Disclaimer: I/We own no part of Buffy the Vampire Slayer or any of the characters associated with the show, and no infringement of copyright is intended. Written for fun, a slightly different part of this was previously published at the Kittenboard/Pens by Lucy.
Blood-Bath
Part One.
There are some nights in Sunnydale when it's not safe for anybody at all to be out after dark. Tonight just seemed to be one of those nights...
The Hellmouth had always acted as a magnet, a beacon for fell creatures, and the feeling had been growing all day that something was approaching; a sense of foreboding, that long term denizens had learned to ignore at their peril.
Now, as dusk had given way to the darkness in night, the only traffic on the roads were the pairs of police cruisers patrolling the town. Not straying from the lighted thoroughfare's, they followed a fixed route round the town; a route designed to keep their occupants out of harm's way, safe until the end of their shift.
Down dark alleys and unlit streets, the human known to her friends as Buffy, and to creatures of the night as The Slayer was on her own patrol. Accompanied by Xander and Willow with Tara, they were following their own route through the town.
Moving out of an alley which had led them onto Nicholson Street, the Scoobies came upon a scene that, even for long term residents of Sunnydale, was unusual... Something was chowing down on a Polgara demon. The Polgara; a demon even Buffy would be careful of whilst taking on one-to-one, was still alive, beating ineffectively at the head of the creature which had buried its muzzle deep into the abdomen of its meal.
The Slayer, her spidey senses on full alert, was suffering from a full blown case of the wiggins as she gazed at the scene before them. Just about to order the others back into the alley, she stopped as the creature, whatever it was, withdrew from the Polgara.
Gulping down a final hunk of meat it turned towards the Scoobies. Its ears at the alert it snorted a combination of blood and mucus from its nostrils and sniffed the air, drawing in their scent as it watched them from eyes which began to glow with a green light.
Rising from all fours onto its two rear legs, it displayed, and, raising its muzzle into the air, howled into the night. There was an answering howl from over to the east.
Dropping back down onto all fours, it charged...
Buffy, taking in the way it moved as it rapidly approached moved to her left. In her right hand she held her favorite hand-axe, which she began to move in practised arcs as she built momentum and speed to the double edges.
With Xander moving to the creatures left as it charged; hoping to divide its focus, the only warning they had was Willow's shout of "Light!", as she and Tara let loose a hastily conjured spell.
The sudden flare leeched all tones from the area as everything was displayed in stark contrasts of dark and light. The ball of light floating above their head continued to illumine the scene as the fight took a turn for the worse.
Not even flinching in reaction, the creature bore to its left and caught Xander with a swipe of its forelimb.
Receiving another free flying lesson had not been on Xander's agenda for tonight, but he had long since learned how to 'tuck and roll', and as he flew through the air, he just hoped that the landing would be as successful as previously...
Willow and Tara's right flank now exposed, they tried to conjure a Shield of Air around themselves, as the beast dropped to all fours and charged again...
Buffy moved in from the left; the axe, moving in a figure-of-eight pattern, was a blur in the air before her, letting out a low humming noise as it sought the kill.
Leading with her left leg, she turned her body slightly, and, the axe reached the top of its arc. With a exhalation of air, she brought the edge down onto the creatures neck.
The head, parted from the body, flopped to the ground, and a huge splash of gore sprayed out to cover Tara from head to foot. Letting go of Willow's hand, she rubbed at her face in disgust as she tried to clear her features of the hot fluid before it could work its way into her mouth or nostrils.
"Are you okay?"
The blood starting to soak through her clothes, and matting her hair, all she could do was smile closed-lipped at Willow, and, taking the cloth that her love was holding out to her, complete a quick cleansing of her face.
"Yes, I'm fine. We'd better check Xander though, I don't think his wings are working tonight..."
Moving over to where Buffy was helping Xander to his feet, they heard him practising his vocabulary of cuss words under his breath as he checked himself over for any permanent damage.
"Everything still attached?"
"Yep. Made in 'Merica... The sign of quality workmanship... That's me."
The Scoobies walked over to examine the corpse of the creature Buffy had killed.
"What is it?"
"I haven't a clue. Never seen anything like it before."
"Should we call Giles, get him to come and have a look?"
It was Tara who sounded a word of caution...
"Erm... Guys... Unless the ghost of some Greek Nymph has moved to Sunnydale, we could have a problem... Beastie howl, other beastie howl back... In fact, p-p-problem has arrived." And she pointed behind Buffy, towards the end of the street...
Part Two.
Horripilation...
Willow had always been Word Gal, and Buffy almost smiled as she remembered her friends excitement at finding that particular word during one of her searches on-line. She had explained to Buffy all about atavistic memory and how early humans had this response to the presence of a predator where all their fur and hair would spring erect in an attempt to make themselves look bigger, more dangerous to something thinking of making a meal of them...
As Tara pointed down the street, Buffy felt her own skin crawl, all the fine hairs on her forearms and on the back of her neck suddenly springing erect... She would say it felt as if something had just walked over her grave...
This time there were three of the creatures moving down the street in chevron formation, the one in front being substantially larger than the two stalking on either flank. In fact, it was almost twice as big as the one that Buffy had killed. All three sets of eyes shone with the same pitiless green glow as they made their way towards the Scoobies.
These were not your typical Sunnydale monster...
"Back into the alley, slowly, and remember, don't turn your back towards them..."
As they moved backwards, watching the creatures advance slowly up the street, Buffy was searching furiously for some plan of escape. She knew that any of the two smaller whatevers could easily follow them into the narrow passageway...
As the larger one reached the Polgara demon, it lowered its muzzle, and with three quick chomps it devoured the remains. Looking up at the ball of light that was floating over the scene, it 'huffed' quietly and the illumination was extinguished.
Willow felt a wave of weakness move over her frame, and she would have collapsed to the ground if Tara had not caught her.
The scene much darker now, Tara handed Willow off to Xander and moved up on Buffy's left side. Raising her hand before her, she turned her palm towards the creature, "Hold!"
The air before her hand shimmered slightly as she used some more of her reserves of magic to extend a barrier across the street, anchored on the walls of the buildings on either side.
"Buffy, now would be a good time to run..."
"Not arguing... Go!"
Turning, Tara ran to catch up with Xander who had moved off down the alleyway, supporting Willow. Reaching them, she took one of Willows arms and laid it across her own shoulders as they increased their speed.
Buffy, still walking backwards, saw the largest creature reach the barrier and stop. Moving its head from side to side it examined the shimmer in the air before its snout.
Moving back, it turned to the corpse of its erstwhile companion, and, picking up the torso in its powerful front limbs, threw the body at the barrier before it.
Instinctively, Buffy raised her arm to protect her sight as the flare of light flashed up into the night sky. The barrier held, and the corpse burst into flames as it flopped to the ground and was quickly consumed; leaving an ashy smear on the asphalt.
Ignoring the noxious smoke rising from immolated corpse, the creature reached to its neck and removed a chain over its head. Dangling from the middle of the chain was a metal object which Buffy could not make out in the reduced light. It swung the object at the barrier, and where the two connected, a tear appeared in the shimmer, spreading rapidly outwards from the point of impact to dissolve the whole of Tara's working. Buffy was sure that she could see the creature open its jaws in an animal grin...
She turned and ran...
Reaching the others, she leant down and scooped Tara up from the ground where she had collapsed in a boneless lump. Slinging the young wiccan over her left shoulder, he waited for Xander to gather up Willow in his arms, and led the way towards the end of the alley they had entered from Bryant Street.
They hadn't gone very far, when Buffy stopped. Xander nearly ran into her back before he caught her sudden stillness.
"Oh, oh..."
"Ooops... Not really anything else to say, is there?"
Lowering Willow and Tara to the ground, they stood over their friends as they watched the creatures now approaching from both ends of the alley.
"Willow, Tara... We kind of need you to come up with something... Fast."
The two young wiccans, struggling against the weakness which had momentarily overcome them at the collapse of their spells, turned to each other and a decision was reached...
Using Xander as a climbing frame they both rose to their feet, and, staggering slightly, they each turned to face one of the approaching creatures, Buffy and Xander standing between them, at their backs.
Moving arms back to connect round the bodies of their friends, Willow and Tara began to chant softly under their breath...
Buffy, even with her enhanced hearing, was unable to make out what they were saying. She could only hope that whatever they had planned was effective, as, over Tara's shoulder she could make out the largest creature waiting at the Nicholson Street end of the alley. The smaller ones advanced towards the friends from either direction.
As Willow and Tara continued to chant, a circle of electric blue light began to form around the Scoobies' feet. Rising slowly to waist height, it paused momentarily. With a final word from the two wiccans, the circle expanded until the edge met the buildings on either side, whereupon it flattened to meet the wall. The circle, now a glowing rectangle, confined by the buildings on either side of the alley, shot away from them towards either entrance, consuming everything above and below its path...
Litter, a dumpster, and the two creatures which had been stalking towards them were all consumed in a flash of light as the magick expanded.
Willow collapsed to the ground once more, breaking her connection to Tara...
The light from their conjuring dissolved to nothingness before it reached the largest creature.
Once more, it raised the chain it was holding and seemed to growl in some unknown language.
This time, a black formless void, coalesced from out of the shadows and took up a position at the alley entrance. With no warning it sped towards the Scoobies...
"Oh, Goddess."
Tara moved forwards to meet it...
Raising her right hand before her, she turned to her friends...
"Cover your eyes... Now!" Then at the last possible moment, just before the blackness reached their position, Tara realised she had forgotten t...
Continued...
