Hey all,
Here's more. Enjoy.
"Not bad," assessed Mara as she looked about her surroundings.
Candelabras, freshly lit, gave light to the cavernous room that decades
ago had once been part of a church. "That vampire, the Master, had
fairly good taste as far as lairs good."
Mara gave an approving nod before dropping herself into the chair that
had once been the Mater�s throne. "I rather liked the look of that
castle out by the sea, but the irony of setting up shop in the home of
the vampire that killed the Slayer is to much to pass up." Mara then
blinked and scratched her head for a second. "Say, who would go and
build a big, Gothic-style castle in a town like this anyway?"
Mara�s musings where suddenly interrupted by the sound of movement
coming down a nearby tunnel. The demon steeled herself in case it was
trouble, but relaxed when see saw who in was. Six vampires, two females
and four males, emerged from the tunnel, stopped and cast wary gazes at
the demon.
"Ah, the minions promised by Mr. Trick are here. All right, which one of
you is in charge?" asked Mara.
"That would be me," said a female vamp with long, dark hair and what
sounded to Mara like an Australian accent.
"You got a name?"
"Sydney," replied the creature.
"Oh, I get it," said Mara. "You�re from Australia and your name is
Sydney. How very cute."
"I�m not from damned Australia!" howled Sydney. "I�m from New Zealand!"
"Boy, the new girl is really psycho," muttered one of the other
vampires. His comrades nodded in agreement.
Mara was seriously beginning to think that Mr. Trick and given her
sub-par henchmen but wasn�t ready to admit that yet. "So if you�re name
is Sydney why did your parents--"
"Because they were bloody stupid!" The vamp then grinned to herself.
"They were especially bloody after I tore out their throats."
Mara took a moment to process that and then smiled. "You got moxy, kid.
I like that."
"Mr. Trick said you�ve got something brewing and that we�re to help
you," said Sydney. "So what�s the plan?"
"So glad you asked!" informed Mara as The Big Pop-Up Book of Apocalyptic
Magick materialized in her right hand. "You see, kids, this book here is
full of all sorts of spells that are just tailor-made to cause chaos and
havoc on a worldwide scale. Now what most people don�t understand about
the universe is that it all comes down to math."
"That�s a math book?" asked another of the vamps.
Mara gave the creature a withering look. "Speak when spoken to,
fangface. Now, as I was saying, at its most basic level the universe
operates on a series of mathematical principles. E=MC2 and such. Now in
this book is a spell that can reach down to that level and cause a
disruption. This disruption, called a �chaos burst�, will temporarily
send the laws of probability out of whack."
"And that will do what?" quizzed Sydney.
"It�s more like what it won�t do," grinned Mara. "You see, nothing is
truly impossible. Just extremely improbable. Start messing with the laws
that control probability and anything could happen. Earthquakes in
places with no fault lines, hurricanes and tornadoes appearing from thin
air, pregnant women giving birth to snakes, people suddenly going blind
or deaf without cause, the economies of entire nations going belly up
and all sorts of other fun things. Hell, if we�re lucky a few wars will
break out."
"But won�t that mess up Sunnydale too?" asked Sydney. "The Mayor
wouldn�t like that."
Mara made a dismissive gesture. "With a few modifications the spell will
spare this town any serious harm. Sunnydale with be the eye in Mara�s
hurricane of chaos."
"So what do you want with us?" demanded Sydney.
Mara reached into a fold in her cape and tossed a scroll in the lead
vampire. "That�s a list of things I�ll need to do the ritual to unleash
my spell. Normally I�d handle such an important task myself, but there
are other factors in this game that require my personal attention. All
you lot have to do is get what�s on that list and have it back here
tomorrow night. Think you can handle some grocery shopping?"
"No problem," assured Sydney with a small bow. "Come on, guys. We�re off
to raid The Magic Box."
"Soon to be under new management. Again," snickered one of the vamps as
he put on his game face and licked his fangs.
With that, the vampires left.
"I wonder if calling in outside contractors was such a hot idea after
all," wondered Mara as she watched them leave. The demon then shrugged.
"Oh well. Now it�s time to pay a visit to another old friend."
~*~
�Mortality sucks,� muttered the young woman who called herself
Anya as she walked down one of Sunnydale�s streets. �Back when I was a
demon I got to spend my time exacting terrible vengeance on the males of
this world. Now I spend my time worrying about things like algebra
class, money, laundry and bed head. It�s so unfair!�
�Mortality�s a bitch and then you die, huh?� called a voice from
behind the girl.
Anya turned to see Mara leaning casually against a lamppost.
�Hey, Anyanka. Long time no see.�
�Mara!� grinned Anya. �Wow, it�s been ages! I haven�t seen you
since��
�It was 1951,� supplied Mara. �You made a colony of fire ants
appear under the skin of some Italian guy who was cheating on his wife.
After he was done tearing most of his flesh off we went out to a bar in
Milan and got totally trashed.�
�That�s right,� nodded Anya. �Ah, the tormented screams of
unfaithful men. Damn, I miss the good old days.�
�I bet you do, Anyanka,� replied Mara with a smirk. �Oh, wait,
it�s just Anya these days, isn�t it? You lost your little amulet and
your license so now you�re stuck as a mortal, aren�t you?�
�Yeah, and let me tell you it�s terrible. I�m still going though
vengeance withdrawal,� whined Anya.
It was then that Anya�s face brightened. �Say, Mara, ol� pal, you�ve got
a lot of connections, don�t you? I�ve been trying to be my powers back
but haven�t had any luck. And what with us being old friends and all I
was hoping you could do me a little favor and--�
�Forget it,� interrupted Mara.
Anya blinked several times. �What? Why won�t you help me? I thought we
were friends!�
�I suppose your definition of �friend� is deferent than mine,� said
Mara. �Yeah, we hung out together once in a while, had a few good times
but that�s it. I mean, it�s not as if someone such as moi-m�me would
ever be real friends with a wannabe like you.�
�Wannabe?!� flared Anya.
�That�s right, a wannabe!� retorted Mara. �You were just another pissant
mortal till you turned your boyfriend into a troll. A nice spell, I�ll
grant you, but it wasn�t what any real demon would call spectacular. But
that little trick was enough to convince D�Hoffryn, Mr. Low Standards
himself, that you had the chops to be a vengeance demon.�
�I was a great vengeance demon!�
Mara smirked again and began to idly toy with a lock of her hair. �Oh,
you were a creative little demon, I�ll give you that. You took those
second-class limited powers he gave you and used them well. But that
still doesn�t change the fact that unlike me, a pureblooded demon, you
were once a weak little mortal thing.�
Anya glared at Mara. �So what if I was once mortal!? For over eleven
hundred and twenty years I carried out my duties as a vengeance demon!
And I did my job damn well!�
�Is eleven hundred and twenty years and some change supposed to impress
me?� asked Mara. �Little girl, I�ve around longer than you can imagine.
And I knew that from the moment I met you you�d blow it one day. Those
times I saw you making cow eyes at that arrogant, overexposed,
pretentious, Eurotrash, pretty boy Dracula only reinforced that belief.�
Anya chewed her lip a bit but stayed silent.
�And in the end I was right, wasn�t I?� quizzed Mara. �The source of
your power was destroyed, you failed in your attempt to get it back and
D�Hoffryn abandoned you. Now you�re just another zit-poppin�,
MTV-watchin�, brainless, mortal teenage girl!�
Anya scowled. �Some friend you were.�
�Hey, I�m a demon. Betrayal and back-stabbing are part of the job,�
shrugged Mara. �Fun parts.�
�So did you come here just to kick me went I�m down or did you
come for something else?� demanded Anya.
Mara conjured up yet another of her nasty grins. �Actually,
kicking you while you�re down was just a bonus. But, the reason I came
her was to do you a favor.�
�A favor?�
�That�s right. While we may not have been friends I do have some
nostalgia for the old days. So with that in mind I decided to give you a
little warning. If you�re smart you�ll pack a bag, blow town, find a
little bunker somewhere and settle in for a while. I�ve got something in
the works that�ll knock this planet on it�s ear. If you don�t want to
get caught in the crossfire now would be real a good time to lay low.�
Anya felt a little chill run down her spine. She�d known Mara
long enough to know that when she used that tone of voice that the demon
wasn�t playing around. �Really? Just what are you planning?�
�A good magician never reveals her secrets,� replied Mara. As if
to emphasize her point the demon suddenly made a black magician�s hat
appear in her hand.
Anya looked at the hat and gulped.
Mara saw the look on Anya�s face and smiled. This was gonna to be sweet.
�Presto!� cried the blonde demon as she reached into the hat and pulled
out a cute, white rabbit by it�s ears.
Anya stared at the rabbit.
The rabbit stared at Anya.
�What�s up, Doc?� chuckled Mara.
�B-bu-bu-bunny!� screamed Anya. The ex-demon then turned and ran
screaming down the street as fast as her legs would carry her.
Once Anya was out of site the rabbit disappeared from Mara�s
hand in a small puff of smoke. The demon then gave her wrist a little
flick sending her tophat rolling neatly up her arm. When it reached her
shoulder she gave it a little bounce, which caused the hat to go into
the air, flip and land neatly on the demon�s head. �It�s moments like
that that remind me of just how much fun evil is.�
Smirking, Mara continued to look in the direction Anya had run.
�Run far and fast, ya little wannabe! Maybe I do have some nostalgia for
the old days, but that�s not enough to help a second-rate ex-demon like
you. The only reason I even bothered with you is because you�re on
somewhat good terms with the Slayer and her crew now that you�re mortal.
I couldn�t take the chance that they might try and get information about
me out of you. After all, Urd knows we used to hang out. And while she
likely doesn�t know about you getting fired those kids do. No point in
taking the chance of them putting those two bits of information
together.�
Mara made her hat vanish and then cracked her knuckles. �Now
that that�s out of the way I think it�s time I made a little home visit
to a certain Slayer.�
Mara then vanished.
~*~
It looked like any other sleazy motel room in the world. There
were clothes tossed on the floor, bits of food, mostly cold pizza, sat
around growing mold and the air smelled of old cigarettes and other even
less pleasant odors. Only the presence of two made things helped the
room in any way. One was a small, but rather nice-looking, radio/CD
player that sat on a table amid two stacks of CDs and a few bags of junk
food.
The other thing was the beautiful, longhaired girl currently
sleeping in the room�s battered bed.
Mara took all of this in with a glance as she appeared silently
in the room. �Yeesh, what a dump. I�ve seen parts of Hell that weren�t
as unpleasant as this place. And they smelled better to boot.�
After checking to see that the girl was still sleeping Mara
decided to poke around the room a bit. The first thing that drew her
attention was the radio/CD player and the stacks of CDs by it. �Hhhmmm,
that�s a decent piece of electronics there. It�s a shame this girl
doesn�t have better taste in music that go with it,� muttered Mara as
she glanced at the titles of the CDs. �Most of this seems to be that
stuff ravers listen to.�
Mara suddenly smiled as she saw the name of the band on one of
the CDs at the bottom of a stack. �Ah, Aerosmith! I guess this girl has
at least some taste.�
�Hey, how can a girl not listen some of her hometown�s boys who
hit it big?� said a voice with a pronounced Boston accent.
Mara calmly raised her hands and slowly turned around. Mentally
she gave a little smile.
Behind Mara, now fully awake and with a stake in each hand,
stood the Slayer known as Faith. �Consider yourself lucky, lady. Since I
was having a nice dream before you came in here, I�m gonna give you few
seconds to explain who you are and what you�re up to before I get all
Terminator on your obviously demonic ass.�
�And just what makes you so sure I�m a demon?� asked Mara coyly.
�You got in here without making sound, you�ve got some weird
tattoos on your face and you make my that�s-an-evil-thing-that-I-might
want-to-look-into-killing-senses go all tingly,� replied the Slayer.
�That good enough, Ms.Gonna-Be-Dead-If-She-Don�t-Start-Talking?�
She can see my demon marks? I guess the enhanced senses of a
Slayer shaper than I thought, mused the demon to herself
�Peace out there, Slayer,� said Mara. �Believe it or not, I�m
not here to hurt you.�
�I choose �or not�,� replied Faith. �Now you got five seconds to
say something that�s impress me or I�ll use these stakes to make you
into a kebob.�
�Okay, okay, I just wanted to say�.� began Mara.
Faith�s eye�s narrowed. �Say what?�
�SWEETS DREAMS!� howled the demon. Then, again with incredible
speed, Mara brought her right hand up to her face and blew a puff of air
across the flat of her palm. From the demon�s hand came a cloud of
yellowish dust that hit Faith right in the face. The Slayer stumbled
back coughing.
�The Russians have a saying I�ve always been fond of,� informed
Mara as she gleefully watched the Slayer start coughing. �It goes
�Anything worth doing grandly is worth doing to music�.�
With that, Mara snapped her fingers and Faith�s radio flared to life and
began to blast the wailing voice of Mick Jagger.
Please allow me to introduce myself
I'm a man of wealth and taste
I've been around for a long, long year
Stole many a man's soul and faith
�Dammit! *hack* what did *cough* you do to *gasp* me, you
bitch!?� demanded Faith in-between coughs.
And I was 'round when Jesus Christ
Had his moment of doubt and pain
Made damn sure that Pilate
Washed his hands and sealed his fate
�Like it?� smirked Mara. �That�s magic sleep sand that I stole
from a sandman. Lemme tell ya, sister, that�s no easy task. Even to a
demon like myself sandmen are little more than the whisper of a shadow.
Lucky for me I happened to find a sandman who was a bit careless one
day. I stole his sleep sand and he was severely punished by his master,
Morpheus, the god sleep.�
Pleased to meet you
Hope you guess my name
But what's puzzling you
Is the nature of my game
Though still short of breath, Faith rallied her remaining
strength and charged. Still smirking, Mara used her amazing speed to
block the Slayer�s first attack with her right forearm. Then, before
Faith could counter, the demon slammed her left fist into the
dark-haired girl�s stomach.
I stuck around St. Petersburg
When I saw it was a time for a change
Killed the Czar and his ministers
Anastasia screamed in vain
Faith fell to her knees coughing and gasping again. But now her
eyes were beginning to go in and out of focus and there was a severe
sluggishness to her movements.
�Damn you,� cursed the Slayer.
Mara narrowed her eyes at Faith glared. �I�m a pureblooded
demon, kid. I�ve got hellfire in my heart and brimstone in bones. I was
born damned.�
I rode a tank
Held a general's rank
When the Blitzkrieg raged
And the bodies stank
Faith opened her mouth as if to retort, but then she simply
closed her eyes and fell over.
Pleased to meet you
Hope you guess my name, oh yeah
What's puzzling you
Is the nature of my game, oh yeah
Mara then waved a hand over the fallen girl and Faith�s body
suddenly rose off the ground and into the air. Faith then floated over
to her bed where she suddenly fell, almost bouncing off the mattress.
Mara strolled over to the side of the bed and looked down upon
the defeated Slayer.
�So easy,� smiled the demon.
I watched with glee
While your kings and queens
Fought for ten decades
For the Gods they made
�You know, kid, you actually pretty lucky,� said Mara. �I gave
that other Slayer and her pals a knockaround they won�t forget anytime
soon. And I could have done the same to you.�
Mara�s grin got a bit bigger. �I could, but I didn�t. I didn�t because
you�re not like them. Yeah, you�re a Slayer, but you�re also a bad girl.
You see the kind of happy lives that Buffy and her friends lead and a
part of you just wants to destroy that. After all, why should they get
to be so happy when you�re life has been so rough?�
Mara leaned down and looked at Faith�s face very closely. �You and I
have more in common than you�d ever guess.�
I shouted out
"Who killed the Kennedys?"
When after all
It was you and me
�But that�s not important right now,� continued Mara. �What is
important is that sleep sand I hit you with. You see, not only does it
put people to sleep, but it can also be used to implant hypnotic
suggestions.�
Let me please introduce myself
I'm a man of wealth and taste
And I laid traps for troubadours
Who get killed before they reached Bombay
Mara reached into the interior of her leather jacket and pulled
out a sheet of bright green paper that she tossed onto the sleeping
girls� chest. �That�s a flyer for a big rock festival that�s happening
down in San Diego this weekend. Now listen carefully, girl. When you
wake up in a few hours and see that the only thought that�s going start
running in your head is finding a way to get down there and having one
hell of a good time.�
Mara took a second to wipe a stray lock of hair from her eyes.
�You�ll get to party and I won�t have to worry about you helping Urd and
company interfere with my plans. It�s win-win for both of us, kiddo.�
Pleased to meet you
Hope you guessed my name, oh yeah
But what's puzzling you
Is the nature of my game, oh yeah, get down, baby
Mara threw her head back and let out a burst of staccato
laughter.
Pleased to meet you
Hope you guessed my name, oh yeah
But what's confusing you
Is just the nature of my game
The demon then took another look at Faith. �Once this is all
over, kid, I�ll come back and check on you sometime. A girl with as much
power and anger as you could do a lot of damage in this world. And I
think I might just be the demon to help you down that path. If you don�t
go that way on your own anyway.�
Just as every cop is a criminal
And all the sinners saints
As heads is tails
Just call me Lucifer
'Cause I'm in need of some restraint
�Turning a Slayer to evil. Oh, what a feather in my cap that
would be,� mused Mara. In the bed Faith twitched and a frown briefly
appeared on her face. Whatever the Slayer was dreaming of it wasn�t
pleasant.
So if you meet me
Have some courtesy
Have some sympathy, and some taste
Use all your well-learned politesse
Or I'll lay your soul to waste, um yeah
�Now that that�s done, it�s time for a little mad science!�
chuckled Mara as she vanished. Once the demon was gone a faint smell of
brimstone began to drift though the room while Faith�s radio continued
playing.
Pleased to meet you
Hope you guessed my name, um yeah
But what's puzzling you
Is the nature of my game, um baby, get down�
~*~
Computers, both desktop and wall-size lined the room while
technicians in white labcoats constantly scurried about. To the
uninformed the place could have been mistaken for an ordinary research
lab.
But this was no ordinary research lab. It was in fact the main research
room for the covert government program known as the Initiative.
None of this impressed Mara as she materialized against a wall. Thanks
to yet another of her invisibility spells noticed the demon�s arrival.
As she looked around the room Mara�s attention was caught by an older
woman with distinguished features and a strong air of authority. Dollars
to donuts, I�ll be she�s the one in charge here, mused Mara.
�Sutton, what�s the latest on 314?� said the woman to one of the
technicians.
�Bad news, I afraid, Dr. Walsh,� replied the bespeckled man.
�We�ve tried everything we can think of, but 314 is rejecting the
transplant from Subject P27. Their respective biologies are just too
incompatible.�
�Dammit!� cursed Walsh. �All right, move on to Subject D95. We
may have better luck with it. And have some fresh X-rays taken of the
right arm. I want it replaced as soon as possible. The current one is
just too�human.�
�I like that attitude,� mused Mara to herself. �She has a real
Joseph Mengela air to her.�
It was then at a young, handsome man dressed in a soldier�s
uniform entered the room, a clipboard under his right arm. �Excuse me,
Dr. Wash,� said the soldier. �Dr. Angelman asked me to deliver this to
you.�
�Ah, thank you, Riley,� replied the scientist as she took the
clipboard. �I just hope it�s good news. I could use some right about
now.�
�I don�t know what�s on that clipboard, but I can tell you that
you�re bad news has just started,� chuckled Mara. With that, the demon
reached into her jacket and withdrew what seemed like a red can of soda.
A soda that had the words �Mephisto Cola! Now with 40% More Black
Magic!� written on parts of the can.
Mara popped the tab and took a quick swig from the can. �Mmm,
that extra black magic tastes *so* good!� grinned the demon as she
licked her lips. �Human�s would just eat this stuff up if they ever
marketed in here. Just a mouthful would be enough to turn them into a
pile of green goo, of course, but good judgment has never been one of
humanity�s strong points.�
Mara then took the can and pored the contents onto the keyboard
to a nearby computer. Almost instantly the computer�s screen went black.
Moments later the machine began to make a horrible electronic noise. It
stopped for a second and then began to shoot of sparks.
A few seconds later another computer in the room began to do the
same thing. And then another, and another and another�
�What the hell is going on?!� shouted Dr. Walsh as the lights in
the room suddenly began to flicker.
�I don�t know, but I�ll try and find out,� assured Riley evenly.
The solider then grabbed the walkie-talkie on his belt and began to
shout into it. �Graham, Forrest, Mason! Get your gear on and meet me at
Blue 4. We�ve got to make sure that the containment cells hold!�
�We�re already on our way!� replied the voice of Graham.
�Roger, over and out,� confirmed Riley as he charged out the
door.
Mara watched as the technicians scrambled about frantically to
try determine what was going on while Dr. Walsh shouted orders. �Fun
just doesn�t begin to describe this. The taxpayers of this country would
be ashamed if they knew their government�s best computers go crazy if
someone spills a little soda laced with black magic on them.�
Still invisible to all around her Mara strolled up behind Dr.
Walsh and watched as the scientist continued to shout orders. �Relax,
Marie Curie. Ol� Mara isn�t going to do anything that would permanently
shut down this little shop of horrors. Nobody loves a timebomb just
waiting to go off like I do. This place will be up and running again in,
oh, five weeks. Six tops.�
Dr. Walsh screamed and dived for shelter under a desk as a
nearby light exploded, sending hot bits of glass everywhere.
�You know, the Russians had a place a lot like this back in the
early 80s,� continued Mara, more to herself than anyone. �They were
trying to create an army of unkillable demon soldiers to replace their
nuclear program. They�d made some pretty good headway until they decided
to let a pair of Kalgor demons they had mate. What the Russkies didn�t
know it that Kalgors are part insect. The female gives birth to hundreds
of young at once. And when little Kalgors are born they tend to eat
anything and grow insanely fast.
Not only did the Ivans end up having a lot of their best minds
turned into baby Kalgor chow, they also lost two divisions of the Red
Army keeping the things confined to the base long enough for someone in
Moscow to active the place�s self-destruct system by remote. But, hey,
that�s life, isn�t it?
The blast did kill all the Kalgors in the end. It also killed the
soldier�s who were fighting to keep the demons from escaping too, but
most them had already been eaten by then so I suppose it really wasn�t
that big a sacrifice.�
Mara closed her eyes and concentrated. �But you folks have
something far more interesting around here than some Kalgors, don�t ya?
I think I�ll just have a peek.�
Mara then vanished.
~*~
Klaxons blared and reddish emergency lighting flickered on and
off as Mara appeared in another part of the Initiative�s base. The room
was empty of it�s normal contingent of technicians. They all had bigger
fish to fry at the moment. But the large tank with the number 314
painted on the side sat unchanged and oblivious to the chaos surrounding
it.
�My, my, that�s a big pi�ata. Let�s have a peak at what�s inside.
Somehow I don�t think it�s candy,� said Mara she stared at the tank. The
demon then reached into her jacket at pulled out an odd-looking pair of
glasses that had a spiral pattern on the lenses. X-ray specs, the real
deal. Comic book geeks of America, eat yer hearts out,� chuckled Mara as
she slipped on the glasses and looked at the tank.
Inside #314 was a being unlike any Mara had ever seen. The
creature was part human, part demon (actually part several different
demons) and part machine. Though the thing didn�t more Mara could sense
great power emanating from the creature.
�Well, you�re you just the cute little chimera?� asked Mara as
she floated closer to the tank. �And the power coming from you�human,
demonic, mechanical and nuclear�oh, it just sends a shiver down my
spine. I can tell that you�re going to go Frankenstein someday. And when
you do�mmm, the destruction is gonna be suh-weet!�
Mara then placed the tips of her three largest fingers against
her lips, kissed them and then put her hand to the side of the tank. A
image, shaped like a kiss, appeared on the side of the tank, flared
bright red for a moment and then disappeared.
�That was a special little blessing from your truly, my little
patchwork man,� informed Mara. �Just a little something to help you went
your time comes. And when your time comes here�s some advice; hit your
enemies where they�re weakest. Hit their emotions. Pervert and twist
that which they care about and let nothing stand in your way.�
Mara floated away from the tank but blew a final kiss as she
went. �See ya, handsome. My time is now, but yours will come soon
enough. If I have the time I�ll drop by and see what you�re up to
personally. Dream of the chaos you and I could create while you sleep.
Adios!�
With those words Mara vanished. The creature in the tank, called
Adam by the woman who�d created him lay silent in his tank.
And then�
Just for a second Adam�s right hand twitched. Just as quickly
Adam was still again.
Then Adam began to dream�
Skyrocket
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