Rapture (for Spike)

[other_valentine]

It had been easier than Hester expected to sneak down to this secret world. After watching the guards check the credentials of parties heading down, she had found two likely candidates, and had volunteered as their 'escort'. And they'd went along with it -- possibly fearing that she wouldn't take 'no' for an answer. After the guards had let them

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[nobler_things]

These weren't monsters. Not in the traditional sense. Not demons, not the kind of mythical creatures that congregated around the Hell Mouth like little moths buzzing around a lamp post. But in reality, they were monsters just the same. Nasty, crawling, desperate things, devoid of humanity, nearly devoid of consciousness. He'd seen zombies in his day -- not the flesh-eating kind, of course -- and these weren't all that different.

Even without vampire strength, he was formidable with an axe, slicing through the horde just for the hell of it. He didn't need to be down here for any other reason than it was good fun. And here and there, there were damsels in need of rescuing.

This girl, however, was no damsel. Outnumbered, sure, but skilled with a sword, and for as long as he could get away with it, he stood back and watched, finally stepping into the fight to hack the head off one of the creatures charging at her from behind.

[other_valentine]

The attack was rapidly becoming a melee. Hester swung her sword wildly, dispatching the monsters. She sensed rather than saw the dark shape rushing at her. She dispatched another monster, then swung her sword back, turning her body, ready to chop the new attacker's head off.

And it was her senses, before her sight, that made her stop, her sword inches from the man's neck, realizing that she was, indeed, facing a man and not a monster. Her eye went wide behind her sunglasses. For a moment, she stood frozen, taking in his blond hair, his strong features, and the fact that he carried an axe, already dripping with monster blood.

Then she heard the patter of monster feet behind her, and she saw a monster rear up behind him. She nodded at the monster over his shoulder, before turning, bringing her sword to bear on the monster behind her.

[nobler_things]

His reflexes weren't quite what they'd been. The swing of his axe not quite so smooth. His steps not quite as silent and effortless. Still, those shortcomings didn't seem to stop him from turning just in time, his axe cleaving the thing's head from its shoulders with a dull, wet thump.

A sharp blade could do wonders.

"Thanks for the heads up, love," he said, all while delivering a powerful kick to a charging Splicer, the masked creature falling to its knees, giving Spike the opportunity to split its skull like a melon.

[other_valentine]

With the last monster dispatched, a silence fell on the corridor. Hester looked the man up and down. He had an accent that sounded... a bit like London. That made her think of Tom, and she pushed that thought out of her head.

"You shouldn't sneak up on someone like that," she said, a little gruffly. But she gave him a nod of thanks. It had been rather a close thing. "You're a bit away from the group."