<see Part 1 for disclaimers>

Afterlife

Red Moon Series, Book 9

Frau Hunter Ash

hunterash@sti.net

www.hunterash.com

 

Part 3

 

Summary: The spell worked but now they have to fight the demons that were attracted by the immense energy from the spell.

Rating:  R

Credits:  Original script Written by Marti Noxon and David Fury

Transcribed by Joan the English Chick (pisces@englishchick.com ).
Transcriber's Notes:

·          I do not own the characters or situations of BTVS, and I claim no credit for the content of this episode. I have merely transcribed what appeared on my screen, with help from the closed captions.

·          I prefer that you link to this transcript on the Psyche site rather than post it on your site, but you can post it on your site if you want, as long as you keep my name and email address on it. Please also keep my disclaimers intact.

·          You can use my transcripts in your fanfiction stories; you don't have to ask my permission. (However, if you use large portions of episode dialogue in your fanfic, I recommend you give credit to the person who wrote the episode.)

I apologize in advance for my lame transcription of the fight scenes. I don't know the names of different punches and kicks. Use your imagination.

 

# # #

 

Buffy coughed, getting to her hands and knees. Razor was stepping off his motorcycle and coming around to where the Slayer was attempting to recover.

 

The Slayer had killed four of the demons and crashed five of the bikes before the blow to her back began really hurting and caused her to move a fraction slower. Taking a heavy pipe along side the head had dropped her for several moments. Now Buffy was fighting to get back into the fight.

 

Before she could get up, Razor kicked her in the back, sending her to the ground with a whimper. He narrowed his eyes as the bright light that had filled the small area where humans were fighting demons faded from sight and he saw two more humans.

 

"Excellent, more toys to play with," Razor grinned. "Stay there, Slayer. Don't worry, we won't kill your friends. Not the girls anyway, we're just going to have fun with them. Kinda won't like it though, some of our parts are a little… incompatible with human women. Leaves them all torn up and stuff."

 

Buffy looked up, biting her lip. Then her eyes widened.

 

Standing between the graves were Giles and Dawn, looking… slightly different.

 

The Watcher and teenage girl turned to stand with their backs to each other, each with a sword in hand. They began slashing as demons tried to reach them.

 

"Kill the men, get the women!" Razor shouted.

 

Giles grabbed Willow and pulled her close. "Run, get everyone to the Box, we'll cover you," he ordered.

 

Willow blinked in surprise. He seemed stronger and faster and Giles hadn't been wearing an eye patch before… his death.  The witch shook her head and looked around.

 

"Buffy!" she yelled, pointing at the blonde.

 

"I'll get her, get the others safe," Giles ordered as he brought up the pommel of his sword into the throat of a demon and then decapitated it. "Dawn lead them!"

 

"Got it, Dad!" Dawn yelled back, reaching for Willow's hand. "Come on guys!"

 

Ethan rushed over and helped Tara to her feet. "God, he's magnificent!" he said softly, watching Giles fighting a demon with a pipe. Sword to pipe and street fighting moves were showing off Giles' considerable training and fighting skills.

 

Giles was dressed in black trousers that were tucked into calf high boots, a black shirt with long flowing sleeves tucked away into ox-blood colored bracers.

 

"Admire him later, come on!" Tara urged, pulling him towards the others as Dawn fought demons to keep them from grabbing Xander, Anya and Willow.

 

Giles started fighting his way towards Buffy and Razor.

 

Razor pulled Buffy to her feet, a claw held at her throat as the Slayer choked.

 

"Okay, far enough, human! You're good, might even be good enough to take me on for a full minute," Razor shouted. "Drop the sword and I drop the girl."

 

"G-Giles… no!" Buffy squeaked, struggling.

 

Giles hesitated but tightened his grip on the sword. "Drop her, coward."

 

Razor laughed but stopped laughing when Buffy jerked her hand back, thumb extended. He dropped the Slayer with a roar of pain and anger, holding his injured eye.  She dropped to the ground.

 

"Buffy, come on!" Giles shouted.

 

"I can't run!" she shouted back.

 

Cursing, the Watcher kicked Razor between the legs and pulled Buffy to her feet. He managed to keep Buffy standing and righted a fallen motorcycle.  Giles helped her onto the seat and climbed on behind her. "Hold this, luv," he said, handing her the sword as he kicked the bike into action.

 

"Not used to this anymore, have a bit of a depth perception problem," he muttered, kicking the bike into gear, ripping up grass on several graves as they tore out.

 

# # #

 

Tara pulled on Dawn's arm. "S-slow down… Willow… can't run."

 

Dawn turned, stopping and looking behind them anxiously as everyone caught up with her. Tara was holding Ethan up and Xander and Anya had arms under Willow's holding her up and running with her. The red-haired witch obviously weak and barely coherent.

 

The teenager was dressed like her father with a similar but lighter sword. She glanced around with a puzzled look. "Are we still in the demon world? Did you guys end up there? Or did we finally end up in Hell?"

 

Xander started to protest they were safe and in Sunnydale again but glanced around.  He could see cars sitting on flattened tires, burning down to mere hulls. Debris littered the streets and some of it appeared to be non-moving humans.

 

"It's the same old good time in Sunnydale," Xander panted. "Come on, let's get inside!"

 

Anya quickly unlocked the door as Xander lifted Willow into his arms.

 

Once inside Xander placed Willow on the sofa and Tara helped Ethan to a chair and went to her wife.

 

"Are you…?" Tara asked anxiously.

 

"Uh, not yet, but I will be," Willow tried to smile and then looked around. "Where's Giles and Buffy?"

 

"They should be on their way here. I mean, this place is NORAD and we're at DefCon One," Xander commented and noticed the confused looks.  "Okay, I so need male friends."

 

"Ethan, are they alright?" Willow asked anxiously and the sorcerer shook his head, holding it with a moan.

 

"You're the one with the direct switchboard to Blondie, not me," he mumbled.

 

"Giles and Buffy MIA somewhere, Spike probably out partying with the demons, and you two looked magicked out," Anya said with a heavy sigh.

 

"I'm too zapped to connect with her," Willow said after a moment.  Tara closed her eyes and concentrated and then shook her head as well.

 

"I can't get through, I'm just getting a lot of pain and confusion," she said softly.

 

# # #

 

Giles skidded the motorcycle to a stop, looking at the street crowded with demons looting, drinking and destroying things.

 

He spotted Razor, now back in control of the demons and streets, held up his arms for attention.

 

"This here is a momentous occasion, the beginning of a new era," he shouted.  "No question, the open back roads and highways have been good to us. But we've got ourselves a juicy little burg here, just ripe for the picking. And I ain't in no hurry to leave!"

 

Buffy leaned back into Giles' arms. "My back hurts. When does the Slayer healing kick in? Anytime would be good. What are these jerks?"

 

"Question one, we'll get you patched up when we get to the shop. Question two, you're alive, that's probably Slayer healing. Question three, they're called hellions, they terrorize small towns and travelers on back roads."

 

"With the Slayer down, the place is ours!" Razor shouted and then he spotted Buffy and Giles.  "Hey alive and kicking after all! Well, alive, anyway."

 

Giles turned the bike sideways, ready to flee. "We've got to get to the shop and regroup."

 

"Not looking too good, though, is she?" Razor laughed as Buffy slumped.

 

Giles felt along Buffy's back and frowned at the sight of blood on his hand.

 

"I don't see you winning too many beauty contests," a voice sounded behind Giles and Buffy.

 

The Watcher turned and smiled, seeing the rest of the gang standing nearby, all armed.

 

"Unless the Miss My Face Fell Off pageant gets going, that is," Xander quipped.

 

Razor got off his motorcycle with several other Hellions and approached the humans slowly. 

 

Anya and Ethan rushed forward at Giles' motioning to them and grabbed Buffy off the motorcycle. 

 

"Get her back to the shop," he said softly. "Ethan, how's the levels?"

 

"Totally tapped," Ethan admitted. "I'll take her. You know I'm no fighter. Take care, mate."

 

"Will do," Giles nodded and looked back at the approaching demons.

 

"Giles, no! We just got you back!" Buffy protested as Ethan lifted her into his arms.

 

"Good thing you're too skinny," Ethan mumbled, turning to head for the shop.

 

Giles gripped his sword in his left hand and narrowed his eye, watching Razor.

 

"Big axe you got there, boy," Razor taunted as the Scooby gang drew closer to Giles and his motorcycle.

 

"The better to cut you down to size, grandma," Xander retorted.

 

Giles kicked the bike into gear and let it spin around, pivoting on his foot. He aimed the motorcycle for the center of the demons with sword raised across his chest.  Being an experienced rider, he knew how to tease a change of gears out of the bike without having to clutch with his left hand. 

 

Razor grabbed one of his minions and pulled the demon in front of him as Giles rushed by, a backward slash of the sword cutting the demon's chest open from shoulder to hip.  The head demon laughed and dropped the bleeding biker demon.

 

Giles pulled and stepped on the brakes, dropping his foot down to pivot the bike once more, sending the bulk of the bike into another demon, sending it flying. The Watcher righted the bike and ducked the swing of a bike chain, slashing with the sword once again.

 

"Wow," Xander said softly. "He's… wow."

 

"That's my dad," Dawn said proudly. "He taught me how to stay alive."

 

"I have a thousand questions, Dawnie. Right now, I think we'd better start fighting and you show us those skills. Here they come!" Willow squeaked as some of the demons turned away from Giles and headed their way again.

 

Razor turned when another one of the demons screamed, going down to Giles' sword.  The demon leader growled and threw the metal pipe he carried. Instead of aiming at the Watcher, he aimed at the wheel of the bike.

 

Tara and Anya screamed when the bike went down under Giles and he fell to the hard asphalt, losing his sword.

 

Razor grinned as two demons grabbed Giles, pulling him to his feet. One hit him across the jaw and the Watcher slumped between them.  Razor turned back and stepped towards the Scooby gang.

 

Tara stepped in front of a swaying Willow and motioned with her hand.

 

"Incindere!"

 

A gout of flame spurted up from the ground between Razor and Xander. The head demon stepped back and looked thoughtful.

 

"So you got a witch in the mix," he commented.

 

"More t-than one!" Tara nodded.

 

"I happen to be a very powerful man-witch myself!" Xander bragged, holding the axe firmly in his shaking hands. "Or… male… warlock?"  He glanced over to Willow and she shook her head.

 

"Plus, we have the Slayer right behind us," Anya added.  "So I think a little quiet moseying, no hard feelings, and I'm sure your demon horde won't think any less of you."

 

Razor shook his head and laughed as two demons dragged Giles up to their leader.

 

"And I've got Long John Silver here," Razor countered. "See, moving on is tricky. My boys came for a massacre and I think you got exactly enough magic between you for a kiddie birthday party."

 

Willow stepped up next to Tara and took her wife's hand. //Buffy's hurt and can't get up. Up to us, baby// she mentally sent to Tara and felt Tara squeeze her hand.

 

"Then you'd be wrong," Willow said firmly.

 

Razor laughed and smacked the back of Giles' head playfully. "Whoa! Well, I better back off! Or you might, what? Pull a rabbit out of a hat?"

 

Anya grabbed Xander's arm with a squeal of terror. "Don't! Don't do that! Why would she do that?"

 

Tara shook her head and motioned for Anya to calm down.

 

Willow took a step forward. "Let him go. We don't want trouble… you don't want trouble."

 

"Of course we want trouble, we're demons!" Razor laughed. "We're really all about trouble."

 

The two demons dropped Giles and moved forward with wide grins.

 

Xander swallowed and felt his muscle tighten.  He saw Willow and Tara's eyes… unfocus slightly as they both began calling up what energy they could after the ritual.

 

Before anyone could move, Buffy somersaulted out of apparently nowhere to stand in front of Xander, facing Razor, a determined expression on her face.

 

"I was really hoping you'd be first," Razor said softly just before hitting the Slayer.

 

Willow winced and wasn't really aware of Tara holding her back and Xander placing his arm out in front of his friend. 

 

Buffy's head whipped to the side but nothing else about the Slayer moved.  She slowly turned her head to look at Razor, only a trickle of blood at the corner of her lips showing that she had been hit hard. 

 

Razor's eyes narrowed and the demon threw a hard right at Buffy's head only to have her stop his fist in mid-swing with her smaller hand.  The demon tried to follow through with the blow as Buffy looked up at him, unmoving.

 

Suddenly, the Slayer's fist shot out, hitting Razor twice across the bridge of the nose and she followed through with a kick between the legs. The demon dropped to the ground.

 

"Does this mean we win?" Anya asked, everyone watching the other demons as they looked at each other, their expressions uncertain.

 

The demons turned and attacked with a shout.  Buffy kicked one demon back and blocked another demon's weapon, kicking him in the stomach. 

 

A demon decided to focus on Xander and the young man blocked a blow from a bat with his axe and hit the demon across the jaw with the handle.

 

"Get Giles!" Buffy shouted as she blocked another punch and returned one of her own that connected. Another punch and she turned to the gang.

 

Tara was struggling with a demon but holding her own by sending fire energy through her hands, causing the demon to yelp and pull back.  Willow had loaded a crossbow and stood up, firing.  Buffy saw a demon go down with an arrow in his chest.

 

Buffy was surprised when Dawn ran up to her, a sword in hand. She quickly handed the Slayer the sword and grabbed up a fallen baseball bat.

 

"I know how to fight," Dawn shouted. "Dad taught me."

 

Buffy nodded and turned to fight the rest of the demons and get to Giles.

 

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