale from underneath," Quentin remarked.

Buffy spun with a knife suddenly in her hand when the front door slammed open. She didn't relax when Tara and Willow rushed in both talking rapidly and loudly.

"Hold it!" Buffy yelled. She wasn't surprised when Angelique stepped out onto the upper landing. "What's happened? Where's Barnabas?"

"Nicholas Blair!" Willow said anxiously. "He was in the street and there were all these zombies and... we went over a fence but Barnabas didn't follow!"

Giles joined Angelique at the top of the stairs and they both trotted down to join the others.

"Blair? Where?" Angelique demanded.

"On Fifth, near the library," Tara answered. "We went back and..."

Tara held up Barnabas' cane.

"He would not leave that," Angelique said. "He didn't take to flight or disappear. Nicholas has him."

"And if Nicholas still plans on exposing Barnabas to the sun we have about 6 hours to get him back," Giles added.

"Can you trace him?" Buffy asked the witches. "I mean he's Tara's sire and he's definitely connected to Angelique."

"We're going to try," Willow said firmly.

"Oh God," Giles said softly.

Quentin shook his head. "I'll start the coffee and warm some blood."

"And I'm going to sharpen a sword and see how Nicholas recovers from having his head separated from his neck!" Buffy growled.

# # #

Barnabas winced as he became aware and struggled to get his feet under him. His wrists felt like they were on fire and he wasn't sure how long he had been hanging by them. The ropes holding him had dug into his skin and had left major bruises.

"Oh, not again," he muttered as he looked out into a basement and then down at the half formed brick wall that was obviously meant to wall him up.

"Well, you were fond of the method," Nicholas said as he stepped into sight. "How many of the family Trask did you wall up?"

Barnabas refused to answer and frowned. He couldn't move or change?

The vampire flinched when he looked down and saw the large cross around his neck.

"Yes, I know, it's unpleasant to look at for us," Nicholas said. "Don't worry, you won't see it for long. You laid in a coffin for over 100 years with one above you. I wonder if anyone will ever find you this time?"

"And how did you handle this thing to put it around my neck?" Barnabas asked.

"I had one of the dead do it," Nicholas said. "Finish up, Thomas. Let's say goodnight to Barnabas Collins. Perhaps this will keep you from interfering."

Barnabas snarled when Tom Jennings stepped into view and the young vampire was smirking.

"I'm going to visit your wife and see if she likes my fangs over yours," Tom taunted. "You fought so hard to keep her alive and then turned her yourself when you became one of us again. Hypocrite."

"I did that to save her life, you were merely preying on her," Barnabas snapped.

"You were locked away for a long time, how long did it take for the hunger to drive you insane?" Nicholas asked and Barnabas felt a fist of fear squeeze his heart.

Nicholas laughed. "Finish up, Tom. We're just getting started. We'll bring the old ones back and destroy the Collins family."

// Julia! //

"Oh, by the way, the cross is even blessed," Nicholas said. "Your powers won't work and that includes any mind-speak you can do with Tara. Goodbye, Barnabas."

Barnabas tried to fight down the panic that was building as Thomas began cementing bricks higher and higher and the light grew dimmer.

// Julia! Hear me! //

// Tara! //

# # # #

Willow pulled back from the scrying mirror and wiped at her nose and saw it was bleeding.

Buffy quickly grabbed a box of Kleenex for her friend. "What's wrong?"

"I can't break through," Willow said. "I'm pushing too hard. It's like... running a marathon your first day in P.E. Something is blocking us."

Giles was pacing and glancing at the den every so often where Angelique was also attempting to find where Barnabas was.

"Should we call Julia?" Quentin asked.

"You're closer to both of them," Buffy said.

Quentin shook his head. "Not yet. Let's get him back and then tell her."

"Carolyn might have some insight,” Giles suggested.

“I’ll call and see if she senses anything amiss,” Quentin said and stepped out onto the patio.

“Giles, we can’t lose him,” Willow whispered anxiously.

“I know,” the Watcher said and pulled Willow into a hug. “We’ll get him back.”

## # # # #

"Hello?" a voice came through Quentin's cellphone.

"Carolyn, it's Quentin," he responded.

"Oh I was just about to call you! Do you know where Barnabas is?"

"I was going to ask if you might have a clue, Nicholas Blair grabbed him," Quentin informed her.

"Oh my God," Carolyn exclaimed.

"Is he alive, what can you see?" Quentin asked anxiously.

"He's alive," Carolyn answered. "I can't see anything. It's all darkness but he's frightened and losing hope quickly."

"He's only been gone a couple of hours," Quentin said with a frown. "Hopeless already?"

"Whatever is happening I don't think he's expecting anyone to help," Carolyn said. "That's all I've gotten. I'm sorry."

"It's more than what we had 3 minutes ago," Quentin said. "Have you told Julia? We haven't yet."

"No, I was going to call you first."

"Hold off for a bit," Quentin suggested. "He can tell her about it when we get him back. Thanks, Carolyn, call if you get any more flashes."

"Okay, keep me informed, please," Carolyn urged. "He's... Barnabas."

"I get you."

# # #

Giles walked up behind Angelique and hugged her gently as her head dropped in defeat.

"It's almost sunrise," he said softly. "Try again at sunset."

"I can't find him, Rupert," Angelique whispered. "I never really wanted him dead. Even when he hated me, I protected him. I did want him as a vampire and unhappy most of the last 200 years but I didn't want him dead!"

"I know, luv, I know," Giles said softly. "Come rest."

The Watcher glanced over at Willow who was pulling Tara away from the scrying mirror.

Buffy kicked a chair in anger.

It had been a frustrating night.

"Angelique, you said once that Nicholas could scry on us," Giles said. "How? Scrying can be hit or miss most of the time."

"A bespelled mirror," Angelique said. "I stole the one he used in 1970 and then it was broken. I don't know if he replaced it. The one I’m using is… isn’t the best."

"Can you create another one?" Giles asked.

"I can try at sunset."

"It may even the odds a bit."

## ##

Barnabas could feel the sun rising and his body going limp. He tried to angle his body in the small space to try and take some of the pressure off his wrists before he stopped moving totally for the day.

// Tara! Willow! //

# # #

Buffy entered the Magic Box late that afternoon and she wasn't surprised to see Giles and Willow looking fairly exhausted as they continued their research at the table in the shop. Giles had grown a full beard and Buffy thought it looked good on him but that he was still too thin.

She also didn't know if the others had noticed his new habit of wearing dark sunglasses any time he was near the windows or outside in the daylight.

"Hey, guys, how goes?"

"Nothing so far," Giles complained.

"Maybe Glorificus' existence predates written history," Willow suggested.

"That might explain the lack of references, yes," Giles agreed. "It might also explain the Dagon sphere that we've seen mentioned. It means that we probably won't find any answers in the books we have. There might be references in the Vatican records but we'd have to go through the Council. They still haven't returned my call yet."

"Figures," Buffy muttered.

"Maybe she even predates language," Willow added. "But the monks knew about her, maybe they left records."

"I have a call into a friend of mine in the church," Giles said. "He's not high enough to get access to the forbidden sections of the Vatican library."

"Giles! Who sold these items together?" Anya demanded.

Buffy glanced over at the former demon who had been going through the days receipts. Anya rushed over to the table and showed Giles a receipt.

"I did, why?" the Watcher asked.

"You never sell these things together!" Anya exclaimed. "A Khul's amulet and a Sobekian bloodstone! They are ingredients for a Sobekian transmogrification spell!"

"That spell has been lost for centuries," Giles protested. "The young woman who bought them would need to have enormous power.... Oh God."

Buffy felt a chill run down her spine. "Blonde, stylishly dressed, perfect makeup?"

"Uh yes," Giles said. "That was her?"

"Terrific! What does this spell do? And who were the Sobi-tea guys?"

"Sobekites," Willow said. "An ancient Egyptian cult very heavy into dark magic."

"They were into reptile demons," Anya added.

"Transmogrifying is the art of changing a living thing into a different kind of thing," Willow finished.

"Hang on a moment," Giles muttered and began scribbling and went to the private bookshelves and grabbed a book and opened it. After flipping several pages he began scribbling again. "The markings that were on the bloodstone... a cobra, she's going to transmogrify a cobra."

"So she's making a monster," Buffy said. "What for? What does it do?"

"We'll have to do more research," Willow said and bit her lip.

"You keep working on it and I'll go kill it," Buffy said.

"Buffy..."

"What Giles?"

"She, uh, well, she was able to beat you both times," Giles pointed out.

"I'll be ready this time. And we know where to start looking."

“Where?” Willow asked.

“Where would you find a cobra in Sunnydale?”

Before the others could protest the Slayer left the store.

"Bollocks," Giles muttered. "Let’s close up early and get back to the mansion. After all of this I'm moving in. Going between two places is tiring."

# # # #

Buffy peered around the corner of a hallway inside the reptile building at the local zoo. Where else would you find a cobra? She had been there a couple of times and had actually read about the characteristics of the cobra. It had been an intimidating creature even with the hood “closed.”

Buffy could see part of the snake in the glass enclosure.

The Slayer’s eyes widened when Glory punched a hole through the glass and grabbed the snake. Buffy knew that glass was bulletproof just to the extremely dangerous snake from escaping or being stolen.

Glorificus held the snake up to her face and smiled as it hissed at her and she hissed in return. Buffy could see the snake’s tail lashing about angrily. Did snakes have expressions, she wondered. If they did this one was easy to read. It was pissed.

“Chill, worm!” Glorificus scolded. “I’m going to make you a star!”

A… creepy little troll or something moved a vase closer to Glorificus. Buffy wasn’t sure when to attack, she did NOT want that cobra running loose at her feet while fighting a being that could throw Buffy through a wall.

Glorificus grabbed the snake by the tail and dropped it into the large clay vase head first. The creepy little guy handed the blond an amulet and Buffy guessed that it was the one Glorificus had purchased at the Magic Box. Glorificus held it in both hands over the vase.

“Chant!” she ordered.

“Yes, great mistress, Glory,” the troll-creature said quickly and unrolled a scroll and began to chant in some language that Buffy didn’t recognize.

// I need subtitles for this // Buffy thought.

//The form is vessel, rendered new. The base is stone, bathed in blood. The gem is fire and elements rarified..//

“Sobek, grant the power,” Glory added as the troll continued chanting. “So that it may mold this wretched creature, that it may be reborn and that it may serve… Damnit… ah, dark incantations! Always overwritten!”

The troll stopped and looked at Glory.

“Dreg, why can’t they just cut to the…”

Buffy was a blur as she dashed down the short distance and tackled Glory and slammed the goddess or whatever she was into a wall.

“Fight?” Buffy suggested. She spun and kicked Glory in the face.

“No fair!” Glory protested.

Buffy kicked her again.

“Attacking…”

Buffy punched Glory in the stomach and then the face.

“When I wasn’t even looking!”

The Slayer grabbed Glory’s head and began slamming it against the wall.

“Hey, ow!” Glory protested. She grabbed Buffy’s hand and pulled it away from her head and slammed Buffy into the wall.

“No, this is no good,” Glory declared.

Buffy straightened up and tried to punch Glory again only to have Buffy’s arm grabbed and wrenched behind her back.

“I am out of the moment!” Glory complained.

Buffy felt Glory’s other hand on her shoulder as she struggled.

“You’re not giving me anything I can use!” Glory continued. “Dreg! I’m not hearing chanting!”

Glory punched Buffy in the face and then slammed her against the wall.

“Yes, Glory!”

Buffy was pulled to her feet as she tried to clear her head.

“Hey, hey, work with me here!” Glory scolded and flung Buffy against another wall. Glory frowned as Buffy slid to the floor. “There!”

The demi-god grabbed the Slayer by the hair and rammed a knee in the girl’s face.

“That feels more real, don’t you think?” Glory asked and pulled Buffy up and threw the Slayer against another wall.

Buffy gasped and looked up at Glory as the demi-god approached her. The Slayer winced when she was grabbed by the throat and lifted up.

“Even if I do have to carry your performance.”

Buffy was tossed across the room and into the broken glass of the snake case where she didn’t move.

“Scene!” Glory declared.

“Cir hayyan win-hud!” Dreg chanted.

Glory approached the vase. “Arise! Arise!”

“Cir hayyan win-hud!”

Glory looked frustrated. “Arise!”

Buffy raised her head in time to see the vase rocking wildly back and forth until it exploded and a creature burst out of it. The small snake was now medium sized and it had arms. It hissed and swayed back and forth looking at Glory.

“He is arisen!” Dreg declared.

“About damn time!” Glory complained.

# # # #

“You think Mom is going to be okay?” Dawn asked Willow. “She’s tired all the time.”

“The treatments are going to take a lot out of her,” Willow said. “She’ll be fine, don’t worry. Her body is fighting both the cancer and the treatment.”

“What do you mean?”

“Well, the treatments are really hard because its fighting something that’s become part of your mom, a bad part,” Willow explained. “It’s kinda like an intense vaccine where they take a weak version of a disease and inject it so your body builds up immunity to the same disease. The chemo are harsh drugs used to attack the cancer.”

“Okay, I get that,” Dawn said. “I’m just…worried.”

“I know,” Willow said softly and wrapped her arms around Dawn. “Tara will be here soon and we’ll go get mochas.”

# # #

“Spawn of Sobek!” Glory said loudly.

Buffy watched the snake-thing approach Glory and the demi-god, goddess or whatever she was put her hands on the snake’s face. Buffy climbed out of the snake enclosure quietly as Glory and Dreg were preoccupied. She ducked around the corner and listened.

“The power is yours!” Glory said. “To see what is unseen. To find what is shrouded in shadow. Already, you know what I seek. I have given you form, now find me the key. Seek it out in the holy places. Yes, yes, yes! Let your vision guide you to its hiding place and then return to me and tell me where it lies.”

Buffy glanced around the corner and saw Glory look irritated.

“Now would be good,” the hell-god urged and clapped her hands. Buffy watched with widened eyes as the creature turned and headed for an exit.

“Fun, fun, fun!”

Buffy headed for the opposite exit.

# # #

Quentin looked around as he entered the Magic Box. “Where’s Buffy?”

“She left awhile ago,” Giles said.

“Where?”

“That creepy demon woman is conjuring up some kind of monster,” Xander informed the immortal.

“And you let Buffy go after her alone?” Quentin questioned.

“Well, ‘let’ isn’t really a factor when she sets her mind to something. You’ll learn that.”

“She’ll get herself killed. It’s crazy,” Quentin replied.

“Everything we do is crazy,” Xander said. “We try to be ready for when she needs us. Giles does the research and trains her, Will and Tara are good with the mojo and research.”

“And you?”

“Anya has inside demon knowledge and I just try to lend a hand wherever I can,” Xander said. “I’m the weak link.”

“I highly doubt that, Xander,” Quentin commented.

Giles hurried behind the counter and grabbed the phone. "This is the Magic Box, how may I help you?"

"Giles, it's me."

"Buffy, are you all right?" he asked anxiously.

"No, I'm really not," the Slayer answered as she held an ice pack against her cheek. "I couldn't stop her. I couldn't even slow her down."

"Where are you?"

"Sunnydale Memorial hospital," the Slayer responded.

"Are you badly hurt? I'll... I'll come right over," Giles said quickly.

"No, I just wanted to warn you that thing she conjured is loose. It's a big snake thing," Buffy said. "Not mayor-big, but it's pretty lethal looking."

"Do you know why she raised it?"

"I couldn't hear some of it clearly but its off to find something," Buffy responded.

"We'll get weapons ready here," Giles said.

"Wait, is Dawnie there?"

"Yes, why?" Giles asked. "We'll be safe with that."

The Watcher slid a book off the counter and essentially made it disappear.

"Okay," I'm going to check on Mom," Buffy said. "Then I'll be out. They're keeping Mom a couple of hours, this last treatment made her pass out."

"I won't mention that," Giles promised.

"I'll be there soon."

# # #

Unseen by anyone a snake creature moved through a church, hissing it's displeasure as it glanced at a huge crucifix behind the altar.

# # # #

Buffy entered the Magic Box and tried to smile as Anya and Willow glanced up and then looked alarm. "I'm okay, guys. Just not my day."

Dawn moved quickly over to Buffy and hugged her tightly.

"Is Mom okay?"

"She will be, runt," Buffy said with a smile.

Dawn nodded. "Can we go home? Or to the mansion, I mean."

"Yeah, get your stuff," Buffy told her. "Any monster reptile sightings?" she asked the others.

"None," Giles said.

"Quentin and I did a mini patrol earlier," Xander said. "No big snake thing to be..."

Suddenly the snake creatures crashed through the display window.

Everyone began scrambling as it reared up and looked all of them over.

Buffy went to grab a sword only to have the thing smack a display case with an arm, toppling it over onto the Slayer.

As Dawn screamed the creature hovered over her, its eyes glowing from yellow to red.

Then the creature turned and slithered through the broken window.

# # # #