Ashes to Ashes

First in a Series

Chapter Two: All Out Brawl

By Shelley L. Inks

Anya, Xander, and Tara continued to watch helplessly as orange light swirled around Willow, who was kneeling beside Buffy's grave, struggling to maintain conciousness as she panted for breath," Osiris, release her!"

"Willow! Willow, help!"The Buffybot shrieked as she darted into the clearing, followed by what appeared to be a large, black German shepard as best as they could make out in the darkness. Motorcycles revved uproariously as the demons burst into view, surrounding them all. The trio clutched each other in fear, Willow still trapped in the midst of her spell. Circling wildly one bike crashed over the urn, shattering it and disrupting the energy.

"NO!" Willow screamed as the reddish light around her vanished and she collapsed in a faint. Tara tried to reach her but Mag cut her off on his motorcycle, leering at the pretty blond Wiccan lewdly.

"Look what I found..."

Just then the dog, though Tara suddenly understood it was a wolf, pounced him from behind, knocking him off the bike which skidded across the grave.

"Willow!" Tara rushed to her lover's side and cradled her head in her arms.

Onyx growled as four of the five demons present made a simultaneous ludge for her and she exploded into her wolf-woman form. She never side-stepped, or even tried. When the gang formed a football team style pile-up on her, throwing wild punches which mostly landed on their friends, she threw them off her as easily as a shrug. With a deep, guttral sound of anger her fangs sank into one biker's arm and tore it free with a wet rip. It soaked the Earth and freshly churned gave with the ichorous spray of blood.

As her claws found the base of another's neck and tore away a third's face, she caught sight of the Buffybot throwing a roundhouse kick. The robot occasionally shot out a shower of sparks from her chest, indicating she was injuried. As for the Human bystanders doing Gaia knew what in the graveyard at this hour, they all stood frozen in shock. She rolled her topaz eyes and snarled in disgust. Why didn't they run instead of making targets of themselves? She forced instinct to give way to intellect, and as the legion of able-bodied foes thinned, much to the Human's shock she sank back into her own woman form. Her piercing golden hued eyes shot a glare at the young people huddled over the prone form of the red-head.

"Get out of here! What, do you have a death wish er something?" she demanded as she rushed to aide the out-numbered Slayer robot. The well toned muscles in her legs carried her off the ground in a leap and she connected full-force with a biker's head, knocking him off his vehicle as it bore down on the now twitching, shivering robot. Slightly out of breath she tucked a lock of ebony hair behind one slightly pointed ear and addressed the automatron,"Hey!"

The bot turned to face her. Claws had torn her sweater and the synthetic flesh on one side of her chest to reveal a network of wiring and gears. "I am injured. I must return to Willow."

"Sure, whatever," Onyx caught her breath,"Hey do any of you..." She paused as she realized the Humans had finally fled. "Oh, sure, NOW you leave..."

"Thank you for saving me. I must return to Willow so she can fix me now,"the Buffybot smiled cheerfully and turned to go but walked into a tree. To the Werewolf's astonishment she backed up and walked into it yet again. Before she could brain herself a third time Onyx caught her by her arm and held her back.

"Whoa! Hold on there, Barbie.."

"Buffy. Buffy Summers," the robot corrected her with an ever present smile Onyx was beginning to find annoying.

"Okay, BUFFY. You're in no shape to be trapsing off on your own. Now if you're going to find this Fern person.."

"Willow. She is my best friend. She is gay. She lives with Tara. Tara is gay too," the Buffybot informed her like a bright and eager student, still suffering from erratic twitches and short-circuits. Her clothes were torn and hung loosely on her perfectly moded form, revealing unnaturalslashes of silver through synthetic flesh here and there.

"More info than I needed,"Onyx replied, massaging her forehead with two fingers. She sighed and righted the crashed motorcycle. "Hop on, I'll give you a lift home...you do know where you live, right?"

"Sixteen-thirty Rivelo near Hadley."

"I can work with that.."

She started the bike with a protesting rumble before it grudgingly fell into gear and carried it's two passengers out of the graveyard and into the night.

With all the confusion abound no one was there to notice the shifting of the disturbed Earth over Buffy Summer's fresh grave. The dirt rose a bit then fell as if struggling to keep something it had digested down. Suddenly, like a gruesome birth, a white, bloody hand burst free, spraying clods of damp filth in all directions. It felt desperately for a grip to pull itself free, towing the rest of it's connected body with it. In savage frustration from the lack of immediate progress claws sprouted from the fingertips, wrenching the attached head to the surface where it gasp for air, eyes gleaming an unholy red.

Then the claws shrank away and Buffy Anne Summers drug herself onto the grass, panting. She glanced around slowly, taking in her surroundings, then calmly rose to her feet and followed the echoing screams into town. Behind her the demonic blood from the severed appendage dripped steadily into her now splintered, empty coffin.

Inside the darkened Summers residence the sounds of the town-wide raid were loud enough to set all nerves on edge as the bikers trashed the once pleasant suburbian neighborhood. Dawn crouched by the window, peering out fearfully as a Molotav cocktail exploded and set the porch of a house two doors down ablaze.

Behind her Spike rummaged through Buffy's weapon chest, muttering to himself dismally about the lack of provisions then yelped as he burned his hand on a cross. Shaking it to cool the injury, he noticed her position and whirled, stalking over to push her behind him,"Here! Want me to bloody thump you? I told you to stay away from the windows."

Dawn started to protest when the air was filled with agonized shrieks and the sounds of the brawl intensified to a frenzied roar. Her Vampire protector drew her to him comfortingly and smoothed her hair back just as the sounds died away.

Silence followed for what seemed like an eternity then the teen let out a startled cry as something banged against the door insistantly. The demons had come to call. Her heart hammered wildly as she whimpered, digging her fingers into the worn leather of Spike's trench coat before he lowered his voice and grasp her by the shoulders gently but firmly. Speaking in a urgent tone, he looked down into her eyes,"Get behind the couch. No matter what, don't move until I tell you to, then run. You hear me?"

She nodded faintly and scurried back into the appointed hiding place as he snatched up a stake and held it ready, crossing to the door and slamming it open. Spike brought the stake forward and down with such force that he nearly couldn't stop and only managed to halt it's flight a bare inch from the forehead of the strange woman who stood on the doorstep.

Flabbergasted to silence, he stood taking her in with his gaze, the stake still poised to drive into her skull. She was in her early to mid-twenties as most, just beyond girlhood to a creature as old as he, but stood with a posture that spoke volumes of self-confidence and street experience. There was a cut below the line of her ebony hair on the right temple and blood dripped from one corner of her mouth. Surrounded by thick, full lashes, honey-hued eyes calmly returned his curious inspection. Dust and blood, most of it apparently not hers, stained her jeans and jacket which clung to a tight, atheletic form.

The woman cleared her throat and arched a finely shaped brow, breaking the spell of speechlessness,"Do you make all your guests wait out in the cold with deadly weapons pointed at them?"