It's okay Supergurl, it's going to be…alright. It'll all make sense in the end. (I hope! Sometimes I confuse myself.)
Apologies for the delay – just came back from a mini-vacation in Jasper. Ahhh. Am now refreshed and refocused. Somewhat humbled too.
Opening Up a Can of…
Buffy finished dressing Legolas' wound with Spike hovering near the entrance to the small washroom. Gone completely was any tenderness or attempts to be gentle as she tugged the bandage into place hurriedly, missing the pained wince from the Elven prince. Legolas could not help but notice that a small tinge of redness never left her cheeks, nor he could miss the fact that she refused to look into his face. She left all her medical supplies on the counter and squeezed past Spike to rush downstairs. Spike watched her leave with a smirk, then faced the smoldering Elf.
"Lose your shirt mate?"
The Elf glared at the vampire but said nothing as he pulled the burned sweatshirt over his head. Legolas was about to leave the room when Spike held out an arm, catching him across the chest. Legolas first looked at the offending arm, then sent the most deadly look he could muster in the vampire's direction. The glare would have had any normal man back down, but Spike merely shrugged off the glance with a malicious grin of his own. "Stay away from the Slayer, boy. She's got a weakness for blondes."
Legolas growled underneath his breath. "Apparently the only weakness the maiden possesses is failing to recognize true evil."
Spike cocked his head as the grin left his face quickly. "An' what's that supposed to mean?"
Legolas let his eyes narrow until they were nothing but hate-filled slits. "Where I come from, we do not hesitate to dispose of your kind."
Spike harrumphed and began to walk away. "You just did, fool." Spike strode out of the room and sauntered down the stairs, aggressively pushing Strider out of the way as the Ranger tried to climb up them.
Legolas was about to follow Spike when Aragorn barred his way. Aragorn studied the scowling Elven prince with unease. As Legolas attempted to side-step the man, Aragorn placed a restraining palm on his chest. "What happened?" He asked in his deepest tone.
Legolas shrugged off his hand and turned away. "Nothing." He replied softly. Aragorn placed another hand on his shoulder, trying to turn the Elf back around to face him when Legolas lifted his head and began sniffing. "What is that?"
Aragorn glanced back downstairs and grimaced. "Something called 'sloppy joes'. It did not look very desirable."
She had a perplexed look on her face that did not go unnoticed as she entered the kitchen.
"Everything okay, Buff?" Xander asked as he prepared the buns for his world-famous sloppy-joe fest. Dawn stood over the bubbling pot, stirring the meat soaked in Xander's extra-extra-spicy concoction. She wiped away the heat-induced tear from her cheek and rubbed her nose where she thought she inhaled a chili flake.
"Fine." She nodded noncommittally. Xander didn't buy it, but he knew better than to press the stubborn young women for answers she didn't want to give. It was like pulling the horns off a bull. So instead he nodded and set his face in a defeated frown.
"Slayer, we need to talk." Spike announced as he strolled into the kitchen.
"Spike, lay off." Buffy rolled her eyes as she turned away from him. "I don't need to justify myself to you, I just slipped. If you weren't so insecure this wouldn't be a big deal and nothing happened anyway, we just –"
"I was going to tell you about what I saw tonight. This has nothing to do with you an' pretty boy up there." He retorted.
"Oh." She stopped. There was an awkward silence hanging in the air, with Spike huffing, Xander scrutinizing and Dawn flat out threatening her silently. 'Open mouth, insert foot,' she couldn't help but smugly think.
"Look, somethin' weird's goin' on. Found another one of them dead Orcs, 'cept this one was being devoured by two vampires."
This indeed captured everyone's attention. "I thought vampires didn't like to eat things that are already dead." Xander pointed out.
Spike shrugged. "Sure seemed to like this one. That, an' it did somethin' to them. Made 'em stronger."
The three sighed as they considered the new bit of information. "Great." Muttered Buffy.
"So Orc snacks are replacing humans? Isn't this a good thing?" Suggested Dawn.
Buffy shook her head. "Not if it makes them stronger. We've got to stop this portal before more of those things come through. The last thing we need is muscle-headed dimwits roaming around."
"What are dimwits?"
Buffy turned around to find Strider and Legolas slowly entering the kitchen.
"It's another term for dumbasses." Xander helped out. Strider and Legolas shared an odd look but decided not to pursue the matter.
"Orc blood seems to be having an undesirable effect on our local vampire population." Buffy began explaining. "It's making them more powerful; not exactly something we need. But we have to find out if it makes them harder to kill. Who's up for patrol with me?"
Dawn immediately shot up her hand but Buffy's eyes passed right over her. Instead, Strider and Legolas both took a step forward. "We shall help you slay these demons." Legolas stated calmly.
"My hero." Spike's voice was laced with sarcasm.
"Spike." Buffy sent him a warning tone accompanied by a harsh stare. Legolas' eyes turned cloudy as he glared at the sneering vampire. Strider once again placed a restraining hand on his shoulder. "Look, this isn't the time-"
Buffy never got the chance to finish her reprimand as the living room windows exploded in a hale of glass. Buffy blocked the tiny shards with her hands before they could imbed themselves in her face, but instantly readied herself in a fighting stance to face the two vampires that just jumped through her now-windowless room. She didn't have a chance to prepare for long, as the back door beside the kitchen was kicked off its hinges by a crazed looking vampire. Turning to see the newest addition, she missed blocking the punch aimed at her head from one of the original three and found herself blinking stars out of her eyes as her head rocked backed violently with the impact. Xander rushed forward to her defence but was easily swapped aside by a nasty backhand that officially left him out for the rest of the duration of the fight.
The vampire that had entered through the kitchen door had turned its sights on Dawn who shrieked in fright. Spike spun around and was about to attack when the vampire viciously elbowed him in the nose, making blood spurt from a very-broken nasal cavity. Spike went down holding his nose with both hands, blinded by pain. The vampire glanced at his downed quarry before rearing on Dawn again. She grabbed the pot of bubbling meat and swung at him, neatly covering his grotesque face in stewed beef and creating a surprised cry from the vampire. As he clawed at the scalding goop dripping off his face, Dawn swung again, this time with the back of the pot that left the vampire stumbling for balance.
After their initial shock, Strider and Legolas rushed the two vampires that were standing menacingly over the stunned figure of Buffy. Each vampire turned around and took the swinging punches from the Ranger and Elf as if they were nothing but annoying slaps. Strider's foe caught him by the neck and threw him, making the Ranger skitter across the coffee table and land in a heap behind it. Legolas aimed a left for the jaw of his vampire, but the beast caught his fist in a crushing clench and backhanded the surprised Prince. A high kick to his chest sent Legolas sprawling beside his friend. More angered than hurt, Legolas immediately got to his feet and rushed his opponent again.
Buffy was being steadily kicked and punched through the kitchen. The Slayer was blocking and even trying her own moves, only to find them being effectively avoided and countered with more powerful attacks. The vampire was driving her through the broken down mess of her kitchen door and into her back yard.
Dawn screamed Buffy's name at the sight of her sister being pummeled like a rag doll. Momentarily forgetting her own troubles, the teenager moved to help, but yelped when she felt her hair being harshly pulled back by an unseen hand. Dawn clutched at her taut hair as her eyes strained to see who her attacker was.
The vampire had managed to clean off most of the sloppy joe meat, but the stinging burns only added more fuel to his anger. He grinned maliciously as he pulled the young woman in close to his chest. "Forget something?" He growled.
Spike was up again although slightly woozy from the blood dripping out of his nose and rolling off his chin. He approached the vampire holding Dawn to his chest in a daze and the vampire grinned at his easy prey. Spike doubled over as a snap kick caught him in the stomach. A quick roundhouse to his temple knocked him senseless.
Dawn jumped as a cold finger traced her jaw line. She shuddered at the hoarse voice that whispered in her ear. "Just you and me now darling."
The vampire was highly amused at the blonde and dark-haired men attacking him from both sides. Blocking a punch from the blonde, he quickly threw one of his own at the brunette on his other side. Backhanding the blonde and sending him to his knees, the vampire grew tired of the countless and essentially useless punches being levied at him. He was going to end this, quickly. The dark-haired came in for close combat and the vampire seized, literally, his opportunity by catching him in another vise-grip around his neck. The vampire took pleasure in seeing the human struggle for breath before he ended the fight by throwing the man across the room and into the glass hutch, showering the fallen human with chunks of glass and ceramic plates.
Legolas was growing frustrated with every moment of the fight. He had just seen Aragorn being thrown clear across the room – something that he had never seen happen before to the hardy Ranger. With every punch that he threw and every block that rendered it useless, the Elf suddenly longed for his absent bow and arrow. The vampire was laughing at him and Legolas felt his rage peak like never before. But his rage made his instincts blind to the jab that nearly collapsed his windpipe. Legolas immediately fell to his knees, gasping for air and fighting the dizziness that accompanied the sudden lack of oxygen. The vampire strode past him and went into the kitchen.
Buffy was losing the fight and she knew it. Her muscles were more tired from the ceaseless bruising than from the futile punches she was giving. She was being backed up with every kick, but where to she couldn't guess. The assault ended abruptly, and she looked up to see what had caught her attacker's attention. The two other vampires were standing outside the door, and one held a squirming Dawn in his grasp. Buffy felt a sudden fire engulf her as her energy kickstarted itself back up. As she moved to dart over to her captive sister, the vampire turned quickly and swung with more strength than Buffy could ever have anticipated. She alarmingly found herself flying through the air and being stopped painfully by a large tree trunk. She fell to her chest and did not rise.
