Title: Pounding Despair
Disclaimer: Hmm.. Nope I don't own Buffy the Vampire Slayer or the characters. I am not Joss. If I was Angel would have never left Sunnydale and Buffy & Angel would be together always.
AN: Buffy never slept with Spike, Willow went through her troublesome detachment of magic. When she was fully craft free Tara became Willow's girlfriend again. Buffy and Angel have been dating long distance... talking on the phone a lot, seeing each other on the weekends mostly.
Warning: Rape in part 2
Takes Place during Season 6, Angel and her have talked occasionally.
The sky was a canvas of darkness. There was a single star in sight. The only light in the park was the crescent moon. A cute couple was walking on the grass. The woman's head was leaning on the man's shoulder, his arm wrapped around her waist. They whispered sweet things to each other. The man had broad shoulders, his height was about six feet. The woman was just a little bit shorter and thin. She had long blond hair and blue eyes. She had long slender arms and legs. The man gave gave her a tentative kiss on her head, took off his suede black jacket and placed it on the ground next to a tree. He sat down and motioned for his girlfriend to sit down next to him. She snuggled in his arms as they started at the moon.
A demon half-breed and a few demons following it were lurking in the shadows. All three demons looked the same. Grayish-green skin. They looked a little hairy. They had wide mouths with long fangs sticking out and two little nostral openings for the nose. The eyes were a dull pitch black. They had pointy ears at the top of the head. Their feet and hands had three straight claws sticking out. They were five feet tall; their backs slightly hunched.
The half-breed was six feet tall and broad shoulders. He was wearing rectangular black sunglasses, black jeans and a blue silk shirt. His boots met the ground with hard footsteps.
The half-breed and the demons waltzed up to the couple unsuspecting of the nightmare to come. The half-breed smiled at the couple. He snapped his fingers and the demons launched themselves at the couple. One demon tossed the girl to the half-breed who smiled in delight. The man was brutally beaten to death.
Buffy was patrolling in that park that same night when she heard the deafening scream. She followed the sound quickly till she saw the demon attacking the man. To her right she could see the girlfriend watching in horror as the creature holding her dragged her away with the demons following close behind. He just laughed and laughed. From the looks of it the man was pretty much dead, so she decided on running after the half-breed carrying the woman.
Just as she started jogging towards them the demons attacked her.
Buffy gave demon number one an uppercut to it's chin and then quickly kicked demon number two away from her. The third demon scratched Buffy's arm. "Ouch!" She shouted.
She did a 360 degree turn, kicking the third demon in the gut making him bend over. She punched demon number two's legs left to right and it fell to the ground. The half-breed looked back for a second and said to himself, "Interesting. The Slayer. She could be very enticing."
Demon number one punched Buffy in the jaw. For one minute she lost her balance and stumbled backwards into demon number two. It was a minute to soon. The beast behind her wrapped his arms around her, it's claws digging into her stomach. Demon number three and one punched and kicked her at the same time. Buffy could barely keep her head up. She could barely breath. Demon number one continued punching as demon three raised his pointed figure, ready to slit Buffy's throat, when a tall dark figure pulled demon number one and three away from Buffy. He snarled at them and then punched the demon holding Buffy making him loosen his grip on her.
Angel quickly scooped Buffy into his arms. He ran out of the park. After Buffy could finally find her voice she said, "What about the demon? You can't let... it get away!"
"I don't care about the demon. I care about you're safety."
Buffy held on to Angel's neck tighter. "Sweet of you." She smiled, "Not that I'm not happy you saved my life, but um how come you're here?"
"Cordy had a vision of you." Angel replied.
"Oh. Is that the only reason?"
He smiled, "I also love you." He put her down and they continued walking.
"Take me to LA?" she asked sweetly.
"You should tell Giles about those demons first thing tomorrow." He said sternly.
She nodded. "Also that other demon."
"There were more then three?"
"Yeah, the fourth one carried the girl away. I was about to run after them, but those demons just jumped me." She frowned.
"It's not your fault."
She whispered, "I know."
Angel asked, "Did you get a good look at him?"
"Well if you mean did I get a good look of his back then yes. He had brown hair, he was wearing clothes and had blue horns on the top of it's head. Other then the horns it looked close to resembling a human being."
"Could be a half-breed."
"Half-breed? You mean like human, but with a demon side."
"You could say that."
They aproached her house. He gave her a small kiss on the lips. She returned him a more passionate kiss as she wrapped her arms around him. Then she ran her fingers through his hair. "You better go inside. Get some rest."
"Yeah" she smiled, "I was a bit sluggish out there.
He gave her a kiss on the cheek. "I'll be back at the [Hyperion] hotel. You know the number." He smiled. "Goodnight."
"Night." She opened the door.
The next day Buffy slept late. When she walked down the stairs and into the kitchen she saw Dawn making pancakes with Tara. After each pancake Willow kept eating them. Dawn whined, "Willow stop eating them till they're done!"
Willow smiled, "Ok, ok." She looked up and saw Buffy. "Morning, Buffy."
"Hey." She smiled back.
Dawn said, "Sleep well? You must have being you've slept late, but then again you were probably out late saving the world." She smiled.
Buffy gave a small smile, "Yeah. What time is it?"
"11:30." Dawn replied.
"You're making pancakes for breakfest now?" the slightly cranky slayer asked.
"Yeah, for lunch though. You want a few?"
"Just one please. I gotta get dressed and see Giles about a demon from last night."
"What it look like? I could do some research on the computer." Willow asked.
"Uh, a half-breed. I really don't know what it's face looks like, so the description probably won't be much help. All I can say is he had blue horns and an okay fashion sense."
The talented witch nodded, "Ok, I'll see what I can find."
Dawn said, "Ok first pancake for Buffy coming up."
Buffy had quickly ate the pancake, got dressed in jeans and V-neck shirt and went to Giles' house. Giles had sleepily answered the door in his pajamas and a robe. Buffy looked him up and down, noticed his hair was messy and his eyes looked tired. Concerned she asked, "Giles, you ok?"
He gave her a weak smile, "Yes I'm fine Buffy thankyou. I was up late last night is all."
"Oh well you're not the only one" she paused and thought for a second, "except I obviously got more sleep than you." She walked in and Giles closed the door.
Buffy sat down on the soft sofa. Giles poured a drink of orange juice and leaned against the wall of the door entrance to his kitchen. After a few minutes of strange silence he asked, "So... there was a reason you came here?"
She snapped out of her daze. "Oh. Yeah." Buffy told him all about her patrol the other night.
"Hmm... with out a frontal description of this half-breed demon there's not much we can do about, but we could research the demons that you fought."
She nodded. "I figured we could all get together at the Magick Shop at around twelvish?"
"Sure, I'll get dressed."
~ 12:40pm ~
"This is a waste we're never going to find anything on these things." In frustration Xander slammed the book shut and pushed it aside. He grabbed another book which was the fourth one he'd be looking through.
Anya snipped, "I still think we should get paid."
"This isn't about money. We're doing this to help Buffy."
"Yeah, yeah." She continued skimming through the dusty book.
Willow continued surfing the net for any information on demon killings in the past month. She had found a bunch of demons that had caused some chaos amond the streats, but none of them looked like what Buffy described. In searching for the demons, Willow had typed in the search feild: strong, hairy grayish-green skin, two small nostrils, wide mouths and any other little details Buffy mentioned. Willow mumbled, "If I were still addicted to magic I'd use it and find ours pesky foes in just a second."
"Right, but key word Willow... addicted. You're addiction almost got Dawn killed and it was hurting you." Buffy said gently.
Willow smiled, "Don't worry, I wouldn't do any more magic if it meant losing my Tara again." Tara squeezed her shoulder in support.
Willow continued her search. Fifteen minutes later she bolted out of her seat and shouted, "I found it!" They all had a surprise and freaked look on their faces, "Sorry just excited. I think I found the demons that match you're description, Buffy."
Everyone walked to look at the computer screen. There was an old photograph of the demon. Buffy nodded and said quietly, "That's exactly it. Does it mention any specific way to kill it?"
"Can be any weapon, just the blade or stake, whatever has to be made of pure silver."
"Pure silver? Giles?"
"I have some stakes, daggers and swords that are made of pure silver. So we're good to go." Giles said as he walked to the back of the room.
Following him she said, "Good. Tonight we hunt. We kill --"
Xander quipped, "Then we party with the funky party weasel that Giles is."
"Xander." Giles said his name in annoyance.
Buffy gave a faint smile, "We kill, but leave one for torture and answers."
"Then we go get this half-breed." Xander added.
Anya smiled and said, "Then we save this girl that was captured and if we're lucky she'll pay us!" Xander shook his head.
Buffy sighed, "Ok. No more being cooped up here. You guys do whatever you want and then let's meet back here at eight."
"Easy for you to say you don't own the place." Anya mumbled.
Giles asked, "What about Angel?"
"I'll ask him if he can join in on the fun don't worry." Buffy smiled.
In the Hyperion at 7:50pm the phone rang and Cordy picked up, "Hello, Angel Investigations we help-- Oh Hi Buffy! How's everything in Sunnydale? ... I'm sorry Buff, Angel's out on a case right now. ... Sure. Restfeild cemetary. I'll tell him. But I can't guarentee he'll make it. ... Hello, I'm working with him of course he has a cell. ... Sure it's 588 - 2144. ... Be careful. ... Night."
Cordy whispered to Conner who was nestled in her arms, "You might not get to see your daddy tonight, little champ. Let's put you to bed."
Buffy had called Angel, told him that they were going to the cemetary to look for the demons, so he had Gunn and Wesley take care of the case he was working on and hurried to the Magick Box. Willow, Tara, Xander, Anya, Giles, Angel and Buffy went to cemetary hoping the demons would show that night. Xander had his arm lovingly around Anya, Willow and Tara shared a kiss, Angel had his arm tightly around Buffy's waist. Giles was bait, standing by a tree. All content feelings were gone when the demons were spotted. "There." Buffy said. "Ready guys?" They all nodded. "Let's go."
They ran over to three demons who were about to attack Giles. Buffy grabbed the first one by it's neck and swung it around. Then she punched it's face. The thing roared in pain. Willow, Anya and Tara ganged up on one. Angel punched the third demon a few times. The demon kicked Angel in the gut and he stumbled backwards. He regained his balance quickly though and launched another attack on the beast. He kicked it to the ground, he walked behind and pulled him off the ground. He held him there and yelled, "Giles!"
Giles ran up to Angel and jammed the dagger into the demon's heart. Angel dropped the demon to the floor. "Thanks."
Giles smiled, "No problem."
Giles and Angel went to help the others. Buffy kept on fighting her strong demon. It kicked her in the stomach and she stumbled backwards into a new demon. The half-breed. He had a needle in his hand. "Slayer." He grinned. "You're strong aren't you?" He had a firm grip on her shoulders. He laughed. "Well I've this solution I made that I want to try out on you. It's suppose to take your power away. Don't worry it's temporary. Well this one is anyway. Try fighting now!"
The half-breed stuck the needle into her arm. Buffy let out a silent cry of pain. The chemical coarsed through her body rapidly. Suddenly she was jerked into the arms of the demon longing for a meal. The half-breed shouted, "By the way my name is BenifictThe" and ran off. The drug had such an effect on her she could barely scream. When she did it came out just above a whisper. "Angel.." she whimpered. Angel could here her cry no matter how low her voice is. He ran towards her just as the demon bit into her shoulder. She shouted in pain. Angel quickly punched the demon. Buffy fell limp in Angel's arms. "Giles! Someone!"
The demon started walking back toward Buffy and Angel. He quietly asked Buffy, "What'd the half-breed do to you?"
As the drug began to wear off she raised her voice a little and formed two words, "Needle. Drug." She still lay limp in his arms.
The made a move to hit Buffy, but Angel kicked it again, still holding tightly onto Buffy. Xander got to their side. He carefully held Buffy laying in his arms. She wrapped her arms around Xander's neck. Angel was momentarily jealous at the sight. Then smiled because he new that soon she would be in his arms again. Angel pushed the demon and then snapped it's neck.
When the battle was done, Angel carried Buffy back to the Magick Box with everyone else. Buffy quietly asked, "Did uh, anyone see... where Benifict went? He's the half-breed."
Angel nodded down at her and the others said, "No." almost in unison.
Back in the Magick Box, Angel sat Buffy down on a chair. Giles brought in the first-aid kit. Buffy took off her jacket and winced. Her wound was still bleeding from the bite mark. Most of her strength had returned. Angel patched up her wound and walked her home. When Buffy opened the door she felt lightheaded and stumbled a litte. Angel gently grabbed her shoulders. She quietly said, "Carry me upstairs, please?"
He just smiled and picked up, carrying her to her room and placing her in bed. "I can stay if you want." He said gently.
Weakly she replied, "Thanks, but I'll be ok. I'm sure you have stuff to do at the hotel and plus you've got Conner to take care of."
"Are you sure?"
"Positive. Angel get out of here." She smiled.
He kissed her forehead. "You get lots of rest. Don't do anything to strain your shoulder. And don't you dare go patrolling tomorrow night." She mouthed 'ok'. "You promise?"
Buffy slowly took Angel's pinky, smiled and said, "I pinkie promise."
He chuckled and kissed her lips lightly. "Goodnight, sweet."
"Night." She called as he walked away.
The next evening Buffy and the gang were researching for hours. Buffy decided it was time for them all to get some rest. It was clear that they weren't going to find the location of this half-breed just by looking in dusty books. Although the internet was usually very helpful in finding something with even just a few words, tonight they were getting anywhere even on the net. Buffy smiled and said, "Guys, I think we've had enough. Let's go home. We can continue this another time."
Giles asked, "I'm assuming that you're patrolling tonight?"
"No." She said firmly, but smiling. "I promised Angel that I wouldn't patrol tonight and I'd get lots of rest. That's just what I'm going to do."
Willow asked, "Angel went back last night?" Buffy nodded a little sadly.
Xander snapped, "Just like him huh? He just can't wait to leave when we're in the middle of something important."
"Hey." Buffy frowned. "Angel asked if I needed him to stay and I said he could leave. So don't make any comments about him behind his back."
"Sorry."
"It's all right." She smiled. "Well, if you guys really want to stick around doing more research, fine with me, but I'm leaving. Gonna catch up on some sleepy time."
Willow said, "We'll just stick around a little while longer."
"Night." Buffy walked out the door.
The half-breed watched the Slayer leave. He patiently waited for her to be out of sight.
When Giles and the rest were about to leave, the half-breed and more demon minions of the same kind walked toward the Magick Box. They walked in and Xander said, "Uh-oh. Something tells me I wish Buffy didn't leave."
Willow said quietly, "There's... 10 of them!"
They tried to fight the demons off, but there were too many. Giles, Xander and Tara were knocked out. Willow and Anya screamed at the top of their lungs for Buffy hoping she might still be in range. Buffy did here them, but when she got back to Magick Box she found it empty. Two chairs, some merchandise were broken, papers and books were scattered all over the place. She was thankful that at least Dawn was home safe. Her eyes watered. She was too shocked to know what to do. Frozen in place. She snapped out of her daze when Spike walked in slowly, "What in the bloody hell happened here?"
Buffy hastily wiped the tears from her eyes and turned around to face him. In barely a whisper she said, "Some demons I think, they took Giles and the others."
"And Dawn?"
"No. She's at home."
"Good, I'd hate it if anything happened to the little bit. Do you want my help? Want me to go with you to look for them?"
"No Spike, but thanks for the offer. It would be pointless to look around when we have no idea where they could be. Just maybe walk me home?"
"Sure thing, pet."
When they reached the house Buffy opened the door. Spike was going to follow her in, but she put her arm out in front of him. "Goodnight. I just need to be with Dawn alone."
"All right. Get some sleep. You could use it." He said and walked away.
Buffy called out, "Dawn?" No answered. Her heart started pounding. "Dawn?!"
"I'm in my room."
Buffy walked up the stairs to Dawn's room and sat on her bed. "Dawnie. I need to tell you something."
"What is it?"
"Willow, Giles, Anya, Xander and Tara were captured by those demons that I told you about. They must have watched me to make sure I was out of sight and grabbed Giles and the others."
"Oh god."
"I'm going to find them I swear. I'm going to call Angel for help."
"Ok." Buffy got up. "Buffy?"
She paused and turned to look at Dawn. "Yes?"
"It's going to be ok." They both smiled.
Buffy walked downstairs. She was about to call Angel a hologram of Benifict appeared. "Tell me where my friends are!" She demanded.
"Hush. No need to shout and command. The reason I'm here is I want you to come here. You'll see your friends."
"Where?"
"There is an abandoned building just outside of Sunnydale." He vanished.
Back at the Hyperion hotel Wesley and Cordelia were researching about the demons. Conner started crying. Angel quickly went over to him and picked him up. He sang an Irish lullaby to put him back to sleep. He gave Conner a gentle kiss on the forehead and placed him back in the crib. When the phone rang Conner instantly woke up again, crying. Angel held him in his arms, rocking him back and forth. Cordelia quickly answered the phone, "Hello, Angel Investigations. We --"
"Cordy, is Angel there? It's urgent I need to talk to him." Buffy said quickly.
"Uh, yeah sure." She took the phone away from her face. "Angel, it's Buffy she said it's urgent."
Angel rushed to the phone and took it out of Cordy's hand. He continued rocking Conner and answered, "Buffy? What's wrong?"
"The demons... Benifict, they took Giles and the others! I don't know what to do. I was in the Magick Box and then I left. When I came back they were all gone and chairs and books were... everywhere!" She started crying. "God, Angel I don't know," Her voice cracked, "what to do!"
Angel's eyes were glassy from Buffy's agony. He gently put Conner in the crib. Softly he said, "Shh. Shh, Buffy it's going to be ok. Do you have any idea where they might be?"
She sniffed, "Just before I called, his hologram appeared. He told me where."
"Ok. I'll be right over."
Benefict appeared again seconds after Buffy called Angel. "Come alone." He said firmly. "You come with Angel and your friends are dead." He disappeared.
The phone rang and Angel picked up, "Buffy?"
"Angel, don't come. Benifict said that if I don't come alone he's going to kill them."
"Buffy, it's not a good idea for you to go alone. He probably has more of that paralyzing liquid."
Firmly, but softly she said, "Angel. I have to go alone. Just stay there. I'll call you as soon as I get everyone out."
"Ok. You be careful!"
Buffy smiled, "I will. Promise. See ya later."
"Love you." Angel whispered.
"Love you too." She said and hung up.
Buffy went up to her room and took out her black bag. She opened the weapons chest that was in her closet and grabbed all the weapons on top. A few stakes, a dagger, a small antique axe that Angel had given her and holy water. Dawn pranced into Buffy's room humming. She stopped when she saw her sister wildly packing weapons into a bag, with a seriously worried face. "Buffy?"
The slayer looked up. "Dawn... Uh, I'm going to patrol*
Disclaimer: Hmm.. Nope I don't own Buffy the Vampire Slayer or the characters. I am not Joss. If I was Angel would have never left Sunnydale and Buffy & Angel would be together always.
AN: Buffy never slept with Spike, Willow went through her troublesome detachment of magic. When she was fully craft free Tara became Willow's girlfriend again. Buffy and Angel have been dating long distance... talking on the phone a lot, seeing each other on the weekends mostly.
Warning: Rape in part 2
Takes Place during Season 6, Angel and her have talked occasionally.
The sky was a canvas of darkness. There was a single star in sight. The only light in the park was the crescent moon. A cute couple was walking on the grass. The woman's head was leaning on the man's shoulder, his arm wrapped around her waist. They whispered sweet things to each other. The man had broad shoulders, his height was about six feet. The woman was just a little bit shorter and thin. She had long blond hair and blue eyes. She had long slender arms and legs. The man gave gave her a tentative kiss on her head, took off his suede black jacket and placed it on the ground next to a tree. He sat down and motioned for his girlfriend to sit down next to him. She snuggled in his arms as they started at the moon.
A demon half-breed and a few demons following it were lurking in the shadows. All three demons looked the same. Grayish-green skin. They looked a little hairy. They had wide mouths with long fangs sticking out and two little nostral openings for the nose. The eyes were a dull pitch black. They had pointy ears at the top of the head. Their feet and hands had three straight claws sticking out. They were five feet tall; their backs slightly hunched.
The half-breed was six feet tall and broad shoulders. He was wearing rectangular black sunglasses, black jeans and a blue silk shirt. His boots met the ground with hard footsteps.
The half-breed and the demons waltzed up to the couple unsuspecting of the nightmare to come. The half-breed smiled at the couple. He snapped his fingers and the demons launched themselves at the couple. One demon tossed the girl to the half-breed who smiled in delight. The man was brutally beaten to death.
Buffy was patrolling in that park that same night when she heard the deafening scream. She followed the sound quickly till she saw the demon attacking the man. To her right she could see the girlfriend watching in horror as the creature holding her dragged her away with the demons following close behind. He just laughed and laughed. From the looks of it the man was pretty much dead, so she decided on running after the half-breed carrying the woman.
Just as she started jogging towards them the demons attacked her.
Buffy gave demon number one an uppercut to it's chin and then quickly kicked demon number two away from her. The third demon scratched Buffy's arm. "Ouch!" She shouted.
She did a 360 degree turn, kicking the third demon in the gut making him bend over. She punched demon number two's legs left to right and it fell to the ground. The half-breed looked back for a second and said to himself, "Interesting. The Slayer. She could be very enticing."
Demon number one punched Buffy in the jaw. For one minute she lost her balance and stumbled backwards into demon number two. It was a minute to soon. The beast behind her wrapped his arms around her, it's claws digging into her stomach. Demon number three and one punched and kicked her at the same time. Buffy could barely keep her head up. She could barely breath. Demon number one continued punching as demon three raised his pointed figure, ready to slit Buffy's throat, when a tall dark figure pulled demon number one and three away from Buffy. He snarled at them and then punched the demon holding Buffy making him loosen his grip on her.
Angel quickly scooped Buffy into his arms. He ran out of the park. After Buffy could finally find her voice she said, "What about the demon? You can't let... it get away!"
"I don't care about the demon. I care about you're safety."
Buffy held on to Angel's neck tighter. "Sweet of you." She smiled, "Not that I'm not happy you saved my life, but um how come you're here?"
"Cordy had a vision of you." Angel replied.
"Oh. Is that the only reason?"
He smiled, "I also love you." He put her down and they continued walking.
"Take me to LA?" she asked sweetly.
"You should tell Giles about those demons first thing tomorrow." He said sternly.
She nodded. "Also that other demon."
"There were more then three?"
"Yeah, the fourth one carried the girl away. I was about to run after them, but those demons just jumped me." She frowned.
"It's not your fault."
She whispered, "I know."
Angel asked, "Did you get a good look at him?"
"Well if you mean did I get a good look of his back then yes. He had brown hair, he was wearing clothes and had blue horns on the top of it's head. Other then the horns it looked close to resembling a human being."
"Could be a half-breed."
"Half-breed? You mean like human, but with a demon side."
"You could say that."
They aproached her house. He gave her a small kiss on the lips. She returned him a more passionate kiss as she wrapped her arms around him. Then she ran her fingers through his hair. "You better go inside. Get some rest."
"Yeah" she smiled, "I was a bit sluggish out there.
He gave her a kiss on the cheek. "I'll be back at the [Hyperion] hotel. You know the number." He smiled. "Goodnight."
"Night." She opened the door.
The next day Buffy slept late. When she walked down the stairs and into the kitchen she saw Dawn making pancakes with Tara. After each pancake Willow kept eating them. Dawn whined, "Willow stop eating them till they're done!"
Willow smiled, "Ok, ok." She looked up and saw Buffy. "Morning, Buffy."
"Hey." She smiled back.
Dawn said, "Sleep well? You must have being you've slept late, but then again you were probably out late saving the world." She smiled.
Buffy gave a small smile, "Yeah. What time is it?"
"11:30." Dawn replied.
"You're making pancakes for breakfest now?" the slightly cranky slayer asked.
"Yeah, for lunch though. You want a few?"
"Just one please. I gotta get dressed and see Giles about a demon from last night."
"What it look like? I could do some research on the computer." Willow asked.
"Uh, a half-breed. I really don't know what it's face looks like, so the description probably won't be much help. All I can say is he had blue horns and an okay fashion sense."
The talented witch nodded, "Ok, I'll see what I can find."
Dawn said, "Ok first pancake for Buffy coming up."
Buffy had quickly ate the pancake, got dressed in jeans and V-neck shirt and went to Giles' house. Giles had sleepily answered the door in his pajamas and a robe. Buffy looked him up and down, noticed his hair was messy and his eyes looked tired. Concerned she asked, "Giles, you ok?"
He gave her a weak smile, "Yes I'm fine Buffy thankyou. I was up late last night is all."
"Oh well you're not the only one" she paused and thought for a second, "except I obviously got more sleep than you." She walked in and Giles closed the door.
Buffy sat down on the soft sofa. Giles poured a drink of orange juice and leaned against the wall of the door entrance to his kitchen. After a few minutes of strange silence he asked, "So... there was a reason you came here?"
She snapped out of her daze. "Oh. Yeah." Buffy told him all about her patrol the other night.
"Hmm... with out a frontal description of this half-breed demon there's not much we can do about, but we could research the demons that you fought."
She nodded. "I figured we could all get together at the Magick Shop at around twelvish?"
"Sure, I'll get dressed."
~ 12:40pm ~
"This is a waste we're never going to find anything on these things." In frustration Xander slammed the book shut and pushed it aside. He grabbed another book which was the fourth one he'd be looking through.
Anya snipped, "I still think we should get paid."
"This isn't about money. We're doing this to help Buffy."
"Yeah, yeah." She continued skimming through the dusty book.
Willow continued surfing the net for any information on demon killings in the past month. She had found a bunch of demons that had caused some chaos amond the streats, but none of them looked like what Buffy described. In searching for the demons, Willow had typed in the search feild: strong, hairy grayish-green skin, two small nostrils, wide mouths and any other little details Buffy mentioned. Willow mumbled, "If I were still addicted to magic I'd use it and find ours pesky foes in just a second."
"Right, but key word Willow... addicted. You're addiction almost got Dawn killed and it was hurting you." Buffy said gently.
Willow smiled, "Don't worry, I wouldn't do any more magic if it meant losing my Tara again." Tara squeezed her shoulder in support.
Willow continued her search. Fifteen minutes later she bolted out of her seat and shouted, "I found it!" They all had a surprise and freaked look on their faces, "Sorry just excited. I think I found the demons that match you're description, Buffy."
Everyone walked to look at the computer screen. There was an old photograph of the demon. Buffy nodded and said quietly, "That's exactly it. Does it mention any specific way to kill it?"
"Can be any weapon, just the blade or stake, whatever has to be made of pure silver."
"Pure silver? Giles?"
"I have some stakes, daggers and swords that are made of pure silver. So we're good to go." Giles said as he walked to the back of the room.
Following him she said, "Good. Tonight we hunt. We kill --"
Xander quipped, "Then we party with the funky party weasel that Giles is."
"Xander." Giles said his name in annoyance.
Buffy gave a faint smile, "We kill, but leave one for torture and answers."
"Then we go get this half-breed." Xander added.
Anya smiled and said, "Then we save this girl that was captured and if we're lucky she'll pay us!" Xander shook his head.
Buffy sighed, "Ok. No more being cooped up here. You guys do whatever you want and then let's meet back here at eight."
"Easy for you to say you don't own the place." Anya mumbled.
Giles asked, "What about Angel?"
"I'll ask him if he can join in on the fun don't worry." Buffy smiled.
In the Hyperion at 7:50pm the phone rang and Cordy picked up, "Hello, Angel Investigations we help-- Oh Hi Buffy! How's everything in Sunnydale? ... I'm sorry Buff, Angel's out on a case right now. ... Sure. Restfeild cemetary. I'll tell him. But I can't guarentee he'll make it. ... Hello, I'm working with him of course he has a cell. ... Sure it's 588 - 2144. ... Be careful. ... Night."
Cordy whispered to Conner who was nestled in her arms, "You might not get to see your daddy tonight, little champ. Let's put you to bed."
Buffy had called Angel, told him that they were going to the cemetary to look for the demons, so he had Gunn and Wesley take care of the case he was working on and hurried to the Magick Box. Willow, Tara, Xander, Anya, Giles, Angel and Buffy went to cemetary hoping the demons would show that night. Xander had his arm lovingly around Anya, Willow and Tara shared a kiss, Angel had his arm tightly around Buffy's waist. Giles was bait, standing by a tree. All content feelings were gone when the demons were spotted. "There." Buffy said. "Ready guys?" They all nodded. "Let's go."
They ran over to three demons who were about to attack Giles. Buffy grabbed the first one by it's neck and swung it around. Then she punched it's face. The thing roared in pain. Willow, Anya and Tara ganged up on one. Angel punched the third demon a few times. The demon kicked Angel in the gut and he stumbled backwards. He regained his balance quickly though and launched another attack on the beast. He kicked it to the ground, he walked behind and pulled him off the ground. He held him there and yelled, "Giles!"
Giles ran up to Angel and jammed the dagger into the demon's heart. Angel dropped the demon to the floor. "Thanks."
Giles smiled, "No problem."
Giles and Angel went to help the others. Buffy kept on fighting her strong demon. It kicked her in the stomach and she stumbled backwards into a new demon. The half-breed. He had a needle in his hand. "Slayer." He grinned. "You're strong aren't you?" He had a firm grip on her shoulders. He laughed. "Well I've this solution I made that I want to try out on you. It's suppose to take your power away. Don't worry it's temporary. Well this one is anyway. Try fighting now!"
The half-breed stuck the needle into her arm. Buffy let out a silent cry of pain. The chemical coarsed through her body rapidly. Suddenly she was jerked into the arms of the demon longing for a meal. The half-breed shouted, "By the way my name is BenifictThe" and ran off. The drug had such an effect on her she could barely scream. When she did it came out just above a whisper. "Angel.." she whimpered. Angel could here her cry no matter how low her voice is. He ran towards her just as the demon bit into her shoulder. She shouted in pain. Angel quickly punched the demon. Buffy fell limp in Angel's arms. "Giles! Someone!"
The demon started walking back toward Buffy and Angel. He quietly asked Buffy, "What'd the half-breed do to you?"
As the drug began to wear off she raised her voice a little and formed two words, "Needle. Drug." She still lay limp in his arms.
The made a move to hit Buffy, but Angel kicked it again, still holding tightly onto Buffy. Xander got to their side. He carefully held Buffy laying in his arms. She wrapped her arms around Xander's neck. Angel was momentarily jealous at the sight. Then smiled because he new that soon she would be in his arms again. Angel pushed the demon and then snapped it's neck.
When the battle was done, Angel carried Buffy back to the Magick Box with everyone else. Buffy quietly asked, "Did uh, anyone see... where Benifict went? He's the half-breed."
Angel nodded down at her and the others said, "No." almost in unison.
Back in the Magick Box, Angel sat Buffy down on a chair. Giles brought in the first-aid kit. Buffy took off her jacket and winced. Her wound was still bleeding from the bite mark. Most of her strength had returned. Angel patched up her wound and walked her home. When Buffy opened the door she felt lightheaded and stumbled a litte. Angel gently grabbed her shoulders. She quietly said, "Carry me upstairs, please?"
He just smiled and picked up, carrying her to her room and placing her in bed. "I can stay if you want." He said gently.
Weakly she replied, "Thanks, but I'll be ok. I'm sure you have stuff to do at the hotel and plus you've got Conner to take care of."
"Are you sure?"
"Positive. Angel get out of here." She smiled.
He kissed her forehead. "You get lots of rest. Don't do anything to strain your shoulder. And don't you dare go patrolling tomorrow night." She mouthed 'ok'. "You promise?"
Buffy slowly took Angel's pinky, smiled and said, "I pinkie promise."
He chuckled and kissed her lips lightly. "Goodnight, sweet."
"Night." She called as he walked away.
The next evening Buffy and the gang were researching for hours. Buffy decided it was time for them all to get some rest. It was clear that they weren't going to find the location of this half-breed just by looking in dusty books. Although the internet was usually very helpful in finding something with even just a few words, tonight they were getting anywhere even on the net. Buffy smiled and said, "Guys, I think we've had enough. Let's go home. We can continue this another time."
Giles asked, "I'm assuming that you're patrolling tonight?"
"No." She said firmly, but smiling. "I promised Angel that I wouldn't patrol tonight and I'd get lots of rest. That's just what I'm going to do."
Willow asked, "Angel went back last night?" Buffy nodded a little sadly.
Xander snapped, "Just like him huh? He just can't wait to leave when we're in the middle of something important."
"Hey." Buffy frowned. "Angel asked if I needed him to stay and I said he could leave. So don't make any comments about him behind his back."
"Sorry."
"It's all right." She smiled. "Well, if you guys really want to stick around doing more research, fine with me, but I'm leaving. Gonna catch up on some sleepy time."
Willow said, "We'll just stick around a little while longer."
"Night." Buffy walked out the door.
The half-breed watched the Slayer leave. He patiently waited for her to be out of sight.
When Giles and the rest were about to leave, the half-breed and more demon minions of the same kind walked toward the Magick Box. They walked in and Xander said, "Uh-oh. Something tells me I wish Buffy didn't leave."
Willow said quietly, "There's... 10 of them!"
They tried to fight the demons off, but there were too many. Giles, Xander and Tara were knocked out. Willow and Anya screamed at the top of their lungs for Buffy hoping she might still be in range. Buffy did here them, but when she got back to Magick Box she found it empty. Two chairs, some merchandise were broken, papers and books were scattered all over the place. She was thankful that at least Dawn was home safe. Her eyes watered. She was too shocked to know what to do. Frozen in place. She snapped out of her daze when Spike walked in slowly, "What in the bloody hell happened here?"
Buffy hastily wiped the tears from her eyes and turned around to face him. In barely a whisper she said, "Some demons I think, they took Giles and the others."
"And Dawn?"
"No. She's at home."
"Good, I'd hate it if anything happened to the little bit. Do you want my help? Want me to go with you to look for them?"
"No Spike, but thanks for the offer. It would be pointless to look around when we have no idea where they could be. Just maybe walk me home?"
"Sure thing, pet."
When they reached the house Buffy opened the door. Spike was going to follow her in, but she put her arm out in front of him. "Goodnight. I just need to be with Dawn alone."
"All right. Get some sleep. You could use it." He said and walked away.
Buffy called out, "Dawn?" No answered. Her heart started pounding. "Dawn?!"
"I'm in my room."
Buffy walked up the stairs to Dawn's room and sat on her bed. "Dawnie. I need to tell you something."
"What is it?"
"Willow, Giles, Anya, Xander and Tara were captured by those demons that I told you about. They must have watched me to make sure I was out of sight and grabbed Giles and the others."
"Oh god."
"I'm going to find them I swear. I'm going to call Angel for help."
"Ok." Buffy got up. "Buffy?"
She paused and turned to look at Dawn. "Yes?"
"It's going to be ok." They both smiled.
Buffy walked downstairs. She was about to call Angel a hologram of Benifict appeared. "Tell me where my friends are!" She demanded.
"Hush. No need to shout and command. The reason I'm here is I want you to come here. You'll see your friends."
"Where?"
"There is an abandoned building just outside of Sunnydale." He vanished.
Back at the Hyperion hotel Wesley and Cordelia were researching about the demons. Conner started crying. Angel quickly went over to him and picked him up. He sang an Irish lullaby to put him back to sleep. He gave Conner a gentle kiss on the forehead and placed him back in the crib. When the phone rang Conner instantly woke up again, crying. Angel held him in his arms, rocking him back and forth. Cordelia quickly answered the phone, "Hello, Angel Investigations. We --"
"Cordy, is Angel there? It's urgent I need to talk to him." Buffy said quickly.
"Uh, yeah sure." She took the phone away from her face. "Angel, it's Buffy she said it's urgent."
Angel rushed to the phone and took it out of Cordy's hand. He continued rocking Conner and answered, "Buffy? What's wrong?"
"The demons... Benifict, they took Giles and the others! I don't know what to do. I was in the Magick Box and then I left. When I came back they were all gone and chairs and books were... everywhere!" She started crying. "God, Angel I don't know," Her voice cracked, "what to do!"
Angel's eyes were glassy from Buffy's agony. He gently put Conner in the crib. Softly he said, "Shh. Shh, Buffy it's going to be ok. Do you have any idea where they might be?"
She sniffed, "Just before I called, his hologram appeared. He told me where."
"Ok. I'll be right over."
Benefict appeared again seconds after Buffy called Angel. "Come alone." He said firmly. "You come with Angel and your friends are dead." He disappeared.
The phone rang and Angel picked up, "Buffy?"
"Angel, don't come. Benifict said that if I don't come alone he's going to kill them."
"Buffy, it's not a good idea for you to go alone. He probably has more of that paralyzing liquid."
Firmly, but softly she said, "Angel. I have to go alone. Just stay there. I'll call you as soon as I get everyone out."
"Ok. You be careful!"
Buffy smiled, "I will. Promise. See ya later."
"Love you." Angel whispered.
"Love you too." She said and hung up.
Buffy went up to her room and took out her black bag. She opened the weapons chest that was in her closet and grabbed all the weapons on top. A few stakes, a dagger, a small antique axe that Angel had given her and holy water. Dawn pranced into Buffy's room humming. She stopped when she saw her sister wildly packing weapons into a bag, with a seriously worried face. "Buffy?"
The slayer looked up. "Dawn... Uh, I'm going to patrol*
