Disclaimers : Check back to part one for full disclaims and what not
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Part Three
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"I don't care what the book says, it's not them," yelled Xander.
"Oh, well what do you know about the Monkees," retorted Cordelia hotly.
"I know that this is not a picture of Davy Jones with fangs," replied Xander, holding a book up in front of her.
They continued to yell and argue for several minutes. Willow watched them with accute frustration. Willow had blown off a coffee date with Oz just for this? She was reaching the end of her tolerance point. "Hey, can you two shut up and get back to work. We have to find out about this Callista person for Brittany."
Xander and Cordelia paused for a moment, looked back at Willow, looked back at each other, and then continued their fighting.
"That's it," cried Willow, throwing her hands up into the air and walking out of the library, "I give up."
She had planned on getting some coffee, and maybe some ear plugs if she could find them, but was interrupted when Giles, Buffy, and Angel came barreling around the corner.
"Guys, what happened? What's wrong?" she asked curiously.
"We have a major problem Wil'. Where's Xander and Cordelia?" replied Buffy.
"They're yelling in the library."
Buffy looked confused, but didn't really need the back story on that right now. "Come on, family meeting."
The group walked at a fast pace towards the library. When they reached it, they flung open the doors and paused. The doors made absolutely no noise when you opened them, even if you pushed real hard. Which can often be a very bad thing. Especially now. The four of them just stopped and stared - eyes wide and jaws on the floor. Because in the middle of the room, Xander Harris and Cordelia Chase were engaged in a firm lip lock. I mean these two were literary sucking face like plungers with tounges. It was all Willow could do to keep from passing out. Finally, Buffy managed to say something.
"Oh ... my ... god."
Unfortunately she didn't have the volume to disturb Cordelia or Xander. Xander was vaguely aware of a change in atmosphere in the room. But he didn't pay it any attention.
"Um, excuse me - this is a library, not motel 6," pronounced Giles, loud enough for them to hear.
Xander and Cordelia stopped in mid-kiss, and turned slowly to see them all standing there. They pulled apart quickly, looking mighty flustered and red in the face.
"There is a perfectly logical explanation for this," began Cordelia.
"Yeah," added Xander, "It's not what it looks like."
Buffy took a few steps forward, "Good ... because it looked like you were cramming your tounge down her throat," she said, addressing Xander.
Xander felt a blush creep up on him, "Oookay, than maybe it is what it looks like," he replied. He looked over at Cordy. She had her head hung low, staring at the floor as if she had just got caught with her hand in the cookie jar.
"As interesting and disturbing as this development is," started Giles, "We have a much more urgent concern right now."
"And that would be.." said Xander open-endedly.
"Brittany was lying to us. She's the evil one."
Willow, Xander and Cordelia exchanged confused (and embarrassed) looks. "Come again?" responded Willow.
"Apparently Callista is the one we should be talking to. Brittany totally flipped in an alley, pulled a knife on me, proclaimed she was 'evil to the core', vowed to come and destroy us all, and then she turned into a big wolf and left. That Callista person and her bird went after her, but we don't know if she caught up," explained Buffy.
"And where was this little tidbit of info three hours ago? Didn't I tell you there was something wrong with her? But nobody listens to me. Okay, if Brittany is the crazy one and vowed death on us, shouldn't we be leaving town or hiding or something?" suggested Cordelia.
*My thoughts exactly,* thought Xander. "Or shouldn't we at least be out looking for this Callista?"
There was a thoughtful pause. Nobody knew quite what to say, because nobody knew how they might go about looking for Callista. All Buffy knew was that it had suddenly gotten drafty in the library.
"Is it just me or is it getting breezy in here?" she said, "Somebody close the window."
Cordelia turned to the window. "But the window ... is ... shut," she trailed off. Because in fact the window was not at all shut. "Um, guys? I seriously doubt that we're gonna have to go looking for that Callista chick."
Everyone turned to face the window, and there, sitting on the ledge - was the bird. It hopped off of the window sill, and onto a bookshelf inside. It eventually found itself sitting on top of a pile of books on Giles' desk.
"She found us," added Buffy softly.
Suddenly, the library door were flung open under the force of a fierce wind that blew threw the high school's hallways. Everybody shielded their eyes for a moment, and then returned their focus to the door. The wind had calmed, but it was still holding the doors open. From somewhere in the empty halls, footsteps echoed as they approached the library. And as suddenly as the wind had first came, the figure appeared in the doorway. Still cloaked in her hooded robe, Callista moved cautiously but swiftly into the library. In the light, you could make out all of her features except her face, which was hidden deep within the blackness of the hood.
"Now she knows how to make an entrance," commented Xander. Cordelia smacked him on the arm and shushed him, drawing odd glances from Angel and Willow.
An arm raised from the girls side. Now that Callista was in the light, Buffy noticed that wrapped around her wrist was a suede leather band, presumably to prevent scratching from the bird, who recognized the raised arm as a signal to "come". It made a short but none the less spectacular flight from it's perch on the desk to it's perch on it's master. Callista's other arm began to rise. It moved past the bird to the hood of her cloak. This was it. They were finally going to see the girl behind the hood. She tugged at the faded brown cloth. She slowly (I'm sure only for effect) pulled it back over her head until it hung limply behind her back.
Callista was in short : beautiful. She appeared to be a few years younger than Buffy - fifteen perhaps going on sixteen. She had soft shoulder length brown hair, and her bangs were being held back by a clip that was not visible to Buffy, but it's existence was acknowledged. A few errant strands had come loose and framed Callista's face. Her large brown eyes complimented her ivory skin. She had naturally full lips that looked like they had been professionally done by a plastic surgeon, but when would she have had the time to do that? They were painted with a deep burgundy color.
She was wearing a simple white skirt that barely reached the top of her thighs and a matching white halter top. Around her neck was a silver pendant on the end of a thin silver chain. Around her waist was a black belt with a sheath attached to it. In the sheath sat a long metal sword.
The library was in a hushed awe. Buffy, having enough sense left in her, took a few steps forward to address her. "Callista?" she asked. She was half expecting a "duh" response.
"Yes," she replied, "I am Callista . And you must be Buffy ... the Vampire Slayer."
Buffy noticed an immediate difference between the her and Brittany. For one thing, Callista was not even Irish. She had a British accent.
"That would be me. I ... this is really akward ... we're sorry about thinking you were evil and everything, but Brittany ..." started Buffy, but was interrupted by laughter from Callista .
"What's so funny?" asked Cordelia confused.
"Is that what she told you her name was. Her name is not Brittany," she answered.
"Than what is it?" inquired Angel curiously.
Callista took a dramatic pause, "Her name ... is Cataluna."
* * *
"Spike," called Drusilla.
Spike entered the room slowly. He was still feeling a little sore from being crushed by the organ and all. In fact, the whole ordeal had left him with a rather nasty looking scar on the left side of his face. "What's the matter, luv?" he queried.
"Something's going to happen. Ms. Edith told me so," she said holding up the doll with an wicked grin on her face, "Somebody's coming ... and she's going to help us with our problems." She paused.
"Do you think Ms. Edith needs a new hat?"
"Somebody's coming, eh?"
"Yes ... very powerful. She can help us kill that bad girl that keeps hurting you," replied Dru.
Spike was getting excited. Someone's coming to help them kill that annoying Slayer. Just then, a round of knocking came blasting forth from the metal door that sealed the vampires sanctuary. Drusilla smiled evilly. "They're here," she said.
"Oh goody, company," said Spike as he left for the guest.
* * *
"Cataluna?" repeated Xander curiously, "What kind of name is that?"
Callista drew in a heavy breath, as if preparing for a speech. "Cataluna - Catherine of the Moon. She was born under a bad moon in the fall of the year 980 AD. I was born two years later in Britania. My family moved to the Irish countryside when I was five years old. My mother told me stories about Catherine. All the village new she was born under the bad moon. They all thought she was evil, and tried to run her and her mother out of town. Her mother was also born under a bad moon. They share identical birthmarks on there upper right forehead, shaped like a red crescent moon."
"We never saw any birth marks," said Willow.
"It can easily be hidden with cover up," explained Callista , as she prepared to continue with her story, "Her mother practiced black magic. She was a natural at it, because she was born on an unholy day. Many people considered her and her daughter spawns of satan ... I wouldn't disagree. When Catherine was a small child, her mother began teaching her the black arts. Catherine was especially gifted at it. As the years went on, she grew powerful ... even more powerful than her mother. And as she got older, she grew more demented. When she was seventeen, I was fifteen years of age. I was young. I had a wonderful family. Cormerik here appeared one day at my window. I could tell he was not an ordinary bird. He was intelligent. He can think for himself and understand the world around him. He can understand us as were talking. Anyway, he became like a best friend to me. One day, I was out with him in the fields. I was returning home at dusk and as I approached the village, I could see smoke. It was on fire."
At this point, Callista was becoming emotional. Her next words betrayed her inner feelings, as she sounded as if she would burst out into tears at any moment.
"She killed them ... she killed them all. My friends, my family. She had slaughtered most of the town - men, women, young children, almost everybody. Those who weren't butchered were burnt to death in the flames as their houses burned to the ground. I - I was the only survivor. And then I saw her. She was standing on a hill top overlooking the flaming remains of our home and ... laughing hysterically. I will always remember that laughter. From that moment on, I vowed revenge. I swore to myself that I would kill her, slowly and painfully. I thought about going after her right then and there, but my head was clear enough to realize I couldn't go after her with only blind rage leading me."
"I'VE GOT IT!" yelled Giles suddenly, causing everyone in the room to jump.
"Got what?" asked Cordelia rudely.
"I finally found something! We were looking under 'Callista', when we should have been looking under 'Cataluna'. Yes - it has an entire explanation here. Catherine is not quite a demon but she is just as evil and just as dangerous. She sold her soul to the devil for immortality. After she burned the village, Callista sought out a powerful shaman, and begged him to give her the strength to defeat Catherine. He was reluctant to give you immortality, but placed a curse on both of you, so you can only die by each other's hand - which is almost immortality ..." explained Giles, fairly excited by his discovery.
"Pfftt, I could have told you that," scoffed Callista.
"I wouldn't take it to personally, he does that often," said Buffy, "It's his favorite part of the job."
"I see," she replied, slightly annoyed, "Is there anything else you want to add or do you want to hear my version?"
"Oh please - continue," answered Giles.
"Very well. With my new found 'immortality' I decided it was best to prepare myself before taking her on. I trained for months in combat and learned how to wield a sword like a master. The Shaman's apprentice took a real shine to me. He was so understanding and sympathetic to my situation, so he decided to ..."
"This is really fascinating," interrupted Giles (again), "The Shaman's apprentice was so impressed with you, he went behind his masters back and granted you one more thing. He knew how attached to Cormerik you were, so he put a spell on the bird so that he would live as long as you. Cormerik could only die if you died, and the only way you can die is if Cataluna kills you."
Callista stared blankly at him for a moment. "Do you make a habit of this?"
"Giles ... let her finish the story," said Willow.
The librarian closed his book and set it gently down on the table. He could have sworn that Cormerik was silently mocking him.
"Anyway, after about three months we could wait no longer. Cormerik and I took off after Catherine. For nearly a thousand years we tracked her across Europe, Asia, and parts of Africa. Every time I managed to catch up with her, the battles ended quickly. She can take any form she wants - human or animal. She always managed to slip out of my grasp."
"We saw a couple of those forms," muttered Buffy hostilely under her breath.
"The last time we met how ever, things went differently. I had tracked her across the Atlantic Ocean to Canada, and eventually to Toronto. By this time, it was mid 1997. We had a terrible clash in a back alley. The battle was fierce and lasted a lot longer than the other times. We did a lot of damage to each other, but I was injured more than her. Catherine slashed me across the stomach. I was so sure I was going to die. That I had failed all of the innocent people she had killed in her thousand year reign of terror. She left me to bleed to death in the alley. Luckily for me, I was found in the morning by a young Canadian woman. I owe her my life. Her name was Anikka. She took me back to her home and helped me to recover. Anikka later told me that she had found me because Cormerik was in the middle of the sidewalk outside the alley squawking like mad. After I was healthy again, I attempted to track Catherine down. I learned she had traveled to Sunnydale. I couldn't figure out why though, until I learned about the Hell Mouth."
"I suppose all that extra evil would be very therapeutic for her," commented Willow absentmindedly.
"Exactly," replied Callista, "This was the perfect place for her to recuperate. But now I'm afraid she's back at full strength."
"What? Do we live in like a spa for evil or something?" said Xander sarcastically.
"Catherine is not as dumb as she appears. She's a strategist. She will try to find a temporary ali," said Callista speculatively.
"Spike," muttered Angel.
"Come on Angel. We don't even know if Spike and Drusilla are alive," replied Buffy.
"There still alive. I can feel it." He felt the eyes of every person in the room staring at him. "It's a whole vampire-sire thing."
"Oh," replied Callista nervously, "Spike ... the Vampire? He's in Sunnydale? Then she's going to him."
Angel became instantly interested, "You know Spike?"
"They've teamed up before. They make a deadly combination. Does Spike still have that crazy woman with him?"
Buffy was now looking a little uneasy. "Umm ... yeah, but she may have been healed now, and could be strong again."
"Is she still a lunatic?" asked Callista, in all seriousness.
"We don't know."
An uneasy silence filled the library. Nobody quite knew what to say. A long pause ensued. Cormerik occasionally ruffled his feathers in an attempt to fill the empty void that had once been occupied by conversation. Cordelia shifted uncomfortably in her seat. She had come to the conclusion that coffee and watermelon do not mix. Last time she believed anything Giles told her when it came to food.
"Umm, this has all been really interesting and all, but I have to go to the Ladies room before I explode," she said, rising from her seat.
Willow shot her an angry glance. "Well we can't have that can we," she said. Willow was not one for subtlety. Cordelia paused, looked back at her, and then made a mad dash for the bathroom.
"Excuse me, but did I miss something?" asked Callista curiously.
"Nothing important," quipped Xander instantly.
Obviously, she had missed something important, because Buffy and Willow suddenly had these really sour looks on their faces - and Angel had an odd self-satisfied smirk on his face. She would have to inquire about it later.
* * *
"Cataluna! Long time no see babe," exclaimed Spike at the sight of his visitor.
Cataluna stood in the vampire's home, an abandoned factory and looked around. "Nice place you got here Willy," she laughed.
"It's Spike. SPIKE! Don't call me Willy," he whispered.
"What ever you say Willy. So, where's Dru? The old girl still around?"
Just then, Drusilla came waltzing into the room. She was looking strong - very strong. Not like the last time Catherine had seen her.
"I tried to plant some daisy's but they all died," she said with a wicked grin on her face.
"Drusilla - you look great darling, " exclaimed Catherine.
"Daddy made me feel better," she replied.
Catherine smiled. She was impressed. Spike had managed to restore Drusilla's health - unfortunately, she was still a few knives short of a ginsu set. She was probably using them as hedge trimmers on a Chia head.
"What brings you to the Hell mouth Cat?" asked Spike.
"Callista," she spat.
Spike smiled. "Are you still fighting with that girl?"
"Yes. I thought I killed her, but she keeps coming back. It is so irritating!"
"I would imagine," he replied.
"You don't have to imagine Spike. We have a Slayer," said Dru softly, almsot teasingly.
Catherine smiled. Spike was having trouble getting Buffy. "My my Willy, are you having a problem with your resident Slayer?"
Spike looked embarrassed. "She's not like the other Slayer's I've faced. She's different. She has friends and," Spike shuddered, "Angelus."
"I did see old Angel. He's become such a sniveling excuse for a vampire. He fights his own kind and - loves the Slayer. He is such a good guy," said Catherine, positively sick to her stomach.
"What do you propose we do about it?' asked Spike.
"Oh ... I already have a plan that will benefit us both. You can get rid of your pesky Slayer, and I will finally get rid of Callista."
Drusilla laughed playfully and smiled. "The kitty has claws," she said with a giggle.
"Dru darling, you have no idea," responded Catherine with a devious smile.
|
|
|
|
Rave
Barbie Girl (Becca)
biscuit07
Filmtheory (Jim)
Malice (Jess)
MebbtheScribe (MichaelB)
Reset (Allie)
Shay (Marrisa)
somnambulist29 (Shea)
Stephanie Loss
Wendyness (Wendy)
Questions?Contact Us
|
|
All stories on this site have been archived with the authors' consent. Do not copy these stories for your own uses without the express consent of the author themselves. Buffy the Vampire Slayer TM and Angel TM are © UPN, WB, Fox and its related entities. All photos on the site are © UPN, Fox, Warner Bros, and/or their respective owners. No profits are being made by use of these images.
Powered with the assitance of eFiction.
|
|
|
