Showdown with a vampire and a two-hearted witch

"I don't understand," said the woman once known as Marcie Ross as she stared at the two figures before her.

One was a tall, brooding vampire known as Angelus, who had a reputation for being one of the most dangerous vampires in history.

The other was a mysterious woman who called herself Missy. Yet Marcie could not help thinking of her as the Two-Hearted Witch if for no other reason than the fact that she matched the description of the being that bore that name in the visions of Marcie's employer. It didn't hurt that Missy herself acknowledged the fact that others -- most likely Angelus and the late but unlamented Darla -- had called her that as well.

"Surely you knew that if Darla showed up, I would eventually show up as well," said Angelus.

"Yes," said Marcie. "But I'm not talking about you. I'm talking about her."

With that, she pointed to Missy, who just smiled.

"Surely, Agent Ross, you and your employer must have guessed that I would have showed up here sooner or later," said Missy.

"Er, I'm not Agent Ross," said Marcie. "I'm Cordelia Chase. And I came here --"

"Oh, who's kidding who, Agent Ross?" asked Missy. "If there's one thing Timeladies are good at, it's ferreting out secrets. And while I must admit that you and your employer were pretty good at hiding secrets by human standards, you're still no match for a Gallifreyan like myself."

"How did you find out?" asked Marcie.

"Research, of course," said Missy. "And of course, searching relentlessly for someone who knew your employer's true identity. Once I found out hers, yours was a piece of cake. And of course, once I found out about your employer's past, redirecting Angelus and Darla to this location was even easier. I understand that they were originally supposed to attack Drusilla and her family at her home. But to do so there meant you two would have had time to prepare adequate defenses. So I convinced them to attack Drusilla and her family here instead."

"Well, your plan failed," said Marcie. "Darla's dead and there's no way you and Angelus are going to survive this night if you try to attack so you two might as well go away now."

"Oh, we won't be the ones who will be going anywhere," said Angelus. "If there's anything I like more than a woman who runs, it's a woman who fights back. I just love the look that appears in her eyes that she finally realizes that she's going to die, no matter what she does. Besides, an old gypsy once told me that I was destined to be stabbed in the chest by a skinny blonde. And while your good friend Rose doesn't seem capable of doing anything like that, you can't really blame me if I wish to eliminate her as a possibility."

At this point, Marcie turned toward the naked future Rose and whispered, "Get out of here, Rose, and take the younger version of Princess with you. I'll hold them off."

"No," said future Rose. "I can't leave you. They'll kill you if I leave."

"They might kill me if you stay as well," said Marcie. "And then they'll kill you and Princess. So please leave. Now."

"No," said future Rose.

"You're a sub," said Marcie. "You're supposed to obey orders."

"The Doctor would want me to stay," said future Rose.

"I don't know who this Doctor is, but he's not here right now," said Marcie. "So please go. Drusilla, help me out here."

"Let us go, Rose," said Drusilla. "Your Mistress demands it."

Missy grinned. "Go ahead and stay, Rose," she said. "Your real Mistress demands it."

"Go," said Drusilla.

"Stay," said Missy.

"Go."

"Stay."

"Go."

"Stay."

"Seriously?" asked Marcie. "Oh, what the hell!"

Then Marcie reached under her skirt to pull her flare pistol out of its ankle holster.

"You idiot," said Angelus. "You really expect to kill me with a gun? Don't you realize vampires are bulletproof?"

"That's not just a gun," said Missy. "It looks like a flare pistol. It shoots a pellet that can set you on fi --"

"I don't care if it shoots cannonballs," said Angelus. "She still has to hit me -- and I'm very good at dodging bullets. But what the hey. Take your best shot, little girl."

Marcie knew it was probably pointless to try and shoot Angelus yet she went ahead and did it anyway. Only to see a blue glowing hole develop on the ceiling above Angelus. A hole whose appearance was immediately followed by the descent of a blue, gray and white metal cylinder that seemed to be counting down. The flare pellet that Marcie fired ricocheted off the metal cylinder and hit Missy in her midsection, immediately distracting her as she frantically tried to put out the fire that the pellet had started on her dress.

Angelus, on the other hand, just stared at the metal cylinder with a puzzled look on his face.

Marcie started to say something but then suddenly, future Rose was grabbing her around the shoulders and dragging her hurriedly backwards while motioning for Drusilla to run on ahead of her.

Unfortunately, they were just a few feet away from the side door of the church when the Dalek cylinder exploded.