Evanston, IL
"Willow."
The wiccan stirred slightly as she sensed her name being called, but not enough to bring her back to this side of conciousnesss. She mumbled incoherently, pulled the blankets tightly against her and drifted back into slumber.
"Willow!"
There was no ignoring the sense of urgency this time. The scream pierced through her subconscious and she shot upright at the panic and terror in Dawn's voice. She lept to her feet and headed towards the stairs before realizing the plea was coming telepathically and not from downstairs.
"Dawn, what is it?" she replied.
"You've got to get here quick. And I mean, like, right now. They're getting killed!"
"Who is?"
"Buffy and Spike. There's no time for questions, get to the cemetary now! The one on the East side with the crypt where we took out the Algroth last week."
Willow wasted no time changing or even moving. She gathered her will and vanished from the top of the staircase in a flash of incandescent light. Teleportation had become second nature to her and she even managed to materialize wearing an actual outfit rather than the Justin Timberlake concert T-shirt (a gift from Xander) she had worn to bed.
The faint sounds of battle disturbed the otherwise peaceful night and Willow moved quickly towards the melee. As she approached the battle, she could barely make out the participants in the faint light.
"Incendire."
A large sphere of pure fire materialized in the wiccan's hand and illuminated the previously darkened battleground. Now clearly visible, she could make out the battered forms of Buffy and Spike.
Buffy was bleeding from several cuts on her face and was favoring her right leg heavily. Spike looked no better. His left arm hung uselessly at his side and he seemed to be fighting a losing battle to remain conscious.
Standing confidently across from Buffy and Spike, a thin young man dressed from head to toe in black sneered arrogantly at the witch's arrival.
"Friend of yours?" he asked sarcastically, eyeing Buffy and Spike with disdain.
Willow frowned uneasily. Usually, the appearance of a witch wielding fire inspired fear and caution, if not respect. He seemed to be showing none of these qualities.
"Well, Buff? What do you want me to do?" Willow asked telepathically.
"We need him alive. Just incapacitate him and..."
"You're kidding right?!" Spike broke in. "He just kicked both our asses without breakin' a sweat. He's too dangerous, Red. Fry him."
"Enough," the stranger said, "If you think you can incapacitate or 'fry' me, you're sadly mistaken...Red."
"You can hear us?" Willow asked cautiously. This man was definitely growing more interesting, and dangerous, by the minute.
The man slowly began to move toward Willow. Buffy stepped forward to meet him and was quickly battered by a flurry of punches. Spike moved protectively towards Dawn, who crouched behind a nearby tombstone.
"Red! Take him out!" Spike yelled.
The flaming sphere blazed brightly and lept from Willow's hand. The hypnotic sphere settled between Buffy and the stranger, pausing only for a second, before expanding to create a ring of fire around the stranger, separating the two.
Buffy retreated slowly and joined Spike and Dawn, now at Willow's side. The group looked cautiously at the man in black standing calmly within the ring of fire. Even in her current condition, Buffy wondered if Willow was pondering, as she was, how long it would have taken before Xander made a ring of fire/Johnny Cash/Man in Black reference.
"What's up with Johnny Cash?"
They all turned to see Xander absently sipping a Big Gulp.
Buffy smiled in spite of herself.
End Chapter One
"Willow."
The wiccan stirred slightly as she sensed her name being called, but not enough to bring her back to this side of conciousnesss. She mumbled incoherently, pulled the blankets tightly against her and drifted back into slumber.
"Willow!"
There was no ignoring the sense of urgency this time. The scream pierced through her subconscious and she shot upright at the panic and terror in Dawn's voice. She lept to her feet and headed towards the stairs before realizing the plea was coming telepathically and not from downstairs.
"Dawn, what is it?" she replied.
"You've got to get here quick. And I mean, like, right now. They're getting killed!"
"Who is?"
"Buffy and Spike. There's no time for questions, get to the cemetary now! The one on the East side with the crypt where we took out the Algroth last week."
Willow wasted no time changing or even moving. She gathered her will and vanished from the top of the staircase in a flash of incandescent light. Teleportation had become second nature to her and she even managed to materialize wearing an actual outfit rather than the Justin Timberlake concert T-shirt (a gift from Xander) she had worn to bed.
The faint sounds of battle disturbed the otherwise peaceful night and Willow moved quickly towards the melee. As she approached the battle, she could barely make out the participants in the faint light.
"Incendire."
A large sphere of pure fire materialized in the wiccan's hand and illuminated the previously darkened battleground. Now clearly visible, she could make out the battered forms of Buffy and Spike.
Buffy was bleeding from several cuts on her face and was favoring her right leg heavily. Spike looked no better. His left arm hung uselessly at his side and he seemed to be fighting a losing battle to remain conscious.
Standing confidently across from Buffy and Spike, a thin young man dressed from head to toe in black sneered arrogantly at the witch's arrival.
"Friend of yours?" he asked sarcastically, eyeing Buffy and Spike with disdain.
Willow frowned uneasily. Usually, the appearance of a witch wielding fire inspired fear and caution, if not respect. He seemed to be showing none of these qualities.
"Well, Buff? What do you want me to do?" Willow asked telepathically.
"We need him alive. Just incapacitate him and..."
"You're kidding right?!" Spike broke in. "He just kicked both our asses without breakin' a sweat. He's too dangerous, Red. Fry him."
"Enough," the stranger said, "If you think you can incapacitate or 'fry' me, you're sadly mistaken...Red."
"You can hear us?" Willow asked cautiously. This man was definitely growing more interesting, and dangerous, by the minute.
The man slowly began to move toward Willow. Buffy stepped forward to meet him and was quickly battered by a flurry of punches. Spike moved protectively towards Dawn, who crouched behind a nearby tombstone.
"Red! Take him out!" Spike yelled.
The flaming sphere blazed brightly and lept from Willow's hand. The hypnotic sphere settled between Buffy and the stranger, pausing only for a second, before expanding to create a ring of fire around the stranger, separating the two.
Buffy retreated slowly and joined Spike and Dawn, now at Willow's side. The group looked cautiously at the man in black standing calmly within the ring of fire. Even in her current condition, Buffy wondered if Willow was pondering, as she was, how long it would have taken before Xander made a ring of fire/Johnny Cash/Man in Black reference.
"What's up with Johnny Cash?"
They all turned to see Xander absently sipping a Big Gulp.
Buffy smiled in spite of herself.
End Chapter One