'Spike!' Buffy screamed as the beasts mouth closed around him and swallowed him whole. She started to run towards the beast but her path was blocked by several demons with disfigured faces and who bore double headed axes. She turned as she ran and swiped the head off the first one to block her path. Then she jumped, somersaulted in mid air over another one, turned around and embedded the scythe in its back. She gave it a sharp twist and it dropped dead.
Buffy turned around to face the direction in which the beast was headed. She stormed towards it simply walking into the various demons that blocked her path. They flew away and hit the walls of the alley as they came into contact with the shield. It was now glowing a bright blue as their life-force seeped into it, but Buffy didn't care. She took the device out of her pocket and pressed the darkest stone and the shield retracted from the floor, back into the device. She stood in front of the beast and purposely dropped the scythe at her feet.
'COME ON THEN!' she shouted 'YOU WANT ANOTHER SNACK, WELL TAKE ME. YOU'VE TAKEN THE ONE THING I LOVED MORE THAN ANYTHING IN THIS WORLD, SO HELL, WHAT HAVE I GOT LEFT?'
She breathed shallowly, tears welling in her eyes.
'COME ON' she screamed one last time.
The beast stepped forward, an evil glint in its eyes. It opened its mouth and lowered it towards her.
Suddenly it stumbled and stopped in its tracks. It started to convulse. As Buffy stared at it a sword was thrust up through its thick hide from inside and swept across its spinal cord. A black clad figure covered in slime leapt out from inside the body about 10 feet in the air, turned and landed just behind its head.
'That's right., I'm back!' Spike shouted.
He lifted his sword high and rammed it into the beasts skull using his vampire strength. He twisted the sword and pulled it back out.
The beast crumbled to the floor beneath him and he jumped down to land before Buffy. She simply stared at him in disbelief. She grabbed him in a crushing hug, regardless of the slime coating her lover.
'Oh Spike, I thought I'd lost you.'
'Take more than a nasty beastie to take me away from you love' Spike replied.
She stepped back, looking into his eyes, pulled back a fist and punched him hard in the face.
'Ow' Spike complained
'Don't you EVER do that again' Buffy cried
Spike ran the back of his hand over her cheek. 'Promise'.
He looked down and picked up the scythe and handed it to her. 'You should keep a hold of this'
'Oh yeah, well I threw it down when I asked, well told the beast to eat me because I thought I'd lost you.' She accused.
Spikes eyes widened in horror.
'Hey' he grabbed her firmly by the shoulders. 'Don't you ever go all suicidal on me. If I die, I need you to continue fighting for me. The last thing I would ever want would be for you to die because of me. I love you too much.' He told her. 'Promise me'
'Spike...I'
'Promise' he said more sternly.
She kissed him lightly on the lips. 'I promise' She whispered with tears in her eyes.
'Now, lets get back to the job at hand' Spike said as he raised his sword and ran yelling towards a group of demons in rusty armour that were charging down the alley.
Buffy whirled around and started attacking the first demons she came into contact with, but before she could get any further she felt a crack on her head, and the world faded in a vision of stars and darkness.
She was thrown over the shoulder of a demon that looked more human than beastly, and that was clad in red robes. He used the shadows as cover to exit the alley with her.