Author's note: Let's see who's more shocked – the good guys
or the bad guys?
Chapter 11: "S.O.A.S." (Save Our Asses, Somebody!!)
It was harder to tell friend from foe
in the resulting melee as Scoobies along with the Eternal Champion took the
challenge right outside the Magic Box. Spike held back as he took Dawn off to safety. The peroxide vampire's first instinct was to fight, but after careful
consideration and strong arm pulling from Quaylen - and the formerly psychotic
Slayer, he thought it wise to get Dawn to safety just in case those demons and
devils wanted her as well. The witches
and the former vengeance demon were doing good own with spell-based attacks,
but they were only human – fatigue would soon get them. Giles and Xander gave it all they've got as
they dusted vamps and the occasional demon that got in their way. And most of the heavy fighting - were
handled by Max and Faith.
Meanwhile, Spike and Dawn weren't
having the time of their lives either. The peroxide vampire definitely decided that he wasn't a happy camper
today. Aside from the occasional stray
vamps that crossed their paths as they tried to make a getaway, he noticed that
some of them had more than mere bloodlust behind their eyes. Backing himself and Dawn out of the back
alley of the shop, they tried to make a run for it until they saw more vamps
near the alley's exit. Spike's
supernatural senses suddenly told him – with a sinking feeling – that most of
the ones he was now facing just recently had already been dusted: by him. Those bleeding Fallen Idiots had the
perverse sense of humor to revive his former foes in an effort for them to have
a little payback with the traitorous vampire.
The fact that Spike wasn't surprised
to find the formerly deceased Master standing a few feet in front of him made
him realize that he and the little bit might not make it out of this one. But he'd blamed well try to go down
fighting.
"Ah, William!" The Master said, through gritted teeth. "Ready to die, traitor? We'll destroy you, then drain and turn that
pathetic excuse of a Slayer's Sister."
"Sod off! At least I ain't as ugly as a rat like you, you arsehole! I made a promise to a lady, and I intended
to keep it!"
Dawn could only stare in fear as she
stayed behind Spike for protection. True that she might have been able to take down a few vampires now that
Spike had taught her self-defense, but facing half an army of the undead was
another matter.
One of the Master's minions grabbed
Dawn, which sent the chipped vamp into a murderous rage as he heard the girl
scream.
"Till the end of the world." William the Bloody said, as he launched
himself at the vamps in an effort to get Dawn to safety.
Then without warning, bluish fire
rained down from the heavens and obliterated several of the vampires
surrounding the girl and her protector. It distracted the Master long enough as he looked up, thus giving Spike
the chance to literally rip his head off with his bare hands. Drunk with blackest rage, Spike was a
whirling dervish as he slayed vamps left and right in wild abandon. Those that weren't able to perish from the
blue flame - were dusted by Spike's stakes, as he wove in and out of them at a
speed that revealed just how pissed he was.
The alley was soon full of dust that
the peroxide vamp almost didn't see Dawn until he was on top of her unconscious
form. The stake in his hand was ready
to strike until a searing shock drove through his berserker mode and sent him
down on his knees. His mind nearly
overloading as the pain seized him, telling him that his next intended target
was definitely human. He gasped as he
realized he had nearly killed his charge. Bending down and checking to see if she was still among the living, he
suddenly felt the wind coming down from above him. He looked up and saw Richard Todd descend from the sky, his body
alive with tinges of bluish energy crawling all over his body.
"You all right?" He asked as he
landed and took stock of the situation before him.
"Yeah, mate." Spike replied, "What the bleeding hell took
you so goddamn long?"
"Traffic?" Richard deadpanned, to which the vampire only acknowledged with
an exasperated sigh. He swore he could
almost hear the blond vamp say: "Bloody wanker" in his head.
"Not a bloody good time to crack
wise, you pillock!" Spike wished he
could wipe the man's face off with a well-placed punch.
"How's Dawn?"
After a bit of checking, Spike nodded
that she was okay. At this, Richard
pointed to the roof of the Magic Box and suggested that they may be safer up
there than down here.
"Are you daft?!" Spike screamed,
uncharacteristically nearly in hysterics. "As if that place will keep those
things out there off the roof."
"Hmm." Richard mused, "But I thought
the wiccans should have already warded the place from such attacks since their
last debacle with that troll."
"As if they had the bloody time to do
it while keeping the Hellmouth from getting run in." Spike couldn't believe he was defending the witches when he said
that. He inwardly groaned at the
realization that he WAS turning into a poofter.
"Better late than never, I
guess." Richard said as he scooped up
Dawn in one arm and grabbed Spike in the other as he flew them up to the
roof. As they landed, they were greeted
by a lone figure standing in the darkness. A figure, that was holding a shimmering sword.
Spike's vampiric senses came on full
alert, as the scent that drifted up to him was all-too familiar. He stifled the urge to crow in delight at
the wonderful scent that was the Slayer. His Slayer was back!
Buffy's eyes were blazing in worry
and concern she saw Dawn unconscious. Her fury at what was happening grew by the minute. The vampire understood, wanting some payback
himself.
"How is she?" She asked, her voice belaying the borderline
rage she felt. She didn't want to come
back to this, not now – not ever!
"Alive and well." Spike answered, hiding his own concerns at
Buffy's anger. Damn, but the Slayer is
royally pissed.
"She'll be safe up here. I've put an unbreakable barrier around the
roof and the entire store, so no one's going to be able the take her in any
way. No spell is going to be strong
enough to teleport her out of here either. Now let's go, we've all got work to do." Richard told them, as he
transformed into his cosmic alter ego. Spike had never seen him change and was glad he wasn't on the receiving
end of the man's rage in any way.
"What are you really?" William the Bloody unnerved vampire
asked. Standing too near the man was
like standing near a small sun gone nova. He could have sworn he felt as if he was burning just from the
transformation itself.
"Someone who is very pissed, like
me." Buffy replied for him as she jumped from the roof without so much
difficulty, and landed on the far side of the fight and waded in. She demolished the rear ranks faster than
expected and worked her way to the front, using her newly acquired stealth and
speed. Those that came in contact with
her never even realized they were permanently dead until after it was too late.
Richard seemed to have vanished from
sight, leaving the blond undead to mutter: "Show offs!" as he dove off himself
towards the violence below.
Meanwhile, the battle raged and it
seemed that the forces of good were tiring as wave after wave of vamps and
demons attacked. Giles's arms were
already feeling like lead as he noticed that his hacks and chops were getting
slower each time he raised his swords. Xander had already been knocked out cold earlier. It was a silent consensus that they form a
ragged circle to protect each other's back. Xander was the first to fall from the blow of a three-horned demon,
which Anya later dispatched after yelling the thing senseless. At that point, Willow and Tara invoked a
warding spell, enclosing their group in a wall of sparkling energy. Max was followed in by a bleeding Faith as
the energy shield closed them against the onslaught.
Giles sagged down and took stock of
the demons shrieking and banging on the force shield in fury. He went over to the fallen young man the
former vengeance demon was cradling in her arms. He noticed the cuts and bruises Xander took and gasped! It was a bloody marvel the lad had managed
to stay alive after receiving blows such as that.
"The spell won't hold for long," Tara
said, breathing shallowly as she inspected her own bruises. "We've got to think of something fast or
we'll never make."
Willow nodded assent and chanted a
healing spell, which healed every single one of them in the group. Xander
stirred, and Giles felt his energy coming back. The physical beating they all took was wearing off. But alas, they were becoming emotionally
drained from the anxiety the demons outside the force shield took on them. Max and Faith looked rejuvenated, but still
had that worn down feeling. The two
shared a look that spoke volumes.
Standing up, the Scooby Gang, Faith,
and Max readied themselves to take a last stand at odds that didn't look too
promising.
That was when the force shield
failed.
Max Quaylen could hear the Fallen
Angels' laughter at the coming slaughter and summoned all his angelic
might. He'll never surrender - he would
rather die with these noble and selfless humans rather than see a world at
despair. He let out a roar in his own
native tongue and let fly at them with all he's got; sword, magic, and
prayer! He was singing a dirge as he
loosed his angelic warrior spirit.
It was a good day to die.
The girls were about to become
snacks, but then Spike suddenly appeared at their side and tore at the vamps
crowding them. A large blue demon
blocked his way and he simply went and threw the thing off with a broken
neck. He literally saw red at the new
wounds the witches got and started looking for evil to kill. He disappeared again as he threw himself in
the thick of the fight.
Buffy herself went on autopilot as
she lost count as to how many kills she made tonight. Hack, slash, stake, kick, dodge, and stake, were a litany of
perfect moves. Waitasec, she nearly did
a double take as the last vamp she beheaded looked a lot like Lothos. Thinking no more of it, she moved on; she had
to get to them before it was too late.
The vamps and demons on the other
side were mysteriously exploding in a shower of blue fire as if some invisible
force tore at them with the power of a miniature star.
The resulting confusion was enough to
give the enemy pause as they all wondered at what the hell was happening. Xaranon didn't like it one bit since it
could only mean one thing. Getting into
the fray, the former heavenly angel cut a path and blasted Max and Faith with a
dark plasma pulse. The explosion
blasted them both back towards their companions, landing unconscious at their
feet.
The Scoobies now fought in fear as
their best offense and defense went down, and with them, the hope of ever
seeing another tomorrow.
Xaranon was about to finish the job
when all of a sudden; blue energy bursts fell from the sky as it chewed the
ground lying between the enemies and the heroes, effectively separating
them. He also felt himself being thrown
through the air and land smack-dab into his army by a small speeding blond
blur. The voice behind that blur
stilled them all as they recognized the speaker in fear and respect. It was indeed HER - the Slayer. The undead and demonic population there was
stunned into silence and immobility. It
wasn't surprising, she had killed most of them before already.
But not just any "normal" Slayer; it
was "Buffy, THE VAMPIRE SLAYER."
"You'll have to get to my friends
through me first!" Her voice was strong
and filled with fury.
"And me." Spike reappeared and joined her side.
And the owner of those blue energy
blasts that shook the ground before her arrival made himself known as he
descended from the sky and landed beside the resurrected Slayer, opposite
Spike, his alien eyes blazing with fire as he faced their adversaries.
"Welcome to MY world." Buffy said to her enemies mirthlessly.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
TBC
