After The Storm
Chapter 2
By Vixen
The portal had opened halfway through the fight. The champions hadn't noticed it until they got sucked up into the new dimension. Angel, ever the martyr to the cause, had tried to get back to their own world, but the gateway had closed. Standing a few feet away from the other three, he yelled out, "This is how it ends?! I wasn't through kicking the crap out of those guys yet."
"Don't fret. Bet there's some evil round here just waiting to be pummeled," Spike said as he supported Gunn. A demon growl alerted his attention, "Yeah, hey look, evil."
The group looked towards the growling, seeing a dozen or so demon-y things they'd never come across before. They were bigger than most of the demons the group had fought before. With slimy black wrinkled skin, two monstrously large fists, and a mouth full of teeth they were apparently not the welcoming committee.
Gunn grit his teeth. The previous fight had taken almost everything out of him, he wasn't sure if he could handle another. Still, if the others were still hanging in there so would he. It didn't matter that he wasn't as strong; it had never mattered. He had a mission. Get rid of the demons at all costs, whether they were from his dimension or existed only in this one. He raised his homemade battle-axe and then lifted himself so that he was standing on his own strength again, no more leaning on Spike. The vampire looked at him quizzically, but Gunn shrugged off his concern, "I'm a'ight."
"Yeah, you look it," Spike smirked slightly as Gunn's stance wavered. He continued to keep a close eye on the human but let him pretend he was fine. Beside them, Illyria was already grabbling with the first demon that had made its way over to them. Another entered the fray and Angel went to work with his sword, hacking away tiny pieces of the demon's skin but the thing seemed unaffected by its injuries. Some more came closer, bringing Spike and Gunn into the battle as well.
As much damage as the things sustained however, they were still stronger than the four of them. The hot sun that beat down upon them didn't help matters much. It only made the wet closer they were wearing cling tighter to their bodies, inhibiting movement somewhat.
Even Illyria, who had the strength of a God, was getting nowhere. She punched the demon she was fighting; trying to put a dent in its dark flesh, but the thing only came back with a blow of its own. It was strong enough to knock the shell to her feet. When Illyria stood again, rising to her full height, she wore a furious look within her eyes, "You should not have done that, creature."
It starred at her with its four eyes, narrowing them in on its target. It said nothing back, but raised its arm and shot what looked like a beam of electric into her torso. She fell back again; landing sprawled on the dirt ground. When she didn't move, Spike tossed the demon he had been fighting a few feet away from him and took a moment to check on the girl.
He poked her with his foot, "Hey, Blue. Wake up. Don't want to miss the party."
Spike's demon came back for him, but Spike ducked it's punch and turned back to look at Illyria. She was still on the ground, but had her eyes open now. In a perfectly clear, yet pained voice she told him, "We can not fight them like this. We must regroup."
He could tell she was in pain, though she was able to rise to her feet again. If she couldn't handle the things it didn't bode well for the rest of them. She was right; they needed to regroup. Spike blocked an incoming blow and turned towards Angel, "Blue wants to regroup. Think it might be a good idea."
"No." Angel shouted back. He received a quick series of punches, losing his sword as the blows surprised him. He ducked and rolled towards the sword. Then, he shouting to Spike again, "We're not running from this. We're going down fighting, and that's final. You signed up for this, you all did."
"Thought we'd be fighting on our own turf, with things we knew how to kill," Spike yelled back. Momentarily lost in his own fight, he launched himself at a demon, but it sent an electric shock through him, sending him flying backwards. He growled angrily, "That's tears it, no more of this." He retreated, grabbing Illyria by the wrist, "Get the boy. We're getting out of here."
She knocked the demon she had been fighting with a punch, stunning it for the moment. Then she followed Spike, stopping only to reach out for Gunn. The human was fading quicker than before, but he still couldn't give up the fight while leaving his friend behind, "What about Angel?"
"If our great fearless leader doesn't see that we're going to wind up fried, he can stay," Spike muttered as they retreated from the battle. He looked back and saw Angel getting clobbered by the ebony demon things.
"We can't just leave him," Gunn narrowed his eyes at the vamp, but his case was ineffective as he held a hand to his wounded side. The blood had soaked his shirt, and in the hot sun he felt more like fainting than in carrying on with the fight.
Just when Spike was about to start naming the reasons why they had to retreat, Angel landed a few feet away from them. He'd gotten a taste of the demon's electric beams.
Spike walked over to the other vampire, starring down at him. He smiled devilishly, "Ready to leave yet?"
Angel coughed up blood, sitting up slightly. The world was still spinning. With a defeated nod he said, "Yeah. Let's go."
The demons started to give chase as the four of them began withdrawing from the fight, but after they got a few yards away the things gave up. It didn't seem right to Gunn, that they had just stopped coming after them. He was in no shape to argue however and returned his focus to trying to walk and not pass out.
Spike glanced up at the sky. There were two bright suns shining down on them, one red and one more yellow in color. He could never get used to being able to walk in the sunlight in alternate dimensions. As they rested under a rock ledge, listening for sounds of approaching danger, Spike mused. "Where'd we get dropped off," He gave a passing look around the sandy desert of the new dimension, "Arizona?" With its high canyon walls and odd rock formations it certainly looked the part, though there were the occasional oddities.. the two suns, the glowing red moss that grew on the east side of the rock walls, the new exciting demons with electro-ray powers.
"This is not your world," Illyria said, pronunciating with certainty.
"Yeah, got that, Blue. I was being facetious," Spike rolled his eyes at her, "Look it up in a dictionary. If you can find one in this place."
"Facetious..." The girl rolled the new world around on her tongue, curiously paying attention to the sound of it while adding it to her ever- widening vocabulary.
"This another Pylea deal," Gunn gave a questioning glance to Angel, hoping the vampire would have some answers. Angel's face showed clearly that he was as lost as the rest of them, and a little angry too for having to run away from a fight. Better to do that though, and live to fight another day, Gunn figured. Not that he'd live long, he noted. He knew he was dying, he'd lost too much blood by now, just figured he'd draw it out a little longer if possible. He always was the stubborn kind. Do not go gently, and all that stuff.
By now, Illyria had caught on to his distress. Sitting next to him, she lifted his shirt a little, glancing curiously at the wound at his side. She had never been this gentle with lower beings before, and a part of her hated herself for going soft. Still, Gunn had been Wesley's friend and ally. Studying the wound she said, "You won't last long."
"Gee, thanks," Gunn grabbed his shirt back, covering up his side. Illyria's words had been a little too close to the truth. He frowned, "Not dead yet, though." He tried to stand up, to show the others he was okay, but just fell into a cough and sat back down again.
"Does our leader have a plan yet," Spike pointedly asked, waiting for Angel to reply to his cutting wit. Glancing around the place, Spike was certain he didn't want to wait around there long. It was desolate and empty, not a decent meal in sight unless the demons would let him drink from them. He highly doubted that they would. Plus, it was just god-awful boring around there, stuck in the middle of nowhere.
"No, Spike," Angel glared back at the other vampire, "I don't have a plan yet. My first plan really didn't include entering an alternate dimension, so I'll have to process the shock of that first, if you don't mind. To top it off," He stood up from the rock he'd been resting on. Crossing his arms, he angrily continued, "I don't want to be the leader anymore. You're so gung-ho about how you're the true champion, you try it for a change." He said nothing more before he started to walk down the valley between the two rock ledges that framed their resting spot.
Spike was taken back at first, not sure what to do. He got to be the leader for once; that was just too damn cool. This was not the best time to be splitting up. Resorting to his wit to carry him through the situation he called after Angel, "Oh, don't get your knickers in a snit."
Angel didn't even turn around, just waved one hand in the air, as if to say goodbye and continued on his way. Spike turned to Gunn, who was looking back at him with a worried frown. With an annoyed sigh, Spike began walking after his old mate, determined to talk some sense into him. Halfway towards Angel, Spike stopped, his highly trained ears picking up something with their vampiric hyper-hearing. Angel turned quickly, hearing the sound as well.
Spike whipped his head upwards, towards the top of the rocky cliff, and cursed himself for being stupid enough to rest inside a ravine. This was going to be like shooting fish in a barrel. And they were the fish. What had they been thinking? Must be have been all those months spent in the cushy lifestyle of the rich and evil at Wolfram and Hart; it had made them all a little careless.
They were the same black shiny demons from before; only there were more of them. They'd brought their friends along for the big fight. Still, they were still all the way up there. Before the things climbed down, Spike and the others would have a few minutes to at least start running. As an electric bolt shot past his head, Spike ducked and then turned towards the wall behind him. There was a large scorch mark on it. So much for the grace period to start running.
Spike watched as an electric bolt hit Illyria. Two more and she fell down, unmoving. Next to fall was Angel. Though he tried to dodge, even he was no match for their aim. Gunn was hiding behind a rock by the edge of the rock wall. He peeked out for a second; calling out to Spike to say that he had found shelter, but as he did he was hit as well. "This is just great," Spike muttered, dashing towards the small area of shelter Gunn had found. He saw the next bolt that hit him coming straight for his head, but he didn't dodge quickly enough. As it hit him he fell to the ground and began to lose consciousness and his last thought floated through his mind, 'Yeah.. just great.'
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Give me your feedback, your comments, your pointed criticisms yearning to breath free.
Chapter 2
By Vixen
The portal had opened halfway through the fight. The champions hadn't noticed it until they got sucked up into the new dimension. Angel, ever the martyr to the cause, had tried to get back to their own world, but the gateway had closed. Standing a few feet away from the other three, he yelled out, "This is how it ends?! I wasn't through kicking the crap out of those guys yet."
"Don't fret. Bet there's some evil round here just waiting to be pummeled," Spike said as he supported Gunn. A demon growl alerted his attention, "Yeah, hey look, evil."
The group looked towards the growling, seeing a dozen or so demon-y things they'd never come across before. They were bigger than most of the demons the group had fought before. With slimy black wrinkled skin, two monstrously large fists, and a mouth full of teeth they were apparently not the welcoming committee.
Gunn grit his teeth. The previous fight had taken almost everything out of him, he wasn't sure if he could handle another. Still, if the others were still hanging in there so would he. It didn't matter that he wasn't as strong; it had never mattered. He had a mission. Get rid of the demons at all costs, whether they were from his dimension or existed only in this one. He raised his homemade battle-axe and then lifted himself so that he was standing on his own strength again, no more leaning on Spike. The vampire looked at him quizzically, but Gunn shrugged off his concern, "I'm a'ight."
"Yeah, you look it," Spike smirked slightly as Gunn's stance wavered. He continued to keep a close eye on the human but let him pretend he was fine. Beside them, Illyria was already grabbling with the first demon that had made its way over to them. Another entered the fray and Angel went to work with his sword, hacking away tiny pieces of the demon's skin but the thing seemed unaffected by its injuries. Some more came closer, bringing Spike and Gunn into the battle as well.
As much damage as the things sustained however, they were still stronger than the four of them. The hot sun that beat down upon them didn't help matters much. It only made the wet closer they were wearing cling tighter to their bodies, inhibiting movement somewhat.
Even Illyria, who had the strength of a God, was getting nowhere. She punched the demon she was fighting; trying to put a dent in its dark flesh, but the thing only came back with a blow of its own. It was strong enough to knock the shell to her feet. When Illyria stood again, rising to her full height, she wore a furious look within her eyes, "You should not have done that, creature."
It starred at her with its four eyes, narrowing them in on its target. It said nothing back, but raised its arm and shot what looked like a beam of electric into her torso. She fell back again; landing sprawled on the dirt ground. When she didn't move, Spike tossed the demon he had been fighting a few feet away from him and took a moment to check on the girl.
He poked her with his foot, "Hey, Blue. Wake up. Don't want to miss the party."
Spike's demon came back for him, but Spike ducked it's punch and turned back to look at Illyria. She was still on the ground, but had her eyes open now. In a perfectly clear, yet pained voice she told him, "We can not fight them like this. We must regroup."
He could tell she was in pain, though she was able to rise to her feet again. If she couldn't handle the things it didn't bode well for the rest of them. She was right; they needed to regroup. Spike blocked an incoming blow and turned towards Angel, "Blue wants to regroup. Think it might be a good idea."
"No." Angel shouted back. He received a quick series of punches, losing his sword as the blows surprised him. He ducked and rolled towards the sword. Then, he shouting to Spike again, "We're not running from this. We're going down fighting, and that's final. You signed up for this, you all did."
"Thought we'd be fighting on our own turf, with things we knew how to kill," Spike yelled back. Momentarily lost in his own fight, he launched himself at a demon, but it sent an electric shock through him, sending him flying backwards. He growled angrily, "That's tears it, no more of this." He retreated, grabbing Illyria by the wrist, "Get the boy. We're getting out of here."
She knocked the demon she had been fighting with a punch, stunning it for the moment. Then she followed Spike, stopping only to reach out for Gunn. The human was fading quicker than before, but he still couldn't give up the fight while leaving his friend behind, "What about Angel?"
"If our great fearless leader doesn't see that we're going to wind up fried, he can stay," Spike muttered as they retreated from the battle. He looked back and saw Angel getting clobbered by the ebony demon things.
"We can't just leave him," Gunn narrowed his eyes at the vamp, but his case was ineffective as he held a hand to his wounded side. The blood had soaked his shirt, and in the hot sun he felt more like fainting than in carrying on with the fight.
Just when Spike was about to start naming the reasons why they had to retreat, Angel landed a few feet away from them. He'd gotten a taste of the demon's electric beams.
Spike walked over to the other vampire, starring down at him. He smiled devilishly, "Ready to leave yet?"
Angel coughed up blood, sitting up slightly. The world was still spinning. With a defeated nod he said, "Yeah. Let's go."
The demons started to give chase as the four of them began withdrawing from the fight, but after they got a few yards away the things gave up. It didn't seem right to Gunn, that they had just stopped coming after them. He was in no shape to argue however and returned his focus to trying to walk and not pass out.
Spike glanced up at the sky. There were two bright suns shining down on them, one red and one more yellow in color. He could never get used to being able to walk in the sunlight in alternate dimensions. As they rested under a rock ledge, listening for sounds of approaching danger, Spike mused. "Where'd we get dropped off," He gave a passing look around the sandy desert of the new dimension, "Arizona?" With its high canyon walls and odd rock formations it certainly looked the part, though there were the occasional oddities.. the two suns, the glowing red moss that grew on the east side of the rock walls, the new exciting demons with electro-ray powers.
"This is not your world," Illyria said, pronunciating with certainty.
"Yeah, got that, Blue. I was being facetious," Spike rolled his eyes at her, "Look it up in a dictionary. If you can find one in this place."
"Facetious..." The girl rolled the new world around on her tongue, curiously paying attention to the sound of it while adding it to her ever- widening vocabulary.
"This another Pylea deal," Gunn gave a questioning glance to Angel, hoping the vampire would have some answers. Angel's face showed clearly that he was as lost as the rest of them, and a little angry too for having to run away from a fight. Better to do that though, and live to fight another day, Gunn figured. Not that he'd live long, he noted. He knew he was dying, he'd lost too much blood by now, just figured he'd draw it out a little longer if possible. He always was the stubborn kind. Do not go gently, and all that stuff.
By now, Illyria had caught on to his distress. Sitting next to him, she lifted his shirt a little, glancing curiously at the wound at his side. She had never been this gentle with lower beings before, and a part of her hated herself for going soft. Still, Gunn had been Wesley's friend and ally. Studying the wound she said, "You won't last long."
"Gee, thanks," Gunn grabbed his shirt back, covering up his side. Illyria's words had been a little too close to the truth. He frowned, "Not dead yet, though." He tried to stand up, to show the others he was okay, but just fell into a cough and sat back down again.
"Does our leader have a plan yet," Spike pointedly asked, waiting for Angel to reply to his cutting wit. Glancing around the place, Spike was certain he didn't want to wait around there long. It was desolate and empty, not a decent meal in sight unless the demons would let him drink from them. He highly doubted that they would. Plus, it was just god-awful boring around there, stuck in the middle of nowhere.
"No, Spike," Angel glared back at the other vampire, "I don't have a plan yet. My first plan really didn't include entering an alternate dimension, so I'll have to process the shock of that first, if you don't mind. To top it off," He stood up from the rock he'd been resting on. Crossing his arms, he angrily continued, "I don't want to be the leader anymore. You're so gung-ho about how you're the true champion, you try it for a change." He said nothing more before he started to walk down the valley between the two rock ledges that framed their resting spot.
Spike was taken back at first, not sure what to do. He got to be the leader for once; that was just too damn cool. This was not the best time to be splitting up. Resorting to his wit to carry him through the situation he called after Angel, "Oh, don't get your knickers in a snit."
Angel didn't even turn around, just waved one hand in the air, as if to say goodbye and continued on his way. Spike turned to Gunn, who was looking back at him with a worried frown. With an annoyed sigh, Spike began walking after his old mate, determined to talk some sense into him. Halfway towards Angel, Spike stopped, his highly trained ears picking up something with their vampiric hyper-hearing. Angel turned quickly, hearing the sound as well.
Spike whipped his head upwards, towards the top of the rocky cliff, and cursed himself for being stupid enough to rest inside a ravine. This was going to be like shooting fish in a barrel. And they were the fish. What had they been thinking? Must be have been all those months spent in the cushy lifestyle of the rich and evil at Wolfram and Hart; it had made them all a little careless.
They were the same black shiny demons from before; only there were more of them. They'd brought their friends along for the big fight. Still, they were still all the way up there. Before the things climbed down, Spike and the others would have a few minutes to at least start running. As an electric bolt shot past his head, Spike ducked and then turned towards the wall behind him. There was a large scorch mark on it. So much for the grace period to start running.
Spike watched as an electric bolt hit Illyria. Two more and she fell down, unmoving. Next to fall was Angel. Though he tried to dodge, even he was no match for their aim. Gunn was hiding behind a rock by the edge of the rock wall. He peeked out for a second; calling out to Spike to say that he had found shelter, but as he did he was hit as well. "This is just great," Spike muttered, dashing towards the small area of shelter Gunn had found. He saw the next bolt that hit him coming straight for his head, but he didn't dodge quickly enough. As it hit him he fell to the ground and began to lose consciousness and his last thought floated through his mind, 'Yeah.. just great.'
....................................
Give me your feedback, your comments, your pointed criticisms yearning to breath free.