Chapter Six: Assault

[Buffy Summers]

While most of the Scoobies were in LA looking for Nina...

Buffy, Faith, Willow, Spike, Gwen, Xander, Giles and Kennedy regrouped in the conference room trying to figure out what to do about Drusilla, but no one had any answers...

:: Buffy stared out of the window, perplexed. She was genuinely at a loss for how to proceed. It was imperative they find out as much as they could about Ansara, and Drusilla was the key to that. But how to do it? ::

"How can a vampire act human again? Without a soul she shouldn't be so...normal..."

[Lyri]

::Gwen looked around at the sea of blank faces and cleared her throat, a still a little nervous in front of the group at large.::

Buffy: "Are we sure it isn't a spell? Something Ansara did to her, to make her not remember?"

::Gwen glanced at Willow, and frowned.::

"Or could it be a reaction to something we did when we captured her?"

[Black Eye Guy]

::Willow sat at the table in the conference room, Her arms resting on the table in front of her, It was a long table with enough space to seat hem all and a good few more. Buffy spoke and then Gwen addressed the grope, Willow could tell she was still a little nervous::

"You mean like traumatic amnesia? Cuz I doubt vampires could suffer from that."

::Then she looked up to Buffy::

"She wont be able to keep acting so normal for much longer, She has just forgot about vampires, but eventually her vampire cravings will start to claw at her. It's totally different to having a soul, that's why she doesn't regret what she's done."

::She played with her fingers on the table in front of her, While talking::

"And I'm almost positive that, The spell I was casting, the one that was interrupted, is the cause of the memory loss, she was fine up till that point, then she was knocked out, after that she doesn't remember anything after being turned into a vampire - by the way if we wanna blame anyone for that spell gone wrong, lets aim the blame at Andrew, he really shouldn't have let himself get thrown threw the air like a ball..."

::She smiled playfully at the rest of the group, she knew it wasn't his fault, but they were at a series stump in their plans, and a little humour never hurt anyone::

[Lyri]

::Gwen chuckled at Willow's humor, pleased that her thoughts hadn't been shot down. This wasn't her world, and these people had allowed her to act like she was part of the team...she admired them for that.

::She spoke to the room again.::

"Okay, let's forget about Drusilla and her convienent amnesia for a while. The main objective is still to find Ansara, right? She started this whole mess, or at least, she's partly to blame, so I'm guessing that it's her that's gonna put it right...or, at least, you guys can put everything right when you find her."

[Kendall Hart]

::Xander was leaning againest a wall, bored as ever. He was trying to figure out what could Ansara do to make Drusilla forget about almost everything. It was like a amnesia but, he couldn't put a finger on how it was done. Than he thought about how a long time ago, Glory had placed her fingers on people's heads and fried their brains. He turned to Buffy.::

"Maybe Ansara fried her brain somehow like Glory did back in the day?" :;He said curiously to Buffy and than he thought about movies and how villians brainwashed people.::

"Its either that or Ansara ate her brain like zombies do..and make the people completely mindless." ::He smiled weakly at Willow and everybody else, knowing that was a ridiclous idea and that he had watched too many horror movies.::

"Either that or she's been brainwashed..":;His voice trailed off as he looked at everyone.::

[Black Eye Guy]

::Willow smiled at Gwen, The young women was confident and strong she had no problem addressing a large group of people she didn't know, most of the people she did weren't here, that confidence also inspired a confidence in Willow, knowing she would be working with someone who was qualified, that plus Willow had experienced Gwen's powers when they had fought together in the ally::

"Yeah but Drusilla is the only key to finding Ansara at the moment, she could be anywhere. if we could narrow it down I could try a locater spell, but as we can't even get that, we have noting except books describing her history..."

::She looked nervously between Giles and Buffy::

"... and a Vampire, that barely remembers she's a vampire - so squat"

::Then she looked to her left to Xander who was leaning against a wall, as he smiled at her, she smiled back::

"Well no, I'm like 99.9999% certain that her amnesia is a result of the interrupted spell, I mean, This Ansara chick is...eh...differnt to normal vampires...

::Again she looked to Buffy and Faith, 8 years ago a young child developed the power to generate peoples worst nightmares, one of Buffy's had been becoming a vampire, It was obvious this would effect her more then anyone else, Faith too, but she wasn't sure if it was a fear of hers::

"...But there doesn't seem to be anything in her history that implies she can suck brains, or ...eat them."

::she smiled at Xander again::

"And there was no time for her to be brainwashed she was hit by the spell and knocked unconscious, then she didn't wake up till she was inside the compound. It would be easier if she had been brainwashed, but the truth is we have no idea what it did to her, it could be the memories were permanently wiped from her mind, and it missed traces of memories about Spike, who she thinks of as William"

::Willow looked down at her hands resting on the table in front of her, she rubbed it, It was a mahogany table, and was incredibly smooth::

[Harley Quinn]

:: Drusilla had just finished her meal, and was in the process of walking around what part of the room she could, studying the cozy area she was given. She wasn't exactly sure how she was supposed to call for an audience, but she was enjoying the solitude at the moment. She catiously sat down on the floor, her feet tucked underneath her, and began to pray. It was probably a very uncommon sight for a vampire, but she still believed herself to be a Catholic, and she wanted to repent for her sins. At least, the side of her that still believed she was human.::

[Kendall Hart]

::Xander nodded as Willow pointed out a few things, he sighed still a bit bored. Usually his mind was on Anya and her death, but..today it was somewhere else. He shook his head.::

"So now what?"

[Black Eye Guy]

["So what now?"]

::The question hung in the air, no one was sure what they had to do next, or what they could do. Willow sat the big table, tracing a circle with her finger on the surface, her eyes looking around to see it anyone would answer the question.

She sat upright in the chair, brushing a strand of hair that had fallen in front of her face, behind her ear. The whole night Willow had been feeling guilty, firstly she was partly responsible for Drusilla memory loss, but secondly, and more importantly, she hadn't been giving the situation the full attention it needed. Something else had been floating around her mind, and she couldn't stop it from surfacing, The letter.

When Amy had arrived at the centre she had a letter which had specifically invited her to the camp, but the letter had been written by Tara, Willow could tell from the handwriting. And this whole night Willow had been going over spells to track down the origin of the letter, she had desperately wanted to leave while interrogating Drusilla, even just read through the letter again. And now the meeting had begun to slow down, people weren’t sure what to do, and all Willow could think about was the letter, up in her room, under her pillow...::

[Buffy Summers]

Suddenly alarms begans blaring throughout the compound. Warning lights flashed and an electronic voice could be heard over the building's sound system.

ALERT ALERT...HOSTILES HAVE ENTERED THE COMPOUND...ALERT ALERT

A panel in the wall morphed into a led map showing the compound, and tiny red dots assaulting the main building from the outside. They were under attack...

[David]

[ As the others stared in shock at the screen before them, David rushed into the conference room and pushed a button on the table's control panel. ]

"You have to see this."

[ A night vision video feed from the outside surveillance cameras was now projected in 3-D at the center of the table. A veritable army of vampires could be seen attacking the walls of the compound, breaching the outer walls and then making their assault on the buildings themselves. Occasionally a vamp would be dusted by the roof-mounted weapons systems, but the sheer number of vamps assured that two were replaced for every one taken.

Suddenly, they caught a glimpse of a familiar tall, dark-haired woman... ]

[Buffy Summers]

:: Buffy clenched her fist at the site of their defenses so easily overcome. ::

"Ansara...but how?"

:: She pressed another button in the control panel. ::

"Initiate ultraviolet defense protocol delta."

A band of ultraviolet light began to emanate from the walls of the main building, dusting any vampire touched by it. But just as the companions were about to allow themselves a sigh of relief...the video feed and wall monitor cut out abruptly as the compound's power was cut.

Seconds later an explosion rocked the compound, shaking the very walls. Unbeknownst to those in the conference room (though they could guess), the vamps had blown a hole in one of the walls and were now entering the building...

:: Buffy gasped as the power went out. How was this possible? Their defenses
were state of the art. But this war had been fought long before the advent of artificial sunlight and automatic stake guns. ::

"Faith, Kennedy, Spike: gather the trainees. Xander, Wood, and Gwen: try to get to the electrics room and get the power back up. The rest of us will make our way to the armory. You all will rendezvous with us there. We'll make our stand there if necessary and then sweep outward from it staking everything that moves as we go."

:: Buffy went to a chest in the corner of the room, opened it, and began to pull out all manner of weaponry - stakes, crossbows, axes, etc. - and handed them out amongst the companions. When they were armed, she turned to them and looked the others in the eye. ::

"Just remember, we've been through worse."

[Mesektet Ra]

Up until now, Spike had been silent. He had stood with his arms crossed, sulking in the corner of the room.

As the alarms began to sound, he pushed himself away, eyes roving the room. "What the bloody-"

No sooner than had the words left his mouth than did he see the image of Ansara was pulled onto the screen. He growled, clenching his fists, his fangs threatening to to slide forward.

Things were happening so fast; he saw the image of a deep red light emanate fro the outer walls of the compound and then, just as suddenly -

Blackness.

"Bollocks," Spike hissed, his eyes adjusting quickly to the emergency lights. His senses were keen, and his body was tensed up a fight. He swept the room, keeping an eye out.

He heard Buffy's voice, commanding, cutting through the tension and the silence.

Spinning, he turned and hauled Faith by the arm, only stopping to give Gwen a look of concern before Kennedy joined them both and all three were gone.

[Black Eye Guy]

:: Willow gasped in surprise as the Alarm went off jolting her from her thoughts, before she even had time to understand what was going on David had rushed into the room and turned on the cameras showing them outside.

Willows eyes widened as she watched, shock literally passing through her body, their defences had been overcome so easily.

The room was plunged into darkness as the power was cut, causing Willow to jump up from her seat. As Buffy started to give out the commands Willow looked over at Kennedy her eyes met hers and she smiled weakly, trying to convey a confidence she wasn't feeling.

Willow took a stake from Buffy, and smiled as she tried to reassure them::

"Yeah but hopefully the result of this battle wont be the compound crumbling into the ground"

::She laughed nervously, before becoming focused::

"Wait what about Drusilla?!? Their most likely here to get her back, and she can't pass through the barrier I put up, they may resort to dusting her if they can't get her and then we loose are only key insight into Ansara!"

[Lyri]

::Gwen flinched when the alarm went off, before looking around at make sure no one had noticed. But they were all too busy looking at the video feed David had brought up.

::When the lights went out, Gwen flinched so much the chair she was sitting on toppled to the floor and she only manged to stop herself following it by grabbing the table in a death like grip.::

One good thing about no lights, no one can see my Awkward-Gwen moments.

::Getting herself back to her feet, she listened as Buffy started to give out instructions, telling her to go with Wood and Xander to fix whatever was wrong with the lights.::

Me fix the electrics? Who'da thunk it.

"Piece of cake."

::She looked around the darkened room, trying to pick out Wood and Xander with her far from super human sight.

::She finally found Xander standing by the wall and grabbed him by the front of the shirt.::

"Come on, Patches, we got work to do."

::Wood was waiting for them by the door and she nodded to him once as she past him, before taking a step back.::

"You know this place better than I do, Xander. Lead the way."

::Just as she was about to follow Xander, Gwen felt someone watching her, and she turned to see Spike, standing by Faith, concern in his eyes as he looked at her.

::She gave him a smile that faltered.:

"I'm a big girl."

But I think I'd rather go with him.

::With that, she beckoned Wood and followed Xander to the electrics room::

[Harley Quinn]

:: Drusilla had been sitting on the edge of the bed in her room when the alarms had gone off. She stood up in a blur of movement, wide, blue eyes searching the room, finally landing on the door right beofre the lights went off. Her eyes quickly adjusted to the dim, emergency lights, but that did little to calm her rising fear. Somehow, she felt danger aproaching. She quickly went to the farthest corner away from the door, kneeling down so that she couldn't be seen over the bed, and began to wish she had called on someone to keep her company. Closing her eyes tightly, she whispered to the empty room.::

"You said you would not let anything happen to me, William, but now I am not so sure that you can keep your word."

[Buffy Summers]

:: Buffy threw David a shotgun loaded with ultraviolet explosive rounds and taking a crossbow for herself, as she led he, Giles and Willow down the hallway. Luckily the Armory was at the back of the compound, which would mean they were moving away from their adversaries if their calculations of thier wherabouts were correct.

The group marched down the hallway. Buffy still pondered exactly HOW this had all happened. Things appeared to be falling apart in their little world - first Giles' "betrayal", then Angel and the others leaving so abruptly, and now their defenses so easily breached, putting them all in mortal danger. Again.

She began to wonder if it was all worth it, keeping the group together this way. Perhaps it would have been better to let them all scatter to the four winds, allowing them a chance at a "normal life". That used to be all that she wanted in the world. Why now had she brought them and herself so far into the other direction?

As they neared a corner, Buffy slowed. ::

"The Armory is just around that corner - not far now."

:: She stopped, and carefully looked around the corner. Ten vampires blocked their path, now between them and the doorway they needed to get through.

She turned back to the others, a solemn look on her face. ::

"Things just got worse."

[Ansara]

Meanwhile, at the other side of the compound...

Ansara watched as her minions flooded into the compound. Another explosion shook the ground. She smiled. Everything was going according to plan. The vermin would never know what hit them.

As the dust cleared, she carefully stepped into the building, flanked by her own personal guards. This was way too easy.

[Kennedy]

::Staring through the darkness, trying to adjust her eyes to the emergency lights, Kennedy looked around and tried to make sense of what was going on.::

We were supposed to be safe here. Vampires aren't supposed to be attacking the compound, never mind geting inside the walls!

::Realizing she was freaking out, Kennedy gave herself a mental shake and forced herself to calm down. She was a Slayer now, complete with everything that implied. She couldn't afford to freak out like the spoilt girl she had once been.

::She turned her attention back to Buffy, just in time to hear her dish out instructions, telling her to go with Faith and Spike to get the rest of the trainees.::

Guess she's expecting a fight.

::But going with Faith and Spike meant leaving Willow behind, something she didn't want to do in a normal situation, never mind when they were under seige. Making her way to the door behind Spike, she stopped in front of her girl, giving her a small smile.::

"Don't worry, Willow. We'll fix it."

::She moved on without another look, knowing that if she stopped for longer, she wouldn't be able to make herself go.

::Kennedy stopped in front of Spike and gave him a nod, signaling that she was ready for whatever lay ahead. She watched as he grabbed Faith by the arm and dragged her behind him, stopping to look at the new girl, the electric Gwen, before he led them out of the room and back into the hallways of the compound.::

Wonder if he realizes he doesn't know where he's going?

[Black Eye Guy]

:: Willow smiled at Kennedy as she spoke, trying to reassure her. Then watched as she moved on. Buffy turned back to Buffy then followed her out into the halls of the compound.

Gripping her stake, and holding it close to her chest she followed the others. The compound was completely different when it was plunged into darkness and a large group of Vampires were over coming their defences do easily.

She stopped suddenly just after Buffy looked around the corner, with a grim expression on her face. ::

Buffy: "They always do"

:: She whispered back. She then looked away from Buffy wanting to know what they would be facing around the corner, She closed her eyes and let her mind wander she could immediately sense it, Vampires, 10 of them. She opened her eyes, crap ::

"We can take them, I could probably hold a few of them if you guys could take the others out?"

[Faith RPG]

Faith had been leaning against the wall with her thumbs in her front pockets. She didn't seem to be listening, but she was.

When the alarms sounded, she pushed away from the wall, grinning. Her grin widened when David showed them why. She had then turned to look at Buffy.

"Like old times, huh, B?" That was all she had had time to say before Spike grabbed her arm and pulled her along behind him.

::When Kennedy joined them, she pulled her arm out of Spike's grip while giving him a questioning look.::

"So, do you even know where we're goin'?"

::She crossed her arms as they they, smirking at him as she let him lead.::

"'Cause it doesn't seem like you do."

[Mesektet Ra]

Spike whirled around the corner, his heightened vampiric eyesight scanning the area for any potiential attackers. He did turn as he said, "I know exactly where I'm bloody going, thankyousomuch. If you remember, Slayer, it's where I handed you your ass earlier. Training compound, remember?"

[Kendall Hart]

Xander was minding his own business and being completly bored until suddenly the lights went out and the loud alarms broke the silence of the gang. He tried to find the doorway to the electricity control panel but, he couldn't see anything in the dark. He frowned as he bumped into something,

"Holy blindness I cannot see anything." Panicing, Xander wandered if Drusilla was okay and let alone Ansara hadn't got to the vampire yet. Finally finding the door way, he ran down the hall trying to remember exactly where the electricity control panel was. "Um...where is that room?" [I]He blinked as he ran in a random direction, such confusion for the one eyed geek. Finally finding a room, he looked around the emergency lights were blinding him.

[Buffy Summers]

:: Buffy nodded to Willow. ::

"Right, on the count of three. One, two, three!"

:: She took a deep breath and turned the corner. She quickly discharged her crossbow into one of the vamps. ::

[David]

[ David followed Buffy into the fight. He still wasn't that used to this - it seemed pretty suicidal - but he was prepared to do what he could to help. He leveled the shotgun and squeezed out two rounds into two of the vamps, watching as they turned to piles of ash on the floor. ]

[Ansara]

As her forces swept into the building, Ansara walked gracefully, confidently down the hall. Her senses told her that their intelligence had been correct - not far now.

Reaching a door, she paused. She turned to her guards.

"Make sure I am not disturbed."

With a triumphant smile, she put a hand on the doorknob and entered.

[Black Eye Guy]

::Willow followed Buffy and David around the corner, she could feel the adrenalin pumping through her as she looked at the vampires, She raised her arm and held it out palm pointing towards the vampires, suddenly 3 of the vampires were thrown against the walls of the corridor.

They were stuck there, one tried to pull it's arm off the wall but it slammed back into place after only a second.

Willow continued to let the power flow out of her and keep the vampires in place. This should give the others times to take care of the rest of them.::

[Lyri]

::Gwen frowned at Xander as he ran blindly down the hallway, metaphorically speaking. it was obvious from where she walked less than a step behind him, that he couldn't remember his way around.::

I don't know where I'm going, either. But we need to get to that room some time today.

::Stopping at a T-junction, Gwen looked up at Wood, then back to Xander.::

"Why don't we go this way?"

::She pointed to the right, down a long narrow passage way, with doors on either side. The hallway to the left dead-ended with a door mark 'Janitor' and another left turn that led to somewhere none of them could say.

::If the right handed corridor led to a bust, they could always retrace their steps.

::Taking the lead, Gwen led the two men down the corridor, glancing at the doors, trusting the men to point out the room they were looking for if she missed it.::

[Kennedy]

::Kennedy ducked her head as Spike snapped at her and Faith. She wasn't embarrassed, but being scolded by the undead tended to make her a little angry. Avioding eye contact allowed her to speak her next words without choking on them.::

Spike: "Right, sorry. I forgot."

::They continued to run towards the training area, attempting to gather the rest of the troops for the big battle.

::It was hard for her to think about the trainees and not realize some of them were going to die.::

But this is why we signed on, right? To fight with everything we had, even if that means we have to give up our lives? I might die in this fight, and you don't see me running for the hills.

::But as she continued to run behind Faith and Spike, everything inside Kennedy told her to run, to run to Willow and hide until everything went away.::

Fight or flight...a Slayer doesn't get that choice.

::She put everything she had into the run.::

[Anita Blake]

::Running down the hallway with Spike and Kennedy, Faith tried hard to keep back a grin::

(This is not the time for creepy humor...)

::She could feel her slayer senses tingling from the influx of evil vampires. Smiling again to herself she shot a look at Spike::

(Man, I remember there was a time when evil and vampire went hand-in-hand and you didn't have to specify what kind of vampire you had. Ahhh, the good 'ol days.)

::Making a sharp left turn, she just kept her self from hitting a wall. Looking at Spike and Kennedy out of the corner of her eye, she prepared to glare at them if they so much as smiled::

"Sharp left turn...gotta remember that wall is there on the way back..."

::Hearing the cries of the SIT's up ahead, Faith put an extra boost in her step. Making sure not to a hit a wall this time she made another sharp left turn and skidded to a halt::

"Alright, girlies. Get your stuff together! We've got hostiles in the compound! Weapons out and get prepared to move out, troops!"

::Looking over at Spike, she grinned::

"I always wanted to do something like this."

[Mesektet Ra]

Spike smiled a tiny smile at Faith, and then just as suddenly, it melted off.

At the same instant, a small group of five or six vampires burst through the doors opposite where the three were standing. They started to wade in, and the girls, confused, started to fight back.

"EVERYBODY OUT!" Spike roared, face melting into his vampiric countenance. He leapt into the battle, yanking a vampire back that was about to drain a girl dry. Whipping the stake from his duster pocket, it was dust in a matter of seconds.

Whirling, he planted a foot in the face of another vampire that thought it could sneak up on him. A quick twist and his other foot collided with the abdomen of a burly looking vampire, knocking him back.

"Get everybody out!" Spike shouted again, this time to Faith and Kennedy. "NOW!"

[Kennedy]

::Kennedy yanked her stake out of the chest of the vampire that had attacked her, and whipped her head around to face Spike before the thing had turned to dust. Spike was telling them to get the girls out.

::She frowned at him, and opened her mouth to yell a refusal, but then Kennedy looked around, at the group of barely trained girls, and the vampries that were baring down on all of them. With her newly heightened senses, she could also feel the rest of the vampires that had somehow breached their perimiters and were currently making their way through somewhere they didn't belong.

::Reaching out lightening fast, Kennedy smashed her fist into the vampire that was chasing one of the younger girls, at the same time grabbing hold of said girl with her other arm. She swung her around and pointed her towards the exit.::

"That way! Go, now!"

::The girl didn't argue, but raced for the door, several of the girls following her lead.

::Kennedy yelled to Spike and Faith over the sound of the fight.::

"We've gotta get back to Buffy and the others! If Ansara really is here, there's only one person she's come for!"

[Mesektet Ra]

Spike whipped in himself in the air, duster flapping behind him as his feet smashed into the face of a female leech. He almost tripped and fell over his own feet as he dusted the vampire, Kennedy's words dumping on him like a ton of bricks.

Buffy.

He roared, the sound almost shaking the walls.

Drusilla.

He whipped a vicious backhand at a vampire trying to take his head off with a one-two punch to the temple.

It hadn't quite dawned on him the direness of the situation - he figured, like just about anything else, that they would defeat the scary monsters with a flick of their collective wrists. Nothing to it, just a bunch of vamps...

Under the charge of a Slayer-turned-vampire.

"DAMNIT!" Spike shouted, his frustration leaking out in a deep, bellowing roar.. "We don't have any bloody TIME for this! Get the girls, and get our arses out of here!"

Setting an example, Spike punched a vampire in the face and grabbed the wrists of two cowering Slayers, propelling them forward to the exit Kennedy had designated. "C'mon! Everybody get the hell out!"

[Anita Blake]

::Seeing the vampires burst in, Faith threw a stake into the heart of one headed straight for her::

(Damn it, I should've sensed them...what the hell is up with me?)

::Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Spike save the life of one of the SIT's and then yell at them to get out. Running over, she hauled the girl to her feet and handed her a stake::

"Get a hold of yourself! This is a stake remember? The pointy end goes in the bad guy."

::Faith pushed the girl to the door where the other slayers were running::

"Go with the others. Stay together, nobody goes off alone to play the hero."

::Faith felt a movement at her back and automatically turned and kicked, knocking the vamp in the head. Another vamp joined the fight and Faith grinned to herself::

(This is more like it.)

::Faith was back-handed by a vamp and stumbled into a wall. Grabbing a sword that one of the SIT's had apparently forgotten to put up, she swung around and jumped over the vamp who had struck her, cleanly taking off its head. Landing, she turned to engage the next enemy, when she saw a slayer hiding behind some mats::

(What the hell part of 'get out' don't these girls understand?)

::Running over to the mats, she grabbed the girl and hauled her to her feet. Before she could yell at her, Faith heard Kennedy yelling and Spike Bellowing. Faith grabbed the girls arm and pulled her to her feet, turning she saw the vamp that she had left, trying to sneak up on her and she swiftly decapitated it::

"Idiot."

::Hauling the girl behind her, she made her way over to Spike, who was pulling a couple of slayers with him as well. Running behind him they made it out the door and into the hall::

"We gotta get these doors shut. Is everybody out?"

[Mesektet Ra]

Spike whirled around. More were coming, he had no doubt. This had yet to begin.

One girl cowered in the corner, whimpering. Spike repressed the urge to smack the crap out of the whining twit, but instead yanked her up by the back of her shirt. She let out a little cry, but Spike didn't bother to care. He hauled her forward and dropped her uncerimonously onto the floor of the hall.

Looking over at Faith, he said, "I think that's all of them. We need to find something to bar these sodding doors."

Thinking quickly, he yanked the sword out of Faith's hand and slammed the doors shut, sliding the sword into the handles. Sighing, he looked sidelong at Faith. "That should do it for now. It won't keep 'em for long, but we don't have time to properly bar these buggers. Let's get the hell out of here."

[Anita Blake]

::Looking around at all the SIT's, some of them cowering, some holding weapons, a few just looking confused, Faith sighed::

(We gotta get them to safety.)

::Hearing Spike talk, Faith looked over at him and was just in time to see him rip her sword from her::

"Hey! What's the big...oh!"

::Seeing him bar the doors with the sword, she grinned::

"I see that all that peroxide hasn't completely wiped away what brain cells you have left...few that they are."

::Sobering up, she listened to him and then nodded::

"Yeah, we need to get the mini's to safety. Some of them don't look like they're gonna be much help. Plus, Buffy's gonna need some back up. You think we should head for Drusilla, and take the SIT's with us? They're probably safer with us than without...and maybe some of that slayer instinct will come out."

::Looking over at all of the girl's in the hallway, she pulled the nearest one to her feet::

"Alright, everybody up! We got to get the hell out of dodge, right now and so everybody get moving. No stopping and no hiding. This is not a drill. MOVE! NOW!"

[Kendall Hart]

::Gwen frowned at Xander as he ran blindly down the hallway, metaphorically speaking. it was obvious from where she walked less than a step behind him, that he couldn't remember his way around.::

I don't know where I'm going, either. But we need to get to that room some time today.

::Stopping at a T-junction, Gwen looked up at Wood, then back to Xander.::

"Why don't we go this way?"

::She pointed to the right, down a long narrow passage way, with doors on either side. The hallway to the left dead-ended with a door mark 'Janitor' and another left turn that led to somewhere none of them could say.

::If the right handed corridor led to a bust, they could always retrace their steps.

::Taking the lead, Gwen led the two men down the corridor, glancing at the doors, trusting the men to point out the room they were looking for if she missed it.::

Xander watched as the woman called Gwen Raiden took the lead ahead, he frowned as he squinted trying to block the light from damaging his only eye left. He followed the woman, hoping Wood got the drift on what to do. " Gwen, I think I remember where it was.."

[Buffy Summers]

:: Buffy ran down the hall, staking one vamp that came at her from the side. Another came at her from the front, but she landed a kick to his chest, knocking him to the ground. Kneeling, she plunged the stake into him and watched the vamp turn to dust.

She watched David reload the shotgun and squueze off a round into one of the remaining free vamps. The final one came at him from behind however, grabbing him in a hold and knocking the gun to the floor. ::

[Rupert Giles]

::Giles had been standing back from the battle, He was not afraid to admit that he was not as "spry" as he had once been, but he wasn't a useless lump. He was a Watcher. It was his job to gather information, some of which he thought best to keep to himself, He didn't think he had made a mistake by not informing Buffy, or Faith for that matter, of the Slayer-turned-Vampire, but he was sorry his friends were feeling betrayed. He looked at Buffy as she fought, guilt building up inside him, but he didn't get a chance to think about it, before David was grabbed from behind by the last vampire, knocking the weapon to the floor.

Giles ran down to the corridor to the vampire, who had grabbed David from behind. Giles gripped the stake he had taken earlier and thrust it deep into the vampire's back, seconds later the vampire was gone.

He looked to Buffy, for some sign of... anything. Anything other then anger, They hadn't had a chance to talk yet, He wasn't even sure what he would say::

[Lyri]

::Gwen jerked around at Xander's voice, telling them he finaly remembered where they needed to be. It was at that moment that Gwen spotted the room they had been looking for.::

"'Bout damn time."

::Gwen twisted the knob and found the door locked, and she beckoned Wood towards her.::

"Little help?" He nodded at her. "On the count of three."

::On the count, both Wood and Gwen reared back on their left legs and kicked out at the door with their right, smashing the handle. The door swung open and Gwen pushed past them men, crossing into the room.

::She looked around at the many cabels and switches and heaved a sigh. She had been here before, she knew what she was searching for.::

"I need to find the main power line. Look around, you can't miss it."

[Kendall Hart]

The electrifying beauty seemed very grateful for me remembering the main power room, Xander hadd to focus though on the situation and not beauty. Entering the room, he looked for any sign of the main power line. Gwen explained to him and Robin, that it wouldn't be too hard to find. Since Xander harris had one eye, he caught a glimpse of a big long cord, that seemed to be connected to all the wires.

Turning to Gwen, he held some of the cord. "Could this sucker, be it?"

[Lyri]

::Hair flipping around her shoulders, Gwen turned and looked at Xander, pointing to exactly what she was looking for.::

"We have a winner, boys. Now, I just need some wires cutters. Gotta be some in here somewhere."

::Hunting through the drawers, it took her several minutes before she found what she was looking for and made her way to Xander's side. Stripping away the protective plastic, Gwen touched her fingers to the exposed wire, and amped up her power. She stopped when she realized Xander was still standing next to her.::

"You might wanna back up there a little."

::Turning back to the task at hand, Gwen let herself go to the power. This was what she did best, what she was made to do. She didn't understand vampries or Slayers, and although she was slowly getting to grips with it, it was still outside her area of expertise. Shaking her head, she tried to force away all of her self doubts and concentrate on what she was doing.

::Building her power as high as possible, Gwen sent a wave of her own electricity into the main power line, and closed her eyes as she followed it, sensed its direction as it travelled through the wire. She knew that, to turn off the power, whoever was attacking them had to have cut the main powerline. Simple as that. All she had to do was fix it, which might not be so simple for someone other than Gwen. Following the path of her own power, she sensed it stop abrublty, killed off, or blocked by something in its path. Gwen smiled to herself.::

"I found you."

::Sending out another wave, Gwen rerouted the power, so that the connection became a flowing entity again, surging through the different wires and connectors. She turned back to Xander again.::

"See that control panel over there? You need to reboot the system, while I hold onto this. Hopefully, it'll bring the power back up."

[Kendall Hart]

Xander was relieved he had found the thing, they were looking for. Gwen seemed to be quite happy that he found the main power cord to bring the power back up. Listening to Gwen's instructions, he backed away. He ran towards the control panel and tried to find the button to reboot the system. He turned to Gwen and spoke up quickly. "Which button, will reboot it..there are so many."

[Black Eye Guy]

The moment Buffy had run down the hall and killed one of the vampires, Willow lost concentration and the vampires were release, free to move again. She watched as Buffy and David took out the vamps and was about to run forward to help David when a vampire grabbed him form behind. But Giles rushed past her, and took him out.

She dashed down the hall, and placed a hand on Giles back. Noticing that he was already looking a little tired, and she also couldn't help but notice he was looking at Buffy. They hadn't spoken yet since Giles had revealed he knew of the Slayer-turned-Vampire Ansara.

Willow looked around the, now dust filled, corridor. She looked at the door, which lead to the Armoury. They had the weapons now.

"My god! This is worse then we thought. They were waiting for us... Ansara's knew where the Armoury was, she knew to sends guards to this specific location. They know the exact layout of this compound. They knew are weak points and how to exploit them to get in... - How?!?"

::She looked around at the others, feeling less safe in the compound then she ever had before.

She raised her hands to her faces and rubbed her eyes, with her outstretched hands, covering her whole face, and moved them up to her temple and massaged them for a second::

"We better get the weapons to the others"

She moved towards the door, raising her arm as she walked forward. The door swung open as she got closer, she wasn't sure if the door was locked and wasn't bothered to have tested it. She walked into the room, and looked around at the weapons.

She was surprised to find how annoyed she was, She expected a little fear. But she was experiencing serious anger. Vampires had broken into their safe haven for newly activated slayers, and they had turned it into a potential slaughter house.

Willow walked over to a shelf, there were 10 vials on it. Each contained the power to create a small sun. 4 months ago Willow perfected the spell to create a small ball of sunlight - the only problem was that the potion took several months to mature and ingredients that were only native to Brazil, but for whatever reason could not be exported. But once shattered and the contents exposed, and the word "luminarium" is spoken a small ball of light was created and was powerful enough to eliminate any vampires in the immediate area. It hovers in the air for a few moments before disappearing again.

She put the bottle into the pockets of her jackets.

"Guess we should take some actual weapons as well"

[Kennedy]

::Kennedy whipped her head around to look at Faith as she herded the trainess out.::

"Ansara might already be with Drusilla. Maybe we should follow Buffy to the Armoury. Some real weapons would be good right about now."

::But even as she spoke, Kennedy realized she was already following Faith, wherever she was leading them.

::She took a deep breath and put everything she had into the run.::

I just hope we're not running into a trap.

[Ansara]

Ansara entered the Drusilla’s room alone, shutting the door behind her. She turned and looked Drusilla in the eye, before glancing around at the room’s accoutrements. She picked up an empty iv bag from the table and smirked.

“Well isn’t this cozy…”

She gave a self-satisfied smile.

“Hello, Drusilla.”

[David]

David took a relieved breath as the vamp holding him turned to dust. He gave Giles a nod.

“Thanks.”

He followed Willow into the Armory and quickly began tearing weapons off the walls and out of the cabinets.

“I wonder what’s keeping the others.”

[Buffy Summers]

Buffy took a last look both ways down the hall before ushering Giles and the others inside and closing the door behind them. She looked around at the various available weapons as she thought about what to do next. They had to wait for the others – make a united front – but time was certainly of the essence. She was troubled, as was Willow, about the ease at which Ansara had overpowered them – she knew way too much about them.

Buffy began piling stakes and other paraphernalia into a large bag, while reloading her crossbow and picking a sword for herself.

So as Buffy's team of Giles, Willow and David holed up in the Armory and waited for the others, Spike, Faith and Kennedy had gathered the trainees and were moving out while Gwen, Xander and Wood were close to getting the lights back on...

[Robin Wood]

::Robin Wood took a few steps forward and gave Xander a tap on the shoulder.::

"Let me try."

::He waited until Xander had backed away from the control panel before he took his place and looked over the many buttons and switches in front of him. Gwen seemed a little tied up, so he decided to reboot the system himself. Xander was a good guy, never one to back down from a challenge. But he was better at replacing windows than working with computers.::

Now if Willow was here, we wouldn't have a problem.

::Taking a deep breath, Robin located the override system and started it up, following the instructions that appeared on the screen in front of them. A few seconds later, the whole electrical system restarted and the lights came back on.

::Robin smiled.::

"Well, what do ya know, it worked. We make quite a team."

[William The Bloody]

:: Giles have followed Buffy all the way down the hallway, saying nothing at all with what he has seen or heard for the last hour or so, trapped and contemplated in his own thoughts. Without realising, he must've wiped his glasses clean fifteen times, before and after clashing with a dozen vampires or so. He looked around the spacious, dark room. He started looking through the different armours making sure that he gets a deadly, but easy enough to use, weapon. He was just about to swing an ancient but perfectly smooth axe to see power when the lights switched on. He looked around and saw Buffy and the rest straining their necks to look up at the lights, feeling and looking relieved. ::

Finally…

[Mesektet Ra]

Spike led the group of Slayers down the winding hallways, trying to remember where the Armory was.

"Damnit," he hissed, moving quickly. They were safe, for now. But nobody knew how long it would take before another attack surfaced.

A loud metallic clunk reverberated throught the complex, and one by one the lights flickered back on.

"Bloody right!" Spike whooped, running down the hall. He turned to Faith and Kennedy, shouting, "See? That's my Static for ya. Knew the girl could get the job done."

His smile was proud, but not for long.

[Lyri]

::Gwen smiled when the lights flickered back on, but held on to the main power line for a few more seconds, making sure everything was going the right way.::

"Thank God the elecrical room runs off of it's own power generator, otherwise we'd have been majorly screwed."

::Gwen put the power line back in it's place, then turned to look at the men, who were standing looking back at her.::

"Well? We've done our job, and there's still a bunch of vampires running around this place. I think our best bet is to get to the armoury. It's wherever one else is, right? And something tells me the two of you don't much like being left out of the fight."

::She gave them both a small grin, before she headed for the door, montioning for Xander and Robin to follow.::

[Harley Quinn]

:: Drusilla looked up at the woman who had just entered the room, confusion clear on her face. This woman looked somewhat familiar, but she couldn't place where she would have known her from. She had a feeling that this woman was not here to chat, though, and did the only thing she could think of. She screamed one name. The first name that popped into her head. The name she knew the only person she fully trusted in this strange place by.::

"William!!!"

::She looked frantically to the door, hoping he would bust in at any moment and rescue her. When he didn't immediately bust in, tears began to stream down her face.::

[Mesektet Ra]

"William!"

Spike whirled, his name ringing throughout the halls.

"Dru," he whispered, turning to Faith as the Slayers darted past them, Kennedy as their guide. "Oh, shit. DRU."

His every instinct was to turn, to RUN, to ge to Dru as fast as possible. He restrained himself, turning as running faster than the Slayers, faster then Faith and Kennedy, to the Armory.

Just a little more to go, he promised himself. Just a little more.

[Charmed Jon]

[Kennedy]

The lights slowly flickered on. Kennedy looked up to them and grinned. This was better now, carrying on running Kennedy used her arms to keep the speed up. As Spike seemed to break off from the gang, Kennedy led the group. Not understanding why, she knew she had to keep on running. All of a sudden, Spike started to pick up the pace, zooming past herself and Faith. Her legs then leaped further from one another as before, she sped up, running just behind Spike. A small bead of sweat broke out and she quickly wiped it off. She gulped hoping that it would be soon that they reached their destination.

As Spike's words echoed through her mind, Kennedy began to exhale and inhale at a hasty, steady pace. Drusilla.... As her hair began to cover her eyes, she blew upwards. As it flew back she looked to Spike and Faith. "How much longer?!?!" She called out.

[Ansara]

Ansara cocked her head slightly to the side as she beheld the screaming Drusilla. The accented lilt of her voice not losing its glint of amusement, she spoke again.

"So...it's true. Interesting."

She looked down at the chalk circle that imprisoned the vampire. She laughed. "Amateurs." She looked curiously into Drusilla's eyes and smiled. "So. They've imprisoned you here, my pet. Not very friendly, are they? And the one you called for - William - he allows this to happen? The last time I saw you together, he would have died again to protect you. How things change."

[Buffy Summers]

Buffy and the others having acquired what they would need, she motioned for the others to hang back as she checked the hallway outside. Sword at the ready, she opened the door and peered outside. She braced herself as she heard footsteps in her direction, not knowing what would be coming her way this time. She held her breath, then exhaled sharply as she saw Kennedy leading Spike, Faith and the trainees down the hallway towards them. She tossed the crossbow she carried to Faith, then motioned to the trainees.

"Quick, inside - load up with what you can."

She gestured for David, Giles and Willow to join her in the hallway as Gwen, Xander and Wood came down the hall in the other direction. Together, they were a force to be reckoned with. Hopefully it would be enough.

[William The Bloody]

:: Giles saw Kennedy, Spike, Faith and the trainees appear out of thin air. Without realising in doing so, he sighed heavily. He looked at Buffy waiting for her to make the next move and heard her give instructions for Kennedy and the gang to load up with some weapons. Grudgingly, Giles dragged his weary feet towards Buffy dreading on what might happen in the next couple of minutes, as she signalled for them to follow her. ::

Here we go... he whispered to himself. Here we go...

[David]

David took his place beside Buffy in the hallway. He cocked the sawed off shotgun now reloaded with its ultraviolet explosive rounds. He might not be the kind of fighter that a slayer was, but one of these at close range could blow a mighty big hole in whatever it came into contact with.

It would be a lie to say he wasn't nervous. He had been in sticky situations with his employer before, but he didn't get any more used to it, not really. But he would stand by her and others. It was his job, after all. And no one knew this building better than he did.

"She entered the building through the south wing - we can cut around and engage them near the barracks. It will be difficult for them to get past us in the narrow corridors behind us, should they get through our front lines. If Ansara is here for Drusilla, this is our opportunity to take her out."

[Buffy Summers]

Buffy nodded. She didn't voice her fear that the south wing was not the only place the building had been breached. They had no way of knowing exactly what had transpired after the power to the security system had been cut. But there was nothing they could do about it now - splitting up the group to send patrols to the four corners of the huge compound would only weaken them.

Again she wondered how Ansara could have known so much about them. She looked around at the peopl there with her. She trusted them all completely - with her life - when it came down to it. But she had a nagging feeling that someone she knew had betrayed them all.

She signalled to those she had fought so many years alongside, and the fighting force made it's way to Drusilla.

[Black Eye Guy]

Willow grabbed a sword from the supplies as she herd the foot steps echo around the corridors, and walked forward a little to try and see past Buffy. Nervousness shooting in her stomach, but only for a second as she quickly got a grip of herself.

But she was still relived to see Kennedy’s face as she came around the corner, she lowered her weapon and quickly walked over to her, smiling as Buffy ushered them in. But there was no time for talking.

She followed Buffy out into the corridor, again gripping her weapon ready for anything that jumped out at them. She followed Buffy and David down the corridors towards Drusilla’s prison,

She's bound by a spell she won't be able to leave that room... - Even as she though it she knew that if Ansara was prepared to this extent, she could be prepared for anything that would stand in her way.

[Lyri]

::Turning the corner, Robin and Xander on her heels, Gwen caught sight of the group gathered outside the armoury. Something inside her relaxed as she saw Spike, a nervous feeling she didn't even know was there disappeared as she realized he was alright. She gave him a slight nod, not wanting to overstate her feelings, and raced into the armoury itself, picking up a few stakes and shoving them into the back pockets of her jeans.

::But Gwen knew that her real weapon was not somrthing anyone could hand to her. Her power was still at maximum level after fixing the electrics, and, if the compound and everyone inside really were in danger, then she had no intentions of returning it to neutral until after the threat had been taken out.::

Listen to me. A few days with these guys and I'm turning into some military type.

::But she didn't say anything out loud as she followed the others from the armoury towards Drusilla's room.::

[Harley Quinn]

:: Drusilla looked at the woman standing a few feet from her, listening to what she had to say. She shook her head as she slowly rose to her feet.::

"William is helping me. He and his friends took the appropriate actions to prevent me from causing harm to anyone. I thank them all for that."

::Her blue eyes narrowed. She knew the woman was dangerous, but her words had riled something in Drusilla. Without realizing it, she changed into her game face.::

"And I am not your pet."

[Kendall Hart]

Xander was pretty worried..this battle was a really big one but, he knew he was fighting the good fight. Thats what Anya had done when she died. I do miss her though, sometimes I wish that it was I who died not her..it wasn't ehr time Emotion was running through Xander as he followed Gwen into the armory. "Got to get some weapons for myself and fight the good fight." He smiled a bit as he grabbed some wooden stakes and a few other supplies, placing them in his jacket.

[Robin Wood]

::Robin put his hands on his hips and bent forward at the waist, breathing hard. He was in good shape, for a high school principal, but the pace Gwen had set on her sprint to the armoury had taken it out of him. Staying that way for a few minutes, Robin listened as David informed them of where Ansara had entered the building, and gave his opinion of where was best to attack the vampire and her forces.

::He straightened up when everyone started to load up, and followed Gwen into the armoury, which left him walking side by side with Xander. Robin watched as Gwen only took up a few stakes, but said nothing, as he didn't know her very well, and had yet to see her up close in battle. Taking his eyes away from the newest member of their team, he eyed the weaponry arrayed before him and picked up a broad sword, one which he had trained with a few times, and knew how to handle. Robin also chose a few stakes and slipped a cross into his inside jacket pocket. He was flexing his fingers around the sword's hilt when Xander spoke. Robin smiled.::

"Fight the good fight, huh? I think some of these people thought they wouldn't be fighting this kind of good fight for a while." He sighed. "But I guess we have to do what we can, right Xander? The Mission is what matters."

::Robin bowed his head and said a prayer for his mother, the fallen Slayer, Nikki Wood. When his raised his head again, he locked eyes with Spike, the vampire that had taken his mother's life almost thirty years ago. Robin felt his rage began to boil. He had thought he'd made peace with the English vampire, but now he realized that that peace had only come after Spike had died. Now that he was back, Robin didn't know how he felt.

::As his anger bubbled, he shook his head and squashed it down.::

No, he's part of the team. As much as I hate it, he's on our side. Save the hatred for the real enemy.

::Robin tightened his grip on his sword and tore his gaze away from Spike as Buffy began to lead the way.::

[Mesektet Ra]

Spike moved along with the rest of the group, keeping pace with the faster of the few. He felt eyes boring into the bac of his neck, and turned, seeing Robin Wood giving him the staredown.

He cocked and eyebrow and hefted his sword, as if to ask, What, then? It wasn't a threatening gesture, merely curious.

As Robin turned away, Spike cocked a half-grin and turned to see Gwen walking side-by-side Xander. He jogged a bit to come abreast of her.

Turning to Xander, Spike inclined his head. "Cap'n," he said by way of greeting. Turning to Gwen, half-smile playful, he said, "So, I take it your little mission was adventurous as ours, then? Any baddies come your way?"

[Anita Blake]

::Faith smiles in relief as she spots the group in the hallway. She keeps pace with Spike and Kennedy, as they join the others. She spots Buffy and walks over to her, one hand going to her neck to rub it gently, trying to work out a few kinks.::

(Maybe I'm getting to old for this kind of stuff...Nah...I'm good.)

::Grinning at Buffy, Faith nods at her sister-slayer and leans on the wall next to her, in a mock-relaxed pose.::

Buffy: "So, what's the plan, B?"

[Lyri]

:Gwen smiled at Spike as she tried to keep up with the pace he was setting. She was still human, despite her little parlour trick, and while she kept in shape, she had no where near the abilities Spike had at his disposal. But she kept up with him, not wanting him to think less of her.

:Controlling her breathing, she finally managed an answer.::

"Nah, no nasties, as far as we could tell. It was touch and go with the lights. I wasn't sure if the electrical room had it's own generator. We needed to reboot the system, and ya can't do that without power. But we caught a break. I had good guys to work with."

::Gwen turned to look behind her to glance some of the younger girls only a few steps back.::

"Looks like you guys had some fun, though. Don't really get all this Slayer stuff, but I'm thinking the newbies aren't quite up to standard yet."

[Mesektet Ra]

Spike chuffed. "Bloody well right," he muttered, turning to look at the girls behind the group. "Had to haul a girl off the floor by my own hands. Sickening, that lot is." He shook his head, twirling his sword absently.

[Black Eye Guy]

Willow was keeping pace with the rest of the group, but she was begin to get tired. She turned around and frowned at Spike and Gwen, She was just ahead of them.

"What great motivational encouragement guys"

She smiled and looked passed them to the younger slayers, checking they were out of earshot, and so missed their conversation.

[Buffy Summers]

Buffy led the others into the south wing. Coming to the barracks where Drusilla was housed, the place exploded into a warzone. Vamps poured towards them, barely giving them time to think. She swung the sword she carried with two hands as she rushed towards the fray, leading the others to battle. She cleanly sliced the head of a vamp while two more came from behind her.

[Ansara]

Ansara never lost the smile as she looked at Drusilla. Her power emanated from her body like a veil. Her accented voice soothing to the ear. She gestured with one hand as she spoke.

"And where is dear William now? He has left you alone here..."

She gestured at the room around her.

"In this prison. Did it not occur to you that these people...they want you to deny your true nature. To be something that you are not."

Extending a jeweled-sandaled foot she smeared the chalk on the floor in front of her, breaking the circle. She ceremoniously moved to Drusilla, entering the circle.

"Come with me, Drusilla. Return to your family. Allow us to help you remember your life. If you stay, sooner or later, they will kill you."

She extended her slender arm and offered her hand to the vampire before her.

"Come, quickly, before it is too late."

[David]

David followed Buffy into the melee. He fired his shotgun into one of the vamps at her back, pushing the other off of her with a booted foot and hitting him in the face with the butt of the gun. He pushed forward, trying to get to Drusilla's room, but the onslaught of vampires caused him to make little progress.

[Mesektet Ra]

Spike reacted.

He lept forward, face slding into his more fierce countenance in and instant. His instinct kicked into overdrive. Save Drusilla. It felt odd and homey at the same time - like the feeling was welcomed back from a long absence.

He whipped forward, duster flapping violently, sword wickering through the air like silver flame. Two heads rolled, and dust choked the air.

A vamp charged, and Spike danced sideways, whipping backwards and extending his foot into the vamp's midsection. The vamp stumbled, and Spike struck. Dust.

Extending his arm straight, he twirled in and overhead arc that took two more heads. He was on fire, cutting a violent swath through the sea of vampires pouring from the barracks.

A thought occurred to him. She needs me, he thought, his mind on Drusilla.

"DRU! IT'S ME! I'M HERE!" He roared over the din.

He spun, and more dust hit the ground.

[Black Eye Guy]

Willow jumped as suddenly the quiet halls exploded with screams and shouts as a sea of vampires poured in on top of them.

Willow gripped her sword and swung it at the head of a vampire, that came running at her. decapitating him, his head dropped to the floor but didn't reach it as it exploded into dust moments before impact.

At the same time as the vampire exploded, Willow moved forward as two female vampires came running towards her, screaming, and bearing their teeth...

[Kendall Hart]

Xander Harris sighed as he followed the orders of what he needed to do. For some reason his mind was on Drusilla, he hoped she was alright. She might of been crazy but, Xand had become attached to her. He was sure Spike didn't appreciate this but, Spike well..could just back off.

The thought of Dru was interrupted when Spike asked him how his adventure was. Xander hated that vampire no doubt about that especially what he had done to Buffy. "Yes, it was quite sucessful..now it is time to fight the good fight once more..correct?" He asked as he followed Gwen. (Gee I hope Drusilla is alright.)

[Buffy Summers]

An announcement could be heard over the damaged security system. The computerized female voice spoke in a calmness diametrically opposed to the message it carried.

ALERT ALERT Hostiles have breached the north wing. Hostiles have breached the north wing. ALERT ALERT

Then a minute later.

ALERT ALERT Hostiles have breached the east wing. Hostiles have breached the east wing. ALERT ALERT


Buffy, in the middle of the ash-spray from a just-staked assailant, looked to the sky as the messages came over the soundsystem. She found David further down the hall and yelled to him.

"David!"

He looked back towards Buffy and nodded, then taking the opportunity to fire into an oncoming vampire with one hand. He reached down and keyed something into his wristcom before rejoining the battle.

Buffy jumped again into the fray with renewed vigor, slashing and staking her way through the crowd of vamps. Finally, Drusilla's room was in sight.

[Ansara]

Ansara still stood with her hand outstretched, beckoning Drusilla to join her. Dru had softened, looked a bit uncertain, her resolve weakening. Drusilla's arms raised just slightly, and as her fingertips touched Ansara's she smiled, triumphant. She reached out her other hand, a small handheld electrical device tightly in it. She pointed it at the wall and pressed a button.

She just moved to shield Drusilla as an explosion rocked the room, blowing a hole in the outside wall, where an armored vehicle waited. A cadre of Ansara's troops were outside guarding the vehicle and keeping close watch on their mistress.

[Lyri]

::Gwen zapped an oncoming vampire, even as she staked the one that was trying to blindside her from her left.

::Since meeting Angel, almost two years ago now, Gwen had taken it upon herself to learn some fighting styles. She knew that at some point she would meet someone who she coudn't use her power on, and felt it was stupid to just rely on that power. So she had taken several martial arts classes and was now capable of at least holding her own in a fight.::

Still, I'm glad there are other people here now to help me. I may have been taught stealth in Super hero school, but Angel was always the one with the fancy moves.

::Letting loose a side kick at yet another vampire, Gwen started when the computerized voice came over the loud speaker. She looked around at the other fighters, then at the walls surrounding her.::

"Which wing are we in?"

::She dismissed her own question as she zapped the vampire. Spinning around, she saw the door of Drusilla's room.::

"Okay, guess this is where it gets interesting."

[Robin Wood]

::Robin stepped through the ashes of the vampire he had just dusted to take on the one behind it. He ached all over, and blood was pouring down his face from a lucky kick and he had to constantly keep wiping the blood out of his eyes.

::Even though he knew he couldn't see it, Robin looked up when the woman's voice chose to inform them that more vampires had entered the compund. Things only seemed to be getting worse.

::As he dodged one of Gwen's electrcity bolts, he shouted to be heard over the noise of the battle.::

"Buffy! We're going to have more guests soon, by the sounds of things. Maybe we should split up."

::He didn't know what the Slayer was thinking, but it seemed to him that at least some of the group should try to hold back the incoming enemy, and let others deal with Drusilla and Ansara.

::But as he took the head off another vampire with his sword, he knew that, no matter her desecion, he would do what Buffy told him.::

[Black Eye Guy]

Willow hacked and slashed at the vampires in her way, the hall was very crowded now, and the sudden warning from the security system wasn’t helping to calm them.

She swung her sword around, slicing the head of a vampire clean off, if fell to the floor, turning to dust before impact. a second vamp came running at her, and again she swung her sword, but the vampire ducked out of the way and ploughed into her causing her to be smashed into the wall behind her, she dropped the sword. Pain shooting up and down her back, regaining her focus. She watched as the vampire did the same and readied to attack her again, but it was distracted for a moment, as a small rumble shook the corridor, using the brief moment, Willow grabbed a stake from her back pocket and charged at the vampire, plunging it deep into it's chest.

She dropped to the floor and grabbed her sword, standing back up she looked to the door to Drusilla’s room, where the rumble had come from....

[William The Bloody]

The ageing man swung his old, ancient axe, cleany sweeping of a particularly weird looking vampire. "There!" He shouted as the vamp's body dusted, "Thats what you get! Hmmph!"
Giles twisted his neck to his left and found another couple of vampire charging in the direction of the man with glasses. He sighed heavily before dragging the axe off the floor and up in the air swinging it carelessly as he, too, charged.

But at the same time, a very loud alarm filled the whole builiding. Informing him that hostiles had breached the east and west wing. Giles stared at Buffy, it was instincts, but all he sighted was her blonde hair silently whipping as she ran and disappeared in the crowd.

Giles looked around puzzled and confused on what to do next. So instead of following Buffy, he decided that he should just leave her to deal with whatever she went to, assuming Buffy went to rescue Drusilla, as if it doesn't kill her, it would strengthen her. So the man continued to aif Buffy by dusting a few more vampires.

[Mesektet Ra]

Spike came down from an aerial kick, throwing his stake end over end into the heart of the vampire the kick had aimed for.

Dust, again.

"Jesus Christ," he sneered, licking blood from a cut on his upper lip, a grin almost as frightening as his kicks on his face. "This is gettin' nasty."

He whirled, another stake already in hand, and dusted a vampire from the back.

"Just the way I like it, yea?"

He turned, bouncing on the balls of his feet, recharging in the middle of the melee. It was then he saw the crowd was thinner, and the doors to Drusilla's room were in sight.

Redoubling his efforts, he swept down on the nearest pack of vampires, tearing into them with a verve and determination he hadn't known he'd possessed. Duster flapping like midnight, dust tainted the air and stained the ground.

He was closer. That's what mattered.

[Buffy Summers]

Buffy lopped the head off of a nearby vamp. A large gash above her right temple was making a bloody trail down her face. Over the din of the battle, she heard Wood shout to her.

"Buffy! We're going to have more guests soon, by the sounds of things. Maybe we should split up."

She shook her head - more out of habit than the thought that he could actually see her that well - and plunged her sword into another coming at her. She called back to him.

"No - we have to stay together!"

David chimed in as well as he fired off another round: "It's covered."

Buffy finally reached Drusilla's door, and with David covering her back, she kicked in the door and entered...

...just in time to see Ansara, now just outside, leading Drusilla towards the awaiting vehicle.

"Hey, Charro, let her go."

Drusilla looked back meekly at Buffy, and spoke. "I belong with them." She didn't sound completely convinced.

[Ansara]

Ansara laughed, but her smile turned to a sneer. She threw Drusilla behind her and charged Buffy, grabbing her and throwing her like a doll across the room.

Buffy hit a wall and slid down. She sat on the floor, stunned, trying to clear the cobwebs as Ansara came after her again. She picked up Buffy by the neck with one hand and began to squeeze...

[Lyri]

:: Following Buffy into the room, Gwen stood in shock as she watched her leader sail across the room, hitting the wall. There were vampires still crowding the hallway, but Gwen's attention stayed on Buffy as Ansara picked her up by the throat. When she realized what the vampire was intending to do, Gwen shot a bolt of electricity at her, hoping it would be enough to take her out.

:: But as soon as the power left her hands, Gwen knew that it wouldn't be enough. ::

[Black Eye Guy]

Willow saw Buffy, David and Gwen enter Dru's cell, but was stuck fighting a vampire outside in the hall.

She drew the sword over her head, but before she could swing it down the vampire hit her in the face, sending her crashing into the wall, before she dropped to the floor, she lay there for a second.

The Vampire came running at her, but she managed to trip him up with her feet. Then she grabbed the sword lying on the floor, and brought it down on his throat, cutting off his head.

She jumped to her feet and dashed into the cell just in time to see Ansara get hit by a bolt of lightening...

[Anita Blake]

Faith frowns as the group seems to split up, but then shrugs and grabs a sword before throwing herself into the fray. Letting out a Xena-like warrior cry, the dark-haired slayer flipped over a vampire to land in the middle of a large group of them.

"Looking for something?"

Reacting quickly, she decapitates a vamp near her swiftly, the surprise of her attack giving her an advantage. Punching a vampire in the face, she turns and swings her sword at another, slicing his chest. She follows the move with a stake plunged into his chest, before turning and taking on another.

Suddenly, noticing that her blonde counterpart was no where to be found, she frowns and then notices Gwen duck into a room. Slashing another foe, she quickly makes her way through the melee towards the door. Entering it on a run, she comes upon the scene right after Willow. Her stunned eyes take in the scene with disbelief. "B...?"

She takes an offensive stance to the side of Gwen, in case the lightning had no effect.

[Robin Wood]

::Robin avoided another vampire as it lunged at him. He ducked under its out stretched arms, and brought a knee up into it's rib cage. He plunged a stake through its back, into its heart. As it dusted, he heard the sounds of Gwen's power coming from Drusilla's room. Robin's first thought was to get to the room, to help out, but as he looked around the hallway, he realized there were still a lot of vampires and way too many inexperienced girls.::

"Guess I'm needed here."

::Robin kicked another vamp in the stomach, forcing it back into the wall, where he pinned it with a hand around its thoat until he could stake it.

::As he, again, moved on to another enemy, Robin had a strange feeling that everything was coming to an end.::

[Black Eye Guy]

Willow stood with Gwen and Faith, waiting to see the effects of the lightening on Ansara, but they didn't get a chance and they were jumped from behind by a group of vampires that came thought the door after Willow and Faith.

Willow was pushed to the floor, she hit the ground hard and dropped her weapon. She rolled onto her back, just as a female vampire jumped on top of her. The Vampire screamed in her face, the smell of blood fresh on her lips, she had gotten to someone...

Willow opened her hand and the vamp was thrown upwards, hitting the roof. Willow rolled to her left as the vampire smashed back to the floor...

[Ansara]

Ansara held Buffy by the neck triumphantly. What a poor excuse for a Slayer this one had been. She was almost disappointed at how easily she had overcome the human girl. But it was time to put the child out of her misery.

Just then, Ansara body was hit with something that made her pause. Electricity ran through her body, jolting her, making her whole body tense up one cell at a time. She turned slowly to look at her aggressor, the rage plain on her face. But this one who had so boldly attacked her now cowered in the corner. She was no threat. She dropped Buffy to the ground.

"Insolent child! You will bow before me before I'm through!"

She seemed to notice now the commotion behind her and remember Drusilla.

"Bah! No matter - we have what we came for."

She turned on her heel and walked out of the building, motioning to her guards who ushered her into the awaiting car, which sped off into the night.

[Buffy Summers]

Buffy felt the hands tighten around her neck, her feet rise off the floor. Ansara was strong, so strong. Stronger than she was. She tried kicking out her feet but it was no good. Her hands clawed at those around her neck but they did not budge. And then, she felt the shock of the electric current running from Ansara's hand into her neck and down her body, shuddering as her body burned until the vampire mercifully let go of her. She slid down the wall to the floor, fighting unconciousness. Gwen! Gwen had saved her.

The last thing she saw as the world went black was an army of vampires outside, standing in ranks, waiting to kill them.

[David]

He covered the door and the backs of his comrades, firing off round after round into the increasing onslaught of vampires. David turned and entered the room just in time to see Drusilla get into a dark vehicle and depart, taking Drusilla with her. He ran to Buffy on the ground, checking her vitals, seeing that she was stable but unconcious.

His ears perked up at a familiar sound in the sky above them, and the hints of a smile on his lips betrayed his relief. Suddenly, explosions began rocking the perimeter of the compound. They looked to the sky to where, like huge black birds looming above them, large troop-carrying helicopters raced into view overhead.

While the others provided air cover, one of the copters touched down right outside the hole that had been made. David returned to the hallway, again providing cover as he shouted for the potentials and other personnel first to be loaded in the birds. One by one they were filled.

At last, David called to Willow, Faith, Gwen and the others to get themselves into the safety of the helicopter, simultaneously scooping Buffy up in his arms. He carried the Slayer, running to their escape, the last one to step up into the thing, the heavy black doors closing behind him.

[Buffy Summers]

Buffy's eyes fluttered open, her head resting against David's shoulder. What had happened, where was she. Then she processed the roar in her ears. They were in the helicopters - they had, in the end, had to evacuate the compound. Though she had given David the go-ahead, she still had held some small hope that it wouldn't be necessary. She looked down at the ground below. Swarms of vamps were entering the building now. So many...

David looked down at her, his face silently questioning. She closed her eyes, and slowly nodded.

David punched something into the controller on his wrist, then spoke into it. "Override code eleven eight twenty-six ten. Initiate self destruct sequence."

As they pulled further away, the compound got smaller and smaller in the distance. And then it exploded in a massive fireball. Surely nothing would be left. The others looked to Buffy, still leaning on David. He spoke first, "Can't leave anything for the vampires to salvage." Buffy's eyes never left the compound, a single tear cascading slowly down her cheek.

[Lyri]

::From the helicopter, Gwen watched as the compound exploded, becoming a huge fire ball that belched smoke into the air, as if it was trying to chase them down.

::Gwen sat in the corner of the carrier alone, her head in her hands, silently willing herself not to cry.

::She had thought she was getting the hang of this, the whole fighting vampires thing. But when it came down to it, when she stood face to face with the enemy, Gwen had crumbled, turned into the little girl she had always been inside.

::It didn't matter that she had faced off against the other vampires, had taken out more than her fair share, when the real danger had presented itself, Gwen failed miserably.

::As she watched the fire get smaller and smaller, a single tear rolled down Gwen's cheek.::

[Black Eye Guy]

Willow, rolled on top of the vamp just after it hit the floor, and shoved a stake deep into it's chest. The Vamp turned to dust, and Willow fell the few inches to the floor where the vampire had been.

Looking up, she wiped the ash off her face, she also looked up just in time to see Ansara flee the building. Then her eyes rested on the body of Buffy, lying on the floor, she started crawling towards her, but David got there first.

Willow followed David out as he called for them, she stopped and looked around. Vampires everywhere, there was no way to get back to her room...

Willow got outside, and was lost in chaos as slayer swarmed outside and pilled into the get away vehicles. Willow jumped up into the helicopter with the others, and looked out the window as the compound went up in a giant fireball, her letter from Tara still inside, lost forever...

[Mesektet Ra]

Spike went with the swarm as the good guys cascaded into the helicopters. He followed a couple of newbie Slayers into one, helping another girl in as a vamp tried to grab her leg.

The copter took off with the others, black birds blending with the night sky. He watched the compound become overrun with vampires, a veritable sea of his kind piling in through every open orifice in the place.

Suddenly, the compound exploded. Fire blew into the air, and a thousand inhuman shrieks split the night.

He closed his eyes then, leaning his head against the window. He closed his eyes and prayed.

Even if God wouldn't take him, he prayed that everyone was all right.