Worst of friends/Best of enemies

Episode#32 "The Question needs an answer"

Disclaimer: I in no way own any of the characters in this story

Setting: Set in the 5th season of Buffy the vampire slayer, after the 2nd episode, all the characters exist, only difference is that the Buffy Dracula situation is still UN resolved and no one knows that Buffy was bit.

Situation: The story mainly has to do with the conflict between Xander & Harmony, and is not mainly about Buffy, sort of a Scooby club episode.

Exterior Sunnydale Cemetery-night

Fade into a scene with Buffy running; jumping, dodging & leaping through the cemetery chasing an elusive unseen foe, a look of desperate frustration is across Buffy's face.

Dracula (VO)

"What you seek doesn't avoid you slayer"

Buffy

"Well, it's doing a fairly good job at it so far "Buffy scans the area quickly.

Dracula (VO)

"All you have to do is ask"

Buffy stops running amidst a small grove of trees, a metal fence bars her way, separating her away from the garden within. The view pivots and we see Willow dancing with Riley, Tara with Xander as Giles sits on a head stone playing guitar, doing a decent cover of a 60's Ballad that was familiar. Dawn lies on the ground writing in her journal legs kicking to and fro.

Buffy Grips the cold unyielding bars, separated by a few feet that seem like forever, her friends look happy not sad or scared. Dracula steps beside Buffy out of the shadows sharing the view, as if he had always been there.

Buffy

"They look Happy" she says with a degree of regret

Dracula

"They are"

Buffy

"How do you know?"

Dracula

"I know"

Buffy

"Cryptic much"

Dracula

"Always separate, always alone" he says looking from the group to Buffy.

Buffy

"I, I'm not alone, I have Mom, Dawnie & friends"

Dracula

"But they can't hardly understand, your need, your drive, the Hunger

that gnaws at your every waking moment seeking to overwhelm you given the chance."

Buffy

"I am in control"

Dracula

"Control is an illusion"

Buffy

"I'm the slayer"

Dracula

"So you keep telling me, put how can they understand, you who have stared into the Abyss and seen it stare back at you"

Buffy doesn't answer just stares, Dracula standing close enough to touch but not touching.

Buffy

"You won't win"

Dracula

"Who said I was playing? The night is beautiful is it not" the count gestures to the star field sky.

Buffy

"I will fight you, you know that don't you?" slight looking out of the corner of her eye.

Dracula

"You do what you think you must, but it matters not, you are close very close"

Buffy reacts instinctually drawing Mr. Pointy and striking to where the count had just stood.

The Count reappears 10' behind the slayer from the mist.

Buffy

"I wish you would stop doing that" looking about frustrated.

Dracula

"We are all creatures of habit are we not?"

Steps from (OS) now beside the Slayer

Buffy

"Yeah me sticky you die, works for me"

Buffy attempts a swinging snap kick, which the count knocks aside

Dracula

"And this help you how? You still don't have what you truly want."

The count reaches out for the slayer, Buffy pivots and attempts to shoulder throw the count to the ground, stake at the ready.

Buffy

"You being dead, I could live with it"

Buffy pulls up the stake set to strike and only gets mist, going directly from irritate to pissed.

Dracula

"Ah but then you would never know, you would deny what you truly were meant to be."

Flash to an image of Buffy Vamped out as she was when she faced the Lucky 13 killer in the child's dream.

Dracula (OS)

"Yes, you see it a glimpse of what you could be "

Buffy

"No, I'm the Slayer, I know who I am, what I am, that was a dream, no a nightmare".

Dracula (OS)

"Really, then look at me Buffy"

The Image of her as the vamp fades, she touches her face to make sure it was true, and then looks to the voice that beckoned her, it was easier to answer it willingly she felt, but resist she had to.

Buffy (To Dracula)

"What "

Dracula

"What do you see?"

The count was looking at her, not brutally or about to kill her, but with concern and compassion.

Buffy

"I see, I see a vampire who is way too wrapped up in the whole Prince of Darkness motif. She says sarcastically waking from a daze like dream.

The Kindly image of the count falters a bit, but returns as he looks at the slayer.

Dracula

I have seen what you long for what you fear to have, but try to achieve each night you go out hunting, you struggle at being what every one else expects you to be.

Buffy

"Patrolling, we slayers call it Patrolling "

The count continues to look at the slayer, Buffy fidgets and undecided

Dracula

"You have been looking for me all your life Buffy Summers "

Buffy

"Really, is that so ..." she tries to say it with her typical cockiness.

Dracula

"You know it; I know it, someone that can be your equal that can understand that which draws you to the dark to the primal.

Buffy looks around more skittish as the count moves closer, not understanding why she didn't just kill him, he was a vampire that is what she does; she kills Vampires, doesn't she.

Buffy swings wildly, the count catches her spinning her about and bringing her close is a soft embrace, her mind was screaming, do something, do anything.

Buffy

"No, you're wrong, you don't know me, let go please"

Buffy breaks the embrace, or is released, she was not sure.

Dracula

"As you wish, it must be your choice"

Buffy

"I kill your kind that is what I do" she says not anyone in particular.

Dracula

Really? Is that so, well I'm here, right here and I have been next you virtually defenseless, but you have not staked me, why is that?"

Buffy

"I'll do it"

Dracula

"Striking me down will do you no good"

Buffy smirks

Buffy

"Okay Obi wan, let's just say I try it for myself okay"

Not waiting for a replay she rushes Dracula, feinting to the right she kicks to the left, landing a sold punch to the counts midsection, before he can recover.

The count counters a flurry of punches and manages to back hand the slayer into a taller grave marker, but rushing in he runs into a well placed kick. Flipping over the marker the slayer reverts to a fighting stance, barely blocking a strong punch that takes on a corner of the stone marker as if it was mere plaster and not stone.

Seeing an opening the slayer moves to the side with a knee and then a jump kick, more surprised than hurt the count grabs Buffy and lifts her off the ground, the young slayer dangling with surprise.

Dracula

"I tire of this"

Buffy grapples with the steel grip that had her by the neck, the count throws her to the ground, not able to roll she lands on a marker and groan's in pain.

Dracula

"Come on slayer Kill me! Stake me! If that is what you want if that is what you really want."

Buffy jumps to her feet and trades blows and counters with the count, coming in close for a hit to his mid section when one of his punches goes wide , but before following up with an elbow strike the Count goes all misty, she snap kicks behind her an inch short of where the count reappears.

Buffy

"Getting a bit predictable, must be the whole age thing, catching up with yah"

Jumping up to avoid a sweep that the count makes, she lands a jab and a cross before taking a punch for the effort.

Dracula

"We Dance continuously Slayer it gains you nothing"

Buffy

"What is with all you vamps and the whole dancing references?"

Dracula doesn't answer attempting to grab the slayer, who uses his momentum to spin around him and pull him to the ground.

Buffy

"Is it the ballroom the costumes? What I just don't get it"

Dracula

"Do you ever get tired of your never ending prattle?

Buffy spikes to the ground where the count lays but gets mud and wet grass and the count rolls up to his feet.

Buffy

"Hey! Prattle was one of my best subjects, and maybe History, don't get me started about drivers-ed. She comments blocking a solid punch to her mid-section.

Dracula

"Valiant effort, but foolhardy slayer"

Suspended in the air by the Counts iron grip Buffy struggles to break free, to breathe, and to wake up from this really bad dream. Blurry eyed she looked down at the count, he was smiling maybe gloating, she hated when they did it pissed her off. She tucked her legs up and with painful effort managed to break the vampire's hold of her, Dracula staggered back more by surprise than anything Buffy had done staring at his hand that had just held something precious and now held only air.

Rolling to the ground and snapping to her feet she thanked both Giles for the endless mind numbing drills over and over and cordie with her Cheerleading lessons that had to be against some Geneva Convention or something. In one fluid motion she drew Mr. Pointy and launched it at the count that seem to realize that she did escape, she had aimed for the heart and she was good at it, having killed countless vamps that very same way, sort of her patented move.

(Change of view to the Count; the stake streaking towards him as if slowed for bullet-time)

The count pivots and catches the stake in air, inches from his chest and in the same fluid motion that the slayer used sends it back with relative ease.

Dracula

"Curious thing the stake, the slayers weapon, I always wondered"

The Vampire looks at Buffy, who even now was silently mouthing an ah shit expression, as the stake struck her lower side before she could react counter or do anything but know she was going to hurt.

Dracula

"Does it work both ways?" He smiles with the gloat that Buffy so hated but could do nothing about.

She stood there , the Slayer killer of vampires, staring down at her hand in stunned disbelief it was red crimson, she had seen it before it was blood, but not just any blood her blood from a stake sticking out of the side, her stake. Waves a nausea and pain swept over her, blurred her confused her, she wasn't here this wasn't happening, she was the Slayer she couldn't die not like this, she gripped Mr. Pointy and it was real and she was bleeding, the Count was smiling she hated when he did that, some one should stop him from doing that save her, why was there no one to save her?

Buffy wakes with a jolt, hand to her side the pain had been real, but there was no wound. She had been dreaming it had been a dream; she wasn't going to die all alone, alone in the dark in the cold. Reaching over in the dark half hoping, she felt Riley her boyfriend she wasn't alone she had Riley. She was being stupid she was safe here, what she had had been nothing more than a bad dream, a whopper but just a dream. Buffy laid back closer to Riley , who even a sleep seem to know that she needed to be held comforted, even the slayer.

Then if by chance she smelled something, subconsciously checking her self and then riley, no the smell was flowery, she leaned over and hit the desk lamp and saw them. Lilies, white lilies all over the room, some in vases some in jars and some just laying there.

(The View of the room pulls out to show the Bed in the center and a ring of White Lilies filling the surrounding room)

Buffy looking around in terror too scared to speak too scared to shake her sleeping boyfriend awake. She is jolted from her fright, and looks for the lilies but sees only an alarm clock reading 10:00am.

Buffy

"Just a dream, Just a Dream"

Fade to black.