Spike quickly but gently rolled Faith off of his chest and stood up, pulling her up behind him. Spike looked around for Buffy. All he saw was orange and red going on and on forever. Buffy, where are you? He called out, unsure of the response.

Suddenly the colors began to dim. Slowly they dimmed until it looked like Spike and Faith were in heaven amongst a beautiful sunset. Tinges of white began to meld with the orange and red. A white path suddenly appeared beneath the vampire and slayer's feet. The path led to a large window, seemingly hanging in midair.

Spike met the window in a few strides, followed closely by Faith who's hand still rested in the vampire's. The two looked through the window and the sight that met their eyes was horrific.

On the other side of the window was a large white room bordered with bronze. Three large pillars stood glowing in the middle of the room. The white floor was stained with purple and hundreds of orange demons lay dead. Some lay in one piece while others lay scattered in many pieces.

Outnumbering the dead at least ten to one, were the demons still alive and fighting. The orange, spiked demons crowded around their opponents leaving Spike and Faith blind. Spike didn't have to see the opponents to know they were already dead. The vampire shook his head.

His voice was firm, full of confidence and authority. It's near impossible to defeat them. The tiny spikes on their body are poisoned. If they stab you enough times, you will die in minutes. Their teeth and claws shred flesh like a hot knife through butter. Spike paused for a second and looked like he was deep in thought. They are quite slow though.

I doubt they are impossible to kill. As long as you stay away from their pointy parts, you're fine! They look easy enough to cut up. Faith stuck her free thumb in her pocket. Her other hand still sat comfy in Spike's.

I didn't say they were impossible to kill, luv. They are easy to kill if you have a sword or an axe. But every time you kill one, three more take it's place. Spike pointed to the large pillars in the center of the room. Three manog stepped out of the three glowing doors on the columns, then three more. They are normally kept to guard something and they come with their own portals. It's how they reproduce. Quite a nifty little package really. Any bad boy could start up a good little business with a few of these. Spike cleared his throat and watched the battle rage in front of him. That is, if they weren't so expensive. I think a starter package goes for a few organs today.

Faith thought for a moment then her eyes grew with understanding. Human organs?

Yeah. Although I think one brain would cover a kit or two. Brains are pretty rare nowadays.

Faith made a face of disgust which made Spike smile. He loved it when he grossed out slayers. His smile faded, however, as someone jumped over the crowd of Manog and landed near the window.

Buffy was full of cuts and tiny holes and blood, human and demon, was smeared all over her clothes. Her clothes were torn and a long rip in the side of her shirt showed where a lucky Manog had caught her with an axe. The cut was deep and bled quite freely, but the slayer didn't seem to notice. She fought hard but Spike could tell she was tired and losing her strength. The poison in the slayer's system was beginning to affect the her.

Buffy swung her axe and cut a Manog in two. Another attacked and she dealt a fatal blow to it's head. Yet another Manog charged and she sliced his chest almost clear in half. It fell to the ground with the others. The rest of the Manog attacked as one. The slayer was outnumbered by thousands.

Spike had finally let go of Faith's hand and was now pounding on the window.

Faith watched in wonder as Spike backed up a few feet then threw himself at the window ramming it with his shoulder. Again and again he backed up then ran, throwing his full weight against the window. It was solid and he might as well throw his weight against a house sized boulder.

Buffy fell underneath the horde of demons and was lost from sight. More Manog piled ontop of her. Thousands. A scream escaped Buffy's lips but the sound was lost in the mass of Manog.

Spike heard it.

With a ferocious growl, the vampire ran and dived at the window. The window shattered and Spike landed on sharp shards of glass which pierced his skin leaving deep cuts on his arms and face. For the first time he realized he wasn't wearing his duster.

Buffy screamed again, half in fury half in fear, and Spike jumped up and ran to her. Slipping into his vampire self, Spike flew into the demon mass with a roar. Primal instinct took over the vampire and he threw the demons off each other. The tiny spikes painfully pierced his flesh, pricking and poking, yet one after another Spike lifted the demons and threw them off his slayer.

Faith wanted to jump in and help Spike, but something told her to stay back. Not only were the demons deadly to her, or so the bleached vamp had said, but it was sort of fun watching a centuries old supporter of the big bad, fighting for the life of a slayer, sworn enemy of anything evil. It was pretty heartwarming.

Like Buffy, Spike had become lost from sight in the demony fray. Hordes of orange, spiked demons were piled on top of the vampire and slayer, and more demons were coming!

Wow. The two love birds must be puttin' up a real fight down there! The demon army is multiplying like bad little bunnies. Faith hesitated, walked over the broken glass which made crunching noises under her boots, and picked up two of the dead demons' axes. Well I suppose I should help them. Can't be too hard. Just keep distance between me and them spikes, and don't kill any of them. The slayer took a deep breath to convince herself. No prob.

Faith hefted the weapons and took a step towards the demon army pile. Her jaw met a large spiky fist. Pain exploded in her head and she could feel blood dribbling down her lip. It took a few second for her head to clear from the blow.

Okay, plan B. Faith grinned at her own pun and swung her right hand in a smooth carving motion ahead of her. One down, thousands to go.

As Spike did before, Faith flew into the writhing mass of evil monsters and began to throw demons left right and center. Of course, her style was slightly different. More demons landed in a pool of their own blood rather than just landing.

One after another, slice here chop there, she tossed twenty-five, fifty, a hundred demons away from her and her comrades. However, the pile didn't stop growing. It grew and grew until it had almost swallowed her too. Her skin was on fire. Hundreds of tiny spikes penetrated her skin again and again. She was beginning to feel weak. Every muscle in her body screamed at her in pain.

I hate to admit it, but that vamp was right. These things are impossible to beat.

Allowing herself that second to think was too much time away from the battle. A spiky fist found her vulnerable spot and met her jaw with satisfactory ramification. The fist hit her jaw but the pain spread farther. Into her eyes it crawled. Her head. Down her spine. Filled her lungs. Trickled down her arms and hands, her fingers tingled. Her stomach twisted. Her legs and feet, toes ached. Suddenly Faith realized she could no longer hold the weight of the axes. They were too heavy.

Silence.

Everything began to move in slow motion.

The axes slipped from her numb fingers and hit the floor with a loud ringing.

Another demonic uppercut caught her in the chin. Seconds later a right hook met her left eye.

Blood trickled from her bit lip and the cut above her eye as the slayer slowly fell to her knees.

No sound

In a split second she was buried alive by a fresh shower of Manog.