"Kinda expected you to patrol after the football game," Oz casually commented as the pair moved quietly through Quiet Pines, one of the oldest cemeteries in town. The dimly lit grounds were bordered by Crestwood College to the north, woods to the east and some quiet residential neighborhoods to the west and south. The small graveyard was opposite town to the bright lights and loud cheering of the Sunnydale High School football game.
Buffy stole a glance at her companion who was busy scanning the rows of tombstones for any type of danger. Although he didn't appear overly anxious, it was Daniel's first time on a real patrol with the Slayer and he gripped the wooden cross tightly in his left hand as his eye's traveled across the scenery. He ran one of his finger over the smooth, cool marble of a large tombstone with the name Edna May. Fresh flowers rested in a pretty planter at the foot of foot of the memorial. It was the only grave in the area that appeared to have had a recent visitor.
"Not really feeling the rah rah rah right now," Buffy admitted with a small smile as she tilted her head to left. She read the name on the tomb by Oz and pointed to the left. "I think it is down this way. Willow said the only new plots were on the northwest side."
The pair moved quietly through the ankle high grass while they searched for a the most recent addition to the cemetery plots. This afternoon, Willow had kindly pulled a map of the plots from the city works site and showed her where Chris Epps was interred. His resting place was right beside the behemoth tombstone erected for his older brother Darryl. The redhead had sniffed softly when she mentioned how unfair it seemed that Chris only got a flat plate stone in the family plot. Buffy had offered Willow a quick hug in sympathy for her lost science friend. After the short interlude of sadness, Willow had rallied and also provided directions on how to find Eric Gittleson's resting place in Sunnydale Cemetery.
Determined to catch Spike's newest fledglings before they caused any mayhem, Buffy narrowed her eyes when she noticed movement in the area by the Epps family plot. She frowned. The large shadow did not feel like a vampire. The Slayer shook her head. Visiting a graveside after dark in Sunnydale seemed like a suicide in the making in her book.
"There's someone at the grave," she whispered to Oz who nodded once and followed her lead as she positioned herself in the shadow of a tall columned tombstone. From her hiding spot, she could watch the figure from the shadow but felt like she wasn't interfering with the visitor's obvious personal grief. The large male shadow knelt in the grass beside the newly covered grave. His shoulders slumped and his hands clung to the repositioned sod over the recent dirt mound. Although she could not hear individual words, she could hear the man talking to grave. The large visitor had obviously cared about Chris and Buffy didn't want to interrupt him if she didn't need to do it. The Slayer just hoped that that he left before Chris made his reappearance. That was a trauma no one needed to face.
The duo stood silently in the darkness for almost fifteen minutes while they watched the grave visitor. As the time passed, Buffy began to fidget. The longer the man stayed, the greater was the danger he placed himself.
"Too late," she grumbled in frustration as she felt the stirring of a vampire warning slither up her spine.
Hoping to save the poor, clueless visitor, Buffy boldly exited the shadow as she slid into her best bubble-head impersonation.
"Oh, look, Oz!" she called in a bouncy, cheerful voice that easily carried across the dim cemetery. "We aren't the only one who wanted to say good bye to Chris tonight."
Silently, Oz followed Buffy on her unerring path towards the Epps plot. He watched in silent amazement as Buffy embraced her sudden role. It was like she shed everything that made her the girl he knew and dressed her in a stereo-typical shallow bimbo skin. She chattered inanely about science class and her inability to pass without Chris' help. The shadow by the grave jumped up at the unexpected clamor. He seemed to freeze for a moment before desperately glancing both ways in search of escape. The Slayer barely noticed his movements as she concentrated on the shifting dirt at the visitor's feet. Her eyes narrowed and she slipped her stake from the back waistband of her jeans as a hand broke free of the loose sod. Without a moments hesitation, Buffy's left hand snapped forward and shoved the shadowed, grieving visitor from the rising threat at his feet.
The mourner stumbled a few feet backwards but Buffy did not follow his movement. All her attention was fixed on the vampire clawing free from the earth.
"Buffy!" Oz cried in warning as the bulky visitor stumbled from the shadow and into the faint light from a far off streetlamp. The light revealed the scarred and gray skin of Darryl Epps. Oz's eyes widened in horror. Everyone at Sunnydale High knew who Darryl had been. His prowess on the football field had been legendary. His death had been just as well known. Even the musician with his distinct lack of interest in athletics recognized the strangely not so dead sports figure.
She hadn't even glanced at Oz when he cried her name since she assumed he was warning her about the almost free undead at her feet. The vampire formerly known as Chris fully emerged from his grave and, Buffy's stake snapped towards his chest. The pointed wood never found purchase in the fledgling's heart. Instead, a lumbering hulk crashed into the petite Slayer. Her breath escaped in a grunt as she was tackled to the ground under the impressive bulk of the mourner that she thought she had been saving. Caught for a moment under the male's larger body, panic loomed and her vision began to waver. She screamed and thrashed wildly. The nails in her left hand scratched at Darryl's face while she repeated slammed the stake in her still slightly weakened right hand into the former football star's shoulders. The punctures in his dead flesh barely registered in the reanimated corpse's mind as he attempted to subdue the threat to his little brother. Despite the advantage of almost a hundred pounds of muscle and the lack of pain recognition, Darryl was unable to keep the Slayer in place. All it took for her to escape was for her to succeed in bending one of her legs at the knee and the bulky dead man found himself propelled off his captive and into his own tombstone. The older Epps boy didn't even shake his head when he staggered back off the now cracked stone. He took another step towards the little blonde who had originally tried to attack his little brother but stilled when she rolled smoothly to her feet with a confidence and grace that worried him. He frowned as he tried to figure out what was actually happening. He cussed. The older Epps boy had always relied on his little brother for the deeper thoughts and directions. He glanced away from the powerful feminine predator who was making a bee line for his brother and reacted the only way he could think to save himself and his brother.
Darryl reached out and grabbed his little brother around the middle and pulled him away from the blonde's companion. With the aid of his large wooden cross, Oz had backed himself against a tombstone and was successfully preventing the fledgling vampire from eating him. They had reached an impasse but the fast approaching Slayer spelled quick doom for the frenzied fledge.
The vampire struggled against the large reanimated corpse dragging him from his much needed meal. He hissed and thrashed in his older brother's strong grip.
Buffy reached Oz and grabbed his free arm. She demanded to know if he was unharmed. He nodded quickly. The two living friends turned their attention back to the undead Epps brothers. Buffy watched for a moment as Darryl punched Chris in the jaw. The vampire sagged. His brother tossed the limp body on his shoulder and ran into the darkness.
Buffy glanced once at her splintered stake. It was useless in more ways than one against the retreating opponent. She had shattered its point while repeatedly slamming it into the big guy's back. It's smashed tip was covered with black sludge that looked more like motor oil than blood. The Slayer quickly realized she would need something with a bit more oomph and possibly cutting power to make a difference against the bulky monster.
"What was that thing?" the Slayer wondered aloud as she itemized attributes in order to share with her Watcher. She glanced at her ruined stake one last time before tossing it into the darkness. There was no way she was tucking the ooze covered thing back in her waistband. "Well, it certainly wasn't a vampire."
"Zombie?" Oz offered with a shrug. "Used to be Darryl Epps. Chris's older brother. He died a while ago. Rock climbing accident, I think."
"Lovely," Buffy muttered. "It's not enough to have my own demented Dracula movie going, now I have Night of the Living Dead too?"
Oz glanced at her as if to offer his apology but then his lip quirked slightly.
"At least Abbott and Costello haven't shown up," he offered as a supposed bright point.
Buffy shook her head and smiled.
"Yeah... give it time. With my luck, they'll show up next and are actually some weird type of black and white comedy demons set on stealing all the color from the Hellmouth.
Cody Johnson really hated being low man on the totem pole. As the youngest of three sons, he was used to the position. It didn't mean he liked it. It just meant he was familiar with the sensation. His older brothers always took the praise before he ever stood a chance of polishing any type of shine. The oldest sibling sported the grace and athletic abilities; he was in his third season playing professional football in Washington DC after having been drafted in the first round right when he graduated college. The middle one got all the brains; he was a year away from his PHD in molecular biology after getting his bachelor's degree by nineteen. Compared to his older brothers, Cody never felt particularly special. He played a passing game of football and made decent enough grades but he was never good enough to be a star.
Cody had hoped that leaving Boston would give him a chance to be his own person and to find the place where he could step outside of his brothers' shadows. He thought that he had found that place with the brothers of Delta Zeta Kappa. They had promised him all sorts of wonderful things to entice him to join. Cody sighed before shifting the trash bags in his hands so that he could open the front door. As of yet, he hadn't seen any prizes. It just seemed like he was the youngest brother to dozens of outstanding brothers now. All their grades were better, their prowess with the girls more successful, and their parents more affluent or powerful. He couldn't wait until rush started in a few weeks and a new set of pledges would be racing to complete the menial tasks he was currently stuck doing.
Stomping into the darkness along the side of the fraternity house, Cody swung first one and then the second bag of refuse into the small dumpster at the edge of the property. He had turned to head back towards the well lit porch of his temporary home when a soft voice called sweetly to him from the shadows. Startled, the college sophomore strained his eyes to peer into the darkness.
"Hello my precious boy," murmured a sultry voice as something in the shadows moved forward towards the poorly lit path.
Cody's eyes widened in surprise when an almost ethereal woman stepped from the darkness. Her dark hair contrasted sharply with her pale skin and her flowing white gown shimmered. She was easily one of the most attractive women to ever address him and the sophomore found himself equal parts aroused and petrified. The pale figure swayed as she moved seductively towards him. He stammered a greeting to the dark haired beauty who smiled coyly as she stepped close to him. She reached out and trailed her well manicured nails down his chest. Cody swallowed nervously as he tried to figure out what to say that wouldn't make him seem like a fool. The woman giggled softly as her fingers reached the waistband of his jeans. Her fingers slid further south until she could grasp the bunched denim firmly in her hand. Despite her fragile appearance, she yanked sharply on the material and forced Cody to stumble against her. She giggled one more time. This time, Cody did not find the laughter even remotely attractive. Instead, it sent a violent shiver up his spine. He attempted to escape the woman but found himself unable to break her hold on him.
"Oh no, my precious one," Drusilla cooed. "You want to help me punish the naughty boys."
Cody began to stammer helplessly as he pleaded with the vampire to allow him to go inside.
"Oh yes, inside..." Dru repeated. She raised her fingers and wiggled them to catch the gaze of her captive. Cody's eyes darted once from the vampire's fingers to her now feral eyes.
"Look at me," she whispered softly. He shrunk away from her demonic appearance but could not seem to escape her enthralling gaze. For a moment, Cody stood perfectly still as Dru mesmerized him. He swayed slightly and all expression left his face.
Drusilla reached up and patted him gently on the cheek.
"Good boy," she praised before glancing over her shoulder where her dark knight stepped from the darkness. Like the gallant gentleman he once was, Spike offered her his arm. The willowy vampire leaned heavily on his strength as she shook slightly from the effort of enthralling the fraternity brother. The demonic power had taken its toll on her already weakened body. She raised her other hand towards Cody. She smiled seductively at him as he blindly took her hand.
"Invite us into your home, precious," she ordered as Spike started moving the trio towards the lighted porch. Behind them, six only days old fledglings followed to help seek retribution for the Master. They were salivating at the impending thought of bloodshed and not a single vampire other than Spike remained in their human guise.
The small collection of vampires paused on the porch of the Delta Zeta Kappa fraternity house and waited while Cody issued each one an invitation to the property. The fledglings swept into the entry way. Drusilla thanked Cody with a chuckle before her hand whipped past his neck. Her nails came away from the swipe covered with bright blood as a slit opened across his trachea and over to his right ear. Pain forced Cody from his enthralled stupor. His hands flew to his throat to uselessly grab at the severed carotid artery. Blood welled over his fingers in bursts as his heart pumped the red liquid out of his body in rhythmic spurts.
Drusilla watched Cody struggle a few steps across the porch before falling into the grassy lawn at the front of the house. She licked his blood from her fingers as screaming inside the building shattered the quiet evening.
"Time to punish the Stains, my prince," the pretty vampire stated as she turned her yellowed eyes onto the doorway.
With an excited chuckle, Spike swept Drusilla up into his arms and carried her like a new bride over the threshold. He too brought forth his fangs and he smiled indulgently at his companion. He winked at her and she giggled happily in return. Boldly, the blond vampire stomped into the fraternity. The enticing smell of blood, tears and fear engulfed them as they entered the house to join in the massacre.
Nearing the north west gate of Quiet Pines, Buffy stopped moving for a moment.
"Do you hear that?" she questioned softly as she tilted her head to try to figure out what exactly she heard disturb the normally quiet nighttime noises. In a heartbeat, she placed the muffled sounds as screams of distress. Calling for Oz to follow her, the Slayer sprinted towards the stone wall that separated the graveyard from the private college property. A couple strides from the wall, Buffy leaped towards the top of the rock fence. She landed in a crouch on the apex of the structure. Her eyes narrowed as she stared into the lightly wooded area. In the distance, she could still hear horrible screams of terror. Lights from a large house filtered through the small collection of trees and she decided that the yelling must be from inside the home.
She reached down and offered Oz her hand. With a quick yank, her friend joined the Slayer on the wall. He teetered a bit to gain his balance on the only inches wide top.
"Stay safe. Run if you have to," she ordered her companion before jumping from the top wall and sprinting into the trees. She didn't wait for his reply.
Clutching his wooden cross, Oz scrambled down the side of the wall and raced after his friend. His best effort still left him trailing farther and farther behind the streaking Slayer. As he approached the fraternity house, he too could hear the chilling screams. His pace slowed momentarily as he took a deep breath and fleetingly wondered if this was a good idea. He wasn't a superhero and the musician was realistic enough to know his own fragility. Oz started to sprint again when he saw Buffy disappear through the wide open front door. Tucking his chin, he put everything he had into racing towards the possible death trap. Even though he worried about his safety, the young man didn't want his friend to face whatever danger was in there on her own. Sprinting past the dead body on the grass, Oz scampered onto the porch and then into the building. He skidded to a halt with a shudder. The large open room was splattered with red. The walls, furniture and even the ceiling dripped with crimson. Seven dead bodies were discarded on the floor and couch and Oz had to fight to keep from gagging at the sight. He was sure he would be having nightmares of the room for years to come.
An individual shout and a large crash drew him further into the fraternity house. Passing through another archway, he was just in time to watch Buffy shove a broken leg from a shattered table into the chest of a blood covered fledgling still dressed in her funeral best. His boots scuffed through the dusty remains of another vampire as Oz moved towards the hysterically crying college guy who cowered in the floor behind a recliner. The victim frantically clutched at a tear in his neck and tried to make himself as small as possible. The fraternity brother cringed when Oz grabbed him and hauled him to his feet.
"See if anyone else needs help," Buffy ordered as she started up the steps where still more cries could be heard. She disappeared onto the second story leaving her nervous friend to act the part of the Red Cross. With a loyal determination, Oz set about helping where he could in the wake of the supernatural disaster. The teen might not be an accomplished fighter but organizing the injured and scared was something he could handle.
Oz assisted the injured student onto a couch and checked the two other men in the room. Unfortunately, they were both dead. He returned to the one living victim and pulled off the dress shirt he wore over his dark t-shirt. The teen bunched his make-shift bandage up and pressed it to the guy's injured neck. Thumping footsteps sounded on the steps and three guys and two girls came thundering down in utter panic. Oz whipped his cross up towards them but was shoved roughly out of the way by the larger college guys as they fled towards the closest exit. The teen stumbled against the couch but caught himself before he fell. In the distance, he noticed the far off sounds of sirens approaching at the same time as he noticed a thump and crying in the darkness of the next room.
Moving further into the house, Oz discovered a male vampire straddling a much smaller female victim. The girl was fighting with all her strength to keep the fledgling's mouth away from her neck. Her arm was locked on his neck and she kicked wildly at his body from her trapped position. The fledgling's face was already covered with scratches and a huge gash bled on the side of his head. Debris from a shattered lamp surrounded them. The small girl had gotten at least one successful blow on the demon before it had knocked her to the ground. Stepping over another dead body, Oz jammed his cross against the side of the vampire's head. The blood-crazed fledgling roared in pain as the holy item seared his flesh. The demon released his captive and scrambled away from the attack. He hissed at Oz as the teen placed himself between the vamp and his intended victim. Yellow eyes narrowed as the cowering vampire glanced from the cross to his intended victim. Oz took another step towards the monster. With an unexpected speed, the vampire stood and dove through the nearest window. Oz rushed to the window in time to see the fleeing bloodsucker disappear into the darkness.
"Thanks," the young woman whispered to Oz before she shifted to look at the man beside her on the floor. She rolled the body of her boyfriend onto his back. Tears streamed down her face as she uselessly checked for a pulse. The vampire had laughed gleefully while snapping her date's neck before setting his sights on her, but she couldn't help hoping it had never happened. Her fingers gently brushed his thick hair out of his eyes.
Oz knelt beside the grieving girl.
"We need to get you somewhere safer," he prodded as he nudged her elbow. The teen figured keeping all the victims together would be a safer choice than spread throughout the building where they could be more easily pricked off by any straggling vampires.
The young woman nodded. She touched the dead man's cheek one more time then allowed the younger man to lead her from the room.
In the center room, the shaken female moved to sit beside the pale young man who still sat silently on the couch where Oz originally directed him. The injured brother stared into space with a blank expression and did not respond to the new addition to the room. He was obviously in shock but Oz wasn't sure how else to help him.
Once more, footsteps on the stairway caught Oz's attention. He swung the overused cross back towards the approaching invaders. This time, the victims were not running. They mostly stumbled down the steps in a disjointed clamor.
"Got some more for your collection, Oz," Buffy called with an encouraging smile as she led a clearly dazed fraternity brother towards the couch.
"House clear?" her friend inquired as he assisted another much larger guy with an obvious head wound to find a seat. Looking at the huddled victims, Oz made a mental note to brush up on his first aid skills. Fleetingly, he wondered if the red cross had a training for post vampire attack emergencies.
In response to her friend's question, Buffy stopped. She could hear no more distress cries but an insistent pressure at the base of her skull pricked at her consciousness. It told her that there were still demons nearby. With a nudge from the now almost screaming sounds of sirens, the Slayer decided that she better hunt down the lingering demons before the authorities arrived at the house. They would only complicate the situation. If she was lucky, she could even dust the remaining vampires and escape the fraternity house before the emergency services arrived.
She adjusted her grip on her impromptu stake and headed towards the kitchen. It was the only section of the house that was still unexplored. Buffy checked two doors with no luck. One led to a pantry and another to a mudroom with an exit. Shifting through the kitchen, she came to a short hallway with a half wall separating it from the entrance way. She stepped over another savaged body in order to reach the final closed door.
Silently, the Slayer slid open the door to the basement. A surge in her hard-wired demonic warning system proclaimed that she was on the right track. Another adrenaline rush swept through her body as she shifted her left handed grip on her stake. For the first time that evening, Buffy wished her right hand was healed fully. A shiver of dread that indicated more than just vampires slithered over her neck as she stepped onto the dimly lit steps. She crept down into the darkness of a cellar that more cavern then basement. Her right hand trailed along the cool stone wall as she stealthily moved forward. She heard a child-like voice accusing someone of breaking her grandfather's toy surprise. In turn, an arrogant voice ordered the previous speaker to leave. Something about the second voice nipped at the edge of Buffy's thoughts and her stomach suddenly felt nauseous.
When she paused to convince her stomach not to hurl her supper on the steps, she realized that quiet yet feverish chanting also echoed through the dark and dank cellar. The low cadence filled her with more dread and her vision began to narrow slightly. Despite the anxiety racing through her system, the Slayer crept forward because she knew her duty.
Buffy moved to step around a drained body in her downward path. As she brushed passed the savaged form, she gasped. Recognition finally washed over her. The evil power that pressed at her senses and the face of the dead man clicked in her memory. The now lifeless face on the body belonged to the second man who sexually assaulted her in the alley. There was not way she could forget his cold eyes or the shape of his nose. In her mind, she could still feel his body pressed against her and his breath invading her lungs as he spoke all manner of vile perversions about the fun he was having with her body. Buffy's breath caught and she trembled violently. She felt the coolness of the stone wall against her back as she stepped away in unexpected fear. Rationally, she knew it was just a body but the teen had to fight with herself not to flee back up the steps. Her whole body shook uncontrollably and tears threatened to fall. Panic threatened to overwhelm her. Buffy fought against the threatening flashback with a determined concentration on the sensation of her stake in her hand and the cool stone against her back. It took her a number of heartbeats to force away the horrible memories.
A shout of pain drew her attention from the dead man and her shaky mental stability. The chanting stopped. Forgetting stealth, Buffy clamored down the stairs and into a wide stone chamber poorly lit with two torches. There were a number of unlit torches lining the room but they remained dark due to the desperate haste of the few remaining trapped fraternity brothers.
"Is this a private party or can anyone join?" Buffy inquired as she stopped at the bottom of the steps and surveyed the room. Her voice only wavered slightly to indicate how uncomfortable she felt in the room filled with cloying dark power that attempted to overwhelm her with vile memory and force her mind back into the deplorable alley. The Slayer shifted her weight and cocked her hip in a practiced stance of casual disdain. Even if she didn't feel comfortable, she didn't want her opponents to know it. Mentally, she scrambled to effect the same calm that she posed physically. Her battle spun further from center when she realized the the man confidently facing off the three remaining vampires was the leader of the group who attacked her. Unconsciously, she took a step back towards the stairs and a pathetic moan escaped her lips.
"Ah, Bloody Hell, not you again," Spike grumbled from his position near the opposite wall. He had just dispatched one of the remaining brothers who had fled to the basement in hopes of seeking protection from their powerful guardian. The blond vamp had snapped the young man's neck just as he stopped chanting some plea to Machida. The Brit dropped the lifeless body to the ground like useless refuse and stepped closer to his dark princess who was currently focusing on the sword toting fraternity brother who had previously ordered her to leave. The crazy vampire seemed unfazed by the large weapon being waved in her ridged face but had yet to move to remove the threat from his hand.
For a moment, the three factions eyed each other warily.
Unwilling to wait for someone else to move first, Spike made a snap decision. He threw a grin and a saucy wink at the little blonde predator before attacking the young man with the sword. In the blink of an eye, the sword was clattering to the ground and Spike was hauling his next victim against his chest.
For the first time, fear showed in Tom's dark eyes as he felt himself hauled against the smaller but far deadlier man's chest. Until this point, the arrogant young man assumed that his demon patron would save him. Sharp claws drew tiny pinpricks of blood from his neck where Spike griped his neck. The sharp pain brought the reality of his impending death to the forefront of his mind. The previously unmoved fraternity brother whimpered. He wasn't ready to die.
Spike opened his mouth to threaten his captive's death if Buffy did not move from their escape path but Drusilla beat him to the punch. She giggled and clapped her hands while dancing slowly around the small cavern. She had feasted well on the evil empowered blood of the Delta Zeta Kappa brothers. A warm rush of energy flowed through her and allowed her to move more freely than she had in weeks. It had been the most filling meal she enjoyed since leaving Italy. The pretty vampire was like an excited child. She demanded to be the center of attention and no one would be able to control her antics.
"Oh what a lovely impasse," she cackled as she stopped to stare deeply at Tom. The captive flinched back from the glare of the crazy vampire even though it meant he was willingly moving closer to the vampire at his back.
"Naughty boys who stained Grandfather's prize don't get a toy surprise," she stated seriously as her fangs and ridges faded. If anything, Tom found her human face even more frightening. The soulless certainty of a vicious killer was so much scarier in the eyes of a human over the more animalistic eyes of her demon. She raised one of her nails to Tom's cheek. Like her nail was a scalpel, she drew her finger down his cheek leaving a trail of blood behind it. She delicately licked the blood from her finger with the just the tip of her tongue. "The worm did not deserve Grandfather's blood."
Dru growled once at Spike's captive before she spun to face Buffy. She smiled at the Slayer before bending to pick up the dropped sword. She leaned on the sword as if it were a cane to aid her movement. Her voice became more child-like and less sultry as she innocently took a single step towards the petite blond.
"I love little pussy, Her coat is so warm, And if I don't hurt her, She'll do me no harm." sang Drusilla as she took another swaying step towards the silently staring Slayer. "So I'll not pull her tail, Or drive her away, But pussy and I Together will play."
Drusilla stopped just out of direct reach of Buffy's easy staking distance. She tilted her head and stared so intently into Buffy's eyes that her thrall would have been simple to engage if the demon had attempted to use it. Instead of enthralling the Chosen One with her powers, the vampire instead shared the last part of the old nursery rhyme.
"She will sit by my side, And I'll give her some food, And she'll like me because I'm gentle and good."
Drusilla then smiled gently at Buffy as if trying to win over her affection. Buffy scowled in return at the dark haired vampire dressed in a blood covered gown.
"You really are looney tunes," whispered Buffy so softly and with just enough of a touch of awe that it almost didn't seem like an insult.
Dru solemnly nodded in agreement and lifted the sword in her arms. She shifted the weapon until she was holding the blade and the handle was facing the Slayer.
"Dru, NO!" shouted Spike as he flung his captive viciously against the cellar wall and started towards his lover. Tom crumbled lifelessly to the hard floor as the bleach blond vampire moved to wrap his arm protectively around Drusilla's middle. There was no way William wanted Dru near the well armed predator.
At the same time Spike moved, footsteps started down the steps and Drusilla made her weapon offering to Buffy.
"You might need this for the worm," the vampire stated as she shifted the sword handle within easy reach of the Slayer. Eyes narrowed, Buffy's hand snapped forward to capture the grip of the sword in her right hand. Before she could swing the weapon to strike the vampire before her, demanding voices erupted and ordered everyone to freeze.
All eyes pivoted to the stairs where two Sunnydale police officers dressed in suits stood with their guns drawn.
Protectively, Spike pulled Drusilla back a few steps as his eyes darted around the room and remeasured his best plan for escape. In his eyes, the police offered little danger. Even with their sidearms leveled on him, the police detectives posed no real threat. The now sword armed killer who was still between him and the exit was another matter entirely. The vampire cussed softly into Drusilla's hair before shifting her slightly until his body was mostly protecting her. His eyes darted towards Buffy and was startled to find that she was not watching him. Instead, her eyes seemed focused on the body crumpled in the corner.
Spike found the blond's distraction strange. She didn't strike him as the type to be easily influenced by a dead body. She hadn't reacted in any way but with renewed purpose over the dead bodies when last they faced each other.
Along the other edge of the room, the third vampire edged his way towards the steps as he planned to rush the police officers. The demon skirted a pit with raised stone sides on his slow sneak towards freedom. He didn't know who the blond was near the steps, but he had noticed the way both Spike and Drusilla reacted to her. She was obviously a real threat. He might be a fledgling but he was not a fool. He wanted away from her before she noticed him.
As the two armed Sunnydale officials moved down two more steps, the fledgling decided it was time to escape. He shifted to run at the steps while Buffy's attention seemed so intently focused on Spike's last victim. As he approached the distracted Slayer, her arm and by extension the sword swung in an arc that severed the vampire's head from his neck. She never even turned her head to watch the smooth strike take the demon's head. It had been a reflex action that the Slayer barely even realized she had performed.
"Jesus Christ!" cursed the closest officer as he swung his weapon from the swirling dust to the female with the sword. "Drop that sword. NOW!"
Before Buffy could drop the weapon, a crushing wave of power rushed into the room. The two policemen and the teen gasped painfully. Recognizing the sensation of the suffocating evil, Buffy sobbed and began to shake. The tip of the sword scuffed in the dirt of the floor as fear forced an unexpected weakness into the teen's limbs. The Slayer shifted her attention from the vampires and Tom's dead body to the snake-like demon that had suddenly risen from out of a dark pit along the far edge of the cellar. Machida had finally arrived in response to the pleas of his human follows. The powerful demon appeared like a large scaled man from the waist up but the lower half was a long tail instead of legs. Fearful but regaining her determination, Buffy raised her sword towards the new threat. The tip of the sword wavered in the traumatized Slayer's shaking hand.
A gun shot sounded.
One set of booted feet fled up the steps.
Another shot sounded and the detective who remained in the basement gurgled out a shout as the demon grabbed him about the throat.
"Hey! Wormy! Find your own date!" Buffy yelled as she finally forced her body to follow her conscious directions. She raised the sword higher with a firm grip in both her hands and brought it down across Machida at the point his torso became snake tail. Her Slayer strength carried the strike the entire way through the demon's body. The severed tail flopped once and the demon hissed in agony before dropping lifelessly to the floor.
With tears streaming down her cheeks, Buffy rushed to the side of the trapped police officer. She could hear him coughing and moaning from under the carcass. She shoved the dead demon off his body and towards Spike and Drusilla who were edging towards the steps in hopes of slipping past the distracted warrior. As soon as she realized that the cop was not badly injured, Buffy stood and swung her sword back towards the deadly couple. Once more, Spike stepped protectively in front of his lover. He then froze and lifted his hands out as if to show how harmless he was. It would have been more believable if his hands hadn't been stained with blood from his recent victims. He offered the teen what many would consider a charming smile even as he reached back and took a firm grip of Dru's one hand.
"Do we really need to do this now, Pet?" He took another sliding step towards the steps. "You look right knackered and your little officer needs a bit of attention."
Buffy swiped at the tears that were causing her vision to waver slightly. She glared at the suddenly smooth-talking vampire.
"The naughty boys are now punished, Daughter," Drusilla murmured as she attempted to step around her protector.
Buffy's eyes shifted from glaring at Spike to frowning at Drusilla.
Dru offered the teen another one of her childish smiles that seemed to beg her to praise her for what she did.
"An eye for an eye and blood for blood," Drusilla stated earnestly.
Buffy's eyes flicked from the blood covered vampires to the dead body in the corner. She shuddered once as she remembered the pain and horror the dead man and his friends forced on her. Her eyes swung back to Drusilla's openly pleading face and Spike's wary one.
She was so tired mentally and physically. Buffy feared she wasn't strong enough to face down either of the vampires before her let alone both at one time. Having faced certain death once this year, she didn't feel excited about facing it again. "You're done for the night?" the Slayer demanded more than questioned.
Drusilla nodded.
"Won't touch a soul the rest of the night, Pet" Spike promised.
Exhaustion, sadness, and a touch of nausea swirled inside Buffy's gut as she slowly lowered the tip of the sword.
"Next time you're a shish-kabob, Spike."
"Lookin forward to it, Killer," he replied as he took advantage of the moment of personal weakness in her convictions. The blond vampire swept Drusilla into his arms and rushed up the steps. Although there were a number of police cars surrounding the house and bathing the building in swirling flashes of red and blue, he encountered no resistance as he fled from the massacre.
Sighing deeply, Buffy turned her back on the fleeing vampires. She reached a hand out towards the policeman sitting on the ground and rubbing his bruised neck.
"So, what do you think about our local PCP gang, Officer Friendly?" She inquired casually as if she was asking him how he liked some new flavor of cappuccino.
Detective Ricci took the offered hand and allowed the tiny blond to assist him to his feet. He returned his sidearm to its holder and looked around the room once more. He sighed too. Buffy's eyes followed his progress until her attention was once more drawn to Tom's dead body.
"I think I should have taken more creative writing courses in college if I ever intend to excel at this job."
"I hear rival PCP gangs or animal attacks are all the rage," the Slayer attempted to quip. Unfortunately, it sounded more lost and breathy than snarky. Detective Friendly offered a sympathetic smile while his eyes reflected back a mirrored hint of pain. Buffy's lower lip began to quiver and tears slipped free to run down her cheeks once more.
Antonio stuck a hand in his pocket and searched for the tiny pack of tissues he tried to always carry tucked inside his suit jacket. He pulled one free and offered it to the teen. She took the tissue but instead of using it, she suddenly sobbed. The tissue fell to the floor as the teen felt herself gently pulled into the older man's arms. For a moment, Buffy stood stiffly in the unexpected embrace. The events of the evening finally caught up with the teen. She gave into the tiny crying child inside her and leaned into the comforting hug. Tissues long forgotten, Buffy shook and sobbed into the detective's chest instead.