This is a bit of an experiment. A chapter long fight. Also, ever watched 24…? :D

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Sunnydale High, Sunnydale, California.

08:36:25 AM.

Wesley opened fire on the Turok-Han, blasts ricocheting off the walls and felling the vampires with the pure force of the weapon, however only wounding them rather than killing them like they would a human being.

He unloaded seven shells into the oncoming hoard and then the shotgun clicked empty. He stepped backwards almost as the Turok-Han where upon him and the Slayers swept around him, engaging the monstrous creatures in hand to hand combat. The empty magazine fell to the ground, and he shoved another into its place. Cocking the shotgun, he turned back into the fray and fired into a Turok-Han’s face at point blank range, reducing it to a pile of dust on the floor. He swept around, smacking the butt of the gun into a vampire’s chest and then again into the back of a monster which was pinning the Slayer Jenny into place. It crumpled to the floor and Fred brought her sword down, decapitating the vampire and turning it into dust.

Allowing himself the briefest of smiles to Fred, he checked around him and saw the Slayers had formed an effective battle line along the width of the corridor, with no Turok-Han behind them.

An almost miraculous break in the fighting occurred as each Slayer pushed back the vampire she was fighting and Wesley took the opportunity.

“Get down!” he cried, leaping forward and as each of the Slayers ducked down to safety and he repeated the extremely effective manoeuvre of blasting the Turok-Han with his weapon, two of them turning to dust.

“Push them back, keep them on the defensive!” he called as the shotgun clicked empty again and he reloaded.

Quickly he looked around. “Where’s Angel?” he called, but the others were too busy fighting the vampires to notice him.

08:37:00

“What are they waitin’ for?” asked Faith anxiously. Even though they had heard the sounds of fighting further down the corridor the Turok-Han facing them just stood, snarling at the battle ready group.

Almost as if waiting for that cue, the Turok-Han started forward, and instead of stopping like the last three times, sprinted forward at uncomfortably fast speeds.

They were on the first Slayer, Katie, in seconds. One lunged ahead of the others and Katie twisted sideways, grabbing its back and shoving it towards Faith with its own momentum. Faith brought her knee up into the Turok-Han’s face and it staggered backwards, unable to defend itself from Anne’s swing which took its head off. She continued with the momentum of the attack and brought up her pistol, aiming for the vampires knees. She fired off a several shots and three Turok-Han collapsed to the ground. Two of the vampires pushed past Katie and she was unable to hold them back – Joanne stepped into action. She brought her foot high up and connected solidly with the first Turok-Han’s chin, then brought her heel sideways into the next vampire’s face. They both stumbled to the left and right, respectively, and Joanne produced a steel plated stake, plunged it into the first monster’s chest and then the other. They crumbled into dust, and sensing that Katie needed reinforcing she pushed forward to engage the vampires side by side with her sister Slayer.

A great roar went up behind her, and Faith turned to see the next wave of Turok-Han rushing towards Rona. She instantly regretted her decision of ordering the girl the forward position considering her broken arm, but she had forgotten about it earlier, and now it was too late to change her mind.

But Rona used the plaster cast as an additional weapon to the sword she held, she clubbed the first vampire and it staggered sideways into another, temporarily halting the flow of vampires down that side of the corridor. Rona made a fatal mistake by turning her back on that flow of vampires – one leapt up, fangs bared and lunged for her throat.

Amanda leaped forward and plunged her dagger into the vampire’s eye – normally this would merely blind the vampire, but she had had the foresight of asking the new priest to bless the weapon and as a result it sizzled inside the vampire’s head, sending it shuddering to the ground and then moments later into dust.

Faith could see the four Slayers were being hard pressed and knew any second the Turok-Han would break through and she, Anne and Gunn would be in the fray.

08:38:01

Buffy’s radio crackled, and the sound of a blade entering flesh was broadcast. She felt a sinking feeling as she heard who she thought was Faith grunt in agony. She pushed herself even harder and to her surprise as Connor ran past the doors to a classroom a Turok-Han grappled him to the ground and a legion of others poured out of the room, separating them.

“Connor!” cried Buffy and she threw herself at the vampires, lashing out ferociously to break through their lines and get through to Angel’s son.

They held fast, and though she could hear him fighting the monsters her line of sight was blocked and she struggled to catch a glimpse of him.

Kennedy and Vi took on a group of four Turok-Han at once and Chao-Ann leaped into the air, bringing her leg around and catapulting a Turok-Han into the wall.

Buffy performed a double punch, and two vampires stumbled back into their brethren, creating a momentary lull for the original Slayer. She kept at them, and actually managed to break through to the heavily pressed teenager.

Connor grabbed two vampires’ heads and smashed them together, the force of the impact crushing their skulls and turning them into piles of dust. He looked up and smirked at Buffy before taking a kick to the stomach. Buffy shoved the offending vampire away from Connor, grabbed his shirt and launched him to his feet. A surprised yet grateful Connor then blocked an incoming Turok-Han’s kick and answered with one of his own, sending the vampire stumbling back the way it came.

Giles was thrown to the floor in the corner of the Slayer’s eye, and before she could even think of a way to help him Vi had literally picked up a Turok-Han and tossed it at the one attacking Giles. Both vampires crashed to the ground and the awed Watcher threw a curt nod at the newly activated Slayer.

“We need to start killing them!” cried Buffy and even as she spoke Chao-Ann jumped at the wall, launched herself off it and brought her other foot right into a Turok-Han’s heart – the wooden spike attached to her shoe pierced the vampire’s chest and it exploded into dust.

Connor dispatched another by lopping its head off and Kennedy stumbled back into the dusty yet now empty space as she was punched by a Turok-Han.

Buffy performed a forward flip and brought her foot down onto a vampire’s head and, stunned, it staggered back into the wall in time for Chao-Ann to stab its chest with her shoe-stake and it too crumbled to dust.

A single Turok-Han remained. The Slayers surrounded it, and realising it was cornered tried to break through their perimeter but Vi just kicked it back into the middle of the circle.

Kennedy brought her sword down and the dust of the last Turok-Han drifted lazily to the floor. The girls exchanged an exhilarated smile and then they all headed towards where the sounds of fighting still echoed.

08:39:24

Wesley staggered backwards and an object on the ground made him lose his balance and fall backwards onto the ground. The Turok-Han who had pushed him snarled and lunged forward. He raised the shotgun and, barring the Turok-Han, pushed the vampire over him when it knelt down to kill him. It collapsed onto the floor and Wesley drove a stake into its back; unfortunately, he did it sideways and so missed the Turok-Han’s heart. Enraged, it launched itself up and it punched him, sending the Brit flying backwards into the corridor wall. He brought the shotgun up but it pushed his arm against the wall and lunged for his throat. He closed his eyes involuntarily, anticipating the pain in his neck as the Turok-Han drained him of blood, but all he felt was a light breeze. He opened his eyes quickly and saw Fred holding the stake from the Turok-Han’s back. She grinned and then Wesley lunged forward, protecting Fred from a vampire assault.

“Stay focused, Fred!” he said to her as he fought off the Turok-Han. She looked at him strangely, and he wondered how much of the terror he’d just felt creep into his voice at the thought of losing Fred. But then the moment had passed and the Turok-Han picked him up and pressed him against the wall, this time it was Sarah who dispatched the Turok-Han holding him.

He fell a foot to the floor, and then fired the shotgun once, sending three Turok-Han to the floor writhing in agony. He cocked the shotgun – he’d been firing it in single shots rather than semi-automatically like before to conserve ammunition – and then he heard a cry from further down the hall.

“Gunn!” he called over the noise of the fighting. He struck a Turok-Han in the face with the butt of his gun and then Gunn’s voice floated back over the melee: “Wes!”

“Come on, everyone!” he shouted to the Slayers and Fred, and they rallied around him. As one, they formed a circle and then, rotating around, they fought off the Turok-Han around them and drifted slowly but surely towards the narrower corridor through the ranks of the demon hoards.

08:40:09

Angel knew there had been no time to explain his desperate plan to Wesley, so he’d taken off without consulting anyone about it – with any luck he’d be back with them before they could worry too much.

He was in the ceiling of the building – the space just above the roof and the ceiling of the rooms which normally held power cables and the like but which now carried the vampire to his destination.

Right over the horde of Turok-Han.

It was more than likely he’d die within minutes, but he might distract the monsters from the others long enough for them to retreat to a patch of sunlight, or even to secure the Seal – basically, to allow them time which might save their lives.

He rounded a corner and came face to face with:

“Spike,” Angel said with no small amount of disgust.

“What’s with you, Peaches?”

Angel snorted and moved towards the bleach blond.
“ Of all the people I’d choose to make a last stand with, you’re…not even last, you don’t even make the list.”

“Well, here I am. Can’t say I’m too pleased with the choice of companion myself, but I suppose it’s fitting, us two goin’ down together.”

Angel considered this. “I guess so. You know there’s no way we can survive all those Turok-Han for more than a few minutes at most?”

“Course I do. I’m still here though, aren’t I? Besides, I owe these things for what one of their cousins did to me a few weeks back.”

“Good enough. Shall we?”

Spike grinned suddenly at his grandsire, then abruptly bounced on the tile he was crouching on, sending him plummeting down to the corridor floor and crushing a Turok-Han. He jumped up and performed a fluid high kick on the closest super vampire and then span and backhanded another.

Angel regarded Spike for a moment and then jumped down behind him, drawing the pair of sais he’d tucked into his belt and plunging them into the heads of two unsuspecting Turok-Han.

He hit the ground and, doing the opposite of Spike, whirled around with his leg outstretched taking the legs out from two other vampires.

He jumped up in time to catch a fist in the face, and he staggered backwards, blocking the next attack and driving the ninja forks into the Turok-Han’s chest. He kicked it off the blades and sliced a vampire to his right and jabbed another to his left with his corresponding hands.

He was kicked in the chest and stumbled back into another body – somehow he sensed that it was Spike. Unconsciously, through a century of attunement to one another’s movements and instincts, they flowed together as one fighting vessel. Angel’s sais flickered in his hands as he sent Turok-Han spinning away from the fight wounded, and Spike issued vicious punishment with his fists and feet.

Angel became aware that Spike was laughing with mirth and allowed himself to smile too – hell, he was almost enjoying himself.

08:41:31

Gunn span around to behead another Turok-Han and came face to face with the business end of Wesley’s shotgun. Both men immediately lowered their weapons and slammed their backs into one another, much as Spike and Angel were doing at that moment. One vampire launched itself at Gunn but he knocked it away with his axe – this was not a military formation, it simply allowed the two men to talk without the worry of something ripping out their spines.

“You’re a sight for sore eyes, English,” said Gunn loudly over the constant roar of the baying Turok-Han.

“Likewise,” returned the Brit. Gunn slammed the butt of his axe into a Turok-Han’s face. “What’s your situation?”

“Not good. Look by Faith.”

Faith stood battling away Turok-Han over the still body of Amanda, who’d taken a stab wound to the stomach.

“Slayers to me!” shouted Wesley, and the six girls who’d accompanied him ran back to their little huddle, batting away Turok-Han all the while. “Form a perimeter around Faith! Don’t allow them to get to get to Amanda!”

The Slayers formed a protective circle around the downed girl, Faith walking out to meet a Turok-Han and launching it away from the ring. Gunn joined Wesley and crouched beside the girl.

“Hey,” said Wesley as quietly as he could yet still remaining heard.

“Hey,” said Amanda weakly.

“Listen to me, you’ve been stabbed but it’s not fatal, do you understand me?”

“Yeah,” said Gunn, recalling a section from a movie he’d seen once. “A stab in the tummy is one of the most painful places to get hit but the least life threatening.”

Wesley nodded encouragingly and Amanda weakly coughed. Then the he looked up at Gunn grimly. “We need to get her out of here,” he said, with great emphasis. Gunn didn’t know whether or not the statement he’d just made held any medical basis in reality but by the look on Wesley’s face said she didn’t have long left.

“Only way we’re gettin’ out of here is if we dust every one of these critters,” said Gunn equally grim.

Wesley smiled tightly. Then he stood up. Gun followed suit.

“How many would you say we’re facing?”

“Uh…a good couple hundred, that’s my guess anyway.”

Wesley sighed, more out of anxiety than tiredness, although he was suffering from that too. Then he looked up, a glint in his eye. Gunn grinned at him.

“Let’s go get ‘em,” suggested Gunn, and Wesley smiled, and the two men leaped back into the fray.

They whirled around each other. Gunn went for a Turok-Han on the right, Wesley on the left. The Brit’s extender-sword whipped out to full length and he brought it up in a lazy arc, cleaving a Turok-Han in two. He stabbed his shotgun through the dusty air and blasted another Turok-Han into dust and sent another to the ground, minus one of its arms.

He shoved it into the air then brought it back sharply, activating the loose cocking mechanism on his custom made shotgun and bringing another shell into the chamber. He stabbed a vampire in its throat and smashed its head off its loosened neck with the side of the gun. Then he fired again, decommissioning three Turok-Han at once.

There was suddenly a commotion behind him – though he couldn’t spare a second to glance around, he feared what it might be.

08:42:46

The Turok-Han writhed in agony as the holy water burned their flesh, then crumbled into dust as Buffy and the others stepped back and watched the handiwork of Father Duncan after he Xander and Dawn had chased down the Slayers from the bus guarding duty imposed upon them.

Buffy nodded approvingly. “Just don’t use it near Spike or Angel.”

He grinned and they headed through the destroyed remains of the Turok-Han.

Now only a thin rank of Turok-Han separated Buffy and Faith’s group, and she launched at the vampires, savagely hacking at them with her weapon, a small sword. She brought the sword down onto the nearest enemy and almost cleaved it in half; then she whirled it around her head and beheaded a second Turok-Han. Beside her, Connor grabbed a vampire and launched it head first at the wall then plunged a stake through its heart.

The Turok-Han slowly realised they were surrounded. They tried to fight the battle on both fronts, but when the first turned around from the fight with Katie she dispatched it quickly, and when the vampire Chao-Ann was fighting turned back because Joanne hit it, Chao-Ann swiftly beheaded it.

Buffy tried to stab the last Turok-Han but it twisted sideways, grabbed hold of the blade and brought up its knee, snapping the sword in two. It wielded the sharp end of the blade and seemed not to notice the blood seeping from the wound on its hand. Suddenly, it crumbled into dust and Katie smiled at Buffy through the now empty space. Buffy returned the smile briefly then ran forward to where she saw Faith kneeling on the ground while the other Slayers went to reinforce the battle line on the other sides of the corridor.

Faith looked up sadly at Buffy, and she then saw who it was who lay on the floor, viscous blood seeping out of the gaping wound in her stomach.

“I wasn’t quick enough,” said Faith quietly. “I couldn’t get to her.”

Buffy laid a hand on Faith’s shoulder to reassure her, but felt irrational fury rise up inside of her. She scared herself for a brief second when she thought the fury was directed at Faith, but was relieved to find it was aimed at the Turok-Han who took away Amanda’s life.

“I dusted it myself though,” added Faith, and this made Buffy feel a little better.

A little.

Fred, who knelt on the other side of Amanda’s body, gazed with big, sad eyes up at Buffy.

“I’m sorry, Buffy…I did everything I could…”

“It’s fine, Fred,” said Buffy firmly. Faith looked up quickly.

“No, B, it’s not fine.”

Buffy met her gaze. “No, it’s fine that Fred did everything she could. I agree with you though – this isn’t fine. We have to turn every one of these bastards into dust and then I can cry for Amanda. I’m too angry right now.”

She knelt and scooped up Amanda’s blessed dagger from her side and looked pointedly at Faith. “I lost mine just now.”

With that she rushed into the melee once again.

08:44:27

“Hey Peaches, hate to be the one to break this party up but I think it’s time we were heading home,” called Spike, barely pushing off three of the super vampires.

Angel was equally struggling with the hoards and shouted an affirmative to Spike.

As one, they launched the Turok-Han they were fighting away and tore away from the fighting, breaking through the thin rear rank and down the empty corridor.

Angel vaulted over a table while Spike swerved to move around a downed Turok-Han clawing at his feet.

“I hope these things aren’t as fast as Buffy says they are,” muttered Angel.

08:44:37

Buffy shouldered a Slayer out of the way and, utterly enraged, grabbed the nearest Turok-Han’s head and kicked its chest with such force she actually tore its head off its shoulders, the decapitated head crushing into dust between her fingers. Before the dust had even settled on the floor, she had moved onto the next vampire, punching it back onto the wall. She flew forward and drove her knee into its stomach once, twice, then shoved it to the ground. She crouched and drove her dagger into its chest, deliberately missing its heart and making it scream as she twisted the sizzling dagger around, then finally it burst into flames and she was content in the knowledge it was going to die and moved on once again.

The next Turok-Han saw her coming and growled, turning to face her. It threw a punch at her but she grabbed its arm, twisted the vampire around and shoved it into the wall, then brought its arm up sharply, snapping it.

She screamed in rage and whirled it around, slamming it into the opposite side of the corridor, then cracked its back by kneeing it then slammed it to the ground. She picked up a stray shard of wood from a disintegrated table and gouged it into the vampire’s chest, making it explode into dust.

The T-intersection of the corridor was rapidly becoming more and more depopulated as the Turok-Han, which were previously fighting on three fronts, were now only pushing forward from two weakened positions. Buffy strode with grim purpose towards the nearest flank.

08:45:17

Father Duncan, in his awkward little walk, ambled over to where Wesley was battling fiercely with the remaining Turok-Han, which were making a vicious last lunge to break through the defenders of the corridor.

“They’ve got the scent of blood!” cried the Englishman, and Gunn broke away from his opponent after it turned into a cloud of dust.

The priest sidled over to the ex-Watcher and tapped him on the shoulder politely.

“Excuse me, when you have a moment…?”

Wesley glanced back in surprise, then shoved the Turok-Han away and let a Slayer take over the fighting.

“What is it?”

“Ah…” said the Father, delicately plucking a grenade from Wesley’s jacket. “Thanks,” he smiled warmly, then sidled back to the centre of the corridor. Now intrigued, Wesley followed the older man with Gunn in tow.

He walked over to a satchel and withdrew a large bag of water. Then he ambled back to where Wesley and Gunn had been holding the line, opened the bag and set it on the ground.

“What’s he…?” asked Gunn, and Wesley could only shrug, perplexed.

He pulled the pin of the grenade, dropped it into the bag, and as quick as the two men had ever seen him move, sealed the bag back up, then lifted it and sent it skidding down the corridor into the masses of Turok-Han.

“Fire in the hole!” called Gunn, throwing himself to the side of the hallway. Everyone took cover and the bag exploded, sending tiny droplets of holy water into the massed Turok-Han. The vast majority howled their way into oblivion and several just fell to the floor, whimpering in pain as their extremities were eaten away by the – for them – corrosive water.

The nearest Slayers were pitted with tiny droplets of water but were otherwise unharmed. Wesley and Gunn started forward and finished off the nearest Turok-Han, while Father Duncan moved towards the next closest flank.

Buffy violently pummelled a Turok-Han into submission and it slumped to the floor, ready to be dusted. Another Slayer saw to the job quickly and she was about to move on before the priest snagged her jacket carefully.

“I believe I can see off the remaining vampires,” he said.

She almost startled him when her eyes rested on his, filled with mindless rage, but then they softened and she slumped, almost as if all the energy in her body had left. She nodded dumbly and he fetched another bag of water.

08:46:39

Katie felt the dust of the last Turok-Han brush against her face and she looked around at her fellow Slayers, utterly exhilarated.

This is what being a Slayer was – she could get used to it.

Only Amanda hadn’t made it; they’d fought against extraordinary odds, taken them on and stabbed them to death.

She walked over to where Buffy sat against the corridor wall, looking extremely bemused.

“You okay?”

“What…?” Buffy looked up and blinked. “Oh, yeah. I’m just…yeah, I’m fine.”

“That was the last of them,” grinned Katie.

Buffy looked up sharply and gave Katie an almost cold stare. “No. There’s always more. That’s part of the Slayer’s curse – you’re never done fighting.”

Katie, a little humbled, nodded at her elder Slayer. Buffy started away but then stopped, listening.

The younger Slayer also listened. She could hear a faint rumbling.

Suddenly, Angel and Spike shot from around the corner followed by a small horde of Turok-Han.

Katie went into instant fighting mode. There were about sixty Turok-Han to fight – it looks like Buffy was right.

Angel and Spike quickly approached, and the priest kicked a big bag filled with water down the hallway.

Buffy screamed for him to stop.

Angel and Spike threw themselves amongst the group for protection, and the bag exploded like before.

The Turok-Han collapsed in a cascade of pain and death, and Katie went to finish off the survivors.

08:47:43

Buffy flew at Spike, embracing him roughly. Angel could only stand and feel awkward.

Wesley spotted his moment of discomfort and walked over to the vampire.

“So, that’s where you went.”

Angel nodded mutely, smiling slightly.

“You know you’re lucky to be alive.”

“Luck had nothin’ to do with it,” said Spike, looking away from his embrace with Buffy. Then he looked at Angel, and something seemed to pass between them. Angel quickly looked away however.

Faith walked by them talking into a radio. “…bring up some supplies, like water, medical stuff, you know…”

“So much for a quick campaign to take back the school,” said Wesley wryly.

“Oh, I dunno,” said Fred, appearing next to Wesley. “It seemed to go by pretty quickly.”

Wesley smiled at her receptively, and she returned it warmly.

Angel found himself feeling awkward again.

Then he spotted Connor.

He moved quickly and embraced his son, catching him by surprise. Connor stood there for a few moments, then embraced back.

“I’m glad you’re okay, son.”

“Uhm…so am I. I mean, that you’re okay.”

Angel grinned tightly and released Connor from his bear hug.

“So then,” said Spike, now separate from Buffy. “What the bloody hell do we do now?”

“You could all…I dunno…die, maybe?” said a figure which appeared among them.

Everyone recoiled from the apparition of Amanda.

“You set up an ambush of super vampires and look where it gets you,” she continued, seemingly oblivious to the group around her. “Maybe I was right with that whole quantity thing…” She looked up, grinned wickedly at Buffy and then disappeared.

“What did…?” asked Gunn, then he fell silent as a dreadful, echoing rumble bounced across the walls of the corridors around them.

“Uhm…I’m guessin’ that’s not a good thing,” ventured Faith.

Turok-Han appeared at the top of the corridor.

Then at the end of the other two hallways.

“Buffy…” said Xander.

The rumbling reached a crescendo as more Turok-Han than Buffy could possibly imagine appeared at the ends of the corridor, howling wildly.

Their baying almost eliminated all thought it was so loud, and the sun itself seemed to shrink away from the concentrated evil in the school and the corridors dimmed slightly.

“Oh my God,” she whispered.

08:49:57

08:49:58

08:49:59

08:50:00

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So…whatcha all think? I decided against a beta reader…mainly cause no-one emailed me, but hey. Please, if you read this *please* review it as I’m really keen on this chapter in particular as it’s a bit of an experiment. Also, I can do the next chapter like 24 up until 09:00:00 if you like…basically, it’s up to you guys. But, unless you email or review, I don’t know what to do! Thanks.