Story: The Coming Storm (chapter 3)

Authors: BillGopher

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Chapter 3

Title: First Engagements

[Author's notes: A/N - Buffy gets a hint of who her enemies are...

[ ] - thoughts]

Chapter Two:
First Engagements

Buffy stalked through Restfield Cemetery, Mr. Pointy in her hand and a hint of rage in her eyes. Even though the confrontation between her and Riley’s friends had been early that morning, her anger hadn’t diminished in the slightest, as the first four vampires she’d staked tonight had found out the instant she had spotted them.

To make matters worse, she had the feeling she hadn’t heard the last from Riley or his friends, especially since she had caught a glimpse at least twice of someone tailing her. She had considered taking them out but decided it wasn’t worth the effort, considering she would have to carry their worthless carcasses to safety, since they were human. [That doesn’t mean I wouldn’t LOVE to break them into little tiny pieces, it just means I have to wait until they happen to be in a safer location, and in daylight where a vamp can’t make a free lunch out of them.]

Buffy stiffened as her Slayer sense picked up something and Buffy took off at a dead run towards the crypt she sensed the vampires were in. As she reached the door Buffy heard a young girl scream. Snarling, the Slayer hit the stone door at a dead run and hard enough that the vamp guarding it was crushed between the door and the crypt wall before exploding into a dust cloud.

The lead vamp looked up just in time to see her face as Mr. Pointy slammed into his heart. The girl he had been about to bite hit the floor amid a shower of her attacker’s dusty remains, and scrambled for the door as fast as she could move. The vamps that tried to stop the girl’s escape were destroyed the instant they tried. Those vamps too stupid to see beyond the Slayer’s small form attacked en masse, while a couple of the smarter ones took one look at the way she was fighting and ran for their unlives.

Five minutes later the Slayer stood amidst the dust of the vamps that dared to stand and fight, looking around to verify there were no more vampires left to stake. [Another nest bites the dust! I think I’ll cut patrol short tonight; I’ve already staked as many vamps in the last two hours I normally stake in four or five days. I think I’ll go home for a change of clothes, and then it’s Bronze time!]

As Buffy reached the door of the crypt though, the hair on the back of her neck stiffened and stood upright as she got the feeling she’s no longer alone. [Hmmm, looks like I get to add a few demons to my stake count tonight.]

Sprinting up the last five steps Buffy dove through the crypt door at knee level. As she rolled to her feet, Buffy blocked a strike aimed at her head, and then flattened her attacker with a punch. [What the…] Buffy thought as she stopped her finishing attack in mid-strike, staring in shock as she realized her target was one of the commandos. Ducking out of sheer instinct as two of the commandos opened fire with their taser rifles, the bolts of electricity shooting just over her head and as the commando leader calls into his communications unit, “Target engaged, repeat target engaged!”

Buffy saw one of the soldiers come charging at her out of the darkness trying to get close enough so that he can’t miss. Just as he stops to take aim, the Slayer knocked him on his butt with a sweep kick and followed up with an uppercut to his chin that flipped him backwards, head over heels. From behind her Buffy heard something and rolled desperately to her left as another commando tried clubbing her in the head with his rifle, the blow slamming into her right shoulder and numbing it. Buffy stopped her roll by some bushes and slowly came to her feet. As she was standing up Buffy heard the rustle of the bushes as the commando tries to free his weapon. Buffy’s right hand snapped out catching the commando by his shoulder. As all four of the remaining commandos bring their weapons up, Buffy hauls the commando she grabbed up and out of the bushes, and directly between her and the remaining commandos just in time to intercept the incoming fire from his teammates.
As his friends open fire, Buffy released her hold an instant before the incoming fire struck him. The soldier convulsed as enough electricity to flatten a raging elephant coursed through his body. He dropped where he stood, even as his teammates try desperately to correct their aim.

Graham cursed savagely as he watched the Slayer come blurring out of the night, taking down her third target in a flying tackle [Goddammit, where the FUCK is Beta Squad!!!]

As if in answer to his thoughts, his communications unit transmits, “Code Red, emergency assistance required!! We’re under attack by unknown Hostiles!! Anyone who hears this, please respo… ! The voice of the commando that’s calling for help cuts off with a hideous gurgle.

Graham snarled in rage as he hears the cry for help cut off; a snarl that changes to a groan as Buffy throws her fourth victim into him, hard enough to knock them both into a heap on the ground. As he rolls his unconscious teammate off of him, Graham looked up in time to see the Slayer vanish into the trees, taser fire nipping uselessly at her heels.

One glance at his team causes Graham to curse savagely and reach for his comm. unit “HQ, this is Alpha One. The Slayer has escaped us. We’re down to two combat effectives, with four disabled.”

“Copy, Alpha One. Assistance is en route to both you and Beta Squad. Just sit tight, over and out.”

“Understood, over and out.”

As Graham starts to put his comm. unit back on his belt, a pale hand snaps out from the darkness behind him, catching his wrist and his shoulder in a bone-crushing grip. Graham howls as the bones in his wrist break like rotten twigs, and his nerveless hand drops the comm. unit to the ground. The hand that crushed his wrist savagely yanks him around, until he’s face to face with his attacker. Graham tries to jerk his taser rifle into line one-handed, only to have the six-foot tall creature tear it from his grasp and hurl it into the night, before backhanding him into the side of crypt.

He staggered and would have fell, but his attacker caught him easily with one pale white hand and slammed him back against the crypt. From there he watched as more bone-white apparitions came out of the night, surrounding him and his team.

When she was certain none of the Mortals present could escape, the one holding Graham turned her glowing red eyes towards one of her companions and asked, “You see what I meant about her Gabrielle? Even though she was a little tired, outnumbered, outgunned six to one, and surrounded to boot she still defeated them all with little more than a few bruises to show for it.”

“She does fight well, doesn’t she?” the blonde replied with a slight smile “Are we eating out tonight or in?” She asked.

Turning her attention back to the Mortal she'd been holding, “In, too stringy.”

A small smile appeared on the blondes' face, “You sure Xena?” She asked. “She does remind me of you when she fights,” not really caring one way or the other, knowing that Xena would always return to her, no matter what she did with others.

“W-wait!! You don't want to do this. If you kill me, they'll come down you like a ton of bricks!" Graham said his voice shaking. He moved his good hand, slowly reaching towards his back where he had a hand tazer. [5 more seconds bitch and your HST ass is mine. Nothing walks away from 50,000 volts! ] Graham heard the earpiece for his radio crackle as well as several voices from the rescue squad as they scouted for his team as well as Beta Squad.

Graham felt his hand wrap around the tazer and started to bring it around slowly to shock the HST holding him, when the creature absently grabs his wrist long before he could bring it to bear. “Sharra,” Xena ordered the ex-assassin, “We have guests, go ‘entertain’ them while we finish up here.”

Sharra bowed deeply, “Yes Mistress,” and brought her fist up to her chest in a salute before backing away. Moving over toward the other 3, “Come, the Mistress has given us our task this night.” Faster than the human eye could follow all 4 bone-white figures disappeared into the shadows.

Several moments later Graham heard Blue Squad's voices over the Comm. Net. “There's something moving in the woods,” “What was tha-“, “Hit it!! Hit It!! Fire now!!!!” There were more yells and screams before the communications went dead.

As Xena moved to bite the frightened soldier’s neck, Gabrielle stopped her, a thoughtful look on her face, “You know, we could actually use him as something other than dinner...”

The tall warrior turned towards the blonde. Raising a dark eyebrow, she replied “Oh? You thinking of sending him back to his buddies as a surprise?”

“Yep!” the blonde smiled mischievously.

“Well soldier boy, you just got upgraded from dinner to Judas.” The brunette baccae smiled evilly, her long, curved fangs showing now. Quickly she pushed his head to the side and sank her fangs into his throat and started drinking, ignoring his strangled cry as she fed.

“What now? You want to drop him near his buddies so they don't get suspicious?”

Xena just smiled as she looked over at her mate, “That's the plan. Hopefully soldier boy here will give them some grief.”

Gabrielle smiled and walked over to her lover, lifting her lips to her mate’s blood-soaked mouth and licking the blood off as Xena kissed her deeply. “Is she really worth it Xe? You've stayed away from them for over 2000 years…”

“Yeah and look what that's got them too!” She retorted, unable to keep the anger out of her voice.

“We made that deal with the Council to protect them, not…” Gabrielle answered softly as she ran her hand in small circles on her love’s back.

At that moment, Sharra re-appeared in the field, “It is done, we made certain they were well ‘entertained’.” Xena nodded in approval and slashed open Graham’s neck where he had been bitten. “Quickly, take this one and dump him by the others...”

Even as Sharra dropped the body by those of his fallen teammates, the other Baccae followed their leader into the night. After dropping the corpse Sharra followed her fellows from the battlefield back to the lair.

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