Chapter 1

Alexa hit the ground and rolled, loosing her hold on the duffel. She kept a death grip on her katana until she came to a stop, muttering to herself, "Fuck, that hurt." She blinked at the pair of feet in front of her, looking up into the puzzled expression of Spike. "Hello," she said, a sheepish grin coming to her face.

Spike reached down to help her up, and Alexa gladly accepted, rising fluidly to her feet. She looked around, almost hissing at the crowd of demons behind her. Her duffel lay kicked to one side, the purple bag still in one piece, and Shannon was getting to her feet near Angel.

"Told you it would work, Shannon." Alexa grinned at her friend.

Shannon looked at the demons, who had their shock at the sudden appearence of two women flying through the air beginning to wear off. "And landed us in the middle of a major fight. They," she nodded towards the demons, "don't look friendly."

Alexa tilted her head, nodding. "True." She glanced around the alley a moment, assessing the layout. "Personally, if facing this situation on my own, my choice would be to run."

"No suprise," muttered Shannon.

"And, to be honest, it still is my first choice." Alexa's katana hissed from its sheath as the demons moved forward. "But I don't think that's an option at the moment."

"No shit, Sherlock." Shannon pumped the shot gun she had brought, the semi-automatic rifle slung over her shoulder for the moment.

The demons charged, and soon all of them were seperated in the chaos. Alexa kept up a swirling curtain of steel as she backed towards the wall, her shoulders slamming almost painfully into the brickwork. She could hear Shannon's methodical shooting on the other side of the alley, and see the disturbances that marked the two vampires.

Alexa snarled, the katana slicing into demon flech like a hot knife, trying just to keep herself alive. Her world narrowed to her blade, and the enemies closest to her, blocking and striking in a macabre and lethal dance. She didn't even notice being swirled away from the wall in an eddy of the melee until she backed into someone.

Spinning, she nearly took off Spike's head, the vampire ducking in time to avoid decapitation. She noticed the demon coming up behind him, and side-stepped, blocking the blow. Her katana neatly seperated the demon's head from his shoulders, just before she was knocked to the ground.

"What the hell?" she yelped, feeling the rush of air as something passed through where she had been standing.

"Dragon," was the brief reply as Spike let her up.

Alexa could see the beast wheeling around for another pass, and turned, looking for a place to take cover. She cursed, seeing only more demons, and some flimsy trash cans. Hitting the ground again, she felt the woosh of the dragon passing nearly within striking distance overhead. Standing, she turned on one heel, sprinting down the alley looking for a good place to hide.

Spike wasn't far behind her, and they both ducked into the doorway of an abandoned warehouse. The dragon landed, snaking out its head to snap at them, driving them back into the building.

"Bloody fucking hell!" Alexa pressed against the wall on one side of the door, looking around for something useful. "How do you kill a dragon?"

"Traditionally, you'd put a sword through its heart, I think." Spike glanced at her katana. "That would work."

"Of course it would work. But traditionally, I'd lay you bets that dragons ate very well after they picked the pits of metal and other inedible stuff away from their meal." Alexa snapped. "Any other way?"

"Not that I know."

"Shit." Alexa snapped the blade down in an arc as the dragon tried to snap at them through the doorway. "I haven't a clue where to put the katana to hit a dragon's heart."

"Then hand it to me." Spike held out his hand, and Alexa hesitated a moment, thinking.

"I'll distract it." She reversed the blade, setting the hilt in his hand. Alexa charged out of the door, catching the dragon's attention. "Hey, snot-face! Over here!" She dropped her voice to a mutter, adding, "I'm definately not telling Shannon this. Suicidal stupidity is NOT my cup of tea."

The dragon lunged to snap at her, and Alexa yelped, diving to one side. She rolled as she hit the ground, avoiding claws and teeth by mere inches. Out of the corner of her eye, she spotted Spike slipping out the door, and prayed the dragon's attention stayed on her long enough for him to kill it.

The dragon swivled its head, turning to snap at Spike, who cursed, dodging the sharp teeth. Alexa took the chance, and charged the dragon, vaulting up its shoulder to land on its back. It hissed in suprise, turning its head to try to get at her. Alexa scrambled away, her balance precarious on the shifting surface of its back.

She kicked at the membrane of one wing, her boot connecting solidly, and eliciting a roar of pain from the dragon. It focused on her, trying to shake her off, or kill her. Long enough a distraction for Spike to bury the katana into its heart.

Alexa was thrown off the dying beast, curling into a ball to protect her head and neck. She grunted as she connected with the wall, slowly standing after she hit the ground. Spike was nearby, leaning against the brick wall, her katana dangling from his fingers, and his eyes closed.

"That was interesting." Alexa took a mental inventory to make sure everything was still intact and where it belonged. She moved over towards Spike, reaching out to take her katana.

Her hand touched his, and Spike's eyes opened, his blue gaze locking with her green. Alexa licked her lips, trying to ignore the fact that he was attractive, and concentrate on retrieving her blade. She didn't realize she was leaning in until their lips touched, and the instinct to reassure herself that she was alive kicked into high gear.

The kiss was electric, the katana clattering unnoticed to the ground as hands tugged at clothing, coherent thought non-existant. The rough brickwork dug into Alexa's back, but she barely noticed, her hands tightly gripping his shoulders as he buried himself inside her. Her lips locked with his as they moved, climaxing quick and hard.

Alexa kept her grip on him as Spike lowered her until her feet touched the ground. Her face was flushed as they refastened clothing, and she reached down to pick up the katana at the same time Spike did, their hands brushing again.

She straightened quickly, and he picked up the blade, holding it out to her hilt first. She took it without saying anything, the two walking back down the alley, looking for Angel and Shannon. All they saw were demon corpses, the katana's lacquered sheath, and the women's two duffels.

Picking up the sheath, Alexa went over to her duffel, pulling a cloth out of a side pocket. She wiped the blade clean of blood before resheathing the sword, and picking up her duffel. Spike had Shannon's, and she looked over at the blond vampire.

"Shall we go find them, or what?" Alexa raised an eyebrow in question, and Spike shrugged.