The route that Buffy took led to the graveyard. After Spike ran off with Willow, Buffy followed behind and came across a secret passage. She followed the passage, only to find herself in front of Sunnydale Cemetery.
A burst of light emitted in the sky. Buffy looked up to see a hideous figure floating in the air. It was a distorted man made out of flesh and what appeared to be metal. The metal connected with his suit, like some sort of medieval knight from the 7th layer of hell.
"You're new, not to mention hideous. Somebody beat you with a whole tree full of ugly sticks." The demon stared at her silently, still hovering above.
"What, no fearsome words about how I'm going to die in agony, or that I shall rue the day that I crossed your path? Speak now or forever hold you're…" with a sudden flash, the demon disappeared. Buffy saw a bolt of glowing energy fly through the night sky, towards the mausoleum.
"Okay, your fast."
Buffy chased after the bolt. The bolt stopped in front of the mausoleum and changed back into the knight demon. It was then Buffy noticed a metallic sphere on his chest where he heart should have been, glowing energy emitted from the sphere, much stronger than the energy that emitted from the rest of him.
This must be his power source.
"And now with the glow-in-the-dark jewelry, what's up with that?"
The demon ignored her. He lifted a clawed hand, and blue tendrils shot out towards her. Buffy jumped back, the bolts barely missing her. Another burst of light flashed, and the demon was gone.
"Oh, now that's just rude."
Buffy heard a hair-raising moan not too far away. The moan was followed by three more. Buffy recognized that sound from those Resident Evil games that Xander played. Zombies stumbled in front of the mausoleum, towards her. They stared at her hungrily, snapping their jaws open and shut, preparing for their juicy meal.
Speaking of Resident Evil, a gun or two isn't sounding all that bad right about now. What would Claire Redfield do in a situation like this?
Buffy could smell the stench of death as it rolled off the walking corpses in waves of revulsion. Buffy stared at the zombies in pure disgust. One of them walked towards her. One of its eyes hung loose from its socket. It walked towards her, reaching its arms out, opening its jaws to take a chunk out of her. Buffy rammed the stake into its chest. The zombie staggered back, stunned. Then it reached its arms up and came for her again.
"Right, not a vampire. Stakes can't kill you. Remember to remind me that next time."
The zombie grabbed her by the throat and brought her face close to its horrible mouth. The horrible stench brought tears to her eyes. Buffy closed her eyes and held her breath. Then with the strength of the Slayer, slammed her forehead into the head of the zombie. Buffy heard a sickening crack as its skull broke in two. The zombie's once again lifeless corpse dropped to the grass.
Let's hope I don't have to do something like that ever, ever again.
Buffy looked up to see three more corpses headed in her direction. Buffy holstered her stake and ran towards them. She met the first zombie in the face with a high kick. Its head dropped and rolled across the grass. Buffy ran towards the other two and snapped a kick at the torso at one of them. Buffy decapitated the second before it hit the ground.
"Man you guys fall down easy. If you weren't so disgusting I might've even been a little disappointed."
Buffy heard a loud crack of splintering wood as a door cracked in two. A vampire ran at her recklessly from the small shack. Buffy side-stepped out of his path and snapped his arm back. With her free hand, she took out her stake and thrust it into his chest. He exploded into a cloud of ash.
Buffy looked around to see no more walking corpses. She walked up to the mausoleum and opened it up. The room was a lot bigger than the front made it out to be. The walls were lined floor to ceiling with cubbies that held the bodies of the recently deceased.
And let's all hope they stay that way.
Buffy looked up and noticed a large sunroof up on the ceiling. Suddenly, the glass shattered and a vampire landed on the floor besides her. The vampire didn't have time to react before Buffy was on him. She thrust the stake forward and stabbed him in the heart. The vampire stared at her in a surprised, comical fashion before he dusted.
Before she had time to catch her breath, the small cubby doors smashed open. A few dozen zombies crawled out of them and stood upright. Buffy ran towards and dove through the zombies blocking her way. She could hear their impatient moans as they watched their meal escape from their grasps. Buffy dove through the door and slammed it shut. She could hear scratching and moaning as the zombies tried to reach her from behind the door.
"Buffy is not on the menu."
Buffy turned away from the door, and was surprised to see the knight demon hovering above in the air. She caught a small glimpse of white hair as it disappeared through a stone building.
The demon raised his clawed hand, and once again, a burst of energy ignited into the air, but the tendrils weren't after her. She watched as the cracks of energy struck the various coffins that littered the cemetery. She watched in awe as more zombies rose from their graves.
Buffy saw something in the corner of her eye. She risked a glance to her left and noticed a shovel protruding from the earth. She jogged towards the shovel and yanked it out. The zombies were already on her.
Buffy swung the shovel, slicing through three of the zombies that were closest to her.
Two of the zombies' heads rolled off as their lifeless bodies slumped to the ground. The third one also went down, but it was cut through the midsection. The lower half of the zombie fell to the ground, unmoving, but the torso was a different story. Buffy watched in amazement as the zombie crawled across the grass towards her.
"Now that's just disgusting." She flipped the shovel over and jammed the handle down into the midsection of its…midsection. The zombie let out one last moan and remained quiet. Buffy made short work of the last two. She let out a deep breath afterwards and wiped the sweat off her face.
"Working the graveyard shift sucks."
---
Jon sat back as his minions attacked Faith. He had to admit, he was impressed. The Slayer was holding her own, but he could tell that she was getting tired. Her fear pulsated off her body in waves, creating a delicious aroma that made Jon want her more.
Jon watched in admiration as Faith dusted two of them. A few more were already crippled and out of the fight.
And soon it will be time for me to jump in.
Faith never felt so tired in her life. There had to be at least two dozen of them. Faith knew she would have to rethink the next time she said she was bored. After she dusted two of them, more of them joined the fray. One of them threw a punch out at her and she caught one to the chin. She felt a sudden sharp of pang, as her lip busted, followed by the copper tang as blood flowed from the wound.
Faith risked a glance towards the front of the club and noticed the vampire standing there, watching her intently.
Why in the hell is he just sitting there?
Faith didn't have enough time to dwell on it before a vampire lashed out and smacked her across the face.
---
"What's going on here? What happened?" the frightened man asked. Buffy tried to think up an excuse, to not make her seem like she was crazy.
A bunch of zombies have risen from their graves and are looking for a fleshy treat, how crazier can it get?
"Apparently some corpses were getting restless, I don't know what's causing it though. It's best you stay put while I go find the cause of this." She knew she couldn't tell him the whole truth; the situation was bad enough as is. No need making it more confusing for him.
A creepy glowing demon is floating around the cemetery and raising the dead. I'm a vampire Slayer and I'm chasing after him because he is holding me back from a couple of vampires who have my best friend hostage, she's a witch by the way.
The man shook his head vigorously.
"I won't believe this. It's not possible. Your crazy!" he pushed past her and ran out the door. Buffy heard the door slam behind him as he went into the mausoleum.
Okay, did you not just see the zombie that was trying to eat your face?
Buffy shook her head. She understood that's how people were in Sunnydale. No matter what they saw, they would just shake it off. They refused to believe that they're town was on top of a Hellmouth. But she still had to go save him. She couldn't let him run out there on his own with those zombies around.
Buffy ran out the closet and into the mausoleum. She held her shovel up, prepared for an attack. Two stone cubbies busted open and a couple of zombies poked out. Buffy raised her shovel and waited for them to get near. When the first one came close, Buffy swung the shovel beneath the zombie's legs. The zombie swept off the ground and smashed against the wall, breaking into pieces. She brought the shovel back up and swung it down into the skull of the next one. The zombie's skull cracked in two and it fell to the ground.
"Somebody help!" Buffy saw the gatekeeper she met in the supply closet running through the dark cemetery. He was running in a blind panic as four to five walking corpses stumbled after him.
Can't help feeling sorry for the guy, but it's not like I told him so. Better help him.
Buffy jogged quickly through the mausoleum, but was stopped short when the cubbies busted open and out poured more zombies. Buffy went into a frenzy as zombies came at her left and right. Before she realized it, the fight was over. She was left standing in a pile of broken bones and rotting flesh.
Buffy ran out the exit to the mausoleum, into the open air. Buffy heard a gurgled scream, and then it suddenly cut off. A body slumped from the wall and tumbled down the stone steps. The face of the gatekeeper stared up at her as he landed by her feet. Another figure leaped from behind the wall. The vampire stared at her, licking the gatekeeper's blood off his lips.
"Oh look, a bad guy." she smirked
The vampire growled and ran down towards her, but he was no match for the shovel. Buffy swung the shovel into his head. The vampire's yellow eyes rolled back into his head and he fell limply to the floor.
"Numbskull." Buffy said as she brought the handle down into his chest and dusted him.
Buffy ran up the steps and down the hallway. She silently prayed that no more zombies would burst through the walls, but she would have preferred them to what just jumped in front of her path. A Hellhound stared menacingly at her, drool oozed from its enormous jaws. Buffy ran up to and brought the shovel down. She smashed the shovel into its face over and over in a frenzy, in hopes of bringing it down before it did some damage. The hound grabbed the shovel in its jaws and jerked its head back, snatching the shovel forward and jerking Buffy towards it. The shovel slid out of her hands and the Hellhound threw it across the yard. It brought it head back quickly and smashed into her chest. Buffy fell back, and rolled backwards onto her feet as soon as she hit the ground.
The Hound lifted its head up and howled into the night sky. Then it charged at her. Buffy somersaulted into the air as the Hound ran past. Buffy landed behind it and spun around to face it. She withdrew her stake and slammed it into the beasts back before it had a chance to turn around. The Hound let out on last howl before it dusted.
Buffy withdrew a deep breath and picked up her shovel.
I've wasted too much time. I hope Willow is still alive.
Buffy ran out of the courtyard, fearing the worst.
---
Faith felt her body starting to give up on her as she dusted the next vamp. She had already killed four of them and managed to put a few more out of the fight, but more of them kept coming. Suddenly, the vampires just back off. Faith looked at them in amazement, until she realized why. The vampire with the denim jacket stepped up, in full vamp face.
"Come on, give a girl a break." she said tiredly
The vampire growled and lunged at her and Faith jumped out of the way. The vampire landed near her and the lunged at her again, before she time to react. He was surprisingly swift. He came back at her swinging. Faith managed to block some of the punches, but even then she cringed to the impact as his powerful fists smashed into her arms.
Faith lashed out a kick to his groin. The vampire doubled over in pain and Faith came back in. She kicked him in the face a few more times. The vampire grabbed her leg and flipped her over. Faith did a 360 in the air and landed painfully on her back. All of the wind was knocked out of her. Faith fought back the darkness as it enveloped her. The whole alley was spinning uncontrollably.
Can't let this bastard win. It would be a crying shame if B found out I died at the hands of a single vampire.
"This one is for Kakistos!" the vampire said as he launched his self at her.
---
"Nice night to die, don't you think?" the hulking vampire asked her. The vamp was huge. Buffy encountered it in the graveyard, ten zombies later after taming the Hellhound. He busted open a huge iron gate and lumbered towards her.
Well, at least that takes care of the gate.
"Yeah, as a matter of fact it is. But you see, I already died once…Well, apparently you did to. But I think it's your turn."
Buffy swung the shovel towards the vamp. The vampire drawled back quickly and lunged forward in one swift motion, catching her off guard and sprawling to the ground. The vampire picked her up from the ground and hoisted her in the air. He tossed her across the yard and she landed at the base of the tree. She jumped back up in time to see the vampire charging furiously at her. Buffy dove out of the way. She heard a sickening crunch, followed by a surprised yell. She glanced up and saw the vampire stuck at the tree, a branch protruding from his back. Then the vamp suddenly dusted.
"He just played the macho scene way to well."
Buffy stood up and picked up her shovel. She walked through the now-open gate and into another courtyard.
"Buffy! This way! Hurry!" Buffy heard the familiar yell of her best friend, and her back was forgotten.
"Cavalry's coming! Don't know why the cavalry always has to tromp through the graveyard, but…cavalry's coming."
Buffy rushed through the courtyard, into an open cemetery. Spike and the vampress walked up the steps into a huge mausoleum, tagging Willow behind. Up above, the knight demon floated, waving his hand in the air and emitting another blue wave of energy. Energy emitted from his clawed hand and swirled around the perimeter of the graveyard. Buffy was trapped in a wall of blue energy.
Dirt flew into the air from a few of the graves. Three zombies shot out and stumbled towards her as they touched the ground. Buffy attacked them with her shovel. Within a minute, all three had dissipated. But soon, they were replaced by more. Buffy eliminated them with a few good swings, but more kept coming. The more she fought, the more they kept coming. She felt like she had been fighting them for hours.
I'll fight the whole dead population of Sunnydale before I can get to Willow, or else she will join them.
---
Faith brought her foot up just as the vamp reached her and he fell on top of her. Faith grabbed both of his hands and flipped him on his back. Faith sat on top of him and punched him continuously in the face. The vamp grabbed her wrist and twisted. Faith let out a yelp of pain and fell off of him. The vamp got up and kicked her in the ribs. He reached down and grabbed her by the throat, and hoisted her up. He slammed her against the brick wall. The dizzying pain overwhelmed her. Every part of her body was in pain. The vamp leaned against her and licked her across the cheek.
"I always wanted to taste the blood of a Slayer. I've heard it was the greatest feeling in the world. Kakistos would have loved to see me earn this honor, he taught me well." the vamp rambled on.
"I'm sure he would have. But I'll rest assure you, he wouldn't have missed much." Faith brought her stake up and punched it into his chest. The vampire looked up at her pitifully.
"So, is that all there is?" then he dusted.
Faith fell to the ground. She got up slowly, still aching but not as much as earlier. Because of her Slayer healing powers, she was already starting to feel a little better.
"Yep, that's it."
---
The last of the undead fell to the ground, and the barrier dissipated. She looked down at her broken shovel, and picked up a piece of the broken handle. Buffy walked up the steps to the mausoleum and entered. Inside, the vampress still held Willow by the arm, and Spike was nowhere to be seen. Willow glanced up and noticed her.
"Buffy! Be careful, she's stronger than an ordinary vampire!" Willow called out to her.
The vampress slapped her violently across the face and hurtled her across the room. Willow landed on the cold stone floor and scooted back against the wall, cradling her face.
"Hey! Willow!" Buffy faced the vampress and set her jaw, clenching her fist tightly.
"You should NOT have done that! I know you guys take the whole fetish scene way too seriously, but there's a fine line between femme fatale and tacky tramp. Buffy could feel the anger rising in her voice.
"You just vaulted right over that line."
The vampress smiled evilly at her, in full vamp face.
"Mock all you like Ssslayer. But I'll be the one laughing while your bleeding out on the ground." she smirked. The smile on her face made Buffy hate her even more.
"And that tattoo? Just screams biker slut."
The vampress attacked. In a fraction of a second, she cleared the space between them and pummeled her with kicks. Buffy twisted her foot, spinning the vampress in the air, and then Buffy kicked out before she hit the ground, and the vamp went flying across the mausoleum. Buffy ran at her before she had a chance to get up and kicked her in the gut. The vampress grabbed her foot, but wasn't quick enough. With her other foot, Buffy slammed the heel of her boot into the vampress' hand. The vampress screamed out in pain, but Buffy shut her up by kicking her in her ugly mouth. Anger surged through Buffy's body, there was no way she was showing that bitch any mercy during this fight. The vampress scrambled up and swept her foot out. Buffy jumped over her leg and kicked out. Her foot connected with the vamp's forehead, and she crumpled to the floor. Buffy picked her up and hit her again with a head butt.
The vampress scrambled up quickly and looked at Buffy with pure terror in her eyes. Then she turned around and ran. She pressed a switch on the side of an alter in the middle of the room, and a trap door opened up behind it. The vampress quickly ran down it, the door shutting behind her.
Buffy decided to let her go for now. She ran over to her fallen friend. Willow had her head in her lap, looking down at the floor.
"You okay Will?" Buffy asked. Willow looked up at her. Her face was red and swollen where the vampire slapped her.
"A little shaken up, but fine. You think Spike's rounded up what's left of the Order of Aurelius?" Willow asked, quickly changing the subject.
"I was sorta hoping there wasn't anything left of them. Come on, I want to get you out of here." Buffy helped her up, and together they walked towards the exit. Willow suddenly stopped and faced her.
"What about the others?" she asked.
"I'll come back for them, but I'm gonna need to be better armed if I have to deal with the Order and my spooky, slippery, little, new zombie-making friend." Willow nodded her head silently and they walked out. Hopefully Giles could help her find out what was really going on.
---
"I have no idea what's going on here." Giles said, frustrated.
"Knew I could count on you Giles." Buffy replied sarcastically.
"Unfortunately, Buffy, in spite of the faith you place in me, there's no magic in research. Though I am deeply troubled by Spike's sudden reappearance in Sunnydale, and even more alarmed by the implication that he might have gathered the remnants of the Master's order, all we can do is attempt to learn more." he rambled.
"So, you're thinking research then?" Buffy asked. Giles blanked out for a moment.
"Yes…Of course. Meanwhile, however, your first priority must be the rescue of those innocents abducted from the Bronze." Buffy stood up from the table.
"Already gone. Gotta say, though, I'm stumped. I thought you'd be brandishing a sharp-edged hypothesis by now." Giles shook his head.
"Sadly not, only a growing feeling of profound unease. All of this sudden activity does seem to suggest a carefully coordinated push towards a particular goal, probably something ritualistic. The gathering of victims in such sheer number, yet without killing them might lay the groundwork for a ceremony to draw forth an ancient evil into this world."
"And you said you had no hypothesis, ya big faker." Buffy teased.
"Whatever the plan may be, Buffy, you must return to the mausoleum and stop them before they can carry it out."
"Gotcha." Buffy said. She turned around and headed up to the book stacks. Willow was up there by herself, paging through a big book on occults. She didn't look to well. Her face was still puffy, and she looked like she was in bad pain.
"You sure you're going to be alright?" Buffy asked gently. Willow looked up from the book and smiled at her.
"I shall endure. Okay, not as inured to the physical abuse as Giles, but I'm getting there. It's all apart of being friends with the Slayer."
"Inured?" Buffy asked.
"I know, isn't it exciting? I never used that word in conversation before." Buffy smiled and shook her head.
"Very. Is there anything else you can remember that might help me?" she asked. Willow shrugged her shoulders.
"Just that secret passage inside the mausoleum, I thought it was sealed, but I guess Spike opened it back up."
"Thanks Will."
"No problem."
Willow slammed the book, and sighed.
"I wish Oz wasn't on tour with the Dingoes. I could use some wolfy huggin' right about now."
"You miss him, don't you?" Buffy asked.
"Yeah. Even though he left just this afternoon, it feels like weeks."
The door swung open, Xander and Cordelia walked in. Xander carried an armful of sodas. Cordelia was eating a granola bar.
"It's amazing what you can get with just a few kicks, isn't that right Buff?" he said as he placed the cans on the counter.
"Willow, you look like crap. What happened to your face?" Cordelia asked her. Xander looked at Cordelia sternly, then back at Willow, worry etched on his face.
"You alright, Will?" he asked.
"Bruised, but otherwise, unscathed. No unauthorized nibbling." she replied.
"If I ever get my hands on Spike, I'll make him wish he had never been born…reborn…unborn. You get the picture."
"Cue the manly swagger. Sweet, really. But let's not forget who the girlfriend is." Cordelia huffed. Xander raised a hand to protest, but Buffy cut in, ending another argument between the couple before it started.
"Sorry Xand, but this is strictly a solo Slayer mission. Too many unknowns, too much we don't understand."
"Like I ever let that stop me before!" he protested.
"I need you to stay here, help Giles, and make sure Willow doesn't have a concussion or something." she replied. Xander threw in the towel.
"Got it. Now go save those Bronzers. Especially the cute, female ones."
"Yeah, what are you still doing here?" Cordelia butted in, grabbing a sprite from the table. "You have to save our tight end! We need him for the game, and for my morale. On the other hand, that skank slut hitting on him, strictly optional."
Buffy sighed. She headed walked towards the swinging doors, but stopped short next to Giles, his faced buried deep in the books.
"Any luck figuring out what the markings where on those two uber-vamps I told you about?" she asked. Giles looked up from the book.
"Nothing yet. But I will continue to investigate. Meanwhile, you should hurry. There's no telling how long Spike and his associates will keep those people alive."
The double doors swung open, and Faith walked in. Her face and arms were covered in scratches, and she looked worn out.
Great, another headache to add to my growing pile of pains.
"Hey, B. What's up? I busted my ass out there looking for you." she said.
"Looks like you busted more than that." she retorted. Faith shrugged her shoulders.
"Hey, a few nicks and scrapes isn't too much of an issue for me. I ran into trouble down at the Bronze. There was some crazy vamp out there who had a serious mad-on for me. He seemed all bent up about me bringing Kakistos down. What happened to you?"
"I'll tell you later. Right now I really have to go, got some lives to save." she replied.
"A girl's gotta do what a girl's gotta do, right?" Faith replied.
"Are you still here?" Cordelia yelled from across the room. "Don't you have something to kill? Cause if you had plans to do anything besides the monster mash, you might want to rethink the whole outfit."
"Like anyone needs any tips from you, Cordy." Faith retorted. Giles cut in before anyone said anything else.
"Faith, why don't you go with Buffy? I don't see anything wrong with the both of you going out, you might get the job done a lot faster if you combined your skills."
"Fine, I'm up for it. How about you, B?" Faith asked her.
"Fine." Buffy sighed. "Let's go then before Cordelia busts an artery or something, not like it wouldn't cause for a celebration if something like that did happen."
Buffy and Faith turned around and went out the door.