2.21 Election

Chase: "Lots of soul munching involved."

Friday.

Rachel: "Chase. Hon'. If this is your definition of 'too stable,' you know, when strip poker is the good Christian portion of his evening, I probably don't need to meet your next boy."

The scoobies carry Geoff into his house, as he is one big, passed-out lump of an ex-tweaker. Fred is thrilled to see everyone, particularly Chase, and continues brushing her hair as the troop takes Geoff to his room. But the place is a disaster, so they take him to the spare room, which has survived hurricane Geoff. Rachel lays him down on the bed, and Chase volunteers to stay and make sure there are no complications from his recent activities. He could be out for days.

Gabe: "Maybe it's the clue phone."

As the gang tries to figure out their next move, Geoff's cell phone rings. It's a very pissed off Simone. Chase gleefully takes the phone. Which certainly doesn't make her any less pissed off.

As they verbally spar, the gang decides to head for the library, maybe try to find Trisha or, *gulp*, talk to Bannon, and Chase hangs up on the lawyer.

Chase: "Poor Jade. One of these days, I'm going to call her when there's not an apocalypse."
Stefan: "Guess what, Jade? Apocalypse is two days away."
Chase: "See? We're early this time!"

On the way to the library, Stefan calls Jade to see if she knows what Trisha's been up to lately. Apparently, Trish has been notably absent from the party scene for the last couple of weeks. They hang up, Jade laughing at them for their typical apocalyptic phone calls.

Chase uses Geoff's phone to call Simone again, and after a nasty "what the hell are you doing with Geoff's phone?" conversation, Chase eventually explains that Geoff was trying to blow up McKennit, and they stopped him. It quickly becomes apparent that Simone (a) didn't know about Geoff's destructive tendencies and (b) thinks he's an idiot, but is somewhat mollified by the fact that he tried to get her out of town. So the phone call proves fruitless (unless helping Geoff and Simone make up was Chase's goal), and the gang splits up - Stefan and Rachel to Curras, and the rest to the library.

Lorne: "Be careful, the streets are dangerous."
Stefan: "So am I."

At Curras, the air is positively jubilant. Something has the demons (minus a VERY stressed Lorne) in a particularly festive mood. Lorne has little to add, except that rumor has it Trisha's been out working on a project with her cousin (that would be Simone...)

Saturday.

At the library. The gang's been working all night, and it is 8:00 am. Chase shows, after having kept watch over Geoff, and the gang discusses their findings... or lack thereof. And suddenly Bannon is among them. He gives Chase the spell for shielding the town and lets them know that half-demons have been flooding in. There's a cult headed by a half-demon wizard named Seth that's got some sort of evil plot afoot. Bannon offers to help replace the shield at the grove tonight (as he helped put it there the first time, he's familiar with the ritual), wishes them luck, and leaves.

PeanutGalleryChase: "Oooh, it's so cute when you're manipulative."

Stefan decides to infiltrate the half-demon group, being half-demon himself, and the gang agrees to research and/or sleep and meet back at the grove tonight for the shield ritual. Gabe warns them that, as normal, stopping the ritual before it happens should be the goal, and tells them that when Belial arrives, he'll probably be hungry, hence the town square function with the kids would make a great buffet table for his arrival. On that happy note, the group splits up.

Stefan calls Thetis and meets her at a coffee shop. They discuss their status as half-Bih'li demons and how they found out. Thetis has only known for a couple of years, and it's been a hard transition for her. The conversation turns political, as she states her views on equal rights for half-demons and her belief that she shouldn't have to hide who she really is. Stefan does a lot of nodding, and eventually Thetis asks him if he wants to meet some other half-demons.

A downtown soda shop. Several of Thetis' demon activist buddies are hanging, including Arachne and Draco (the goth kid from the last ep). Seems that it's a thing in their organization to take new names based on their powers.

PeanutGalleryChase: "She just asked you if you need to go home and iron your human dress."

Thetis makes an intro, and Stefan takes on a hardline anti-human stance. Not buying it, Arachne and Draco suggest they go prowling for trouble. Thetis tries to stall, but no dice. If Stefan's so anti-human, he should think this is fun...

The first pair they run into is a young mother and her 6-year-old son. Draco starts to harass them and calls Stefan over. Arachne laughs her chattery laugh and watches. Thetis rolls her eyes. Stefan moves over. Draco raises the stakes by separating mother and son and telling Stefan to handle the young human problem. Stefan tries to "gently" knock the kid out so he looks dead, but he isn't.

PeanutGalleryChase: "Stefan, Stefan, he's our man!! Well sorta... Halfway, anyway."

Draco's not fooled and turns his attention to Stefan. A fight ensues. Stefan ensures that the mom and son are safe, and then turns to defending himself. Draco reveals where he gets his name from and spits flame at him. Then Arachne attacks from behind, biting into Stefan's shoulder. He feels dizzy... throws another punch... passes out. Arachne and Draco share a smile and drag him away.

5:00 at Geoff's. Chase shows Rick into Geoff's room and thanks him again for helping. He asks if everything's OK. Chase hesitates.

Rick: "Did he do this to himself?"
Chase: "Well... yeah. He may be out for a couple of days."
Rick: "Oh!"
Chase: "Yeah, he's... he had... been off for years now."
Rick: "...Oh."
Chase: "I just don't want him to stop breathing."
Rick: "Yeah. I understand. I had no idea. No wonder he avoids us like we're evil."
Chase: "Nobody knows, OK? He really doesn't want people to know."
Rick: "Yeah, no problem. I won't say anything. And hey, let me know if you need me to watch for you again, 'K? We'll keep it between us."

5:30 At the grove. The gang, minus Stefan, has gathered. As they start to wonder where he is, Bannon appears with a second vamp who's loaded down with ritual supplies. Bannon explains as the other vamp starts setting up.

Meanwhile, in a dark room, Stefan awakes to find Isis before him, swaying and chanting softly. Stefan watches her groggily, as the picture shifts and he's looking at... his brother. The brother asks for information on the plan and how he can help. Stefan shakes his head, repeating that he's dead; this has to be a trick. Stefan passes out again, having said nothing. Isis resumes her more normal form.

Isis: "Alright. The hard way, then."

Gabe: "Now's a good time to just start heading for the morgue. Try to avoid the crowd."

Back at the grove, the ritual is in full swing. Gabe, Rachel, and the second vamp are the main casters, with Bannon, Chase, and Deaver holding candles. A noise in the woods, and Arachne and Draco arrive on the scene, attempting to disturb the ritual. Bannon sets his candle down, tells the casters to keep chanting, the candle holders to help him, and blocks Arachne's path. Chase and Deaver take on Draco. And the fisticuffs begin.

Bannon handles Arachne pretty easily, and Chase and Deaver are, at first, doing well with Draco until time goes wonky. Chase hits Draco, Bannon leaves Arachne to take a fiery hit intended for Chase, Deaver gets bitten by Arachne, Chase kills Draco, Bannon heads into the woods to chase something off, and Deaver gets kidnapped. But not in that order. In fact, from Chase's perspective, these things happen several times. In different orders each time. Bannon returns and explains that there was a Rwaswundi present. Or a half Rwaswundi. It's a non-linear time thing. Makes fighting difficult. Chase is worried about Deaver, but Bannon reminds her they need to be present for the ritual's end.

With an impressive light show and strong winds, the ritual is complete. Gabe and Rachel are nearly passed out from the exertion. The other vampire collects the supplies as Bannon thanks them for their participation, and the vampires leave. Chase wants to go help Doc, and Rachel, who struggles to stand, expresses her heartfelt desire to find Stefan, as they are now pretty sure he's in trouble. But since walking poses a problem for her, Chase suggests that they go home, regather their strength, and Gabe his mojo, and they proceed tomorrow when they have at least a small hope of succeeding...

To Be Continued...

Summary by: Jen!

Stefan: "If anything goes wrong, tell Gabe-"
PeanutGalleryGabe: "That I love him."