Thrashing around, Faith yanked one leg free. A vampire howled when her booted foot shattered his nose. At the sound, the hands pawing and pinning her arms turned punishing. Faith gasped and bit back cries of pain as blows rained down on her stomach and head.
"Enough." The voice wasn't loud; however, the vampires around her froze at the sheer power inherent in that single word.
Faith couldn't hold back a whimper when she was pulled upright and shoved to the front of the crowd. "Looking good, Dick," she choked out, swaying in her captor's hands.
The Mayor's thin lips twitched at her bravado.
By no stretch of the imagination could Faith call the expression a smile. She shuddered at the sheer evil enveloping the demon in front of her. New agony crested inside as she peered into his flat, oval-shaped irises. Whatever Richard Wilkins had been, he was no longer. Only a flicker of humanity remained.
Striding slowly forward, the Mayor stretched out a hand and caressed Faith's battered cheek. "I'm afraid I can't say the same for you, Faithy."
The cold Faith had felt before paled at the touch. Her stomach twisted and heaved as the contact sent a surge of pure terror through her. Faith hung limply, overwhelmed by the need to scream in fear and the evil pounding at her Slayer senses.
"Look at you. Dirty, tired, and dressed in…" Wilkins paused, grimacing at her oversized and rumpled clothing. "I had such a lovely dress picked out for our special day." He cupped her chin, forcing her to look at him. "This…today," the Mayor waved his free hand, "was supposed to be your day as well, Faith."
Tears stung Faith's eyes at the disappointment and regret in the familiar and fatherly tones. She opened her mouth, an apology on her lips.
The hand under her chin tightened brutally, stopping the words. "Now, you'll just be part of the tailgate party." Releasing her, the Mayor stepped back, straightening his sport coat. "She's all yours," he told the assembled vampires.
Buffy jogged up the stairs – and stopped. The door was locked with a latch and padlock. Picking up the lock, she read the name at the bottom, "Masterlock. Isn't that the commercial where they use a gun and the lock won't open?" She dropped the lock and took a small step back before leveling a kick at the door. With a resounding bang, the metal panel exploded outward. The thin latch tore from the door frame. Jumping through the opening, Buffy saw the padlock on the ground, still locked. "Guess we'll never know if a Slayer beats a bullet."
Shouts drew her attention away from the broken door. Crouching, Buffy moved cautiously toward the edge of the building over the library. She paused at the skylight and peered down.
Her entire body tensed, and she bit her lip to hold back a cry. Even in the dark, Buffy could tell the library was filled with vampires. Where were Faith and Giles? She pressed her face to the glass. Scanning the crowded room below, Buffy searched for Faith's familiar curly brown hair or her aggressive fighting style amid the bodies. Nothing.
The glass shifted in the frame as she pressed harder against it. Faith! she screamed through the sluggish link. I'm on the roof. Are you and Giles safe?
There was still no answer, not even a trickle of emotion making its way past the Mayor's overwhelming energy.
Refusing to move until she'd located Faith, Buffy followed the flow of the vampires through the library. They swarmed up the stairs to the mezzanine and crowded against the raised floor near the Special Collections shelves.
There! Buffy stood abruptly, her panic fading. Faith and Giles were holding their own.
As soon as the thought occurred, the situation below changed. "Faith! No!" The words escaped before she could stop them. She raised her hand to break the glass of the skylight. Fear tingled along her nerves. Faith was down, surrounded and held by a dozen vampires.
Before Buffy could go to her rescue, a hand grabbed her arm.
Her foot a blur in the starlit darkness, Buffy lashed out at the figure behind her. She grinned briefly in satisfaction when her attacker groaned and doubled over. The hand dropped from her arm. "Wrong time to get fresh, you bastard. My girlfriend's down there with your cousins, and I'm about to crash the party." Twisting her upper body, Buffy viciously backhanded the vampire. He came off the ground from the force, flying several feet before crashing onto the gravel-encrusted roof.
Buffy didn't follow. She needed to get to Faith. Pulling the dagger from her belt, she spun back to the skylight – and froze.
An invisible fist gripped her throat. She couldn't breathe. In just the short time she'd been away, Faith's situation had gotten even worse. As she watched, hand poised to shatter the skylight, Faith and the Mayor faced off, and Giles… Bile burned her throat. Her ex-Watcher stood against a bookcase, fangs inches from his throat.
All of Buffy's urgency and fear drained away. The faint sounds of the battle below faded. Buffy shivered uncontrollably as the night cooled abruptly. The hand gripping the dagger dropped to her side, fingers loosening on the hilt. The fight was over. They couldn't win.
She watched numbly as the Mayor stepped away from Faith, and her girlfriend disappeared in a swarm of vampires.
For a second, feeling returned as nausea cramped her stomach. Buffy clamped a hand over her mouth, gagging and coughing. Cold, clammy sweat clung to her skin.
No. No! Buffy shouted the word at herself. The inner pep talk drove the hopelessness back slightly and Buffy slowly straightened. She wasn't going to leave Faith and Giles to die alone. Taking a deep breath, she bent her knees and prepared to jump through the skylight. They'd take out as many vampires as they could before the end.
"Buffy, wait," a voice told her.
Muscles still tensed, Buffy turned her head. "Angel?"
Angel stumbled across the roof, rubbing his jaw with one hand, the other held up in entreaty. "Don't hit me again"
"Then don't keep popping up out of nowhere." Buffy spun back to the skylight, not caring that she'd mistaken him for one of the Mayor's vampires. Her focus was on Faith and Giles and making sure they hurt the Mayor at least a little before going down for the last time.
Angel gripped her arm a second time. "You can't go in there alone with just a knife. It's suicide."
She stiffened, prepared to hit Angel harder and get him out of her way.
"You have to wait," he said urgently. "I called Wesley and Xander. They're on their way. Wes can take out the Mayor."
Buffy decided not to knock him off the roof. "I can't wait." She gestured to Faith, wildly swinging a sword at the vampires surrounding her. "There are too many. She's already gone down once. She can't hold them off by herself." Buffy couldn't even mention Giles' fate. "Wes can take out the ones we leave behind." She wasn't letting him stop her again.
"Then we go together." Angel joined her at the glass. His voice was deeper than before, a slight lisp marring his speech.
Buffy's quick glance confirmed the presence of fangs and an inhumanly cold smile.
An answering smile spread across Buffy's face. "Together." Brandishing her knife, Buffy jumped onto the skylight.
The hands holding her arms yanked Faith back. She stumbled then regained her feet. No way. She wasn't going down like this. Straining her muscles, Faith jammed her right foot against the floor and shoved. It wasn't much, but it gave her just enough leverage to hurl the vampire holding her from behind over her head.
His scream mixed with her own hoarse battle cry.
There was no thought, only movement. Lashing out with fists and feet, Faith gained a small buffer between her and the nearest vampires. Locked into a defensive stance, she frantically scanned the ground for a weapon. Tables, chairs…Nothing close. Her eyes narrowed. "Well, boys, it looks like one of you has to share. I need something sharp and pointy." Meeting the yellowed eyes of a vampire to her right, Faith grinned. "You look like the sharing sort."
His eyes widened, the tip of the sword in his hands dipping.
That was just what she needed.
Faith dove forward, hitting the ground in a tight tuck and rolling into the vampire's legs. He crashed down, and the sword clattered to the floor. Not even pausing to look around, Faith snatched up the weapon and jumped to her feet. As she swung the sword at the nearest vampire, the skylight rained fragments of glass and two figures dropped through.
The action caught the attention of the vampires around her. Not waiting to see who had joined the fight, Faith swung her sword in a hard arch. Dust scattered in its path as her blow decapitated two vampires.
A quick glance at the center of the room showed Buffy and Angel, back to back, taking on a crew of the Mayor's vampires.
Her perusal was cut short. Ducking a knife thrust, Faith swept the legs of her opponent. As he fell, she made short work of taking his head. More dust marred the old carpeting.
Faith spun toward the mezzanine. Giles was still alive – barely. He slumped against the bookcase, blood streaking his face and neck. Buffy was on her own for now. Using both hands, Faith used her sword like a baseball bat. Some swings took the vampires around her out of the fight for good. Others went down only momentarily. She didn't care. She had to get to Giles before it was too late.
Arms aching and trembling with exhaustion, Faith finally cleared a path to Giles. She moved right below where he stood. "Giles, come on!" She held up her hand to help him down to the main floor.
"I must say," Giles panted as he mostly fell from his raised position to a spot next to Faith, "I have never seen a lovelier sight."
Faith grinned as she wrapped her left arm around his waist. "Flattery'll get you whatever you want," she answered. She didn't have time for more. Vampires surged around them. Concentrating on keeping them in one piece, she held off the attackers.
Her companion had other plans. Giles shifted against her, forcing her slowly toward the middle of the library. "We need to get to Buffy. We stand a better chance together."
Not bothering to point out they were still outnumbered and lacking a weapon to kill the Mayor, Faith altered their course. About halfway to their destination, she realized it was too easy. The vampires were helping them, driving them toward Buffy and Angel. She slowed down. A wall of vampires pressed forward.
Cursing, Faith let them dictate their route. Minutes later, she stood with her right shoulder against Buffy's left. Giles swayed under his own power to her left. Angel filled the final space.
The sounds of combat faded. The assembled vampires left a buffer between the remaining Scoobies and themselves; although, they did completely ring the four.
Watching the vampires closely, Buffy dropped her left hand until she could hold onto Faith's right. The contact steadied her, letting her feel through their bond for the first time since waking. Any ideas?
Is it too late to tell Oz we want a spot in the van? Faith's wry mental voice came in loud and clear.
Buffy almost smiled at the suggestion. I was thinking more along the lines of: how do we kill the Mayor?
She never got Faith's reply. A single pair of hands began clapping. Tensing at the noise, Buffy peered at the vampires around them. They moved, creating an opening for the Mayor.
He walked through regally, already playing to his loyal subjects. When he stood only a few feet in front of them, he stopped clapping. "Amazing. Truly amazing." He flashed a wide smile, turning the expression on the first row of vampires behind him. "Did you see how they stood up to you? I mean, outnumbered, trapped, fighting a battle they know they can't win." Shaking his head, Wilkins turned back to the Scoobies.
Buffy sucked in a deep breath. Despite the smile and the complimentary words, his eyes…She felt Faith stiffen next to her, and the other girl's fear encased the wide open link between them.
"It's just too bad I have to kill you now." The Mayor wasn't done grandstanding. "I'd much rather-"
His speech was interrupted by a loud twang followed by a whistling.
Buffy watched as an arrow suddenly sprouted from the Mayor's chest.
Wilkins looked at the wooden shaft in confusion – then laughed. "How pathetic. Even now, you don't understand. I am impervious to your weapons." He shrugged. "No matter. Now…where was I?"
From above them, Buffy faintly heard the sounds of chanting. Wesley. Digging her nails into Faith's wrist with rising hope, Buffy kept her focus glued to the arrow. It glowed for an instant. Then the blue light went out, and she bit her lip to hold back a cry of protest. It hadn't worked.
B! Look! Faith's mental cry had her looking wildly around the room.
The arrow protruding from the Mayor exploded into flames. He screamed, batting at the growing blaze. His actions had no effect. Soon, his entire chest was covered in flickering blue fire.
As Buffy watched, the Mayor opened his mouth. No speeches or threats emerged. A high-pitched keening sound sliced through the air.
The magical destruction continued even as the Mayor voiced his agony.
Buffy's attention wavered as another scream tore through her mind. Not a keen. Not the Mayor. This cry of pain belonged to someone closer. Faith. Spinning, she saw Faith staring wide eyed as the Mayor began to disintegrate from the blaze. Tears ran unchecked down the other girl's cheeks.
Responding immediately, Buffy pulled Faith around, turning her away from the scene and pressing Faith's face into her shoulder.