This fic is based between Season 4 and 5. Oh, and Tara's left Sunnydale. I just didn't like her, so made her go away. Sorry, Tara fans, I just couldn't stand her.
ARMY OF THE DEAD
Xander opened the door to Giles' house and walked in. "Hey, Giles?" he called. Giles walked into the living room from the kitchen. "You wanted me?" Xander then noticed Spike sitting in the corner chair. "What's he doing here? Isn't it kinda bright outside?" he asked.
"Spike's waiting here until the sun goes down." Giles explained briefly.
"Yeah. I lost track of time." Spike added.
"He was attacked by demons." Giles said bluntly. Xander smiled.
"The Big Bad got scared?" he laughed. "Since when has that happened?"
"Piss off." Spike said. "There were too many to fight by myself. And they were different."
"Different?" Xander asked. "How do you mean 'different'?"
"Tough. Tougher than the other demons around here."
"I've been looking through books about them using Spike's description. They're a group of demons called Sinkata, I think. There's only ever been one sighting." Giles said.
"Is that good, or, you know, not good?" Xander asked.
"I don't know. It could mean that every time someone's seen these things, they are killed."
"Who? Demons or observing people?" Xander questioned.
"The witnesses, you idiot." Spike butted in.
"The one sighting tells us that these demons are fast, strong and deadly." Giles said.
"Nothing new there, then." Xander told him.
"But the witness survived because it was the destruction of this particular race of demon. They should all be extinct." Giles replied.
"Well they didn't seem very extinct when they attacked me. In fact, they seemed very much alive." Spike added.
"This is all very well and bad, but shouldn't you be telling this to Buffy, not me?" Xander asked.
"She's in her lessons at the moment. I thought you'd be able to find out if anybody has seen anything like this around recently." Giles answered.
"That should be fun." Xander mocked. "Excuse me, have you seen a big, ugly demon, about yay tall, tendancy to kill people? Oh, that's right, no. You're alive."
"Just ask the people who know about the demon activities in Sunnydale." Giles told him.
"I'd have thought that would be everybody." Xander said, and left the house.
Buffy and Willow had just finished their Psychology class and were walking down the corridor. "So, you going to be with Riley again tonight?" Willow asked.
"Yeah. Why?" Buffy answered.
"No reason. Just wondering if I should be expecting you back at any time later." Willow replied.
"You doing a spell, then?" Buffy asked, realising why Willow wanted to know if she'd be alone that night.
"I was thinking about it. It'll be kinda strange doing one without Tara." Willow answered. She'd only recently just split up with her after Tara left Sunnydale.
"Don't let it get you down." Buffy said. "Try not to think about it too much."
"It doesn't hurt anymore." Willow told her. "Not like it did with Oz." Buffy wasn't sure what to reply with. Then, without warning, something crashed through the window at the end of the corridor. The creature looked vaguely like a human, only slightly taller and a purple-black colour. It also looked scary. Buffy came to the conclusion in almost a whole second that it was a demon. The next second consisted of the demon grabbing a girl's head and tearing it in half. Everyone screamed, and the demon roared as the girl's body collapsed to the ground. The demon still clutched the scalp, blood dripped off it onto the body.
As soon as the creature had appeared, Buffy dropped her books and ran towards it. She was to late to save a girl near the demon, and this pissed her off even more. She jumped in the air and kicked the demon in the chest with her left foot, and the face with her right. The demon was knocked backwards, dropping the scalp. It swung it's clawed hand at her, and she leant back. The spiky fingers missed her face by millimeters. Buffy grabbed the demon's arm and twisted it sideways. The demon screamed as a loud snap echoed through the corridor. It used it's broken arm and threw Buffy into a wall. She landed on the floor, and the demon prepared to slice her head off her neck.
Riley grabbed the demon's arm and promptly stabbed it in the back of the head with a biro. The demon screamed loudly, then collapsed on the floor next to Buffy. Riley looked at her. "Are you alright?" he asked.
"Yeah. Thank you." Buffy answered, and stood up. She kissed him, then turned around to look at the demon. "You know what this is?" she asked.
"No. I've never seen anything like that before. Don't think I want to." he replied. They turned around and saw the dead girl. The veiw they had allowed them to see into her now almost hollow skull. Her brain was splattered across the floor, and her dead eyes stared spookily at Buffy and Riley. Her mouth was open, like she was screaming.
"Eww..." Buffy moaned. She glanced at Riley, who was almost throwing up. "Willow! Go call Giles." she said. Willow ran up to her.
"Already did." she said. Buffy looked at her, confused.
"How? Our room's on the other side of college." she asked. Willow took out the cell-phone from her pocket.
"My new phone. Like it?" she said. She then saw the dead body. She almost threw up as well, then looked at Buffy. "I'll go meet Giles." she said, then ran off. Buffy looked around.
"Wonder if anybody wonders why we stay around dead people, or why we seem to kick some strange creature people's ass a lot." she asked.
"Just in the wrong place at the wrong time." Riley answered.
"Story of my life." Buffy replied.
"Was this one of the creatures that attacked you?" Giles asked. Spike looked at the photos.
"Yeah. Looks like it." Spike answered. "How did you kill it?"
"Riley stabbed it in the back of the head with a pen." Buffy told him. "Saved my life."
"That's so sweet." Willow said. "Apart from the stabbing part. That's more on the yucky side."
"Yeah." Buffy replied.
"I don't like him." Spike said. "Him and his army group. If it weren't for them, I'd..."
"Still be an evil son of a bitch, and we'd have to stake you." Xander finished. "So look on the bright side, ok." Giles turned to Buffy.
"It attacked you in the middle of the day, in a farely crowded area?" he asked.
"Thing isn't shy, that's for sure." she replied. "How many do you think there are?"
"Well, they're supposed to be extinct. I wouldn't have thought there'd be many." Giles answered.
"Well that's ok then. I don't think I'd be able to take on a whole army of them." Buffy said. "This one almost killed me."
Derek Reed stepped out of his house, trash-bag in hand. He walked down the path to the trash can and dropped the bag in it. He replaced the lid over it and walked back into his house. He closed the door and walked into the living room. His heart suddenly went ape-shit when he saw the walls covered in blood. "Jane!" he shouted, and saw his wife's face looking up at him. It wasn't attached to her body, or the rest of her head. Derek screamed until everything went black.
"It must've been another one of those Sinatra demons." Buffy said, looking at the newspaper Giles had.
"Sinkata." Giles corrected. "And I think you're right. Both times they've been sighted, the creature has ripped the head or part of the head off. The girl at school and the Reed's."
"Why do they keep doing that?" Buffy asked.
"The one sighting given says something about the Sinkata demon always kills it's victims by slicing into the brain. It was supposed to gain them the victims powers." Giles replied.
"Great. Well, you keep researching. I'd better go and learn things in the other world they call college. Bye." Buffy said, and walked out.
Willow walked down the steps into Spike's crypt residence. She looked around, and Spike jumped out in front of her. "Hello, Red." he said.
"Hi." Willow replied, her voice jumping from the sudden shock. "You been attacked again?"
"No. Thanks for the reminder of fear of being torn apart, though."
"Oh. Sorry. Didn't mean to say anything interpreted as not nice." Willow said, then turned around. Spike grabbed her arm.
"Wait a sec, Red. We never talk." he told her.
"You want to talk?" Willow asked, bewildered.
"Well, not really." Spike then spun her around and held her arms tight.
"Hey, what are you doing?" she asked. "You're not supposed to be able to hurt people, remember?" Spike kissed her, and she stopped struggling.
"Hey, Willow. Wake up." Buffy said, walking into their dorm room. Willow's eyes shot open, and she looked around. "What's the matter?"
"Nothing. Absolutely nothing whatsoever." Willow answered nervously.
"You look kinda, well, disturbed." Buffy said. "Did you do that spell?"
"Oh, well, erm... No. Didn't have time. What's the time?" Willow said, trying to sound un-worried.
"It's saturday. No lessons. Don't worry." Buffy told her.
"I'm not worrying. And I'm not disturbed. That's not a nice thing to say." Willow replied. She stood up out of bed and started to get changed.
"Sorry. Didn't mean to upset you." Buffy said. "The demons have attacked recently, as the news may have told you."
"No, I didn't watch the news." Willow said. "I've only just woken up."
"Oh, yeah. Like I said, it's a saturday. You can go back to sleep if you like." Buffy told her kindly.
"No, I'm alright." Willow replied. She put her shoes on."I'd better see if I can help Giles with the research. I'll see you later." she said, and left the room.
"This is so romantic." Anya said, leaning her elbows on the table and looking into Xander's eyes. He was doing the same to her.
"It's the best I could do." he said. "Bit short on cash." The McDonalds waitress walked over with a plastic tray.
"Ok, one cheeseburger with large fries for you," she said, giving Xander his food. "And hamburger, large fries and cola for you." she said, giving Anya hers. The waitress walked off. Xander took a bite out of his burger, while Anya ate some of her fries.
"So," Xander said casually. "What do you want to do after this?"
"Like what?" Anya asked. Xander shrugged.
"We could go see a movie, or something." he suggested. Anya smiled.
"Ok. We can do that." she said.
"Good." Xander said. "We can finish this, then see what..." Before he could finish, a big demon charged through the door and roared at the inhabitants of the fast food resturant. "Oh, shit!" Xander said, realising it was one of the demons they'd all been looking up in books about. "Gotta go, honey, gotta go!" he told Anya, jumping up and grabbing her arm.
"I got no arguments!" she shouted, trying to be heard over the screams of other people. The demon grabbed a man trying to get away by the neck, lifted him in the air, and placed both hands on his head. It twisted them, taking half the head off, spraying blood and brain matter over the counter. Xander picked up a chair and threw it at a window. It shattered, and he and Anya jumped through it. They ran down the street and turned around to see what was happening.
"Where'd everybody go?" Xander asked, observing the empty street. Everybody had quickly fled the not very packed street to avoid decapitation. The demon dived through another window, making Xander and Anya jump. It saw them, and slowly started to chase them. "Shit! Run!" Xander shouted, and they ran like hell down the road towards Xander's car. He took the keys out of his pocket just before they reached the car, and he unlocked it in record time. They both got in the car fast, and Xander started it up. As he hit the gas, the demon was inches from the back of the car.
"What now?" Anya asked franticaly as the demon didn't give up the chase. It was also gaining slightly after dropping back by a couple of metres as the car started. Xander struggled to think.
"In the back is a crossbow, get it!" he said. He knew he should always take one for safety reasons. Anya climbed over the seat into the back and grabbed it.
"Got it!" she shouted.
"Go for the head!" Xander replied. Anya uneasily aimed the crossbow at the creature. She fired, hitting the demon in the shoulder. It howled, and stopped chasing.
"It's stopped chasing us!" she said. Xander gave out a sigh of relief. "Are we still going to see that movie?" Anya asked.
"We'll just report this mind numbingly fearful experiance to the Englishman, then we'll see whether my heart will start beating again." Xander told her, driving very quickly to Giles' house.
Willow lumped another old book onto Giles' table. "Still nothing?" Giles asked, already knowing the answer.
"Nothing." Willow replied. "It's like these things never existed." Before she was able to take another book from the shelf, Xander and Anya burst through the door, startling both Willow and Giles. "What happened?" Willow asked, concerned. Xander struggled to speak because he was worn out.
"One of those demon things attacked us... It killed one man, then almost killed us." he told them.
"I shot it with a crossbow." Anya said proudly.
"Is it dead?" Giles asked.
"No, I got it in the shoulder." Anya replied.
"Oh, well the main thing is that you two are still alive." Giles told them. "How did it kill the man?"
"It twisted half his head of like a bottle-top." Xander explained. "It was really sick."
"That must be how they kill all their victims." Giles thought aloud. "Thank you, this has been very helpful." he said. Xander nodded, and they left the house.
"Now we'll know what people they've killed." Willow said. Giles nodded.
"Yes. Can you see if you can find any murders where the head has been torn in half at the coroner's or somewhere?" he asked.
"Ok. I'll have to do it later, I've got to do something at the minuite." Willow replied. "I'll bring back any info tommorow."
"That's fine." Giles said. Willow nodded, and left the house. Giles picked up another book from the shelf and looked through it.
Buffy and Riley where walking down the street after meeting each other at college. "You still don't know how many of those things there are?" Riley asked her. She shook her head.
"No. Still pretty much a mystery. All we know is that they're tough, evil, and ugly." she told him.
"Do you think we could be facing another apocalypse?" Riley asked.
"I don't know." Buffy replied. "I doubt it. Maybe just a big fight with lots of killing involved."
"That doesn't sound to good." Riley said. "Then again, that doesn't sound too different." Buffy smiled, but didn't laugh.
"It's probably the reason why tourism isn't very high in Sunnydale." she said. "But don't worry. Me and my friends have faced loads of demons worse than these and won. We've had lots of experience."
"No, I'm not worrying. Much. It took a single pen to take down the one at school, how tough can they be to kill?" Riley joked.
"You could attack them with stationary and save the day." Buffy said. "I'll stick to stakes and crossbows."
"I can see how they can be more effective." Riley replied. He took something from his pocket. "I want to ask you something." he said.
"Ask away." Buffy replied.
"Well, I've been thinking about this for a while now, and was wondering..." he replied, then passed her a small black box. Buffy opened it and stopped walking. "Would you marry me?" Buffy was totaly speechless, which started to worry Riley.
"Oh my God..." Buffy managed do say. She took the ring out of the box and studied it. "This is beautiful." she said, slipping the ring onto her finger.
"Is this a good or bad sign?" Riley asked. Buffy smiled and hugged him.
"It's a good sign. Of course I'll marry you!" she replied, and kissed him. He held his new fiancee tight, not wanting to let her go.
Willow walked to the coroner's office when it was getting dark. This didn't bother her, as she knew it was dark at nights frequently. What bothered her was the lack of people in the street. She walked quicker than usual to the coroner's office, and entered it. She walked through the corridor. "Hello?" she called. There was no answer. "Is anyone..." She stopped midsentance as one of the Sinkata demons steppedround the corner to face her. It's hand was covered in thick blood. It roared at her, and she legged it out of the building.
Willow ran like hell down the road, but the demon was chasing her. She crossed the road and ran into the graveyard, screaming as she went. The demon smashed through the metal fence, not slowing down. Willow tripped over and rolled foward, laying on the ground facing upwards. She saw the demon stand over her and lean down to grab her. She screamed again, knowing that she was about to die painfully.
Spike was walking around in his crypt when he heard a familiar scream nearby. He grabbed the two crossbows he kept in his lair and ran outside into the dark night. He looked around and saw Willow running through the graveyard, followed by one of those big demons that almost killed him a couple of nights ago. He ran towards them, then saw Willow trip. The demon was about to grab her when Spike aimed the crossbow in his right hand at it and fired. The arrow hit the demon in the arm, and it jumped back in pain. The demon looked up and roared at Spike, then charged at him. Spike fired his other crossbow, and the arrow hit the demon between the eyes, and it dropped to the ground like a sack. Willow ran over to him and hugged him.
"You saved my life!" she said, pleased to see him.
"Er, yeah." Spike replied. "I may be evil, but not that evil." Willow stopped hugging him and took a step back.
"Thank you." she told him.
"No problem." Spike said. "I had a score to settle with his kind, anyway." They stood in silence for a while, then Willow spoke.
"Well, I have to go." she said. "Thank you, again." She turned to leave.
"Ok, see ya." Spike replied, and walked back to his crypt as Willow ran to College.
Willow charged through the door to her room and closed it fast. "What's going on?" Buffy asked. This caught Willow by surprise, and she let out a short scream. She spun round and saw Buffy.
"Oh, I just met up with a Sinkata demon, and it almost killed me." Willow replied. Buffy jumped up off her bed and quickly walked over to her.
"Are you ok?" she asked, leading her friend over to her bed. Willow nodded.
"Spike saved me." she said. Buffy looked confused.
"Spike helped you? Against one of those?" she wondered aloud.
"Yup." Willow answered. "He did it well, as well."
"Wow. He certainly has changed. A lot." Buffy said. "Oh, oh, oh!" she suddenly blurted. "Guess what?"
"I don't know." Willow guessed. Buffy stuck her hand out so Willow could see the ring. "Oh, my God!" she said. "Are you?" Buffy nodded excitedly. Willow hugged her suddenly. "Congratulations!" she told her.
"Thanks." Buffy replied. "I was also wondering if you would be the bridesmaid." Willow's face gained a shocked smile.
"Really?" she asked, totally excited. Buffy nodded. "Of course!" Buffy hugged her, then stopped.
"This is going to be so perfect." Buffy told her. "I've never had a fiancee before. Apart from Spike, but that doesn't count." Willow laughed uneasily at the mention of Spike's name, suddenly feeling embarresed. Buffy didn't notice it, and layed on her bed again. "Anyway, I'm so tired. This soon-to-be wife business is tiring work." she said.
"Yeah, I'm sleepy too. All this nearly getting killed work is tiring as well." Willow replied, and they both turned off their desklamps.
The two cops pulled up their patrol car next to the old factory. There'd been reports of trespassers entering it. They looked tall, and heavily built. The two cops pulled their pistols from their holster, and the first cop took out a flashlight. "Bet it's just kids." he said.
"Yeah," the other replied. "Or maybe even nothing." They walked up to the factory, and walked through the side door. It was dark inside, and the beam from the flashlight didn't show very much up. They carried on walking through the factory, and the second cop heard something. "Next floor." he whispered, and they made their way to the stairs. The first cop looked up the stairs first, then walked up them. The second one followed. As they reached the top, the flashlight's beam highlighted three figures about 200 metres away from them. The cops aimed their guns at them.
"Freeze!" shouted the first cop. The three men stood up and turned around. On the floor was a fourth, lifeless body. "Don't move!" the cop shouted again. He shone the light in one of the men's face, and noticed it looked different to what it should do. It's face narrowed downwards slightly in the middle, and it had sharp fangs. He could also just make out that his eyes were also yellow. Vampires.
"Damn..." said the second cop, and fired a round at the lead vampire. The shot knocked him back, but he got back up again. Both cops fired at the group, but they couldn't kill them. The lead vampire charged at the second cop, smashing him into the wall behind him. The force knocked the gun from his hand, and the vampire sunk it's fangs into his neck. He could feel the vampire draining the blood from his artery, and started to feel faint.
The vampire suddenly stopped drinking, and turned to dust. The cop fell to the ground and looked up. He saw a slightly baffled monster looking at it's claw, then the dust it just created. It then looked down at him, and slowly picked him up by his skull. The cop didn't have the energy to scream, and then didn't have the ability when the monster tore his skull in half.
The first cop was firing at the other vampires when the lead one rammed into his partner. He turned to try and help, but one of the other vampires smashed him in the head with a plank of wood. He hit the floor with a thud, and looked back at them. His vision was slightly blurred, but he could make out the two vampires approaching him. Suddenly, both turned to dust as the top of their heads were sliced off. Behind them was a monster with a large claw. It hadn't seen him yet, but went for the other vampire, slicing it's head off. The cop watched as it looked at it's claw, confused, then picked up his partner. Before the first cop could do anything, the monster ripped the other's head in two.
The cop quickly reloaded his gun and fired at the monster. It turned around as the bullets punched through it's flesh, and took a step towards the cop. He shot at it's head, and the monster collapsed to the ground, smashing through it and landing on the floor below. The cop looked down the hole at the monster, and put another couple of bullets in it's body for good measure. "Son of a bitch..." he murmered to himself, holding his head. It was bleeding from where the vampires had hit him. "What the fu..." he started, turning around just in time to see another monster swing at him.
"Married?" Giles asked, shocked at this sudden discovery. Buffy nodded.
"Isn't it great?" Willow asked, enthusiasticly.
"Yes." Giles replied, actually happy about it. In fact, he felt a sort of pride inside him. "Congratulations." he said.
"Thanks." Riley replied. He was standing behind Buffy, holding her shoulders.
"When is the wedding?" Xander asked.
"Well, it'll have to be after this impending dom we're about to face. But soon." Buffy answered.
"This is so cool!" Anya remarked. "Must've been better than when you were gonna marry Spike."
"Hey!" Spike suddenly said, not liking that remark. "I didn't come here just to have the piss ripped out of me, y'know."
"Why else do you think we invited you?" Xander asked.
"Shut it, you dumb-assed piece of sh..." Spike started.
"Ok, you two." Buffy interupted. "That's enough. We're also here to decide what we're going to do in the way of stopping these things."
"Kill 'em all." Spike told her.
"Well, I found another sighting in one of my old books, and before they were looking for the Premarian Amulet." Giles said. "That could be what they're looking for."
"Why are they looking for an amulet?" Xander asked. "Don't big evil demons like them want something more? Like an apocalypse or something?"
"The amulet was very powerful." Giles answered. "It contained a dangerous spirit, able to posess any living creature it wanted."
"That sounds kinda normal around here." Willow said.
"This entity was actually a powerful sorcerer, able to move anything at will, destroy anything it pleased, kill anyone it..."
"Alright, alright." Spike interupted. "This thing is evil. Very evil. Now what?"
"Premarian Amulet..." Willow murmered. "Oh! It's at the museum! I've seen it!" she suddenly blurtted out.
"Don't you think the demons would've looked there already?" Riley asked.
"Well, they can't understand our language, so they couldn't find out from anyone where it was." Giles answered. "We just got lucky."
"We'd better get the amulet before our luck runs out, then." Buffy said. She stood up. "We'll need lots of weapons. Xander, you still got some weapons from when you were Action Man?" she asked.
"Yeah, I'll get them." he answered.
"Good, meet me at the museum. College is on the way. I'll stop by and get some supplies." Buffy said.
"I'm coming, too." Willow told her. Buffy looked at her.
"Are you sure you want to get involved? It'll be very dangerous." Buffy asked her. Willow nodded.
"I've never said no before. I'm sure as hell not gonna say it now." Willow answered.
"Thank you. You help Spike get his weapons. Riley can help me." Buffy said. Willow nodded.
"Huh?" Spike grunted. "I don't need any help." he claimed.
"Shut up. You're getting it." Buffy replied. "Meet us at the museum."
"What can I do?" Giles asked, eager to help.
"We'll need your knowledge, and also your car." Buffy told him. Giles nodded, then stopped.
"My car?" he asked, confused.
"Just in case." Buffy said. "You can take us to the college." She looked around at everyone. "Alright, let's get ready for war." she said, and everyone left Giles' house.
Xander ran into his basement, followed by Anya. He frantically started looking through his boxes around the place. Anya looked through some, then slowed down. "Xander?" she asked.
"Yes?" Xander replied.
"Why don't we get married?" she asked. Xander suddenly froze. He turned around and walked over to her.
"I don't think..." he struggled. "I don't think I'm ready for marriage." he said. "I'm not ready for that type of commitment."
"But, if we get through this, do you think we might one day?" Anya asked.
"I don't know. There's a fight going on in my head. One part of me wants to marry you. The other is just to frightened to get into that." Xander told her. "After this, we'll have to see who won the fight."
"Ok." Anya replied. "I think I understand." Xander smiled, which made Anya smile. He kissed her. After about ten seconds, they stopped.
"We'd better find these weapons, first." Xander explained. Anya nodded, and they carried on searching through his basement.
Willow walked into Spike's crypt, looking around. It was dark, so it was a good job she'd brought her small flashlight along. Spike opened a large chest and took out some weapons and handed them to Willow. "Wow." she said. "Where did you get all these?"
"Mainly stole them off dead demons." Spike answered. "Some I've kept handy for ages." He handed her a mace, then a crossbow. She couldn't carry anything else. Spike closed the chest, and pushed it to one side. He picked up to large swords, and put one behind his back. The jacket held it in place, and also stopped it from stabbing him in the back. He took the crossbow, leaving Willow with the mace and another crossbow.
"This it?" Willow asked. Spike nodded.
"Not a lot else we can bring with us." He walked towards the exit, then stopped. "Actually, there is one last thing." he said, and then turned quickly and kissed her. Willow was about to struggle, but decided not to. His lips felt like ice. She'd forgotten that human and vampire body heats were different. Spike stopped kissing her, leaving her standing, speechless. "In case we don't make it." Spike said, then turned around and left the crypt. Willow stood where she was for a few moments, then followed.
Buffy, Riley and Giles arrived at the museum first. They'd brought nearlly all Buffy's weapons. They got out of the car. "Everything seems quiet." Giles stated the obvious.
"The others should be here soon." Buffy informed the other two. They saw Spike and Willow running down the road with weapons in hand. pike also had a sword in the back of his jacket. They ran up to them.
"We late?" Willow asked, out of breath.
"No." Riley told her. "Looks like we may not need these weapons after all." Suddenly the alarm rang out from the museum, as did a couple of gunshots.
"Then again..." Spike replied. Buffy gripped her crossbow and axe.
"Giles, Willow, wait for Xander and Anya to get here. Then come in and help us." Buffy told them.
"No problem." Willow replied. Buffy nodded, then her, Riley, who was armed with another axe and a sword, and Spike ran into the museum.
They had no trouble finding the group of five Sinkata demons. They were trashing the place, looking for the Premarian Amulet. Three guards were scattered around the floor, all with their heads sliced in half. Buffy fired her crossbow, getting one of the demons in the back of the head, killing it. The other four stopped what they were doing and looked at them. They roared, then charged at them. Spike fired his crossbow, the arrow firing straight into the nearest demon's chest. It ripped it out, and carried on towards him.
One demon came for Riley. He swung his axe at it, the blade digging into the creature's arm. It howled in pain, and knocked Riley bacwards with a backhand punch in the face. It launched itself at him, but Riley rolled out of it's way. He swung his sword, cutting it's claw off. The creature screamed loudly, then Riley sliced it's head off.
Another demon charged at Spike. He threw the crossbow at it, hitting it in the face. The demon seemed unaffected, and smashed Spike in the face. He flew backwards into a wall, dropping his sword. The demon snatched it out of the air and swung at Spike. He ducked, then pulled the sword from his jacket out, deflecting another blow. The two engaged in a fierce sword fight.
The third demon went for Buffy. She ran at it, and run up it, kicking it in the leg, chest and face in the process. She backflipped in the air, and landed on her feet. The demon grabbed her arm and threw her across the room while the other demon kept looking for the amulet.
Riley ran at the last demon, ready to drive his sword into the back of it's head. The demon spun round and dodged the blade. It grabbed Riley's head and lifted him in the air. Riley realised he was about to be killed, and tried to break the demon's tight grip. Suddenly, the side of the demon's head exploded outwards in a shower of blood and bone. It dropped Riley, who instantly picked up his sword. Everybody stopped what they were doing and looked at the entrance where the shotgun shell came from. Willow and Giles where there, along with Anya and Xander, who were armed to the teeth with guns. Xander reloaded his shotgun, and looked at the two remaining demons.
"Party's over." he said, and fired again. The shell hit the wall next to the diving demon that was attacking Buffy, while the other demon continued it's sword fight with Spike. The demon swung it's sword hard, and it sliced through Spike's hand, severing it. Spike flew sideways slightly, holding his stump. He shouted out in agony, then turned around. The demon was preparing to swing it's sword to decapitate him, when suddenly Willow smashed it in the head with her mace. The demon staggered sideways, and Giles sliced into it's head with a sword.
The final demon hurled Buffy across the room, and she crashed into Riley. They both hit the floor, and the demon saw what it came for. So did Buffy. "Shit!" she said as the demon walked over to it. She grabbed Riley's swowd and threw it. It sliced into the demon's arm. It clutched it, screaming, and Buffy dived foward and grabbed the amulet. She stood up and looked over to Xander. "Grenade!" she shouted, and dived over a broken case. Xander wondered what she was going on about as she ran out of the museum. The demon followed, then did Xander.
Buffy threw her axe at the car windshield, and tossed the amulet through the smashed glass. She ran sideways, and the demon jumped onto the car. It crawled through the hole, then Xander realised her plan. He pulled a grenade from his pocket, pulled the pin out, and rolled it under Giles' car. It detonated, and the car, along with the demon and the amulet, went up in a huge explosion.
Everyone else ran out to see the explosion, and they sheilded their eyes. Buffy and Xander walked over to them, and they all observed the wreckage. "It's over." Buffy said. Suddenly, the demon ran out of the firey wreckage towards them, screaming. Anya fired her machine gun, having finally worked out how to use it properly, and tore the demon to pieces with the rain of bullets. It dropped to the ground, dead.
"Now it is." she said. They all watched the fire for a moment, then the smile from Giles' face slowly diminished.
"My car..." he murmered, distresed.
"It was for the greater good." Buffy told him.
"I think we'd better go. We've done all we can here." Riley said.
"Yeah. And my absent hand is killing me." Spike added. They walked away from the museum as sirens from all three emergency services sounded through the night air.
Xander and Anya walked into his basement and layed on the bed, exhausted. "Anya," Xander said.
"Yeah?" Anya replied.
"You know what we talked about before?" he asked.
"Uh-huh." Anya answered.
"I think we should get a place first. See what it's like living together first."
"Ok." She layed on her side to look at him. "That's fine. I understand. And agree." Xander looked at her and kissed her.
"Good." he replied, kissing her again.
Willow walked into Spike's crypt. "Spike?" she called. Spike appeared round a corner. His had was bandaged up.
"Red." he replied. Willow nodded at the bandage.
"Does it still hurt?" she asked. He nodded.
"A bit. It'll grow back." he replied. "Good thing about being a vampire." Willow walked over to him.
"Before we went to the museum, you kissed me." she reminded him. If Spike actually had a circulation, he'd probably have gone red. "Why?"
"Why do you think?" he replied calmly. "It's because I like you. I thought I'd let you know that before we could have all been killed." Willow wasn't sure what to say next. "Don't worry. If you'd prefer me to burn in hell, I'd understand." She stopped him from turning away and kissed him. After what seemed an eternity, she stopped and looked up at him.
"We'd better keep this a secret for now." she told him. "The others might freak."
"Yeah." Spike replied. They kissed again, then Willow stepped back.
"I'd better go." she explained. Spike nodded. "Bye." she said, and walked out of the crypt.
"Bye." Spike said quietly.
In the darkness of the factory, the final three Sinkata demons were chanting around a small fire. One of the demons picked up an amulet from the floor and dangled it in the fire. They carried on chanting, and a blueish gas came from the amulet. It swirled around in the air, then suddenly drifted over to a man in the corner. He'd been tied up, and looked on in horror. He screamed out, but the gas entered his mouth and nose. The man stopped screaming, and dropped to the floor. The demons finished chanting and turned to look at the man. After long seconds of stillness, the body stood up. He ripped the ropes apart, freeing himself. The man's eyes glowed red, and his mouth formed a smile. It looked at the demons, and raised his arm. The demons stood where they were, and suddenly they started merging into one. The man watched as the demons cried out in imense pain as he started to make a new demon. The final days of world had begun, and there was nothing that could stop it.
ARMY OF THE DEAD
Xander opened the door to Giles' house and walked in. "Hey, Giles?" he called. Giles walked into the living room from the kitchen. "You wanted me?" Xander then noticed Spike sitting in the corner chair. "What's he doing here? Isn't it kinda bright outside?" he asked.
"Spike's waiting here until the sun goes down." Giles explained briefly.
"Yeah. I lost track of time." Spike added.
"He was attacked by demons." Giles said bluntly. Xander smiled.
"The Big Bad got scared?" he laughed. "Since when has that happened?"
"Piss off." Spike said. "There were too many to fight by myself. And they were different."
"Different?" Xander asked. "How do you mean 'different'?"
"Tough. Tougher than the other demons around here."
"I've been looking through books about them using Spike's description. They're a group of demons called Sinkata, I think. There's only ever been one sighting." Giles said.
"Is that good, or, you know, not good?" Xander asked.
"I don't know. It could mean that every time someone's seen these things, they are killed."
"Who? Demons or observing people?" Xander questioned.
"The witnesses, you idiot." Spike butted in.
"The one sighting tells us that these demons are fast, strong and deadly." Giles said.
"Nothing new there, then." Xander told him.
"But the witness survived because it was the destruction of this particular race of demon. They should all be extinct." Giles replied.
"Well they didn't seem very extinct when they attacked me. In fact, they seemed very much alive." Spike added.
"This is all very well and bad, but shouldn't you be telling this to Buffy, not me?" Xander asked.
"She's in her lessons at the moment. I thought you'd be able to find out if anybody has seen anything like this around recently." Giles answered.
"That should be fun." Xander mocked. "Excuse me, have you seen a big, ugly demon, about yay tall, tendancy to kill people? Oh, that's right, no. You're alive."
"Just ask the people who know about the demon activities in Sunnydale." Giles told him.
"I'd have thought that would be everybody." Xander said, and left the house.
Buffy and Willow had just finished their Psychology class and were walking down the corridor. "So, you going to be with Riley again tonight?" Willow asked.
"Yeah. Why?" Buffy answered.
"No reason. Just wondering if I should be expecting you back at any time later." Willow replied.
"You doing a spell, then?" Buffy asked, realising why Willow wanted to know if she'd be alone that night.
"I was thinking about it. It'll be kinda strange doing one without Tara." Willow answered. She'd only recently just split up with her after Tara left Sunnydale.
"Don't let it get you down." Buffy said. "Try not to think about it too much."
"It doesn't hurt anymore." Willow told her. "Not like it did with Oz." Buffy wasn't sure what to reply with. Then, without warning, something crashed through the window at the end of the corridor. The creature looked vaguely like a human, only slightly taller and a purple-black colour. It also looked scary. Buffy came to the conclusion in almost a whole second that it was a demon. The next second consisted of the demon grabbing a girl's head and tearing it in half. Everyone screamed, and the demon roared as the girl's body collapsed to the ground. The demon still clutched the scalp, blood dripped off it onto the body.
As soon as the creature had appeared, Buffy dropped her books and ran towards it. She was to late to save a girl near the demon, and this pissed her off even more. She jumped in the air and kicked the demon in the chest with her left foot, and the face with her right. The demon was knocked backwards, dropping the scalp. It swung it's clawed hand at her, and she leant back. The spiky fingers missed her face by millimeters. Buffy grabbed the demon's arm and twisted it sideways. The demon screamed as a loud snap echoed through the corridor. It used it's broken arm and threw Buffy into a wall. She landed on the floor, and the demon prepared to slice her head off her neck.
Riley grabbed the demon's arm and promptly stabbed it in the back of the head with a biro. The demon screamed loudly, then collapsed on the floor next to Buffy. Riley looked at her. "Are you alright?" he asked.
"Yeah. Thank you." Buffy answered, and stood up. She kissed him, then turned around to look at the demon. "You know what this is?" she asked.
"No. I've never seen anything like that before. Don't think I want to." he replied. They turned around and saw the dead girl. The veiw they had allowed them to see into her now almost hollow skull. Her brain was splattered across the floor, and her dead eyes stared spookily at Buffy and Riley. Her mouth was open, like she was screaming.
"Eww..." Buffy moaned. She glanced at Riley, who was almost throwing up. "Willow! Go call Giles." she said. Willow ran up to her.
"Already did." she said. Buffy looked at her, confused.
"How? Our room's on the other side of college." she asked. Willow took out the cell-phone from her pocket.
"My new phone. Like it?" she said. She then saw the dead body. She almost threw up as well, then looked at Buffy. "I'll go meet Giles." she said, then ran off. Buffy looked around.
"Wonder if anybody wonders why we stay around dead people, or why we seem to kick some strange creature people's ass a lot." she asked.
"Just in the wrong place at the wrong time." Riley answered.
"Story of my life." Buffy replied.
"Was this one of the creatures that attacked you?" Giles asked. Spike looked at the photos.
"Yeah. Looks like it." Spike answered. "How did you kill it?"
"Riley stabbed it in the back of the head with a pen." Buffy told him. "Saved my life."
"That's so sweet." Willow said. "Apart from the stabbing part. That's more on the yucky side."
"Yeah." Buffy replied.
"I don't like him." Spike said. "Him and his army group. If it weren't for them, I'd..."
"Still be an evil son of a bitch, and we'd have to stake you." Xander finished. "So look on the bright side, ok." Giles turned to Buffy.
"It attacked you in the middle of the day, in a farely crowded area?" he asked.
"Thing isn't shy, that's for sure." she replied. "How many do you think there are?"
"Well, they're supposed to be extinct. I wouldn't have thought there'd be many." Giles answered.
"Well that's ok then. I don't think I'd be able to take on a whole army of them." Buffy said. "This one almost killed me."
Derek Reed stepped out of his house, trash-bag in hand. He walked down the path to the trash can and dropped the bag in it. He replaced the lid over it and walked back into his house. He closed the door and walked into the living room. His heart suddenly went ape-shit when he saw the walls covered in blood. "Jane!" he shouted, and saw his wife's face looking up at him. It wasn't attached to her body, or the rest of her head. Derek screamed until everything went black.
"It must've been another one of those Sinatra demons." Buffy said, looking at the newspaper Giles had.
"Sinkata." Giles corrected. "And I think you're right. Both times they've been sighted, the creature has ripped the head or part of the head off. The girl at school and the Reed's."
"Why do they keep doing that?" Buffy asked.
"The one sighting given says something about the Sinkata demon always kills it's victims by slicing into the brain. It was supposed to gain them the victims powers." Giles replied.
"Great. Well, you keep researching. I'd better go and learn things in the other world they call college. Bye." Buffy said, and walked out.
Willow walked down the steps into Spike's crypt residence. She looked around, and Spike jumped out in front of her. "Hello, Red." he said.
"Hi." Willow replied, her voice jumping from the sudden shock. "You been attacked again?"
"No. Thanks for the reminder of fear of being torn apart, though."
"Oh. Sorry. Didn't mean to say anything interpreted as not nice." Willow said, then turned around. Spike grabbed her arm.
"Wait a sec, Red. We never talk." he told her.
"You want to talk?" Willow asked, bewildered.
"Well, not really." Spike then spun her around and held her arms tight.
"Hey, what are you doing?" she asked. "You're not supposed to be able to hurt people, remember?" Spike kissed her, and she stopped struggling.
"Hey, Willow. Wake up." Buffy said, walking into their dorm room. Willow's eyes shot open, and she looked around. "What's the matter?"
"Nothing. Absolutely nothing whatsoever." Willow answered nervously.
"You look kinda, well, disturbed." Buffy said. "Did you do that spell?"
"Oh, well, erm... No. Didn't have time. What's the time?" Willow said, trying to sound un-worried.
"It's saturday. No lessons. Don't worry." Buffy told her.
"I'm not worrying. And I'm not disturbed. That's not a nice thing to say." Willow replied. She stood up out of bed and started to get changed.
"Sorry. Didn't mean to upset you." Buffy said. "The demons have attacked recently, as the news may have told you."
"No, I didn't watch the news." Willow said. "I've only just woken up."
"Oh, yeah. Like I said, it's a saturday. You can go back to sleep if you like." Buffy told her kindly.
"No, I'm alright." Willow replied. She put her shoes on."I'd better see if I can help Giles with the research. I'll see you later." she said, and left the room.
"This is so romantic." Anya said, leaning her elbows on the table and looking into Xander's eyes. He was doing the same to her.
"It's the best I could do." he said. "Bit short on cash." The McDonalds waitress walked over with a plastic tray.
"Ok, one cheeseburger with large fries for you," she said, giving Xander his food. "And hamburger, large fries and cola for you." she said, giving Anya hers. The waitress walked off. Xander took a bite out of his burger, while Anya ate some of her fries.
"So," Xander said casually. "What do you want to do after this?"
"Like what?" Anya asked. Xander shrugged.
"We could go see a movie, or something." he suggested. Anya smiled.
"Ok. We can do that." she said.
"Good." Xander said. "We can finish this, then see what..." Before he could finish, a big demon charged through the door and roared at the inhabitants of the fast food resturant. "Oh, shit!" Xander said, realising it was one of the demons they'd all been looking up in books about. "Gotta go, honey, gotta go!" he told Anya, jumping up and grabbing her arm.
"I got no arguments!" she shouted, trying to be heard over the screams of other people. The demon grabbed a man trying to get away by the neck, lifted him in the air, and placed both hands on his head. It twisted them, taking half the head off, spraying blood and brain matter over the counter. Xander picked up a chair and threw it at a window. It shattered, and he and Anya jumped through it. They ran down the street and turned around to see what was happening.
"Where'd everybody go?" Xander asked, observing the empty street. Everybody had quickly fled the not very packed street to avoid decapitation. The demon dived through another window, making Xander and Anya jump. It saw them, and slowly started to chase them. "Shit! Run!" Xander shouted, and they ran like hell down the road towards Xander's car. He took the keys out of his pocket just before they reached the car, and he unlocked it in record time. They both got in the car fast, and Xander started it up. As he hit the gas, the demon was inches from the back of the car.
"What now?" Anya asked franticaly as the demon didn't give up the chase. It was also gaining slightly after dropping back by a couple of metres as the car started. Xander struggled to think.
"In the back is a crossbow, get it!" he said. He knew he should always take one for safety reasons. Anya climbed over the seat into the back and grabbed it.
"Got it!" she shouted.
"Go for the head!" Xander replied. Anya uneasily aimed the crossbow at the creature. She fired, hitting the demon in the shoulder. It howled, and stopped chasing.
"It's stopped chasing us!" she said. Xander gave out a sigh of relief. "Are we still going to see that movie?" Anya asked.
"We'll just report this mind numbingly fearful experiance to the Englishman, then we'll see whether my heart will start beating again." Xander told her, driving very quickly to Giles' house.
Willow lumped another old book onto Giles' table. "Still nothing?" Giles asked, already knowing the answer.
"Nothing." Willow replied. "It's like these things never existed." Before she was able to take another book from the shelf, Xander and Anya burst through the door, startling both Willow and Giles. "What happened?" Willow asked, concerned. Xander struggled to speak because he was worn out.
"One of those demon things attacked us... It killed one man, then almost killed us." he told them.
"I shot it with a crossbow." Anya said proudly.
"Is it dead?" Giles asked.
"No, I got it in the shoulder." Anya replied.
"Oh, well the main thing is that you two are still alive." Giles told them. "How did it kill the man?"
"It twisted half his head of like a bottle-top." Xander explained. "It was really sick."
"That must be how they kill all their victims." Giles thought aloud. "Thank you, this has been very helpful." he said. Xander nodded, and they left the house.
"Now we'll know what people they've killed." Willow said. Giles nodded.
"Yes. Can you see if you can find any murders where the head has been torn in half at the coroner's or somewhere?" he asked.
"Ok. I'll have to do it later, I've got to do something at the minuite." Willow replied. "I'll bring back any info tommorow."
"That's fine." Giles said. Willow nodded, and left the house. Giles picked up another book from the shelf and looked through it.
Buffy and Riley where walking down the street after meeting each other at college. "You still don't know how many of those things there are?" Riley asked her. She shook her head.
"No. Still pretty much a mystery. All we know is that they're tough, evil, and ugly." she told him.
"Do you think we could be facing another apocalypse?" Riley asked.
"I don't know." Buffy replied. "I doubt it. Maybe just a big fight with lots of killing involved."
"That doesn't sound to good." Riley said. "Then again, that doesn't sound too different." Buffy smiled, but didn't laugh.
"It's probably the reason why tourism isn't very high in Sunnydale." she said. "But don't worry. Me and my friends have faced loads of demons worse than these and won. We've had lots of experience."
"No, I'm not worrying. Much. It took a single pen to take down the one at school, how tough can they be to kill?" Riley joked.
"You could attack them with stationary and save the day." Buffy said. "I'll stick to stakes and crossbows."
"I can see how they can be more effective." Riley replied. He took something from his pocket. "I want to ask you something." he said.
"Ask away." Buffy replied.
"Well, I've been thinking about this for a while now, and was wondering..." he replied, then passed her a small black box. Buffy opened it and stopped walking. "Would you marry me?" Buffy was totaly speechless, which started to worry Riley.
"Oh my God..." Buffy managed do say. She took the ring out of the box and studied it. "This is beautiful." she said, slipping the ring onto her finger.
"Is this a good or bad sign?" Riley asked. Buffy smiled and hugged him.
"It's a good sign. Of course I'll marry you!" she replied, and kissed him. He held his new fiancee tight, not wanting to let her go.
Willow walked to the coroner's office when it was getting dark. This didn't bother her, as she knew it was dark at nights frequently. What bothered her was the lack of people in the street. She walked quicker than usual to the coroner's office, and entered it. She walked through the corridor. "Hello?" she called. There was no answer. "Is anyone..." She stopped midsentance as one of the Sinkata demons steppedround the corner to face her. It's hand was covered in thick blood. It roared at her, and she legged it out of the building.
Willow ran like hell down the road, but the demon was chasing her. She crossed the road and ran into the graveyard, screaming as she went. The demon smashed through the metal fence, not slowing down. Willow tripped over and rolled foward, laying on the ground facing upwards. She saw the demon stand over her and lean down to grab her. She screamed again, knowing that she was about to die painfully.
Spike was walking around in his crypt when he heard a familiar scream nearby. He grabbed the two crossbows he kept in his lair and ran outside into the dark night. He looked around and saw Willow running through the graveyard, followed by one of those big demons that almost killed him a couple of nights ago. He ran towards them, then saw Willow trip. The demon was about to grab her when Spike aimed the crossbow in his right hand at it and fired. The arrow hit the demon in the arm, and it jumped back in pain. The demon looked up and roared at Spike, then charged at him. Spike fired his other crossbow, and the arrow hit the demon between the eyes, and it dropped to the ground like a sack. Willow ran over to him and hugged him.
"You saved my life!" she said, pleased to see him.
"Er, yeah." Spike replied. "I may be evil, but not that evil." Willow stopped hugging him and took a step back.
"Thank you." she told him.
"No problem." Spike said. "I had a score to settle with his kind, anyway." They stood in silence for a while, then Willow spoke.
"Well, I have to go." she said. "Thank you, again." She turned to leave.
"Ok, see ya." Spike replied, and walked back to his crypt as Willow ran to College.
Willow charged through the door to her room and closed it fast. "What's going on?" Buffy asked. This caught Willow by surprise, and she let out a short scream. She spun round and saw Buffy.
"Oh, I just met up with a Sinkata demon, and it almost killed me." Willow replied. Buffy jumped up off her bed and quickly walked over to her.
"Are you ok?" she asked, leading her friend over to her bed. Willow nodded.
"Spike saved me." she said. Buffy looked confused.
"Spike helped you? Against one of those?" she wondered aloud.
"Yup." Willow answered. "He did it well, as well."
"Wow. He certainly has changed. A lot." Buffy said. "Oh, oh, oh!" she suddenly blurted. "Guess what?"
"I don't know." Willow guessed. Buffy stuck her hand out so Willow could see the ring. "Oh, my God!" she said. "Are you?" Buffy nodded excitedly. Willow hugged her suddenly. "Congratulations!" she told her.
"Thanks." Buffy replied. "I was also wondering if you would be the bridesmaid." Willow's face gained a shocked smile.
"Really?" she asked, totally excited. Buffy nodded. "Of course!" Buffy hugged her, then stopped.
"This is going to be so perfect." Buffy told her. "I've never had a fiancee before. Apart from Spike, but that doesn't count." Willow laughed uneasily at the mention of Spike's name, suddenly feeling embarresed. Buffy didn't notice it, and layed on her bed again. "Anyway, I'm so tired. This soon-to-be wife business is tiring work." she said.
"Yeah, I'm sleepy too. All this nearly getting killed work is tiring as well." Willow replied, and they both turned off their desklamps.
The two cops pulled up their patrol car next to the old factory. There'd been reports of trespassers entering it. They looked tall, and heavily built. The two cops pulled their pistols from their holster, and the first cop took out a flashlight. "Bet it's just kids." he said.
"Yeah," the other replied. "Or maybe even nothing." They walked up to the factory, and walked through the side door. It was dark inside, and the beam from the flashlight didn't show very much up. They carried on walking through the factory, and the second cop heard something. "Next floor." he whispered, and they made their way to the stairs. The first cop looked up the stairs first, then walked up them. The second one followed. As they reached the top, the flashlight's beam highlighted three figures about 200 metres away from them. The cops aimed their guns at them.
"Freeze!" shouted the first cop. The three men stood up and turned around. On the floor was a fourth, lifeless body. "Don't move!" the cop shouted again. He shone the light in one of the men's face, and noticed it looked different to what it should do. It's face narrowed downwards slightly in the middle, and it had sharp fangs. He could also just make out that his eyes were also yellow. Vampires.
"Damn..." said the second cop, and fired a round at the lead vampire. The shot knocked him back, but he got back up again. Both cops fired at the group, but they couldn't kill them. The lead vampire charged at the second cop, smashing him into the wall behind him. The force knocked the gun from his hand, and the vampire sunk it's fangs into his neck. He could feel the vampire draining the blood from his artery, and started to feel faint.
The vampire suddenly stopped drinking, and turned to dust. The cop fell to the ground and looked up. He saw a slightly baffled monster looking at it's claw, then the dust it just created. It then looked down at him, and slowly picked him up by his skull. The cop didn't have the energy to scream, and then didn't have the ability when the monster tore his skull in half.
The first cop was firing at the other vampires when the lead one rammed into his partner. He turned to try and help, but one of the other vampires smashed him in the head with a plank of wood. He hit the floor with a thud, and looked back at them. His vision was slightly blurred, but he could make out the two vampires approaching him. Suddenly, both turned to dust as the top of their heads were sliced off. Behind them was a monster with a large claw. It hadn't seen him yet, but went for the other vampire, slicing it's head off. The cop watched as it looked at it's claw, confused, then picked up his partner. Before the first cop could do anything, the monster ripped the other's head in two.
The cop quickly reloaded his gun and fired at the monster. It turned around as the bullets punched through it's flesh, and took a step towards the cop. He shot at it's head, and the monster collapsed to the ground, smashing through it and landing on the floor below. The cop looked down the hole at the monster, and put another couple of bullets in it's body for good measure. "Son of a bitch..." he murmered to himself, holding his head. It was bleeding from where the vampires had hit him. "What the fu..." he started, turning around just in time to see another monster swing at him.
"Married?" Giles asked, shocked at this sudden discovery. Buffy nodded.
"Isn't it great?" Willow asked, enthusiasticly.
"Yes." Giles replied, actually happy about it. In fact, he felt a sort of pride inside him. "Congratulations." he said.
"Thanks." Riley replied. He was standing behind Buffy, holding her shoulders.
"When is the wedding?" Xander asked.
"Well, it'll have to be after this impending dom we're about to face. But soon." Buffy answered.
"This is so cool!" Anya remarked. "Must've been better than when you were gonna marry Spike."
"Hey!" Spike suddenly said, not liking that remark. "I didn't come here just to have the piss ripped out of me, y'know."
"Why else do you think we invited you?" Xander asked.
"Shut it, you dumb-assed piece of sh..." Spike started.
"Ok, you two." Buffy interupted. "That's enough. We're also here to decide what we're going to do in the way of stopping these things."
"Kill 'em all." Spike told her.
"Well, I found another sighting in one of my old books, and before they were looking for the Premarian Amulet." Giles said. "That could be what they're looking for."
"Why are they looking for an amulet?" Xander asked. "Don't big evil demons like them want something more? Like an apocalypse or something?"
"The amulet was very powerful." Giles answered. "It contained a dangerous spirit, able to posess any living creature it wanted."
"That sounds kinda normal around here." Willow said.
"This entity was actually a powerful sorcerer, able to move anything at will, destroy anything it pleased, kill anyone it..."
"Alright, alright." Spike interupted. "This thing is evil. Very evil. Now what?"
"Premarian Amulet..." Willow murmered. "Oh! It's at the museum! I've seen it!" she suddenly blurtted out.
"Don't you think the demons would've looked there already?" Riley asked.
"Well, they can't understand our language, so they couldn't find out from anyone where it was." Giles answered. "We just got lucky."
"We'd better get the amulet before our luck runs out, then." Buffy said. She stood up. "We'll need lots of weapons. Xander, you still got some weapons from when you were Action Man?" she asked.
"Yeah, I'll get them." he answered.
"Good, meet me at the museum. College is on the way. I'll stop by and get some supplies." Buffy said.
"I'm coming, too." Willow told her. Buffy looked at her.
"Are you sure you want to get involved? It'll be very dangerous." Buffy asked her. Willow nodded.
"I've never said no before. I'm sure as hell not gonna say it now." Willow answered.
"Thank you. You help Spike get his weapons. Riley can help me." Buffy said. Willow nodded.
"Huh?" Spike grunted. "I don't need any help." he claimed.
"Shut up. You're getting it." Buffy replied. "Meet us at the museum."
"What can I do?" Giles asked, eager to help.
"We'll need your knowledge, and also your car." Buffy told him. Giles nodded, then stopped.
"My car?" he asked, confused.
"Just in case." Buffy said. "You can take us to the college." She looked around at everyone. "Alright, let's get ready for war." she said, and everyone left Giles' house.
Xander ran into his basement, followed by Anya. He frantically started looking through his boxes around the place. Anya looked through some, then slowed down. "Xander?" she asked.
"Yes?" Xander replied.
"Why don't we get married?" she asked. Xander suddenly froze. He turned around and walked over to her.
"I don't think..." he struggled. "I don't think I'm ready for marriage." he said. "I'm not ready for that type of commitment."
"But, if we get through this, do you think we might one day?" Anya asked.
"I don't know. There's a fight going on in my head. One part of me wants to marry you. The other is just to frightened to get into that." Xander told her. "After this, we'll have to see who won the fight."
"Ok." Anya replied. "I think I understand." Xander smiled, which made Anya smile. He kissed her. After about ten seconds, they stopped.
"We'd better find these weapons, first." Xander explained. Anya nodded, and they carried on searching through his basement.
Willow walked into Spike's crypt, looking around. It was dark, so it was a good job she'd brought her small flashlight along. Spike opened a large chest and took out some weapons and handed them to Willow. "Wow." she said. "Where did you get all these?"
"Mainly stole them off dead demons." Spike answered. "Some I've kept handy for ages." He handed her a mace, then a crossbow. She couldn't carry anything else. Spike closed the chest, and pushed it to one side. He picked up to large swords, and put one behind his back. The jacket held it in place, and also stopped it from stabbing him in the back. He took the crossbow, leaving Willow with the mace and another crossbow.
"This it?" Willow asked. Spike nodded.
"Not a lot else we can bring with us." He walked towards the exit, then stopped. "Actually, there is one last thing." he said, and then turned quickly and kissed her. Willow was about to struggle, but decided not to. His lips felt like ice. She'd forgotten that human and vampire body heats were different. Spike stopped kissing her, leaving her standing, speechless. "In case we don't make it." Spike said, then turned around and left the crypt. Willow stood where she was for a few moments, then followed.
Buffy, Riley and Giles arrived at the museum first. They'd brought nearlly all Buffy's weapons. They got out of the car. "Everything seems quiet." Giles stated the obvious.
"The others should be here soon." Buffy informed the other two. They saw Spike and Willow running down the road with weapons in hand. pike also had a sword in the back of his jacket. They ran up to them.
"We late?" Willow asked, out of breath.
"No." Riley told her. "Looks like we may not need these weapons after all." Suddenly the alarm rang out from the museum, as did a couple of gunshots.
"Then again..." Spike replied. Buffy gripped her crossbow and axe.
"Giles, Willow, wait for Xander and Anya to get here. Then come in and help us." Buffy told them.
"No problem." Willow replied. Buffy nodded, then her, Riley, who was armed with another axe and a sword, and Spike ran into the museum.
They had no trouble finding the group of five Sinkata demons. They were trashing the place, looking for the Premarian Amulet. Three guards were scattered around the floor, all with their heads sliced in half. Buffy fired her crossbow, getting one of the demons in the back of the head, killing it. The other four stopped what they were doing and looked at them. They roared, then charged at them. Spike fired his crossbow, the arrow firing straight into the nearest demon's chest. It ripped it out, and carried on towards him.
One demon came for Riley. He swung his axe at it, the blade digging into the creature's arm. It howled in pain, and knocked Riley bacwards with a backhand punch in the face. It launched itself at him, but Riley rolled out of it's way. He swung his sword, cutting it's claw off. The creature screamed loudly, then Riley sliced it's head off.
Another demon charged at Spike. He threw the crossbow at it, hitting it in the face. The demon seemed unaffected, and smashed Spike in the face. He flew backwards into a wall, dropping his sword. The demon snatched it out of the air and swung at Spike. He ducked, then pulled the sword from his jacket out, deflecting another blow. The two engaged in a fierce sword fight.
The third demon went for Buffy. She ran at it, and run up it, kicking it in the leg, chest and face in the process. She backflipped in the air, and landed on her feet. The demon grabbed her arm and threw her across the room while the other demon kept looking for the amulet.
Riley ran at the last demon, ready to drive his sword into the back of it's head. The demon spun round and dodged the blade. It grabbed Riley's head and lifted him in the air. Riley realised he was about to be killed, and tried to break the demon's tight grip. Suddenly, the side of the demon's head exploded outwards in a shower of blood and bone. It dropped Riley, who instantly picked up his sword. Everybody stopped what they were doing and looked at the entrance where the shotgun shell came from. Willow and Giles where there, along with Anya and Xander, who were armed to the teeth with guns. Xander reloaded his shotgun, and looked at the two remaining demons.
"Party's over." he said, and fired again. The shell hit the wall next to the diving demon that was attacking Buffy, while the other demon continued it's sword fight with Spike. The demon swung it's sword hard, and it sliced through Spike's hand, severing it. Spike flew sideways slightly, holding his stump. He shouted out in agony, then turned around. The demon was preparing to swing it's sword to decapitate him, when suddenly Willow smashed it in the head with her mace. The demon staggered sideways, and Giles sliced into it's head with a sword.
The final demon hurled Buffy across the room, and she crashed into Riley. They both hit the floor, and the demon saw what it came for. So did Buffy. "Shit!" she said as the demon walked over to it. She grabbed Riley's swowd and threw it. It sliced into the demon's arm. It clutched it, screaming, and Buffy dived foward and grabbed the amulet. She stood up and looked over to Xander. "Grenade!" she shouted, and dived over a broken case. Xander wondered what she was going on about as she ran out of the museum. The demon followed, then did Xander.
Buffy threw her axe at the car windshield, and tossed the amulet through the smashed glass. She ran sideways, and the demon jumped onto the car. It crawled through the hole, then Xander realised her plan. He pulled a grenade from his pocket, pulled the pin out, and rolled it under Giles' car. It detonated, and the car, along with the demon and the amulet, went up in a huge explosion.
Everyone else ran out to see the explosion, and they sheilded their eyes. Buffy and Xander walked over to them, and they all observed the wreckage. "It's over." Buffy said. Suddenly, the demon ran out of the firey wreckage towards them, screaming. Anya fired her machine gun, having finally worked out how to use it properly, and tore the demon to pieces with the rain of bullets. It dropped to the ground, dead.
"Now it is." she said. They all watched the fire for a moment, then the smile from Giles' face slowly diminished.
"My car..." he murmered, distresed.
"It was for the greater good." Buffy told him.
"I think we'd better go. We've done all we can here." Riley said.
"Yeah. And my absent hand is killing me." Spike added. They walked away from the museum as sirens from all three emergency services sounded through the night air.
Xander and Anya walked into his basement and layed on the bed, exhausted. "Anya," Xander said.
"Yeah?" Anya replied.
"You know what we talked about before?" he asked.
"Uh-huh." Anya answered.
"I think we should get a place first. See what it's like living together first."
"Ok." She layed on her side to look at him. "That's fine. I understand. And agree." Xander looked at her and kissed her.
"Good." he replied, kissing her again.
Willow walked into Spike's crypt. "Spike?" she called. Spike appeared round a corner. His had was bandaged up.
"Red." he replied. Willow nodded at the bandage.
"Does it still hurt?" she asked. He nodded.
"A bit. It'll grow back." he replied. "Good thing about being a vampire." Willow walked over to him.
"Before we went to the museum, you kissed me." she reminded him. If Spike actually had a circulation, he'd probably have gone red. "Why?"
"Why do you think?" he replied calmly. "It's because I like you. I thought I'd let you know that before we could have all been killed." Willow wasn't sure what to say next. "Don't worry. If you'd prefer me to burn in hell, I'd understand." She stopped him from turning away and kissed him. After what seemed an eternity, she stopped and looked up at him.
"We'd better keep this a secret for now." she told him. "The others might freak."
"Yeah." Spike replied. They kissed again, then Willow stepped back.
"I'd better go." she explained. Spike nodded. "Bye." she said, and walked out of the crypt.
"Bye." Spike said quietly.
In the darkness of the factory, the final three Sinkata demons were chanting around a small fire. One of the demons picked up an amulet from the floor and dangled it in the fire. They carried on chanting, and a blueish gas came from the amulet. It swirled around in the air, then suddenly drifted over to a man in the corner. He'd been tied up, and looked on in horror. He screamed out, but the gas entered his mouth and nose. The man stopped screaming, and dropped to the floor. The demons finished chanting and turned to look at the man. After long seconds of stillness, the body stood up. He ripped the ropes apart, freeing himself. The man's eyes glowed red, and his mouth formed a smile. It looked at the demons, and raised his arm. The demons stood where they were, and suddenly they started merging into one. The man watched as the demons cried out in imense pain as he started to make a new demon. The final days of world had begun, and there was nothing that could stop it.