Strange Place to Live:
Demon Hunter
by Cynamin

"The cause it is noble and the cause it is just
We are ready to pay with our lives if we must"
~Ride Across the River
Dire Straits

Wednesday Night (Cont.)
The Warehouse

The decrepit building's isolation on the edge of town meant there were no bystanders to get in the way when things started heating up. Unfortunately, that same isolation meant that any unfamiliar person approaching the building was sure to be noticed. It could only be hoped that the darkness would be enough to hide them. Thank goodness there was no moon tonight.

The seven of them filed out of Oz's van on the other side of an overgrown hill from the warehouse. It was the only place close enough where they could park it without being noticed. Before getting out they had judged that it would be safest for them to approach one at a time, careful to avoid the guards. They would meet behind the building and then continue with the rest of their plan.

Buffy went first. They knew there were a couple of guards sure to be moving around the building, but they were amazingly good at hiding themselves. It was decided that Buffy had the best chance should she encounter anything before they'd figured out where the demons were. Everyone else watched as she crossed the hillside and the open lot without incident.

It was the waiting that was the hardest part. Buffy waited at the dark back of the building, unable to see any of her friends who would be coming after her. All she could do was to remain alert for any guards who might surprise her or her friends. Listening for any little sound as she was, Buffy went into an immediate fight stance when she heard a heavy thump just around the corner. There were several long seconds in which nothing happened, and then Kenneth appeared before her. As she had not seen him approach, Buffy raised a questioning eyebrow.

"Magic," the Hunter whispered, trying not to grin and failing. He cocked his head in the direction he had come from. "One less sentry to worry about," he said.

Buffy guessed he was explaining the mysterious thump, and didn’t press it. Stake in hand, she turned her attention away from him into the surrounding darkness. Next to her, Kenneth was doing the same, waiting for a demon’s approach.

Willow came next, clutching a wicked looking ax until her knuckles were white. She shook her head in a quick indicator that she hadn’t encountered anything. She was followed soon by Xander, Oz, and then Giles, all without incident.

They were about to continue with the next step of their plan when Buffy looked around in confusion. "Where’s Angel?" she whispered.

Oz shrugged. "He started down here before I did," he said.

No one spoke as they scanned the darkness in the direction he should have been coming from. Kenneth looked at Buffy hesitantly. "Buffy -" he began.

"Who’s there?" a voice rang out behind them.

The small gathering whirled around in surprise. A guard - a very human guard - approached them from around the corner of the warehouse. Before any of them could raise their weapons in defense, a figure separated itself from the shadows and with a single punch knocked the guard out. He crumbled to the ground without a sound.

Taking the man’s weapon and walking towards them, Angel smiled slightly. "Sorry I’m late," he said, and that was that.

The nearest guards taken care of and all together and ready, they continued their plan in silence. First they helped Kenneth get up on the roof. There was a ventilation duct up there, which was how he and Buffy had gotten in before. While the rest of them created a distraction, he’d work through that way and surprise Orin from above. Once he signaled to them that he was in place the rest of them moved around the building where the guard had come from.

On the side of the building was a small locked door. It said "no admittance" on a small sign, and the map indicated that it was the back door to a small office. With any luck there would be no one in the office, so some of them could sneak in undetected.

Still, it was better to be safe than sorry. Giles stood in front of the door with crossbow ready, and everyone else stood out of the way. With a sharp pull Buffy broke the lock. It made more noise than they would have liked, but there didn’t seem to be any immediate response from inside. Cautiously, Buffy turned the door handle. The door was heavy, but moved silently. She edged it open just enough to get a foot in, then stood to the side so that she wasn’t blocking Giles’s shot.

With a nod to Angel, standing on the other side of the door, Buffy threw the door open. Angel caught the handle and pulled it the rest of the way open.

A vampire stood just inside the door. He had obviously been going to investigate the noise they made, but he had no chance to do more than look surprised before a crossbow bolt embedded itself in his chest. Still looking at Giles in surprise, he exploded into dust.

The room now empty, everyone except Buffy and Angel made their way into the small office. Giles and Xander cautiously continued through the inner door, while Oz and Willow stayed in the office to keep it open as an escape route. As she entered the door, Willow looked at Buffy oddly.

"What if it hadn’t been a vampire?" she asked softly.

Buffy smiled grimly. "You’d be amazed the number of things a wooden stake will kill," she said.

Finally, only Buffy and Angel were left outside the warehouse. Silently they moved around to the front of the building, though they no longer cared if they were discovered. Their job was to be a distraction so that everyone else could accomplish their tasks. Still, they only encountered one vampire on their way around the warehouse. He didn’t put up much of a fight before he joined the other vampire in the dust bin.

Buffy brushed herself off and stared at what was left of the vampire. "Is it just me, or has this been too easy?" she muttered.

Angel said nothing in response.

With a small sigh, Buffy armed herself, standing by the front door. "Time to crash this party," she said, and the distraction commenced.

Willow was fidgeting just inside the small office. If she stood by the interior door, she could just barely hear the movement of multiple beings in the main part of the warehouse. When the chanting began, she couldn’t help but shiver. Muffled by the door, she couldn’t understand the words, but she was sure they were sinister. She began pacing slightly in front of the door.

"What’s going on out there?" she muttered to herself. Oz answered anyways. "He’s started the ritual. But then, you’re closer to the door than me, so you already knew that." He smiled slightly.

Willow couldn’t help but smile slightly in response. It faded quickly, though, for at that time the sounds of battle erupted in the main room. After several moments, Willow looked panicked back at her boyfriend. "What if something goes wrong?" she asked. "What if they need our help?"

"Then we’ll help," said Oz.

"Really?"

Oz just nodded. Afraid for her friends and more than a bit nervous in the dark office, Willow edged open the door. She had only been going to open the door enough so that she could see what was going on, but at that moment a large hairy demon slammed into the door, flinging it wide.

Willow yelped in surprise and swung her ax wildly at the creature. It growled at her and advanced, howling once in pain as the ax glanced off its chest. The demon, infuriated, swatted the ax out of her hands and approached her with claws extended.

"Willow!" yelled Oz, rushing to her rescue. He held out one of his stakes, and with a yell slammed it into the demon’s back. Defeated, the creature slumped to the ground.

Willow let out a sigh of relief. She smiled at Oz. "Buffy was right. Stakes do kill just about anything." She knelt down to retrieve her ax.

Suddenly she was engulfed in two scaly arms. She struggled ferociously as another demon pulled her into the main room. Oz went running after her, but his egress from the office was blocked by two vampires and he wouldn’t be going anywhere soon.

The demon’s entire strategy seemed to be to crush her to death. Its arms were more like tentacles which slowly wound their way around her. Her struggling seemed to be preventing them from crushing her, but she couldn’t do anything else in her defense. The ax hung uselessly from her hand, and she hadn’t the breath to activate her amulet.

Suddenly, the creature’s grip slackened, and it fell to the floor. Released and tired from her struggles, she fell to the floor with it. When she realized that it wasn’t going to kill her anymore, Willow scrambled out from underneath the demon. A crossbow bolt struck out from its hideous, scaley back. Several yards away stood Giles atop some boxes, firing some crossbow bolts into the demonic crowd. He saw her looking and waved slightly, then went back to his shooting.

For the moment, Willow stood in a place free from battle. Most of the fighting was concentrated near the front doorway. Willow took a moment to catch her breath, swinging her ax a few times to get the circulation back in her arms. As she stood there, she noticed a second knot of battle, pressing its way into the office. Xander was picking off some of the creatures at the back, but Willow knew Oz had to be overwhelmed inside.

Striding confidently back into the battle, Willow headed for the office. She fingered her amulet as a reminder of what they were here to accomplish.

Then Kenneth *fell* into the fray.

Part Six

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