Chapter One: The Alley, Part 2

[Faith]

The last post from the previous thread was by Willow

::Willow was standing beside Gwen and Andrew::

Gwen: "You are so not alone in the Freak department, we are all..."

::She was interrupted by Gunns scream, she turned to see a huge demon standing above Gunn, about to rip him apart. She ran towards him, holding up the sword Andrew had given her, she stuck it into the demon, it let out a howl, and tried to swipe at her, but she pulled out the sword and stuck it in again, the demon fell over dead::

Gunn: "Are you ok"

::She looked at his wound, he needed stitches - badly::

[Faith]

:: Dawn sits in the darkness of the alley where Connor left her, his plan for the moment working as she had not been spotted. A small smile still played on her lips from watching the spell being cast and the numbers dramatically diminished ::

(At last something is working in our favour)

[Cordelia]

Kennedy felt her knees buckle and slipped into unconsciousness.

:: Just please don't let him turn me::

[VisionGuy]

::Connor saw that the number of demons in the alley had decreased.He didn't know how that could've happen in such a small amount of time.Maybe he missed something while he was slaying the dragon.He looked over to Dawn who was still sitting in the corner like he told her to.She was still safe.Suddenly,Connor sees a vampire walking right towards Dawn without her even noticing.He picked up his sword,ran toward the vampire,and decapitaded him with a big slash.Connor saw the vampire turn to dust right in front of him.He walked over to the corner where Dawn was at.He figured it would be better if he stayed there to protect her.

Dawn:"Hi,I'm back."

[Faith]

:: her gaze was drawn in the other direction when she heard the noise of a sword and Connor beside her, noticing the dust falling to the ground a small gasp escapes her ::

Connor: "You seem to have a knack for saving me tonight"

[Mulder22]

:: Gunn looks up and sees Willow save his hide ::

Willow "Thanks, I owe you one"

:: Gunn trys to get up but can't, he grabs a sword that was lying next to him and uses it to help him rise to his feet ::

"It's gonna take more that to take this brother out"

:: Gunn uses the sword he had and limps over to a pack of demons and starts swinging. He takes out all five of them as demon guts fly everywhere.

[Black Eye Guy]

::Willow watched as Gunn got up and immediately went to fight more demons::

"He's perseverant"

::She said to herself. She turned around ready to fight, when she saw a vampire walking towards her with a huge grin on his face, She stretched out her hand towards him, palm forward::

Vampire: "Navi"

::Nothing happened, he did not go flying backwards like she had expected::

"Fine I'll do this manually"

::She ran at the Vampire, sword in front of her and began to fight it::

[Anita Blake]

Shaking his head to clear it, Xander hopped a few painful steps forward.

Faith: Yeah, as painfully embarrassing and emasculating as this is, Faith, I'm gonna need some help here.

Finally focusing on something other than staying alive and the searing pain in his leg, Xander recognized a familiar redhead lying on the pavement. His worry subsided however, when he saw her rise to her feet and help up a strange brunette do the same.

Faith:Yeah, let's finish the job and get out of here. I've got a tiny uncomfortable hospital bed calling my name.


::Faith transfering her sword to her right hand, grabs Xander and hauls him up with her left::

Xander: "Woah, you put on a little weight there?"

::She grins and starts walking, helping (dragging) Xander along::

Xander: "We should probably head towards the mojo makin' people. I can leave you with some mystical protection and start cleaning up the baddies left."

[Buffy Summers]

:: Buffy saw the shockwave of lightning move through the crowd of monsters, demons and fiends. She smiled. ::

"Score two points for the calvary."

:: Letting Kennedy slink into her arms as she passed out, Buffy passed her off to a nearby slayer, charging her with getting the girl to safety.

She surveyed the scene. Many of the remaining creepy crawliies were retreating, and still others were shrinking from the coming sunrise. Light on the horizon was a good sign for them all. One last stand here should end the battle in their favor. ::

"Spike! I need you to see to the others - protect the wounded and order everyone else to sweep forward. We need to finish this."

:: She pulled out a cell phone, pressed a button, and spoke. ::

"30 minutes."

:: Scooby Gang Saves the World. Again. ::

[Lyri]

::Gwen noticed the wound in Gunn's stomach even as he took on more of the demons. He was bleeding badly.

::Someone yelled the witches name, and Gwen turned to see a brunette with a sword half-helping, half-dragging a man with an eye patch over to where she, Willow, Gunn and Andrew were still standing. The man looked hurt.::

Willow: "I think we need to get out of here. Some of these people are hurt. We need to get Denzel here to a hospital."

::Gwen looked back out towards the fight. Angel, Illyria, the blonde chick, and the blonde vamp were all still fighting, as were the teenagers and another brother. Gwen took a deep breath.::

Willow: "I'm going back in there. Can you look after the wounded?"

::Without waiting for an answer, she zapped an oncoming demon and charged back into the fight, making her way to Illyria, and the two of them fought back to back.::

[Black Eye Guy]

::Willow kicked the vampire she was fighting in the shin, and as it keeled over she cut off its head, then she turned to answer Gwen, but she had already run off::

"Which wounded?"

::She said right before she noticed Xander being pulled along by Faith, he looked pretty bad::

Xander: "Xander, oh my God are you ok?"

::She looked around for somewhere safe, she noticed Dawn was on the ground talking to the guy that had saved her earlier::

Xander and Faith: "We should keep all the wounded together, lets get him over to Dawn."

[Angels baby101]

::Illyria looked to Gwen Who had rejoined the fight illyria quickly took out another vamp then sighed::

"We are going to win now...though we have lost many of our fighters to injuries..."

::Illyria blocked a vampire's fist as he worked to take her down she looked at him with bore and quickly swung the ax turning him to dust instantly Illyria had a slight pain in her stomach where she had been hurt earlier, she sighed a bit then she swung at the nearest demon most of the vamps had retrieted due to the comming sunrise she supposed.::

[Mulder22]

:: After dispatching a group of demons Gunn comes face to face with an uglier than normal vampire. He looks at the vamps feet and notices that they are cloven. It must be a very, very old vampire. The vamp swings at Gunn, but he ducks out of the way. Gunn punches the vamp in the stomach, but nothing happens. He then sees a piece of large wood lying about 20 feet behind him. He lets the vamp think he is driving him back, but it is only to get closer to the wood. As soon as the piece of wood is near his feet, he kicks it up to himself and drives it straight through the vamps heart.::

"Damn, I could do this all night long"

:: As soon as he finished his sentence Gunn passes out, most likely from the extreme amount of blood he has lost.::

[Mesektet Ra]

Spike looked at Buffy, and nodded.

Holding his sword high, ready to defend, he began sweeping through the the vastly retreating sea of monsters.

It was then he felt the the familar tingle at the base of his spine. He turned his head east.

[Oh, bloody hell.]

He turned and worked has fast as he could.

"Move! Let's move! Everyone forward!" He barked.

He surged forward, sword outstretched, and turned in enough time to see Gunn collapse to the ground.

A pit of dread flowered in his chest.

[Oh, damn. DAMNIT. GODDAMNIT!]

"Gunn! GUNN!" He roared.

He turned and raced towards his fallen comrade, swept him up, and hoisted him over his shoulder.

"Everybody! FORWARD!"

[Anita Blake]

::Faith, gently transfers Xander to the ground and looks at Willow::

Willow: "He's in some pain, but if we get him some help he'll be fine."

::Surveying the others that were standing there, she noticed that Gunn was in pretty bad shape and the others were nearly exhausted::

Willow: "Xander's not the only one who needs medical treatment. And everybody, especially the one's without super-strength need some sleep. We're all exhausted."

::Turning to look at Gunn she frowns::

Gunn: "Hey, man, who'd you let shish-ka-bob you?"

::Grinning slightly at him, she turns and surveys what's left of the battle. Seeing that many of them were either in bad shape or getting there::

Under her breath: "I sure hope B. knows what she's doing..."

[Lyri]

::Gwen turned as the blonde vampire started yelling for everyone to move. Looking behind him, she could see the sky turning a familiar shade of red. The sun was coming up.

::Looking around, Gwen spotted Angel still fighting a demon not far from her.::

"ANGEL! We gotta get out of here! The sun!"

::She zapped another oncoming demon, then took out the one Angel was still fighting, giving him the chance to run. Gwen grabbed Illyria by the arm, somehow knowing that the blue chick would want to keep fighting, and dragged her along as she followed the blonde vamp, who had an unconscious Gunn hoisted over his shoulder.::

[Angels baby101]

::Illyria looked shocked as Gwen started running and pulling her along..trying to catch up with some vamps who were running away... As they were catching up a demon stepped out infront of them bigger then the one that threw Illyria earlier the demon went to swing at Gwen Illyria pushed her out the way and grabbed his arm trying to swing him agianst the wall he picked her up and smiled before slamming her agianst the wall a few times before letting her drop back to the ground... Illyria groaned a minute and tried to get things back into focus. She stood up agian in more pain but not willing to accept it She threw a punch at the large demon all he did was look at her.. Illyria looked around for a weapon she saw a stake an picked it up quickly shoving it into his body he groaned in alittle pain but smiled all the same..::

"I need a bigger pointed weapon."

::She sighed as he took the stake out and let it drop to the ground before grabbing illyria agian and holding her up to the wall once agian, she was really getting tired of walls lately..::

[buffetofsporks]

:: Andrew surveyed the scene. The sun was rising and only a few small scuffles remained, as opposed to the epic battle that had started only a few hours earlier. Andrew noticed one of the slayers lying on the ground about twenty yards away from him. He went to inspect the injured girl ... but soon realized that it was too late. She was cold. He looked up for help. ::

"Um ... I-I don't ..."

:: He felt the girl's neck for any sign of a pulse ... there was none. Andrew stood up and looked around again. He quickly realized that the demons were not the only casualties of this particular battle. At least ten girls lay motionless on the cold asphalt, each bloodied and scarred from the night's events. Andrew quickly ran over to one that, fortunately, was moving. He quickly helped her up and ushered her away from the scene. ::

[Andy]

:: He looked behind him and saw the sun coming up. He nodded. ::

Gwen: "Thanks."

:: He ran into the shadows. ::

"This battle is done."

:: He studied the battle, seeing how many of his allies were left, and how many demons there was left. The light from behind the alley was getting brighter and decided to stay in the shadows until everything was clear. ::

[Buffy Summers]

:: The remaining demons had either been slain or fled the scene. Buffy finally had time to take a deep breath as she looked around at her fallen comrades. With a heavy heart, she wiped her blade clean and walked to wear the wounded and walking wounded had gathered. Nearly all of them had been injured in the battle.

Buffy looked at her watch, and as she did so a fleet of black SUVs pulled up to the alley. A young man in a dark suit jumped out of the lead car, as others got out of the following cars. "Sorry to keep you waiting Ms. Summers." ::

"Right on time, as usual David. We'll need some help getting the wounded into the cars. See to that, then collect the..."

:: He didn't let her finish. "The ones who didn't make it, I understand."

Workers began helping the battle weary soldiers into the cars. ::

Buffy looked to Angel and Spike: "Don't worry - sun-proof glass."

[Mesektet Ra]

Spike felt the sun begin to sear his skin, and smoke began to rise from beneath his coat. His skin began to crack and boil.

He roared, loud and throaty, and dodged headlong into one of the black SUV's, depositing Gunn in the seat next to his.

He breathed a sigh of relief, and took a minute to check his injuries. His ribs were severely compromised, his face bleeding from a dozen or more slashes. He felt like he'd been run through a shredder.

He looked up, and noticed the driver. A small, thin brunette, who was staring into the nothingness of the rearview mirror in his general direction. She smiled at him.

"Hello, Mr. Spike. You look a little worse for the wear this morning."

Spike, panting, covered in blood, cocked his head to side.

"And just who the bloody hell are you?"

[Black Eye Guy]

::Willow watched as the demons fled the battle scene, and it was only when there were gaps in the demons that she noticed Kennedy, She was unconscious and being brought towards her by a slayer, She ran forward as the slayer placed her on the ground.

Kennedy: "Kennedy!, Kennedy, can you hear me"

::She did nor reply. David's workers began lifting the injured into the cars, she called over one of them to help her get Kennedy into one of the cars, she got in beside her, and just looked at her::

[VisionGuy]

::Connor walked Dawn to one of the vans.He was holding her to make sure she didn't pass out from the pain that the slashes on her back were causing her.He smiled at her and said

"Everything will be okay now.It's over."

::He handed Dawn over to a young slayer who seated her inside the van.He knew that Dawn would now get the medical attention that she needed and that she was in good hands.

[Buffy Summers]

Each of the SUVs was staffed with a medical professional who tended to their immediate needs, supplies and instruments stored in specially designed compartments in the roofs.

They drove east, sticking to back roads, hard and fast.


:: Buffy looked at her watch again. It would take them an hour to get to their destination. Just enough time to catch up and make sure everything was ready for their arrival. She reached into the glove box, and placed the earpiece over her head. ::

"David, can you read me?"

:: The voice came back loud and clear. "I'm here. The passengers are all on their way. We're just finishing up here at the site. Will you be returning to England tonight?" ::

"No, we'll be staying at the US site for now. I'll let you know if that changes. Everything ready for our arrival?"

:: "Medical personnel standing by. Accomodations have been prepared, chow will be ready when you arrive." ::

"See you there."

:: Buffy leaned back in her seat. David's military background gave him a coolness under pressure that served him well, if it made him a bit formal. But he was all she could ask for in an assistant, keeping things running like a well oiled machine.

She looked into the backseat. Dawn had been bandaged and was sleeping peacefully. Buffy couldn't help but be proud of her - she had handled herself well. Even if she never would tell her that. ::

[Angels baby101]

::Illyria looked around seeing gwen sitting beside her in one of the SUVs she had a slight headache but didn't complain she hated feeling pain but she was too strong to admit it::

"We won the fight. Whats to come next?"

::Illyria looked out the window as tree's went by::

[Mesektet Ra]

Spike felt the weariness of sleep begin to overcome him. He'd been bandaged, along with Gunn. He still had no idea who the woman was and where she was from, but they were on the road now, and he was too weary to ask.

Gunn was still out, but he'd been tended to, she Spike no longer worried for his safety.

Through the necro-tempered glass, Spike watched the sun rise, full the bright, over the world.

He smiled to himself. [This...this is good for the soul.]

And he slept.

[buffetofsporks]

:: Andrew sat in the lead van with Giles beside him. Their driver was talking on a walkie-talkie to one of the other Scoobies, he supposed. There was a young woman being treated near the back of the vehicle ... they didn't think she would make it. Andrew looked over at Giles, who was cleaning his glasses, as usual. ::

Giles: "I never get used to it ... the blood and the dying and all that. It almost makes me think the job we're doing isn't worth it. I don't know how Buffy handles it ..."

[Black Eye Guy]

::Willow sat in the back seat of the Van. A paramedic was looking after Kennedy::

Paramedic: "Will she be ok?"

::The paramedic nodded at her and continued to check her out. Willow sat back, a little more relaxed. That’s when it hit her she was exhausted, and she only really realised it now, every part of her body was aching, and there was a cut on her face, the paramedic had not noticed because he was to busy with Kennedy. She took one of the cloths from his equipment and held it to her face, she then stared out the window. They had won::

[Lyri]

::Gwen gazed at Illyria as the the blue goddess looked out through the window at the rapidly rising sun. The two of them were alone in their SUV, except for the driver, and Gwen had no idea why she always seemed to find herself with Illyria. The two of them had formed a weird bond during the fight, and she didn't know how long it was going to last.::
::Gwen sighed.::

Illyria: "I don't know what we're going to do now. The blonde seems to be the chick-in-charge. I guess we just follow her and see what happens."

::It had never been Gwen's intention to become so involved in this. She had expected to help out Angel and his people, but now she was being dragged along for the ride.

::Taking her eyes away from Illyria, she looked out through her own window.::

"Yeah, like I really have anything better to do."

[Anita Blake]

::Faith sighed and leaned back into the seat of the SUV::

(I'm just glad that its finally over)

::Looking over at the semi-unconscious Xander she smiled::

Xander: "Hey, Xand-man. You awake?"

::leaning over she whacked him on the shoulder. Upon hearing him groan her grin got bigger::

Xander: "Hey, its good. The pain means your not dead yet!"

::settling back on her seat again, her mind returned to the battle they had just fought::

(He'll be allright. He's stronger than he looks and even having only 1 eye hasn't slowed him down. I hope the others have been as lucky.)

::She frowned and started looking around for someway to contact one of the other SUV's::

Out Loud: "The hell with this waiting, I want to know what's going on now."

::Leaning over to the left, she gasped with pain::

Out Loud: "Ow. Ow. Ow. Ow. That ugly demon must have thrown me harder than I thought."

[Black Eye Guy]

::Willow sat there as they drove on. Her mind started to wander, she was wondering how the others were doing, if they were all safe. She reached her mind out to the SUV in front of theirs, she could sense Xander and Faith, Xander was in pain, his mind was all over the place and she could not contact him, so she said to Faith telepathically::

Faith: "Faith? Can you hear me?"