" They didn't have sex," Gunn noted mournfully, as he and Doyle headed for the convertible. " She had her own room,"
" Dannielle?" Doyle looked mildly amazed, but shrugged. " Taking in the relative state of disrepair this place is in, anyone can get a room, I guess,"
" You know, sometime you two are so close, I think there's something other than mere friendship,"
They both turned to see Xander coming up behind them, smiling broadly. Doyle snorted, but pointedly took a large step away from Gunn. The young black man merely flipped Xander the bird.
" Xand-man, this here ain't my friend. He's my companion," he said. " There's a world of difference,"
" Not to mention a world of space," Doyle added, indicating the empty air between him and Gunn. Xander shook his head, chuckling. He hopped into the backseat as Gunn and Doyle slid into the front. " Maybe you should sit a the back, mate,"
Gunn looked at Doyle, then at Xander, who shrugged minutely. With a loud sigh, the bald hoodrat climbed out of the passenger seat and sat next to Xander. " We don't feel physically attracted to each other, do we?" he was sure to clarify first.
" Nope. It's strictly platonic," Xander replied, emphasized with a shake of the head. " I'm straight, you're straight, but Doyle… we're uncertain,"
" Must be the demon blood," Gunn was quick to join in the ribbing.
" Unless the two of you want to find yourselves flying face first into a lamp post, I suggest you shut the fuck up," Doyle snarled from the driver's seat, revving up the engine. All three fell into an immediate silence. " Why do women always take so long?" Doyle grumbled, after five minutes of waiting.
" 'Cos we wanna look good for you guys," a voice suddenly said. Faith sat shotgun, grinning cheekily.
" And you say we're unappreciative," Dannielle added as she hopped in next to Xander. " Hands off, buster, unless you wanna eat through a straw the rest of your life," she warned, causing the young man to shy away. This brought him closer to Gunn, who pushed him back towards Dannielle.
" Get off me, you fag!"
Unexpectedly, Dannielle's eyes lit up. " You mean he's gay?" she said in mock wonder. " Then you can sit next to me, baby,"
She sidled up close to Xander, throwing one leg over his thigh. Xander recovered from his shock admirably fast, draping an arm over her shoulders. He also shot Gunn a surreptitious wink of gratitude, and a thumbs up. Gunn replied with a raised finger of his own. Doyle muttered under his breath and drove off, Faith's husky laughter filling the car.
" Oh, by the way, Dannielle, I'm not gay," Xander said, several minutes later. The Slayer responded by shifting to sit on the youth's lap, wrapping both arms around his neck.
" That's even better. And here I thought all the cute guys were gay," she replied. Xander nudged the sullen Gunn in the ribs.
" You hear that, man? She thinks I'm cute,"
" You won't be for long if you keep poking me," his friend mumbled, shoving Xander's elbow away. He slumped in his seat, scowling at Xander's apparent luck with girls. It just wasn't fair sometimes.
++++++
Kaine spent most of the day perched on the roof of the Magic Box, the magic shop Spike had directed him to. With one ear pressed to the ceiling, he heard every word that was exchanged within the shop's rear section. He'd seen a car full of people drive up to the shop a few hours ago and he'd gotten enough time to identify them. Two girls, obviously the Slayers. Three men, of which one was half-demon. The other two were unremarkable, as far as he could tell.
He kept a steady conversation with Soveliss all the while, assessing the key figures and figuring out what to do next. He wasn't hungry anymore. Spike had bought him some food. He had found Spike to be a nice person actually, after the initial bad blood had run out. He couldn't help being prejudiced against vampires, he was trained to do it.
Anyway, he found that there were three Slayers, Buffy, Faith and Dannielle. There were other names tossed about in the conversation, but he paid them little heed. Introductions were made between them, though Kaine detected an underlying note of tension and discomfort between the two groups. Soveliss found this to be of some concern. Although they were not openly arguing, they did not trust each other fully. This was especially clear between the Slayers.
/You'll have to do something about that/
/Like what? I'm not a counselor!/ Kaine had retorted. /Anyway, I can't force them to trust each other, that's worse than not trusting/
/You'll figure something out/ Soveliss replied cryptically.
The rest of the conversation was basically a debate on the strategies and actions to be taken. Buffy and her friends proposed a defensive pose until they could find out more about the enemy they faced; Faith and her friends wanted to hunt them out. Dannielle finally forced a compromise. Be defensive while they found out what they actually faced, then they hunt it down.
/That's not a bad idea/ Kaine remarked. /I'm starting to like this girl/
/Don't/ was the reply he got.
Kaine thought it was a blessing that the two groups didn't come to blows. But the animosity was still palpable, and he knew that something would escalate before the day was over. And he was right.
++++++
Xander looked at Buffy with undisguised contempt and hatred, his nostrils flaring. He rose to his feet, shrugged off Gunn's hand and stared down the Slayer. " What the fuck!?" he shouted, grabbing everyone's attention. " Angel? Angel? You are not gonna call Angel!"
" Oh, you're gonna stop me, Xander?" Buffy shot back.
" Damn right, I am! If he comes here, I'm leaving and fuck the consequences!"
" Go ahead, its not like we need you!"
" That's always your story, isn't Buffy? You don't need me," Xander's voice dropped to harsh whisper so soft Kaine had to strain to hear him. " But you know it's just an excuse for your guilt,"
" Guilt? What do I need to feel guilty for?" Buffy sounded confident, but Kaine heard the catch in her voice. Something had hit close to the mark.
" For ruining my life. For letting Cordelia and Jenny die. Angel killed them both, Buffy, never forget that,"
Kaine couldn't see, but he was sure Xander jabbed a finger at Buffy. " And it was your fault,"
" You think I don't know that?" Buffy's voice had also gotten quiet. " You think I don't remember?"
" Yes. I do think that. Because you were so quick to let him come back, so quick to forgive him, that you forgot all of us. You forgot that he'd hurt us more than he hurt you, because getting him back meant that your pain went away. And you lied to us about it, Buffy. To all of us,"
Silence filled the room. The tension was so thick someone could have cut it with a sharp fingernail. The sound of heavy breathing filled Kaine's ears and he wondered if Xander's sails had run out of wind.
" It was the most selfish act I'd ever seen anyone do. But I let it go, Buffy. Because you were my friend, because I loved you, I let it go. He made you happy, and I didn't mind despite the fact that I felt like I was betraying Cordelia every time I was in the same room with him,"
Apparently Xander still had a long way to go, Kaine surmised.
" I sacrificed a part of myself for you, Buffy. And how did you repay me? You cast me out. All of you. You threw me out of your fucking little band and forgot about me. Up till now I couldn't decide who had hurt me worse, Angel or you. Now I have,"
Kaine knew he was crying. Maybe someone else was too, but he couldn't be sure. " Fuck you all," Xander finished, then he turned and walked away. Kaine peeked over the side and saw him leave the shop, disappearing into an alleyway. Kaine breathed a little sigh of relief. Xander would get some fresh air and think a little bit, while the others inside would calm down and try to continue.
How wrong he was.
" Buffy, stop crying. Please," said a small, female voice. One of Buffy's friends, Kaine thought. " What Xander said, he didn't mean it. It was completely unjustified,"
" Unjustified! What the fuck do you mean, unjustified?" interrupted another voice. Female, throaty, deep. Faith. " We all fucking know that it was fucking justified! I know it, you know it, she knows it!"
" Faith, now is not the time—" Kaine identified the speaker as the Watcher, Giles.
" Fuck that! Now is exactly the time! What Xander said was right, B! He was the greatest friend you could ever have had, and you fucking threw him away!"
Faith was given to histrionics, loud ones. Kaine had to pull his ear away from the ceiling to ease some of the pain.
" You're selfish, B, no doubt about that! You pushed Xander away, you threw me off a building to save your precious boytoy and know what!? He ain't even here! You dropped him and picked up the next college beefstick you saw!"
Kaine had no idea who she was talking about and had no time to figure it out as she continued rapid fire. " You forgot us! Xander, me! You're the only thing that's important to you, B! Xander was right," Faith's voice dropped into a hard accusatory one. " Fuck you all,"
She walked away and so did her two friends. Kaine saw them leave the shop, but Faith went a different way from the half-demon and the black man. Turning his attention back to the shop's interior, he realized that Buffy's sobbing had resumed again.
/If this goes on, Tristan won't need Spike to 'sow seeds of discord'/ Kaine noted. /All he has to do is reap the rewards/
/You should do something about this/
/Like what? What am I supposed to do, Soveliss? I'm open to suggestions/
There was no answer, and Kaine wasn't expecting one anyway.
++++++
The sun had set, and it was time for a little laying about. It used to be time for hunting but considering his current chipped condition, there was little chance of that happening. If there was one thing about Sunnydale that everyone could agree on, it was that the town was never boring. The unexpected happened, all the time and tonight was no exception.
" Well, if it isn't the other Slayer. What's wrong, not getting any from that wimp, Xander?" he loaded the remark with as much sarcasm he could. The brunette shot him a sparing glance, then went back to studying her boots.
" Xander ain't my boy. And he ain't a wimp either. So fuck off already, Spike," she suddenly said. Spike smirked. The threat didn't have as much steel or fire in it, so he could tell she wasn't much up to bullying anyone. He perched himself on the bench, careful not to get too close.
" My, a little testy, aren't we?" he replied glibly. Who said he couldn't hunt anymore? Here was a perfect target, ripe for the pickings. " Why, that bitch Buffy whipped your ass again?"
" Spike, I'm not in the mood, okay. Get lost," she snarled. Still no fire.
" No can do, Slayer. This is a chance too good to pass up," Spike lit a cigarette and took a drag. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the girl staring hungrily at the fag. Hiding a smirk, he offered it to her. Their eyes met and locked for several minutes. She gingerly plucked the cigarette out of his hands. " I didn't know Slayers smoked," he commented off-handedly. Something in the way the girl held herself reminded him so much of…
Let's not go there.
" Not all Slayers are like, Buffy," she replied. The name was uttered like a curse.
" I detect some animosity there,"
" Huh?"
Smiling, Spike lit another cigarette. " I said, I sense some bad vibes,"
" Tell me about it," she snorted, flicking the spent cigarette onto the grass. The glowing blue end twirled away into the darkness, disappearing in the grass.
" It ain't my story, luv. You tell me,"
The girl looked at him sidelong, then shook her head. " Okay, have it your way," Spike shrugged and leaned back in the bench, draping his arms over the backrest. She, on the other hand, sat with her knees hugged to her chest, her head lowered so her long hair spilled over her face. The silence, though tense, wasn't uncomfortable. Spike lit another cigarette, offering it to her.
" Thanks," she said, accepting it. Her voice was hoarse, and raw. Spike narrowed his eyes, studying what little he could see of her face. " What?" she asked, when she noticed.
" You've been crying, luv,"
" I know,"
" Why?"
She hesitated, and Spike thought she wasn't going to talk. Unexpectedly, she did. " Its, B. And Sunnydale. And Xander,"
" What about 'em?" he prodded.
" I kept dreaming about coming back here, kept playing the scene over and over again. I knew what I was gonna say, I knew what I was gonna do. But when the time came, I froze. I couldn't fucking speak. I was too scared,"
" What'd she do to you to make you so afraid?"
" She stabbed me. And pushed me off a building,"
" Ouch. Well, at least you came out of it fine,"
" I was in a coma for eight months,"
Spike was lost for words. " Umm, you look real good, though," he stammered. She didn't seem to have noticed.
" Xander told me I flatlined. Twice. Guess that's where Dannielle came from," she continued.
" Dannielle?"
" Third Slayer,"
Spike felt faint. There were three Slayers now? Damn, he hated this town! " Things couldn't get any worse, could they?"
" What? Oh, vampire,"
" You make that sound like it's a bad thing," Spike protested hotly. The girl offered him a glimmer of a smile.
" It is,"
" Haha, very funny,"
" Hey, you brought it up," she actually laughed this time. Did he have that effect on everyone? God, he hoped not.
++++++
Dannielle watched it all with a detached amusement. It was almost like one of those soap operas Mom liked to watch. The old boyfriends, the jilted lovers, the dead girlfriends. Someone could make a lot of money exploiting all this.
Currently, Xander, Faith, Gunn and Doyle had left. Buffy was weeping in her chair, Willow and Riley were trying to console her. What a picture of love and friendship. If all that stuff Xander and Faith said was true, Dannielle didn't think that Buffy would get this sorta treatment right now. That meant one thing: there was another side to the story. Would it be worth it, to find out?
" Aren't you gonna do something?" she directed the question to Giles, who had wandered over near her to shelve one of his books. He looked mildly surprised to find her talking to him, and he abruptly snatched off his glasses and began wiping them on a piece of cloth. Dannielle looked at him expectantly, waiting for an answer.
" Not exactly. I think that they should work this out themselves," he finally said.
" Kinda hard if Xander and Faith aren't here, don't'cha think?"
Again Giles looked surprised. " What does Faith have to do with it?"
" Damn, she was right. You did forget her," she replied with an incredulous shake of her head.
" I beg your pardon—"
" Beg all you want. But its true, Giles. It took a lot out of her to even come here, and you don't even acknowledge her existence. No wonder she's pissed,"
" Well, if she came here expecting forgiveness, especially after what she's done—"
Dannielle cut him off once again. " No. She doesn't want forgiveness. She just wanted closure. I can tell she doesn't give a shit whether Buffy forgives her or not, but she wants, she needs to know what Buffy really feels for her. What you feel,"
" Well, that outburst brought her no closer to her aim," Giles was ridiculously pleased to actually be able to finish a sentence this time. But Dannielle fixed him a flat, exasperated stare in response.
" Jeez, Giles. I thought you were the reasonable one. The only reason Faith blew up was because of Xander,"
" So you're saying that Xander incited her to act that way?"
" No!" Dannielle almost shouted out, but brought herself under control at the last minute. " What I'm saying is that Xander's her friend, her best friend. So considering your treatment of Xander just now, it was no surprise to me," she paused, frowning. " Faith's possessive, I guess,"
" So what do you expect Buffy, us, to do?" Giles asked.
" Are you dense or something? Haven't you been listening to a word I've been saying?" Dannielle threw her arms up into the air and stalked off to the counter. Giles looked at her concernedly, then turned away, deep in thought.
++++++
Up on the roof, Kaine smiled broadly. /I really like that girl/
/Would I be right in assuming that to protest would be a waste of energy?/
/Damn sure/
Kaine sensed a sudden emptiness, and he knew that Soveliss had withdrawn somewhere to sulk quietly. He grinned wryly and set his ear to the ceiling again. Buffy had stopped crying and was claiming her guilt in between wracking sobs. Kaine winced. He'd never encountered a more childish Slayer before. Willow and Riley, on the other hand were trying to comfort her, tell her that it wasn't her fault.
/Soveliss?/
/What?/ he sounded irritated.
/What can you tell me about this dimension?/
/Well, since you asked so impolitely… Earth is a mixture of magic and technology. Demons and vampires live in relative secrecy, most humans don't know of their existence. What makes Earth so special is its balance. It has perfect equilibrium between magic and technology, demon and human/
/What's the use of a Slayer then?/
/Considering the ignorance of most humans, they become easy prey for the demons. Slayers are to keep the balance intact. Most don't realize this however/
/Hellmouths?/
/One, right here in this town/
/Explains the high number of supernatural creatures/
/That's a scientific term. I'm impressed, Kaine/
The young warrior grinned inanely. /You're a bad influence, I guess/
The huffy silence that followed only served to widen his smile. There was the sudden sound of someone walking, quite loudly, in the alleyway behind him. Kaine flattened himself to the roof and surreptitiously peeked over the side. Strangely, there was no one. Kaine frowned, then heard a peculiar sound. His eyes widened to the size of plates and he leapt to his feet, drawing Soveliss and whirling around in one smooth motion.
Just in time to have a body impale itself on the blade.
The shock coursed through his arm, jarring his bones. But he kept his grip on the sword and kicked the dead body off the blade. Upon closer inspection, Kaine realized that it was not a human. Shiny black skin, that looked and felt like oil, long limbs and a completely hairless torso. It had no ears or discernible features on its face, and two oval patches of white passed for its eyes. Its fingers were long and slender, ending in claws. Its feet ended in a paw-like snub, with claws as well.
/What in the Nine Hells is that?/ he asked Soveliss.
/Nightshade. They hunt in packs/
Without another word, Kaine vaulted off the edge of the building and burst in the door.
++++++
Dannielle watched Buffy out of the corner of her eye and took note of the way her friends fawned over her. It disgusted her, to say the least. How deluded could people get?
One consolation was the fact that Giles and Willow's girlfriend, Tara, had carefully set themselves apart from the other two. Tara sat with a bemused expression on her face, although the way her hands fiddled showed her concern. Giles had retired to one of the chairs, pretending to read. It was obvious that Dannielle's words had struck a chord and he repeatedly took off his sunglasses and wiped them on a cloth.
Dannielle hid a smile and turned away from the scene to inspect one of the statues on a nearby shelf. She set it down and her gaze wandered over to the wall, distracted. It had nothing remarkable about it, accept for the way shadows danced across its surface. Interesting, the shadows looked like one of those aliens from the X-Files.
Dannielle frowned and her mind snapped back to reality when she realized that there was no light source behind her, and definitely nobody to cast a shadow. She turned back to Buffy and her eyes widened as she saw two of those shadows creeping up on her. " Buffy! Watch your back!" she screamed as she launched herself into a collision course with the foremost shadow. Buffy got to her feet just after Dannielle flew overhead.
And slammed headfirst into the wall. Somehow, she had passed right through the shadow-thing, and continued along her headlong path. Buffy and her friends scattered to far ends of the shop as more shadows appeared out of the walls. Dannielle groggily got to her feet, trying to clear the fog that had set in. One shadow passed in front of her; she reached out to grab the thing, but her arms passed right through its body. Her eyes narrowed and she lunged forward to punch it, but again, her fist met something as insubstantial as air.
Still the shadows closed in on Buffy and Riley, who stood back to back. Willow flattened herself against one wall, then nearly leapt out of her skin when a shadow materialized directly beside her. She yelped and ran along the wall to Dannielle's side, using the third Slayer as a protective shield. Tara and Giles stood at the bookshelves, gripping it as if wishing they could scale to flimsy object to safety. But the shadows seemed to ignore them and headed straight for Buffy. Dannielle did a quick headcount and got up to a total of thirty-seven before she lost count. In the swirling midst of black bodies, it was hard to tell the difference between one shadow-thing and the other. It seemed that whatever made them insubstantial to humans applied for their own kind as well.
Then one of them acted, leaping, arms outstretched, at Buffy. The Slayer reacted by pure instinct, driving her fist into its chest. Surprisingly, the blow connected, sending the shadow flying back, through its brethren, and through the wall, where it disappeared from view. Buffy grinned and both she and Riley charged the surrounding ring of shadows, fists flying.
Nothing happened.
Once again, their attacks passed unobstructed through the bodies of their enemies. Buffy relented and stepped back, Riley following her lead a second later. They glanced at each other, then at the unmoving mass of black bodies. Then Buffy dived into the mass, thinking to pass right through the bodies and come out the other side. She was met with a solid wall of resistance, pushing her back with a force that stunned her momentarily. Again, she and Riley exchanged looks.
They were screwed.
It was then that the door burst open, giving way to a slim figure yelling bloodthirsty warcries.
++++++
Dannielle saw dimly through the swirl of black, a young man, lean and wiry, wielding a glinting sword. He charged headfirst into the shadows, and as she expected, he ran through them. But he checked his run and stopped when he reached the center of the circle, stopping before and astonished Riley and a suspicious Buffy.
" Hello," he greeted, grinning impudently. " Not the best of circumstances to meet, but you have to make do sometimes,"
Then one of the shadows leaped out at him, arms spread wide. He whipped around, his sword flashing in a glimmering arc, shearing through the shadow-thing's head as easily as if it were butter. He completed his turn and once again faced Buffy, amazed this time.
" Nightshades, incorporeal. Wait till they attack before you do," he said, demonstrating by running his blade through one of the shadows. It did no harm to the thing, the nightshade. " They have to be solid to attack you, so you have to time your attack just right,"
As if one of the shadows wanted to prove him wrong, it attacked, claws extended. He ducked smoothly under the wild swing, then lunged, holding his sword two-handed. The blade met solid flesh, and the nightshade went limp, brackish black blood oozing from the wound. The young warrior kicked the carcass off his blade and winked at Buffy.
Dannielle decided that enough was enough. She walked forward, not slowing even when she encountered the first shadow. Instead, she steeled herself and walked through it. It was a strange feeling, like she was engulfed by a thick, warm mist. It was disconcerting and she hastened her steps to get it over as quick as she could. After what seemed like an eternity, she emerged through to the other side, behind Buffy. Now she understood why the man had run.
He grinned again when he saw her, tilting his head in acknowledgement. " Glad you could join us,"
He had an odd, musical accent she couldn't quite place. Maybe Eastern Europe, but she was no expert on language. He brandished his blade, saluting, she realized. Something in his eyes alerted her and he opened his mouth. Before he could utter a word, she pivoted on her heel, foot flying out in a roundhouse kick. Slayer agility and coordination allowed for the move to connect, and the attacking nightshade flew out to the streets.
Then the battle began in earnest. The nightshades seemed to take the loss of its fifth comrade to be the limit and they attacked in unison. Standing back to back in a defensive ring, the four managed to repel the first wave. The young stranger made use of the space allowed, swinging his blade in wide arcs, singing and laughing gaily. Something told Dannielle that he liked what he did.
Abruptly, they stopped. Dannielle was caught off balance and almost stumbled off her feet. She checked herself in time and got into a defensive posture, just waiting. The nightshades seemed to realize this, and they stopped, standing still once again.
Then they attacked again.
Only this time, it wasn't the mad rush of the first time. Instead, they formulated a pattern, attacking in turn. Dannielle found herself facing one shade from the front, only to have it suddenly fade out. Too late, one shade came in from the right and scratched its claws across her ribs. She flinched; the wound wasn't deep, but it stung something fierce. Her hand flew out on reflex, heading for the one that had just hit her, but she met nothing. Nothing solid anyway.
One shade suddenly came from the left and Dannielle was quick enough to guard for blows from her right or the front. She managed to catch one fist on her forearm and her fist snapped a blow to the shadow's head. It crumpled under the hit, falling back. It was immediately replaced by another.
This was going nowhere fast.
++++++
Willow and Tara huddled together by one of the scattered chairs, watching the battle unfold before their eyes. They could do nothing. The sort of lightning quick counterattacks the fight called for was far beyond either of their capabilities. They were witches, not Slayers. Giles was at the shelf, frantically searching for some way to get rid of the throng of shadows.
They watched in surprise as the young stranger tumbled through the swirling mist of bodies, somersaulting across the floor. He came to a stop in front of them, kneeling and smiling broadly.
" You wouldn't happen to have matches would you?"
" M-matches? What f-for?" Willow stuttered, somehow rendered nervous by the impressive warrior in front of her. All his muscles were clearly defined beneath that tight suit of his, except for the ones covered by the sweatshirt. Still, it left little for the imagination and if Willow wasn't with Tara…
" Well, if you have matches and a whole lot of paper, you could get a fairly big fire. That would be very useful," he replied, gripping his sword tight. Willow noticed the gem in the crosspiece was glowing, as if emitting its own blue light. But her attention was taken when he said 'fire'.
" Fire? We can give you fire!" she exclaimed gleefully. Pointing a finger at one of the nightshades, she called out, "Arsum!"
Immediately, her target exploded in a blaze of flames, disappearing into nothingness. Tara followed her lead, calling out, " Arsum!" and grinned when another one of the shadows was engulfed by flames. The young man actually clapped.
" Very good! Keep it up, if you don't mind. It'll come in very handy,"
With that, he hopped to his feet and threw himself back into the fray, whooping madly. Willow pointed and called out again, cheering when another nightshade was reduced to nothing.
++++++
/Were you thinking of something along those lines/
/Yes, actually. What a stroke of luck, to find two witches here/
/Luck had nothing to do with it, Soveliss. They hang with the Slayer remember?/
/Quite. Oh, look out/
Kaine instinctively ducked when the silent warning was given. He slashed low, aiming for the knees and was rewarded by a nightshade tumbling to the floor. He rolled on the floor, coming up sword first to parry a fistful of claws, quickly rolling his wrist and sweeping his blade across the shade's belly. What passed for its insides came tumbling out, and Kaine jumped to the side as yet another nightshade swung its claws at him.
/Oh. Don't let it touch your head. Drains your energy/ Soveliss remarked.
/I take it you've had firsthand experience?/
/Don't remind me, please/
Kaine grinned and swung down at a claw that came up from below. The razor sharp blade cut through the limb with the barest of resistance and the severed arm twitched helplessly on the wooden planks of the shop. He never stayed in one place for longer than a second, bounding about like an insane hare on caffeine. Shadows swung harmlessly at him, wind whistled where their claws missed his head by mere inches. In return, he swiped at their outstretched arms and unprotected torsos with deadly accuracy, sending bodies and body parts twitching on the floor behind him.
All around, nightshades exploded in small conflagrations, thinning the ranks severely. Kaine whooped as he lopped the head off one shade, then just barely managed to duck under a set of claws. Soveliss flashed in the moonlight, reflecting one of the small flames the witches had conjured up. A hand fell to the floor, bleeding.
++++++
Buffy tried her best to keep her mind on the nightshades surrounding her, but it was quite impossible, what with the young stranger bouncing about like the Mad Hatter and the March Hare combined into one maniacal form. His grace and speed was just amazing, his reflexes just short of bestial. She'd never seen someone move like that before.
No one but… Faith and… Dannielle. And her.
But they were Slayers and all Slayers were girls. Weren't they?
Her thoughts took her mind far away from the fight and she paid for it. A fist slammed into her jaw, its progressed unheeded until it had reached its destination. Buffy recoiled, more from the surprise than the force of the blow. Already the shades were advancing, taking up the space she had just recently, if accidentally, vacated.
Suddenly, the leading shade exploded, burning bright before her eyes for a while. When she opened them, she saw only two left.
Willow, she thought, unable to keep from grinning. I love that girl.
Then her forearm came up to block a blow, and she kicked out to the other side, connecting with shadow flesh.
The fight raged on.
++++++
They could see that the shadows had been drastically reduced in number. So far, they had come away with only minor scratches, but the quickly dissolving nightshade corpses on the floor revealed the victorious side.
Apparently, the shades came to the same conclusion, and stopped their attack. Disappearing once more into the walls, they fled the shop, until no trace of them could be seen. Buffy breathed a sigh of relief, realizing that she was breathing hard. Panting actually. She hadn't done that in a long time.
The others were likewise relaxing, trying to catch their breaths. Riley clutched his side, where a nightshade had scored several deep lines into his ribs. " Is everyone okay?" Buffy called out, looking about. She was answered by nods all around, although Riley's was a little pained. Dannielle had already focussed her attention on the young stranger and was bearing down on him. Strangely enough, he wasn't breathing hard, was even sweating much.
He was strangely tense, face fixed into a mask of concentration, as if trying to sense something. Buffy strained her ears, but got nothing. Dannielle ignored all this and her hand reached out for his shoulder. But before she could clamp it down, he whirled around and shouted, " Everyone get out! Now!"
The urgency in his voice, and the way his eyes widened chilled Buffy. Must be something really bad, she thought, vaguely realizing that she wasn't running for the door. " Now!" he barked again, and only then did they react. Willow, Tara and Giles bolted for the front door, Buffy helped Riley to his feet. Dannielle stared suspiciously at the man, but did as he said, running out the door.
He waited until everyone had left then came barreling out, head ducked as if expecting a crash. Buffy was tense in anticipation, not knowing what was worse. The waiting or the event about to happen.
Then, from out of the shop, a figure rose. At first, it looked like another shadow, walking across the wall. But then it grew in size, becoming steadily larger and larger. It rose from a kneeling position, then stood at its full height. Buffy was its body reach the top of the shop, and its upper chest and head couldn't be seen. It had run out of wall to cast itself upon, she realized with morbid horror.
Then it stepped out.
Easily three times Riley's height, it towered over them. It even blocked out the moon. It looked just like another nightshade, only twenty feet tall. Its claws were the size of the stranger's sword and then some. It's thighs were the size of Buffy's body, and it seemed whatever firepower Willow or Tara could send at it would be nothing but pinpricks. Buffy stepped back in shock, deciding on an answer. Dannielle gasped and Giles took off his glasses, as if not believing his eyes. The stranger almost dropped his sword, although it hung limp in his hand. His next words roughly said what everyone had on their minds.
" Oh, fuck,"
++++++
Gunn and Doyle found Xander at a sleazy bar finishing what seemed to be his second bottle of vodka. He was obviously drunk, given the way he squinted at them and slurred a, " Waddya want?"
Gunn winced. Xander's voice sounded like his larynx had been torn apart. His eyes were no consolation. Bloodshot and puffy, he had been literally crying into his drink. He sniffed and up ended another shot of vodka, grimacing as the burning liquid went down his throat.
" You let him drink this much?" Gunn asked the bartender accusingly, scowling. He shrugged, then turned away to wipe an already shiny glass. Gunn shook his head in frustration and looked back to his friend, only to see Doyle holding the bottle in a familiar way.
" Not bad, I have to say," the Irishman said, sniffing the contents. Then he downed a small sip, an appreciative expression coming over his face a while later. " Not bad at all. Makes you wonder where a dive like this gets such good beer, don't it?"
" No, it doesn't actually. Now put that down and lets get him out of here before he collapses," Gunn chided, prying the glass out of Xander's recalcitrant fingers. It took a lot of grappling before he managed to do so, and he immediately grabbed hold of Xander's arm before he could make an attempt to retrieve his glass. Doyle took one look at Gunn's face and sighed, placing the vodka bottle back onto the counter. What a waste of good drink.
" 'S'all my fault," Xander mumbled. " I shooden haf exploded- sploded like dat. Now dey're all gonna die an is all my fault,"
" Hey, no one's gonna die, Xander, and you're not guilty of anything," Gunn said, pulling the severely inebriated man to his feet. " I should've expected something like that to happen,"
Doyle slung Xander's left arm over his shoulders, taking some of the burden off Gunn. But considering how Xander could barely keep his feet, bringing him all the way back to the motel was gonna be hard work. They got a few steps toward the door, when the bartender's irate voice called out after them, " Hey! He hasn't paid for his drink yet!"
" Check him," Gunn said, and Doyle used his free hand to search through Xander's pockets. Finding nothing there, he slid his hand into Xander's jacket, making him giggle inanely.
" Stupid sod's got nothin' on him!" he exclaimed.
" Great," Gunn mumbled under his breath. Shaking his head, he fished his own wallet out of his back pocket. " Hold 'im will ya?"
He stormed over to the bartender and counted out the bills. Suddenly, he blushed and ducked his head sheepishly. " Umm, Doyle. I don't have enough,"
" Crap,"
The Irish half-demon had to free both his arms to get his wallet, so he propped Xander against the wall to hold him upright. As he walked over to Gunn, Xander slid to the floor in an ungracious heap, landing with a loud thud.
" What was that you said about collapsing?" the bartender remarked.
++++++
Faith didn't know why she was still talking to Spike. But he made her laugh, and generally got her out of her bad mood, so she guessed he was alright. " I was right the last time. You are a riot, Spike,"
The vampire snorted, glad that he couldn't blush. He knew that if he had been human, he would have been beet-red by now.
The two were walking through a cemetery, strolling actually. Spike's pack of cigarettes had finished a long time ago and they had found out neither had money to buy another one. So they stole one.
Even this pack was rapidly finishing, taking in Spike's undead state and Faith's Slayer constitution. They could smoke the whole world down before one of them coughed. " Xander thinks I've quit,"
" What'll he do if he finds out?"
" He ain't my mother, Spike. But he'll probably give me one of his disapproving, disappointed looks and make me feel fucking guilty. I'll practically beg his forgiveness and promise him I'll quit. A week later and I'm puffing like a train again,"
Spike kept quiet at that, realizing for the first time to its full extent Faith's need for affection. It was like she craved it, needed it more than oxygen. Someone could exploit that. Someone already had. Once again, her character and attitude reminded him so much of…
He definitely didn't want to go there. It hurt too much to even think about it.
" Do you really need him that much?" the question surprised him as much as her; he sure as hell never meant to ask it. But he did and she gave him a suspicious look, definitely on the defensive.
" What're you sayin'?"
" Nothing," Spike shrugged, affecting a feigned nonchalance. " It's just that to actually beg so he'll forgive you is kinda strange to me. Especially on something so trivial as smoking, luv,"
" Haven't you heard, Spike? Nothing is trivial," she countered huffily.
" That's for lovers. Are you in love with him?"
" What's this, twenty questions? What do you care anyway? Think you have a chance?"
" Do I?"
Faith gaped, lost for words. Spike marveled at the way he could make Slayers become speechless so easily. It was like a gift or something. But this time, the twisted sense of satisfaction he always got taunting Buffy was missing. It was as if the question had struck something in him, as if the answer really mattered to him. But that was impossible.
Was it?
Faith finally slammed her mouth closed and stalked forward, outpacing him. He had to jog to catch up with her, and hustle to even keep up. Her jaw was clenched, her fists were balled up so hard her knuckles were white and her eyes smoldered with fury. Spike decided he had pushed one button too many and wisely fell back to give her some space.
It saved his life, ultimately.
A vampire landed right in front of him, though from where it appeared Spike had no idea. If he had been walking any faster, or any closer to Faith, the vamp would have landed smack right on top of him. And dusted him with the stake it held.
Faith hopped back in surprise, dropping into a defensive stance. The vampire was on all fours, so Spike rushed forward, slamming his boot up into its nose. Its head snapped back and it fell onto its ass, stake skittering from his hands. Spike snatched it up and was on the vamp in an instant, driving the wooden weapon through its heart.
As he stood and brushed dust of his coat, more vamps dropped down from above, surrounding them in a perfect circle. The last to appear were obviously the sire, if not the master vamp everyone was talking about.
He was tall, and slightly built though his broad shoulders were deceiving. He had an unruly mop of blond hair and wore a red leather jacket with black sleeves. He was accompanied by a female vampire, not as powerful. She was dark-haired, busty and wore a black leather halter top and black leather pants. As she walked to stand in front of Faith, Spike realized that they were practically mirror images of each other.
Both were slightly older than him, he could sense that. The other vampires around them were no more than a week-old, some even fresh out of the grave. He could, at one glance, count about fifteen vampires. That meant there were more than these two masters involved.
Bloody hell.