Title: Newton’s Second Law

Summary: Why can’t demons play by the rules? Sequel to Newton’s Third Law.

 

 

An object with a certain velocity maintains that velocity unless a force acts on it to cause an acceleration. – Newton’s Second Law of Motion

 

Part I

 

 

            Connor struggled against the chains. He had been fighting them for hours and trying to remember the events that had put him in this position.  He’d gone to pick up his date for the Halloween party Dawn was dragging them all too. She was girl he’d met that night they’d all gone to the pub. Mary was a dark headed beauty, barely a wisp of a girl. 

 

            Honestly, Connor didn’t remember much about that night, apparently he and Mary had drank quite a bit and most of the evening was muzzy, but he did remember inviting her to the Halloween party and her accepting.

 

            Anyway, he had been on his way to pick up Mary for the party. They were meeting at the same bar he’d first met her in her.  She’d been outside dressed as a fairy princess, complete with wings and a tiara.

 

            Connor glanced down. The tin foil Knight in Shining Armor costume he had made was gone. Only the black pants he’d put on underneath the tin foil covered knee pads, shin guards and chaps remained. His shirt was gone completely.

 

            Once he’d picked Mary up, the evening went fuzzy again and he couldn’t recall how he’d gotten here.

 

 

*

 

 

            “Where’s Connor?” Buffy peered in the mirror and adjusted her devil’s horns.

 

            Dawn shrugged. “I don’t know. He was supposed to be here. He was going to pick up some girl he met the other night and meet us here. Are the seams in my nylons straight?” Dawn was dressed Bonnie. Spike, her Clyde.

 

            Buffy glanced at Dawn’s legs. “Yup, they’re straight. So do you think we should go look for him?”

 

            “Oh please, he’s taking Miss skanky ho he just met and you wonder why they’re late.”

 

            “Miss Skanky Ho? You’ve seen her?” Buffy applied a fresh coat of bright red lipstick.

 

            “No, but the night he met her, he stumbled into the house a little after sunrise looking like he’d drank a river of something hard.”

 

            “Okay, so we’ll wait a little while longer,” Buffy said. She led Dawn out of the bathroom and back into the costumed crowd. The boys were waiting near the restroom for them. Spike wore his pen striped suit and his fedora. He carried a fake gun. Angel wore his standard black pants, white button down, black coat. Buffy was the devil, he was Angel.

 

            “Come on, let’s mingle.” Dawn tugged Spike into the crowd and beckoned at Buffy and Angel to follow. “They’ve got a costume contest in twenty minutes. I think we should sign up.”

 

*

 

            Connor calmed down enough to take in his surroundings. It seemed to be underground. It had a musty, old, earthy smell, which didn’t actually help any as he knew Rome was probably riddled with old catacombs.  He recalled something in a religious history class about Christians burying their dead in catacombs outside of Rome’s walls.

 

            He took a deep breath and coughed as he inhaled the stale air. He glanced up at the chains and started working on them with a focused effort. The chains had to be magically blessed to hold him. That should make getting out of here interesting.

 

            “Oooo, goody. Daddy’s boy is awake.”

 

            Connor started, narrowing his eyes and peering into the gloom in the direction the voice had come from. He took another deep breath. He could smell Mary’s perfume, gardenias and hibiscus he thought.

 

            “Mary?” His words echoed slightly in the cavern.

 

            She stepped out of the shadows, an innocent smile framing her face. Her tiara sat crookedly on her head and her white dress was torn, bloodied around the hem. “Almost. That was going to be my name you know, Sister Mary. Then Daddy went and took it all away. Bad Daddy.”

 

 

            God, what had they done to her? He’d seen a lot of vamp victims, but they didn’t usually drive people insane. “Okay…if you can get the keys to unlock these things, I can get us out of here.”

 

            That’s when Mary showed her true face. Hazel green eyes bled to gold, forehead ridges appeared and her teeth transformed to fangs. “Why ever would I want to do that?”

 

            Connor wanted to kick himself. He should have known. He should have sensed it, or smelled it. He had just assumed she was one of those girls who liked flowery, heavy perfumes.  “I kill your kind.”

 

            She walked over to him, standing just out of reach. “Nuh uh uh, I’m not gonna hurt you baby brother. I just want the nasty slayer to come get you.”

 

            Connor lunged against the chains. They held, bowing his back. He growled ferally and grimaced his teeth. She stepped back and hissed like a cat. “Rawr, Daddy’s boy has bite.” She turned, trailing her dress in one hand like a lady doing a reel.

 

            “Thomas, would you go get my lunch? She should be dressed up by now.”

 

            A vampire Connor hadn’t seen stepped from an alcove and bowed stiffly then disappeared into a tunnel. “Yes, Miss Drusilla.”

 

            Drusilla, the vampire that his father had made and had in turn made Spike. How could he have been so stupid? Connor wondered as he tested each chain again. He had never gotten a very good account of Drusilla from either his father or Spike. Angel was deeply ashamed of the things he’d done to Dru and Spike always got this distant look on his face when Connor mentioned her.

 

            Dru clapped her hands together and twirled in a circle, setting her full skirt spinning. “I do so love Halloween. All the dollies dressed up in pretties.”

 

            Connor caught the scent of a human, and a frightened one just before the girl stumbled into the main area of the cavern. Drusilla turned her pretty human face in place once again. She held her arms out to the girl.

 

            “Come here, dearie. Mummy isn’t going to hurt you. Don’t you look pretty now?”

 

            The girl was dressed in some sort of mermaid costume. A green sequin fish tail skirt required that she walk with tiny steps. Her torso was bare except for the long red hair that trailed over her breasts.

 

            Dru pulled the girl to her and cradled her head to her chest. “Shhhh, Mummy is gonna make everything alright. She’ll make all the big bag monsters go away.”

 

            Connor pulled at the chains with renewed interest. “Run! Get out of here!” He screamed.

 

            Drusilla looked up and clucked. “Bad Daddy’s boy. Didn’t I tell you about that earlier?” She pushed the girl away from her, causing her to stumble and fall to the ground in the tight mermaid skirt she was wearing. Drusilla sashayed toward Connor and smiled bewitchingly at him.

 

            She raised her hand, pointed her fingers and looked deep into Connor’s eyes. “Be in me.”

 

            Connor fought it. He remembered this. She’d done it to him once, maybe twice. Holtz had taught him how to withstand physical torture of all kinds, but Holtz had never met Drusilla. He didn’t realize there were other things to be guarded against.

 

            Drusilla went back over to her “lunch” while Connor drifted into a world where he was having a special Halloween dinner with the Reilly’s.

 

            “Now, come here pretty little mermaid,” Drusilla lifted the girl off the dirt floor. She clasped her to her body like a doll. “I used to love mermaids. Daddy said there weren’t any and that I was foolish for looking for them. Spikey got me mermaid pearls once and now you’re here. Daddy was wrong about mermaids.” Dru let her face slip into her demon guise, sunk her teeth into the girl’s neck and drained her. When she was done. She shoved the body away, letting it fall to the ground. She delicately wiped the blood from her mouth and smiled. “Lunch is always so much nicer when you make it pretty first.”