Chapter 14: The Fight Begins
The boy walked among them and fretted. He'd thrown everything he could think to throw at the Slayer, and she had withstood everything. It took him months to realize his mistake. It was ridiculous that after all his carefully executed plans, all his meticulously constructed devices, it took him all of five minutes to sit down and think about the Slayer's weakness. It had seemed so easy, so sure. There was no way she could get back up from that. He had meant for her to die, but at least she hadn't bounced back from it. Yet the threat that she might come back with a vengeance lingered over him. So here he stood, in front of Sunnydale Memorial Hospital, surrounded by denizens of the underworld who were all here for the same purpose: kill the Slayer. But he had one thing that they didn't have: a spell that would give him the chance he needed to finish what he had started, once and for all.
---
Xander scowled and paced the hall. He hated this. Hated waiting, hated not knowing what was going to happen. Any second a vamp could pop up behind him. He liked to tell himself he could handle it, that he was strong. He was even beginning to think so until Warren kicked his ass in that bar. Talk about embarrassing. Xander grunted and slapped a stake angrily against his palm.
Suddenly, a scream tore through the night air.
Xander ran down the corridor and around the bend to the main waiting area. The screamer, a nurse, was standing behind the desk, staring at the doors, too petrified to move. Xander turned his attention to the doors and sucked his breath through his teeth in horror. Dozens of demons were streaming through the glass doors. The hospital workers ran into offices, down corridors, anywhere that was away. The demons didn't bother with them; they were intent on their goal. Somehow they knew exactly where to go. The vamps can probably smell her, Xander thought as they headed in his direction. He braced himself, and signaled behind him for Dawn and Giles to wake the others. They were in for one hell of a fight.
---
Anya was having a very good, if slightly confusing, dream. Spike had wished for a world without shrimp, but for some reason Anya had accidently made it a world without bunnies. She was so happy until D'Hoffryn called her to his office to talk about the error. He fired her, but she got to stay in the world without bunnies as a human. She was just about to eat some shrimp when Dawn woke her up, saying that the vampires were coming.
Anya went to stand behind Xander, where she was joined by Giles, Dawn, Willow, and Tara. The demons hadn't seen them yet, thanks to Tara's spell. But Tara didn't know how long it would last once the fight began. Anya was armed with stakes and crosses, and when the time came she would fight. By all respects, she should be with her fellow demons. Yet here she was...was it because she wanted vengeance on Warren? She thought it was something else, something that she couldn't quite put her finger on...
Get ready, Giles mouthed to them as he raised his crossbow.
Anya slipped into her demon form.
---
Giles watched as his companions strung themself across the hall, effectively blocking the way to Buffy's room, just fifteen feet behind them. He admired them all so much, even Dawn, who rightfully ought to be at home in bed. Dawn and Xander had no special abilities or destinies, yet here they were, prepared to risk their life for Buffy's. It was only fair, Giles said to himself. She had risked her life nightly since she was but fifteen.
Giles suddenly realized why he had chosen the weapon he was now holding. He was proficient with the crossbow, yes, but this was not just any crossbow. It was the first crossbow he had given her: the crossbow she had used to hunt Angel after their first kiss. Angel, who was now in the room with her, serving as the last line of defense. Despite his own feelings for Angel, Giles knew that Angel would die before he let anyone harm her.
Giles pressed his finger to the trigger and watched with satisfaction as the arrow struck the first vampire in the heart. The vampire had a comically surprised look on its face as it combusted. The rest watched in confusion, then turned their predatory gazes to the Scoobies. The fight had begun.
---
Dawn and Willow stood in front of Tara, shielding her while she worked magic. The three of them were standing farther back than Xander, Giles, and Anya, who were in the middle of the fray. Dawn gripped her sword tightly in her hands. Beside her, Willow was clutching a stake in one hand, and a cross in the other.
"What's this spell gonna do?" Dawn whispered to Willow.
"It should confuse the demons, make 'em easier to kill. Now that they have no trouble seeing us, we can use the extra help," Willow whispered back. "It won't last for very long though, so we've gotta be as quick as we can."
Tara suddenly clapped a hand over Dawn's eyes as a bright flash burst around them. "Now!" the witch cried.
Dawn bit her lip and moved forward nervously while Willow did the same. Tara had quietly removed herself from the fight as she regained her composure. The demons seemed to be moving slower and with much less certainty. They stumbled occasionally, and didn't seem to be aware of Dawn until she drove her sword through them. She had killed four when something struck her from behind and she fell to the ground, dropping her sword.
"Dawn!" Willow cried.
Dawn saw that the spell was wearing off, and Willow was trying to come to her aid. But she wouldn't get there in time. There were too many demons and vampires between them. Dawn would have to get herself out of this mess. The demon that had struck her stood above her in all of its ugly glory. It had scaly, mottled brown and green hide, and its seven-feet-tall body was topped off by a strange spiky growth on its head. As it approached, swinging its blade-like arms, Dawn rolled beneath said arms in a move she had seen Buffy use countless times.
The oversized demon staggered when its arms passed through the empty air where Dawn had been. Dawn grabbed her sword as she came out of the roll and jumped to her feet with ease. She swung the sword at the unsuspecting demon's back. She didn't manage to decapitate it, but the sword went several inches into the thick neck, killing the demon. As the huge beast crashed to the floor, Dawn jerked her sword out and rejoined Willow. As they backed up to cover Tara again, Dawn noticed that Willow was staring.
"What?" she said. "You think I never watched Buffy?"
TBC
A/N: So the rest of the fight will be in the next chapter, unless I decide to draw it out even more, which is unlikely. I don't like writing fight scenes (mostly cuz I suck at it) so I try to keep them short. Anyway, you know the drill. This is the part where I beg you to review. Thanks to everyone who has reviewed, you guys rock. Keep it up.
