Standing the Test of Time

Author: Erin-Starlight

Disclaimer: I do not own any of these characters nor am I making money off this. This is just for fun.

Summary: When captured in the aftermath of a battle Spike finds himself at the mercy of his old rival--Count Dracula. Will he be saved before it’s too late or will he be lulled into something even more dangerous than the Counts’ wrath?

Warning: This is slash. It will have some Spike/Dracula and Spike/Angel in it. This is a challenge I took up to do a Dracula slash fic with the guys. I'm not usually a slash writer but I did it for this challenge, where I had to set in up some in my last fic.

Authors Note: This story takes place after my one shot “William Restored.”

Spoilers: For the Peter David IDW comics Spike vs. Dracula 1-5.

"Who travels for love finds a thousand miles not longer than one."
Source Unknown

"He's pouting again." Elsa remarked haughtily. Her recovery from the spell Mihai had her under had not made it easy for her to cope with the sudden shift in her lovers' attention. As a bride for many years she had liked when he doted on her. Dracula hadn't been interested in only her for decades. He hadn't been this taken with a lover for...well Elsa had never seen him in such a state before.

Pining for another vampire, a man, with a SOUL! Falling to pieces simply because of this Spikes' friends arrived. She recalled a time when such a thing would make no difference in his schemes. Dracula would have kept them away from his intended. If he could not (which seemed to be the case now with the blue haired witch) he could use it to his advantage. The master wasn't even trying to do so. He was already defeated. It was maddening.

The other brides gave her disapproving glares which she promptly ignored. "If you will not even fight for this man then he is not worth the effort. Don't linger in shadow to grieve his loss, get rid of him."

"Be silent Elsa." The lord of the castle warned. Naturally it was not heeded.

"Why should I be? You are mourning some old foe of yours. One that you repeated scoffed at being worthy of your attention in the first place. He has rejected you--repeatedly--and you let it affect you so. Your hair is already turning grey." She pointed out helpfully. Whenever he was depressed Dracula let his form change for great lengths of time. It varied depending on his mood. Once he became an old man, twice a bat that stayed in the rafters for days. Elsa would wager he was turning into a wolf to curl up for days on end. It was thankfully a rare event but he was choosing an ill time for it.

"Do not be made a fool of!"

He narrowed his eyes thoughtfully and his steps changed course. Out the door all of them noticed that his hair regained it's original color.

"Knew a guy that lived in a posh place like this once. Usual M.O. for a guy in a mansion and shit is to be into the hard core stuff. Bet Dracula likes his S. and M too." Faith mused as they passed a collection of medieval torture equipment.

"He IS a vampire, Faith." Her companion reminded her as if she had forgotten this fact. His answer brought a wicked smirk to her face.

"So you're saying that all vamps that live in places like this are kinky bastards?"

"Yeah, goes without saying--"Angel suddenly remembered that he had been living in an abandoned mansion when he had first met Faith. "--that it's just an unfair stereotype."

"Uh huh. Seems you guys can't catch a break. Do you want a hug or something?"

He rolled his eyes. "I think I can manage, thanks."

They were closing in on Connor, he could tell. Once they did they would have the team together and be able to track down--

"Angel? You okay?" The slayer asked a little worried that Angel had come to an abrupt stop that had almost cause them to collide. Angel however was frozen to the spot inhaling something deeply. His eyes lit up and she felt it in her bones. It was what she was missing with the slayers but always found with Angel even during the worst days of her life. Hope.

It was nice to have mates even if Spike kept waiting for the other shoe to drop. Which might be soon. They wanted to get the hell out of dodge and were concerned about Spikes' weak condition. He didn't know how to explain Dracula to them. Illyria might understand a bit in her own strange way. Connor wanted to know why they were allowed to see Spike in the first place. He had no answer for that one.

"Do we even get involved in this war?" The boy asked as if the vampire before him had all the moral answers.

Luckily for him someone else replied for him. "That young man is the only option you have."

The elder of the Kalderash tribe Adela was standing shakily on her feet at the door. She smiled in amusement at Connors' delayed fighting stance.

"You see this is where one of you are supposed to decide the tide of this battle. Whether it even takes place." At the youths' questioning gaze Spike muttered, "sodding prophecies" as his guess. "That is why you can not leave. I assure you that I will not allow any in this dwelling to harm you--"She added at Illyria piecing glare, "--however you must remain."

"As if you could stop me." Illyria scoffed.

Not bothering with replying to her the woman turned to Spike. "You my dear have been requested to meet the master in the gardens. I suggest the rest of us prepare for dinner."

Illyria was more confident than Connor that it was alright to leave Spike by himself. She was sure that her foes were too fearful of her might to test it again. Maybe the greater good didn't interest her much, it proved less dull than the "prattling of intercourse between vampires" would. She did not want more tiresome bickering to watch after having witnessed Angel arguing with Spike. The god king did refuse to let Spike go back down the many staircases in his tired state. It was made less embarrassing by the fact that few were around to see him thrown over one of her shoulders like a sack.

"Harm my pet any further and there will not even be so much as ash to spread, half breed." She informed the gobsmacked count while she set Spike down on a bench. "The fangless one and I will seek less dull surroundings. It saddens me to see the green silent." Connor hesitated a moment then deciding that it was pointless to argue with her followed. He did ask outloud why Dracula looked like Michael Jackson much to the Counts' dismay. A muttered "tourist" was his only reply.

When they had vanished Spike knew that they were supposed to talk about plans and such. He couldn't speak, had no idea what to say really. In the end it wasn't up to him to get the ball rolling. "This changes nothing. You are forbidden to leave."

The coldness in Vlads' voice chilled him enough to face him again. Where there had been tenderness was now harshness. The unyielding vampire from the legends not the lover was with him then. "I already told you, mate, not your property."

Did this tosser forget how not to long ago Spike had been called his personal whore? Did he even care? Why did it hurt to see Vlad back to the sort of controlling wanker he pegged him to be? "You are my prisoner are you not? That is what you insist on referring to yourself as." The words came out like daggers making him less certain if his still fragile recovering self could handle this confrontation.

"What else would you call it? You kidnapped me--"

"I bought you." Vlad corrected and he instantly regretted it by the look on Spikes' face.

"That doesn't make me yours." He hissed, angry at himself for getting this upset. It was true that he gave himself away to be someones' whore before. That didn't mean that he wanted to repeat that mistake. Not that his host thought about that, he was only thinking about another rejection.

"I would have thought our night together did." A second later he almost added "I am yours" before backing out. Vlad had already revealed too much to Spike without getting much back.

This was not wanted Spike wanted to hear right now and keeping himself in the good graces of a bored god king by staying with his own wannabe Romeo was not in the cards. Not by a long shot. Was he supposed to make nice until they stopped buying time for whatever the grand plan was? If so then they were sadly mistaken. He would not stand for it...as long as he could stand in the first place.

"Did it mean nothing to you?" The pause and the evasive posture was enough of response for Dracula. They could not have a conversation with Spike not so much as glancing at him. Roughly, more so than he planned, the darker vampire pulled him around causing Spike to yelp. It was more in shock then in pain but it served to alarm more than just the Count.

For the second time that night Dracula was taken by surprise by an attack. This one had him flipped over another body and into the fountain. Stone broke on impact breaking the wings of one of the sculpted angels. Enraged the count brushed his wet hair out of his eyes to see another equally pissed vampire.

"You don't know how long I've been waiting to do that." The new arrival remarked.

"Angelus!"

"Angel actually, come on, we've been through this."

Sitting forgotten was Spike watching the scene play out. He had dreamed of having the gang come to his aid, never had he really believed that Angel would come for him without being dragged along. The whole thing was surreal for him, he couldn't move, couldn't speak, only watch. Not that he could add much to the fight mind. Spike would just try to let it sink in. Angel had come for him...hadn't he? Of course he had, bloke knocked Vlad off his feet after all.

"Where is Spike?"

Okay, that answered that. Lucky for him that Angel had looks since he wasn't the sharpest knife in the bunch.

"You are a fool!" Dracula snarled pulling Angel into the fountain with him where the sound of flesh hitting flesh was the only part of the fight that wasn't obscured completely by the water. From his spot on the bench Spike could smell the scent of Angels' blood being spilled. Yet he couldn't find it in himself to say anything.

"Stupid--" splash,"--Gary Oldman wannabe--"slap,"--bastard!" Angel cried out through grunts of pain.

"Spike?" Said vampire turned to see Faith frozen in the middle of going to help Angel to look at him quizzically. "That you?"

"Faith? I thought blue said that Buffy was here?" He blurted out.

"Disappointed?"

"Bit relieved actually." His life was confusing enough already without adding Buffy to the mix. He could only imagine her reaction to his current situation. 'Gee Spike, you have had sex with two guys? Both of whom formally wanted me?' Then there would be more angst about where they stood and him being a prat for not telling her that he was alive.

"Faith watch out he's a vampire!" Angel shouted over the yell of his foe.

"Kind of figured that out a year or so ago." She chuckled checking him out. "The hair isn't a big loss but I'm seriously missing the leather."

"What are you talking abou..." Angel trailed off to stare at Spike. He looked some what like a gaping fish when his mouth dropped and his eyes bugged out. His wet hair laid flat trickling water down his amazed face. Under different circumstance Spike would have found it bloody funny to see his grandsire this startled. The truth was that Angel hadn't looked at him without anger in a long while much less with such wonder.

In the backround he noted Vlad was watching it unfold but he was nothing more than a black dot in Spike vision then. The world disappeared when Angel took a step forward to perhaps see if this was real himself. During his stay here Spike had thought on how this would play out many times. Each one was different. Now after waiting what seemed like ages to finally see Angel in person there was only one course of action to take. It was more of an impulse than anything else though he was sure he would have acted the same even if he had more time to think on it.

Thus once Angel had gotten within arms length Spike had hit him in the nose.

"OW! 'Amn it Ike! Wat was dat for?!" The brunet yelled clutching his surely broken nose.

"Wot took you so sodding long?! I could have been dust by now! Did you get lost? Couldn't recall how to get back to the place you munched on a girl to earn your bloody soul?! Or were you just taking in the sights?!"

"Ad layer problems! And 'llyria!" The older protested waving his free hand about frantically. "Way t' show 'hanks Ike!"

"Why where are my manners! Thanks ever so Angel for taking time out from coming after me to visit Buffy!" Because what else could he mean by slayer problems if Faith was helping him out?

"NO! 'Ever saw 'er!"

"Hmm, I must admit I did not foresee this happening." The Count murmured to himself. With any luck he could great his revenge on Angelus after the crisis was at an end without angering Spike further.