A New Dawn
Chapter 1
Giles opened the door
to admit Buffy “You’re late!” he stated before turning back into the room.
“Buff, how goes
patrol?” Xander tossed the book he was reading back onto the table.
Buffy sighed tiredly
as she flopped into one of the chairs. “I found another demon body tonight.”
“Same as the others?”
Giles inquired.
Buffy nodded. “Yeah,
pretty much ripped apart.”
“So are we thinking
commandoes??” questioned Xander
------
The Scoobies had been
out patrolling one night when they had come across a group of commandoes
attacking a demon. Buffy had held the
others back as they had watched them subdue and toss the demon into a large
black van. Since then, the mysterious group
had been the object of much speculation amongst the Scoobies. It had been decided that they were a military
operation of some kind, and that as long as they didn’t interfere with the
Scoobies they would leave them alone.
Buffy had actually
been pleased by the reduction in demon activity the commandoes had bought
about. It had meant she and her friends
had more time to go out and do ‘normal things’.
That had changed a few
weeks ago when Buffy had come across the first demon body. The creature had been viciously ripped apart,
its body pummelled to a point that even Anya was unable to recognise its
species.
------
Buffy looked at around
the table at her friends. “Definitely NOT them”
“Are you sure Buffy?”
Giles pulled of his glasses, as he tiredly rubbed his eyes before replacing them.
“I mean they do seem the most likely suspects.”
“Positive! I was leaving when I heard them coming, so I
hid and watched them. They were
definitely surprised when they found the body.
I overheard a little of what they were saying and they seem to be as
worried about this as we are.” Buffy
seemed to hesitate before continuing “The thing is, I think I know one of them.”
Oz straightened
slightly, raising an eyebrow in silent question.
“I think one of them
was Riley”
“Riley as in Professor
Walsh’s TA?”
Buffy gave her a wry
smile. “Pretty sure”.
Anya took that moment
to speak up. “So if it’s not the commandoes killing all these demons, then who
or what is?” she thought for a moment before adding “And what is its stance on
killing ex-demons?”
Giles took a seat at
the table with the others “We have yet to ascertain that, Anya, and I think
until we do, its best if both you and Oz keep a low profile.” He turned to Buffy
“I will start accompanying you on patrol.
I don’t want you out there alone until we know what we’re up against.”
Buffy began to protest
until she saw the worry on Giles’s face.
“I promise, no patrolling alone.”
She got up and moved to the window staring into the night. “Whatever this new Big Bad is that’s out
there; it’s either really really strong or really really mad.”
…………………………………………………………………………………………
In the courtyard
outside, a small flame broke the night as a figure of a man moved out of the
shadows to stare at the window. Spike
smirked as he flicked the still burning match towards the front door “An that’s
the watcher’s place.” He took a long drag on his smoke before turning to his
companion. “You know what to do?”
His companion nodded
silently as they turned and walked away from the apartment. The pair quickly made their through the
darkened streets of Sunnydale and into a nearby cemetery.
They hadn’t gone far
when a large demon came rushing out from behind a crypt, its eyes fixed
intently on Spike’s companion.
“Bloody hell!” shouted
Spike as he unceremoniously shoved his companion behind a headstone. He whirled around to face their attacker in
time for a meaty fist to make contact with his nose.
Spike staggered back
slightly, clutching his nose before shifting into game face and attacking “Oi
that was my nose, you bastard.” Spike
clubbed his hands together and directed a powerful blow to the demon's jaw,
managing to move it backwards a few steps.
The demon merely
grunted before it backhanded Spike into the side of a crypt and began to make
its way towards the figure huddled behind the tombstones.
Spike was pulling
himself to his feet when he heard a shrill cry come from his companion; he
looked over in time to see the demon reaching down to grab the cowering figure.
Spike saw red as he flew
at the demon “Get the fuck away from her!” Spike landed on the demon's back,
arms encircling its thick neck, the demon staggered backwards as it frantically
tried to loosen Spike’s chokehold.
Spike suddenly
released his hold on the demon dropping back a few feet so that he could spin
it around to face him. “MINE!” he
screamed as he began to rain blows onto the demon's body “You don’t get to touch
her”.
The demon staggered
backwards as Spike’s fury grew, kicks and punches fell one after the
other. The demon let out an agonized
scream as Spike wrenched its arm from its socket before twisting it completely
off and tossing it aside before continuing with his attack.
Spike was so lost to
his rage that he didn’t notice when the demon stopped moving, he continued to
pummel the bloody mass until a gentle touch stilled his arm.
Spike turned to look
into his companion's soft eyes “Spike stop; it's dead”.
Spike turned uncomprehending eyes towards the body
that lay at his feet before they flew back to franticly search the girl for signs of injury. “Did he hurt you?”
“No, I’m fine” she
reassured him
Spike pulled her into
his arms roughly, hugging her close as he closed his eyes and inhaled her scent
to calm himself.
The couple stood
entwined, taking comfort from each other before finally pulling apart.
“Geez Spike. Overkill much?” the girl prodded the body with
the toe of her shoe.
Spike gave her a wry
grin. “Sorry luv. But the bugger
shouldn’t have come after my girl.”
The girl's face
suddenly dropped. “They’re going to keep coming, aren’t they?” a single tear
made its way down her cheek.
Spike grasped her chin
gently. “Hey, none of that.” He brushed the tear away. “Told you I’d protect you.”
She gave a small laugh.
“Til the end of the world.”
Spike threw his arm
across her shoulder and they started on their way again. “Til the end of the
world, luv.”
The pair had just
reached the edge of the woods when Spike once again pushed his companion to the
side. He turned in a slow circle
listening intently; he lifted his head slightly and sniffed the air, a quiet
growl vibrating in his throat. “Stay
there” he whispered before moving forward again.
He had only gone a few
feet when a bright light arced through the night hitting him in the chest. Spike cried out as he fell to his knees,
electricity coursing through his body.
“NO!” the girl yelled
before rushing forward to help him. She
came to an abrupt stop as she saw half a dozen black clad figures emerge from
the shadows.
Spike turned agonized
eyes towards the girl “You know what to do.”
Spike struggled to his
feet with a roar when one of the figures moved towards the girl; he struck out
sending the figure crashing into a nearby tree.
The girl screamed when
she saw the figures raise their guns and hit him with multiple bursts of
electricity. She heard Spike screaming
in agony and the faint smell of charred flesh hung in the air. Her eyes widened as the figures turned their
guns in her direction and began to move forward.
Spike watched
helplessly as his attackers began to move towards her. Gathering the last of his strength he
launched himself at the nearest figure knocking him to the ground. He turned to stare at his companion “RUN,” he
cried hoarsely.
Spike watched as the
girl turned and fled; the dark figures still seemed to be intent on following
her so he vamped out and tried to bite the man he had knocked over.
The yells for help
from their colleague stopped their movements and Spike sighed in relief. He only hoped that she would do as he had
told her.
‘If something happens to me, you
get to The Slayer or one of her damn Scoobies.’
Spike felt another burst of electricity hit his body; he had one last thought before unconsciousness claimed him