Disclaimer is the same as in the prologue.
Author's note at the end.
"Borrowed Time" - Chapter Four: Broken Things
Inuyasha tilted his head to the wind as he, the Slayer, and a handpicked few approached the high school. He had caught a scent that worried him, something foul that he could not identify. "I smell a demon," he told the others.
Spike looked to him and frowned. He tried to catch the scent himself but to him it was very faint. What he did smell put him ill at ease. "It's the Turok-han," he said.
"Damn," Buffy muttered. "I was afraid of that." She had hoped to reach the Seal before they could be raised. A small hope but one too easily crushed. "Can you tell how many?" she asked.
"No," Spike answered.
"Two," Inuyasha corrected, proving his sense of smell to be more powerful. From his scabbard at his waist he pulled an ancient sword. "They're coming fast from there!" With an impatient gesture he indicated the school.
The only potentials chosen to come, Rona, Molly and Kennedy moved together with weapons ready. They stood with shoulders touching, to minimize vulnerability, but held themselves back. Buffy, Spike and Inuyasha were the front line. If Bringers accompanied the Turok-han, the potentials would fend them off and keep them from interfering. In the back stood Willow and Tetsuo, for reasons the hanyou refused to understand. The Slayer had spoken briefly of the possibility of retreat and escape. It was a possibility he found stupid to entertain.
Two Turok-han ran ape-like towards them under the pale-yellow light of the street lamps. Buffy held her battle axe in front of her and threw a glance to Inuyasha. "They're not alone, are they?"
The hanyou shook his head. He barred his teeth, ready for war. "Six of those Bringer bastards coming from the sides and . . ." he paused, trying to place the scent, "something that once was dead."
"They were all once dead," Spike stated, stepping forward with a cleft blade. He chose the weapon for its long blunt handle to keep his enemy farther than arm's length away. "They will be again."
Inuyasha swung his sword at a leaping Turok-han. The rusty blade bounced off the tough hide of the demon and did little more than knock the monster back. He growled in frustration and raked his claws towards his enemy. The Tetsusaiga did not transform.
The potentials broke their tight formation to take on the approaching Bringers. Willow and Tetsuo advanced to help them. Though the use of his staff was efficient enough to help Rona incapacitate two of the blind drones, his true concern laid elsewhere.
Noticing his fractured attention, Willow called to him, "There's something wrong, isn't there?"
He nodded vaguely as a fleeting look of despair crossed his face. "I was afraid of this. Inuyasha's sword isn't working," he said gravely. His eyes caught Willow's. "This may go badly."
Willow looked to the hanyou who had sheathed his sword and now resorted to using the scabbard to beat at the Turok-han. The demon sliced into Inuyasha's arm. He barely flinched at the wound as he reached into it with his free hand and flung what appeared to be daggers formed from his own blood. The Turok-han stumbled backwards, blinded by the attack.
The hanyou descended upon it mercilessly, beating it with Tetsusaiga's scabbard.
Buffy and Spike worked in unison against the other Turok-han. Their attack worked flawlessly as Spike drew its attention to him so that Buffy could bring the blade of her axe through its neck. She felt a flush of satisfaction as the monster turned to dust.
"Impressive," a strange female voice called out. "But I wonder how well you would do without your entourage?"
Suddenly a blizzard of wooden daggers assaulted the potentials and Spike. Rona looked down in surprise to find her arm pinned to a tree by a knarled looking wooden stake. With great pain, Molly pulled one out of her leg. Kennedy had miraculously blocked one headed for her midsection with her sword, which now missed its tip. Spike pulled three out of himself, all having missed vital areas.
All those assaulted barely had breath before their new enemy presented herself.
From the ground below them rose what appeared to be a woman, with long dark hair and pale, white skin. She wore ancient armor made with intricately carved plates of wood pieced together with strips of sinew. Her eyes were obsidian. She smiled at her work. "Introductions aren't required but they are polite," she said with an accent no one could place. "I am Tona of the Earth."
Buffy opened her mouth to reply but her words were lost as Tona raised her hand toward Spike, releasing from her fingertips another barrage of wooden stakes. The vampire screamed in pain and the Slayer instinctively turned towards him--leaving her open for Tona's secondary attack.
In the blink of an eye, the woman's fist came crashing towards Buffy's chest, transforming into a deadly wooden missile.
Her attention drawn away from the attack, she did not see what knocked her to the ground. Buffy only realized her danger as she looked up to see Inuyasha take the full force of the blow that was meant for her. Blood bubbled up into his mouth as Tona's fingers writhed through his back to the front of his chest.
"What are you doing?" Buffy cried out to him in horror.
"I'm protecting you," he said. His voice came out as a harsh accusing whisper. His eyes did not see her. His ears only barely heard her. Before he lost all senses he fingered his sword, pulling at it with what strength he had left. Tetsusaiga remained quiet and untransformed.
"Willow, get the potentials out of here," Tetsuo said as he began to unwind his beaded hand. "Do what you must to shield them." He did not look at her but stepped forward into the fray, leaving her no room to argue with him. She simply nodded as she and Kennedy grabbed Molly and Rona to make their escape.
Tetsuo stood over Spike protectively as the vampire slowly regained his senses. The monk held his shielded hand up and called to Buffy. "Hold tight to something, Slayer, and don't let him go."
Inuyasha's eyes held a momentary clarity as he screamed, "Tetsuo, NO!"
Buffy looked to the monk in confusion as he unveiled the abyss in his hand. She could feel the pull of the vortex immediately before her mind could even register what was happening.
Tona released her deadly hold on Inuyasha and seemed to melt into the ground beneath her. Buffy caught his suddenly limp body, holding tightly to him as she anchored herself to a tree root. The force of the pull around her dragged the air out of her lungs.
She turned her head again towards Tetsuo, risking a glance at what was happening. Never in all her dreams would she have imagined that the monk held that kind of power. The ragged bodies of the Bringers flew like discarded rags towards a black hole in the palm of his hand, where they disappeared. Forever. She needed all of her strength to keep her and Inuyasha from following them.
The Turok-han Inuyasha had beaten with the scabbard of his sword clawed desperately at the ground trying to keep from being pulled in. His grip on the soil could not overcome the vacuum of the abyss and with one last howl, he too was sucked in.
Tetsuo closed his hand, wrapping his palm once again in his prayer beads. The air grew frighteningly still. "She escaped through the ground," he said with disappointment. "'Tona of the Earth'".
Still clinging to the bleeding Inuyasha, Buffy cared nothing for his quiet observation. "Why didn't you tell us you could do that?" she demanded.
Tetsuo bent down to look at Inuyasha's wound. The hole was massive. The wood witch had made him an example of what she could do. He touched the blood stained robes lightly. "I have my reasons," he replied.
Inuyasha flickered to consciousness briefly. He wanted to ready himself for another attack but found himself inexplicably unable to move. He could not open his eyes or call out. He was left with nothing but the mounting pain of his body beginning to knit itself back together. Wounded, vulnerable and surrounded by strangers, a part of him began to fear.
But then he heard the voice, quiet reassuring, almost fatherly as it spoke for his ears alone. His fear slipped away as he drifted out of consciousness. Somehow he knew he was safe.
"Don't worry, boy. I've got you now."
TBC
Author's Note: Life gets in the way of my writing so often that it insults you to tell you so. If I take this long again assume that stuff just happens and that I will update when I've got something worthy. I have another chapter coming but it's not quite done yet. Soon though. Thanks for your reviews. You guys are great.
Chapter Five: Reasons-Buffy's mad but her anger only masks a deeper feeling, guilt. Tetsuo reveals his true concerns and Willow learns something that will bring her to tears.
Author's note at the end.
"Borrowed Time" - Chapter Four: Broken Things
Inuyasha tilted his head to the wind as he, the Slayer, and a handpicked few approached the high school. He had caught a scent that worried him, something foul that he could not identify. "I smell a demon," he told the others.
Spike looked to him and frowned. He tried to catch the scent himself but to him it was very faint. What he did smell put him ill at ease. "It's the Turok-han," he said.
"Damn," Buffy muttered. "I was afraid of that." She had hoped to reach the Seal before they could be raised. A small hope but one too easily crushed. "Can you tell how many?" she asked.
"No," Spike answered.
"Two," Inuyasha corrected, proving his sense of smell to be more powerful. From his scabbard at his waist he pulled an ancient sword. "They're coming fast from there!" With an impatient gesture he indicated the school.
The only potentials chosen to come, Rona, Molly and Kennedy moved together with weapons ready. They stood with shoulders touching, to minimize vulnerability, but held themselves back. Buffy, Spike and Inuyasha were the front line. If Bringers accompanied the Turok-han, the potentials would fend them off and keep them from interfering. In the back stood Willow and Tetsuo, for reasons the hanyou refused to understand. The Slayer had spoken briefly of the possibility of retreat and escape. It was a possibility he found stupid to entertain.
Two Turok-han ran ape-like towards them under the pale-yellow light of the street lamps. Buffy held her battle axe in front of her and threw a glance to Inuyasha. "They're not alone, are they?"
The hanyou shook his head. He barred his teeth, ready for war. "Six of those Bringer bastards coming from the sides and . . ." he paused, trying to place the scent, "something that once was dead."
"They were all once dead," Spike stated, stepping forward with a cleft blade. He chose the weapon for its long blunt handle to keep his enemy farther than arm's length away. "They will be again."
Inuyasha swung his sword at a leaping Turok-han. The rusty blade bounced off the tough hide of the demon and did little more than knock the monster back. He growled in frustration and raked his claws towards his enemy. The Tetsusaiga did not transform.
The potentials broke their tight formation to take on the approaching Bringers. Willow and Tetsuo advanced to help them. Though the use of his staff was efficient enough to help Rona incapacitate two of the blind drones, his true concern laid elsewhere.
Noticing his fractured attention, Willow called to him, "There's something wrong, isn't there?"
He nodded vaguely as a fleeting look of despair crossed his face. "I was afraid of this. Inuyasha's sword isn't working," he said gravely. His eyes caught Willow's. "This may go badly."
Willow looked to the hanyou who had sheathed his sword and now resorted to using the scabbard to beat at the Turok-han. The demon sliced into Inuyasha's arm. He barely flinched at the wound as he reached into it with his free hand and flung what appeared to be daggers formed from his own blood. The Turok-han stumbled backwards, blinded by the attack.
The hanyou descended upon it mercilessly, beating it with Tetsusaiga's scabbard.
Buffy and Spike worked in unison against the other Turok-han. Their attack worked flawlessly as Spike drew its attention to him so that Buffy could bring the blade of her axe through its neck. She felt a flush of satisfaction as the monster turned to dust.
"Impressive," a strange female voice called out. "But I wonder how well you would do without your entourage?"
Suddenly a blizzard of wooden daggers assaulted the potentials and Spike. Rona looked down in surprise to find her arm pinned to a tree by a knarled looking wooden stake. With great pain, Molly pulled one out of her leg. Kennedy had miraculously blocked one headed for her midsection with her sword, which now missed its tip. Spike pulled three out of himself, all having missed vital areas.
All those assaulted barely had breath before their new enemy presented herself.
From the ground below them rose what appeared to be a woman, with long dark hair and pale, white skin. She wore ancient armor made with intricately carved plates of wood pieced together with strips of sinew. Her eyes were obsidian. She smiled at her work. "Introductions aren't required but they are polite," she said with an accent no one could place. "I am Tona of the Earth."
Buffy opened her mouth to reply but her words were lost as Tona raised her hand toward Spike, releasing from her fingertips another barrage of wooden stakes. The vampire screamed in pain and the Slayer instinctively turned towards him--leaving her open for Tona's secondary attack.
In the blink of an eye, the woman's fist came crashing towards Buffy's chest, transforming into a deadly wooden missile.
Her attention drawn away from the attack, she did not see what knocked her to the ground. Buffy only realized her danger as she looked up to see Inuyasha take the full force of the blow that was meant for her. Blood bubbled up into his mouth as Tona's fingers writhed through his back to the front of his chest.
"What are you doing?" Buffy cried out to him in horror.
"I'm protecting you," he said. His voice came out as a harsh accusing whisper. His eyes did not see her. His ears only barely heard her. Before he lost all senses he fingered his sword, pulling at it with what strength he had left. Tetsusaiga remained quiet and untransformed.
"Willow, get the potentials out of here," Tetsuo said as he began to unwind his beaded hand. "Do what you must to shield them." He did not look at her but stepped forward into the fray, leaving her no room to argue with him. She simply nodded as she and Kennedy grabbed Molly and Rona to make their escape.
Tetsuo stood over Spike protectively as the vampire slowly regained his senses. The monk held his shielded hand up and called to Buffy. "Hold tight to something, Slayer, and don't let him go."
Inuyasha's eyes held a momentary clarity as he screamed, "Tetsuo, NO!"
Buffy looked to the monk in confusion as he unveiled the abyss in his hand. She could feel the pull of the vortex immediately before her mind could even register what was happening.
Tona released her deadly hold on Inuyasha and seemed to melt into the ground beneath her. Buffy caught his suddenly limp body, holding tightly to him as she anchored herself to a tree root. The force of the pull around her dragged the air out of her lungs.
She turned her head again towards Tetsuo, risking a glance at what was happening. Never in all her dreams would she have imagined that the monk held that kind of power. The ragged bodies of the Bringers flew like discarded rags towards a black hole in the palm of his hand, where they disappeared. Forever. She needed all of her strength to keep her and Inuyasha from following them.
The Turok-han Inuyasha had beaten with the scabbard of his sword clawed desperately at the ground trying to keep from being pulled in. His grip on the soil could not overcome the vacuum of the abyss and with one last howl, he too was sucked in.
Tetsuo closed his hand, wrapping his palm once again in his prayer beads. The air grew frighteningly still. "She escaped through the ground," he said with disappointment. "'Tona of the Earth'".
Still clinging to the bleeding Inuyasha, Buffy cared nothing for his quiet observation. "Why didn't you tell us you could do that?" she demanded.
Tetsuo bent down to look at Inuyasha's wound. The hole was massive. The wood witch had made him an example of what she could do. He touched the blood stained robes lightly. "I have my reasons," he replied.
Inuyasha flickered to consciousness briefly. He wanted to ready himself for another attack but found himself inexplicably unable to move. He could not open his eyes or call out. He was left with nothing but the mounting pain of his body beginning to knit itself back together. Wounded, vulnerable and surrounded by strangers, a part of him began to fear.
But then he heard the voice, quiet reassuring, almost fatherly as it spoke for his ears alone. His fear slipped away as he drifted out of consciousness. Somehow he knew he was safe.
"Don't worry, boy. I've got you now."
TBC
Author's Note: Life gets in the way of my writing so often that it insults you to tell you so. If I take this long again assume that stuff just happens and that I will update when I've got something worthy. I have another chapter coming but it's not quite done yet. Soon though. Thanks for your reviews. You guys are great.
Chapter Five: Reasons-Buffy's mad but her anger only masks a deeper feeling, guilt. Tetsuo reveals his true concerns and Willow learns something that will bring her to tears.