Chapter 8: Going Rogue - Part 1

[Indra_RPG]

[Kathmandu - Chand Family Palace]

:: Indra nodded. ::

It was wise to keep the devi as far removed as possible not just from the scythe-bearer, but also from the effulgent one, should he turn against her.

Drusilla: "I will get my sword."

:: She turned and began to leave the room, but at the door, something stopped her. ::

It was an emotion. It was... not fear, exactly, but something close. The thought of leaving Drusilla in such close proximity to Raja was unsettling. Even the prospect of the devi taking Rajnath as nourishment caused a niggling sense of discomfort to prick at the back of her brain.

:: She stared hard at the devi. ::

Drusilla: "I will bring the scythe to you. I will ensure that your William is not killed. If I am able, I shall even bring him back to you. If I am killed, it shall be in grateful service to you. If I am taken, I will fight my way back to you. You are my devi. As such, you know you have my loyalty."

:: Here, she lowered her voice gruffly. ::

Drusilla: "But my loyalty has its limit. If you take one of my family from me while I defend yours for you, I will respond in kind; I will kill your William."

:: So saying, Indra departed. She retrieved her sword from under Raja's bed, kissed her son upon his brow, and left the palace. ::

The emotions that Drusilla's presence in her home had awakened in her, Indra hurried to stifle. They would only distract her in battle.




[Kathmandu - Sewer, Drusilla's Lair]

:: Indra approached stealthily. ::

William was cursing and straining to join the fray, but still chained to the wall and therefore ineffectual. Scythe in hand, Faith fought several demons.

:: Indra watched from the shadows. LL

She admired the scythe-bearer's agility; she was a skilled fighter. Even more, she admired her passion. When she fought, Faith's color was the deepest red. The scythe-bearer was, Indra observed, most alive and vibrant in the heat of battle. She fought for the thrill. She relished in the sound of blade slicing against flesh. When she landed a blow, her color brightened and expanded. The same occurred when she took a blow. When she missed a shot, however, her red lost some of its brilliance. Faith was skilled, but she fought by instinct, by emotion, by following the wont of the rush of chemicals that flooded her veins during battle.

Indra;s style was different, She fought by reason, by cold intellect, by strategy. She did not delight in the slice of a blade or in the crunch of bone.

I must use her emotion against her, Indra thought as she raised her sword.

Ideally, she would slow Faith's responses. She would wait until her color faded before she attacked.

:: Indra jumped into the fray, but she did not attack Faith. Instead, she came up behind the deva. She pressed her blade against his neck, causing it to trickle blood. She was poised to decapitate him. ::

Quickly, she hissed into the effulgent one's ear:

Spike: "I mean you no harm. I will not kill you; I am here to rescue you."

To Faith, she shouted:

Faith: "Lay down your weapon! Do it, or I kill him."

The scythe-bearer had come for Drusilla's consort, Indra reasoned. Her purpose was ill-served if instead of saving the devi's hostage, Faith acted rashly and caused him to die. Her aim was to calm Faith, to forcer her to stop and reason, to dim her color until the advantage was on Indra's side. But it was not necessarily a bluff, either. For the scythe, Indra would destroy the effulgent one, if she was able. That was, after all, the devi's most important aim. William was a traitor. If he should die in service to the devi, certainly Drusilla could not find fault with that death. After all, was not the place of Shiva at Kali's feet in battle? On the other hand, she had no wish to take this William from Drusilla. Should she do so, she knew that she herself and probably her family would pay the forfeit with their lives. Her aim was to resolve the situation peacefully. She hoped to make a trade: the deva for the scythe.

Indra, herself, did not know to whom she spoke the truth.

 

[Mesektet Ra]

Spike rattled the chains against the wall ineffectually. Every muscle in his body felt ripped to shreds, and his movements were getting harder. He growled and kicked his legs, at least trying to get Faith's attention away from the demons and back to him so the IDIOT BINT could finally SODDING FREE HIM FROM THIS HELLHOLE.

He face vamped, and he leaned against the wall and seethed as Faith fought. Movement caught the corner of his eye, and as he turned -

The girl from before leapt behind him, her sword at his throat. "Oh, bloody hell," he hissed. This was not one of Spike's Best Days Ever. She leaned in and whispered to him, her words carrying the same worshipful lilt they had when she'd spoken to Drusilla earlier. And rescue me? What the hell is this bint on about?

A droplet of blood coalesced and slid down his neck, perfectly placed by this Slayer to emphasize the point she was making to Faith. Spike couldn't stop the spread of a wicked grin across his face. "If you wanted a piece, love," he said to this mysterious, robotic little Slayer, "all you had to do was ask."

Spike watched Faith carefully and waited for her response to this girl's demands. Spike knew this girl would kill him if she wanted to - well, not wanted. It was in her eyes, the way she'd whispered those words to him. Spike had the upper hand on her just like any other woman who looked at him like that - like he was a god.

He thought about that a moment. Bit more literal in this birds case, it seems.

She had that aura, the air of religious duty. Like sidling up with his off-her-rocker ex and killing a bunch of newbie Slayers was somehow her destiny. How Spike played into that whole sodding ordeal was completely lost on him, as he didn't particularly care much as long as Faith GOT HIM THE HELL OUT OF THERE.

And not in an ashtray, thanks ever so.

 

[Slayergal]

[Guest house]

::Sam followed the rest of the scoobies out the door and to the jeep. She tossed the keys to Riley and hopped the passenger seat.::

Riley: "Take us back to the entrance to the sewer. I think we should start there."

::Sam sat back in her seat listening to the low humdrum of the radio as they headed into Kathmandu.::

[Sewer]

::For some reason the trip to the alley where the entrance to the sewers was seemed a whole lot shorter than Sam remembered the first time. Because they were there in no time. Sam got out of the jeep and motioned for Riley to open the lid that slid over the hole leading down into the sewers. She followed the scoobies through the sewer entrance. Once down in the Sewer Sam reached in here pocket and pulled out her demon tracking device. She motioned for Riley to do the same. Sam started walking around waiting for the device to pick up a demon scent.::

Xander: "Of course we won't be able to pick up any trace the demon would have left behind when you were attacked but we will be pick any new scents that are well recent."

::As Sam said that she started to move on down into one of the tunnels.::

 

[Indra_RPG]

[Sewer - Drusilla's Lair]

William, the one who shone so brightly, seemed taken by surprise when Indra made her move.

"Oh, bloody hell," he hissed.

The deva had put aside his human aspect, Indra noticed. He wore, instead, the face of the destroyer and transformer of all things. But this incarnation of the destroyer could also be destroyed, especially if his consort was not there to revive him. He understood the balance of things, of course. He knew, in his divine wisdom, that she had been gifted with the abilities of the deva killers, too. So although he rattled his chains, Indra had no fear of him. She was a servant of Kali; she could destroy where and when she chose. The blood that trickled down the deva's neck and onto his badly burned body was proof enough of that.

It was the creation part of the equation that baffled her. She had created life, yes. Having had that experience, she could assert with certainty that it was much easier to kill. To slay, to slash, and to burn: these were her instincts. She walked the warrior's path. Creating Raja had been a duty thrust upon her by society. In obeying, she had foolishly strayed from the sacred duties of the warrior. She had shed more blood for Raja than she ever had in service to the devi, and now that Drusilla was unattended in her home, she feared that the child would pay the forfeit with his life.

Spike couldn't stop the spread of a wicked grin across his face. "If you wanted a piece, love," he said to this mysterious, robotic little Slayer, "all you had to do was ask."

:: The deva, this most effulgent incarnation of Shiva, spoke, and Indra shook her head and turned her attention back to the matter at hand. ::

:: Without loosening her hold on William, Indra trained her eyes on Faith. ::

The scythe-bearer, this woman who seemed in every way Indra's equal but also her opposite, would decide who lived and who died this night.

Even as she awaited Faith's response and remained diligent in applying just the right amount of pressure to the sword at William's neck, Indra wondered at the meaning of the deva's puzzling words. Taken literally, those words meant that he had welcomed her attack -- or, rather, that he would have done so, had she first asked his permission. His blood-offering, it seemed, could have been obtained willingly.

A piece of a god, Indra mused as she continued to stare down the curiously named scythe-bearer.

That was what Drusilla had offered her, as well: her opportunity to claim for herself a piece of Brahman, a piece of the divine, unchanging whole. William glowed when he made his offer - his color rose and swelled. He leaned his head back ever so slightly, as well, and grinned, allowing Indra to catch a glimpse of his terrible fangs.

She thought again of Drusilla, whose fangs might even now be penetrating the flesh of her own consort or, worse yet, biting into the only thing Indra had ever created.

Spike: "Thank you. I may yet take you up on your offer."

Again, Indra whispered her reply in low tones so that only Shiva could have heard her. It would not do for Faith to realize that killing the deva was not Indra's desired object.

Of course, I may have to do so in another life, she thought as she held Faith in her gaze.

 

[palabravampiress]

[Kathmandu, Sewer]

Xander: "Of course we won't be able to pick up any trace the demon would have left behind when you were attacked but we will be pick any new scents that are well recent."

:: Xander shook his head and shouldered his regular, boring old axe. ::

It was trusty and true, yeah, but not very original.

Sam: "You Commando types get all the cool toys."

We Scoobies are way too traditional. We're stuck in the past. Like Drusilla. Maybe we'd actually get the drop on her if we went a little Next Generation on her ass. Dropping church organs doesn't seem to work.

:: As he walked, Xander peered over Sam's shoulder. ::

He couldn't see well enough to figure out how the demon scent-detector device worked, but Sam seemed confident, and that was enough for him.

Sam: "Nice gizmo. Very Beverly Crusher."

Sam was not interested in his jokes, though.

Hate to break it to you... myself... but no one has ever been interested in your jokes. Well, one person was, but she was....

:: Xander shook his head. ::

There was no use in following that particularly self-destructive train of thought right before the big fight.

Instead, he turned and looked at Dawn. She looked strong. Brave. Most importantly, she looked alive - and like she'd stay that way during and after the fight.

Even if I don't, he thought, struggling to ignore the shooting pain in his head. The meds and the patch-ups had helped, but he was definitely still at a disadvantage.

:: Even so, Xander smiled reassuringly at Dawnie. ::

He would protect her, he resolved. She wouldn't be cut down like Anya - even if he was.

Just then, Sam turned down a tunnel.

:: Xander more nodded toward than looked at the fancy locater thingie. ::

Sam: "You got a trace on our demon buddy -- or maybe just a demon buddy? Cuz I gotta say, I know demon's aren't the rosiest scented kinda guys, but I'm not picking up anything more than your basic human nastiness... which is, coincidentally, better smelling than the yeti brand of sewer muck."

That's when he heard it: a roar. He couldn't tell whether it was human or demon. It could have been words, but it also could have been an adrenaline-fueled cry of your basic non-nonsensical battle mumbo-jumbo. He couldn't even tell from which direction the noise came, what with the deplorable sewermanship of third world countries (very bad acoustics). All he knew was that there was a struggle -- or possibly a meal fit for a demon -- going on somewhere relatively nearby.

:: Xander stopped in his tracks and raised his hand. ::

Xander to Group: "Okay. So... am I having auditory hallucinations now, or did somebody else just hear that?"

 

[Wanabee-slayer]

:: Dawn followed Xander and Sam down into the sewers without a word. this time she was wearing 'suitable sewer shoes' instead of her $300 pair of boots thankfully as the dank smell of sewer wafted into her nostrils and settled somewhere deep in the back of her throat. As Xander smiled at her Dawn did the same ignoring the dangerous glint in his eye. All was forgotten as a roar sounded.::

[Kathmandu, Sewer]

Xander to Group: "Okay. So... am I having auditory hallucinations now, or did somebody else just hear that?"

"I'm guessing it wasn't just you."

 

[Mesektet Ra]

Spike: "Thank you. I may yet take you up on your offer."

Spike opened his mouth to reply, but snapped it shut. Sarcasm obviously wasn't this bird's raison d'être. Or pithy come-ons.

Spike kept his gaze locked on Faith, waiting. The Slayer raised her sword against Spike's throat, causing him to raise his head back towards her. His eyes kept to Faith, but this Slayer's scent filled his nostrils like poison in his veins. She reeked of rot, of death...and of life. Baby powder, he realized. It was faint, but there.

There was also a slight hesitation in this Slayer's action - Faith wouldn't notice it, but Spike, what with this gift of such close proximity - yea, right - and vamp sense picked up on it. The loony Slayer's got a kid!

Spike thought for a moment. Where the hell had Dru gone off to? Oh, balls. His stomach dropped. He put two and two together - Dru had run off to warn Indra of Faith's attack, which left one of two options open: one, that Dru was off gallivanting around Nepal, or two, that his loony ex was still holed up in Indra's place of residence, wherever the hell that might be.

Spike swallowed and shifted back to human face. "My Dru," he said softly, only loud enough for Indra to hear, "She's got a thing for families." He swallowed, his throat pulsing against Indra's sword. It cut him a bit further, and he hissed before continuing. "She likes children. Figure mostly 'cause she never got have one herself." He shifted, trying to lift some of the weight of Indra's sword off his throat. "That and hers...well, hers got buggered all to hell and back."

Why the hell he was warning this insane bint was completely beyond him. He figured it might have something to do with the dream he'd had while he was passed out - but then again, this girl killed three good Slayers, and probably more people, in the name of Drusilla. He owed her absolutely nothing.

But...damnit, there's always a but. He couldn't name it, and didn't want to. Not until he made sure he was making it out of this mess alive.

 

[Slayergal]

[Sewer]

Xander: "No you're not crazy. I heard it too it sounds like it came from on up ahead. I think we'd better get up there and check it out."

::Sam started to move forward down the tunnel at a quicker pace. Pocketing her demon tracking device in the process to access her tranq gun. She wanted to be ready to fight when it came down to it.::

The group: "Get weapons ready everybody."

 

[palabravampiress]

[Sewer]

Xander's weapon had been ready ever since he set foot in the sewer. His first run in with Tall, Scaly, and Covered-in-Spikes had nearly cost him his remaining eye -- and more brain cells than he could count. He didn't want to rush in all unprepared for Part Two. He knew what they said about fooling people twice.

:: He inched cautiously forward, now following the sounds of fighting instead of Sam's doohickey. ::

He heard a lot of Faith grunting. Not a lot else. Xander didn't know whether she was giving a beating or taking one, but the fight was definitely one-sided.

Then, all at once, the group came upon a path that was hidden off the beaten-track and raised to keep it safe from floods. Ahead, there was a narrow passageway... and at the end, he could just barely make out the soft flicker of candlelight.

Candlelight. Human refuse. This *would* be Queen Crazy's idea of a romantic evening, Xander wanted to quip. The words were somehow simultaneously on the tip of his tongue and bashing at his forehead as if to get out.

Xander practically shook with pent up energy. He clamped a hand firmly over his mouth and passed the rest off as a cold chill.

He hated to admit it, but part of him felt bad for Spike. Xander was kind of afraid of what he'd find. Years in the demon killing industry had opened his eyes. And also, he'd nearly married an ex-demon. Plus, there was the girl with the neato bondage device that doubled as the gate to the Hell. Xander figured that for those of the bumpier persuasion, the idea of putting the "spark" back into a relationship probably included actual sparks. And those were the sane demons.

:: Xander leaned into the shadows and edged closer, grateful that he only had one eye and that what view he had was partially obstructed by the bandages.::

There were just some things a guy didn't need to see.

Then, they were in the room.

:: Xander looked up. ::

Faith was fighting a couple of demons. By the looks of things, she'd already fought a couple more. There was no telling with demons; they came from mouse sized to house sized and everything in-between. Regardless of how many or how big, though, there was definite demon hackage. Limbs and blood were everywhere... it was like being in a Tarantino film.

And to complete the effect... in the background, Spike and Dru were having fun with swordplay.

:: Xander squinted. ::

Strike that. Nobody's ready for her closeup yet, he thought to himself.

It wasn't Dru. It was... some local lady. Pretty, too, from what Xander could see. She had dark hair, like Drusilla', but she most decidedly was not Dru. She wasn't a vampire, either. Even more unaccountably weird, she had Spike by the neck -- and he wasn't fighting back.

He was... talking to her? Quietly? Gently, even?

Xander: "Huh."

Finally! Prepare to quip!

Spike: "Candlelight? Blood? What, did we crash your -- "

One demon broke from Faith and lunged at Xander, instead. It was the smaller, less spikier version of the one from earlier. Must have been the black sheep of the family.

Xander: "Ah!"

He blocked the blow with his axe and then landed a kick to the gut.

The thing didn't move.

Neither did Xander's foot, as the tip of his shoe was promptly impaled by a spike.

Xander didn't even have time to be grateful that the spike had shoved through the tip of his shoe and missed his foot. The demon lunged toward a wall, putting Xander between the proverbial rock and hard place, only this time, the rock was sharp.

Unless he wanted to be newly perforated and sieve-like, he had to act fast.

:: Clocking all that field time had really come in handy. Without even thinking, he threw and uppercut to the jugular and planted his trusty axe in the green guy's throat. ::

The demon reared back and clawed at its neck. Xander went flying in the opposite direction and landed with a thud and bone-splitting crack.

Head, meet hard place, he thought.

But at least there was no rock.

Demon Jr. pulled the axe out, spewing black blood once, twice, three times... and then he fell.

With huge, heaving breaths -- very manly, testosterone-filled, I-just-killed-something ones at that -- Xander stood and retrieved his axe. Blood spilled out of his head and down his shoulder and a wave of nausea threatened, but a burst of adrenaline kept him on his feet.

Yes! That's like my first successful kill in....

:: Suddenly, Xander frowned. ::

It was the woman behind Spike; he'd finally got a look at her and he did not like what he saw. She held that sword firmly and with purpose. Her gaze was steely. Her grip was strong. She was no local caught in a typical Scooby brawl. She was something else. She was something Xander [i[knew[/i] he couldn't take on.

:: He raised his axe anyway. Just in case. ::

Spike: "Man, what is it with you and slayers?"

:: Xander looked over his shoulder to see how the others were doing. ::

He sure wished Faith would take care of that demon. Of the entire Scooby gang, she was the only one with a snowball's chance in Sunnydale of taking on a rogue slayer... not that she was still a Scooby, technically speaking.

For I am Xander, King of Cretins and Kicker Outer of useful slayers.

 

[Mesektet Ra]

Spike: "Candlelight? Blood? What, did we crash your -- "

Spike squirmed and shot Xander a glare that could melt steel. "Ever so nice to see you too, ponce," he bit off angrily. "'Bout time you lot got your arses here to save me." He kicked his legs, his pants burned and dried brown with crusted blood, the pokers still impaled in his thighs. The wounds were healing around the pokers. Bugger all. This is going to sting in the morning.

The chains clanked as his kicked his feet. He jangled his hands, still chained and dangling from the wall. "I'm chained to the bleeding wall, you idiot wanker!" He roared. Christ on a sodding minibike. He sighed, the sword digging a bit deeper into his throat. He slumped, the meager action draining him of any energy he might've possessed.

Spike: "Man, what is it with you and slayers?"

He sighed and rolled his head to look up at Xander as the one-eyed ponce killed the demon that was currently trying to make him a human pincushion. "Shut the hell up and get me OUT OF HERE ALREADY!" He bit off, his voice wavering. Kicking his legs had ripped at the pokers lodged there, renewing the blinding pain. His skin still cracked off in huge black flakes, blisters visible from the holy water across his torn open shirt along his arms. His face was mottled back and blue and blistered. He sighed and slumped again, breathing labored breaths, more to try to ease the pain than for the obvious not-so-need for oxygen.

 

[Slayergal]

[Sewer]

::Sam entered the room at the end of the sewer tunnel. It was a good thing she had pocketed her demon tracking device and grabbed her tranq gun as a couple of scaly, covered-in-spikes demons headed towards them. Sam fired her tranq gun at one of them hit it square in the neck but the demon didn't fall. It was still coming at them.::

"What the hell?"

::Most demons would have fallen after one tranq dart. But this demon didn't even flinch he just kept right on coming towards them.::

Riley: "Watch out!"

::Sam ducked out the way just in the knick of time as the demon tried to strike a blow. She just hoped Riley had managed to get out from behind her. She fired the tranq gun at the demon one more time. This time hitting the demon in the chest. Still the demon kept on coming. Sam was flustered by now the second tranq dart should have taken affect. The demon hit her knocking her side ways. Sam fell to the floor.::

Yuck! she thought as she fell in the sewer muck.

::As Sam got back up she slipped a knife out of it's holster on her leg. She stood up and ran straight towards the demon stabbing it in the chest. The demon grabbed her by the neck and flung her up against the wall. Sam cried out in pain as she hit the wall knocking her unconscious.::

 

[FaithRPG]

Faith stood with the others, who had just burst into the room. Standing there Scythe in hand, while across the room Spike had a sword to his throat, at the mercy of the person that had to be the Slayer gone bad.

This was also the girl she had hit with the car, the girl who had murdered the slayers.

"We helped you!"

Faith yelled across the room, she needed to distract Indra for a moment, give herself some time to think, putting down the scythe wasn't an option.

"Do you know what you are? Your fighting on the wrong side..."

 

[palabravampiress]

[Sewer]

Sam was next to do the fly-into-the-wall dance. And also next to sustain a head injury. And to lose consciousness. The demon bore down on her.

:: Xander looked at Spike and shrugged. ::

Spike: "Sorry. Ladies first."

:: He threw his axe. ::

He had to do it. Sure, it was not of the wise to throw your handiest weapon in the half-blind hope of hitting your target, but what was his alternative? He didn't have vampire speed. He didn't have slayer strength. Sam would have been sleeping with the fishes -- or whatever else swims in sewer muck -- before Xander had even taken two steps. Axe-throwing was the safest alternative.

Fortunately, it was also an event at the annual Renaissance Fair, which meant that Xander had lots of practice.

The axe hit its mark.

Demon: "That's right, Banquo."

With two tranq darts and an axe sticking out of his scaly hide, the demon was down but he wasn't out. It roared and thrust its arms behind its back, trying but failing to reach the axe he found lodged there.

:: Xander hurried over to help him with that. ::

He had a vested interest in retrieving his weapon. Staying alive is a powerful motivator.

Fortunately Riley, who was closer, sprung into action. By the time Xander arrived, the contents of two more tranq darts had found their way into the demon's stream of whatever passed as blood amongst human refuse dwellers. The demon fell with a thud... and a bit of a splash, as Drusilla's choice digs were a little on the damp side.

Xander and Riley both knelt by Sam. A finger to her neck confirmed that she was alive. The frantic shaking and yelling and other traditional reviving duties he left to Riley.

Husbandly perk.

:: Instead, Xander looked back toward the corner to check out the face off between Rogue Slayer 2.0 and the original model. ::

He wasn't touching that girl with a ten foot pole. Green things? Goopy things? Nasty, gnarly things with bad teeth? Run-of-the-mill vamps and zombies? Minions in all shapes and sizes? Xander was in with the clocking of the field time. Slayers?

Can I get a Hell in front of that No?

Xander trained them. He fought alongside them. He argued with them and loved them and had even had semi-amorous contact with at least one of them -- two, if you counted a couple of the sexual tension moments that he'd had with Buffy back in high school. One thing he never did, though, was take on a slayer. Getting tossed around by Faith every once in awhile didn't count. There was a reason that slayers were the bogeymen that demons threatened to unleash on disobedient Hellspawn. A slayer like this one, one who had apparently planted hot pokers in Spike's legs and possibly murdered three of her own kind to boot, could kill him more easily and more efficiently than even the scariest demon out there. He'd leave her to Faith. She was the only one who had half a chance of succeeding, anyway.

But only half. Faith had never killed a slayer before. Last time she'd tried, she'd ended up in a coma. Faith was definitely the underdog in this match.

:: Xander sighed and picked up his axe. ::

His entire body hurt. His head pounded. Blood poured out of... he wasn't even sure where that was coming from. His muscles burned with the effort of wrenching his blade out of the demon's tough, scale-covered skin. But he had to keep going. He had to fight. Faith would have zero chance of taking on the rogue slayer if she was distracted by demons left and right.

:: He left Sam to Riley and jumped back into the fray because that's what Xander does: he helps slayers. ::

All personal differences aside, his job was to have her back.

:: He swung, lopping off a few scales of the demon who was distracting Faith. ::

:: He lifted his axe again. This time, he caught Faith's eye on the downswing and jerked his head toward the rogue slayer. ::

Faith: "Whatda ya say? I'll take the small fries if you'll take the Big Mac."

 

[Indra_RPG]

[Sewer]

Indra felt herself blanch at William's words. She swallowed. Her mouth suddenly felt dry. The deva must have known he had hit a nerve.

Of course he knows. He knows all things. He knows about Raja, after all.

There was nothing to do but lie.

Spike: "Kali and I have an understanding."

Privately, Indra was not certain that Drusilla had understood -- or heeded -- her warning at all.

Fortunately, the scythe bearer soon provided a welcome distraction from thoughts of Raja and Rajnath, both of whom were sleeping peacefully when Indra had left them alone with a blood-gorging dark goddess of destruction.

Indra pushed her emotions aside and focused on Faith who, ironically, attempted to distract her with an emotional appeal. Faith insisted that Indra fought on the wrong side. What's more, she implied that because Faith had helped her, her allegiance should be with Faith.

:: The sword twitched, scraping a bit more skin off of Shiva's neck. ::

Indra literally ached for the kill. But she didn't want it to be William. No; she wanted it to be Faith. Once it was done, she could slaughter the rest and return to Drusilla in triumph. That was her best chance. That was Raja's best chance.

Faith: "Listen to me, devi-killer. I have already killed your three best warriors. Give me the scythe and leave this place. Leave my city. Leave my country. You have no business here. You intrude on matters of which you can have no possible understanding. Leave, and these weak dalits you bring with you shall be spared. Resist, and I will force them to eat one another's entrails before I mount their heads on spikes."

After I return to Drusilla, she added to herself.

Indra's eyes flicked briefly toward the doorway in which the youngest dalit still stood. She was young and wide-eyed, but also fiercely brave to be so young and defenseless and yet to enter a place like this. She would make a fine peace offering for the demons, who would not take lightly the death of one of their own.

Faith: "The child, I will give to the demons regardless. It seems only fair. After all, your crippled one killed their child."

And to delay might kill my own.

To Indra, the bargain seemed more than fair. In return for the scythe, the remaining foreigners would escape with their lives. Even the child, she imagined, would retain her life. Muckluck demons ate human refuse, not humans. There were, of course, other things that they liked to do to humans, but killing a human captive was not generally in the best interest of the demon clan.

 

[Mesektet Ra]

[Sewer]Spike: "Sorry. Ladies first."

Spike just sighed. Indra's sword at his throat was cutting deeper, but it was close to not mattering anymore. The rest of his body was burnt and bloodied, all thanks to his wonderful Dru.

Spike: "Kali and I have an understanding."

Spike chuckled, the sound coming out wet once again. It seemed that his jostling had dislodged something in his chest, too. He tasted blood in the back of his throat. Christ, I'm getting sick of that taste. "Your Kali is out of her sodding mind, love. You'd do well to remember that."

He raised his eyes to meet Faith's as the two Slayers faced off, Faith finally taking a step away from her demon fighting to regard Indra. The sword bit deeper, making Spike raise his still-pounding head backwards and hiss.

At the mention of Dawn, Spike immediately tensed. His eyes darted towards the Bit.

Immediately, he began to thrash against Indra's sword, moving his head back far enough so he didn't decapitate himself. "NO!" He roared. His face flashed from human to vamp in a second. "You leave her the sodding hell out of this, you hear me, you crazy bint?!"

 

[Indra_RPG]

Indra smiled and, ever so slightly, she relieved a bit of the pressure of her blade against the deva's neck. She did not wish to harm him more than was necessary.

"The child is precious to you, then?" she cooed softly into his ear.

It was useful knowledge. He knew of Raja, who was precious to her. Now, she knew what was dear to him. The girl could be used as a show of good faith... or as a bargaining chip, if it came to that.

"Perhaps, Shiva, you and I can come to some sort of an agreement?" she whispered into his ear, keeping her gaze locked to the scythe-bearer's as she did so.

Indra placed her free hand on the deva's shoulder and gripped it tightly, steadying his thrashing.

"I will protect your dalit girl from these demons if you will protect my Raja from your Dru."

Indra cocked her head, considering.

"Perhaps the demons will settle for the crippled one, instead."

 

[Slayergal]

::Sam woke up with a pounding headache. Before she even opened her eyes she could hear someone talking to her. She opened her eyes to see Riley. He was gently holding her and calling her name.::

Riley: "What the hell just happened?"

::Sam touched her head and felt blood. That and she about gagged while inhaling a big whiff of sewer muck. Then she started remembering. She had been fighting a scaly sewer demon. She started to get up as she did so she grabbed up her tranq gun and knife.::

Riley: "Never mind. I remember now. Come on we have to help the others."

::Sam headed back into the fray stopping abrubtly as she saw a woman holding a knife to Spike's throat. Could this be Drusilla? Or perhaps the rogue slayer they had not been able to indentify? It didn't matter both were a threat to the scoobies. However she noticed that Xander was leaving her to Faith to take care of. She decided she would return a favor to Xander and help him out with the scaly demons.::

Xander: "So is that our Famous Dru or the rogue slayer that we've been looking for?"

 

[FaithRPG]

Faith nodded at Xander, no one was taking on this girl except her.

Faiths eyes darted around to look for Dawn as they spoke about her, but she quickly jolted her attention back to the Slayer standing in front of her. As cocky as Faith was, this girl had it in spades, but there was no way she was getting out of this room with any of her team or the scythe.

Finally a moment presented itself as Spike began to trash around in Indra's hold, which made the Slayer loosen her grip on his neck. Faith jumped at the opportunity.

She flung the Scythe up in the air as a distraction, and darted forwards. She grabbed the blade of Indras sword, immediately her hands were cut as blood gushed over the blade, pain ran up her arm. Pushing through it, she swung the sword up and away from Spike, and with her other hand grabbed him and flung him behind her, not caring how strong she threw him or where she threw him. Then she let go of the sword and put all her energy into hitting Indra in the face so the girl fell to the ground.

Faith then took a step back just in time to grab the scythe, not as smoothly as she would have like as it was closer to the floor then she would have liked for it to look cooler. She turned to face Indra, the scythe in both hands, blade facing out, ready to fight.

"New deal, you call off your goons and I beat you to a pulp - Cuz honestly this whole 'Slayer-gone-bad' thing has so been done before, and I'm not really looking for a protege?"

 

[palabravampiress]

[Sewer]

Xander: "So is that our Famous Dru or the rogue slayer that we've been looking for?"

Xander grinned at Sam.

Xander: "Nice head wound. I hear they're the latest craze - complete with blood drips."

:: He looked off in the direction of the rogue slayer. ::

Sam: "That? *That* is a slayer. Trust me. I know these things. It's a gift. I call it slay-dar."

The words were barely out of Xander's mouth when Faith threw Spike - hot pokers and all - back, leaving Xander to break his fall.

Xander: "Umph!"

Although the crash of his body against the sewer floor was cushioned by the foul-smelling muck in which he landed, the fall did have its consequences. Xander felt his axe slide into the meat of Spike's leg... and took a hot poker in (but, thankfully not completely *through*) the shoulder in return. Of course, in keeping with the crap-tacular day Xander was having, the wound was immediately covered in greenish brown goo. The two men --

Correction: one man, one man-pire.

The man and the vampire were a jumble of limbs, weaponry, torture devices, and injuries, with Xander's set mostly on the bottom and mostly covered in the kind of stuff that comes out of backed up toilets. As if that wasn't bad enough, the scent of burnt flesh seared the inside of Xander's nose and the back of his throat. Reflexively, he got his head free from the jumble and spit. A tiny scrap of something black and charred came out -- something that looked like it had come either out of or off of Spike, who was himself more black, blue, and red all over than anything resembling his normal My Chemical Romance complexion.

Man! Xander thought, actually throwing about two seconds of sympathy in Spike's direction.

With hot pokers sticking out of his limbs and his skin cooked up extra crispy, Spike was totally and completely thrashed. Whatever this rogue slayer had done to him, she had somehow managed to make Xander, the lame dog of the group, look like a perfect specimen of health and vitality.

:: Xander groaned. ::

Out of the corner of his eye, Xander spotted one of the demons. Apparently meaning to take advantage of Xander's current incapacitation, it came at full speed. A ginormous, make-Braveheart-proud sort of sword raised high in its scaly green hands.

Sympathy over!

Spike: "I always knew you'd be the death of me."

:: Frantically, Xander pushed and shoved in a wild, flailing sort of attempt to hurry Spike off of him and retrieve his axe. ::

Man, this guy packs a lot of dead weight.

Scoobies: "Sam! Dawn! A little help here!!"

 

[Indra_RPG]

[Sewer]

Indra fell, her back scraping painfully against the sharp, stony floor, but she kept her sword.

:: With blood pouring out of her nose and into her mouth, Indra lay on her back in the muck -- and chortled. ::

Much to even her own surprise, long peels of laughter escaped. The scythe-bearer was a show-off! Indra had not expected such behavior from a devata killer dalit like Faith. Even more significantly, the scythe bearer's color had dimmed. Faith had determination, yes, but she also had doubts.

Indra remembered Kali's words:

"The girl that carries it," *she paused putting her finger tips against her temple* "I can feel that she is not as good as the others. She has done bad things in the past. You must feed on this weakness to obtain the scythe."

:: In one swift, acrobatic motion, Indra flipped forward onto her feet and flicked her sword into place. ::

The blade glinted in the candlelight.

:: She stopped laughing. Instead, she smiled. ::

It was going to be a good fight -- and a good kill. Indra would heed her devi's words. Indra would take the advantage.

:: Indra raised her eyebrow. ::

Faith: "Are you certain, Faith? Perhaps they do not teach mathematics in your dalit schools," she taunted. Next, she twisted the knife, bringing up the three proteges whom Faith had failed to adequately train: "By my count, you should be looking for three more devata killers."

:: Swallowing a mouthful of her own blood as if it were water, Indra stepped closer. ::

She stepped out of the pain in her swollen, broken nose. She even stepped out of herself, banning all thoughts of Rajnath and even Raja from her consciousness. She stepped into her dharma, instead. Indra walked the warrior's path. Like Arjuna before her, she gave in to it completely. With her sword, she exhibited bhakti, an unceasing and loving remembrance of her devi. With her swing, she accepted her dharma and tread the warrior's path. She was positively alight with righteous energy. The will of the shining ones flowed within her veins. Unlike Faith, who wavered, Indra could accept her destiny. She could kill her own kind. And she could do it without regret, without mourning -- and, most significantly, even without pause.

Faith: "It should comfort you to know that only one died screaming."

This last bit Indra added in an effort to further diminish Faith's color.

:: She swung - it was a playful, lazy swing that was easily deflected. ::

Faith: "So far."

The scythe-bearer's color blanched.

:: This time, the attack was genuine. Indra leaped gracefully into the air. Her sword, she flung toward the scythe, the blade slicing into - but not severing - the hand that held it. Simultaneously, she kicked with all of her preternatural strength toward Faith's solar plexus, driving the other woman back into a wall with a loud crunch and the crash of loose rock falling to the ground. ::

:: Indra allowed Faith no time to recover. She approached immediately, her sword poised to strike. ::