For Good or Bad, The Memories Remain.

Chapter 31

Disclaimer- I don't own Buffy, I just use her in my writing, just for fun, never for profit "Because that's wrong!"

Spoilers- mid 4th season then everything takes a left turn off the charted path

Rating- May get to R eventually

Buffy woke up a bit disorientated. She looked at where she was and tried to remember how she got there. She was staring at a familiar ceiling . She was in her own room laying on her bed. She tried to move, and immediately felt immense pain and stiffness. She could feel herself encrusted with some sort of sticky gu that had hardened. It cracked and crinkled as she started to move. A groan next to her gave her pause. She tried to turn her head, painful as it was. The dim light filtering in through the window barely provided enough illumination for most people but to Slayer senses, it was still far too bright for her headache. The woman next to her was cover in crusting blood, vamp dust, and several other fluids she couldn't readily identify. She wracked her brain for a few brief seconds until she realized it was Willow next to her on the bed. Looking at the state she was in, she shuddered to think of her own appearance. Her mind slowly caught up to the circumstances of last night.

She was on patrol with Willow shortly after dark, when their attention was attracted by leaping flames at one of the older graveyards in town. Flames normally mean ritual in Sunnyhell. As they moved closer, they could see that far from the normal bonfire with demons, it was a car that had been set on fire at some point in the destruction process. Buffy got a cold feeling in the pit of her stomach She recognized the type of car, and it was rare enough these days that a coincidence would be a bit to far in the odds for even Sunnyhell. They slowly crept by the burning hulk of the Sunbeam Tiger, drawing blades out. She noticed bullet holes and bash marks on what sheet metal remained of the car. Both of them noticed a large swath of trampled ground leading away from the car. As they followed, they could begin to hear the sounds of movement up ahead. It was dying down as they moved closer along the fresh trail leading into a small grove of trees. The ground was churned as if by the passage of many people. The limbs of the trees had been ripped and torn from the passageway. Buffy was growing concerned at what she might find. The trail opened to a small clearing. Across the clearing was a sight that chilled both girls to the bone.

A large x made of timbers had been erected behind a large slab of rock. On the slab was the remains of what must have been a person. On the frame of timbers was a long thin body of a woman, torn, broken and covered in blood. She must have been in immense pain before she died due to the massive wounds made to her body. As Buffy and Willow got closer, they could see burn marks, deep cuts , what appeared to be several brands were burned into her flesh, most of the bones in her hands were badly broken, and her limbs were held to the rack with iron spikes driven through the bones in the lower arms and legs. Her pain was only ceased by an iron spike driven through her chest. Willow was stunned, unable to move. The sheer horror of what this person had to endure boggled her mind. She was only able to move after Buffy called t her three times to help her get the woman down. It was as she was helping that she finally saw the woman's face. It was Sasha. Buffy was working franticly trying to get Sasha free , knowing that since she still had her head, they had to get her free so she could revive and heal. Otherwise she would keep reviving only to die of the spike in her chest again and again. They worked for several minutes to try and free her from the rack. As Sasha dropped free, a note was revealed pinned to the timbers behind Sasha's body. Buffy snatched it up and read it.

"Elisabetha, First your friends, then everyone who ever cared for you, then you."

Gunshots rang out, Willow was hit. Then the demons attacked.

To Be Continued

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