Title: "Episode 83 & 1/2 - With A Little Help From My Friends".
Part: 08/12
Author: "A Gentleman Of Leisure".
Summary: There's a stranger in town and the world's about to end. Who you gonna call?
Story Type: In-Canon adventure set between Episodes 83 & 84 (hence the title).
Rating: PG-13
Spoilers: Up to Series 5, Episode 83 (of course).
Pairing: In-Canon.
Disclaimer: The-Powers-That-Be own everything. 'Nuff said?

Author's Note: I'm a British writer, so there may be some terms (and spelling) not used in the US. OK? Now read on...

*

Part Eight - 'Here Comes The Night' - Them.


A wave of suffocating heat blasted the three people in the cellar. Dawn gave a shriek, and grabbed at Spike, dragging him backwards away from the huge fire demon. It was so big that it was almost doubled up under the low ceiling, which was the only good thing about the situation, so far as Dawn could see. The two of them ran into the furthest corner and tried to shield themselves behind a heap of junk piled up there.

"Spike, get behind me - you'll catch fire!"

"Niblet, if so much as one of your eyelashes get singed, big sister will take a flamethrower to me and laugh as she does so", he growled in reply. "Now get in the damned corner there behind me", and he shoved her right into the furthest niche of questionable safety.

"All right, all right. Don't overdo the chivalry. My bones don't mend as quickly as Buffy's, and I need a certain amount of oxygen, if you don't mind".

Spike ignored her, and spread out his long leather coat over both of them. Then he looked up to see where the third member of the expedition was.

"What the...?" Dawn heard him exclaim. "Michael, you bloody fool. Michael, get into a corner where it can't reach you, dammit!"

Dawn peeped over the edge of Spike's coat. The heat was already incredible, yet Michael was standing in the middle of the cellar, his head almost touching the ceiling. He had his sword in his right hand, and was shielding his face with his left forearm. As she watched he stepped forwards and swung at the demon.

It struggled to turn to face him, dislodging stones from above, and clawed at him with a huge paw-like hand which was shy of a finger. White hot blood sprayed across the room like lava. It was obvious that it had already encountered someone in Sunnydale, someone who she needed no guesses to identify!

Dawn tried to shift herself round to see properly, and found herself tangled up with what felt like a bundle of sticks. Trying to shove them out of the way she discovered that one had a smooth shaft, and she pulled it out, holding it up to look at it in the mixed light - a dull orange glow from the monster, and smooth, shadowless white created by Michael. A sharp polished point gleamed at the tip.

"Careful with that, kid", Spike said. "You could put someone's eye out with that!" He pushed it aside with a free hand. "Ow!"

To Dawn's surprise Spike whipped his hand away, waving it in the air, and swearing like a trouper. A number of the words she didn't even recognise as English!

"What happened, Spike?"

"What happened? It bloody burned me, that's what effing happened! What have you got there, for...?"

Dawn interrupted him excitedly.

"It's a spear. Maybe it's *The* Spear! You can't touch holy stuff, can you? That must be why it hurt you. I think this is IT!!" she exclaimed, then yelled "Hey, Michael!" at the top of her voice, and scrambled to her feet.

Michael cast a quick glance over his shoulder. He was trying to avoid the demon's great claws as they raked to and fro, trying to reach him. Luckily it had jammed itself against the far wall in trying to turn round to get a good swing at him, and could only use one arm, the injured one.

Dawn threw off Spike's coat and held the Spear up so Michael could see it. He stepped back out of her way, and she hefted it in her hand, trying to find its point of balance. Now to see if her throwing technique was up to the job.

Dawn wasn't that keen on physical sports, she was more of a chess queen, but somehow the school's athletics coach had managed to discover that she could throw. With a javelin she was a natural. It was probably a genetic thing that Buffy, of course, had in spades. Any weapon, sharp or blunt, was like meat and drink to the Slayer. She, Dawn, had seemingly inherited very little of the fighting ability of her older sister, but for some strange reason, this she was good at. And now was the time to find out just how good that was.

She could smell her hair beginning to scorch. She had to do it NOW - there was no time for thinking about it. There was no room for a run up either. Anyway the intent wasn't distance but accuracy. She took a deep breath.

"Good luck", she heard Spike say behind her, then, thank goodness, he shut up.

She took her stance, shifted her weight onto her back foot, took two quick paces forwards into the burning heat, and hurled The Spear.

*

Buffy trotted up the street, still carrying her axe at the ready, making her way through the veil of dust raised by the earthquake and the collapsing buildings, looking for her friends. It was very dark because all the street lights had failed, and she heard them before she could see them.

Someone was crying in the distance, 'probably Tara', she thought, and followed the sound.

"She may have gone through the portal, and be all right. We don't know she hasn't", Giles's voice came faintly to her.

"She'll be crushed to death if she didn't". That was Anya, the optimist.

"Not the Buffster. She'll be digging herself out right now, or she's off somewhere fighting demons single handed". That was definitely Xander - 'good old Xander' she thought.

She gave a shout, and there was an instant's silence, followed by everyone calling out at once.

"Buffy, over here! Over here!"

She changed direction in the swirling dust, now thickening with smoke from buildings catching fire, where she assumed gas pipes had fractured. A thin dishevelled figure came rushing towards her out of the gloom. It was Willow, who flung her arms round her in a big hug. The others quickly appeared behind her and they all joined in, even Giles, to her (and his) surprise.

"We were afraid the whole building had fallen in on you, Buffy. Stuff was coming down everywhere when we got out".

"Didn't you have time to go into the portal, Buff?" Willow asked.

"Yeah, what happened back there? Did it shrink too quickly for you?" Xander said.

"Well...", Buffy started to say, but was interrupted by a shrill scream from somewhere nearby in the gloom.

"Hey, bat signal, or what?" Xander exclaimed.

"Definitely fray adjacent, by the sound of it!" Buffy said. "Everyone grab something sharp and woody. Sounds like the vamps are taking advantage of the situation".

"Doesn't it strike you as funny that they were already out and about in large numbers earlier this evening?" Xander commented as they cast around in the gloom for things that would do as makeshift weapons.

"You know, I wondered about that", Giles said, relieving Buffy of the little axe she was still carrying. "Do you suppose they know something we don't?"

"They might already know about the impending end of the world, universe or whatever", Buffy replied, picking up a pool cue that was lying in the road, and snapping it in half to get two sharp wooden makeshift stakes. She tossed one each to Willow and Xander, produced Mr. Pointy from the back of her belt, and they started to move towards the sounds of a disturbance a little way away.

Someone was shouting, then there were more screams, and then silence. Buffy broke into a run, leaving the others picking their way through the semi-darkness. Her night vision enabled her to find the origin of the cries, but when the others caught up with her they found her looking down at the bodies of a young family of five strewn about in the street. There were dark stains all over the roadway - it looked as if they had been torn apart by wild animals - they were not a pretty sight.

"Gone. I was too late". The sadness in her voice was painful for the others to hear.

Giles patted her comfortingly on the shoulder. "It's not your fault", he reassured her.

"You've said that before, but it always feels like it is when I don't get there in time".

"You can't be everywhere at once, Buffy. You know that. You do all you can, and more".

"It just doesn't feel like I do. It's never quite enough. And now everything just seems to be going to hell in a hand basket. Dawn and Spike and Michael are somewhere we don't know where", (Giles winced slightly at her grammar) "and the Magic Box is in ruins. You weren't even insured yet, and all your stock is gone. Oh, except I saved this for you. I guess you could start restocking with it".

She pulled out something she'd also had tucked in her belt, and handed it to him. The object looked like a severely overdone joint of meat. Giles took it gingerly and tried to smile and look grateful.

"Er, thank you, Buffy. May I ask what it is?"

"Fire demon's pinkie. I cut it off. It came up through the floor just as I was about to jump into the hole so I chopped it with the axe - it was a bit miffed!"

"I should hope so", Xander said, looking at the burnt offering. "That thing must be eighteen inches long. I shouldn't like to lose a part of me that long, myself!"

"I wouldn't like you to either", Anya commented and she tucked her arm through his. "My own little fire demon!"

Tara and Willow gave each other a look, snorted, and burst out laughing.

"Good old Xander - always suspected he'd be hot stuff one day", Willow said.

"What happened to the demon? Did you kill it?" Giles continued.

"I wish! No, it was huge. And burning hot too. It just gave a sort of howl and sank into the ground again. I guess it lived deep underground, and was brought to the surface by the earthquake activity".

"What about the portal?" Willow asked, serious again.

Buffy shrugged.

"Snapped shut like a rat trap and vanished. Then the building caved in, so I made an excuse and left".

"Then we don't know if our expedition got back yet?"

"No". Buffy thought for a moment. "Willow, when they return, if they return, will it be to where they set out from?"

"Well, if the way they went is shut, they'll have to find another route back, and they may not end up precisely where they started".

"Too bloody right, witch girl", said a voice from the gloom behind them.


End Of Part Eight. To Be Continued...