Fanfiction: A Tale Of Slayers : Part 1-5
CHAPTER TWO
Buffy was fuming as she stalked down the sidewalk of the building. Damn it, Giles, she thought. Please don’t make me have to worry about you, too! She was at least convinced that he wasn’t about to pull a vengeance crusade like he did when Ms. Calendar was murdered. But that time, he’d known who the culprit was and he would have died if she hadn’t reached him in time.
They were going to find the bastards, she vowed, and if Faith was dead Buffy was going to send them to join her. It wouldn’t matter if some of them were human; the Slayer rule prohibiting the killing of humans be damned, they would die.
It was just worse when humans were evil. At least vampires and other demons were incarnations of evil itself. Humans couldn’t point at evil and say “the Devil made me do it.” You just do not turn other humans over to the monsters. That rule just had to be in the Slayer Handbook, she thought, but as yet, Giles had not even shown the book to her telling her that it would be of no use in her case.
Buffy suddenly stopped walking. “Where the hell is the ice machine?”
Taking off his long coat, Giles figured he might as well clean himself up. He tossed it across the bed and was turning toward the bathroom when he saw the lamp still lying on the floor. Chiding himself for his outburst he bent to pick it up and replaced it in its original spot on the stand.
That’s when his eye caught something on the floor between the bed and the night stand. Wincing slightly from the pain in his hand, he moved the stand and picked it up.
Even without his glasses his blood ran cold when he examined the familiar object.
“My, God,” he whispered. “Buffy!” he shouted, as he ran for the door.
Buffy finally found the elusive ice machine in the small hallway in the center of the building. She had her second scoop of ice in the bucket when she heard a faint shout. She dropped the scoop and brushed her hair behind her ear. She thought she had heard Giles’ voice. And then she did hear a door slamming. She started back to the room, hoping there was nothing to worry about.
She hadn’t taken two steps when she heard a crackle behind her and a jolt hit her in the shoulder blade. She was spun to the wall by the shock and her cheek hit the concrete as her chest slammed against it. Buffy staggered back, the world swimming, and her knees started to buckle, but her fighting instincts were taking over demanding her body respond to the danger.
As she fell, Buffy twisted, swinging the bucket of ice in the direction from where the shock came and made contact. Ice cubes exploded from the bent plastic bucket and she saw someone in black; looked like fatigues; go down the same time she did. Her assailant had dropped his weapon, and she saw it was a stun baton.
“Hellooo, nurse,” she said, through clenched teeth. “I was just about to come looking for you.”
Feeling weak, she was pushing herself off the ground when she was grabbed by a pair of strong hands, jerked up, and slammed against the wall again, this time with her back. Before she could sink back down, a heavy booted leg kick her across the midsection, making her gasp. Buffy bent forward, hugging her middle, and hands grabbed her jacket and shoved her into the ice machine. Protecting her head, she took the impact on her shoulder and leaned against it, turning to face her second attacker. But a large fist filled her vision and sent her spinning further down the hall. She managed to keep her feet this time, and regained her balance. There was another fist coming at her face. Buffy brought her hand up and it slapped into her open palm, stopping dead.
Buffy stared into the wide eyes looking at her from under a ninja-like ski mask and said, “My turn!”
The man flew several feet above the ground and over his partner; who was starting to get to his feet, and landed very painfully on his back at the mouth of the hall.
Right at Giles’ feet. He stepped over the prone body and entered the hallway as Buffy approached the first attacker.
The goon grabbed up the stun baton and swung at the Slayer. Buffy caught it, snatched it away, and shattered it against the wall in the same movement, never taking her eyes from him as she grabbed the front of his army vest in her fist and slammed him against the wall.
“Where’s Faith?” she demanded.
He replied by swinging at her face. She easily blocked it with her free forearm, then slammed him against the wall again.
“Where is she?”
He tried to kick her, but she raised a knee to block it.
Practically bouncing him off the wall now, she shouted, “Damn it, stop that! And tell me what you’ve done to Faith!” The goon was thoroughly seeing triple images now, and Buffy was the only thing keeping him on his feet.
Giles had reached them. “He won’t tell you, Buffy.” He held something up for her to see. “Recognize this?”
Buffy saw what he was holding. She released her attacker-now-victim, no longer paying him any attention as he fell on his face. She took the ring from her Watcher and ran a finger over the face design.
“The Order of Taraka,” she said.
“It would appear they’ve found a new employer who wants both Slayers.”
“But they weren’t trying to kill me,” she said. “They came at me with stun guns. Last time they tried to kill me as soon as they saw me. And these two are only human.”
“I suspect they were left behind to guard over the area just in case you or I, as Faith’s Watcher, showed up. Considering that they only left two behind would indicate they were expecting me.”
“I guess it was lucky I decided to check in with you then. We caught ‘em off guard.” She smiled, after thinking about it. “I like that. I still haven’t even things up for the hell we went through the last time.”
Giles looked out toward the entrance as they started to hear voices floating their way. “We best take our leave now, Buffy. We don’t want to have to waste time explaining all this to the authorities. Let’s circle ‘round back and return for the car.”
“We still need ice for your hand.” She snatched up the ruined plastic bucket and tried to restore its original shape. She quickly scooped out some ice. She used the scoop to point at the barely conscious goon. “Are you sure he won’t say anything if we torture him?”
Giles started to give her a look that said ‘how could you even consider doing such a thing?’ but then his expression changed and Buffy knew he was actually giving it some thought. With genuine regret, he said, “No, I’m afraid not.”
“Bummer.” She dropped the scoop back in the ice machine and was about to start following him, but then stopped. Setting down the bucket, she snatch up the scoop again, with ice, rushed over to kneel by the goon, and grabbed him behind the collar.
She lifted him so her face was close to his. “Tell your master we’re coming for him!” And with that she dumped the ice down his bare back and let him go.
“Buffy!” Giles hissed, from the end of the hall.
“Coming!” she replied cheerfully, retrieving the bucket of ice dropping several cubes as she ran to catch up.
Just as the first witnesses reached the hallway to discover the masked men. One out cold, the other writhing weakly on the ground, clawing at his back.