Chapter 9: Vampires... Aren't Vampires?
The taxi moved through the city streets, the glow of neon lights casting an eerie ambiance inside the vehicle. Buffy continued to eye Barney warily, her confusion evident as she tried to make sense of the situation. Barney, still wearing his calm smile, decided to break the awkward silence.
"You know, there's been a misunderstanding here. I'm just a regular guy, not some bloodsucking creature. And I really don't appreciate being attacked with wooden stakes," he said, feigning offense.
Buffy didn't like the situation at all; her instincts were screaming at her to be wary of him, while her brain told her that Barney's actions were all normal. She just sat there like a statue, her eyes stuck to the rear of the front seat, and her hand clutching the stake in her hand with great strength, low cracking sounds reverberating as the stake was slowly being crushed into pieces.
This guy, although nothing alike, reminded her of an old enemy of hers, an old vampire who seemed to have many unusual talents, Dracula. Though the two shared no resemblance at all, be it in speech, clothes, or even personality. The image of the tall, black-haired, hypnotic vampire seemed to keep popping into her mind.
Seeing she was confused, Barney chose to leave her alone for a while. Meanwhile, the taxi kept moving slowly along the busy streets. Only around twenty minutes later did the car stop at its destination.
Barney just left the man a bill and left the taxi, meanwhile, Buffy stayed put, her hand searching her pockets for something.
'I must have forgotten it at the bar.' Buffy, who was checking her wallet, sighed in frustration. Leaving the vehicle, she just watched as it disappeared into the river of traffic.
"So, you wanna come up to my place?" Barney asked, giving her a small smile. "I'll forget all about you trying to kill me if you have dinner with me."
"...Fine." Buffy answered after a short contemplation; she still had to keep an eye on him. This was part of her job. Even if she hated the guy.
Following him past the large hall, the two walked into the elevator and went up to his apartment. Entering, the first thing Buffy noted was the gigantic window that was the size of a wall, with no curtain of any sort to block the sunlight.
Looking around, the room was decorated in a modern style, with black and gray as the main colors. A few paintings and decorations featuring mostly silver colors were hung on the walls. Buffy's eyes scanned them in moments, making a few escape plans, just in case...
Her eyes kept lingering at the black-red katana that was placed on a steel stand behind the couch, right at the center of the room.
"Make yourself at home," Barney said, gesturing towards the comfortable-looking couch. "I'll whip up something quick for us."
Buffy watched his back as he crossed the room, going to the fridge and started taking a few things out. She didn't say anything as she sat down on one of the black leather chairs, right next to the piano that stood at the corner of the room.
Barney quickly returned, a tray of snacks, two glasses, and a bottle of wine in his hands, attempting to keep the atmosphere light.
"So, what brings a vampire hunter like you to New York? Vacation?" He said, trying to crack the slightly tense atmosphere that was between them ever since the incident in the taxi.
And it actually seemed to work, as Buffy let out an awkward laugh, as she started playing with her blonde hair, twirling it over her fingers. For some reason, although he was so gross and obvious in his lies and attempts to hit on her, she still found him surprisingly attractive.
Though with her past experiences, she immediately knew. There was something wrong with the guy, and it wasn't only his shamelessness. For some reason, she was always attracted to that type, the handsome, arrogant, and mysterious. Of course, she had liked other guys for their looks and nice personality, but she always yearned for something else while with them.
Putting the things he brought on the table, Barney poured two glasses of wine and handed Buffy one of them, taking a sip of his own.
"You could say so. I guess I just needed a break, you know?" She flashed a short smile, her eyes wandering around the room for a few moments. "Can I have a fork? I don't want to dirty my hands..." She added, speaking abnormally quickly, sounding a little suspicious.
Although he picked up on the weird change of tone, Barney still headed to the kitchen again grabbing a pair of knives and forks. Sitting again on the big couch, he sniffed the air slightly and put the glass of wine to his lips. Seeing that the system tab didn't show again, he took a large sip while looking at Buffy, who still smiled at him.
Buffy took a bite of the small appetizers he put on the table, and an awkward silence followed. Only a few seconds later, she opened her mouth again, looking at him with expectation.
"Did you try to kill me?" She asked, seemingly out of nowhere, though she kept her small calm smile.
"No." Barney raised his eyebrow at the change of pace, but he answered shortly, replicating the smile.
Buffy's smile widened a little as she heard the answer, asking yet another question. "What are you?"
"A vampire." Barney answered nonchalantly, his eyes still on hers. It took him a second to realize what he just said. His eyes widening a little. The moment he understood what he said, the system's main tab showed in front of him, scanning it quickly, he instantly noticed the change.
{Abnormal Status: Potion of truth}
His face darkened suddenly as the usual smile he had on his face was now gone. He lost one of his greatest defenses, and he wasn't happy with that at all.
"See, that was easy. You could have saved me a lot of trouble if you started with that." She was about to take out the stake she prepared earlier, only to realize it was already in shreds. She had destroyed it earlier when she got angry.
Figuring she had to go another way, she decided to go with the next best thing, decapitation. Standing up, she eyed the katana which was placed on its stand, right behind Barney's back.
"You soulless creatures never leave me alone, always going around killing whatever comes in your way!" She stated angrily, glaring at Barney with with a sudden rage. She wasn't really sure why, but she felt like blowing off some steam.
The weeks of silence were very nice but also very nerve-wracking for her. Her past experience told her that whenever she was at her top, something would always happen, instantly making her hit rock-bottom. Only she never expected Barney's reply, as he watched her with a mix of great anger and disappointment.
"Soulless?! I'm not soulless! well, not in the literal way. And as for killing, I have taken many lives... Of bugs, that is, never killed a person. What the heck do you think I am? A demon?" Barney figured expressions could speak too, and his, unaffected by the potion, told her just how 'offended', he was by her words..
"What do you mean, you aren't soulless? All vampires are soulless!" Buffy spoke with exasperation, although she believed his words, as she knew he couldn't lie. What he said was just too hard for her to believe; she knew better than anyone how rare a vampire with a soul actually was.
"No vampire is soulless." Barney stated simply; this was knowledge given by the system, and he was forced to tell the truth. He could rephrase, now that he knew of his state, but he didn't really have any reason to hide it either...
Buffy stared at him blankly, seriously trying to understand what his words meant. Was he pretending to be affected by the potion? After all, she knew for a fact that all vampires were soulless. Thinking for a few seconds, she couldn't come up with any other plausible, reasonable answers, so she simply decided to ask.
"All the vampires I met had no souls... How come?"
"That's simple; they aren't vampires." Barney answered, and his smile was also slowly coming back to his lips. Rephrasing worked, meaning he would be just fine...
"Aren't vampires?" She was absolutely confused; Barney's actions told her that he was telling the truth, at least she didn't believe any person could tell that to her with a straight face. This, combined with the potion, made her truly believe him. "So what are they?"
"Demons... only demons have no souls; other creatures just cease to exist without one." He answered, this time more extensively. Earlier, he just wanted to make sure he could actually say half-truths; after all, he wasn't familiar with the potion. When he tried reading more about its effects, all the system gave him was two additional sentences. Both absolutely useless to him.
{Abnormal Status- Potion of truth
You are under the effects of a potion that makes you answer truthfully to any question; also, you can't tell a lie when unasked. Duration may vary based on some unmeasurable information.}
Buffy's eyes widened at his answer, really not knowing what to say. She was now looking at Barney as if he was a magical beast, and she kept staring at him for the next few minutes, or more exactly at where he used to sit, as he had long moved, and was now standing by the window.
"If you let your guard down like that, I might accidentally take a bite." Barney, who was now looking at the still lively streets of New York through the windows, couldn't help but smile; he has had enough of that everlasting silence.
Turning to look at him, only to see his back, Buffy flushed a little, still not knowing what to say. She had come to believe his words, but at first, they sounded so disconnected from what she knew. Though as it sank in, she realized it didn't change much, but it brought one new question to her mind.
"What are vampires then?"
"That's a great question... What am I, really?" He sighed, looking through the glass, his blue eyes glowing as he watched the dark skyline.
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Forgot to mention this last chapter, but as this is an AU, the final events of Buffyverse will be vastly different than in the show.
The AU's base laws, power levels and events are a combination of a few worlds that will be explained in the future. I will try to make it the least confusing I can, but I already have a story in my head which isn't all that complicated in my opinion.
VOTE and give me some POWER STONES if you like the story so far
Reminding, If you want you can suggest characters and Anti-hero names for Barney in the comments.
Also If you want you can give a try to my other fanfic:
HP:Lost Legacies of Magic
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