The blast had rendered the lamp above them useless. It was almost pitch black, with a little moonlight illuminating only the faintest of things. Disoriented, Buffy got up only to see a figure standing with what looked like a sword. And the thing radiated evil. Still holding on to her scythe she decided to attack first.
Sara, still slighted disoriented from the blast, saw the figure with the ax and blocked it. The figure was relentless in its attack. Sara was trying to helm control over the Witchblade, but its hunger was too strong. It started to take over, and she grabbed the figure's forearm mid-swing. Retracting her sword, Sara grabbed onto the lapel of the figure's jacket and threw the person into the warehouse through the doorway. Unsheathing her sword again, she followed the figure into the warehouse.
Buffy was pissed. Twice she had been forced to the ground and still she couldn't see who it was. Stepping back as the figure made its way into the warehouse, she saw by the moonlight through the window that the person was a woman. A woman with an armored glove and a sword attached. More than that, Buffy saw that the woman had murder in her eyes directed at her. Deciding once again to take the offensive, Buffy swung overhead.
Sara had gotten a glimpse of the person through the moonlight coming in by the windows. It was a young blonde girl with an intricate weapon at her disposal. But that didn't register, as the Witchblade seemed to almost guide her as she blocked another overhead strike.
Buffy seemed to be gaining ground against the woman, despite her opponent parrying all of her strikes, until the woman pinned her scythe down to the ground and punched Buffy in the face. Surprised at the feel of the punch Buffy swore she felt metal. I thought the metal only covered her right hand... Buffy thought. She didn't have time to ponder it as the woman began coming after her aggressively. This time Buffy was the one doing all of the parrying, trying to keep up with the attacks so as to avoid the blade. Sparks were flying as she backed up, hoping to catch an opening. Her hope rewarded she found one. Deflecting the woman's strike, she circled around, and struck.
Sara jumped back, seeing where the 'fancy ax' was headed. It sliced her abdomen, not deeply, but enough to make Sara livid. Touching the wound briefly she proceeded to attack again.
While Buffy was hoping to score a decent hit, she realized she only gave a glorified scratch. Seeing the woman renew her attack, she started backing up again, hoping it wouldn't go like this all night. Parrying and parrying her scythe was then circled around and around by the woman's blade until it flew from her hands. She was momentarily distracted by her weapon leaving her grasp. But a moment was all it took. The woman's blade plunged forward into Buffy's leg, piercing her thigh. The woman pulled the blade out of her the Slayer's leg causing Buffy to cry out in pain. Composing herself and trying to ignore the pain, Buffy awaited the woman's next attack.
Sara, in the heat of battle, went for the kill shot, propelled on by the Witchblade's urging. She swung toward the girl's head, but was surprised when she ducked it. Sara was thrown ten feet back into an empty crate by the girl's drop spin side-kick from the ground. She had no time to recover as the girl lifted her up to her feet and proceeded to pummel her face. Though the Witchblade formed a protective armor over her head, some blows had gotten through before then and the ones after made her brains feel like they were going to spill out of her skull.
Buffy wanted to make sure this woman didn't get up. She felt metal and ignored it, wanting to push on through regardless. Throwing punches at her, she was surprised when she saw a gloved fist move toward her face.
Sara had had enough. Throwing jabs and crosses she wanted to teach the girl a lesson in pain. The girl was reeling from the attacks, but then blocked Sara's left and twisted it, kicking her in the face. Sara rolled forward and, while still gripping the girl's arm, pulled her to her and delivered a right cross to her face. Getting up, Sara then followed up with a jump front kick to the jaw.
Buffy was slightly dazed from the kick. The woman was coming forward with a vengeance and threw a right cross at her. Buffy ducked the punch and threw her own punches to the woman's body. Right, left, right, left. Like a boxer Buffy put her body into it. The only time she felt like this was when right before she encountered Dracula. She knew it was the killer in her, the hunter, the thing that only wanted to destroy all that stood in its way. She grabbed the woman and threw her through the air.
Sara landed with thud against the wall, her back filled with pain at the moment of contact. The Witchblade was working to repair her, but she seriously questioned whether it would be enough to win. The blonde wasn't giving up. She saw the girl coming toward her, but Sara shifted to her left and kicked the side of the girl's right knee. The girl howled in pain and hobbled back. Sara then got up and proceeded to punch the girl in the face. Right, left, right, left, right, left. Sara had felt rage like this before. It was rage associated with the overpowering effects of the Witchblade. She was a wild animal, possessed with destroying her prey. She threw a haymaker uppercut to the girl that propelled her into the air and landed her onto a set of steps leading to the second level of the building.
Spitting blood out of her mouth, Buffy could feel her split lip stinging. Her eye was closing up, her right leg pained at the slightest movement, and the back of her head hurt from hitting the steps. She crawled up the steps as the woman stalked toward her, her armored glove now sporting the sword once again. Buffy watched expectedly as the woman drew her hand back to run it through her.
The woman thrust the sword toward her target. What could have been potential killing blow turned into a miss, as Buffy had turned on her right side and back-fisted the woman with her left. Not content with that, Buffy quickly grabbed the woman by her jacket collar and punched her in the face with her right. They both grabbed each other by the throat, squeezing with all of their might, trying to choke the other into unconsciousness. The woman head-butted Buffy right on the nose, causing tears to form. But then Buffy punched the woman again, took hold of her left hand, and twisted it clockwise at the wrist. The woman howled in pain and Buffy delivered a palm strike to her face.
Sara fell backwards and rolled down the steps until she hit the ground, where she coughed up blood. She was a mass of pain. Her lip was busted, her jaw was swollen, and her wrist was, as far as she could tell, broken. Add to it that her throat was going to be sporting bruises soon and she figured she probably looked like that slab of meat in 'Rocky'. She finally got to her feet and made her way up the steps. The girl had made it to the second level of the building. Hobbling, the girl held a piece of piping as her weapon. Sara approached her and engaged the her with her sword.
Buffy could barely stand and, at the same time, defend against the woman's attack. Nevertheless, she tried, and scored a hit against the woman's face with the piping and backed up as the woman rolled away and struggled to get up.
Sara was exhausted. She didn't know how long she would last, but knew this fight was going to end. Soon. The question of whether or not it was going to be in her favor was up in the air. Considering all of her options, she did the only thing she could think of: she charged the girl, yelling all the way.
Buffy saw with surprise as the woman was rushing toward her. Wincing at the pain in her leg and considering the few options she did have, Buffy did the only thing she could do: brace for impact.
The two women broke the railing and went crashing through the window. Buffy fell on top of a high stack of crates, while Sara's momentum propelled her forward into the water.
Buffy slowly got to her knees and looked at the water. She couldn't see the woman in the darkness and didn't want to try and search for her. She figured retreat was the order of the evening and climbed down the crates to get her scythe still in the building. Running in, she saw candles set up in the center. As she left, she stopped to catch a look into the abandoned office. It was set up with a ritual circle of some sort, red and white. Buffy made a mental note, went outside to pick up her case, and hobbled away toward home.
Sara was staying afloat as best she could, fading in and out of consciousness rapidly. She made her way to the ladder and held on to rest. Breathing heavily, she stepped up, her wet clothes adding to her weight. When she got back on the dock, she merely lay there, catching her breath. After a few moments, she sat back up. She didn't see the girl anywhere. Getting up she tried to make her way back to her bike only to remember why she came to the warehouse. Reluctantly, she stumbled into the building and looked around as best she could. She saw some candles in the center of the building. Feeling too tired she started to leave, only to catch a glimpse of the office. She saw circles in the middle, concentric red and white circles, with none in the center.
With that, Sara turned and left to begin the journey home. All that was on the menu tonight was ice. Cold, soothing, ice.