FIC: The Nightstalkers (19/?)
"Distract the nurse; I'll check the computer for recent admittances."
His companion nodded as they strode into Sunnydale General's brightly-lit reception area. "Sure."
The moment his companion had diverted the receptionist's attention, he ducked behind the desk and started typing in his target's name. "Psych ward?" his eyes widened. "I always thought he was wound tight, but no way?"
Hearing his companion returning, he grimaced and hurried out from behind the desk, grabbing the woman's arm at the elbow as she and the receptionist turned the corner heading backing into the reception area. "Come dear," he flashed the elderly office worker his most charming smile, "they just called from the office, I know where he is."
The moment they were out of ear-range, his companion turned to him and glared. "Lose the grip."
"Sorry." He released the grip even as he wondered about touchy women. "He's in the psychiatric ward."
"He is?" his companion looked bemused. "But what about her?"
"No mention," he replied. "My guess would be she's dead, and her death caused some sort of breakdown. Either that or demon attack."
"Optimistic," his companion snarked. "Like that in a man."
* * *
"Slayer," Holtz growled as he stalked beside the sultry Colonial, her eyes smouldering with fire that threatened to engulf the hushed graveyard as they made their way through it, "the information you got will more than likely lead to a trap."
"Probably," the loose-limbed beauty grunted.
"Then perhaps it would be expedient-."
"You don't wanna be here, don't let the door hit you on the ass on the way out, but this prick thought he could hurt Wes, I failed one-, no-one gets away with that!"
"As you wish," Holtz shrugged. If nothing else, the girl had the virtue of loyalty, even if she allowed anger to cloud her reasoning.
Suddenly the brunette stopped. "That's him ahead?"
Holtz glared through the encroaching darkness, finally focussing on a tall, hooded figure with broad shoulders and stood by a crypt. "It looks like the drawings I have seen." He looked towards the crypt, noting its slightly ajar door. "It's a trap," he decided. "That crypt is like as not filled with vampires."
"You've got those two shotguns you grabbed before we left the house," Faith tersely replied. "You deal with 'em. I'll take Vocah out."
"Bu-." Before he had chance to comment the Slayer was streaking through the hushed graveyard, long mane flowing behind her. "Fool girl," he muttered as he turned towards the crypt.
* * *
"Hey asshole!"
Vocah had barely begun to turn in her direction when she left her feet in a chest-high dropkick that had him staggering but not falling. For her part Faith landed in a feet apart crouch, dropping into a deeper squat when her rival's scythe slashed the air above her head.
Faith straightened into a heel kick to the belly that Vocah somehow slid inside, his scythe jabbing down, its blunt end crashing into her inner knee with the sort of force that broke normal human's bones. Not Faith's though, she just took the pain through gritted teeth and stepped into her rival, her elbow cracking up and into his neck before back-flipping out of his scythe's range and spring-boarding off a gravestone to her left and into a roundhouse kick.
At least that was the theory. In fact Faith had to arch above a scythe swing then grunted in surprise when Vocah grabbed her ankle and power-threw her at the ground.
The moment her shoulders hit wet grass, she was rolling backwards and to her feet. "You hurt my Watcher mother-fucker," Faith snarled. "Last thing that did it died fast. If you're lucky and don't struggle too much, maybe you'll go the same way."
Vocah didn't answer, maybe he didn't want to, maybe he couldn't physically speak, Faith didn't care much. All she knew was the silently watching demon had hurt one of the few people she'd let herself care about and no-one did that, not without paying a damn heavy price. Anger burned through her veins as she charged the demon, anger she forced down so not to allow it to control her, anger she honed into a cold determination to not allow this shit-head to stand in her way.
Vocah sidestepped her, boot coming up in a kick to her torso she blocked on her forearm. Ignoring the bruising pain, she spun into a spin thrust kick to the demon's torso only for Vocah to lean backwards at the wait, her kick only pummelling mid-air.
Her right hand on the other hand, that grabbed the demon's left calf and yanked it from under him, knocking the monster off balance. The moment her feet touched earth Faith shot out a thrust-kick that caught Vocah high on the shoulder, spinning him like a top.
Faith leapt in close again, hammering an elbow into the side of her enemy's head before grabbing him around the waist, lifting him up, and dumping him on the ground. Her eyes widened as the demon swung up his scythe and dived into another back-flip that turned into a hand-spring that sent her somersaulting through the air, over the demon's slicing scythe and landing behind him, her foot shooting out in a back-heel kick to the small of her rival's back.
The demon stumbled to one knee. Before he could get up Faith drove her knee into the back of his knee, reached over him, grabbed the scythe that Holtz said was the only weapon known to kill Vocah, ripped it from the stunned demon's hands and quickly decapitated him.
"Oh such a pretty fighter."
* * *
Wesley gasped as a light seemed to explode just front of his eyes. Blinking his eyes clear, he looked around, surprised to find himself in what appeared to be a hospital bed, surrounded by doctors and nurses. He looked down at his arms, bemused to find they were fastened to the bed's side by velcroed restraints. "I say, what's going on here!" he demanded indignantly.
"Mr. Whyndhm-Pryce-."
"Xander!" he caught sight of the grey-streaked youth in the doorway. "Tell these dozy buggers I'm alright!" His brow furrowed as he recalled the last thing he could remember. "Oh bloody hell, where's Amy?"
"She's in the next room," the young man strode in and somehow managed to persuade the medical personnel to leave. "But she's coming around."
"Ah," Wesley heaved a relieved sigh. His eyes narrowed. "And Faith, where's she?"
Xander shuffled uncomfortably from foot to foot. "Damn it, Xander. Where's my Slayer!"
"Yeah," Wesley's heart skipped a beat as he heard an uncomfortably familiar voice, one he'd hoped to never hear again, coming from the door, "I was wondering that, real careless that Wesley, losing your Slayer. What would dearest daddy say about that?"
* * *
Faith turned towards the speaker stood about fifty feet away, her lips parting in an unconscious approving smirk. "Not bad."
The honey-blonde was a couple of inches taller than her with locks that hung down just past her shoulder and liquid blue eyes. Real curvy too, all those curves accentuated by what was practically a stripper's outfit of barely covering her ass pleated and red and black checked skirt, lycra ruffled white top that covered her boobs and nothing else, and checked tie that hung down to the babe's belly-button. Finish that off with a pair of black nylon stockings and Faith was left with the distinct impression Sunnydale vampires were both sluttier and nuttier than the average undead. "Who the hell are you?"
The girl let out a high-pitched giggle that had chills running up and down Faith's spine. "They call me Death's Bitch," Faith tensed as the vampire raised a palm, wary but not that worried considering the distance between the two of them, "but you can call me Tara or 'Please Don't Hurt Me'."
"Shit!" Faith's eyes widened as a cascade of white energy exploded out of the vampire's hand. Instinct had her diving to the right. "Aaaaaaah!" Faith screamed as a scorching pain bombarded her right side from her shoulder down to her toes, twisting and contorting her frame as sweat cascaded down her body. "Jesus," she gasped as she looked up at the approaching vampire and apparent witch.
"Jesus isn't here," the witch giggled, "just us bunnies."
"Aaaah," a groan escaped Faith as she saw Tara raise a hand and forced herself to roll not away but towards the witch, the blast of energy slicing through the air above her. Faith bounded up and caught the vampire with a left hook to the jaw that snapped her rival's head to the side. Faith followed up with a right uppercut, the punch not quite full power thanks to the pain ravaging her side but still enough to snap the demon's head back, then ducked under a retaliatory back-hand only to get a knee to the chest that turned her legs rubbery. "Owwww!" Faith grunted when the demon grabbed her by her flowing mane, any joke about only chicks pulling hair was forgotten when the crazy bitch yanked her upright and drove her fist into Faith's throat.
The air roared in her ears and tears filled her eyes as she fell like a stone, the vampire kicking a field goal with her ribs before stamping on her face. Faith wheezed and gasped for air, barely moving as another energy bolt hit her, hitting her like a lightning bolt. Blood oozed from her nose and mouth, ears pounded as she contorted and writhed helplessly, the laughing witch stood over her.
* * *
Holtz sighed as he flung open his leather duster as the crypt doors was also thrown open, a reluctant smile tugging at his lips as he raised the shotguns. This was a godless time, but it had such wonderful weaponry to recommend it.
The guns bucked in his hands, the first two vampires out of the crypt hitting the ground with screams as he blew away their knees. His smile grew, let them scream, as he drew a bead on the next creature through the door and shot it in the chest, once he'd finished shooting them it would be a simple job to stake what was left.
The fourth and fifth took rounds in the knees, Holtz cackled as he stopped some twenty feet away from the crypt opening and waited. His world turned to blood red as Angelus leapt off the crypt roof and at him, his guns swinging up to catch the murderous demon high in the chest and shoulders, twisting him like a spinning top and depositing him in the ground in a moaning heap.
He started towards the demon, murder of his own on his mind. And then he saw the Slayer fall, the godless witch making the young girl scream and scream. "One day Angelus!" he promised as he spun away and charged to the girl's aid, firing at her assailant as he ran.
"Aaaaah!" The female vampire screamed, his first shot shredding the honey blonde's shoulder, the second taking her in the back as she staggered away.
"God, will you fail your servant now?" Holtz cursed as his next shot missed, cracking a gravestone to the retreating demon's left, then his guns clicked empty. Stopping by the brunette's writhing form he looked down and grimaced.
The young warrior's beautiful features no longer looked like they'd been sculpted by a Michael-Angelo, more like a first year apprentice with no heart or understanding of the art. Her nose was flattened against her face, both eyes bludgeoned shut, and her jaw and left cheek hideously swollen, and even all that damage was hidden under a crimson mask, blood sticking to her face and hair as her ragged, torn clothes seemed to smoulder and her right arm hung unnaturally.
Holtz crouched and scooped up the Slayer, cradling the moaning girl in a similar manner to which he'd held Daniel Jr. and his sweet Sarah.
Holtz tried very hard not to think about that as he strode through the graveyard, ignoring the Slayer's whimpers.
* * *
"Hey Wes."
Wesley forced his eyes open at the sound of his Slayer's voice, orbs widening at her condition. The brunette bombshell was dressed in a hospital gown, her face battered and holding herself gingerly as she sat in a wheelchair pushed by Jonathan, Xander, and Holtz by her side. "Faith," he forced a smile, "I assume I have you to thank for my wakefulness."
"Holtz," the Slayer half-winced as she turned her head to look at the 18th Century warrior, "helped."
"One could not hope to fight beside a truer warrior," Holtz commented. "She does you credit."
"Thank you," Wesley felt his smile becoming yet more forced. Really how much of who Faith was, was down to him? How much had he really changed from the uptight geek he'd been at the Academy?
Faith shot him a puzzled look before glancing up and towards Xander. "We need a new base."
"Yeah," Xander nodded. "I've got an idea on that."