Friday Fanfic

Buffy the Dragon Slayer

(An obvious continuation of last week's story.)

Chapter Ten-Gamma

At that moment, on the other end of the village, a meeting was being held in one of the lower chambers of the local castle.

"This meeting of the Dark Brotherhood of the Wolf, the Ram and the Stag will come to order," said a shadowy, robed figure. "Baron Holland Mannering presiding."

A tall, grey-haired figure in a black robe rose up and asked, "Do our distinguished guests have anything to say about this latest development?"

A dark-haired woman in a black wizard's outfit who was standing against one of the chamber walls just shrugged. So did her companion, a black-robed man whose main distinguishing feature seemed to be the metal hand on the end of his right arm.

"I have nothing," said the man.

"What about you, Sister Lilith?" said Baron Mannering.

"Hey!" she cried. "This news took me by surprise as well."

Baron Mannering just sniffed. "You two are not being paid to be surprised. You promised us a dragon attack and then you promised us a rain storm to keep the Slayer at bay. How come you did not foresee this development?"

"The vampire was apparently operating on her own," said Lilith. "We have no idea why she decided to help out the dragon slayer. After all, up to now, she has been decidedly very pro-dragon. But now she has apparently switched teams. Plus she got backup from her boyfriend. Granted, he is not a major player in the upcoming apocalypse like a certain acquaintance of ours but he is fierce enough that no one in his or her right mind would mess with either him or her."

"And you two do plan to handle the situation, right, Brother Linden?" asked Baron Mannering.

"Of course, sir," said Brother Linden. "In fact, Lilith and I called in an expert to help deal with this situation as soon as we heard about it."

"And where is this expert?" asked Baron Mannering.

A man in white robes entered. He bowed in the direction of the Baron and then clicked his heels. "I am Professor Rappaccini, a former alchemist attached to the mayor's office."

"And you think you have what we need to fend off this dragon slayer and her two vampiric protectors?" asked the Baron.

The man just smiled and made a gesture toward the chamber's open entrance. Five minutes later, a dark-haired woman entered the room. She wore a dark brown dress and had an angry look on her face that made most of the men in the room want to avert their eyes.

"Gentlemen," said Professor Rappaccini. "Meet the mayor's adopted daughter. Her family was killed by vampires so she has no love for their kind and she has a history of obeying any command given by me or her adopted father the mayor. She is the answer to your dragon slayer problem."

"Not exactly a dragon slayer, is she?" asked the Baron.

"Oh, she's better than a dragon slayer," said Professor Rappaccini. "She's a poison damsel. Only a handful of humans in this world are immune to her breath or her touch and the vampires killed three of them. Her official name is Beatriz Alraune Rappaccini but she still prefers to go by her childhood nickname."

"And what's her childhood nickname?" asked the Baron.

The professor smiled. "Well, before they were killed, Beatriz had three older sisters named Faith, Hope and Charity. Guess which one of those names she prefers."

To be continued...

Friday Fanfic

Buffy the Dragon Slayer

(An obvious continuation of last week's story.)

Chapter Ten-Beta

At that moment, on the other end of the village, a meeting was being held in one of the lower chambers of the local castle.

"This meeting of the Dark Brotherhood of the Wolf, the Ram and the Stag will come to order," said a shadowy, robed figure. "Baron Holland Mannering presiding."

A tall, grey-haired figure in a black robe rose up and asked, "Do our distinguished guests have anything to say about this latest development?"

A dark-haired woman in a black wizard's outfit who was standing against one of the chamber walls just shrugged. So did her companion, a black-robed man whose main distinguishing feature seemed to be the metal hand on the end of his right arm.

"I have nothing," said the man.

"What about you, Sister Lilith?" said Baron Mannering.

"Hey!" she cried. "This news took me by surprise as well."

Baron Mannering just sniffed. "You two are not being paid to be surprised. You promised us a dragon attack and then you promised us a rain storm to keep the Slayer at bay. How come you did not foresee this development?"

"The wizard is a freelancer," said Lilith. "Up to now we had assumed that she was working for the kingdom but apparently she decided to go all independent. I would not have expected it of a fellow graduate of Misanegra U but there you have it."

"And you two do plan to handle the situation, right, Brother Linden?" asked Baron Mannering.

"Of course, sir," said Brother Linden. "In fact, Lilith and I called in an expert to help deal with this situation as soon as we heard about it."

"And where is this expert?" asked Baron Mannering.

A man in white robes entered. He bowed in the direction of the Baron and then clicked his heels. "I am Professor Victor Piedrafranca, a former alchemist once attached to Professor Hohenheim's homunculus project."

"And you think you have what we need to fend off this mechanical dragon slayer Magdalena Walsh allegedly invented?" asked the Baron.

The man just smiled and made a gesture toward the chamber's open entrance. Five minutes later, a man entered the room. A large man. A man far larger than anyone else in the room and bearing more stitches than one would expect to see in a living being.

"Gentlemen," said Professor Piedrafranca. "Meet Siegfried. The answer to your dragon slayer problem."

"Not exactly a homunculus, is he?" asked the Baron.

"No, but he's survived a windmill fire, multiple attempts at drowning and even a hanging or two," said Professor Piedrafranca. "Plus he's organic in origin so he won't encounter any of the rust issues that Mistress Walsh's creation will encounter."

"Do you think he can handle a dragon as well?" asked the Baron.

Professor Piedrafranca smiled. "In his day, he has successfully defended himself against a werewolf, a vampire, gypsies and several armed mobs with torches. I think it's safe to say he can handle a dragon."

"Does he have any qualms about killing humans?" asked the Baron.

Again the professor smiled. "If he has, he hasn't mentioned any."

To be continued...

Friday Fanfic

Buffy the Dragon Slayer

(An obvious continuation of last week's story.)

Chapter Ten-Alpha

At that moment, on the other end of the village, a meeting was being held in one of the lower chambers of the local castle.

"This meeting of the Dark Brotherhood of the Wolf, the Ram and the Stag will come to order," said a shadowy, robed figure. "Baron Holland Mannering presiding."

A tall, grey-haired figure in a black robe rose up and asked, "Do our distinguished guests have anything to say about this latest development?"

A dark-haired woman in a black wizard's outfit who was standing against one of the chamber walls just shrugged. So did her companion, a black-robed man whose main distinguishing feature seemed to be the metal hand on the end of his right arm.

"I have nothing," said the man.

"What about you, Sister Lilith?" said Baron Mannering.

"Hey!" she cried. "This news took me by surprise as well."

Baron Mannering just sniffed. "You two are not being paid to be surprised. You promised us a dragon attack and then you promised us a rain storm to keep the Slayer at bay. How come you did not foresee this development?"

"The witch is a freelancer," said Lilith. "Up to now we had assumed that all freelancers had been done in by the Church but apparently they missed a few."

"And you two plan to handle the situation, right, Brother Linden?" asked Baron Mannering.

"Of course, sir," said Brother Linden.

"Then I guess there's no need for further questions," said Baron Mannering. "Get it done."

The dark-haired girl named Lilith raised her hand. "I do have one question."

"Yes," said Baron Mannering.

"Which one of the two do you wish for us to take care of first?" asked Lilith. "The witch or the Slayer?"

The baron just shrugged. "Why not both?"

To be continued...

Friday Fanfic

Buffy the Dragon Slayer

(An obvious continuation of last week's story.)

Chapter Nine-Gamma

"Run and catch," said Messalina in a singsong voice. "The lamb is caught in the blackberry patch."

"Excuse me, but do you really have to keep singing that song?" asked Buffy as she sipped her tea.

"I'm sorry, Buffy," said Messalina. "I just sing it because it reminds me of my dead mother."

"Your dead mothe -- Oh, I'm sorry," said Buffy. "Please go ahead. If you don't mind me saying, how did she die?"

"Well, as a matter of fact, I do mind you asking," said Messalina. "But I'll answer your question anyway. She died of natural causes."

"Natural causes?" asked Buffy.

"Yes," said Messalina. "One of my suitors disagreed with her so naturally she died."

"Wait!" said Buffy. "You mean she was killed?"

Messalina nodded.

"You poor thing," said Buffy. "You must miss her very much."

"Well, we all got to go sometime," said Messalina. "Don't you miss your mother?"

"Not really, but then she's still alive," said Buffy.

Then she realized how that sounded and said, "Sorry. I didn't mean to be flip. You see, my mother and I get along okay now but then I don't see her much anymore. When I first got my powers, we used to fight all the time. In fact, she once even called an exorcist on me."

"An exorcist?" said Messalina, perking up. "You mean she thought you were evil?"

"Well, for a while she did," said Buffy. "But then the Watchers Council discovered me and convinced her to let me go into service as a dragon slayer."

"My mother used to think I was evil too," said Messalina. "She never said so out loud but every so often I'd catch her looking at me in a certain way. You see, I'd have these visions..."

"You have visions?" asked Buffy. "Of the future?"

"Yes," said Messalina.

"Could you tell me my future?" asked Buffy.

"I'm not sure that would be wise," said Messalina.

"Please," said Buffy.

"Okay, you're going to go out and fight this dragon and end up becoming every bit as famous as Niccola Wood," said Messalina.

"I know you mentioned her earlier but I have to ask -- who's Niccola Wood?" said Buffy. "Apart from being this dragon slayer that you used to know."

"Niccola Wood is -- well, on second thought, you're obviously going to be more famous than Niccola Wood," said Messalina. "In fact, I foresee a bright future for you, Buffy."

"Really?" asked Buffy.

"Really," said Messalina. "If you don't believe me, just stare into my eyes."

"What am I supposed to see?" asked Buffy.

"Whatever you wish," said Messalina. "But in this case, glory. The glory you will achieve after you go out there after that dragon. By the way, do you know a person named Sister Jessica Calendar?"

"Why, yes," said Buffy. "That was the name of one of my former tutors. She used to be one of the few people in my life who was kind to me."

"Well, Sister Jessica says hi and looks forward to meeting you soon," said Messalina.

"Don't be silly," said Buffy. "Sister Jessica is dead. She died several years ago. You must be making a joke."

"Yes, that's what it is," said Messalina. "A joke. Now let's get you ready to fight that dragon."

To be continued...

Friday Fanfic

Buffy the Dragon Slayer

(An obvious continuation of last week's story.)

Chapter Nine-Beta

Buffy kept telling herself that she had nothing to worry about. After all, she wasn't the one who was going to fight the dragon. That honor belonged to Magdalena Walsh's mechanical creation Talos.

Indeed, it actually seemed good that Buffy was actually going to be able to watch a dragon fight as a spectator for a change -- and better yet, she got to keep her clothes on while doing so.

Then she got outside and saw the dragon. It was very easily the largest dragon she had ever seen. It was more the size of a small mountain than that of the overgrown lizards that she had usually fought as a Slayer. Heck, even Vermithrax Pejorative would have seemed like a newt compared to this creature.

Plus this creature stood on two legs. Buffy had fought many a dragon in her brief life and yet she had never encountered a dragon that stood on two legs. They were always on all fours.

To be fair, this dragon also had no wings but that did not seem to make a difference to Buffy when she saw how easily the creature breathed fire. Who cared whether or not the darn thing flew? It could very easily set on fire almost any flying animal that it saw.

Then the dragon turned in her direction. As a veteran dragon slayer, Buffy could guess what was coming but she still felt a bit of fear creep down her spine.

Fortunately, Talos was between her and the dragon. He converted his right arm into a sword blade and plunged said blade into one of the dragon's ankles. The dragon looked down as if wondering whether it was worth it to respond with a quick burst of flame. But in the end, the dragon decided not to.

Instead the dragon found it far easier to lift up one of its feet and then stomp the mechanical man to pieces.

To be continued...

Friday Fanfic

Buffy the Dragon Slayer

(An obvious continuation of last week's story.)

Chapter Nine-Alpha

Laurel took one look at the creature that used to be Buffy Summerfield and then turned toward Jamie Madigan, the lady who had transformed her friend into a dragon.

"Aren't we supposed to be reducing the number of dragons in this village?" Laurel asked. "I mean, we already have one dragon outside. Did we really need another? And what did you do with Buffy?"

"Buffy is the dragon, you silly," said Jamie.

Then Jamie turned toward the door of the back room they were in.

"It's okay to come in now, Sir Roderick," Jamie called out.

Sir Roderick hurriedly came into the room, only to pause when he saw the dragon.

"Good heavens!" he exclaimed. "How did a dragon get in here?"

Jamie laughed. "Don't you recognize her, Sir Roderick? That dragon is your dragon slayer, Buffy Summerfield. Now she no longer needs to fear death by fire. In fact, now she is the fire."

"Well, you said you were going to turn her into something fireproof," said Sir Roderick. "But I really didn't expect this. Now change her back."

"No time," said Jamie. "She has a dragon to fight, remember? I'll change her back after she's killed the dragon."

"Suppose something happens to you?" asked Sir Roderick.

"Nothing's going to happen to me," said Jamie. "Buffy here is my insurance that you and Laurel won't betray me at the first opportunity. After all, it would be a darn shame if the one person who could change your best dragon slayer back into a human were to, say, end up being drowned in a duck pond or burnt at the stake."

"She has a point," said Laurel.

"Laurel!" cried Buffy.

"Look!" cried Laurel. "The dragon -- er -- I mean, Buffy talks."

"Of course, I talk," said Buffy. "And what's this about a -- Oh my God! My arm. It's a dragon's arm. I've been eaten by a dragon!"

Jamie rolled her eyes. "No, Buffy. You've been turned into a dragon."

"What the fuck, Jamie?" exclaimed Buffy. "Why the hell did you turn me into a dragon? Why not turn me into a rat?"

"Don't tempt me," said Jamie.

To be continued...

Friday Fanfic

Buffy the Dragon Slayer

(An obvious continuation of last week's story.)

Chapter Eight-Gamma

"Wait a minute," whispered Laurel to Sir Roderick. "Didn't Niccola Wood -- "

"Not now, Laurel," whispered Sir Roderick.

"But Niccola Wood -- " whispered Laurel.

"I said not now, Laurel," whispered Sir Roderick.

"We can hear you, you know," said the man Messalina had called Stake.

"Oh, right," said Sir Roderick. "Of course you can."

Stake turned toward the innkeeper and his wife. "Excuse me, folks, but you mind taking Buffy and Messalina here to one of the back rooms for some tea while me and Sir Roderick have a private conversation?"

"Of course not, sir," said the innkeeper.

And just like that, the dining room was cleared of everyone save for Laurel, Sir Roderick and Stake.

"If your girlfriend does one thing to harm Buffy -- " Sir Roderick started to say, but Stake interrupted.

"Mess isn't going to harm Buffy," said Stake. "After all, she's not a cruel sort. At least not very much. Certainly not compared to the Countess Karnstein or that Hungarian aristocrat who likes to take baths a lot. Anyway, you don't have to worry about Messalina. She has no intention of harming Buffy."

"Then why did she deliberately mislead her about the fate of Niccola Wood?" asked Sir Roderick.

"Frankly, I would like to think that the more important question is how was she able to mislead Buffy about the fate of Niccola Wood," said Stake. "After all, Niccola Wood was a pretty famous dragon slayer in her day. And yet you and your friend Laurel were familiar with her fate -- and Buffy was not. How do you suppose that happened?"

"Well, I don't necessarily tell Buffy everything about past Slayers," said Sir Roderick. "She never asks and I never volunteer information unless it's absolutely necessary."

"In other words, your policy is don't ask, don't tell?" asked Stake with a sneer. "And you people think we have a dubious attitude toward humanity!"

"Nevertheless..." Sir Roderick started to say.

"Nevertheless, your girl is hysterical," said Stake. "The only way she's going to do her job is if somebody calms her down and right now Messalina is the best suited of any of us to do that. I'll admit that I would be a trifle wary of Messalina if I were in your place but you really can't afford to wax all that idealistic right now if you wish to save anyone from this dragon."

"And I suppose you and Messalina will be wanting immunity from the Watchers Council as well?" asked Sir Roderick.

Stake replied with a shrug. "It wouldn't hurt."

To be continued...

Friday Fanfic

Buffy the Dragon Slayer

(An obvious continuation of last week's story.)

Chapter Eight-Beta

Magdalena immediately left the room and came back in the company of a large man who appeared to be entirely made out of metal.

"Oh, I see," said Laurel. "It's a golem."

"No, it's not," said Magdalena. "It's a -- well, it doesn't matter what it is. It's the first of its kind and it kills dragons."

"How do you know that?"asked Sir Roderick.

"Because I've tested it," said Magdalena. "His name is Talos and I've used him to kill many a dragon during the past year."

"Wow!" said Laurel. "No wonder they seem to be scarcer this year than they used to be."

"So that's the thing that's going to go out there in my place?" asked Buffy, still bristling at Miss Walsh's crack about hysterical little blondes.

"Yes, it is," said Magdalena. "You have officially been replaced now, Buffy. I hope you have enough for an early retirement."

"Well, that all sounds very nice," said Sir Roderick, "but we have yet to see him actually fight a dragon. Yes, I'm quite sure you'd be willing to vouch for him but right now we need to see him in action."

"Do I get my immunity?" asked Magdalena.

"If this creation of yours works, yes," said Sir Roderick.

"Very well then," said Magdalena. "Let's take him outside."

To be continued...

Friday Fanfic

Buffy the Dragon Slayer

(An obvious continuation of last week's story)

Chapter Eight-Alpha

Jamie led the way to one of the inn's back rooms where she immediately advised Sir Roderick to step outside of the room while she got Buffy prepared for the big dragon fight.

"Why can't I stay?" asked Sir Roderick.

"Because Buffy is going to have to get undressed right now," said Jamie. "And she'd probably be more comfortable if she could do it in privacy."

"I've seen Buffy undressed before," said Sir Roderick.

"I'm sure you have," said Jamie. "And I'm also sure that she was quite uncomfortable with that. But it's okay. You have Laurel here to observe the preparation ceremony in your place."

"What preparation ceremony?" asked Buffy. "What are you preparing to do?"

"I'm going to turn you into something fireproof, Buffy," said Jamie. "That way you don't have to worry about being killed by the dragon."

"You're going to turn Buffy into a rock?" asked Laurel. "Because I'm pretty sure Buffy can't fight a dragon if she gets turned into a rock."

"She's obviously not going to turn Buffy into a rock, Laurel," said Sir Roderick. "I would like to hope that she too has a vested interest in the success of this mission."

"Thank you, Sir Roderick," said Jamie. "Now if you please..."

Sir Roderick left the room and closed the door, leaving a very nervous Buffy to undress before the gaze of Jamie and Laurel.

"So what am I going to turn into?" Buffy asked.

"I just told you," said Jamie. "Something that can't burn."

"A demon?" asked Laurel.

"No," said Jamie, rolling her eyes.

"A salamander?" asked Laurel.

"No," said Jamie, still rolling her eyes.

"A phoenix?" asked Laurel.

"No," said an increasingly exasperated Jamie. "What kind of heroine turns into a phoenix? I'm going to turn her into -- Oh, my!"

"What is it?" said Buffy as she dropped the last of her garments to the floor.

Jamie replied, "I've heard that you looked quite fetching in the nude, Buffy, but I never realized -- Er, you don't have to cover yourself for my sake. We're all girls here."

Buffy continued to hold one arm over her breasts and the other over her private parts, feeling a bit like a little girl caught stealing cookies from her mother's kitchen.

"No, thanks," Buffy replied. "Somehow I feel more comfortable like this."

"And yet you're supposed to be this big brave dragon slayer," said Jamie.

"Dragon slayers can be modest, too," said Buffy.

"Your nipples tell me a different story, Buffy," said Jamie.

"Well, what can I say?" asked Buffy. "It's obviously cold in here."

"Ahem!" said Laurel. "I know a naked Buffy is a hard sight to pass up but we do have a bit of a time crunch on our hands."

"Right," said Jamie. "Well, here goes!"

Jamie made a few gestures with her hands, muttered some words in Latin and then flung out her hands in Buffy's direction. There was a brief flash of light emanating from her hands and then --

Buffy disappeared.

In her place stood a dragon roughly about her size.

"There," said Jamie. "It worked."

To be continued...

Friday Fanfic

Buffy the Dragon Slayer

(An obvious continuation of last week's story.)

Chapter Seven-Gamma

"Who are you?" asked Laurel of the dark-haired woman in a black dress who sat at the back of the dining room. The woman was sitting next to a tall, white-haired gentleman who was wearing a black leather coat and she seemed to have an intense look upon her face that Laurel could not quite read.

"My name is Messalina," said the woman. "I could not help overhearing your dilemma and I would like to help."

"What can you do?" asked Sir Roderick.

"My boyfriend, Stake, here says that I have a gift for what you might call hypnotherapy," said Messalina. "I've used it to calm down many an angry suitor in my day and I might be able to use the same gift to help your dragon slayer. After all, at the end of the day, her problem is not that she cannot do her job. It is that she is afraid to try."

"Of course I'm afraid to try," said Buffy. "I'm going to die out there if I try."

"No, you won't," said Messalina. "I once knew a girl named Niccola Wood who had the same concerns about fighting a dragon in the rain that you do and things worked out just fine for her. In fact, you remind her a bit of her. Not that you two have that much in common physically but personality-wise... Yes, I would like to help you the same way I helped Niccola. If you'd let me."

"Are you saying that Niccola Wood was a dragon slayer just like me -- and that everything worked out okay for her?" asked Buffy.

Messalina replied, "That's one way to put it."

To be continued...

Friday Fanfic

Buffy the Dragon Slayer

(An obvious continuation of last week's story.)

Chapter Seven-Beta

"Who are you?" asked Laurel of the short-haired blonde woman who was sitting near the back of the dining room, a woman who was obviously older than anyone else in the room save Sir Roderick.

"My name is Magdalena Walsh," said the woman. "I am a wizard."

"Like that Hermione girl who graduated from Hogwarts?" asked Laurel.

"Don't me get started on that place," said Walsh. "I went to a real wizard's academy. That place is almost as overrated as the Miskatonic Brotherhood. Anyway, I may have a solution for your dragonslayer's dilemma: send my dragon slayer in in her place."

"You have a dragon slayer?" asked Sir Roderick.

"Yes, I do," said Magdalena. "But before I let you use him, I'm gonna need immunity from the Watchers Council."

"Why would she need immunity from the Watchers Council?" asked Laurel.

"Because wizards and watchers do not always get along," said Sir Roderick. "And some wizards have been known to abuse their powers at the expense of many an innocent."

"So you say, Sir Roderick," said Magdalena. "The same things can be said about watchers."

"Well, the actions of the late Tomas Riddle didn't exactly reflect well on your chosen profession," said Sir Roderick. "Especially since he was alleged to have graduated from the same academy that you attended, Mistress Walsh."

"So you've heard of me," said Walsh. "Granted, Misanegra U doesn't have the same rep as Hogwarts but its graduates have a reputation for getting the job done. And that's what you need right now. Not some hysterical little blonde bawling her eyes out because she doesn't want to die, but a mature, seasoned wizard who has the good sense to bring a genuinely fireproof dragon slayer to a region known to be plagued with dragons."

"Wait!" said Laurel. "Such an entity actually exists? Where is he?"

"Wait just a moment," said Magdalena, "and I'll show him to you."

To be continued...

Friday Fanfic

Buffy the Dragon Slayer

(An obvious continuation of last week's story.)

Chapter Seven-Alpha

"Who are you?" asked Laurel of the demure young woman who had just now offered to help Buffy.

"My name is Jamie Madigan," said the woman. "I believe I can help your dragon slayer but I'm going to need immunity from the Watchers Council."

"Why would you need immunity from the Watchers Council?" asked Laurel.

"Because she is the daughter of Katrina Madigan," said Sir Roderick. "One of the most infamous witches that ever stepped foot in the British Isles. I should know. I was there when they executed her mother two years ago. Apparently she had the bad luck to try and cast a spell on a dragon slayer and it all went downhill for her from there."

"Well, for what's it's worth," said Jamie, "I'm nothing like my mother. I try to use my powers for good, not evil. The very fact that I'm revealing myself now instead of staying quiet should tell you something."

"How do I know we can trust you?" asked Sir Roderick.

"How do I know that I can trust you?" asked Jamie.

"Well, somebody's got to trust somebody or this whole town is going to burn," said Laurel. "What do you have to lose, Sir Roderick? Do you really want to lose your best dragon slayer because you choose this moment to indulge in the sin of pride?"

"Very well," said Sir Roderick. "If you can help out, Jamie, you have my word as a gentleman that you'll receive immunity from the Watchers Council. Now what is your plan?"

Jamie said, "Well, I'd tell you but it would probably be a lot easier just to show you."

To be continued...