Disclaimer: I downloaded the characters from Napster to see if I like them. I'm going to buy the entire show... Really....
As a note, () () () () () () () () is used to identify what would be a change to another camera on the show.. Its not really a scene change but it was kind of tough reading this without an indicator of some kind.
Fallen from Grace
Chapter Eight
By IceWing (icewing@one.net)
Rated R for Violence and Language
Chapter 8
He seemed to flinch as she called him by his name, but quickly recovered. "Xander
Harris is dead. He died in SunnyDale a long time ago. You don't know me Slayer.
Just leave."
"Oh, Hell No! You're not getting rid of me that easy. And don't give me
this shit that Xander Harris died in SunnyDale. I can see plain as day that
you're alive and standing here, so why don't you talk to me and knock of this
Slayer shit or I'll kick your ass Harris."
"Don't call me that!" he roared. "Alexander Harris is gone,
dead, finished. I am the Knight of Death and that's all that I am!"
"Bullshit bucko. You can't just try and say the past means nothing. Believe
me, I've tried. Its always part of you, it defines who you are. That's why you
keep calling me Slayer, isn't it?" She poked him in his chestplate. "You're
trying to keep some distance, keep it from being personal. Well, I've got news
for you, Harris! You're not dead, and I'm right here in your face and I'm not
going anywhere till I get some answers. So, you better get used to it. Everybody
thinks you're dead and now that I've found you, there's no way in hell that
you're going to slide back into the shadows, you got that?!?"
"You know what?" He paused as he took of his now broken helmet and
looked at the damage. "I don't owe you shit! You tried to kill me and I
ought to return the favor. You fucked me and then threw me out on my ass. I
tried to help you and you thought it would be fun to see how tightly you could
squeeze your fingers around my throat! Don't you get it? I don't want to have
anything to do with the past. I was weak in the past. I couldn't fight. I couldn't
save anybody. I couldn't even save myself. I don't want to be who I was. I'm
better now and you better just fucking deal with it!" With that he hurled
the helmet at her chest and turned to storm off.
Faith took a step and a half forward, then leapt as only a Slayer, or Duncan
MacLeod, could. Twisting in midair, she landed a couple of feet in front of
him, shoving the broken helmet back into his hands. "You think you're better?
What a crock of shit! You're meaner, you're faster and tougher, I'll give you
all that. But better? No way in hell! I've been where you are Xander!"
She saw him flinch as she spoke his name, but kept going. "You think this
armor makes you better? You think all your weapons and your fighting ability
makes you different than how you used to be? It does, and its not a good difference.
You're dead inside Xan. I can see it in your eyes. You've got nobody and that's
gonna end up getting you killed. Maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow. But you're
gonna lose and end up bleeding out and there's not going to be anybody there
to save your ass."
The man once known as Xander Harris, looked at her and for a split second,
Faith saw emotion in those eyes. It was too brief for her to identify, but at
least it meant he wasn't completely dead inside, no matter how much he tried
to hide it. "Oh, is that so, oh almighty Slayer? You think that being all
soft and weak and trusting will make sure that there's somebody there to save
you if when shit goes wrong! Well let me tell you something!" Faith was
backpedaling as he stepped up, his voice causing her ears to ring with its volume.
"I had all that before! And you know what it got me! I got to watch the
people I cared for get cut down in their prime. I watched as they fell. I watched
as they got farther away, as I was drug through the brush by a bunch of demons
who thought it would be fun to see how long they could make me last! You think
I need to open up and trust people?!? It sure as fuck didn't help me last time!!!!!!!"
"What do you mean, it didn't help you last time?" The sudden shift had thrown Faith and she wasn't sure of where Xander was heading with this anymore.
"I'm talking about The Day!" Faith could almost see the capitalizations as he said the words. "I'm talking about watching almost everyone I cared about, as they fell, one by one, in one last battle to try and keep a bunch of innocent sheep safe by saving the world again."
"Tell me," she whispered..
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Buffy idly swung the long sword back and forth as they walked towards the entrance of PineRidge Cemetery. "So what's the big deal about this Glassey Lola guy again Giles? I mean, why'd we break out the heavy artillery for him?" Ever since Riley had left town, they had been saving all of the remaining Initiative equipment they had left, due to the lack of any easy way to repair it if something when wrong.
From behind her, Giles responded. "Glasyalabolas, Buffy. Now, as I said before, Glasyalabolas is one of the Arch-Dukes of Hell. That is to say, a quite ancient and powerful demon. He is thought to have been a trusted lieutenant of the Old Ones, and is simply put an evil which if allowed to return to earth would be able to carve a swath of death and torment through mankind the likes of which have never been recorded."
"So, better to keep him locked out than try and shut him down once he shows up?" chimed Xander.
"Indeed. Which is why, as Buffy so succinctly put it, we have broken out the heavy artillery. One of the abilities which Glasyalabolas is purported to have is that he can imbue his followers with a fragment of himself, and consequently his power. Against such creatures, I feel it is better to be overly prepared than ill-equipped."
"As much as I hate to ask it, why didn't we bring Spike along? He's almost as good as, and I can't believe I'm saying this, as DeadBoy was in a fight. And these dudes are as bad as you're letting on, then we might need as much as an advantage as we can create"
Buffy chuckled. "Oh stop being such a worrywart Xander. We're going to kick their butts, just like we always do. Its not a big deal."
"I do wish you would take these things a bit more seriously Buffy. Although we have succeeded in the past in all of our endeavors, there is no reason to become cocky. Underestimating your opponent is almost always a mistake. But, back to Xander's question, from what we uncovered during our research, this particular group has been planning to raise Glasyalabolas for over two centuries, and in that time has amassed a considerable knowledge of dimensional magic and manipulation. Taking that into consideration, along with the fact that some of Glory's minions escaped, the acolytes of Glasyalabolas may know that Dawn is the Key and may attempt to use that to make the ritual proceed in a much abbreviated version, which could keep us from having enough time to prevent the successful completion of said ritual."
"So Spike gets to have paid vacation to San Diego with Dawn as a body guard while we do the real work. Man, sometimes being normal guy sucks." Xander mumbled. "By the way Giles, what's the difference between a lackey and a minion?"
Giles only response as he walked was to remove his glasses and clean them, muttering about American youth.
"So Giles, what exactly does this ritual entail?" asked Willow.
"Well, to be honest, the only description of it I was able to find was somewhat sketchy, but it requires the summoning, binding and subsequent slaying of, one of the holy host. That will release the energy required for the barriers between the realms to be weakened. After that there will probably be chanting in Latin or Babylonian, depending on the exact sect, and then, if we are unsuccessful in preventing it, the ground itself shall be sundered and Glasyalabolas shall claw his way to Earth and the world will be doomed."
"As a quick side note to that overly cheerful description," interrupted Xander. "Could you elaborate slightly on the whole Holy Host thing?"
"Nice alliteration," said Willow.
"The holy host would mean an Angel. The demons are going to summon an angel, bind it into a vessel, then destroy the vessel, thereby killing the angel and releasing its energy."
"Heads up," said Buffy as she pointed through some trees towards several moving forms. All joking vanished as the gang approached. As they closed, sounds of screaming could be heard, causing them to pick up the pace.
The group broke from the tree line, weapons ready just as the scream, which was overpowering a rhythmic chant, was cut off abruptly, replaced by a sickening gurgling sound. All saw the crimson liquid being flung onto the marble statue which was surrounded by a group of demons and vampires. "Shit!" exclaimed Xander just before the statue was surrounded by a softly glowing aura.
"It is imperative that they not be able to destroy the statue!" proclaimed Giles as he charged forwards, Xander and Buffy at his side. Tara and Willow advanced about halfway from the trees then began to speak. Anya stood near them, a spiked mace in her hands.
The demons turned, slightly thrown by this unexpected change in plan. Before they could do more than gape at the humans charging at them, the ground beneath them began to glow in two distinct circles. One of the demons, who had been previously chanting in a language other than English, saw this and threw himself out of the circle, just in time to avoid the pillar of flame that erupted from the ground in each circle and obliterated the creatures which had been standing within. Two seconds later, the fire was gone, the only sign it had been there were two circles of charred grass with the smoking skeletal remains of the beings who had been caught by the spells.
The demon who had thrown himself clear picked himself up from the remains of the headstone that had stopped his flight, and advanced towards the witches and Anya, another demon following close behind. "You'll pay for that, you pathetic humans!" it snarled as it drew an iron blade from its belt.
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Xander, Buffy and Giles found themselves surrounded by about a dozen foes, all of whom were intent on wiping the White Hats from existence.
Determined to break the ominous silence which had fallen, Xander spoke up. "Hey Giles, you want to take care of Sparky here?" As he said it, he gestured with his tip of his jury rigged bayonet.
"Sparky?" muttered the demon who had been pointed at, just as about 150,000 volts of current hit him square in the chest, courtesy of the blaster Xander carried. That act broke the standoff and both sides sprang at each other even before the smoking body hit the ground.
Buffy moved forward, intent on taking the fight to the demons. Releasing a flurry of kicks and a couple of punches from her free hand, she knocked the first of the enemy to the ground, where she then severed its head with a quick swipe of the long sword she carried. Xander and Giles advanced behind her, forming the base of a wedge that moved through the demonic ranks. With a savagery that matched that of the demons, Xander butt stroked one of them across the face with the stock of the blaster, knocking several of the teeth from its gaping maw. Giles followed up by driving the razor tip of the gladius he carried into its unholy heart. "Next!" yelled Xander as he lit up another demon like a Christmas tree. "Man, technology is great!"
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Willow sidestepped the initial charge, bringing her staff down hard on the back of the demon's knees. As it dropped, Tara followed up by cracking it upside the head with her own hickory cudgel. Screaming in pain and rage, the demon rolled forward and regained its feet before Anya could add her own attack to the fray.
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Leaping into the air, Buffy let loose with a spinning crescent kick against the orange skinned monstrosity in front of her. The impact of her boot partially masked the sound of its spine being snapped by the supernatural strength of the Slayer. "Damn, why can't it always be that easy?" she asked as she landed catlike on the balls of her feet, sword ready to slice into the next demon in the pack.
Even as Buffy was moving on the next demon, Xander and Giles were working as a well practiced team. The duo were working a demon, whose sheer size was even more intimidating than normal. The strength associated with such a size had prompted the men to try a more unorthodox technique against this foe. Xander moved in to attack with the bayonet on his blaster, then as soon as the demon moved to counter, he would pull back, whereas Giles would then move to attack. The constant feinting was causing the demon to tire, and its reactions were getting sloppier and slower. Giles watched as the demon over extended itself going after Xander, who was barely keeping ahead of its claws, and then he saw the opening he needed. A quick slice across the exposed stomach opened the demon's intestines to air. With a tearing sound, the innards slid out of the body cavity and onto the ground. In shock from the sensation, the demon stopped and tried to pull its guts back into itself. As it struggled, Xander lunged, piercing its dark heart with the bayonet. Turning towards the next foe, he commented to Giles that these guys would be a lot more dangerous if they weren't so dumb
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Launching from the ground, the demon slammed into Willow, who was driven to the ground. She tried to fire off a spell to buy her some time, but the demon stopped her effort by slicing the knife against her side and then followed it up with a head butt with its horned visage.
Flipping up to its feet, the demon drew back and kicked her hard upside the side of the head with its right foot. Her reddish locks snapped to the side as her head hit the dirt and unconsciousness mercifully claimed her.
Her attacker drew back to kick her again when it suddenly roared in pain. Several of its ribs were shattered by the rapid arrival of a spiked mace crashing into its side. Fueled by pain, it spun about knocking the offending weapon from Anya's grasp. She tried to backpedal, to put some distance between herself and the demon who was advancing on her, but couldn't move fast enough. A second later, the scaled claws of the demon were entangled in Anya's blonde hair and she was pulled towards it. "That hurt little girl," it snarled. "But not as much as this will." With that it repositioned its hands on either side of Anya's head.
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Across the battlefield, Xander hears Anya cry his name as he stomped on the throat of a fallen demon, leaving it to drown in its own blood. Turning, his eyes viewed a scene which would long be etched in his mind's eye. A demon had its hands on either side of Anya's head, and was laughing evilly. "No," he whispered. Anya's eyes met his, and she could see the pleading look there, begging for him to save her even though she knew it wasn't going to happen. He watched as she mouthed that she loved him, but before he could return the words, the demon wrenched her head to the right, breaking it with a savage snap. Laughing, it let her go. Xander watched helplessly as his fiancé fell to the ground like a marionette with its strings suddenly cut.
"NO!!!" he screamed with a visceral rage and took a step towards Anya's killer.
"Xander!" said Giles in his most authoritative tone. It had the desired effect, and Xander's head snapped towards the Watcher, rage and pain in his eyes. "Stay by my side!"
"I have to"
"No Xander, you can't help her now But we're still outnumbered, and if you go over there, you'll probably get killed as well. You'll fight emotionally and that will be all the edge the demon needs to kill you as well"
For a split second he looked as if the words didn't matter, but then he turned away from the body. "We'll deal with you in a minute you bastard!" he yelled. "Thanks Giles. I don't"
Before he could finish, another demon clipped him at the knees, knocking him to the ground and trying to tear into his chest with its teeth as well as trying to shred his leg with its lower claws. He tried to bring the blaster around but couldn't bring it to play due to how close the dogface was. Without thinking, he put one hand on the demons face and drove his thumb into its cyclopean eye with all the force he could muster. There was resistance for a moment, then a pop and his hand was covered in optical fluid. The demon began to flail about, reaching for its face with both hands and completely forgetting about the human it had been trying to eat just a moment before. Taking advantage of the situation, Xander began pummeling the demon upside the head with the stock of the blaster. Controlled rage fueled his strikes and within a couple of seconds, the demon's head gave way, leaking orange blood down its matted fur.
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Stepping over Anya's body, her killer moved towards Tara, who was protecting Willow's unconscious form. "Two down, one little one to take down. My, my You humans are just to pathetic to be in charge of this world. A plague that I will be glad to help Lord Glasyalabolas rid this stinking world of."
Rage filled Tara as she looked upon the two forms that stood menacingly in front of her. "We've stopped your filthy kind from try after try to get rid of us. You call us weak. Well, if w.. we're weak, what does that make you, that wave after wave of demon dies a bloody death trying to take us down" Tara began to chant softly, throwing a handful of something she had pulled from her pocket into the air.
The demons leapt at her as she continued chanting, but Tara sidestepped the first and ducked under the second, never stopping her chant. As both demons regained their footing, she held her hand towards the first, so that from her viewpoint, it looked as if she was cupping part of their body in her hand. Then, with the dagger in her other hand, she made a quick slicing movement, which seemed to go through the part of the demon which it appeared she was cupping, then continued into her hand. The blood sprung forth from the cut, but before it could even well up to the surface, she repeated the action on the other demon.
The blood poured from her hands like ribbons. It spun about in midair, glowing a fiery red that shifted to golden near the edges. The mass grew to about the size of a baseball, then split, then both orbs grew back to that size before flying towards the demons, striking each of them in the chest, where they both vanished.
A split second passed before each of the demons began to scream in agony. Layer after layer of their skin began to slough off, peeling away like layers of an onion. Within a few seconds, the spell had stripped them of all of their skin, leaving bloody muscle visible. Then that began to peel away. The screaming, already piercing, escalated in volume, as the muscle was torn away from their bodies. Moments later the screaming stopped as all the internal organs joined the bloody piles of cast off demon parts on the ground. Soon, Tara looked upon the fallen skeletons, a sense of completion filling her, then her eyes rolled up in their sockets and she passed out, drained from the power of the spell she had just cast.
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"I hope you are at peace, human." announced the hook beaked monster standing in front of her. "For I shall enjoying sending you to the depths of the Abyss."
"Sorry, not on my travel plans for today. But how about I send you on a one way trip to oblivion." Buffy pointed the sword at its face.
The two stared at each other for a few moments, then, almost simultaneously, they both leapt into the air at each other. It looked almost like a scene from the Matrix, save that it was poorly lit and one of the combatants wouldn't be getting up after the scene was over.
Buffy's sword arced though the air, then sliced through the demon's shoulder and cutting downwards. It was a fatal blow. But it was not the only one delivered. The Slayer felt a cold touch on her arm a split second before the demon's talon sliced deep into her left arm. Both hit the ground with little of the grace from which they had started. Buffy, stuck the point of her blade into the dirt, then grimaced as she tore a strip from the demon's shirt and quickly wrapped it around the bloody gash. Pulling her blade free, she moved closer to the center of the circle, into the light radiated by the statue, pausing only enough to plunge the blade through the demon's heart.
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Giles spun the gladius in a tight circle of steel. The TrawetsAhtram demon reached to its right and ripped a metal grate from the side window of a crypt. "Always use whatever you can find laying around" she said as she smashed through his defense with the wrought iron grill. The roman short sword skittered away as it was torn from his grasp. The Watcher tried to backup, but the demon was too fast. With a savage backstroke, it brought the grill around and smashed it into his side. The force of the strike knocked him off his feet, off the ground and into the corner of a family mausoleum. Blood began to trickle down the side of his face from the wound left by the impact, but his chest continued to rise and fall.
"I do believe that your skull would make a most interesting chalice, from which I could"
The demonic, and rather disgusting diatribe was cut short by the sudden appearance of a bloody object ripping through the distended torso of the monster.
"Or maybe not," said Xander as he twisted the bayonet in the wound. "In fact, I don't think you're going to be doing much of anything ever again."
Before he could yank the blade free, the demon liquefied, splashing to the
ground and covering his pants legs in yellowish green muck. "Oh, that was
fun" he said as he headed towards Buffy.
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"Two left Xander. We can do this!" said Buffy as she moved to the left. One of the demons mirrored her move, leaving the other squared off against Xander.
"Kinda seems to me that you're a bit screwed here. I mean, bringing a crowbar to a swordfight. Not the brightest demon in the world, are you?"
The demon just grinned at Buffy, saliva slowly dripping from its sharpened teeth.
"I'd ask if you were born that ugly or if it took practice, but we both know the answer, don't we" Buffy quipped just before she tried to take the demon's head off with her blade.
The demon whipped the iron crowbar around, intercepting it with massive clang. Buffy stared at the now greatly shortened sword she held. It had shattered at the impact point, leaving a jagged point with about a foot and a half worth of blade above the guard.
"What, you thought a sword would beat a crowbar? Bet you feel pretty dumb, don't you, blondie?" said the demon mockingly. "Guess your Watcher didn't teach you everything you needed to know after all"
Buffy lunged at the monster, intent on driving the remains of the blade through its grinning visage.
Unfortunately, the demon had other ideas. With the crowbar, it deflected her strike, then as soon as it was pointed past its body, the demon brought its left fist down with all its force on top of her wrist. The impact felt like it almost tore her hand clean off, but in addition to the pain, she lost her grip on the hilt of her weapon.
Buffy back flipped to give herself some distance. "What, you think I need a sword to deal with the likes of you?" The Slayer hoped that her voice sounded a lot more confident than she sounded.
Instead of verbalizing a response, the green skinned creature charged her, swing the crowbar. Buffy blocked the first two swings by hammering her fists on its forearms. When the demon stumbled back a bit, Buffy leapt at it, with a flying kick.
As soon as she left the ground, she knew she had just been suckered. The demon twisted to the side and brought the crowbar down on her thigh. The wet snap wasn't nearly as bad as the pain that followed. Gravity drug her to the ground, where Buffy landed hard on her legs, eliciting a scream from her lips.
"Good, and now that you are on your knees, Slayer. You can beg for a quick death if you think it will help. It won't, but it will make your defeat that much more enjoyable!"
Buffy looked up at the horned demon, defiance in her eyes. "You really think I'll beg to the likes of you?"
The demon kicked the bottom half of the sword out of her reach before tapping the exposed bone which protruded from her leg with the tip of the crowbar. The pain ran through her body like a white hot dagger.
"Well, even if you don't I'm going to enjoy hurting you, little girl"
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Xander tightened his grip on the blaster in his hands. A quick glace at the indicator showed that it was almost drained of power. Enough for maybe a low power shot, and that was it. Time for a bit of misdirection. "Well, I guess this means you don't get to experience the sensation of being electrocuted today Its not a pleasant experience, believe me." His eyes looked his opponent over, trying to find a weakness. "Man, you're ugly.. You know that?"
"You talk to much, boy!" And with that it charged.
Xander brought the blaster across his body, angled upwards and drove the bayonet into the demon's rib cage. It looked down in disbelief, which brought a smile to Xander's face. That's when he touched the trigger stud and the little remaining power flowed out of the capacitor bank, across the bayonet and into the demon. It twitched, convulsed and then feel to the ground. "Well, maybe you do get to feel what its like to be electrocuted."
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Buffy looked up at the demon, a mixture of rage and helplessness in her eyes. "Go Fuck yourself!"
The demon pulled back the crowbar, preparing to bring it down on her other leg, when something tapped him on the shoulder. He turned around, somewhat confused, just in time to get buttstroked across the skull by Xander and his blaster.
As the demon fell to the ground like a very ugly bag of potatoes, Xander muttered that no way was Buffy going to die a third time, not while he was around.
"Thanks for the save Xander," said Buffy as Xander set his blaster down and moved to help her to her feet. She could see that he was exhausted and battered, but his first thought was still to make sure she was ok.
"Story of tonight it seems. Never quite fast enough to stop the demon before they hurt somebody.." he said bitterly.
Buffy's eyes softened as she started to speak. "Xan, no matter whatBehind You!"
The already battered Slayerette started to turn just as a demon hit him like a linebacker sacking a quarterback. Both the human and the humanoid went down in a tangled ball of limbs.
Xander pulled free of the demon and crabbed backwards on the ground for a couple of feet, whereas the demon performed a forward roll and came to its feet. By the time it had turned around, Xander had also regained his footing, but blood was trickling down both his right arm, which he was keeping hidden from the demon with his body, and from a new gash across his torso. "Somebody needs to tell these guys that those claws they're packing could really hurt somebody"
"That's the idea!" snarled the demon as it charged, knowing the human was worn out and would not be a real threat.
It was still thinking that when Xander's right arm snapped forward from its concealment and moved in what almost looked like an uppercut towards the demon's jaw. There was just enough time for its reptilian brain to question what was the flash that accompanied the human's fist before the broken stub of Buffy's sword tore upwards, through its throat. The combined momentum of the demon and Xander's attack drove the shattered steel through the brain and out the top of the skull. Letting go of the now dripping hilt, Xander stepped back, and watched the body fall to the ground. "Now stay dead you bastard!" he cursed before limping heavily over towards Buffy for the second time in as many minutes.
Gingerly, with what little strength he had left, he helped her to her good leg and over to the statue, where he carefully set her back down. "Stay here," he said as he did his best to make sure she was comfortable against the statue of the angel, which was still glowing with that unearthly light, and that her hilt of what remained of her sword was by her side. "I've got to go check on everybody."
Buffy looked down at her broken leg. "Trust me, I'm not going anywhere without some help."
On an impulse, Xander leaned down and kissed the top of her head, then began to slowly hobble over to where Giles was laying. About half way there, he stumbled, twisting his already injured knee and falling to the ground. "SHIT!" he screamed.
"Xander, you ok?" Buffy asked, the worry clearly evident in her voice. She knew that if anything else happened to come along right now, they were in serious trouble Fortunately, sunrise was only about an hour away.
The Slayerette took a moment to compose himself, trying to block the pain. "Its my knee. Its wrenched pretty good. I think I'll just lay here for a bit."
"Sounds good." Buffy closed her eyes and tried to calm herself and tune out the pain in her leg. Not the easiest thing to do when the bone
Xander gasped in pain as he felt claws dig into his legs, breaking the skin and allowing a small trickle of blood to ooze forth. The landscape began to move as he felt himself being dragged away from the scene of the battle. Looking towards the pain, he saw a couple of vamps and a rather pathetic looking demon who had him by the legs and were pulling him towards the underbrush. He tried to struggle, tried to pull free, but the fight, and the wounds which had been inflicted upon him had taken too much of a toll. Twisting, he looked back at Buffy, who close to unconsciousness, sat under the angel, bone protruding from her leg. He cried her name. Her head lifted, the glazed look fading somewhat as she responded with his name His hand reached back towards her, as he was dragged further and further away, but the underbrush soon took away his last chance of rescue. As he darkness fell across his consciousness, the last thing he heard was his hero calling his name.
End Chapter 9
Ok Folks, now in the past 2 weeks, a bunch of you have been reading but very few have been leaving feedback. Feedback equals a happy Muse which means I write more So keep that feedback coming!
