Fic: Shanshu 28 - Twister

[dragonyphoenix]

Title: Twister
Fandom: BtVS
Prompt: 458 - Twister
Rating: PG
Summary: Another chapter for Shanshu
Word Count: 796

“Right hand. Red.” It was just as well that Maria's right hand had already been on a red circle. She was arching over Yakone who was stretched out two-thirds of the way across the board. Izzy, at the far end, shared only one circle with the other two players.

The idea to practice fighting from the ground had come out of an injury. After one of the Slayers had been tossed five feet by a demon, she'd jumped back to her feet too quickly, leaving her open to attack by a second demon. She'd survived and healed but Andrew had decreed that they'd start training to fight from awkward positions. Tess had thought he was joking when he'd told her to incorporate the game Twister. It had worked although not in the way anyone had expected.

Tess spun the dial and shouted “Attack.” Andrew had made a few adjustments to the game. Dara ran forward, swinging her staff.

The original rules had set the game up as a competition: the Slayer who took down the attacker while keeping hands and feet on the most circles won. About a week earlier the three Slayers on the board had changed the game.

Maria, the most unstable of the three because she was stretched over Yakone, sacrificed herself – losing all her circles completely – by pushing off of the board and rolling into the oncoming Slayer. Dara leaped over Maria and struck the staff down toward Yakone. Maria, who'd rolled off the board, was out of the game, but as Dara leaped up to avoid the legs Yakone had swept out toward hers, Izzy knocked the staff up and away from Yakone. Having missed the strike, Dara took a flying roll, over the other two Slayers, off of the mat, turned, and bowed. Maria, standing on the other side of the mat, bowed back while Izzy and Yakone nodded.

A week earlier, these three Slayers – Izzy, Yakone, and Maria – had started working as a team. Nobody was sure how they were doing it. They weren't using telepathy but they were responding as a unit rather than as three individual Slayers. Tess was hoping, with Willow in town, that the witch might offer some insight.

“All right. Good defense. Maria, back into position.” Tess' cell started playing a tune she'd been told was from the Sgt. Fury soundtrack. It was an odd time for Xander to be calling. At this hour she'd expect him to be asleep like the rest of the staff. “What's up?”

“Bunch of stuff.”

Since Xander couldn't see her, Tess went ahead and rolled her eyes. One time, One Time, she'd taken an order and had hung up before getting the rest and no one was ever going to let her live it down.

“First, send someone to pick up Dawn from the Sunnydale crater. Oh, and there's a hostile aboard although I think she has it under control.”

“Buffy's sister. Sunnydale crater. Send a crew. Got it.” Izzy, obviously guessing this might take a while, stretched out into a more comfortable position.

“Willow's been nabbed.”

“Willow? Nabbed?” She had the attention of all four Slayers. Izzy and Yakone rose to their feet while Dara started spinning her staff in an attack kata.

“Yeah, get a couple of witches over to The Sunflower. It's near where we took out that nest of vamps the other night.”

“Witches. The Sunflower. Check for magical and demonic traces. On it.” At those words, Izzy ran out of the room. Tess knew, without having to be told, that she was rounding up a couple of their witches.

“And that brings me to my last. I need someone to bail me out.”

“Xander? You've been arrested? Again?”

“No need to tell the world. Oh, wait, you just did. I'll need another guy bailed out too. His name's Morgan, uh, something. Find the last name. He was there when Willow was taken. I'm pretty sure he's a civilian but he's the only lead we've got.”

“Right. I'll send out a couple of squads, one for Dawn and one for you …”

“I don't need a whole squad,” Xander interrupted.

“Someone just kidnapped the world's most powerful witch. You're getting a squad. Deal with it.” Goddess, but Xander could be an idiot sometimes. “I'll fill in Andrew.”

“Oh-kay. One more thing then. Andrew's been nabbed. You didn't know?”

“Nabbed along with Willow?” It made sense, sort of. Willow, while protecting Andrew, had left her guard down.

“Ah, no. I don't know who got Andrew. Dawn filled me in.”

“Let me get this straight. The only person who knew Andrew had been taken isn't even in L.A.?”

“Looks like.”

“Forget using board games in sparring practice. What we really need to work on is communication.”

Comments

[rbfvid.livejournal.com]

“Forget using board games in sparring practice. What we really need to work on is communication.”
Oh, yes)
And I admire your use of the prompt.

[dragonyphoenix.livejournal.com]

Thank you. I really loved this idea once I came up with it. For a bit I was worried I'd misremembered the prompt and was busy coming up with ways to handle it if the prompt was actually "tornado" rather than "twister".