Worth the Fight (BTVS fanfic, Book Three)

chapter 18 - Earshot

Buffy and I were patrolling, hunting two flesh colored demons with nasty twisted faces, and no mouths in the playground.

Buffy tripped on the edge of the swing set, falling to the ground. Demon 1 loomed over  her. 

I pushed Demon 1 into the pole of the swing set.

Buffy rolled to her feet. Demon 1 turned to Buffy. 

Buffy roundhouse kicked it in the face, making it fall to the ground, pulling out a knife. "You demons can't resist a run and stumble, can you?"

Buffy threw the knife at Demon 1. Demon 1 caught it.

I tried to stab Demon 2. Demon 2 backed away to make me miss. I pushed it into the swing set pole.

Buffy and I stood back to back, facing off with the two demons.

Demon 1 threw Buffy's knife back at her. Buffy caught it. 

Demon 2 ran toward me. I kicked him in the stomach. He ran closer. I ducked forward, making him roll over me onto the picnic table behind me, stabbing into his heart with my knife.

Demon 1 threw Buffy into a nearby tree, making her fall to the ground, running away, leaving.

I pulled the knife out of the demon's heart, turning to Buffy. "One down, one gone."

"Ah, it's okay," Buffy told me. I helped Buffy stand. "We'll catch him next time." I nodded. "Hey, you okay?"

"Why wouldn't I be?" I asked.

"It's just, ever since Faith..." Buffy trailed off.

"Am I shaken up and resigned to the fact that my friend wants to kill me because people wanted to kill her so I could take her place?" I asked. "Of course. But I'm fine. Promise."

Buffy nodded. 

•••

The next day, Willow, Buffy and I walked into the school library.

"So scabby demon got away?" Willow asked.

"Scabby demon number two got away," I answered. "Scabby demon number one, big check in the slay column."

"I don't like this whole no mouth thing," Willow told us. "It's disquieting."

"Well, no mouth means no teeth," Buffy told us. "Unless they have them somewhere else."

We sat down at the table next to Xander and Oz.

Giles walked out of his office. "Here we go, we've been researching the, uh, mayor's forthcoming ascension."

"It's pretty riveting stuff," Oz told us.

"What do we know?" Buffy asked.

"What don't we know?" Xander asked. "Tell them, Giles."

"Based upon the supposed date, graduation day, and the Mayor being impervious to harm, I've cross-reference--" Giles started.

"He's a cross-referencing fool," Xander told us.

"And I've eliminated several possibilities," Giles told us. "It's not the ritual flaying of the demon Azarath nor the, uh... I don't know what's going to happen."

"That was kind of an anti-climax," Oz told us.

"We don't know anything?" Buffy asked. "The whole fake Angel thing was for nothing?"

"No, no, no," Giles answered. "If nothing else, Angel's charade has brought Faith's treachery to the open and this information on the Ascension will prove useful eventually. I just need to put it together."